Chapter 91: Major Life Changes (And Five Calls with Ranger)
Steph’s POV
“Yo!”
“Yo! Are you safe?”
“I’m fine, Babe. You OK?”
“On 7, looking around. Can I make changes here?”
Silence, then, “No pink.”
I smile. “Wouldn’t have considered it, Batman.”
“Smart aleck.” Click.
I need a new project. I wonder what I can do that’s minor but puts my stamp on the place. I don’t want to do too much because I like the classy, quiet serenity of this place. I look around. My clothes are in his closet. Ella’s added another dresser just for my stuff. My shampoo is in his shower. My tampons are under his sink.
My Tastykakes are in his cabinets.
This place screams ‘Woman lives here!’ No, this place screams ‘Stephanie lives here!’
Hal’s thrilled to be home and back at the helm of RMTrenton. The monthly numbers come out in three days and he’s determined to keep his crown. Candy misses the warmth and the beach. Me too. Manny’s become my little shadow in the office and he spends his days either reading, napping, or playing in my office. Hector’s configuring servers for a new project and the server room isn’t the healthiest place for his son.
I still don’t want kids yet but I like Manny. He’s sweet and well-behaved. I told Mom and Dad I’d take the girls off their hands an afternoon or two a week and they were grateful. Angie’s trying to teach Manny his numbers up to 100 and she and MA like playing secretary, at least when MA isn’t being a horse.
Hal’s not shy about putting them to work. We even put them on the payroll and they were thrilled to get their first little checks. Val framed copies of them quietly and thanked Hal for hiring them.
She’s still not speaking to Ram.
Woody got permission to take them riding once a week at a stable he goes to in Pennsylvania and MA has been thrilled. I didn’t know Woody rode but he said that ‘You can take the boy outta Texas but you can’t take Texas from his blood’. Woody’s teaching her the basics of how to ride. After a few trips, Angie decided to stick with me.
“Horses stink,” she said.
So between working, gymnastics, and horse riding lessons, the girls have active days, which is great. I never realized how bad it was for them at home. Angie tells me that my sister is whining all the time about working and Albert is ignoring her. He’s tried to explain but she’s unhappy and unwilling to listen. She simply wants to be at home and the girls admit that Albert’s tried.
He called a family meeting to discuss their allowances, to explain the family budget, and to explain why they can’t do certain things. I was curious so I asked Angie to demonstrate. She created little pie pieces, like Albert, to explain how some money goes to one thing while other money goes elsewhere.
The girls gave Albert their checks but he told them to keep them. He helped them open savings accounts at the bank. They save part of their money and they get to spend the rest. I mentally applauded my brother-in-law. He’s trying but it’s not enough.
Discussions about money always lead to fights, she said, eating one of Ella’s warm cookies.
NYC almost tipped Trenton.
Danny is having fits that Atlanta dropped to third but they haven’t done anything obviously wrong. NYC has simply rebounded. With Jorge pulling in amazing contracts, Javi watching everything closely, and the entire NYC crew doing their best to show that they’re the best branch at RangeMan, they simply pulled ahead this month.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit with Combined Securities is chugging along. Les is watching closely because he expects to bankrupt the firm and take their contracts and men. The contracts will be divided between Trenton and NYC and the money will go straight to the reserves. The men will be placed on RangeMan probation and allowed to join the company if they meet standards.
Les was thrilled and so is Bobby. Atlanta is closing in on NYC again and Hal’s nervous. With Hal back in-house, Ram’s been able to hunt down more contracts for service, so he’s pulling back good contracts, but the Trenton men refuse to give up their title.
I thought about what Diego said, about RangeWorld being one big dick-measuring contest, and laughed. Manny’s main goal was to be able to file paperwork in a more efficient manner. I saw this as a possible outcome but not at this level. RangeWorld has taken on a life of its own. The guys love talking mess in RangeWorld and the HR seminars are gaining a lot of chatter. The men in each branch, especially the southern ones, seem really embarrassed by their scores and committed to improving them.
Tank had to post a special message that the numbers weren’t about beating someone’s scores. Every man needed to take a look inside his heart and really consider how he treated the women in his life and women in general. Each man was advised to send his mother a bouquet out of the blue and see what kind of response they got.
The responses to that were sober. The discussion in RangeWorld switched to how suspicious their mothers were, which Candy used to generate a new discussion regarding how the men treat women. It’s become really interesting and eye-opening for the men. The ones high in hostile sexism are finding that the attitude isn’t appreciated around the company.
I don’t know if it’s truly making a difference, but I do know that the XOs say that the men are making a point: if you don’t treat your mother that way, extend that courtesy to every woman you know.
My talks with the company leadership are going pretty well too. Danny reports that he and Mark have started the leadership training program and it’s going well. Junior, Woody and Vince were chosen to participate and I’ve seen their faces after a session with Hal. They look flabbergasted.
“Eye opening?” I ask Woody.
He grimaces. “I never want Hal’s job.”
“That’s what Hal said he said to himself during the test period.” I smile at Woody. “That’s what I said when I got a good look at Ranger’s full workload.”
“Yo!”
“Yo! Are you safe?”
“I’m fine, Babe. You OK?”
“On 7, looking around. Can I paint the walls?”
“No pink.”
“I know.” Click.
“What do you think, Rex?” Rex couldn’t care less. He’s running for the gold medal right now and, if I’m not mistaken, Rex has lost some weight. Ella’s been feeding him. I’m not surprised.
Ella fed me a vegan meal and I ate all of it. Whatever she’s been feeding Rex he must like. His food bowl is empty.
I’ve added one photo to the walls of our bedroom.
Me and Ranger caught on a surveillance camera. We’re in the alley behind the bonds shop. No idea how the RangeMen had this picture, but I don’t care.
Ram’s right: A blind man could see we love each other. Ranger’s picking spaghetti out of my hair.
My return to Trenton was uneventful, but that changed pretty quickly.
I remember ML telling me about a STD outbreak in Trenton and I shuddered. Soon after I returned home, it broke out again. Everyone was flabbergasted but Lula was able to solve the puzzle for everyone.
Joyce.
Chief Dixon came to see me my second day at home and explained the situation. I was stunned and, for the first time in my life, I felt sorry for Joyce. I still hate her but I felt sorry for laughing at her when I heard Harry had forced her into prostitution. I agreed to allow Joyce to be placed in a RangeMan safe house and I decided to go try to talk to Harry. Who knows what might happen?
That was two days ago. The guys finally decided on a safe house this morning (they had to find a local one no one knew about), so I drive to Pennington and ring Harry’s doorbell. A man answers. Suit (with a gravy stain on the lapel), tie (another gravy stain), Italian mob. He barely fits into the suit.
He looks worse than Joe. At least Joe merely looks like a pit boss. This guy looks like a Godfather reject.
“Who are you?” Heavy Sicilian accent.
“Stephanie Plum. Is Harry here?”
He peers at me. “Whaddya want with the Boss?”
“Business.” I try to look around him, but he fills the entire doorway.
“Business hours start at . . . did you say Plum?”
I nod. “Yeah. I’m Vinnie the Pervert’s cousin. The bounty hunter.” His eyes widen. “I’m not here on bounty hunting business. I’m here about something else. Can you ask him if he can meet with me really quick?”
The door is shut in my face and I wait. Five minutes later, the door opens and Harry himself is smiling at me. “Stephanie!” I get a hug. “Good to see you.”
“Thanks, Harry. FYI, there are two unmarked cars two houses away on each side,” I whisper.
He looks out and his eyes widen. “Thank you, little girl. Come in.”
I step inside and wait in the foyer. Harry closes the door and nods me into a living room right off the front door. A maid comes in with coffee and biscotti and we take a moment to make polite chitchat (yes, I’m doing well at RangeMan; no, I hadn’t considered coming back to Vinnie’s yet) before I get to the purpose of my visit.
“Harry, I’m here about Joyce.”
His eyebrows rise. “Interesting. I didn’t know you had an interest in her.” He smiles. “I was under the impression you two weren’t friends.”
I sigh. “We’re not but—”
“Then you wouldn’t really be interested in sticking your nose in my business dealings.”
I stare at Harry for a moment before responding. “Nope, I wouldn’t.” He nods smugly. “But I am going to give you an alternate scenario.”
He stares at me before waving. “Go on.”
“At this moment, RangeMan is moving Joyce into one of our safe houses.” His eyes widen and he puts the coffee cup down, clearly angry. I hold up my hand. “I considered it the best decision possible. After all, Joyce has no loyalty to anyone. When the investigator from the RWJF showed up at her door, she couldn’t wait to start talking about how and why she was a prostitute. The Craigslist ad can be traced back to your home computer. She hasn’t named you yet, but she will give you and Marvin up eventually.”
“How do you know about Marvin?” he asks quietly.
I stare at Harry. “She has no loyalty to anyone. At the moment, the cops have you on sex trafficking and extortion. Trenton PD is desperate to regain its reputation and putting you in jail, on these charges, would do it. They would be putting the ringleader in jail and making themselves look better after ignoring the prostitution trade in Trenton for so long. So”—I lean forward—”I’m proposing a deal. I’ll convince Joyce to leave town, hell, leave the state, and you let go of her debt.”
Harry sits back. “$15,000 is not a small amount of money. I could simply move Joyce and set her up somewhere else.”
I nod. “You could, except now there’ll be a bunch of eyes watching Joyce to see if she’s re-infected. How is she supposed to get you your money? How will you keep her in line? How –”
“Been talking to the streetwalker, huh?” Harry says, amused.
I shrug. “Lula knows more about this stuff than I do. She tells me that once you’ve been identified as having an STD, the health department likes to keep an eye on you. Risky behaviors and previous infection? They want to make sure you stay healthy, even if you’re trickin’. Joyce will always be under watch.”
Harry is quiet. The maid comes back and refills our coffee. He makes a motion to her and she closes the door behind her, the first time this visit.
“Fine, Stephanie. Let’s talk business.”
“Hi, Vinnie!”
Zip and Hal are with me and it was a fight to limit the entourage to just them. Everyone back at Haywood wants to see this discussion. I’m sure the video is being watched live.
“Steph! For Christ’s sakes, I’m bleeding—” Vinnie stops as I smirk at him. “What do you want?” He asks as we take our seats. “I’m not hiring you. I have a BEA and I can’t afford two.”
“I know. I talked to Harry.”
“Jesus Christ! Is everyone talking to Harry now? Harry’s just keeping open office hours now?” Vinnie grouses.
“Nah, not really. He and I had similar interests.”
“Oh yeah?” He thinks about that for a moment and pales. “Like what?” he asks, swallowing hard.
“Like the fact that you need to stay alive and Joyce has got to go.”
“So what does that have to do with me?” Vinnie asks, clearly suspicious.
I smile. “Well, you did give me my first BEA job—”
“Your only BEA job, thanks a lot.”
I roll my eyes. “And as much as you whined, you never lost money with me. So I decided to repay the favor by saving your life.” Vinnie is silent. “I bought a 25% stake in Vincent Plum Bail Bonds from Harry.”
“WHAT!” Vinnie yells, hurtling to his feet. His chair tips over behind him and he sits back down, unaware. He ends up landing hard on the floor and the chair hits him in the head. I can feel Zip and Hal both grunt, trying not to laugh.
“Need some help?” I ask.
“No,” Vinnie says. He picks his chair back up, sits, and looks at me, his hands shaking. “You bought how much?”
“25%. My personal slice of Plum Bail Bonds. RangeMan bought 50%. You own the last 25%.” Vinnie is pale. Being owned by Ranger both excites and scares him. Being owned by me? Scary. “Since I’ve been on both sides of the desk, as a bounty hunter and as an owner, I’m ready to make some changes.” I stand and look around. “I intend to expand this place. After all, if RangeMan owns it, it has to make money.” I look at Vinnie and smile. “I don’t do anything for RangeMan that doesn’t make money.”
Vinnie is silent. Hal and Zip are fighting smiles.
“That’s why I brought Hal and Zip along. Hal is the head of the Trenton branch now”—Vinnie’s eyes bug out—”and Zip is the head of bonds enforcement. So say hello to your new bosses.”
Vinnie is stock still. Hal and Zip smile evilly. I pick up my purse and walk to Vinnie’s door. “So I expect you three to work out the expansion and your new role, Vinnie. By the way, Connie’s position won’t change but she’ll be in charge of writing the bonds from now on. I’m sure Zip intends to keep you busy hunting down criminals.” I turn to Zip. “Make sure he gets a full course on all the state laws, rules, and regulations.” I look at Vinnie. “You know, the stuff you should have taught me when you hired me. I was your employee. It was your job to teach me what I needed to know.”
“Ranger was your mentor—”
“You were my boss. A mentor is not legally responsible but a boss is,” I finish. “You let me run around for years not knowing the rules and regs. Hal taught me everything the first two months on the job. Anyway, that’s not important now.” I turn to Zip. “Make sure he knows. If I have to go sit through this class to renew my license, he better know as much as I do.”
“No problem,” Zip says, amused.
I walk out of Vinnie’s office and smile. Connie is looking at me, all smiles. “So my job . . .”
I nod for her to follow me out of the door. “Won’t change really. A pay raise. You’ll be in charge of writing the bonds.” I shrug. “The only real thing that will change is that Vinnie works. That was Harry’s demand.”
Connie laughs. “What did you do, Steph?”
“I made Harry an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
I return to the office and hit 5 to the sound of applause.
“Beautiful job, Steph,” Ram says. “Vinnie’s crying.”
“Hal? Zip?”
“Enjoying every moment of Vinnie’s humiliation. They just told him porn is strictly prohibited on RangeMan computers unless he welcomes a visit from Hector.”
I laugh and head to my office. Manny’s just waking up from his nap and Ella smiles at me. She closes her book, points to my desk, and waves goodbye.
“Les?”
“How’d he take the news, Beautiful?”
“Ram says he’s crying.” Manny climbs into my lap the moment I sit. His curls are gone. Hector took him for a haircut. I almost want to cry.
I hear Les laugh. “OK. The lawyers are writing the contract and I’ve ordered Ryan to Trenton to examine the books. If everything is good and the books are clean, we’ll close.”
“Good. Harry’s nervous. He wants Joyce gone as quickly as possible and he needs the money.”
“Good job throwing him over a barrel, Steph.”
“Thanks. Connie?” Someone left me two Boston Creams and a large coffee. I love them, whoever they are. Manny stares at the doughnuts curiously, so I give him a piece and watch his eyes get bigger and bigger.
“Remains employed. Give her a raise, make sure she’s signed up for our benefits and 401(k) if she wants to participate. Just make sure Vinnie’s butt gets out there and starts working.”
“OK. I expect Hal and Zip to make a lot of changes. They’re watching the numbers. Getting a slice of Les Sebring’s pie will do it.”
Manny slides from my lap and runs from my office, yelling for his tío, and I see Luis pick him up and carry him to the stairwell. I text Hec that Manny is on his way.
Les laughs. “I’ll tell Hal to be prepared to have Sebring’s pretty legs dancing into his office in a fit.” Click.
I’m smiling. I already told Hal that and confirmed that Les Sebring does have nice legs. Hal rolled his eyes and asked me why I thought he might want to know about Les Sebring’s legs.
My desk has two pictures on it. The first is a picture of my partner with his son. It’s the picture from the beach, with Manny asleep on his tío’s chest, looking as if he knocked Hec out for the count. It’s so incredibly cute and it’s really Hector at his best. The loving uncle. The fierce protector. The really handsome young man. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that Hec’s younger than me.
The other picture is of me and Ranger. He’s in black SWAT and is wearing mirrored shades but his mouth is quirked in an almost smile. I’m next to him, in a thin t-shirt and baggy jeans. My hair is loose and wild and my arm is bandaged. My jacket is tied around my waist and my purse is slung across my body. I’m twisted around to look at the car behind me and his hand is on my back, moving me forward.
A burning car is behind us, the red and orange flames framing our bodies. I’m wondering how many surveillance cameras we can be seen on.
“Yo!”
“Yo! Are you safe?”
“I’m fine. How’s Trenton?”
“Normal. Major STD outbreak here.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Joyce.”
“Nasty.”
“That’s what I said.”
Laughter. “No pink.”
Sigh. “Ranger, I’m not going to paint the walls pink, but if I did, how bad would it really be?”
“Bad.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like Pepto.”
Neither do I. “Peach.”
Silence. “Paint the walls pink, Babe.”
“Really?”
“I dislike peach more.”
“What’s your favorite color?”
Hesitation. “Navy.”
“Really? Then why all the black?”
“Uniform color. Doesn’t show dirt, wear or tear. Plus, if you’re injured or shot, black doesn’t show blood. You can pretend not to be affected.” Click.
Ranger’s life is definitely not like mine.
I added a second picture to the walls. Me, Ranger and Julie from Julie’s graduation. It’s not like Julie’s a secret in this branch and I live here now.
We should be on the walls. All three of us.
I swing by ML’s house for my next stop. I decided to include ML because I can rarely stay calm in Joyce’s presence and, one-stop STD shop or not, Joyce might piss me off enough to kill her.
“Hey.” We hug and I pull off and hit NJ-33 to East Windsor. Zero is in the backseat looking amused. “That’s Zero.”
ML smiles. “Right. I’ve heard about you.”
“Really?” Zero says, frowning. “How?”
“Mr. Plum.” Zero rolls his eyes and smiles. “You and Vince speak Italian and all the men at the VFW know it.”
“Ah.”
ML twists back around. “OK, what’s up, Steph? Where are we headed?”
“We’re going to see Typhoid Mary,” I reply, and I hear Zero cough in the back seat. ML starts laughing.
“The one woman plague?”
“Yeah. I need you with me because if you don’t come, I might kill her.”
ML sits back. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
It takes me 20 minutes to reach East Windsor. I run a few cleaning sweeps, just in case we were followed, and Zero directs me to the safe house. I look at the area and shake my head. “Geez, did you guys put her in our best safe house?”
“Nah, but we did put her in the one we thought would get the least attention.”
I park in the driveway and look around. East Windsor is a quiet neighborhood filled with Joyce’s favorite kind of men: rich and powerful ones. I see sexy, successful single men walking dogs and picking up their mail and I wave. They smile at me, step one in getting me to come over. ML and I look at each other and smile.
“Water, water everyone and not a drop to drink,” ML whispers. I giggle and head to the townhouse currently housing Joyce. I ring the doorbell and wait.
The door is opened by Joyce in a tight tank top and a tiny pair of shorts. Any shorter and they would be underwear. “Stephanie.”
“Joyce. Can we come in?”
She snorts. “Do I have a choice?”
I step in, Zero and ML right behind me. “Not really, but I thought I might be polite enough to pretend you do.” I take a seat on the couch and stare at her.
Joyce has aged in the six months since I left her in the Pine Barrens. She looks older and tired and pained. Her hair has been pulled back into a simple ponytail and her face doesn’t have any makeup. Not even mascara. I feel sorry for her again but I keep thinking karma got her and got her bad.
“I’ll make this trip short and sweet. I made a deal with Harry.” She stares at me. “In exchange for you leaving New Jersey entirely and never coming back, Harry will forgive the debt.”
“And if I don’t leave?”
“How’s your butt feeling?”
ML covers her face to keep from laughing. Zero grunts. Joyce stares at me. “It’s not funny.”
“No, it’s not. You laughed at me for not being a fan of anal. Now you know why. You laughed at Lula for years, calling her a fat ‘ho, a tramp, diseased, and everything under the sun. Now?” I shrug. “Lula never caught any diseases. She was always clean. You infected half of Trenton.”
I lean forward. “Right now, most of Trenton wants you dead. Before, you ruined people’s lives one on one. One marriage here, one relationship there. Now?” I sit back and stare at her. “Because of you, town secrets have been revealed. Cops have been fired or demoted. Ministers, teachers, nurses, doctors, all put on probation or suspended. Some people are truly innocent. They were loyal partners who got infected because their partner brought it home. Other people got infected because of their own actions, yeah, but you infected hundreds of people. Everyone in Trenton knows who was sleeping with everyone else now and they’re pissed. There’s a lot of people who want to see you dead, Joyce.”
Joyce just stares at me. I stand up and look out of her windows. “Right now, I’m protecting you from the Mob and from everyone in Trenton. I don’t have to do it. I could kick you out of this place right now and whatever happens, happens. But even you don’t deserve that.” I turn back around and face her. “Your choice. I’d prefer to see you go to the other end of the country, but you have 24 hours to make a decision and you have to be gone by the end of the month. I’ll arrange movers but I never want to see you again. You come back and whoever gets you is welcome to you.”
“What about holidays? Family gatherings?” Joyce stares at me. “What if I’m called to testify here?”
“If you have to testify at trial, let RangeMan know in advance so we can put you under protection for the duration of the trial. Otherwise?” I stare at her. “Whatever happens, happens. You can chance it if you want. But don’t move back. If you move back the deal is off and Harry’s going to come looking for you.” Joyce shudders. “Yeah. So we have a deal or not?”
Joyce’s jaw is clenched but she finally nods. “Deal.”
I nod. “Call RangeMan with your destination. Continental US only, Joyce.” I look at Zero. “Can you coordinate her treatment with RWJF?”
He nods. “We’re already working together on it.” He stares at Joyce. “Don’t miss any doses.”
“Yo!”
“Yo. Are you safe?”
“Yeah, Babe. I’m fine. You?”
“On 7. I gave Hector permission to let you in for 24 hours.”
“Thanks, Babe.” I’m imagining the glee in his voice because I can’t hear it. As always, Ranger is calm, but I remember the way he looked at that laptop when we were in Sarasota. He was desperate to look around. “Anything I need to know?”
“You own 50% of Plum Bail Bonds now.”
The line is quiet. “Vinnie has to be deloused and neutered.”
I laugh. “Why?”
“Babe.”
“Words.” I start my watch timer.
“Vinnie?” Thirty seconds. He’s getting faster. I tell Ranger about my deal with Harry. “So you bought a controlling stake in Plum Bail Bonds, which gave Harry his money back.”
“Right.”
“So now you own Joyce?”
“Right.”
“And we own Vinnie?”
“Yup.”
“Harry?”
“Has wanted out of the business for a while. Us owning the bonds shop solves a lot of problems for him.”
The line is quiet again. “I don’t see how buying the bonds shop gets us Joyce.”
I sigh. “I pointed out that the cops were going to come after him because Joyce would give him up. So I bought Vinnie and got Joyce for free as long as she kept her mouth closed and ‘disappeared’. Of course, Harry’s definition of ‘disappeared’ is different from mine, but just because I’m a RangeWoman doesn’t mean I’m going to whack someone for him. RangeMan might be black ops, but we aren’t murderers.”
Ranger is quiet for a moment. “Right, Babe,” he says quietly. “Glad to see you haven’t changed.”
I get comfortable on the couch and sigh. “Yeah, I’m not willing to kill Joyce because she infected Trenton. I don’t like Joyce, never will, but I felt guilty for laughing when I heard Harry had forced her to become a prostitute. I thought about Lula and, although I don’t exactly know how she became a prostitute, I’m sure that wasn’t her first choice for a career. So I figured, well, this is the kind of thing we do, right? We right wrongs when we can, right?”
“Right.”
“So, I tried to think of a way to make this work for everyone and I finally found it. Harry’s having some cash flow problems, so we just made him whole. He would have made more money with Joyce but I pointed out that he’s a horrible pimp. His ‘ho infected the town and attracted official attention. He’d never be able to pimp her out again without moving her far away.”
Thank God for Lula. She helped me create that argument. I hear Ranger snort in amusement.
“Joyce is out of my life permanently now. I’ll never have to wonder if she plans to screw me over or what she’s trying to steal from me ever again. Vinnie has to get off his lazy ass and work again but having me as a boss protects him, although he didn’t see it that way. Harry owned every aspect of his life. Now Harry’s just his father-in-law again. No additional leverage and we get to test out the idea Mack had, owning low bonds shops and using them as a front for RangeMan. That’s as many wins as I could get out of it.”
Another extended silence. “I’m almost afraid of what the men have taught you, Babe.” Twenty seconds.
“Why?”
“I’ve always known you were devious, but that was brilliant.”
I shrug. “I just wanted her gone. She’s caused heartache and drama all her life, but I thought about Lula. If I’d ever been in a position to help Lula out like I did for Joyce, I would have. I did when I could and she’s been a great friend to me for years. I don’t ever expect to be friends with Joyce, wouldn’t trust her if she suggested it, but . . . ” I shrug again, even though I know Ranger can’t see it. “I guess this was one last act of kindness on my part. I get rid of her and do something nice at the same time.” I grin. “Plus, I now own Vinnie.”
It takes Ranger a long time to respond but, finally, I hear, “Proud of you, Babe.”
I’m losing my mind. I have to get out.
I tell Hector I’m going to run to Pino’s and grab a meatball sub. Hector raises an eyebrow.
“OK, let me get Mijo and we’ll go.”
I huff. “I wanted to go by myself, Hector.”
Hector laughs. “Not a chance, Angelita.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Hec.”
Hector stops laughing. “I’m not your babysitter. I’m your partner. My job is to be at your back like it’s your job to be at mine. Besides, it’s lunchtime and Mijo might like some pizza.”
My shoulders slump. “Right. Fine. OK. I’ll wait in the garage.”
I turn to leave but I feel Hector’s hand on my shoulder. “Just because we’re no longer in Miami doesn’t mean the threat is gone, Angelita. Someone was up here asking lots of questions about you. You know that. They know this is home for you. Don’t give them an easy target.”
“Hey, Tony!”
“Stephanie!” Tony comes from behind the counter to hug me. I smell sweat, oregano and heat and I feel home again. “How’s it going? Haven’t seen you here in a while.” He goes back behind the counter. “Joey!”
“Yeah!”
“Serve Stephanie what she wants on the house!”
“It’s not necessary, Tony.” I’m dancing like Snoopy inside.
“Yes, it is.” Tony smiles at me. “It’s been a while since you were here. Gotta remind my best customer why she needs to stop in more.”
I grin and order two meatball subs and water for me and Hector and a personal pepperoni pizza and milk for Manny. I wave at Joey and turn around.
Hec and Manny have already taken a seat, but the entire room is filled with cops and firefighters. The best of Trenton’s public servants. My respect for them is gone, since Lula told me about their actions with her, but they are my childhood buddies. They’ve always shown up to save my life, so I still like them as people.
I wave at the guys and head back to the table, but the cries of “Steph! Come on, stop over here for a moment,” have me waving at Hec. He nods so I head over to the cops’ table.
Carl, Big Dog, Robin and Picky are at one table and I crouch between Carl and Big Dog. “Hey, guys! What’s going on?”
“Same as usual, Steph,” Robin says. “By the way, congrats on the outstanding PT score. How’d you do it?”
I laugh. “With RangeMen training me? Are you kidding? You think they allowed me to slack off anywhere?” She and I laugh but the guys are quiet.
“Gotta say, Steph, still kinda hard to believe you made those kinda scores. You hate running,” Carl says.
I’m pissed by that but I shrug. “The guys taped all of it. I buckled down, trained hard, and just gave it my best. I have another monthly assessment coming up soon.”
“Monthly assessment?” Picky asks, leaning forward.
“Yeah,” I reply. “RangeMen are checked for health and weight each month. No gaining weight, no slacking off, no deciding you don’t want to work out that day. You better be dead or dying to skip the gym.”
Men around the room are quiet. Robin is smiling. “Steph, what’s the requirement for women?”
“Thinking of joining the dark side?”
She laughs. “Nah, but I’m curious. Maybe I’ll start working out at the RangeMan level.”
I nod. “It’s intense. Standards call for passing Basic PT at 70%. Army standards if you never served. The standards of the branch you served under if you’re former military. And 70% is considered slacking. 70% is considered piss poor at RangeMan. I’m not sure if they’ll reduce standards slightly for women, but I decided to do it at standard requirements.”
Big Dog laughs a little. “Knowing that the minimum is 70% makes it even harder to believe you passed at 80%. You don’t like to run or sweat, Steph.” Men around the room all laugh and chuckle quietly and I decide to make this hurt.
I stare at Big Dog for a while. “First, average passing score at RangeMan Trenton is around 78%. The men here don’t slack and they had Ranger in house for four years. They pushed themselves to imitate him. Ranger passes at 92%.”
I hear whistles and a few men whisper ‘Shit!’ I stand.
“Second, I’m in charge until he returns. Standards weren’t going to slip just because a woman was in charge. You’re right. I don’t like running or sweating, but I’m doing Ranger’s job. I have to show that no one gets a pass just because a woman’s in charge.”
I look at Big Dog. “So what’s up with this STD outbreak I’ve heard about? That’s all anyone’s talked to me about since I returned home.”
Carl and Big Dog immediately turn red. So does Picky. Robin starts grinning.
“Oh, you should have been here when it first started, Steph,” she says.
“Really?”
“I don’t think we need to talk about this now,” Carl says hastily. “After all, Steph, I thought RangeMan helped the PD out with the investigation so I’m sure you’ve heard all about it.”
I smile. “Nope. I was in Boston then in Miami dealing with a huge issue there. I heard nothing until I started getting the gossip calls. If the guys know anything, they haven’t told me and I prefer that. I prefer not to get involved in branch matters. Besides, I heard it affected the Burg the hardest. I know everyone in the Burg. I’d hate to look at someone and wonder if they were infected too.”
“Well,” Robin says, still looking at Carl and Big Dog, “the infection spread around the Burg like wildfire. Doctors, teachers, ministers, cops, everyone was involved.”
“Cops?” My eyes widen. I look at Carl. “Not you guys too! Are you OK?”
“We’re fine, Steph,” Carl answers quietly.
“Wow . . . who’s running the book on it?” No answer. Robin is clearly enjoying this moment. None of the officers within hearing are looking at me. “Oh, come on guys! Finally! There’s a disaster going on that doesn’t involve me. I want in the book. Is Eddie running it this time or is it an internal cop pot?”
“This isn’t funny, Steph,” Picky says angrily. “This is involving a lot of good cops, a lot of good men who have defended this city—”
“And laughed their asses off at every one of my misfortunes,” I finish. I look at every cop in Pino’s. Hector is listening quietly, hiding a smile. “You guys laughed at me, in my face, for years. You thought everything that happened to me was hilarious, but I didn’t. I laughed to hide the fact that I was upset.” Robin sits back with a satisfied smile on her face. “Now something’s going on just as horrible as all my disasters and there’s no book? Is it because you’re men? Or because it’s not funny?”
I notice Joey delivering my meatball subs and Manny’s pizza to my table. “Let me know who’s running book and what the wager and odds are. I want in. I finally get to laugh at something that’s not funny for once.” I pat Big Dog and Carl on the back and join Hector and Manny at our table.
Hector smiles and leans over. “Keep it up and we won’t let you loose on the public anymore,” he whispers.
I decide to go offline for a little while on Sunday and head to Quakerbridge Mall.
It doesn’t last long.
First, Hal pops up saying he wants to get Candy a new bottle of perfume. He decides to follow me around until we run into Woody, who needs a new winter coat.
Ram is looking for a birthday card for his mom.
Vince wants a new Vince Flynn thriller. I point out that Barnes and Nobles is across the street and he shrugs and says he wants to pick up a new pair of shoes at Champs.
Hector is running low on Issey Miyake again (I purchased a bottle for him) and we join Vince across the street at B&N. I buy the latest trashy Harlequin, Vince gets his book, and Hector purchases multiple books for Manny that could be picked up at the B&N closest to Nikki in Atlanta. We have lunch at a nearby restaurant and everyone else leaves, leaving me alone with Hector.
I turn to Hector. “Perhaps I’m not clear on how offline works.”
Hector has a hard look on his face. “Clearly you’re not. If you are in a safe place or headed to a safe place, offline means we leave you alone.” He directs me to the exit. “Going offline to go to the mall, which is an open area with no security from which you could be kidnapped or shot, means that we all show up to shadow you until you move to an area of safety.”
I stare at Hector and sigh. Damn.
“Ranger went offline to my apartment all the time.” Ha! Defend that, Hec.
“Which was a contained area where he could defend all points of egress.” Hector shrugs. “An amateur could break into your apartment but it was contained. Ranger could defend it.” He motions across the street at the mall. “How do you defend in a mall? Multiple points of entrance and exit, baddies and innocents who could get hurt if an encounter turned deadly”—Hector turns to me—”and right now, the two individuals wanted most in the op are together in one hard-to-defend area. Exactly how does this help Ranger end this faster?”
Damn. Hector and his freakin’ logic.
“We went to Pino’s.”
“Full of cops,” he replies. Fuck! There’s just no winning.
“So I’ll never get to go offline?”
Hector stares at me. “You can go offline as long as you are headed somewhere safe.”
Oh. Hector and I climb into my Miata and return to Haywood. I spread my clothes out on the bed. The phone rings.
“Yo.”
“Yo. Are you safe?”
“Yeah, Babe. I’m fine.”
The line is quiet. I don’t know where to go from here. “Say something.”
“Like what, Stephanie?” I cringe. Stephanie. This is going to be a bad conversation. “The only thing I’ve asked of you, in regards to this op, was to stay with the guards. I gave you confidential information so you would understand the threat, allowed you to listen to the recordings so you would know. I authorized Hector to fill you in on what I know so far. And what happens? You run around without the guard. I don’t know what to say. What do I have to tell you in order for you to understand that these people will kill you and Hector, Steph? What words do I need to give you so you understand?”
I’m clenching my jaw to avoid saying something really mean. “I don’t need you to speak to me as if I’m a child, Ranger.”
“I’m not trying to. I’m frustrated and I’m pissed, Steph. I’m trying to keep you out of this op but you seem damned and determined to attract killers and gang members to blow your fucking head off. I don’t understand why.”
I’m staring at the walls. I’m sick of the guard. I’m sick of never getting to control my day. I’m sick of not getting a chance to make my own decisions about going places. I’m sick of feeling like I need a fucking babysitter.
“This is the reality of my life, Stephanie,” Ranger says coldly. “You said you understood. You said you could handle it.”
“I can—”
“No, you can’t. You aren’t. You’re acting as if we have you in a glass cage and we’re poking you with a fucking stick. For fuck’s sake, Steph, what words do I have to give you to help you understand!? I need to know.”
My breath is coming in short, angry puffs. “No one else is under guard like this—”
“Hector is under guard as much as you are. Have you asked your partner how he’s coping? Hector’s not running around making a target of himself except where you are concerned. If something happens to Hec because he’s trying to keep you alive, how do you plan to explain that to Mijo?”
I feel punched in the gut. “That’s a low blow, Ranger.”
“No, it’s not. Manny’s under guard in Boston. Morelli’s under guard in Boston. Everyone they’re searching for is under guard and only moving around with a partner. Only you seem determined to ditch yours.” I hear Ranger exhale. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You’re running around without a guard.”
“First, this is my op. I understand the risks and I’m being careful. Second, I’m chipped.”
“What?” I’m confused.
“I have a tracking chip in my body. If something happens to me, Hector and the guys can retrieve my body. That’s my guard but even I’m not running around as much anymore. I’m hiding out too.”
I’m silent. I don’t know what to say either. It was a stupid thing to do. Ranger’s right. I could never explain to Mijo why his beloved uncle is dead and it was entirely my fault.
“I’m sorry, Ranger. I’ll stay under guard,” I tell him softly.
Silence. “The problem, Steph, is that you broke your promise to me.” I swallow hard. “You promised to stay under guard until I finished this op. I believed you. Now? I’m wondering what you’re up to again. I’m wondering if you’re with your partner or running around solo trying to go to the mall or to Pino’s.”
I feel tears and I refuse to acknowledge them.
“I’ve gone out of my way to ensure the men respect your authority and allow you to make the decisions on your movements because you promised me you wouldn’t run around undefended. Now? Let’s just say I’m not overriding Hector’s decisions in regards to your authority anymore.” Silence. “Te amo, Babe.”
“I know, Ranger.” The line is silent. “I’ll stay with Hector, Ranger,” I tell him softly. “Lo siento.”
“Tu me vuelves loca haciendo cosas asi. Por favor, cuidate.” Click.
I lie back on the pillows and ignore the tears. I ignore dinner and only Manny’s appearance, asking me to play cars with him, gets me out of the bed. Hector is quiet, watching the network.
“Am I under guard again?”
Hector is silent.
“Hec?”
He looks at me. “Angelita, I love you, but I love me more.” My eyes drop to the floor. “I love me more because I love Mijo most. If I have to choose between you and my son, unfortunately for you, you lose.”
I nod. I understand.
“Are you going to be under guard? No, you don’t have to be. You could say that you will respect our partnership and stop putting yourself in positions that will require Mijo to come first for me.” My jaw clenches. “I respect our partnership. When I move away from you, I let you know. When I’m not going to be around, I let you know what arrangements I’ve made for your safety. You’ve passed RangeMan standards, yes, but this op has put the entire company at a security level we haven’t been at in years. Your safety is important but you believe it’s not.” He sighs. “I don’t know how to help you.”
“Help me what?”
Hector looks at me hard. “Help you understand that your life is important even when it’s not in danger.”
“Yo!”
“Yo? Is that an appropriate way to answer the phone, Stephanie?”
I sigh. “Hi, Mom.” Conversations with Mom have been difficult lately. Grandma’s gone back to Florida and she said very little before she left. I think Ram’s words really hurt her but I couldn’t say that he was wrong. Ram apologized to me for losing his temper at my mother’s and insisted it would never happen again. I shrugged it off.
I know Ram. That was probably the nicest I’ve ever heard anyone tell my family that they’re pains in the ass. He says intends to meet with my parents, face to face, and apologize again. He’s really embarrassed that he lost his cool that fast and that badly.
That’s big of him. If it were me in his position, I’d probably avoid the place for the rest of my life.
“Are you coming to dinner tonight? I’m serving pork chops and pineapple upside-down cake.”
I stare at the phone. Something’s up. “Umm . . . OK. Do I need to bring anything?”
“No, but could you stop in Giovichinni’s? I need half a pound of olive loaf and some Swiss cheese. Maybe half a pound of that too?”
I sigh and write that down. “OK.”
“When do you leave?”
“Right before Halloween. We’re taking Manny back to Atlanta and trick or treating with him, then going to San Antonio.”
“Will you be here for Thanksgiving?”
“Yes. I’ll be back in time for Thanksgiving.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow, Stephanie. Remember: half a pound of olive loaf and half a pound of Swiss.”
“Right. Got it. Night, Mom.” Click.
I wonder what she wants.
A/N: Ranger’s Sentence: You drive me crazy doing things like that. Please take care.
