Boston RangeMan Lobby
Stephanie
I, Stephanie Michelle Plum, have never been speechless before. I am a woman who is know for blurting things out, not remaining silent. My fights with Joe Morelli were epic. And my divorce from Dickie was public and at high volume.
But today is a day for the record books. When I got to the lobby, I was struck silent. The young man and his girlfriend stood next to Ramon, who also appeared to be wordless.
The boy's face was the image of Carlos. His coloring was lighter, he was overall thinner, and his eyes are a more startling color of green than even Lester Santos.
But I would have known him anywhere.
And frozen in silence.
Behind me, I heard Tank suck in his breath.
But of course, Tank knew Carlos when he was the age of this young man.
The girl spoke first.
"Are you the CEO of RangeMan?" I shook my head no.
The girl persisted, "We need to speak to your CEO." She nudged her friend. "Leo…"
Finally, the boy spoke. "Alexander Ramos recommended RangeMan."
I smiled at the sound of his voice; it too was familiar. "I am Stephanie. I am the CEO's fiancée. We have been waiting for you."
I saw the boy visibly relax, and I felt my eyes fill with tears and I swear I saw Tank wipe at his eyes. He was here. He was safe.
Thank God!
"Please, let's go upstairs. There is a great deal to speak about."
Leo
Leo and Rita had not stopped moving since leaving campus, so they had not eaten. As they sat down in the conference room with the very large bald black man and the curly haired white woman, Leo's stomach rumbled.
"Well, I think the first order of business is breakfast." The woman used the phone to request full breakfast for four as well as tea and coffee, then sat across the table from Leo and Rita. The man stood by the door.
"Well, I guess I will start and then you can fill us in on anything we don't know. I am Stephanie Plum, and I am engaged to Ricardo Carlos Manoso, who is the CEO of RangeMan. Alexander Ramos told us to expect you, that you had instructions to come here for help if you found yourself under threat, and the man standing behind you is Tank, who is a Core Team member and second in command at RangeMan."
"I am Leo Russo, and this is Rita Sheerin, my girlfriend. I… I really need to speak to Mr. Manoso. The person I would usually contact… I just found out he died… and yesterday, a man came to our campus looking for me, sort of."
"Sort of… like he is looking for who you used to be?"
Leo stiffened in his seat, looking visibly startled by the question.
"How did you know?"
"Okay, I am going to start at the beginning. Almost three years ago, Mr. Manoso, Carlos, and the team at RangeMan, along with folks from several federal agencies got wind of a threat coming from a branch of the Russian Mob. Carlos used his connections with the mob families in our area of New Jersey, specifically Trenton," Leo flinched at the mention of Trenton, but Ms. Plum acted as if she didn't notice, even though Leo was pretty sure she had. "Vito Grizzoli and Alexander Ramos have been working with the US government to prevent the Russians from getting a foothold in South Jersey and to find out why they were looking at our East coast. And we now know what they were interested in was finding you."
Leo's mouth opened and then closed again. Rita took his hand in her own.
"So, Leo, I am going to tell you all the things we know about you but the first thing you need to know is that we will protect you from the threat. No matter what else is true, that is our number one priority."
Rita asked, "Why, why is Leo so important? Is Mr. Ramos a big customer?"
At that moment, there was a knock on the door indicating their breakfast had arrived.
"Look, you guys should eat, and then we will take you to an apartment in the building where you can rest, and then I can tell you the rest of what we know."
Leo spoke then, "I'm hungry, but I really would feel better if we just get everything out now. What do you know about me… about who I was." He filled his plate and poured coffee and Rita did the same.
"I know you went into the custody of a woman who acted as your grandmother after your parents and brother died. She was at one time married to Alexander Ramos. We know that she was the one to bring you to your parents as an infant, and that she helped you get to know your biological mother's father… your grandfather… and that after your parents died, your grandfather had to stop visiting with you in order to avoid those who mean you harm from finding you through him. We know that Alexander Ramos helped set you up with a new identity, and that he hid you without telling your grandfather where, so that nobody in your grandfather's network could find you."
Leo stopped eating. "Did you know it was my fault my parents died? I did a DNA research project when I was 14 and that endangered my whole family… That I killed them, just like I killed my birth mother?"
Stephanie
Now I need to give him the details that nobody had shared before. This kid I just met. The son Carlos never knew. But he can't go on blaming himself…
"You didn't kill your mother. Your biological mother, Ana, was killed by her husband Felix after Salvatore Bava, who in another life was Nickoli, Felix's cousin and right-hand man, spirited you away after birth. The woman who served as your grandmother, Nickoli's aunt, told Felix you were a stillborn girl and believing this to be true, Felix hurt and killed your mother."
Rita had tears in her eyes and Leo's eyes are locked on mine. "So, my father didn't want me?"
"Your biological father, who was in love with your mother Ana, knew nothing about her pregnancy until recently. Ana had an affair while married to Felix and you were the result. When you vanished, Felix was angry he couldn't use you against your grandfather, and he took it out on Ana."
"Use me against my grandfather how?"
"Dmitri Smirnoff, your grandfather, was not in favor of Ana's wedding to Felix. He thought Felix married Ana to get to the resources of Smirnoff's business interests. He had cut them off, essentially, but Felix knew a child would change that. And he assumed it would keep Ana in line."
"My biological mother didn't die in childbirth?"
"No. As I said, her husband, who was a cruel man and a big time gun runner, killed her." Rita gasped, and Leo's tears fell now, and he shook a little. Rita's arms were around him. "We are going to give you a minute. There is more to the story but it can wait."
I motioned Tank and we left the room to give them some privacy.
Once back in the Core Team office we have been using, I told Tank it was time to call Carlos. He needed to know his child was here and safe. And he needed to know I was going to tell the young man everything. Because Leo had the right to know.
"What do you mean, Carlos isn't available, Lester? You are supposed to be with him today." After leaving a voicemail for Carlos, I called his cousin.
"Beautiful, I am working with Melvin and Charlotte today, so Bobby is with Ranger instead."
Something was fishy about Lester not being with Carlos. And he sounded off somehow… Like he was keeping something from me. So, I called Bobby.
"Bombshell, you can't speak to Ranger right now." I explained that it was urgent and told him why and he still refused me.
"Did you not hear what I just told you? His son is here at Boston RangeMan, he just walked in the front door. I need to talk to Carlos."
"Stephanie, he can't talk to you."
"Why not?"
For a minute, Bobby didn't say anything.
"ROBERT JEREMY BROWN JUNIOR- YOU NEED TO TELL ME RIGHT NOW WHAT IS GOING ON!" Yes, I was shouting. I felt a shiver run through me.
"He told me I couldn't tell you." Oh, I am going to kick my dear fiancé's ass when I got back to Virginia.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? HE told you not to tell ME?"
Tank touched my arm and indicated he wanted the phone on speaker, so I put Bobby on the speaker.
Tank asked, "Is he having the procedure now?"
Bobby didn't answer.
"WHAT PROCEDURE?" I was starting to panic.
"Little Girl, Ranger needed a cardiac ablation to regulate his heart rhythm."
"WWHHAATT?"
"It's why he couldn't come with me to Boston." Tank rubbed his hand over his head. "So Bobby, now you can tell us if Ranger is having the procedure now. I will take the heat for ratting him out since he should have been honest in the first place." And Bobby walked us through how the doctors were basically going to burn a part of his heart to see if they could fix his irregular heartbeat.
"We need to go home Tank." I felt like I couldn't catch my breath.
"We need to go back in the conference room and talk to those two terrified kids. Bobby is with Ranger. We need to be here. We will make arrangements for Leo and Rita and then we can leave. Because that's what Ranger would want from us."
"Bombshell- he is having the procedure now, then he will be in recovery for a couple of hours." Bobby spoke in a soft voice. "I promise I will let you know the minute he wakes up."
I need to get home- the urge was almost overwhelming, but Tank is right. We need to protect Leo and Rita. To do that, we need to know what happened today, that brought them to us.
"I am going to go back to Leo and Rita, take them upstairs and put them in the extra room in the penthouse. After they get some rest, we can talk some more. Tank- you work with the IT team to get them new identities so when they are ready, they can disappear. But I think we can move them to Virginia once their photos and prints are taken… Bobby- you need to let Carlos know I am going to kick his ass when I see him for lying to me. And tell Lester he's also got a beating coming. Because you all should have told me."
I walked back into the conference room and saw that both of them were exhausted and scared. And so young. "Okay, I have more questions and I am certain you do as well, but I am going to take you both to the Core Team Penthouse- I am in the master but there is a second bedroom with en-suite bath, where you guys can shower and get some sleep. You both look exhausted. This building is locked down. Nobody can get in without authorization, so you are safe here."
Leo's beautiful green eyes looked weary. "You know more than you've told us so far."
"There's more, but it can wait until after you slept and eaten again. You both look pretty worn out." Rita was nodding. "Grab your stuff and I'll take you upstairs."
God, they looked shell-shocked. When we got up to the penthouse, I gave them the tour then Leo went straight in for a shower.
Rita and I sat in the living room and she looked like she had a million questions.
"You can ask me anything." I encouraged.
"Can you really keep him safe?" Rita almost whispered.
"Absolutely."
After they showered, I got decent photos and fingerprints and then Rita said they would lie down and rest till dinner. "Finals week wiped us out. And then yesterday…"
"Yesterday can wait till later. Go and rest. I will be in the office off the dining room if you need anything. Dinner can be ready twenty minutes after I call for it."
I sat down at the desk and sent an update with the prints and photos to Hector. I also read the e-mail from Bobby that indicated the procedure went well, but talking to Ranger should wait until morning.
I had news for Bobby, Lester and Carlos- I planned to be in Virginia with Leo and Rita by tomorrow evening. It was time to put some space between us and the people looking for Leo.
