Chapter 14: Past and Present
Manny’s POV (All conversations in Spanish)
After the meeting, Ranger asks me and Hector to follow him to his office- Wifey’s office, whatever. My brain is on overload. Ranger is headed into a completely FUBAR situation. I think it will take some time to process everything I’ve heard, but one thing is certain: I have a very good guess on who might be the New Jersey moles.
Ranger looks at Hector for a long moment. Hector, in turn, stares at me for a long moment, assessing. He turns back to Ranger and nods.
“Manny, Hector and I are trusting you with information we never want to hear discussed again. Your background in law enforcement and the FBI leads me to believe that you and Hector, more than anyone else in this company, might be able to help me piece together the information I’m going to receive in the streets. Plus, I may need you to tap back into the feeb network for me. If you feel helping me is going to violate your principles, leave now.”
Leave? The entire reason I joined RangeMan is because the unofficial motto in this place is “Morally right even if legally grey.” I know better than anyone how doing the legal thing is rarely the right thing. “I’m in. What do you need from me?”
Over the next hour I hear things about Ranger and Hector’s pasts that completely shock me. Long story short, Ranger is still considered a Latin King in the streets, just inactive. When he joined the gang at 13, he ‘bled in’ to become a member. When he left Newark at 19 to join the military, he never ‘bled out,’ which is the only way one stops being a Latin King. Regardless of the military ethic, members of street gangs make up a huge part of the military, especially the Army, and his status as a Latin King never harmed his military career. After he became a Ranger, it was probably never thought of again, especially since he’s not tatted and doesn’t rep the signals.
But just like you just can’t stop being military, you can’t stop being a King, and the Kings of Newark and Miami still consider him one of their own, which goes a long way toward explaining RangeMan’s rep and intel networks on the streets. They know that the man in charge is one of them and that he could ‘pull a Hector’ on them and no one would ever know, so there’s no need to have him ‘bleed out’ [A/N: See Postscript for details.]. The Kings’ main sources of income are drugs, identity forgery, arms dealing and murder, areas of business RangeMan has no stake in, so Ranger isn’t in conflict with his former brothers. Although, it does explain why Hector and Silvio are so good at creating fake identities.
Hector’s past is more well known, although the details I get are surprising. Everyone in Central Jersey knows that Hector Gutierrez is responsible for the complete devastation of the Latin Kings in the region. What they don’t know, what I didn’t know, is that Hector ‘bled out’ officially. When Hector got fed up with banging and was ready to ‘bleed out,’ he followed the code. He took down his attackers in the circle, but instead of letting him walk away clean, they came after him again. Hector quietly assassinated 90% of the remaining Kings in Trenton and the surrounding areas and put out word that anyone who came after him could expect the same to happen to them.
By that time, Ranger had started RangeMan Trenton and quickly hired Hector for his expertise with electronics. His hiring was controversial, especially with Trenton PD, who had a feeling that Hector was responsible for the massacre, but they couldn’t pin shit on him. Considering he’d just cleaned up a huge portion of their gang problem, they weren’t trying too hard. Between Ranger, a former Army Ranger/Special Forces military man, and Hector, uber-assassin, the Latin gangs in Jersey decided it wasn’t worth it to oppose them.
“Hector and I still have contacts in Newark, who have been feeding me information about the moves MS-13 have been making into Jersey. I already have good intel on who’s causing the mayhem and confusion here, but I need Hector to go verify it. Over the next few weeks, I need you and Hector working together to comb through the info I bring in to verify that I’ve got the right people before I start electronic surveillance.”
“I’m going to take a guess here and say you’re looking at Marco Reyes, Esteban Rivas, and Ramon Garcia, right?” Ranger is quiet; Hector is smiling.
“I told you, bro, shit smells,” Hector says. “Those fuckers are dirty; you just need to pin it on them.”
“How did you know?” Ranger asks.
“Feeb nose. The rumors were rampant that those three were dirty when I was still there. No one could ever prove it, but the lifestyle they were living, the cars they drove, and the houses they had, it was way above feeb pay grades. Not one of them had a wealthy relative to pass money to them or their spouses, so we couldn’t figure it out. The other problem was that they investigated white-collar crimes, and in the Bureau no one ever really thought about or followed up on the nexus between white-collar and violent crimes unless the suspect was Mafia. Since they couldn’t find any links in their actual cases and they had good conviction rates, it was shrugged off. Hearing that they might be taking kick-backs from gangs makes more sense than anything else I ever heard in the Bureau. I’d look for a gang or relative connection.”
I turn to Hector. “I owe you a confession, something I shoulda told you long before now. Trenton PD was using the Bureau to process the forensic in your cases. The only forensic proof in the only case where any was left behind just happened to disappear right before I left the Bureau. Since the evidence was in transit between Trenton PD and the Bureau when it disappeared, no one is quite sure what happened. Trenton PD is not sure how it happened. The Bureau isn’t sure how it happened. I’m not too concerned about how it happened. After all, I was a short-timer there.”
Silence. Then the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on Hector’s face appears and, to my astonishment, tears are running down his face. “Manny, thank you. I was worried about that.” Ranger is also full-on smiling. I’m not gay, but I can’t understand how Wifey manages to resist the boss. I’d pay to be that handsome.
“Don’t thank me. I have no idea what happened. I just know it did.” I smile too. This conversation will never be repeated anywhere else. The man who did the disappearing died in the line of duty shortly thereafter, and it wasn’t until his funeral that I put all the pieces together, so it will remain a secret. Turns out, his brother was a Latin King from Philly, pretty high up in the organization, who thought the way the Trenton Kings handled Hector was without honor.
When I first joined RangeMan and learned I would be working with Hector, I had no intention of ever revealing that information. Hell, I had no intentions of ever speaking to him. I was still enough of an officer to be pissed that we could never pin anything on him and angry that a fellow feeb let a gang-banger go free, regardless of the reason.
Now it all makes sense. In the time that I’ve worked with Hector, I’ve realized that the man has a core of honesty and decency that’s missing in a lot of so-called “honest citizens.” He says what he means, he keeps his word, he protects those he cares about, and he will die for those he loves. It helped that he had never killed anyone before he made the decision to stop banging, so I’m classifying his actions under self-defense. Hell he didn’t, and still doesn’t, have any kind of record. Morally right, if legally grey.
I trust Hector with my back in the field, which is saying a lot considering he and I didn’t start off too well when I joined RangeMan. Lester eventually took me to the side and told me that pissing off Hector was dangerous to my health. Besides, I needed to decide if I was going to judge the man for the rumors I heard or the evidence I had in front of my face. What I’d heard or what I saw with my own eyes.
After that, Hector and I started getting along much better, and I now apply that with all men in RangeMan. Regardless of what I hear about your background, you have a fresh slate with me; after all, some of my former colleagues assume I’ve gone over to the dark side since I started work here, but working here I’ve drawn my gun less than when I was a feeb. I decided never to rub it in their faces that I make a hell of a lot more than I did in the Bureau. It’s legal money, too.
We kick around ideas for the next hour until we hear this deafening roar come from the floor. Hector and I stand up, staring at the door. Ranger smiles. “I guess Tank sent the email about Steph’s elevation.” We all smile at each other and go join the party.
Steph’s POV
Great. The guys left me in here with Hal and the other four XOs to let me work out how I’m going to interact with them over the next year. I know that I need some time to wrap my head around everything Ranger just covered (even though I was already aware of all of it) so I wave to get their attention.
“I don’t know about you, but I need a few minutes before we launch into the rest of the day, so how about we take 10, grab something from the break room and meet back here.” I get four quiet nods as they leave, and I realize I can’t move anywhere. No worries; Hal stands over me with a worried look in his eyes.
“Do you want me to carry you to the break room, Steph, or should I bring you back something?”
I sigh. “No bark and twigs, if at all possible, Hal. Fruit, water, a muffin but no granola.” He smiles, picks me up and moves me closer to the table then walks off.
I’m scribbling in my notebook. I don’t know what to say to them or how to start this off right. I know they need to accept that I’m in charge, but I have no idea how to establish my authority. I need Ranger right now. I need him to show me what to do.
“Excuse me?” I can’t remember his name, but he’s gorgeous. Black hair, green eyes, and dimples in both cheeks. I have to check the RangeMan employment contract. “I’m Daniel, Danny, from Atlanta. Congratulations on your appointment as CO.” Right. Atlanta and NYC were the two sites the guys bought instead of built and Danny is more corporate than military.
“Thank you. Stephanie. Nice to meet you.”
“Can I give you some advice?” I’m immediately wary, and he smiles.
“Nah, I have no intentions of messing with you. Look, start as you mean to go on. I know that sounds like “Duh” advice, but it’s the truth. You run the company. We answer to you. So, ask your questions. Demand answers. And if I were you, I’d start with getting an idea of what each branch focuses on, number of employees, and what each XO has planned for his pipeline, or new ideas he’d like to implement. Stay away from the financials if at all possible in a group setting. None of these guys are going to want to talk about them unless they are one on one with you.”
This is actually pretty sound advice and matches what Ranger said to me this morning, so I smile at him. So far, Danny has shown himself to be someone I can trust for advice. “Thank you. I think I’ll do just that.” I get another smile as he retakes his seat and starts making notes.
I have my questions ready as each XO returns to the Conference Room. “Well, I think we’ve already had one hell of a morning.” I smile and get two smiles, two frowns, and one completely blank face in response. “First thing first, I’d like for each of you to introduce yourselves, tell me a little bit about yourself and why you joined RangeMan. Hal, can we start with you?” Hal turns beet red, but composes himself and turns towards his new colleagues.
“Well, I’m Hal. I served in the Army in the Corp of Engineers as a Sapper and as Rescue. I also underwent Special Forces Training, Green Beret. I joined RangeMan because the ethos here was something I believed in strongly, and the opportunity to serve under Carlos Mañoso, even as a civilian, means a lot.”
Wow, I never knew any of that. “What’s a sapper, Hal?”
Hal blushes beet-red again. “Military Engineer, Bombshell.”
The guy next to Hal chuckles. “Try again. Try ’Demolitions Expert’.”
I turn to Hal. “Is that true?” Hal nods, completely red. “You mean that I’m nicknamed Bombshell and you’re the one who knows how to blow things up?”
“Yeah, well, I mean, I was trained to blow up buildings, bridges, roads, that sort of thing. You blow up funeral homes, cars, road-kill. . .well, you don’t blow them up, you just happen to be nearby when it happens.”
The other XOs are laughing now. Thank god. We’ve broken the ice.
“Besides, you know that’s a two-part nickname. I mean. . . you know, they gave it to you because of. . . I mean. . . you know. . . ” Hal is motioning up and down with his hand, and he’s red again. Everyone is laughing harder and ribbing him. “Anyway, I appreciate everyone’s offers of assistance. I don’t know what to expect my first week, so anything you can tell me is great to help me get off on the right foot.”
I look to Hal’s right. Tall and muscular with dark hair, dark eyes and pale skin. I’m tempted to name him ‘Gomez Addams,’ but he lacks the mustache.
“Well, I’m Armando, and I run the Miami branch. Congratulations on your appointment as CO, Stephanie. I look forward to working with you. Anyway, I served as a Marine for 10 years before joining RangeMan, and I joined because I wanted the excitement of the military with a better paycheck.” The guys laugh again.
Mr. Dimples is next. “I’m Daniel, Danny, and I run RangeMan Atlanta. I’m not military,” the guys boo and hiss playfully, “but I do have a master’s in finance from Emory University. I also served in the National Guard for seven years, and I don’t want to hear any ‘weekend warrior’ jokes from any of you.” The guys grin and nod at him. “I jumped ship from Enron, joined AlliedSecurity right before we were bought out, and I stayed because RangeMan offered the best combination of all my training and skills. I’m in management at a very military-minded company, which is great.” All the guys are nodding now. It’s a good explanation.
The next guy is Mr. Blank Face. Tall and muscular with blond hair and cold grey eyes. Iceman? “I’m Mark, and I run RangeMan Boston. I’m formerly US Air Force, and I was a fighter pilot.” Oh that’s funny. I really do have ‘Iceman” as an XO. So who’s Maverick? Me? The nickname might fit. . . I’ll think about it later. “I’ve been with the company for six years, and I’ve spent a lot of time at each branch and with each XO, so if you need any advice or assistance Stephanie, please feel free to call me.”
It’s weird. The moment he offers to help, I can feel the atmosphere in the room chill, and even Hal is looking at him coolly. Something has happened that I need to find out about, but for the moment I shelve my intention to ask if his nickname is ‘Iceman’ and nod. The last guy must be the XO from NYC. Shorter, about 5’10” with chocolate skin and dark eyes. Lord help, he’s gorgeous. A darker version of Ranger.
“I’m Javier from RangeMan NYC, and like Danny, I’m not military, I’m corporate. My degree is in Public Administration and Finance from NYU, and I also served in the National Guard for 10 years.” He smiles at me. “I mean, Danny and I are like twins here. I joined SecuritySystems, the forerunner of RangeMan and stayed when we were bought out and just moved up in the company. Like Danny, I stayed because it was the best combination of my training and skills.”
Well, this hasn’t been bad. I have a room of former military and two guys with advanced degrees. I have plenty of people to help me keep this company afloat. “Well, I’m Stephanie Plum, nicknamed the Bombshell Bounty Hunter by the Trenton Gazette. I’m not especially fond of that nickname, but I tolerate it with the Trenton guys because I know they don’t mean anything bad by it. Tell your staff not to call me that.”
Each XO except Hal nods and makes a note of it. “I’m a former lingerie buyer,” this gets raised eyebrows all around the room. I’m back to two smiles and three frowns “and I was unemployed for six months before I blackmailed my weasel of a cousin into giving me a job as a bounty hunter just so I could go after my ex, a Trenton cop who was FTA.” Each man’s eyebrows raise further. Much more and they’ll hit their hairlines. “That’s how I met Ranger. He offered to give me some basic pointers. Bringing in Morelli, the cop, was my first big FTA. $10,000 to me. I also ended up clearing him of the murder charges.”
I smile at the memory, and the men sit back in their chairs with small smiles, assessing me a bit more. Well, four smiles and one blank face. Iceman is not thawing.
“Anyway, depending on who you ask, my capture rate is either 98.5% or 100%, and although I don’t always do it by the book, I always get the right man. I graduated with a degree in business from Douglass College that has pretty much gone unused since I left E.E. Martin,” Javier’s eyebrows shoot up at that, “and I’ve worked on and off in just about everything RangeMan Trenton has done for the past few years. And now Ranger has left me here with you guys to run it for the year, so you tell me, what do I need to focus on first?”
We have a good start going. The guys are a wealth of ideas. Danny would like to move into private investigation and hospitality coverage. Javier agrees with Danny’s assessment and adds that he would like to add more personal body guarding services to his roster. Mark has a lot of financial institutions in Boston, so the addition of more large-client services would really help him. Armando has the most difficult situation. Because it’s Miami, personal body-guarding is big, but he can see where the addition of retail loss prevention would really grow RangeMan Miami. Hal is on Day 1 like me but apparently he’s been thinking and talking with Manny, because he would like to grow the Personal Investigation services we offer and look more at Special Event and Hospitality coverage.
“Ok, you guys are going to have to explain what Hospitality coverage is?” For my question, I get a loud exhale from Mark. Hey, I can’t know everything.
Danny is the one most eager to move into this, so he explains. “Hospitality coverage is providing security for large scale events and conferences. Atlanta, Boston, and Miami are among the top 10 places in the country to hold events and conferences and being able to provide this service is low-cost, high pay day. Best of all, we allow the client to determine if they need armed or unarmed security. We can recommend either or a mixture of both.”
“What kind of events are we talking about?” Armando and Javier have also leaned forward and are listening closely.
“Things like major shareholder meetings, sorority and fraternity conferences, product conferences, that sort of thing. We can provide security to do checkpoints, screen people, establish rolling perimeters, walk people to their cars and protect displays, among other services.” The more Danny talks the more excited he is about the idea.
I see the dilemma Ranger and the guys face. There are many things we can do, but which ones should we do? Then again, we have a lot of ex-cons and ex-gang members in all the RangeMan offices, especially Trenton, NYC, and Miami. We need situations where they can serve without necessarily having to use a gun, since most convicts are barred from using guns. Private Investigation, Special Events and Hospitality sounds like they might be the winners. . . We’re 90 minutes in when we hear a deafening roar from the monitoring stations. Hal grins and says, “I think that’s for you, Steph.”
The door bursts open, and Junior runs in, followed closely by half of RangeMan Trenton. “Sorry to interrupt, CO,” and the guys burst into loud cheers and applause, “but your presence is required on the floor.” Hal is grinning as Junior picks me up and carries me to the floor. Ranger and the Core Team are standing there with Ella and a cake, grins on all their faces. Ranger grin. Yum. . . I check quickly for drool. He takes me into his arms and settles me in a chair while the rest of the guys crowd around. I see video cameras recording the event.
“Stephanie Plum, on behalf of RangeMan Trenton, we want to congratulate you on your elevation to Commanding Officer of RangeMan, LLC.” Junior is in his element, and every man in RangeMan Trenton is looking thrilled. “We understand that for the duration of your recovery period, you will also reside with us,” more cheers, “and will continue to reside here with us for the next year.”
Loud Cheers! I never thought the guys would be this happy.
“Steph, we will do everything in our power to help you grow and expand RangeMan over the next year, and we stand ready to carry out your orders. Ranger, Tank, Lester, Bobby, we will not fail in protecting Steph, in supporting her, and in helping her carry out her mission. We will provide her with every resource. We will anticipate and meet her every need, and we will keep her safe and secure until you return. Hip Hip—”
“HOORAY!” I’m really touched, both by Junior’s words and by the Pineapple Upside-Down cake I see in front of me. I want to eat it but. . . Ranger solves the dilemma by cutting a piece off the slice Ella hands him and feeding it to me. I have tears running down my cheeks and no less than seven hands extend with handkerchiefs and Kleenex.
“You guys really meant that ‘anticipate and meet every need’ bit, huh?” I smile as I reach for the handkerchiefs. They smile and every man on the floor takes a slice of cake. Ranger holds me around the waist and we begin the “Pass the CO” game with every man on the floor. Each one hugs me, kisses my cheeks, squeezes my hands and lets me know how happy they are that I’ll be in charge over the next year. I know that this is my first day, but it’s starting off great.
Author’s Postscript: The terms ‘bleed in’ and ‘bleed out’ are gang terminology that describe a willingness to shed blood, either your own or the blood of others, to show loyalty to the gang. Since I’m anti-senseless violence, I’m not writing a 13-year old as committing murder, so beating it is. So, in Ranger’s case, since he was 13, to ‘bleed in’ with the Latin Kings, he took a savage beating for 3 minutes. Usually, a prospect can join the gang if they can survive the beating.
I’m taking a creative license here because normally, in Black and Latino gangs, once in you never get out. The only way out is through the grave. However, before the 80’s, if someone wanted to get out of a gang, they had to survive another beating, which was usually administered by the entire gang and lasted around 5 minutes. If you survived, you could walk away. I’m using this method to get Hector out.
I live for Gangland and other similar documentaries on Netflix. This is a chance to put that knowledge to use.
