Chapter 98: Welcome to San Antonio
Steph’s POV
I’m looking forward to this trip and I have to admit, Mark’s a great pilot. He invited me to sit in the cockpit with him and watch him work.
I’ve learned I don’t want to know what goes on in there. Too many buttons and he’s not using all of them.
Mark arrived from Trenton this morning with Diego, ML, Connie, and Candy. Hector and Diego immediately started whispering about something (I heard Miami and Les a lot, so I guess it went OK).
“What’s Lenny doing?”
ML looks at me and smiles. “Magda’s moved in until I return.” She’s flipping through a RedBook.
“Connie?” Even at 10,000 feet, Connie can apply polish perfectly.
“Marvin can fend for himself.”
I smile. “How’s that going?”
“Slow.” She finishes her thumb and looks up. “We’re taking our time. Between my Family and his kids, there are a lot of eyes on us. Plus, he’s busy all the time at the hospital, and me being in charge of the office meant more work. We’re moving slow.”
I grin. Ryan put the numbers out this morning and Zip and Hal were thrilled. Trenton and NYC tied this month and the guys will do anything to hold onto the crown. Meanwhile, NYC is partying. They’re ready to win it outright.
“Vinnie?”
She laughs. “He got excited thinking he’d get to man the office, but Zip told him to get his ass out there and hunt skips. Bonds are up 25%. Melvin has the office.” We all laugh. Poor Vinnie. No more animal porn for him.
“Candy?”
“Hal’s moaning. He barely wanted me to leave this morning. I keep reminding him that I have to do my job. He’s possessive.” She grins. She doesn’t mind a bit.
I lean back and smile. For the first time in months, all four of us will be together, and Candy’s joining in too. And I finally get to meet Lula’s future mother-in-law. I can’t wait.
We’re unloading the baggage ourselves and waiting for the RMSA men to clear. I see the Escalade and two black SUVs at the gates. Tank told me that Lula was determined to pick me up so I’m glad to see her. Lula’s a ball of energy but the first thing we notice is that she’s lost weight.
As in at least 30 pounds.
“Steph!”
Lula’s still big but she’s moved into the ‘overweight’ category. It’s surprising. The hair color isn’t. Lula’s still Lula and her hair is blond. It’s an interesting look. She grabs me in a fierce hug and I hug her back. I’ve missed her.
“Hey, girl! You look good! I almost didn’t recognize you.”
She laughs. “Yeah. With Maria cooking for me and the RMSA boys putting me through training, I can’t help but lose weight. Seems like every time I look around I’m eating, but I keep having to buy clothes!”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s a problem,” Connie says, laughing. She and Lula hug tight and Lula grins.
“It is! Tank said I gotta learn to share closet space. I told him I’ll share when he has some clothes for me to share it with.”
We all laugh, and ML and Lula hug and Candy and Lula bump fists. Lula looks around. “OK, so who’s the RangeMan advance guard for this trip?”
I look around. Hector’s standing a short distance away with Mark and Diego. I decided to bring them on this one and both are nervous. This will be the first time in months they’ve been near the Leadership Core, but both are rebuilding branches. They need to see how it’s done from the very beginning.
“Hey, Hector! ¿Cómo estás?”
Hector raises an eyebrow but he smiles. “Estoy bien, Lula. ¿Cómo estás?”
“Bueno.” She turns to Diego. “OK, now tell him that’s the extent of my Spanish so far.”
Diego smiles and translates the sentence. Hector laughs and shakes Lula’s hand. Lula turns to Diego and Mark. “Alright, who are you two?”
“I’m Diego Garcia—”
“Miami, right?”
He smiles. “Right.”
“OK. You?”
“Mark Phillips, Boston.”
Lula’s smile drops and she pulls Mark off to the side. She whispers something to him and he immediately turns red and nods.
“Comprende?” Lula says, hands on hips.
“Completely,” Mark answers solemnly.
She turns back around to me. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road!”
“What did you say to Mark?”
Lula’s driving and it’s just us girls in the Escalade. The guys are in a separate car behind us.
“I asked him if he’d removed his head from his ass.”
“Lula!”
Lula shrugs, unrepentant. “You bitched about his behavior for months. If he got his shit together, good. I know Tank is watching him close. He says Mark straightened up, but I told him if he forgot which direction was up, I would kick his head from his ass until he got it. He got it.”
I stare at her while ML, Candy and Connie crack up in the backseat.
“So, is this what you meant when you said you had to learn to beat people down with words?”
She nods. “Damn skippy.”
I smile. Anything to keep a gun out of her hands.
Before we walk in, Lula turns to us.
“They started intake this morning.” Diego and Mark immediately nod. I’m confused.
“Don’t speak and don’t acknowledge the men,” Mark says quietly. “Just follow Lula.” I look at Mark. “Indoctrination. Seriously. Tank and Bobby won’t appreciate it. Don’t even wave.”
ML, Connie and I stare at them. “We can’t even say good morning?” Connie asks, mystified.
“No,” Diego replies. “The idea is not to give them an idea that they’ve passed any tests or have been accepted or rejected. Intake is step one. You have to build trust in leadership. That starts with leadership not showing any favoritism.”
“He’s right,” Lula says. “Tank had a list of rules for me. I left copies in your hotel rooms, but y’all come to my office. I have another set of rules.”
I swallow hard. Mark turns to me. “As senior leadership, they might want you to participate, but Bobby will let you know.” I nod and we walk in. We walk right past the new recruits, who don’t give us any signs of recognition either. I guess the guys are right. The guys with military backgrounds didn’t expect to be acknowledged anyway.
I’m looking around. “This place is—”
“Gorgeous,” ML breathes. “I’m so jealous, Lula! It’s classy and sexy and it looks like money.”
Lula snorts. “It should. It’s a former bank.” She passes Mark and Diego keys to their shared office and passes me a key to the office I’ll use. She takes ML, Candy and Connie on a tour of the building while directing me to watch a DVD that’s been left in the player for me.
I pop it in and sit on the couch.
“Hey, Beautiful!” I laugh. Les is standing on his head in the video. “OK, so today is intake day, so you need to help out. You take my spot.” He flips and stands up. Hector and I clap at his display. “They waited on you, so change into your PT stuff and hustle downstairs. You call the names, check their intake packages and ensure they brought all the requirements, and call for Tank to examine ’em. After that, Bobby will tell you what’s up. I should be back in time to join the trip to Louisiana. Have fun! Keep Hec out of trouble.”
Hector flips a finger at the screen (“Idiot!”), but he’s grinning. “I’ll get your bag.”
“Thanks!” I head to the 8th floor, which houses the guest apartments. A RangeMan lets me in and I take a quick shower and hustle back downstairs.
Tank meets me at the elevator. “How did I know?”
I grin. “I haven’t changed that much, Big Guy.” Tank pulls me into a tight but gentle hug and smiles at me. “Willing to help?”
“Sure! I watched the DVD.”
“Good. Diego will help you with this part. Mark’s in with Bobby.”
“Hector?”
“Checking out the server room. He’ll start interviewing men for the IT spots here tomorrow.”
I pop Tank’s arm and set off for the intake room. The moment I step through, everyone comes to attention. Diego’s staring coldly at every man in the room. I look around. I’m about to call ‘at ease’ when Diego gives me a short, sharp head shake.
I look around the room and take a seat at the table. I find the clipboard with the names and sigh.
“Ackers, Travis.” The first man steps forward with his paperwork; I check it and motion for him to step back into line. Diego calls the next name and I check the list.
One down. Fifty-nine to go.
“Peña, Manolo,” Diggy calls.
I look up, wondering if this is Hector’s Manolo. I check the sheet really quick. No other Manolos, so I look at the man in front of me.
5’10, maybe 160, but really thin and boyish looking. His black hair is just dusting his shoulders and he’s clean shaven. I check the age. 26. He looks 16! I take his paperwork. His fingers are long and elegant and I’m surprised I even thought that. Elegant? But they are.
I check his paperwork. Yup, Miami native, applicant for the Miami branch. Tech skills. Mobile apps, SharePoint certified, software development. Holy hell. Hector’s dream man!
I look back up at him. His warm brown eyes are twinkling merrily at me, as if to say “Yeah, we can’t say hello, but ‘Hi!'”
I like him already. I nod and take his paperwork. Everything’s there and just as I’m about to tell him to step back, Hector steps into the room from a side door.
Hector’s in ‘intimidation’ mode: No shirt, workout pants, guns and knives on his waist. The pants are slung lower on his waist than usual. He spots Manolo, stops for a nanosecond, then proceeds forward to me. He hands me a note.
Hey, Lula’s trying to plan for later. Are you going to help all day?—ML
I stare at the note before the light bulb clicks.
Yup. Gotta. I’m taking Les’s place. I start listing the schedule as I know it to give Hector time not to look at Manolo.
Hector’s glaring coldly around the room, but he makes sure his eyes sweep Manolo’s face as he scans the room. Manolo is trying to avoid looking at him by looking at me. I hand Hec the note with a smile. He nods and leaves. I motion for Manolo to step back.
Diego leans over and says, “Feel like you need a cigarette?”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing. I wonder how many more excuses Hec will manufacture to come look at Manolo.
All the men pass intake, so I call for Tank. He comes in, takes the clipboard, and motions for me to follow him. I have no idea what he’s doing, but he checks the paperwork and stares at each man. Every man passes. Diego’s surprised.
“We’re getting better at choosing men. Tank usually cuts at least 10%.”
Wow. “What’s next?” I whisper.
“PT. Bobby. We’re checking fitness. You’ll stand at the front and demo with Bobby.” He grins. “Try not to drool.”
I roll my eyes, but I have to take it back when I step through. Bobby’s cut. Everywhere. He’s a Muscle and Fitness cover and I have to drool. Bobby flashes me a smile before donning his blank face. I move to the front next to him and wait.
I look around and nearly have a hot flash. Mark’s in his PT shorts. Just his PT shorts. I wish I had a chance to take a picture for Nikki. She’d die. Diego strips to his. I see Ches Deuce and he winks. He’s in his shorts.
Ranger needs to come home. Soon. When did the military start making the shorts so . . . short?
I slide closer to Bobby. “Should I strip to my shorts?”
“Bomber, if you do that, no one’s going to concentrate on passing,” Bobby says, clearly trying not to smile.
I shrug. “I feel overdressed.”
“Thank god. If you have on a sports bra, fine, but you don’t have to.”
I shrug. I have abs. I strip my shirt and that gets the first reaction. Low pitched whistles and sharp intakes of breath. I feel good and I have to remember not to smile.
Bobby snorts. “She can kick your ass, gentlemen.”
The room is silent again and Bobby gets started with PT. I manage to keep up while Diego, Mark, and a few more guys walk around the room and assess the men. When it’s over, I distribute towels and we walk them into the room Candy’s in with Tank for the HR review.
I snap a quick picture of Mark and send it to Nikki. Her response? O!M!G! *Faints*!
I nearly tackle Bobby. “Hey.”
Bobby twirls me around. “Welcome to San Antonio, Bomber. Enjoying it so far?”
“Hector’s maybe boyfriend is in this class,” I whisper.
Bobby’s eyes widen. “Name?”
“Manolo Peña. Navy. Applied for Miami.”
Bobby nods. “I’ll keep an eye on him.” He grins. “The San Antonio men have been looking forward to your arrival. They know about the review. They can’t wait.”
I laugh. I can’t wait.
Bobby sobers. “On a serious note, Tank and I are also looking forward to your review, Steph. It’s not only become a point of pride around the company, but you’re doing an outstanding job pointing out weak spots in the company and our leadership.” He smiles wryly. “We’ve had our asses kicked reading your reviews and seeing your assessments. It’s really eye-opening. We’re proud of you, Bomber.”
I smile and hug Bobby tight. “Thanks, Bobby.”
I’m glad they feel that way. I’ve finally figured out how I’m going to deliver that pillowcase.
Bobby’s POV
Tank and I are nervous, which is amazing.
We’re honestly nervous and scared about what Steph might find here. This branch is brand new, but she’s been doing an excellent job. The RMSA men are also nervous and excited. They’re determined to pass but they’re curious about what she might say.
They’re also excited that she brought Diego. They finally get to see the man who is the front-runner to be their boss, so they want to see what he has to say about them. Diego’s opinion will be more important to the men than Steph’s.
I walk Steph back up to the apartment on 8, then hit my apartment and shower. This is really important to me. Atlanta passed and passed with flying colors. I want this branch to pass too. I get fresh and clean and text Les.
She’s here.
So far?
She helped with intake.
We’ll pass. I’m sure.
I hope so.
We intend to have a serious talk with Steph at some point during her trip. We owe her an apology for asking, making, her take responsibility for Trenton’s problems. The company issues were not her fault. They were ours and ever since NYC, we’ve accepted that more and more.
Each of us intends to make some changes. A lot of changes, really. Tank has already. He’s recommitting himself to the NCO creed. He’s apologized to each XO and is waiting on the NYC review before he starts a tour of the company. He plans to spend at least two weeks, every other month, in a different branch of the company. Grueling schedule, but he’s determined to make up for his lack of leadership.
The XOs have come together as a group and they’ve started calling on him again when they need him. He’s feeling better about his role and responsibility and I see how much it means to him to lead again.
The one thing Les and I have agreed on is that the weeks at the beach need to be a permanent thing. Even if we don’t do it at the beach, if we call all the liaisons and strategists to Miami or Atlanta or the Jersey Shore, every year the men need to have a retreat. They need to get together and really get to know each other. It’s easier to call on a man when I know what his strength is. Ram and Adam? Hilarious. Thomas and Drake are getting to know each other. Even Rodney is being treated like a member of the team again. I have daily calls with him but he tells me Adam and Thomas are reaching out to him too. He knows it will take time to be forgiven but he’s trying to earn it.
We’re thinking of extending the retreats to the next level underneath too. The men in bonds enforcement shouldget together to talk trends. They should have skip tracing workshops to help them refocus effort, just like Steph did her first week in Trenton. She helped them look at issues from a different angle and our company rate has shot up. Every office is picking up new bonds offices because of it.
For Les, it’s even more important. Those strategist “jam sessions” really helped the men gel as a group and start leaning on each other. The product lines are exploding because the men were able to get together and feed off each other. They jump on company calls now and talk issues through. It’s been amazing, and beautiful, and Les is having a blast with it.
Me? I’m thinking about calling all the liaisons to Atlanta again. My men really act as the “face” of the company most of the time. They serve as public relations men, handling everything from upset clients to contract negotiations in addition to their internal duties. RangeWorld has made it easier to disseminate company news, so it’s time to refocus their duties and efforts and ensure they have what they need for the million different things they do.
Steph’s done amazing work in the company and she’s really turned it around. That’s great and we’re thankful. We’re thinking of making her position permanent, with some changes, but in the past six months we’ve finally gotten over the anger and denial we were living in. The company situation? That’s on us. She didn’t help the situation, but at the end of the day, Steph was not a RangeMan.
It was not our duty to continue to save her life. If she didn’t care enough about her life to safeguard it, we should not have put our company at risk to continue to save her life.
We’re aware that it sounds cold. It sounds as if we’re saying we should have left Steph to die and, in a way, that is what we’re saying. RangeMan comes first for us from now on. No one man, or woman, is greater than the responsibility we have to the 500 men and women we employ. We’ve realigned our priorities. Our employees will always come first from now on. They must. RangeMan brotherhood demands that we put our brothers (and sisters) first. We’ve seen the high cost our lack of focus has had on this company and we’ve have a chance to swallow the hard bitter truth: We love Steph but we love ourselves more.
Every time we saved her life then allowed her to blow off our offers of training and support, we allowed her to disrespect us and herself. We won’t allow it any longer.
Steph’s changed and she’s gotten stronger. That’s good but so have we. Away from New Jersey, away from Trenton, we’ve regained our focus. Staying in Trenton for four years ruined our focus. We’re accustomed to being mobile, staying ahead of threats, not sinking into complacency but that’s exactly what happened to us in Trenton.
We’ve really felt it since we left. All three of us are getting our old skills and abilities back, especially Les. I see now that being outmaneuvered by Scrog was a blow to his sense of himself. This op, this chance to show his skills with the Sureños and the FBI, has been the best thing to happen to Les in years. Being here in Texas is like old times and I think the informal consensus among us is that we’ll never return to Trenton. Not permanently. That place ruined our focus.
Steph was Ranger’s issue and he’ll have to accept responsibility for it. We intend to make him accept responsibility for it. Never again will Stephanie Plum come before RangeMan. Her needs cannot come before the needs of the men and women we employ. We will never allow that to happen again and we intend to make sure he knows it when he rejoins us.
Les’s irritation at being forced to speed up his counter op is palpable. He plans to have it out with Ranger once he rejoins us. Les wanted to put Ranger and RangeMan beyond suspicion and that mall thing pissed him off to no end. Ranger will not be ready for the level of fury Les plans to unleash on him when this is over.
Steph has created a huge crack in not just our personal brotherhood but in their familial relationship, and I’m not sure if it can be fixed without Ranger and Steph finally getting on one page and Steph accepting that her safety has to come first. And Les is going to want proof that she gets it.
If she hasn’t gotten the idea, she will the first time we don’t call out RangeMan resources to save her from herself if she leaves the company. If she fails to safeguard her life again, we are prepared to fire her. No ifs, ands or buts about it. We would have fired any other employee and Les is determined that we’ll stop treating Steph differently. Even Lula gets it and is operating under tightened security, and Lula knows nothing about the op. Les (and I) feel that if Lula, who is just as independent as Steph, can accept the restrictions knowing less about the situation than Steph does, Steph can. If we have to save her we’ll present her with a bill, just like we would any other BEA, client, or subcontractor.
No one gets a free pass anymore. We have to run our company like a business.
RangeMan comes first.
Diego’s POV
This could be my branch! I’m trying to rein in my excitement. This place is classy! Shit, I thought nothing could top Miami. This comes close. If they had a beach, I would call a moving service to take over now.
All because I accepted a shit assignment in the worst city I ever had to live in, even if it was temporary. Man, the rose that grew from dirt indeed. I was thrilled when Steph called and said she wanted me and Mark on this assessment. Mando’s back in Miami and Chase is in charge of Charlotte until I return to take over again.
Thomas says Mando’s return to Miami was met with cheers. Miami has officially certified me as a difficult asshole to work for. I’m amused. Fuckers. I don’t play and I won’t let them play either. Get back to work and quit playing around. We have a reputation to fix.
The guys from the other branches don’t think I’m difficult to work with at all. The guys from Trenton and Boston say it feels just like home. Good.
Mando was amused but the regime is staying in place. Everyone has their heads down, working hard.
I decide to start the examination of this branch by finding Maria and Rafe. I find them together in the prep room.
Kissing.
I pull the door with an exaggerated sigh and hear giggles.
“Thanks!” Rafe.
I smile and turn to find three RMSA men in front of me. I blank my face and nod. “Need something?”
They shake their heads. “Nah. Martin Gonzalez, AKA Gonzo. Welcome to RMSA.”
I nod and look at the others. “I’m Sam, AKA Slick. Welcome to RMSA.”
“Lew. Welcome to RMSA.”
“Diego Garcia, Interim XO of Miami.”
“We understand that you’re the front runner to be our boss,” Gonzo says.
Idiot? Or talks too much? I stare at him until he fidgets. “That decision is Tank’s, with the recommendation of Ms. Plum.”
They nod, embarrassed. “Well, we wanted to say hey and welcome to the branch.”
I walk to the stairwell but turn back to look at them. “What will your hello to the XO of Boston contain?”
“Excuse me?”
“Am I getting a special hello for some reason? Or do you intend to greet the Boston XO in the same manner?” They’re quiet. I raise an eyebrow. “I’m still here to help the CO with her assessment. Keep that in mind.”
I hit the stairwell. Time to examine the building.
I start with the garage. I’m looking at everything. Nothing is too unimportant. This location is unique because the garage is a separate attached building. Good because it means we didn’t lose any floors to that and if we’re ever bombed, they won’t take down the entire building. Bad because if someone wanted to cripple our entire fleet, they could. The garage has three doors for vehicles and a side door for entry.
I look around. I see the security cameras in place scanning the perimeter and the interior. The man in the control room comes out and stands at attention but doesn’t speak.
Good. Men were trained well. Well, let’s check.
“I’d like the keys to the Mercedes.”
“Which one, sir?”
“The CL63.”
He swallows hard. “That’s Bobby’s car, sir. I’ll need to get his permission.”
I scowl. “I have his permission.”
“I still need to get his perm—”
I move closer. “I have his permission,” I hiss.
He swallows hard but his jaw is set. “Understood, sir! But I still need his permission to release those keys to you.”
I stare at him before stepping back and giving him a small smile. “At ease.” He stares at me. “At ease, soldier. Just wanted to make sure you had the balls to do what’s right.”
He releases a breath and drops to at ease. I clap his back. “Good job.” I nod to enter the control room and he moves and allows me to enter. I check everything out. He’s running searches, not playing solitaire. Good. Remaining industrious.
“What do you do when you don’t have searches to run?”
“Schoolwork, sir.”
“Degree?”
“Management, sir.”
I nod and hold out my hand to shake. He shakes and I smile. “Good job. Keep it up.”
I leave the garage but I look back right before I exit.
He’s smiling.
I return to the building and start looking around. The RMSA men are silent the moment I come into view, but I don’t stop my review of the building. Tank eventually comes out and stands in my path.
“Garcia.”
“Sir.” I come to attention and await orders. Every RMSA man is watching avidly.
“I assume you’re conducting your portion of the assessment.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Need anything?”
“No, sir.”
Tank stares at me for a moment then nods and moves. I continue moving from floor to floor.
I run into Mark on the 5th floor. He smirks. “Intimidating the men already?”
I raise an eyebrow and he motions for me to follow him into an empty conference room. Mark turns to me with a smile. “The men are talking. They wanted to say hello to you because they’re excited to meet you and you were kind of a dick with them.”
I frown. “That wasn’t what I was going for.”
“I know,” Mark says. “But still, they’ve been looking forward to meeting you.” He chuckles. “Thankfully, the Miami men that were here said you could kinda be a dick so it’s feeding into your legend.”
Fuckers. I’m getting Teddy G for that. I know it was him.
“Seriously, ease up a bit,” Mark says quietly. “The men are already nervous about impressing you, but you need to remember you need to impress them too. If the RMSA men don’t like you, you won’t get the job. A job interview is always a two-way street.”
I stare at Mark. I want to remind him he’s on thin ice, but I realize that that’s exactly why I should take his advice. He has to reapply for his job at all levels.
Mando told me to give Mark a chance. He’s an asshole but he was also Mando’s best friend in this company for the longest. Mark’s advice has saved Mando’s ass time and time again. Plus, Mark has the complete loyalty of his men, a situation every XO in this company envies. Even after admitting how badly he fucked up, they’re still loyal to him.
“Right. Thanks.” I smile in spite of myself. “What are you reviewing?”
“So far, the men. The discussion about you started off ‘He’s a dick!’ but the guy in the garage likes you. Said you were straight with him. Just intimidating as hell.” He smiles. “I’m happy to be here. Their energy is damn near infectious. I’m trying to remember if Boston or Miami was ever like this.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Brotherhood is tight. The men don’t really have cliques that I see. They try hard to put people’s pasts to the side. Everyone knows everyone else’s skills and abilities. No secrets in this bunch. Not really.”
I’m nodding. I have to rebuild brotherhood and knowing it’s tight here, I want to see what they did. I wonder how much I can replicate in Miami.
“I’m nearly done with the building assessment. I plan to get out this afternoon. You?”
“Sounds good.”
We open the door to the conference room and the men immediately scatter and pretend to ignore us. Mark starts chuckling, which brings Tank and Bobby to the floor. I’m smiling and shaking my head.
No matter what, no matter the location, RangeMen are still nosy as hell.
Hector’s POV
Manolo’s here.
Manolo’s here.
“Sir?”
Manolo’s here.
“Sir?”
I look up sharply. Walt is one of my Atlanta men and I’m reviewing his work. As usual, everything appears to be correct. My men know I don’t tolerate failure. Failure could bring this company down. Test, test, test. So far, I’m pleased with the 2nd floor, which belongs to Electronics and Communications. Walt and Dray did a good job setting this up in a way that is efficient and effective.
Now, if I could just keep my mind on reviewing it. I’m trying, but the way Manolo’s eyes looked when I stepped into the room during intake keeps throwing me.
He looked happy and surprised to see me.
And definitely glad to see as much of me as I put on display. I normally don’t walk around shirtless. That was definitely for effect and I was glad to see it had one.
Walt is staring at me. “Sir, you wanted to review the network.”
“Right.”
I start reviewing the configuration, then examining the cabling and the servers. Excellent work! This place doesn’t look like a rat’s nest. It’s clean and organized.
I move from floor to floor checking computers, reviewing setup, travelling to the garage and examining the cars for the required equipment. I see where Walt and Dray have set up antennas for the wireless signal in the building, even though we don’t have it configured yet. Overall, excellent work. I end my first pass on the first floor.
I turn to them. “I expect excellence.” They nod. “As usual, I got it. Good job.”
They relax and smile. I turn and I’m looking at Manolo.
Well, all the new recruits, but Manolo’s on the end. Angelitaand Bobby are with them, escorting them to the door. I check the time. 1705.
Our eyes meet and I try hard not to give him any sign of recognition. Doesn’t matter. His eyes are screaming ‘Yeah, yeah, I know. You don’t know me, I don’t know you.”
I finally drag my eyes away from him to Angelita and Bobby.
Both look amused.
“How’s the network?” Bobby asks.
Thank you, Bobby! “I expect excellence. I got it.”
Angelita takes my arm. “This was just a sneaky way to make me work out today. I’m not fooled.” Bobby translates and I grin. “Lula’s promised a steakhouse for dinner. Something called chew-oscar—” She stops, looking confused.
“Churrascaria,” I finish. She looks at me and I shrug. “Portuguese for barbeque.” I grin. “Meat lovers delight!”
Walt translates and her eyes widen. “Let’s go! I’m hungry.” She rubs her tummy. “I just realized I really haven’t had anything since Ella’s oatmeal this morning.” The Beast grumbles its irritation and we all laugh. We head to the elevators and I take one last look behind me.
Manolo’s laughing with the new recruits. He looks happy. Good.
I hope he makes it through.
Tank’s POV
Lula’s been nervous about Steph’s trip to San Antonio ever since I told her she was coming. She wants to show off the city and the branch to the best of their ability and the men have definitely been behind her on that.
Me?
I spent a weekend at Momma’s really thinking about what I wanted to talk to Steph about. I’m interested in what she’ll say about the branch but, more importantly, we need to have a deep personal conversation like the one Bobby had with Lula when she came to visit.
She keeps running around without the guard and that’s a problem. She doesn’t see her partnership with Hector as an essential part of her life. She sees it as something temporary while she’s working for RangeMan and that has to end.
The partnership she has with Hector will outlast her employment with this company, if she chooses to leave. Hector will always see her as his partner. He will always put her before him. More importantly, her relationship with Ranger will mean she will always be a part of my life and I can’t blow up at her like I did last April. She’s my Little Girl, but if she and Ranger make a go of it, she’ll always be my sister.
I don’t want Ranger to die. He’s my partner and best friend. My first real friend. I understand how Lula feels about Steph because that’s the way I feel about Ranger.
The women cannot come between us. If I had to choose, I’d put Lula before Ranger but I’d feel the loss of Ranger the rest of my life.
Thankfully, Lula understands. She’s taking the training seriously. She’s putting in the effort in the gun range to learn to shoot safely. The driving lessons were unnecessary; she already drives like a maniac. The men are scared to ride with her. She understands that once she and I marry, Ranger will always be a part of her life. She’s thinking of what she needs to say to Ranger when he returns so he understands that she understands her past actions were dangerous and that she’s taking all of this seriously.
Dragging in the fake FBI agent made the importance of everything we’d told her crystal clear. Speaking to Jason made it hit home. She gets it now.
If Ranger and Steph really decide to make a relationship between them work, Steph will always be a part of my life. So I need to ensure that Steph understands that her life matters. Her safety matters. Hector and Ranger will put themselves in danger to save her but she has to quit making herself an easy target. I don’t intend to lose my best friend because the woman he loves doesn’t have her head screwed on tight. It’s time to let this childish attitude go and be responsible, not just for her own life, but Ranger’s, Hector’s and mine.
On behalf of Ranger’s family, Les intends to speak to her too. If Ranger is harmed because Steph fails to take herself seriously, I shudder to think what Les might do. He’s still fucking with Tomas and it’s been 20 years since Tomas betrayed Ranger.
After learning Tomas betrayed Hector, Les vowed to never let up. Tomas had betrayed two men Les loves deeply as his brothers. Tomas will never know peace.
Steph? Les would drive her to the brink of insanity. Les doesn’t forgive or forget anything where Ranger is involved and if Hector is also hurt that’ll be the end of her. I don’t want to see that. I don’t want to know what Les would do to her.
He’s made it clear: this psyop is Steph’s last chance. She screws this up and he’ll finally advise Ranger to cut her off. Let her go. The ‘offline to the mall’ situation pushed Les close to the brink. Les and Ranger had it out, a situation Ranger never expected, and it forced Ranger to have it out with Steph. He did not enjoy that, but I told him that he cannot avoid hard discussions with his woman simply because she has a history of running off in a snit or screaming in anger. Lula has a history of getting pissed too but she’s mature enough to face me with it.
Plus, Lula doesn’t have a lot of places to run away from me in San Antonio.
Steph doesn’t know exactly how close all four of us came to abandoning her over that. Les was damn near there and I wasn’t far behind him. Bobby reminded us (after he calmed down) that Steph is used to moving on her own and she’s not used to having a real partner so we needed to cut her a little slack. Hector followed up on that a few hours later, which was the only thing that calmed Les down.
Instead, he held his tongue and started pushing his part of the counter-op a bit faster than he wanted, but he told Ranger that he shouldn’t have to accommodate her immaturity when people’s lives were at stake. The “peace summit” we just had would have been better suited for execution at the New Year but Les moved it up and put new plans into play. It looks like his plans will wrap this up faster but he worries about transparency. He wants to make sure no one catches that RangeMan was involved.
I know Les. He also wanted more time to fuck with everyone. He was having a great time. I told him to quit playing with his new toys and bring Ranger home.
However, if Steph does something irresponsible like that again, before this op is finished, Les is done and Bobby intends to join him in that. I’m on the fence. I intend to watch her during this visit. That will determine if I cast my lot with them.
Hector’s the wild card at the moment. I think he’d stick with her and continue to work with her, but he’ll always put Mijo, and himself, ahead of her, which you can’t do in a partnership. She doesn’t want a bodyguard? That’s exactly what Hector would become. Not her partner but her bodyguard and a controlling one at that.
Ranger’s making an effort. We can see it every time we talk to him. He’s talking more, coming out of his shell, opening up. Bobby admitted that he and Les have been happy to see it. They assumed it would take a miracle to pull us out of our shells. Lula’s pulling me out of mine. I laugh more and more easily. Steph’s forcing Ranger out of his, but the fact remains.
Steph needs to quit making an ultimatum possible.
A/N: After the strike, Mark took Ram and the Trenton guys back home and picked up ML, Connie and Candy. Diego rode along with Mark so that it would appear that they all arrived together for the branch review. Hector went directly back to Atlanta to say goodbye to Nikki and Mijo. Tank and Bobby went directly back to Texas to prepare for intake. That’s why Diego, ML, Connie and Candy were already on the plane when Mark arrived in Atlanta to get Steph and Hector.
