Steph’s POV

“Steph?” I turn. Zip. “Want to try again?”

I quickly grab my things, check with Hector on 3, and join Binkie and Zip in the garage. Just like yesterday, we travel to Franklin Park and set up. It’s 0800, we have breakfast burritos from Ella and we’re feeling good, although it’s chilly. I wonder when the cold front from Boston will travel down here. I bet Mijo would love to play with some snow before he goes home.

Zip clears his throat. “Verify.”

I look. Yup, that’s the target. Drew Stefanic. He’s just climbing out of his car when I approach.

“Hi, Drew!” I’m extra loud to accommodate his hangover.

He moans and turns, peering at me from one bloodshot eye. “Oh. You again? Come on, little girl, you—”

I sweep his feet, use my elbow to knock him down to the ground and put my foot in his back. He hits the concrete sidewalk hard and starts yelling. Meanwhile, I see Sue coming outside to help him and I pull my Taser.

“Stay out of this, Sue.” Binkie’s at my side and his hand is hovering over his gun. Sue stops and looks at us.

“That’s my cousin! You’re beating him up!”

“I’m not beating him up. He fell. This is bonds enforcement, Sue, so let’s not make this personal.”

“That’s police brutality!” Drew yells then clutches his forehead.

“Good thing I’m not the police then, huh?” By now, Zip’s by my side and he’s facing Sue.

I put my Taser back in the holster and pull my handcuffs.

“Hi, Drew!”

“Fuck you, bitch.”

“Yeah, I’m really getting tired of being called a bitch,” I reply, cuffing him extra tight. “Any idea where Thomas is?”

“Don’t worry,” he says through clenched teeth. “You’ll find out soon.”

I nod at Nancy and Sue, both of whom are standing on the porch stunned and angry, and help Drew to his feet. “Keep it moving, asshole. See? I can call you nasty names too.” He has a bloody nose from the fall and I walk him over to Zip to be checked over. Zip takes his nose and pinches the bridge hard. Drew yelps and Zip tilts Drew’s head back.

“Yeah yeah, we know. Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie.”

I secure Drew down while Zip holds the gun on him. Once he’s secure, we walk back over to Binkie, who has crossed his arms over his chest and is staring at Sue.

“Sue, this isn’t personal. Where is Thomas?”

She’s glaring at me. “I don’t know and even if I did—”

“NOOOOO!” Nancy screams.

Déjà vu?

We turn and I watch as Thomas runs by the SUV and tosses a Molotov cocktail in it.

Third time’s the charm.

---

Trenton PD, Trenton FD, and Trenton EMT are all on the scene.

We’re watching as Trenton FD puts the fire out. The PD is doing the DtD (door to door) and the EMTs are waiting for the firemen to drag Drew, or what’s left of Drew, out of our SUV. Nancy and Sue are nearly catatonic. Meanwhile, Hal and Ram have shown. We’re all watching the fire blaze.

“You think it was because I was driving?” I murmur to Zip. I open the package of Butterscotch Krimpets Hal passed me. Comfort food. I love Hal best. He’s giving me a shoulder massage and he arrived with sugar. The guys are packed tightly around me and scanning constantly. I haven’t taken my eyes off the SUV.

“Who knows,” he replies. We’ve been staring at the burning vehicle for ten minutes. Half of the Burg has shown up to watch. Most people are in tears. My phone rings.

“Yo.”

“Babe.” His voice is quiet but I’m happy to hear him.

“Hey.”

“What happened?”

“Thomas Mann tossed a Molotov into the SUV. Drew, his cousin, was already secured in there.”

The line is silent for a long time. “Shit.”

“Yeah. I did everything clean.”

“I know, Babe. I’m sorry. Damn.”

“Nothing for you to be sorry about. He killed his best friend trying to kill me. Not my fault. I refuse to feel guilty.” Lie. I feel guilty. It had to be because I was driving. It had to be. My luck is shit.

“That’s right, Babe.” The line is quiet for a little longer. The car is merely smoldering now and the EMTs are checking and pronouncing Drew DOA at the scene. The cops are still canvassing. Eddie walks over to me and hugs me tight.

“Hey,” he says quietly.

“Hey.”

“Same as last time?”

“Same as the last two times.”

Eddie closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Geez. Murder and arson to add onto his charges.”

“Yeah.” I’m trying to forget Drew’s screams. I don’t think I’ll ever forget them.

“Gazarra.” I turn. Ram. He looks at Eddie. “You think you can take their statements at our office? We need to get Steph out of the open. She’s still a target.”

“Yeah,” I hear Ranger mutter. “Get back to the office, Babe. I’ll talk to you later.” Click.

“No problem,” Eddie says. He hugs me tight, I pile into Hal’s SUV, and we head back to RangeMan. Everyone is looking at me, but I head straight to my office and shut the door. I lie down on the couch and stare at the ceiling.

This is my life. Ranger’s enemies would like to kill, kidnap, or rape me but my enemies scar me with fireplace pokers, toss Molotovs at me, attack me with flame throwers, try to bury me alive, and make me the target of their ‘games’. They would also like to rape, kidnap, and kill me, but mine are more creative than Ranger’s.

Ranger’s enemies don’t have an imagination. That Jersey strain of schizophrenia means my enemies have dastardly plans for me. Merely shooting me is below their honor as criminals. I have to die creatively for them to be happy!

Ranger’s concerned his enemies will kill me? I’m concerned my enemies will drive him insane!

I start laughing and I laugh until I’m hysterical. Candy and Ella enter my office and both sit on the couch next to me as my hysterical laughs turn into hysterical tears. I finally cry myself tired and smile at both of them.

“I think Ranger’s biting off more than he can chew in a relationship with me,” I murmur.

Ella laughs softly. “Nope. You two are the only people who could handle each other’s lives.”

I yawn and close my eyes. The last thing I remember seeing is Hal and Hector stepping through my door.

---

My phone is ringing.

“Hello?” I crack an eye open. The sun is going down and I’m in the bed in my jammies. Hal must’ve carried me up here. I hope Ella undressed me.

“Hey, Babe.”

“Hey.”

“I heard you played Sleeping Beauty all day.”

“Not possible.”

“The phone call is the kiss.”

I snort. “Thanks.”

“Are you really OK, Babe?”

I take a moment to really think about that question. “Am I OK? No. I’m a Jersey girl. Today, my FTA blew a third car up on me. This time, he killed his best friend. I shouldn’t feel guilty but I do. I ate a package of Butterscotch Krimpets and now I want 20 more. I didn’t do any of my work today, so it piles onto tomorrow and the pile was big enough from yesterday. And you know what’s amazing about this?”

“What?”

“I spent the afternoon thinking that my enemies are worse than yours! You’re concerned your enemies want to kill me? My enemies keep trying to blow me up! My enemies have more imagination than yours and all mine are domestic. I’m worried about you!”

I hear Ranger chuckle then laugh. Again, it’s worth the pain and embarrassment to hear him laugh like that. I listen as his laughs die down and I smile.

“You know what the cherry on top was?”

“There’s more?”

“Yeah.” I bite my lip. “I get it.”

“Get what, Babe?”

“I finally understand what you, what Hector, what everyone’s been trying to tell me. My life is important. Every time I’ve tried to apprehend Thomas Mann, he’s fired at me then blown my car up. I broke my leg and lost my car the first time, but if he hadn’t been so drunk, he might’ve killed me. Second time Les lost his car and if Lula hadn’t fired back, I might have lost my life again. This time? This time I had partners and backup with me and you know what happened?”

“What?”

“He didn’t fire at me. He didn’t even attempt to shoot. Why? Because he knew Binkie and Zip would blow his head off and I realized that having a real partner at my back, someone who knows what they’re doing, means I don’t get fired at. So instead he just blew the car up. I, well, RangeMan might have lost an SUV today but he lost his best friend. I bet he’ll think twice before blowing something up now.”

Ranger is silent. “Hard life lesson.”

“Yeah. Not so funny anymore.”” I roll over onto my side and stare out of the window at the trees. “I had partners who could watch my back. Backup just in case something went wrong and it did and this time I’m not hurt. This time I’m not the one suffering the loss. We can replace that SUV. How does he replace his best friend?”

“Right,” Ranger says softly. “I can’t replace you, Babe.”

I swallow hard. “I can’t replace you either. Please be careful.”

“I will, Babe.”

I hear the front door to the apartment open and Hector appears in my bedroom with a dinner tray. “Hec’s here.”

“Ok. Te amo, Babe.”

“Te amo tambien, Ranger. Adios.” Click.

“Cute,” Hector says. He sits the tray in front of me and climbs into the bed with me. “Rough day?”

“Why is everyone babying me?”

Hector smiles. “We’re not. You just listened to—”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Exactly. SOPs. Think about it.”

I think. Right. In the event a RangeMan is the witness to a traumatic event not purposefully inflicted in the line of duty, at least one RangeMan needs to remain with him at all times to ensure mental well-being. The on-site medic needs to examine said RangeMan within 24 hours and make an informed determination about whether or not a mental health professional should be called to examine said RangeMan for a counseling recommendation.

“So when’s Zero coming?”

“After you finish dinner.” I pick up my water then look over at Hector. Dinner! He shakes his head. “Burg grapevine filled them in. They knew you weren’t coming.” He checks his watch. “Gazarra will be here soon.” I look at Hec and he smiles. “I arranged for him to take it today. ASAP.”

I finish my dinner and stretch out. Hec removes the tray and lies next to me. We both stare at the ceiling. Like everything in Ranger’s life, it’s perfectly blank. No popcorn but no patterns either.

“I get it.”

“Hmm?” Hec looks at me.

“I get it. I really do.”

“Get what?”

I look at him. “My life is important. Today, I went out to catch a skip and it was the same as always, but with a twist. This time, someone got hurt. Thankfully, it wasn’t me, but I’ll never forget the way Drew screamed as the car burned.”

Hector nods solemnly.

“I listened to Drew scream and all I could think about was how this is my life. My life. My skips. My Jersey schizos. They’re willing to rape and murder me and Ranger isn’t even a factor. Now I get your enemies and his enemies on top of mine but you know what scared me?”

“What?” he asks softly.

“You and Ranger? You guys inherit my skips. My insane nutters. You inherit the assholes who shoot at me for nothing more than trying to get them to go bond themselves back out.” Hector laughs, shaking his head. “And I realized that it was a real threat. It wasn’t something to ignore. I might have been bait for Scrog, but Abruzzi kidnapped my sister in order to make me go with him.” I swallow hard. “Val had nothing, nothing, to do with that but she was still used as bait for me and I realized that it could happen again. Someone could use you or Ranger against me.”

Hector snorts and I listen to him mutter threats and insults in Spanish under his breath.

“You guys never go out without backup. You’re always aware of your surroundings and prepared to defend yourselves. Me? I go places and I get shot at, kidnapped, or abducted minding my own business.”

Hector snorts and rolls his eyes. OK, so maybe saying ‘minding my own business’ was pushing it a bit far.

“Yeah, OK. Anyway, no one messes with RangeMen. Everyone knows you guys are armed and dangerous and ever since I became one, people aren’t really messing with me anymore either. The gossip has died down.” Hec smiles. “I thought that’s how it would always be, but today I was reminded that being me means that you and Ranger inherit my skips and that’s all I could think about. All I could think about was who was in the ‘Bombshell’ folder that might come after you.”

I swallow hard and Hector pulls me closer to him. I curl up next to him, breathe in Issey Miyake, and sigh.

“Your enemies? You did something to make your enemies.” Hec winces slightly but nods. “Ranger’s enemies? He earned them. What did I do to earn mine, Hec? I’m a law abiding citizen who isn’t doing anything illegal. My job is to get them back into the system and rebonded out if that’s what they want. I help them maintain their freedom and they shoot at me for it.”

“Life’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not.” I’m quiet. “And now I’m scared because you and Ranger inherit my enemies.”

“And your enemies are insane.” Hector nods. “I see the dilemma.”

We’re both quiet, staring at the ceiling again.

“I’ve made arrangements.” Hector turns to me. “Miami or the Shore?”

“How did you know?”

“My job, Angelita,” he says softly. “Shore, right?”

“You know me well.”

“I do, which is why I have a question.” I look over at him. Hec looks extremely amused. “Where did my son learn the word ‘doughnut’?”

“I have no idea.”

Hector stares at me, fighting a smile. I’m trying to keep my face blank but it’s useless. We both start laughing and we laugh until I have a headache.

“I had to pawn him off on Ella. He asks a million questions about them now. Took me a while to figure out what he was talking about.”

I grin. Poor Hector. I got his son hooked on doughnuts.

“When are you taking him back to Atlanta?”

“Tomorrow. We’re leaving in the morning and I’ll meet you there.”

I nod and lie back. There’s a knock at the door and Hec answers it. Zero comes in.

“Hey, Steph.”

I smile. “I’m fine but do your thing.”

Zero asks me a series of questions to determine if I need counseling and at the end he stands and shakes his head. “You’re taking this pretty well, Steph.”

“No I’m not,” I reply. “I’m holding it together for the moment.”

“Exactly,” he says.

---

I give Eddie my statement and leave Trenton an hour later.

By myself. Well, with Rex. I decided he needed a vacation too. We’ve both had enough of RangeMan for the moment.

I’m offline and headed to Ranger’s house on the Shore. Hector gave me directions and alarm codes and told me to make sure I hit a grocery store before I went to Ranger’s house. Ella packed plenty of meals for me in a cooler. I’m staying at the beach until we leave for Atlanta. I need time to myself with no one else around. I’ve needed this for months and, now that I think of it, this is the first time in nine months I’ve been all by myself.

The first time since I broke my leg that someone won’t pop up.

I have my laptop and all the paperwork I need to finish and I’m just going to hang out at the Shore. It’s October and it’s cooling down. I should be able to have some peace and quiet.

---

Day 1

The doorbell rings at 0900. I’m startled and nearly drop the glass of juice I’m holding. The doorbell rings again and I put the juice down and decide to answer the door.

I draw my gun and creep to the front door. It’s a flower delivery van.

“Who is it?”

“Florist.”

“Leave them at the door.”

“I need you to sign that you received them.”

Dilemma. I’m not really willing to open this door. “OK. Put the flowers down. I want to see your hands.”

I can hear the guy mutter. “What the hell? Does she think I have an Uzi?”

“It’s New Jersey,” I reply. “It’s a possibility.”

“Jeez, lady, this isn’t The Godfather,” the guy replies, offended. “All Jersey natives aren’t like that.” He puts the flowers down and slowly rises, hands in the air. I see the clipboard, so I disable the alarm and open the door.

“I am a Jersey native. I know better,” I tell him. I take the clipboard, shut the door, sign the paperwork, and open the door again. He snorts.

“Well, I have two more bouquets in the van. You want to hold a gun on me while I get them?” He stalks off and I quickly grab bouquet #1 and pull it inside.

“Don’t joke,” I mutter. “It’s a possibility.” He quickly returns with the other bouquets and I pull them inside one at a time. I shut the door and look at them.

Yellow roses. Hal. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.—Candy and Hal

Hal added an additional message. Get some tequila, Sis. Tequila I don’t see you drink doesn’t count.

I laugh. Perfect message.

Tiger lilies. Hector. Having a bad day? Hold your hand over your heart; Feel that? That beating? That’s called purpose. You’re alive for a reason.

Thanks for reminding me, Hector.

Red roses. Two dozen gorgeous red roses. Definitely Ranger. I tear open the card, wondering what he’ll tell me.

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

I stare at the card and smile.

Right. Tomorrow’s another day.

---

Day 2

Boring. I plow through paperwork, walk along the beach, and do some exercise. Rex and I watch horrible TV (whatever happened to soap operas?! Where did all this ‘reality’ programming come from?) before I finally turn it off.

I head upstairs to Ranger’s office and look through his bookshelves. I already know that he doesn’t have anything personal here (I asked) but I spy a copy of The Art of War. I grab it and flip. Less than 100 pages. OK. Maybe this won’t be so bad.

RINGG

“Yo!”

“Yo.”

“How are you, Babe?”

“Coping. You?”

“Fine.”

“If you weren’t fine, would you tell me?”

“Only if it weren’t Band-Aid level.”

I snort. “Thanks.”

“What are you doing?”

“Reading The Art of War.”

Silence. “Are you really reading it or do you have a dust cover over something new?”

“The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.”

“Chapter one.”

“Yeah. The men are reading 50 Shades of Grey, so I better get started on this.”

“Good job, Babe. Want to talk about it?”

“Sure.” I look at the book. “It’s thin, so I guess we can talk after each chapter?”

“Sure. Sounds good.”

“How’s the case coming?”

“Fine.” Ranger is quiet for a few minutes. “Les is working his end and I’m working mine. We’re trying to wrap it up.”

“Is the Syria thing booked?”

“Yeah.”

I’m quiet. I hate that Ranger’s going to leave almost as soon as he reappears but he has to. He has to cover his tracks.

I’ll never be the white picket fence guy . . . I’m here today, gone tomorrow, sometimes with no advance word, no information. Is that really how you want to live your life, always wondering where I am, if I’m safe, if I’m alive?

I can’t say he didn’t warn me.

---

Day 3

OK, I’m bored being here at the beach by myself. I’m doing as much of the work as I can and I’m plowing through stuff, but I’m bored. It’s too cold to sit on the beach, there’s nothing interesting on TV, and Rex is snoozing. I go to the sunroom and notice a switch. I flip it and nothing happens so I leave the room. I go to the kitchen, make a snack and return to see that the balcony has a weird red glow. I step out and look up.

Infrared heater on the balcony. I love Ranger! This house has everything! I run upstairs, throw on my bikini and go back downstairs. OK, so it’s still 60 degrees around me. Under this heat lamp it’s a skin blistering 90!

“Hey!”

“Hey!” ML, Lula, and Connie. Might as well have some girl time while I “sunbathe”.

“Is Candy gonna join this call, Steph?” Lula asks.

“Dunno.”

The line pings. “Hey!”

“Hey, Candy. OK, everyone’s here, so who has the news?”

“I’ll start. The men out here are gearing up for your trip, Steph. They’ve been bugging me and Maria for everything we know about you.”

“Oh god,” I moan. “Lula, don’t tell them everything.” Everyone laughs.

“Don’t worry. Tank told them all to get a grip. No one had to worry about trying to entertain you because it would be me and you most of the time. They just need to worry about passing review.”

Some small part of me is bummed hearing that. I kinda liked the way the branches went all out to show me their city and themselves at their best.

“Well, I have some good news,” I announce. “Tank and I are working with the head of the Boston office to charter a jet for the trip so ML, Connie, if you guys want to come you can.”

ML and Connie both cheer. “Great! I’ll get Melvin to watch the office for a week. We can all get together and help Lula finish off her wedding planning!”

“Yeah! I’m in,” ML says.

“Great! I’ll let Tank know.”

“I’m jealous. You guys will get to have fun with the wedding planning and I’ll spend hours scanning,” Candy said, laughing.

“Who says?” Lula replies. “Girl, me and you spent enough time on the phone trying to get this RangeWorld support group going that you in the clique too. Besides, don’t you wanna come look at wedding dresses and try to figure out how to get Hal to propose?”

“As long as he remembers the proposal, Candy, unlike what Lula did to poor Tank,” Connie says, and we all crack up. Connie tells Candy about Tank and Lula’s first engagement and Candy puts the phone on mute to laugh.

“Oh my god, does Hal know that story?”

“Yes!”

“I can’t wait to tease him.”

“Take a picture of his face when you do,” I tell her. “I want to see it. ML, what’s the gossip?”

ML starts laughing uncontrollably. “What did Hector do to Grandma Bella?”

“What?” I sit up.

“Bella has been mute since you and Angie Morelli called everyone in Giovichinni’s ‘pathetic’. Like, she literally can’t speak.”

“What the hell?” Connie and Lula both say in unison.

“Yeah. It’s only known that she said the Hispanic bodyguard cursed her. Well, she wrote it on a napkin.”

I put my phone on mute and laugh and, judging by the silence on the line, I’m not the only one. I unmute the phone. “You mean someone put a curse on Grandma Bella worse than anything she’s ever done to anyone else?” I text Hector and ask him what he did.

“Yup!”

“Good,” Connie says. “I get sick of that old bat cursing everyone else. That’ll teach her. Steph, I hear Harry’s been arrested.”

“Prostitution?”

Hector answers: ‘Who? ME? :-)’

“Among other things.”

I text Hec back: ‘U keep doing helpful things like that n the Burg will LOVE you!’

“Shame.”

“Yeah. Especially since he was propping up Vinnie and Lucille. Lucille can’t redecorate her house anymore. She just realized Vinnie lost the business and her father isn’t making the money he used to so she’s in a tough spot. She kicked Vinnie out but had to take him back because without him, she doesn’t have any money.”

“Wow . . . so what are they doing for money?”

Connie laughs. “Vinnie was muttering that Lucille might have to get off her fat ass and get a job.”

“Damn! The Burg just ain’t the same,” Lula says.

Hector answers: ‘Fuck! Back 2 being the badass! Can’t lose my rep.’

“They don’t live in the Burg,” ML replies. “Lula’s right, though. Ann Costanza reconciled with Carl but Mallory Edwards is still divorcing Big Dog. She’s still pissed about the STD and the infidelity.”

I shake my head. Damn. I remember Mallory. She was two years behind me in school.

“Wow . . . Lula, what happened to Jackie? Is she OK?”

“Yeah, girl, she’s good. She decided to go speak to her family in Pittsburgh. They welcomed her home and helped her get a job. She’s trying. She’s gonna be one of the bridesmaids.”

“Great! When is she coming out to see you?”

“She’s coming out right before the wedding. Whatever dress we decide, she’ll have her fittings done in Pittsburgh and fly out to San Antonio for the wedding.”

“Great.” I haven’t seen Jackie in years but I’m glad to know she’s getting off the streets too.

“Candy, what news do you have?” ML asks. I can hear Lenny in the background telling her he’ll order a pizza.

“Well, guys, I love my job. I really do. Not only do I work for a great company but my coworkers are fantastic!”

“Aww …” we all chime, laughing.

“You already got the job,” Connie says. “No need to butter us all up.” We crack up.

“No, you guys don’t understand,” Candy says, laughing. “I honestly spend my days laughing at the guys around here. It’s like working with 40 big brothers. Steph, did you tell them about the 50 Shades fiasco?”

“No!” I tell Lula, Connie, and ML and they crack up.

“Oh my god, they really got excited to see you reading The Art of War? Don’t they know you by now?” ML says. I glance at the book sitting next to me on the couch.

“You had to see them! It was so cute,” Candy coos. “They had their plans for a book club underway and were planning a booklist and a schedule before they realized Steph was reading erotica! Threw their plans completely off! Then, when they had to read the book, they were all irritated with Christian Grey! They got together to discuss various ways of killing him and hiding the body.”

“Made for an interesting conversation on sexism, that’s for sure,” I tell them. Everyone is laughing.

“You’re telling me! Bobby kept muttering that Christian Grey needed an “exit interview”. He asked me if that was the kind of man he was up against. He and Tank borrowed a few of my romances and came back looking sick.” Lula laughs. “You haven’t seen funny until you’ve seen my Tankie Bear sitting up late at night reading a romance novel with a confused look on his face.”

I’m wiping the tears from my face as I consider it.

“I could give you a run for your money there, Lula,” Candy says. “Try Hal, completely beet red, jaw hanging, watching BDSM porn because he doesn’t understand what he’s reading in 50 Shades. Hal watching any porn is fun but the dirty stuff? I sometimes wonder how my darling boyfriend managed in the Army! He goes completely red at anything sexual.”

I’ve put the phone on mute to laugh into the pillow. ML and Connie are going to have a headache soon.

“Well, Marvin refuses to read them at all. Says he’s learned all he wanted to about 50 Shades watching cases come into the ER.” We snicker. “He said he’s had to treat rashes from handcuffs, remove sex toys and foods stuffed into orifices never meant for it, administer rabies shots because of biting”–I’m crying from laughing so hard—”treat men stabbed by women wearing stilettos in bed, he’s had it. He’s a cardiologist, dammit! He didn’t sign up for this insanity! He’s advocating a return to the missionary position.”

I’m going to have a headache later. Sometimes I wish Hec taped my calls. I’d love to be able to play this one over and over again.

Poor guys.

---

Day 4

I make the tuna and arugula salad for myself because it’s easy.

And I miss Ranger.

I finally finish the backlog of work and I contemplate calling the XOs, but I realize that if I do that then my offline time at the beach simply becomes work time at the beach.

I shut the laptop down and walk away. I’ll jog around the neighborhood. I’m offline. No one knows I’m here. I should be safe.

I hope.

Besides, everyone knows about my love of Point Pleasant, but Ranger’s house is in Bay Head.

I get to the front door and remember I made Hector a solemn promise not to run around on my own. Sigh. I should have negotiated better. Now I’m a prisoner in this house.

By noon, I’m stir crazy. I’m chancing it. I get in the SUV and head to the grocery store. I’m able to pick up ice cream and cookies and I return to the house without incident. This success convinces me I might be safe to get out for a while tomorrow.

Small victories.

---

I start working my way through Ranger’s movie collection. I have ice cream, cookies, and movies. I cocoon in the sun room and enjoy myself.

RINGGGG

“Yo!”

“Yo, Babe. What are you doing?”

“Watching movies. Your movie collection sucks.”

“I bought Ghostbusters.”

“I know. I’ve watched it twice.” I pause Rush Hour. “I just realized I’m bored.”

“Why?”

“It’s too cold to sunbathe, I’m trying to keep my promise to Hector not to run around on my own, I have food, ice cream, and cookies and I’m trying not to make this a working vacation. I just realized that, when I was in Trenton, I spent my days chasing skips, eating, hanging out at the bonds office, or shopping.”

“Need a hobby?”

“You have a suggestion?”

“Knitting.”

I look the phone. “Only if you take up wood carving.”

Silence on the other end. “He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.”

“Chapter four.” I put the ice cream down and run upstairs to grab the book.

“How do you like the book so far?”

“It’s interesting. It’s too simple to work, though.” I return to my cocoon and start skimming for the quote.

Ranger chuckles. “Think so?”

“Yeah. I mean, He wins his battles by making no mistakes.” I put the book down. “Everyone makes mistakes, Ranger. That’s a part of life.”

“But mistakes in warfare are the difference between life and death. The idea behind that quote is that you should do everything you can to ensure you know the enemy’s strengths, weaknesses, curiosities, and interests. That’s how I’m bringing the dirty agents down this fast. Every new dirty agent I identify, I do full backgrounds on them. I investigate their backgrounds, birth, childhood, schooling and college years. I look at parents, siblings, spouses and children.

I look for evidence that his personal or professional life is screwed in some way. I try to figure out how they became a part of this network. I try to understand what they’re weak spots are, where they’re vulnerable, what makes them tick. I pass that information to my agents and they’re able to bring the dirty agents down faster because they know how to appeal to them. They know what makes them tick. I put myself beyond defeat and because of it, mistakes aren’t made.”

My jaw is hanging. Good grief. “Me?” I’m staring at the book, wondering what quotes from it he uses on me.

“All warfare is based on deception. You’re personal so I try not to use that book in relation to you. I try not to deceive you. I try very hard not to deceive you. Besides, I’d prefer to think I’m not in a state of constant warfare with you.”

I smile. Thank you. I’ve wondered. I wonder when you have deceived me, though. “I guess I need to reread again.”

“You may never have read this book, Babe, but you’re very good at quite a few of its dictates.”

“Really? Which ones?”

“Keep reading. We’ll talk about it next time.” Click.

I stop Rush Hour. This book has become much more interesting.

---

Day 5

I go jogging along the beach. First time in two days and I’m huffing. I think I better give up the ice cream and cookies for a while. I’ve had a field day ever since I returned to Trenton. I’ve felt nauseous and sick most of the time. I thought over what I’ve been eating (after verifying there was absolutely no way I could be pregnant) and realize I’ve been pigging out on doughnuts, meatball subs, fried chicken, chocolate . . . pretty much everything I ate before I became a RangeWoman. No wonder my stomach is putting in a protest.

Ella was right. It has to be reintroduced slowly. My body has felt sluggish all month and I’ve definitely felt bloated. The headaches . . . oh God, the headaches.

I return to the house after running five miles and take a shower. I put on my jeans. I have to lie back on the bed to zip them. Yeah, time to start following the diet again.

I survey the fridge, make a shopping list, and go to the grocery store. I pick up salad ingredients and chicken breasts to grill. I take everything home and make a grilled chicken salad for lunch.

I follow that up with ‘healthy’ sorbet.

---

I decide it won’t kill me to call the XOs. I go in order of least to most profitable, but Tank’s always last.

“Hi, Mark!”

“Hey. Aren’t you offline?”

“Yeah. I need something to do.”

Mark chuckles. “Well, OK. Boston SitRep?”

“Yes.”

“Mike’s going to Trenton next week. Hal’s sending Junior here. Vic’s pulling in more contracts for service. Les was here a few weeks ago and he approved the purchase of the South Boston office, so we’re closing soon.”

“OK.” I make a note to watch for it. “Go ahead and send the contract directly to San Antonio.”

“Actually, I’m bringing it with me on the plane.”

“Oh, good.” We chat for a few more minutes before I hang up. Mando’s next.

“Yo!”

“Hi, Mando!”

“Hi, Stephanie! SitRep? Hey, aren’t you offline?”

“Yes to both questions.”

“You gotta learn the meaning of offline,” he says, snickering. “Charlotte’s doing well. I just FedExed you a bunch of contracts. I expect we’ll pass Miami next week.”

“Great!” Diego’s doing an excellent job in Miami. I doubt Charlotte passes them. “Anything I should know?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“OK.” Click. I dial Miami.

“Yo!”

“Hi, Diego.”

“Stephanie. SitRep?”

“Please.”

“We’re aiming for RMSA. Ren has our bodyguard department reorganized and we’re going after new contracts. Remember the airport to airport idea Jorge and I were working out at the beach?”

“Yes.”

“We have it going. The contracts are crazy and it’s rebuilding our reputation. I decided to change our focus. More businessmen, athletes, and professionals. Less women until our reputation improves.”

“How do you plan to improve it if you avoid that group?”

“Scarcity creates a demand. That’s how we got the rep in the first place. We were known for protecting businessmen and executives. We’re going back to that again. Besides, I don’t want to engage female clients until the current situation is resolved and we determine the status of our former brothers. Once I see the branch sexism score at that point, I’ll know how to move forward.”

I shrug. As long as he has a plan. “You talk this one over with anyone?”

“Les. He signed off.”

“Then I’m fine with it. Anything else I need to know?”

Diego passes some interesting news that I write down to consider later. Again, I’m not being kept up to date. We disconnect. RMSA is next but I skip to Atlanta.

“Yo!”

“Hey, Danny!”

“Hey! Cindy wants to know what your costume will be.”

“Wonder Woman.”

He laughs. “Alejandro is going as Pikachu.”

“I heard. I can’t wait to see his outfit.”

“Well, we always throw an adults-only party at our house on Halloween after the kids trick or treat.”

Never been to one of those. I’m usually in charge of making our house the scariest one on the block. I hope Val knows what to do. “Adults only?”

“The drinks aren’t for kids.”

“Another reason to love you, Danny.” He laughs. “OK, SitRep.”

“We forwarded a contract to purchase a building to you.”

“Hector’s server farm?”

“Yes. Nate thinks the climate is good to present an alternative to Amazon’s expensive hosting services and he and the guys are ready. Our guys in NYC are already interested in it as a secure location to copy and load documents for clients to retrieve.”

“OK. Anything else?”

“Nope. Look forward to seeing you next week.” Click.

“Yo.”

“Hi, Javi!”

“Hey! Hold on.” I hear the phone click and “Yo, Boss Lady! WASSUP!”

I laugh. The ‘wassup’ was Mack, Jorge and Drake. “WASSUPPPPP!” The guys laugh and I grin.

“Aren’t you supposed to be offline, Stephanie?” Drake asks.

I sigh. “Yeah. I’m bored.”

“You need a hobby, Steph,” Jorge says.

“So I’ve been told. OK, what’s going on up there?”

“We’re on target to pass Trenton,” Javi says.

I laugh. “Don’t be so sure.”

“For real? What’s good?” Mack asks.

“I’m not telling you. I’m just saying you better make sure the active guys are on it.” There’s silence and I hear a door close. I suddenly hear loud laughter.

“Should we call Doobie and give him the heads up?” Jorge asks.

“Nah. Let him sweat,” Javi answers.

“What happened?”

“Mack ran for the door so fast he tipped his chair over, Steph,” Drake says. I hear the amusement. “I’ll bet he’s cracking the whip now.”

I laugh. I hear the door open and close and Javi ask, “Called a meeting?”

“The moment this call is over. OK, Boss. What’s up?”

“SitRep, Javi.”

“Les is in and out, our guys are determined to take Trenton down, and we’re waiting on the snow.”

“OK.” Click. I dial Hal.

“Yo.”

“Hey, Hal!”

“Hey, Sis! SitRep?”

“Yup.”

“Everything’s normal here. Enjoying your offline time?”

I look around. “Yeah. I am.”

“Good. Planning any more grocery trips?”

I put the sorbet down. “Are you watching my trackers?”

“No. I can’t, remember? Ranger’s place is classified.” I breathe a sigh of relief. “I just know you.”

“Yeah, well, thanks. Wait! How did you send me flowers?”

“Hector ordered them over the internet. I just told him what to send and what the note should say. Hold on, Pony Express wants to talk to you.”

“Hey, Aunt Steph!”

“Hey, MA. How’s it going?”

“I’m having fun. Woody and I are going to ride horses soon and I’ve delivered nearly all of the office mail. Are you having fun at the beach? Isn’t it too cold to be at the beach?”

“Yes and no.”

“Oh. OK. Have fun. Gotta go. Woody’s calling me.” I hear the phone being dropped and I wince.

“Sorry.”

“Not your fault. By the way, NYC is aiming for you.”

“Everyone’s aiming for me, Sis. Anyway, when are you coming back?”

“Day after tomorrow.”

“OK. Do you have to take Candy with you to San Antonio?”

I laugh. “You’ll live.” Click.

“Yo.”

“Hey, Tank!”

“Hey, Steph!” I hear a noise in the background and I grin.

“Hey, White Girl! When are you getting here?”

“November 2nd.”

“Oh yeah. Right. I thought you were coming on the first.”

“Hector delayed it. Something going on in Atlanta he has to attend.”

“Oh. OK. Anyway, so we reserved hotel rooms since there’s so many of you. I’m ready to show y’all around and we’re headed to Mrs. Carol Jean’s in Louisiana for an extended weekend and everyone can help us plan this wedding.”

“Do we have enough time?”

“In Carencro?” Lula snorts. “More than enough time. Wedding is May 10th. We got the preacher, we got the church, we just need to do the other stuff.” I hear some talking in the background and Lula sighs. “Damn. Tank is telling me you wanna talk about business. You wanna talk about business more than my wedding, Steph?”

I laugh. “No, but I’ll call you when I want to talk wedding. Right now I need to talk business with Tank.”

“Damn. Guilt trips don’t work, huh?”

“They work. Just not right now.” I hear Lula leave.

“SitRep?”

“Everything appears to be fine, Tank. Most of the XOs are focused on getting their branches higher rankings in RangeWorld. Diego did tell me something I found intriguing.”

“Something about a peace summit?”

“Yes.”

“Keep that to yourself.”

“OK.” That’s not an answer, Tank. “Is it related to the current situation?”

“Yes.” Ah. Now I get it.

“Anything else?”

“Status of RMSA?”

“The men are looking forward to your visit. I received your questionnaire and requests. Bobby and I are working through them. We intend to name Chester Deuce liaison for the branch.”

“OK. I’d like to talk about the company and the branch when I arrive. I’ve been in charge nearly nine months. Time for a full SitRep now that I’ve been to nearly every branch.”

“OK.” Click.

I sit back and smile.

I’ll take responsibility for Trenton. Trenton’s problems were my fault. I accept that.

The rest of the company? No way.

There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:-

(2) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier’s minds.

(3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.

I think someone needs to reread The Art of War.

Four someones.

---

Day 7

Day six I spent sunbathing on the balcony and reading The Art of War. I decided to get a critical review edition. Ranger pulled a lot more out of those sentences than I did. I need to know more. Overall, I like this book. If I think about it in regards to my own life, it’s suddenly very clear what I’ll need to do to make a relationship with Ranger work.

No wonder the guys love this book. It’s psychological warfare techniques from ancient China.

My last day was spent cleaning the house, doing laundry and trying to make sure the place was neat. I left right before sundown and walked back into RangeMan Trenton feeling refreshed.

I’d had time alone. I’d done what I wanted to. No one tracking my moves (except Hec, I’m sure), no calls I didn’t want to take, no work unless I wanted to.

I take a shower and lie back on the bed. Ella’s already packed my suitcases for Atlanta and San Antonio.

San Antonio is next. My discussion with BLT will determine if I stay in this company at the end.

---

A/N: Link to an online copy of The Art of War under ‘Extras’. It really is a very short book.