PROBLEMATIC

Chapter 20

oOoOo

Stephanie's POV

I'd had a busy start to the day with my partner, Manny. Our research and reconnaissance were solid, as were our plans of attack. They were both belligerent skips, both on bail despite manslaughter charges. What is this city coming to, especially with repeat offenders?!

Arny Geddon, his real name, wasn't fully awake yet, yet only his mouth was engaged, showing his showing his belligerence with the diatribe once he opened the door. "It's not my fault the fucking bitch ran into my knife!" Jeez. Twenty two times? Yeah right. When is murder not murder but manslaughter? Regardless, it didn't matter to us. We were not there to judge, just to capture the skip and return him to the justice system.

Manny had swiftly spun him round, promptly cuffing him, but unfortunately, Arny hit his head on the door jamb. His own clumsiness. I gave him that look as I held up my stun gun and he smartly decided to shut his mouth. I locked up his house and held his keys until we got him safely to the TPD. Other than the intro spiel, we said very little, since he read our don't mess-with-me attitude quickly.

However, Spankie Rivers, aka Peter Riverton, a drag queen, started swinging at me. Luckily, I ducked and almost took my knee to his gonads, but he was too tall, just like Sally Sweet. Sally, Salvatore Sweet, was a cross dresser and rock band performer. Spankie was a drag queen, a different kind of performer, and a feisty bitch she was. Maybe I was PMSing, whatever, but I was in no mood for her macho shit after that roundhouse swing which I easily ducked. Zap. Problem solved. Manny chuckled. He had my back. We were a great team.

Being quick and efficient in capturing our two FTAs, we brought them in to the TPD with ease. Both were medium bonds and tried to target me when we captured them. Being a fully trained, fully qualified Rangeman made a difference. Going in, together, each time with our skip made sure there was no interference. In and out. Clean and smooth. After the second skip, we quickly delivered our receipts to the Bonds Office, where Connie documented the details and sent the electronic payment direct to Rangeman, giving us a hard copy as proof.

Manny was laughing as we buckled ourselves in the SUV while he drove back to Haywood. "PMSing? No, you were not, but the sudden look of fear in Spankie's eyes, was a great distraction."

"Very funny. Omigod! Did I really say that out loud?" He grinned, enough said. Meh. It served a purpose.

"Something else on your mind Wifey? I detect a change in your demeanour. Has there been a shift in the universe?"

Damnit. He knows me too well. "You could say that. I have had a hinkey feeling all morning and I can't shake it. It's different from my spidey senses, but it won't go away."

"Got your back, Wifey," with which he knuckle-bumped me. I nodded. "Right back at ya, Hubby."

According to Manny, "Stephanie Plum was a force to be reckoned with". Seriously though, I was a good distraction, using that to momentarily divert the skip's attention. Secondly, growing up in the Burg and living the life I had, growing up with all the malicious often unfair criticisms, I knew how to handle verbal diarrhoea overload. Special mention must go to my mother and that asshole Morelli, and let's not forget Joyce. I wasn't as sensitive to all that crap any more and didn't feel the need to prove them wrong. Water off a duck's back now, you know, skin of a rhinoceros.

Thirdly, the skips often underestimated me. Being smaller and less muscular than my partner, they try to take advantage. We are always prepared for that. My self-defence training comes to the fore so many times. My repertoire includes more than just a knee to the groin. I appreciate the variety of strategies and skills each of them, my Merry men, has taught me, especially in dealing with a larger adversary. Weapons handling and tactics have kept me prepared and safe from knife attacks with my unexpected agility and speed. Zip and Zero called me their Ninja Warrior. I smiled at that moniker.

Manny was in his zone as he drove, but this time he caught me out, catching my smile. "I like that smile, Wifey."

"Yeah. Zip and Zero have started calling me their Ninja Warrior when we do two-on-one training tactics. By focusing on my gymnastic skills and agility, they have made me even more confident to use those skills in deflecting unwieldy attacks. Quick thinking is the key. Mixing it up so I am not predictable is part of the strategy."

"Ninja Warrior Princess…" he mused, tapping his finger to his chin.

We had arrived at Haywood, and he ruffled my hair as he left the vehicle. So much for being aware of my surroundings.

"Princess?! Come on! I am no princess," to which he grinned and shrugged his shoulders, backing up into the lift with his hands up defensively.

Changing my mind, I ran to the stairwell door, and flew up the stairs to level 5. He was casually leaning against the wall with his legs crossed, a water bottle in hand for me. But I could tell he'd only just got there.

"I needed to burn off some more energy." He got it.

After debriefing and reviewing our skip captures, we wrote our reports and sent them to Tank via email.

While sipping my coffee in the breakroom, I reflected on my progress and development. I had toughened up a lot, matured a lot, and knew how to handle the contempt often shown by skips. Skips try to rattle you, or tell a sob story, but they always hit high on the Bull Shit Metre. The low bond skips used different tactics. Some were friendlier and easier to read. Some I could help out with their genuine predicaments, but they still had to front up to the courts. The others were unpredictable, not shrewd, but crazy. Medium skips work on a different level with arrogance and a sense of entitlement in the mix. Aggression was higher and we had to be wary at all times. Their crimes reflected the response, and their reactions. Of course, there was denial. Pfft. I knew all about denial. Not buying into that. I could teach them a thing or two about denial. Going in fully dressed with a partner, not just back up, made a huge difference.

Manny and I were still sitting in the breakroom, having that well-deserved coffee and an early lunch. We were scheduled to be on monitors to relieve Binkie and Zip in fifteen.

While sitting here, my curiosity was suddenly piqued when both Cal and Hal received what must have been an important and official message, at the same time. Going by their body language, as they assumed military alert stance, simultaneously with a single nod acknowledging each other in the same way. Together, without uttering a word, they promptly marched to Tank's office, closing the door behind them. Five minutes later they were off. I wondered if they were called up for a mission, but then I remembered they had both completed their government contracts.

I have always liked people watching. Manny too, especially considering his background in profiling and psychology, when he was a consultant with the FBI. He watched intently. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, okay, two raised eyebrows, tilting my head in the manner of "Did you just see that?" Yes, he sure did, with barely a nod, his eyes widening fractionally.

Tank walked out shortly after Cal and Hal left, and unlocked Ranger's office. Within minutes, we noticed Hector and Lester moving furniture into Ranger's office: work tables followed by monitors and computers. I was beyond curious when they rolled in a whiteboard which had been moved from one of the conference rooms. Lester left as Ram arrived with two extra desk chairs. I presumed Hector was connecting the computers, but there was little or no communication while they were moving things so industriously. So, no eavesdropping. Some more computer equipment, and now even a printer, really had my curiosity piqued. What is going on?

While sipping slowly, my mind was racing over all sorts of possible scenarios why such specific furniture was being moved into Ranger's office. Perhaps a work station? When I side-eyed Manny, he was definitely intrigued. Instinctively, I knew it was not an indication of Ranger's imminent arrival.

Tank 's incoming message startled me. "My office. STAT!" which had me concerned, that I nearly dropped my coffee. I was distracted. Yeah, I know I am nosey, but I'd been watching Hector, Lester and Ram.

I looked at Manny. Oh. Me only.

But then he also received a message, obviously not for a direct order to Tank's office. Am I ESP-ing now? Glancing over my shoulder I noticed Woody stood up from his cubicle and approached Manny, who gave me a nod of encouragement for strength. I knocked on Tank's door and entered at his gruff command from within, closing the door behind me as indicated.

With his back to me, stood another Rangeman, one with whom I wasn't familiar. Sure, I can recognise each one of my Merry Men just from seeing their height and general build, even to their asses. They all had distinctive aspects to their physique, but this is one with whom I was not familiar with any of those assets. Tank was watching my assessment with a tiny smirk evident as he watched my thought processes. He was amused.

Omigod! Please don't tell me I vocalised any of that! Uh oh. Tank's grin was huge as I clamped my hand over my treasonous mouth.

"Don't worry, Little Girl. Your so called mute button was not in malfunction mode. However, I can read your thoughts clearly," he chuckled as the mysterious Rangeman turned around, also grinning at me.

Did I know him? I haven't seen him recently, or anytime for that matter, on the fifth floor. Hm, not a regular in the control room. Somehow, I don't think he is a new recruit. Maybe a transfer from Boston or Miami.

"Hang on! When did you slip in here? Is there a secret entrance? I didn't notice your arrival," I accused with a slight pout. "He must have sneaked in under the radar," which made them both laugh as I scanned Tank's office. Okay. Out loud. I rolled my eyes accordingly.

Looking at him more closely I wondered if I had met him before? There was something about him though. His demeanour told me he was well-acquainted with Tank. Now just wait a minute. I have seen his face before, in a group photo, one of only a few showing them in their combat uniforms, fully armed while wearing sunglasses, like they might be in a place like Afghanistan. There. On the bookshelf behind Tank. That's the photo I was recollecting.

Tank grinned. "Well done, Little Girl. Your observation skills never disappoint which is why you are here," as he grabbed the photo I was staring at so intently.

"That must be you, second on the right, in the desert with Ranger, Tank, Bobby, Lester and Ram." He nodded, impressed that I recognised them all so easily.

"That was our first deployment," he confirmed.

He winked at me and held his hand out, "Hello Ms Plum."

"Rodriguez! You're the mystery man who keeps topping up my in-tray! Either you are sneaky, or you have these guys doing your dirty delivery work." Tank came around and ruffled my hair.

"Nice to finally put a name to a face," I said, remembering my ingrained Burg manners. Tank raised an eyebrow at my choice of words.

The mystery Rangeman, Rodriguez, was standing tall and relaxed in front of me as I catalogued his features. He wasn't fazed by my comment nor my scrutiny, but I detected a look of amusement in his eyes given away by the crinkles in the corners. His face. Oh. He has a bad scar right across his face.

"That looks like it must have been the result of a painful experience. And don't say it was just a flesh wound! Please call me Stephanie, or Steph." I shook his proffered hand and smiled.

"Unlucky wound from flying shrapnel. The hot metal shards from the explosion fortunately missed my eyes, neck and heart. Some other parts were not so lucky. We lost a few with that IED. I was luckier."

With that he flashed his prosthetic leg. I gathered he had other scars from that experience. I laughed when I saw, instead of the conventional black, he was wearing FIGJAM socks!

Tank was surprised that I dared to laugh at Rodriguez's prosthetic leg. "Calm down, Big Guy."

"FIGJAM? Seriously?"

He laughed at my recognition. "I have a little gift for you, your own special pair, Steph," as he handed me a colourful rolled up pair. I blushed. "You have earned that title, Missy."

"Figjam?" Tank was confused.

"Fuck I'm Good, Just Ask Me." I translated for Tank. Tank's laughter was wonderful to hear.

"I like her even more, Tank. Over the last few years, I heard a lot of nicknames bandied around and mistakenly, I assumed they referred to different women. I already know of the main ones like Babe, Little Girl, Bomber, Beautiful, Bombshell, Angel, Estafania and Wifey. Even more recently, Ninja Warrior." Tank's eyebrows rose in surprise with the last one. He looked at me expectantly, but Rodriguez answered on my behalf, surprising me as well.

"Compliments of Zip and Zero."

"Okay. Enough small talk. I have a special assignment that requires your combined expertise. Silvio, from Miami, is already in this mix. This is highly confidential and no other searches are to be engaged. This is numero uno priority. While Rodriguez and Silvio can access any military clearances, Steph, your talent for finding remarkable connections is needed in parallel. Your combined efforts will create a deeper insight which is essential to solving critical some anomalies. Follow me to Ranger's office."

Inside I noticed that the computers were already booted up. Written on three separate orange cards, stuck to the whiteboard, were three names:

Sofia Maria Santiago Richards

Viktor Jacob Santiago Richardson

RicoSnape

"I want these three aspects searched. Rodriguez take Sofia while you search Viktor, Steph. Go do your usual deep search. Hector has given you some extra search programs. In the meantime, he will search the dark web for anything relevant. Silvio is continuing his searches from the Miami context. He is exploring their passport details. That's all I can give you at the moment. This is your exclusive focus. There will be no interaction other than with me, Hector and Silvio."

Halfway down on the whiteboard, under Viktor's name, was some additional information on a fourth orange card: KU t-shirt Class of 24 – he's 22 years old.

"That's all we have to start with. FYU, there's a bathroom behind that door. There's some fruit in the fridge with some appropriate snacks, coffee machine there, and water bottles here. Any questions?"

Rodriguez shook his head in the negative, and was about to move to a desk monitor. That was some serious hardware with two large monitors.

I read the three cards out loud. "Sofia Maria Santiago Richards. Viktor Jacob Santiago Richardson. Hm…"

"That's for you to find out. Dig deep."

"Are these two related?" I indicated Sofia and Viktor. Tank went to the whiteboard and drew a line between the two cards with the word 'related' adding two question marks. Okay. Got it. I cocked my head, thinking about the third card.

"RicoSnape? Hm. Sounds like a Harry Potter connection to me." I shrugged as I made my way to the other desk. They both looked at me strangely.

"What?"

"Explain."

"You know, Severus Snape from Harry Potter. A Hogwarts teacher, Professor of Potions." Tank handed me one of the whiteboard markers and pointed.

"Write it down. I want all your thoughts like that up here on the board. Think out loud. You're so good at that," Tank remarked while tapping the marker against the board.

"Why do you think I send those BGCs to you, Steph? You seem to have a knack of finding critical details that we miss." Rodriguez added.

"Between Rodriguez and Silvio, they are our senior investigators, specialising in the military intel and networks, but also our high bond skips. When Rodriguez has completed those searches, he sends them to you to have someone else look at them with fresh eyes. You think outside the square, making associations and connections. Your uncanny way of seeing seemingly obscure minutiae, makes you essential in critical investigations such as this. Silvio and Rodriguez will keep you apprised but you have to use the whiteboard to make visual links from your deep searches. I have contacted one of the senior personnel allowing you to have a higher, yet limited clearance, which has just been approved."

Wow. Got it. I nodded my head. This was some serious shit here.

"Anything that needs to be printed off go right ahead. Use Ranger's desk to spread out your data. Any photos and other findings, you know what I mean, whack them on the board." He tapped the board with one of the whiteboard markers firmly. "Highlighters, magnets and Blu-Tak are here for you to use, as you usually do. Every little detail, no matter how small, record it. Timing is of the essence."

"Omigod! This is to do with Ranger?"

Neither answered my question, which I meant to keep inside my head. Oops. However, the way they glanced at each other, that was all the confirmation I needed. Whoa!

I grabbed the whiteboard marker and underneath RicoSnape I listed some quick bullet points, thinking out loud as the possible links popped in my head. "Snape. Professor Snape from Harry Potter. Severus Snape. Actor from one of those Die Hard movies, the bad guy…Hans Gruber. Hm…Alan Rickman. That's the actor." I underlined that and stepped back.

Then I stepped forward, as I was extrapolating further with Rico into, "Ricardo, Rick, Enrico, Enrique, Richard…Richards…Richardson…Rickman? Omigod! Alan Rickman again."

I became aware of Tank suddenly looming over my shoulder and Rodriguez standing closer giving me a stunned look.

"Did I do it wrongly?"

Tank ruffled my hair, grinning in admiration.

"No. Not at all. I can't believe how you just did that." Rodriguez and Tank smiled at each other. "You have just opened up a veritable black hole. I would never have come to those conclusions."

"Conclusions? It's just a list. Is it someone you know?" I asked tentatively.

"Let's say, you have given us a completely alternative avenue to investigate, which was not in our original directive. This was going under the radar. It would have been so easily overlooked. Such a tiny inconspicuous detail, seemingly obscure, and you just tapped into that so simply. Following this new link might lead to the driving force behind this FUBAR mission. I can follow this trail and get Silvio on the paper trail from his end. Damnit. You made it look so easy. That was awesome. Well done, Missy."

I smiled humbly, my lips pressed together. Tank had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. I was confused but also pleased with Rodriguez's praise. Obviously, I tapped into something important. It must be a military link, important since neither of them elucidated me on which aspect made such an impact on them, other than the new avenue.

Rodriguez was at his computer in three strides, typing furiously before he even sat down. Through his headset he was talking in rapid Spanish to Silvio. Probably a necessary thing with all the military aspects.

I grabbed a Post-It note and wrote: Passports?, handing it to Rodriguez. I figured that Silvio must have those. He looked at it and nodded, giving me a thumbs up with a big smile.

Before continuing with the from the whiteboard, I quickly set up the first search into on Viktor and a second search of KU Class of 24.

"Alrighty. You dive into that black hole and I'll fish around about these two. Okay. Let's have a look at you Viktor."

Again, I listed bullet points on the board with some queries to follow.

"Viktor Jacob Santiago Richardson. Viktor with a K. That's not the usual English spelling. Four names? That's unusual. Wealthy family? Catholic. Latino names. Mexican maybe South American. Richardson… Son of Richard. Sofia has Richards. Not Richardson. Is Sofia his mother? Sofia Maria Santiago Richards. That's curious. Same last parts, well, similar."

I circled the Santiago on both names in red. Underlining the Richards and Richardson, the last name, their surnames.

Before moving to my computer to explore the KU Class of 24 part, I wanted to think some more about the Santiago part. I wrote what first came to mind: "Santiago – family name? Married name? Previous marriage. Ooh. Richards… maybe a second marriage. Maybe one of those young South American brides. Venezuelan or Colombian mail order brides. Hmm. Married to a US widower? Gold digger? Seeking US citizenship? Green card?"

Tank looked at my list and mind mapping ideas radiating out, and nodded. "Interesting, very interesting, especially that part about mail order brides. I like how your mind works, Little Girl. As much as I would like to stay and watch, my presence would not be helpful. I'll be in my office. Just call me. I'll come to you."

"It's just off the top of my head. I'll have to run some more searches to validate any of these. Silvio is sending passport details."

As if on cue, the printer pushed out 2 pages with two passports for each name. While I placed them on the whiteboard with the magnets, I added a subsection titled Passports. "Two passports? False passports? Colombian and American. Are they both valid?"

At this rate, I'd need a bigger whiteboard! I quickly added their respective birth dates which were consistent on both passports. Viktor is 22 years old. I added that to my search parameters and waited.

Back at the whiteboard for a hypothetical consideration which I added in blue marker, instead of black. If Sofia was his mother, then she had to be very young when she had him. I calculated quickly to reason she must have been sixteen when Viktor was born, confirming that she was currently thirty eight years old, consistent with both passports. I added the ages onto my blue mind map component.

With the KU Class of 24 I sought a yearbook entry. Bingo. From school records, detailed by the Dean's office, it appears that young Viktor went by the name Viktor Jacob, who had been suspended for use of illicit drugs. Bad boy Viktor. Someone had tried to conceal his real identity. However, with the new search programs I found him! Twice again, under similar names. Viktor Jacob Santiago Rickman was the initial enrolment. Each of his identities confirmed use of illicit drugs on campus. Further digging found that he had to attend drug rehabilitation. He did not complete the course. He had chosen Biological Chemistry. Neither did he complete that course of study. Looking back at his high school results in Virginia, he scored high across all study areas, receiving a scholarship to Kansas University. I added the key details to the whiteboard.

I decided to venture into births in Colombia, since Sofia had a Colombian passport. I love these new search engines! She had frequent travels to Colombia, allegedly to visit family. After some more digging, I found that she was married to a Diego Santiago Ricardo Sanchez, and Viktor was their son. There was that Ricardo link again. Did she divorce him? By checking her American passport details, a new name popped up. The photos were very similar. Facial ID confirmed a match. I checked Marriages for a few states and eventually found her when I explored Virginian records. Her job history moved quickly and there she was, fast-tracked somehow as an American citizen. She married a wealthy widower, from Virginia within two years of her arrival. A widower of four years, Michael Henry Alan Rickman III. No divorce annulment was evident in any of my searches for Sofia. It appears he adopted her son and Viktor's surname changed from Sanchez to Rickman. There was that Snape association with the widower's name.

As I was updating the whiteboard with the final marriage and adoption details, Rodriguez was reading behind me. Suddenly he grabbed his phone, "Tank! STAT!"

I looked at my notes and the wild mind map now spread across the whiteboard. Rodriguez grabbed the purple marker as Tank came bolting through the door. Everywhere Rickman appeared he drew a purple box around it. Snape as well. Tank's concerned and serious face grew into a widening grin.

"Confirmation, Missy," Rodriguez beamed at me, "Confirmation with our data."

While he talking excitedly on the phone to Silvio, I turned to Tank and asked, "Who is this Michael Henry Alan Rickman the third? Is he important? You seem to know the relevance."

"Oh. Little Girl. You just struck gold. Pure gold."

oOoOo