Mando’s POV

0700.

I’m back in my office.

Ranger is back in my office.

We’re staring at each other, squinting slightly because of the early morning sun filtering through my blinds. I get up and adjust the blinds, staring at the park outside. The entire office is quiet. Ranger pulled the fabric mask off once we hit the building. The men have been silent.

It’s ‘official’: the CCO is really here, even though he’s not if you like living.

Mari and Steph are meeting up at 0900. Lourdes is bringing breakfast in an hour.

I thought about this all night and I have an answer.

“I haven’t changed but I found myself again.”

Ranger’s eyes are boring into me. He makes no sign, positive or negative, so I plow on.

“I said yesterday that I put my sanity before RangeMan, but that’s not what happened. I stopped taking responsibility for my life. It was easier to blame my mother, my tía, and Tony. I stopped standing up to them and started mirroring their passive-aggressive bullshit back to them because I was frustrated. That was stupid. They had over 75 years of experience on me. I lost that battle fast.”

His lips quirk. It’s the first sign of amusement on Ranger’s face.

“I made some decisions that made my life hell and failed to make some decisions that would have made my life easier. In doing so, everyone paid the price along with me. Mari and my daughters lived in a war zone for years. The men of RangeMan Miami endured a long-term siege between their XO and his lieutenants and the XO’s asshole cousin and his gang. Our clients were forced to deal with behavior contrary to our reputations. I put everyone else’s feelings before me. I put my mother’s complaints before me. I put my tía‘s complaints before me. I put Tony’s whining before me. I forgot who I was.”

I stop and gaze outside to the park behind RangeMan, trying to determine how to wind this up where I want to end up.

“I left that house in college and said I’d never allow my family to rule my life again. They were all a bunch of selfish, self-interested people and I was glad to be rid of them, except for my Papa. When I met Mari, she became my family.”

I turn around. “I haven’t changed. I’ve rearranged my priorities. I come first, before everyone. I have to take care of me first. My wife and children are next. They are my priority. I’m surrounding myself with people who give a damn about me, as a person, not just what they can get out of me. After that, everyone else can get in line.”

I’m breathing hard, trying to think of what else I need to say, how to express to Ranger how I’ve changed but haven’t, when I hear a noise.

Ranger’s clapping.

I stand there, thunderstruck, until he stops. He’s not smiling.

“Welcome back, Armando.” He motions for me to take a seat and sits back, staring at me.

“There’s nothing worse than realizing that you’ve lived your life for years without taking responsibility for your actions. It’s embarrassing. It’s painful.” He exhales. “It’s humbling when someone else points it out to you.” His lips quirk again. “Stephanie?” I nod. “Irony,” he mutters. “My brothers pointed it out to me and demanded I take action. I am. I have. What are you doing?”

“Mari is my back. She calls me out. The decisions I made, especially with my family, she’s backing.” I lean forward. “The biggest was my mother. I used moving to Charlotte as a pretext to get her out of my home. Mari told me that not only will my mother never move in again, but if I even consider it, she’ll leave.”

Ranger’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “Straight to the nuclear option.”

“Absolutely.” I lean back and sigh. “My mother hates me, despises me, has never had a single good thing to say about me my entire life and it wasn’t as if that was some big secret. Everyone knew. I’m sure you knew.” He nods. “So Mari asked, why on earth would we take her back? Why would we allow her hate to infect our home? I have five siblings and an aunt, all of whom she loves more than me. She can live with any one of them.”

“Do you want to remain here?”

I shrug. “Truth be told, I miss Miami. I miss the city, the culture, the weather. Snow is not my shit.” Ranger smiles and we take a moment to gaze outside. Snow is pretty but shoveling that stuff is ridiculous. “In a way, I feel like letting my family run me from Miami was another win for them. I had to run away to get away.”

“So why go back?”

“Because there’s more to Miami, to Florida, than my family, my siblings.” I smile. “There’s Mari’s family, who are excited by our little boy and really loved getting to meet the girls. They should know my children.” Ranger has a small smile on his face. “There’s my father’s family, who I don’t spend enough time with but I saw them when Lucia came to visit. It had been years and it was great to catch up. Hell, even my siblings had had a conversion.”

“Really?” Ranger leans forward, looking intrigued. I tell him about Thanksgiving and he smirks and shakes his head over Jesús’s toast to my mamí.

“Exactly! Once they got a taste, I got lots of apologies. My siblings and I are all in therapy now and Mari says that my sisters and sisters-in-law are just as determined as she is never to allow my mother under their roofs.”

“Damn. Never thought I’d hear you say that, Mando.”

“Yeah well, welcome to the life of the new old Armando.” We grin at each other. “But I miss Miami. I miss the culture and the vibe of the city. And to be honest, I miss my men.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, in August, if you’d asked me how I felt, I would’ve told you I hated all of them. That’s not true. I hated Tony. I hated his clique but that was me not accepting responsibility for that office and allowing it to go sideways. That was me blaming him for my life. I loved my men. I loved how I always knew what was up in the building, in the city, and in south Florida. I miss their nosy asses.” Ranger’s grinning now. “I miss the jokes and the fun and when shit was great in that office before Tony arrived. I miss that. These guys are great but I had eight years of insanity with the Miami office and not all of it was bad. There was more good than bad.”

“Interested in going back?”

I shrug. “Mari and I have talked. She loves the arts scene here but she acknowledges that she enjoyed the trip over Thanksgiving too. Having time and space away from everything made our hearts grow fonder.”

“Usually does.”

I sit back, smiling. We both stare at each other and, for the first time in all the years I’ve known Ranger, I actually feel like I know the man. Like, I’m finally looking at a more human side of my commander. Those flashes of him are few and far between and I wonder, idly, when I last saw this side of him. My wedding, maybe? Watching him with my dad and thinking that I’d never seen Ranger truly laugh in pure amusement. Then again, it’s not like there was a lot to laugh about in Afghanistan or in Iraq.

I think Ranger realizes the direction of my thoughts because he puts the blank face back on and that moment is over.

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“What did you change?”

He’s quiet for a long time. “I’ve stopped lying to myself.” I sit up, surprised he’d say that. He shrugs. “Like you, I knew how to package an action in a way to get me the response I wanted but I forgot who I was dealing with.” He snorts, looking amused. “That rarely worked.” He looks at me, his expression less guarded.

“Like you, I’m taking responsibility for my life and my actions. I’m putting myself first. I’ve made it clear that I am. I won’t compromise on the things that are important to me, like my safety and security. My company. My men. If there’s no respect for what I’ve built, what I’ve accomplished, then there’s no respect for me.”

I nod. Sounds like Ranger finally told Steph that the Bombshell Bounty Hunter stories are not funny or cute. They made her sound irresponsible and foolish and she’s not either of those things. She’s smart and funny but I’m not willing to die for her. I’m sure Ranger is, but why die when a few simple actions can mean the difference between life and death? I’m sure he’d rather see her live to a nice old age and I’m positive he’d like to do it with her.

The looks on his face last night were clear. He can try but he can’t really hide his feelings for her. In a neutral space (I hope my home felt like a neutral space), it’s clear he loves her. It was written all over his face. It’s written all over hers that she loves him but she’s scared. Ranger’s a lot to deal with and Mari is concerned. She’s not sure Steph’s ready for a man like Ranger. The intensity level … she told me it was the way she felt when our engagement became a reality instead of a possibility. I was intense like that back then.

I was confused by Mari there. I felt as if Mari had always had my back. Mari was the intense one. Still is.

“And like you, I have people at my back who are willing to tell me to get a grip. I’m allowed to lie to myself all I like but Tank, Les, Bobby, and Hector will no longer allow my lies affect anyone but me.”

There’s a knock at the door and Lourdes come in with breakfast. We chow down and check our email. I see Ranger is ready to dive in but I stop him. Better take advantage of this moment. Who knows when I’ll get another one.

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“Two questions.” He nods. “One …” I frown, wondering how to ask. “You’ve been very … honest with me this morning.” Ranger’s lips quirk in amusement again. “Why?”

He stares at me. I wonder if I should have kept my mouth shut.

“A few reasons. One, as I said, you and I did the same thing with the same disastrous results.” I nod ruefully. “I didn’t want you to think I don’t understand. I do.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Two, what happened in Miami is also partially my responsibility.” I blink. “I should have put you on probation long ago.” I feel my face heat up. “I should have fired Tony when it became clear you never would. Shall I continue to play shoulda, coulda, woulda?”

I shake my head. No sir. I get your drift.

“Exactly. There were many things I could have done to support you that I didn’t. It’s my home branch. You should have known I would back any decision you made, but I should have ensured that you knew you had my attention and time if you needed help.”

I nod, too embarrassed to say anything else.

“Three.” He chuckles. “I was told recently that I need to talk. I’m talking. I’m getting a headache from talking.” I laugh. “You are still the XO for Miami until further notice. You and I need to talk about that branch, what went wrong and how to fix it.” He pushes his plate away and pulls his laptop forward. “I’m headed to Syria in the new year.”

“Do the other XOs know?” That hasn’t come up.

“No. You’re first to know.”

I feel some pride in knowing first.

“Until I leave and even after, I’m basing myself out of Miami. It’s now the office in rebuild mode and I want to ensure that the entire branch, the entire company, understands what my standards and expectations are. If my—” He hesitates, shakes his head, and presses on. “If my CO can’t arrive at RM-Miami and feel respected then there’s a serious problem. That should never happen.” He smiles. “How were they enjoying her grandmother’s repeat residency?”

“Mortal fear.”

Ranger slumps back in the seat and laughs. Thomas and Diggy kept me up to date. Apparently, Mrs. Mazur was too upset to really start pinching bottoms again, but Thomas warned her anyway.

“She’s going back to her boyfriend’s place.” He glances at his watch. “She should land in an hour.”

“I’ll let Diego and Thomas know ASAP.” I text them both; they know. Thomas will pick her up.

He’s still smiling. “Good. Anyway, I know Tank has talked about ensuring the lines of communication are open.” I nod. I’ll never forget that talk. “I am here to tell you the same thing. You and I have been the victims of our own bad decisions the past few years. I understand. I’m here to support you.”

“Thank you, sir,” I reply, my voice thick. Ranger tactfully ignores it. “I support you, sir.”

He nods. “Question two?”

“Am I still on probation?”

“No.”

—oOo—

Rod’s POV

“Calm down. Breathe deep. In. Out. In. Out. Focus on my voice, bro.”

Pat’s trying but it’s not working. I’m still panicking, my head between my knees, eyes shut tight.

My talk will be at 0900. Ranger gave me a reprieve last night because the CO was tired and ready to leave after he finished his tour of the building. I’ve been here since 0700, trying to prepare for this discussion.

Talks with Ranger are nerve-racking. You never know if you’ve passed or failed until the end.

I lift my head and check the clock. Ten minutes. Ten minutes to determine how I’m going to convince him I want to keep my position as a RangeMan. I don’t even know what I’ll be faced with? Stupidity? Dereliction of duty, like Bobby said? Treason?

Please god, not treason!

Five minutes.

I wipe my face, calm my breathing, and sit in front of my desk, in the guest chair. Might as well make a gesture of obsequiousness from the start.

At exactly 0900, Ranger walks through the door and silently takes my seat behind my desk. I watch as his eyes sweep me coldly. I know he notices the sweat on my forehead, my hands clasped to hide the shaking, and my incessant swallowing. I know I’m deep in the shit and I’m hoping I survive this discussion with him.

He waits.

I’m waiting for the question.

We stare at each other for approximately twenty seconds before I blurt out, “I didn’t want to lose my job!”

His brow rises. “You thought you’d lose your job if you followed orders?”

“No, sir.” I try to control my shaking hands. “I thought I’d lose my job if she took the company down.”

Ranger stares at me for at least a minute before shaking his head. He chuckles, then laughs, then full on bursts into laughter. He finally stops three minutes later and wipes his eyes.

“Steph knows not her power,” he mutters. He gazes at me, his lips thin but quivering. “You really thought she’d bring the entire company down?”

“She brought a funeral home down,” I mutter, my cheeks heating.

“Ah.” He leans back. “Let’s examine that, shall we? You heard the story?” I nod. “Who stocked the ammo?”

I think. “The owner.”

“The owner’s son and his accomplice.” Oh. “Now, who shot it?”

“Mrs. Mazur, the CO’s grandma.”

“Why?”

I shrug. “The CO said it was because she was pissed.”

“Why?”

I think back to the story. God, was it really only two or three months ago? “Because she’d been locked in a mortuary drawer.”

“Right. So let’s examine this for a moment.” Ranger’s blank face slides into place and all amusement disappears from his face. “Little old lady minding her own business gets locked in a mortuary drawer. Now, I’ll digress for a second and state that I was not entirely unsympathetic to Spiro Stiva and Kenny Mancuso on that one. Edna seems to have a knack for disrupting Stiva’s business and the opportunity to lock her in a mortuary drawer must have seemed appealing to Kenny at the time. Get her out of the way and ensure the building remains standing? I might have jumped on that if I were a psychotic, two-faced little weasel like him.”

Hmm …

“Anyway, Edna’s locked in a box and rescued by her granddaughter hours later. She’s pissed. She’s an elderly woman who’s been locked in a drawer by the same man who attacked her days before with an ice pick.” My mouth drops. “Devil’s in the details, Johnson. Ice pick clean through her hand in broad daylight. In public.

Now, she’s in the box when Steph is captured by the same dimwitted duo and forced downstairs to meet the same fate. She hears this and she still has her gun. I’m told she did a damn good ‘Dirty Harry’ impression when they checked on her.”

He leans forward, his face intense.

“Someone has one of your children at knife point and is bragging about how they’re going to kill them. Tell me, Johnson, if you had a gun and a chance, what would you do?”

Not fucking miss, sir. I’d shoot the shit out of everything in that room. My response is clear on my face and Ranger sits back looking satisfied.

“Think of the rage and the anger you’d feel. You’d want to destroy something, wouldn’t you?” I nod. “So again, who stocked the ammo?”

“The owner’s son and his accomplice.”

“Who shot it?”

“Mrs. Mazur.”

“Who rescued her grandmother from a mortuary drawer and was trying to save her life? Who managed to save her grandmother’s life, keep a grip on her FTA, and beat the shit outta him until the cops arrived?”

“Ms. Plum,” I whisper.

“This was only her second major FTA and he’s related to the first one. They’re cousins. The first one, the cop, is hampering her attempts to find this guy at every turn, withholding information, convincing her to share her information and not reciprocating because his cousin is tied up in this case and he’s working with the Feds, so it’s became a major investigation.

So, no balls to actually go after his cousin, but he’s fine using Stephanie to investigate him since she has to find him to get paid and”—he shrugs—”maybe lightning will strike twice. Maybe she’ll find him and prove he’s innocent but either way, he’s just gained another investigator for free, one who isn’t hampered by the law like he is. A BEA can do things to capture a bounty a cop can’t, so Steph can investigate in places where he’d have to get a search warrant. In the end, she catches her man and proves he was involved in the conspiracy. Yes, the funeral home blew up. She wasn’t responsible. Now, you still think this woman isn’t one worth following?”

I’m silent. That was her second major FTA? Not bad. Her detective skills are first rate, but the first time she tried to catch an FTA, the real killer shot her in the ass. Now Ranger’s telling me that the second one and his accomplice tried to kill her by freezing her to death in a mortuary drawer. And she still didn’t get any training? What was it going to take for her to get some training? She could have been bad-ass long ago with some training!

Ranger sits back and pitches his fingers. I’m officially back in the danger zone.

“But you didn’t have those details.” I look up, hopeful. “I’ve spoken to Pat. I understand where your minds were. I should have given you more of a reason to believe in her, but at the end of the day, the decision was still mine. Are you willing to follow my decisions or not?”

“I am, sir.”

“It wasn’t just my decision. The entire LC backed this move.”

“Yes, sir,” I whisper.

We sit in silence. I wonder if it’s over.

“Why?”

I should have known it wasn’t. I take a deep breath and hope to make it out alive.

“Sir, we were concerned. We’ve always led the company. Mark started off on the wrong foot with her and we were trying to save him from himself and help her. But because of Mark, she didn’t trust anyone in Boston. We all got tarred with the same brush.”

His brow rises. “Go on.”

I exhale. “I’m not trying to throw Mark under the bus, sir. I can’t because I’m chained with him. My XO is a good man and he’s done great work, excellent work since you started the company. But his actions colored her view of every man at Boston and that wasn’t fair to us. We led the company. We were the most successful branch. And the CO hated us without getting to know us.”

I sit back and breathe deep, trying to control my panic. It’s quiet.

The command is quiet. “Explain.”

My mouth rushes out ahead of my brain. “I heard her speech when she did the Boston review and I understood what she meant, but I wondered if she understood that she was being a straight hypocrite.”

Oh shit. That was stupid. His lips have thinned. “Explain.”

Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound. “Well, I’ll never forget part of her speech was You men made assumptions about me before I even set foot here. The assumptions were unfair and prevented you from being presented opportunities and positions I’ve had available because I needed to meet all of you first.

OK, I get that, but here’s the issue: She did the same damn thing, sir!” I lean forward, anger coloring my voice. “She withheld positions and opportunities from the men based on assumptions! What proof did she have to determine that the men put forward wouldn’t be able to carry out the job? Isn’t that the essence of prejudging?”

Ranger nods just slightly.

“In other words, getting a position under the new CO means she has to like you personally. It’s not about your skills and abilities. It’s not about your work ethic and recommendations. You could have all of that, but if she doesn’t like you personally, your upward trajectory in this company is dead.” I lean forward. “When did that become part of the RangeMan ethos, sir?”

“It’s not.”

“But she made it part of the RangeMan ethos.” I sit back. “I didn’t meet her until the beach. That was the first time I met her and not only did I land there with every liaison ready to kill me for someone else’s words, but I was tarred as untrustworthy. The knowledge that Boston Core had gone after Hospitality contracts was not yet publicly known, so I landed there and every one of my colleagues was ready to kill me because Pat said we were looking for info to judge her.

Well, I’d done nothing, nothing, to earn the level of disdain I got, sir, and I still resent it. I was the senior liaison in that room and I was being judged according to the words and actions of two other men, not mine! So Ms. Plum is OK with prejudging, as long as it’s not being done to her!”

My voice has risen to a near shout and Ranger raises a brow. I swallow hard again and try to control myself.

“I’m grateful that my boss, true to who he is, told my colleagues to treat me as they normally would. Treat me like their colleague since this is the first time we’re all meeting as a group. If you want to be angry with me, cool, but be angry with me for my words, my actions!”

Ranger raises his hand in a calm down motion. I sit back and take a few deep breaths. I can feel the anger and irritation coursing through me, giving me a strength I didn’t know I had. I wonder if this is like Irish courage.

“My actions, sir? I helped insulate the men from Mark’s negative opinion of her until we could get him to shut his mouth. You told me and Pat we were on thin ice with him, so we decided to put our plan into action, to save his ass and to prevent any further negative information about her from getting out. We decided to dig for positive information about her to correct the opinion about her in Boston. We heard a new branch, one that had not yet been publicized, was in trouble and we opened a new line of business to try to right the ship, if needed.”

He reclines back in the chair, his dark eyes watching my every twitch. I can’t stand it; Ranger’s gaze is like a laser and I feel the heat. I head over to the thermostat. It might be snowy and cold outside, but the morning sun heats this office pretty well and it’s starting to feel toasty in here. I check. Seventy eight degrees. No wonder I’m feeling hot, well besides the stress of having Ranger’s undivided attention when I know I’m going to have to beg for my life. I turn the thermostat down and face Ranger again. He’s still watching me so I retake my seat.

“Nothing Mark said was that far off from what we knew anyway, so it wasn’t as if he was blowing craters in her reputation, but she told Pat that what we did demonstrated a lack of respect. No, a lack of respect would have been us calling Tank, Les, and Bobby all the time before we executed her orders. A lack of respect would have been to question her every decision, delay implementation of her ideas, and generally stonewall her.”

His lips thin and his nostrils flare slightly. “Agreed. That would not have been tolerated.”

“Yes, sir. We didn’t do that. We followed her orders and implemented her ideas.” The small bit of approval gives me some courage to continue. “What did we assholes in Boston do? We had the nerve, the absolute gall to search for good information about her to counter all the negative shit out there but Trenton, the source of the best info, wouldn’t tell me anything. They stonewalled me because they don‘t like to gossip. If your men have time to gossip, they don’t have enough shit to do.“

I mimicked Ram’s voice and Ranger’s lips twitch in amusement.

“I wasn’t asking for gossip. Give me some fucking facts! What he gave me was useless and I realized later that it was because he had nothing to give me. He was running around the tri-state trying to convince customers not to drop RangeMan! So I’m left with what? The Bombshell Bounty Hunter series from the Trenton Gazette!”

I stand and pace, my fury and anger building as I try to get the story of the past nine months out coherently. No one understands what it was like in Boston, trying to support the new CO and get Mark to shut up. We were trying our best to show that this was a good move and everyone was stonewalling us! It was fucking maddening and the worst part was knowing that if we could find something positive to put out on the ‘gossip’ lines about her, the entire company would shut up.

It’s another place where Boston was a leader. If we said ‘shut up’, everyone did. Our authority, when it came to business, was that air-tight. Mark might be an ass on occasion, but he was respected among the men. The other XOs might have hated him, but their men didn’t, at least until the CO came in. Mark’s actions with her were a blow to his reputation but how else could he manage to get spies in every branch unless the men respected him and his leadership? He wasn’t paying them! Sun Tzu and Tu Ma expounded on the use of spies at length! When the local leadership is respected, you can’t plant a spy. That’s why there are zero spies in Trenton! That’s why there are zero spies in Boston! The CO had to import one!

I’m still pacing behind my chair. “We did the standard newspaper and background search on her. How were we supposed to know that the local reporter had an issue with her? Yes, the byline was by the same guy every time. I checked him out. He was short-listed for a Pulitzer. You know what that means, sir?”

I whirl around to face Ranger, not waiting for an answer. “That means he nearly won journalism’s achievement award! Now, if he were some two-bit hack writing for the Enquirer, I might have taken those articles with a grain of salt. But he wasn’t. He was Trenton’s lead metro writer and as a former reporter, I know that my fellow reporters are good people doing their best to report the truth accurately.

If he was reporting lies because he was getting his dick wet, then she needs to sue him! She needs to make a ruckus with his employers! Make an issue out of his ethics! But are the men of Boston supposed to question every newspaper article search we do simply because there might be a chance something’s shaded in one direction or the other?”

“No,” Ranger murmurs.

“No! It’s a newspaper. We assume we’re reading facts unless it’s the editorial page. How in the hell could we ever complete an investigation if we have to question the writer of the newspaper article each time?” I lean over the desk toward Ranger, annoyance and anger making me a bit braver (OK, a lot braver) than I’d normally be. “So she dumped on the men of Boston for following normal investigative procedures because she didn’t like the results! You should‘ve called your brothers in Trenton. Well, we did call them! Our brothers in Trenton were stonewalling us for the longest!”

He nods thoughtfully as I push away from the desk and walk to my window, leaning against the frame. I gotta get a grip before I push it too far with Ranger, so I stare outside, trying to control my breathing. It’s quiet in my office, nothing but the sound of my breathing and the low hum of the heat.

I have to admit, it’s a beautiful morning, sunny and warm. I don’t know what Mando’s on about. Compared to Boston, this is balmy! Hell, the snow and ice are melting slightly! The South doesn’t know how to have a good snowfall. Mando’s complaining about having to shovel snow and I’m laughing because this is nothing. I keep telling him, come shovel some Boston snow!

I turn once I have myself under control again. Ranger has an amused look on his face.

“Enjoying the weather?”

“I’m trying to convince my wife to come here for Christmas, sir.” He smiles and I retake my seat, calmer. Ranger made a joke. I’m OK for the moment.

“Now, back to Ms. Plum. So I land at the beach and I’m public enemy number one. I’m ripped a new asshole for questioning her competence. I’m ripped a new asshole for getting the management together to come up with a course correction until Mark got his shit straight. I deal with a low level of dislike and distrust that still exists because I’m. From. Boston. What I’ve earned?”

I stand up again and walk back over to my window. I think I should stay on my feet. I’m calmer on my feet. “Bobby ripped me a new asshole because of the veracity of my reports and he was right. I don’t deny that. I tried to hold the level of distrust and disdain for her back in my reports, knowing she’d have to read that. I didn’t report on the course correction because Mark reads my reports. I didn’t report everything going on at the branch because I considered the distribution of that report and decided to beg forgiveness rather than ask permission.”

I turn back to him. “I’m begging forgiveness, sir. I did my best to hold the truth of Boston’s lack of trust in the new CO back from her and I got my ass ripped for it. I accept that and I’ll never spare someone’s feelings again, sir. I accept responsibility for my actions, sir, and I fully confess that I’m guilty of dereliction of duty. I failed to perform my job to the highest standards because I considered the distribution of my reports.

That should not have mattered. I should have written the full truth, like The men of Boston are questioning the efficacy of the new CO‘s policies and are asking if they’ve been fully vetted by the Leadership Core or The men of Boston are wondering why they have not been asked to pilot new programs, given our track record for successful implementations and our historic position as the incubators and executors of new ideas for the CCO and our current position as the most profitable branch.“

Ranger’s turned the chair in my direction and the blank face is back in place. I shrug.

“So the CO rips me a new asshole for not respecting her. Well, excuse me for falling prey to human nature and wondering if you’re competent. I’m a former reporter, used to digging up info on people. I’m not former military! I’m not some fucking robot who just blindly follows orders!”

I glance at Ranger. He raises a brow.

“No offense, sir. I can follow orders, but why should I trust her with my life? I can’t find out anything positive about her! Everything I can find out says that following her in the field would put my life in danger. I have a wife and six kids to support, sir. My wife would be the first to tell you Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

His lips twitch. “How is Tamika?”

“Furious but dealing. She just opened her salon and she really needs my help, but my wife is a trooper. She’s dealing with my crazy ex-wife, her two stepsons who hate her, our new baby and our three year old who is suddenly clingy because I’m gone and the baby takes up so much of her time. Add in her ex-husband who wants to drag her back into court over their two daughters and she’s in a pressure cooker!

She’s dealing with all that alone and she still loves me. I don’t deserve her,” I whisper. Ranger nods. “The RangeWoman sisterhood is really coming through for her. Jen, Pat’s wife? She’s babysitting for us. Six kids and she has her own newborn to care for. Mark babysits for us. Some of the other wives are helping her with carpool and dropping the kids off.”

“Good,” he says quietly.

“Believe me, the fact that the brotherhood kicked in to help her is keeping her sane and I’m grateful we’ve always had that in Boston. Seeing it go company-wide? We’re smug in Boston. Miami always had that thanks to Mari. Atlanta had it thanks to Cindy, but not like Boston and Miami. Again, we lead the company and no one recognizes or appreciates that.”

“True. I’m looking at ways to push that more.”

“It’s appreciated, sir. It really is. The CO gave it more visibility by pulling the housekeepers in but Miami and Boston? You know Mando and Mark. What one does, the other does, trying to one-up each other.”

“Little boys and their toys,” he says quietly.

“Right. Anyway, we’re trying to find out more about Ms. Plum and what do we learn? She was nearly kicked out of college, worked for a mob backed company, has shit credit, had to blackmail her cousin for a job, and is known for explosions. That’s what I’ve got! That’s what my men have! I’m trying to calm them, tell them that the new CO is trusted by the leadership and they wanna know why! They went digging on their own. What is the reason behind this?”

I take a deep breath, look Ranger straight in the eye, and let the truth that I’ve refused to include in my reports fly.

“They wanna know if the real reason Mark was passed over this time is because she’s got a broken leg and she just needs a job. If that’s the case, why not put her in research? Why make her the CO? Honestly, it’s a valid question, one we don’t have a response for.”

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I don’t want to see Ranger’s response to what I have to say next.

“They want to know if you just put your woman in your job in a moment of weakness. Maybe she is that good in bed, since everything we can find out says she’s in a relationship with a local cop and you’re the boy toy on the side.”

I open my eyes in time to see the remnants of pure fury flashing across his face. Rage and anger are the least of his emotions. I sit and stare at Ranger imploringly, hoping he understands, but his face is locked down again, impassive.

“The men got that by asking the BPD to ask TPD, sir,” I state quietly, looking at my fingers. “That’s what we were dealing with, sir. That’s what we were trying to kill. That’s why we, Pat and I, were desperate to get more info about her. We’re trying to salvage her reputation, and yours, because we’re all men, sir. We wondered and any man who says he didn’t is lying his ass off.”

“I see.” Ranger’s voice is so cold I can see the snow outside stop melting.

“But that’s where Mark reminds the men who’s in charge, sir. The moment he overhears that speculation, he shuts it down. He tells the men he’s known you for years. You’d never allow a woman to use you like that, so there has to be some business reason we don’t know yet.

Privately, he tells me and Pat to dig faster because even he’s uneasy about that rumor. We gotta kill that one before it hits Miami, but no need. Miami assumes you’ve been sleeping with her for years and she’s got the best pussy out there if she’s fucking you and a cop, knowing you don’t share.”

Ranger’s eyes promise death and I freeze. I went too far. That was ‘too’ truthful.

“No, Johnson. You didn’t go too far.” The man can read minds! He stands and leans against my desk. We both stare out of the window for a few minutes. “Go on. So far, you’ve been the man with the biggest balls of them all.”

I raise a brow, but shrug. OK. If Ranger really wants to hear what’s really been going on, I’ll tell him. I feel high, a combination of insane courage and weird hopefulness. I wonder if this is how every soldier feels the moment the battle starts. I’m battling for my life and, so far, I’m still alive.

“Every office is doing their own digging and every office independently finds out that the rumor is that you’re in some sort of weird relationship triangle with the CO and some cop who’s disappeared. TPD has no problems telling us. Hell, they think it’s funny that the ‘infamous’ Ranger Mañoso is whipped by some white bread girl from the Burg who happens to be the worst bounty hunter in history!

It’s laughable to them, but they admit that having you around means they don’t have to worry about trying to save her. You always show up in the nick of time. RangeMan always shows up in the nick of time. They figured, RangeMan takes care of Stephanie Plum and all her related issues and they can handle the rest of the crime in Trenton.”

Ranger’s face is cold, dark fury. “Nice to see they’re so concerned about the populace.”

I nod and slump back over to my chair, but I choose to stand behind it. “Yeah, we all wrote TPD off as a bunch of complete assholes for that, but it didn’t change the fact that it seemed to corroborate what we were able to pull from the public record. Anyway, Atlanta hems and haws before finally admitting that they assume she’s your woman and she needs a job. Chase verified everything he could about her during his trip to Trenton, including that rumor, but Adam and Danny kept that hush-hush for months. Miami gets bits and pieces of the rumors and starts wearing Silvio down for the truth since he’s actually met her.”

Ranger sits, his eyes gleaming. “Did that help?”

I laugh, disbelievingly. “Hell no, sir! I wish to God Silvio had kept his mouth shut. Thomas says Silvio tried to give the Miami men stories to show she was a good move, but for every story he gave them, they kept questioning him until they pulled all the shiny pretty aspect off and got to the nitty-gritty.” I shrug. “You know the Miami men, sir. They’ll get the truth no matter what.”

He sighs tiredly and rubs his eyes. “True. What stories did Silvio tell?”

“Well, he first met her when he was training her to run searches, and she was good. OK, that verified her reputation as a good skip tracer but Miami dug into that story. She never dressed appropriately. Showed up half naked one day and Hal nearly had a heart attack.” Ranger’s lips twitch. “And she wouldn’t carry. Left her gun in her desk drawer, wouldn’t do the mandatory range time and you shrugged it off. Worst of all, she used our computer system to do research for her skips on your time while attempting to duck Rodriguez’s search requests.

So now Miami knows that the new CO is subject to special rules at RangeMan and she gets to use company assets as she wants, not after hours like everyone else. Plus, she never went through training, so what kind of employee was she? Took forever for Silvio to type her as a contract employee.” His lips tighten. “Silvio told a story about her serving as a limo driver for a teenage sheikh. Him wagging his dick at her? Funny. Her losing him? Not funny. Her taking him on a hunt for her skip instead of protecting him like she was supposed to—”

“You can stop there.” Ranger sounds annoyed although his face is perfectly blank, as usual.

“Yes, sir, but if I could make one point?”

He makes a face. “Go on.” His voice says I should make that point very fast.

“Those stories got a repeat after the sexism survey. And she was in training to meet RangeMan standards as an employee? Miami was PO’d to the extreme. Their opinion? When sexism favors Ms. Plum, she doesn’t mind. When it favors women, she doesn’t mind. After all, Ms. Plum, Ms. Taylor, and Mrs. Sanchez have all been hired and they’re not a part of a RangeMan hiring class. They didn’t have to go through the same hell we all did for three months. Ms. Plum didn’t have to run thirty miles to prove she was a RangeMan. So she got special treatment for her clearance, just as Antonio said she would, and they hate that that bastard was right. When sexism favors women, no one cares. When it doesn’t …” I wave a hand in a ‘c’est la vie’ kinda way.

“Interesting point.”

“Yes, sir. No one could ever accuse the Miami men of being stupid. They point to that and say ‘Same reason why women aren’t allowed in Special Forces. You have to make accommodations for them and they expect you to. Any woman who says she wants to be assessed like every other man is bullshitting.'”

Ranger takes a deep breath and nods. “Yes, the men of my home branch are definitely not stupid.”

“Right! So none of the men, across the company, understood this move and we, everyone in upper management, are trying to kill speculation that it has anything to do with anything besides her business skills. Every office. Independently.”

I sit back, tears in my eyes, remembering the frustration and sense of hopelessness. Every bit of information we were getting said Ranger put his ‘piece of ass’ in charge for no fucking reason at all. I’m startled by a noise from the floor and we both glance at my door. I finally stand and look out. Lourdes is asking for volunteers to decorate gingerbread. She waves at me and pantomimes ‘Cookie?’

“Cookie, sir?” Ranger raises a brow in a ‘Are you kidding?’ way, so I shake my head at Lourdes. She smiles and walks away. I close the door and walk back over to my seat, sitting this time.

“What we don’t understand is why Les, Bobby and Tank backed this plan, but since they’re involved we’re certain it’s business related. We know it. We’re trying to find something positive about her to offset everything negative, to show that this was your usual brilliance and the men just needed to be patient and watch it unfold. Atlanta and NYC got lucky because they got a chance to see her and see her do something besides BEA work first.

But Mark’s privately bitching that she’s the most frustrating boss ever, secretive, unsure, not willing to communicate. The men are beginning to lose hope that this is some brilliant business move. Pat and I are beginning to lose hope that we’ll ever be able to convince them that this was a good idea.

Then I hear that she decided to start a branch on her own. What?! Who does that!? That’s the Leadership Core’s job and when they do it, they announce the establishment of a new branch! That’s why they’re out in Texas now! They don’t do that shit in the dark! Oh, and said branch is having problems! Financial problems because it’s being set up by the branch with what? Financial problems!”

I stand and throw my hands in the air, shaking my head in disgust. “Breathe, Rod,” he says quietly. Ranger stands and I snap my mouth shut. He shakes his head and motions for me to continue, retrieving two waters from my mini-fridge. He hands me one and leans against my desk, staring at the floor. I nod and down my water, trying to get a handle on myself again. This is why I couldn’t work in PR. I get ‘excited’ too easily.

Ranger and I stand next to each other, leaning against my desk, staring at our feet. My boots need a shine. They’re looking scuffed. I have on scuffed boots in front of Ranger. I’m an idiot.

“How much of what you say could I verify independently?”

“All of it, sir,” I reply firmly. “I have no need to lie and no desire to. The truth is enough.”

“Then keep going. I want to understand,” he says softly.

“Yes, sir.” I take a deep breath and try to remember where I left off. “So now I’m nervous about the state of the company. I’ve been holding the line against Mark’s insanity for months, but my inability to find out one positive thing about our new CO, one detail that would help me believe in her for more reasons than ‘the Leadership Core said to’, makes it hard to continue to toe that line.”

My shoulders slumps and I face Ranger in shame.

“At some point, sir, you want a reason of your own to trust someone. You said Trust Mark. He‘s your XO and within one month every man in Boston knew Mark was a great choice. He was firm but fair. He was the man for the job and he continued to prove it by growing the branch 9.5% every year. We led the company for four years. Why wouldn’t we continue to follow Mark?” He nods. “Same thing in Trenton. You put Hal in your position. How long did it take for the men to decide to follow the man once downed by his own stun gun?”

Ranger snorts, almost imperceptibly.

“Exactly. You put him in place and said Trust Hal. The men did. You told them to trust him but they have their own reasons for following Hal now that are based on their personal experience with him. Ms. Plum put Mando in place here. Mando arrives with not the greatest rep but the Miami men back him 100%. They tell the Atlanta men great things about him, about who he is as a leader, to get the men to trust him.

Chase and I soon realize that’s true. Mando knows the SOPs. Mando’s backbone is iron. Mando can lead men, chase business, and set up a branch. He’s damn good at his job. So now the men trust him. They know Mando is the first man in and the last man to leave. Whatever he asks of the men, he does himself.”

I hear a sound next to me and look over. Ranger’s shaking his head. “Patton is alive and well,” he mutters.

I color. “Pat.” He smirks and motions for me to continue. “So you place Ms. Plum in your position and say Trust her. We don’t have a history with Ms. Plum to refer back to, so we go searching for more information about her. None of it is good. We ask around. No one knows anything and the ones who do won’t say anything. We wait to learn more but she hates Mark, for good reason, so that’s not helping. We put suggestions in her suggestion box and don’t get answers, but men from other branches do. By the time she finally landed in Boston, the opinion was set: we’re following her only because Ranger said so. That’s it.”

He nods and tosses his water bottle into the trash as if shooting from the three point line. All net, as it were. I smile. Is there anything Ranger can’t do?

“Why didn’t Atlanta and NYC have these problems?” he asks softly, retaking his seat, my seat. Is it my seat? That remains to be seen.

I flop back into my chair. “Well, in Atlanta, she helped them solve their problems from the beginning. The work she did at that workshop helped them close their financial gap. Then Chase spent a week in Trenton and, from what we understood from Sam, was cautiously optimistic about her abilities.

So let’s see. Before the first month is over, half of Atlanta’s Bonds Enforcement group has had a chance to work directly with her and she’s helped them solve their budget problem. Two-thirds of their leadership has had personal positive experiences with her that help them give their men a nuanced view of the CO. Result? Lots of men, both in the leadership and not, that now have the ability to say, This is who the CO is to the Atlanta men.”

“NYC?”

“Same thing. She throws money at their problem by giving them locality pay and sends in two strategists who eventually uncover a mole. She and Bobby appear for the exit interview. Now, personally, that was the first time the men in Boston got a good look at her and we approved. Mark was swift in backing her up in front of the men.” Ranger looks faintly surprised. “He did. He got up on the dais and reminded the men of the penalty for treason. That was the day we told Mark to shut his trap. She was doing a good job, we hoped.

So NYC loves her because they got what they wanted and needed. Few weeks later, she goes back and spends time there. She gets to know the men and they learn about her. They now have a personal reason to follow her and hell, if my paycheck just got a 30% increase, I’d like her too.

But Boston doesn’t have financial problems. Boston doesn’t have a mole. Could we be stronger? Bigger? According to her review and what we’re doing now, yes we can. That’s great but it didn’t solve the issue of her reputation and the fact that no one in our branch had any experience with her besides Mark and three guys out of bonds enforcement who attended the workshop.”

“So three men did have experience with her?”

“Yes sir. That’s all and since our capture rate was second in the company, you know, tied with Miami’s”—he nods—”it wasn’t like we were overly impressed. They came back and said that she was a brilliant skip tracer but still … they found out she broke her leg in an apprehension gone very very wrong. Stupid, short sighted, ridiculous, they called it every adjective in the book.

So she didn’t gain any respect in Boston because we were right back to her reputation for ridiculous captures and people getting hurt. After all, if she broke her own leg trying to capture, what might have happened to the RangeMan trying to back her? What might have happened to the RangeMan acting as her partner? What might have happened to the RangeMan following her directions in the field?”

Ranger’s jaw is tight, but he gives me a quick nod. He leans back in my chair and puts his hands behind his head, stretching his back and neck muscles. “Keep going.”

“Yes, sir. So my point? Pat and I got ripped for openly admitting that we were attempting to do what Atlanta and NYC actually did.” I’m leaning over the desk, driving my finger into the desk at every point. “They got to know her then went back to their men and said This is who the new CO is. She yells at me at the beach saying You know why Atlanta, NYC and Trenton love me? and I wanted to respond, Yeah. They vetted you! Same thing we’re trying to do! Don’t you see that? They didn’t trust you until you proved you could do something for them, help them in some way! And I’ll bet that they still won’t follow you in the field! Not without Kevlar!

If the CO wanted to be taken seriously she should have done something about those Bombshell Bounty Hunter stories a long time ago. It ruined her reputation and was the source of her issues with the men in this company. We didn’t know what to think about your decision, sir, but would we follow you? Yes, sir, we would and we did. Did we follow the Leadership Core? Yes, we did!

For all Mark’s moaning, he followed her orders. No, he didn’t do it cheerfully, or without wondering what she was up to, but he followed them. He just wanted more information about her because nothing that we knew about her was positive. She wasn’t a great bounty hunter, regardless of her capture rate, and her business experience was as a buyer for a Mob-backed company. Her college grades didn’t even suggest that she would know what she was doing, but is she willing to reach out to the XO with the most experience in her position, a man who offered her help the moment he met her? The man who’s grown the company five percent each time he was left in charge?

No! She’s relying on the man new to his job and the XO who has serious budget instability! The XO in charge of the most successful branch and the XO in charge of home office, the two longest serving XOs with the two leading branches, are ignored because she personally doesn’t like them, which makes her a hypocrite because what does she know about them?! She prejudged Mark, probably taking someone else’s opinion of Mark and making it her own instead of forming her own opinion about him. He can be an ass but he’s also the first man to help you when you need him.”

I take a deep, shuddering breath and wonder who took over my mouth. Oh well. They have complete control. The heat finally kicks off and I stand up straight and pace my office again. There’s not much room to pace. The office is small but functional. A desk, chairs, a table and a mini-fridge. I miss my Boston office. It’s huge. I wonder if I’ll still have my ‘Boston office’ at the end of this talk. Ranger’s listening to me but still … I turn back around. He’s kicked back in my chair, one leg crossed over his knee, staring at me coolly.

“Now, was Mark also jealous and paranoid? Yes, but at the heart of that was a concern for the company, your company, sir. Our mistake? Pat and me? Going after Hospitality contracts without authorization. Now, if I were going to be court-martialed, that would be the reason. I did something stupid, agreed to open a new line of business in Boston without authorization, because I wanted to know if she paid attention to the branch. We wanted to know if she paid attention because we had no other measure to judge her by.”

Ranger’s face is cold anger right now. “And?”

I flop into my chair. “She pays attention. She knew. She caught us. That was stupid, extremely stupid, and I understand. I’m ready to face my fate for that. But to punish all the men of Boston for the mistakes of the Core Team is wrong. The other branches got to know her and we started hearing good things but when she landed in Boston?”

I straighten up and cross my arms. “You men made assumptions about me before I even set foot here. Yeah, well, she made assumptions about us that prevented us from showing her who we were for months. Respect goes both ways. OK, so she doesn’t like Mark. Reach out to Pat and me! Would she have ignored Ram and Manny if Hal had decided not to work with her?” Ranger’s head jerks and he frowns, his face scrunching a little. “We could have, would have, helped her, but since she practically ignored Boston because she hated Mark, we were left floundering. We did something stupid to test her. Well, the Core Team is not all of Boston!

The CO made assumptions about the Boston men without getting to know them. And now, sir, you’re here before me and I can only hope I keep my position as a RangeMan because the CO exiled me here and I’ll bet you she doesn’t know my wife’s name. I’ll bet you she doesn’t know the names of any one of my children or how many I have, what I did before I came to RangeMan, or my age.

I’ll bet you she doesn’t know shit about me, but I know she’s 33, divorced, no kids but has a hamster named Rex and is half owner of a dog named Bob. She drives a Miata, loves cake, is close to her three nieces and loves the beach. She graduated from Douglass, broke her arm at six, lost it at the Tasty Pastry at 17, and the neighborhood she grew up in is filled with the biggest gossips Boston has ever known but thank God for ’em because they make doing an investigation easy.” Ranger smiles. “Now, what does she know about me, sir?”

I sit back in my seat, Ranger still staring at me, amusement still on his face. He stands, motions for me to remain seated and walks over to my fridge. He hands me another water and leaves the room, returning with a warm washcloth. I color and mutter, “Thank you, sir.” He nods and retakes his seat, staring at me quietly as I wipe my face.

“I’m sorry.”

My head snaps up. Ranger is staring me straight in my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Rod. You are correct. Mark and the Core Team was one issue but the men of Boston should have been handled as a separate issue. Mark should have been handled separately from you and Pat.”

I nod, grateful to have a boss like Ranger, one who listens. I’m prepared to face my fate but the men don’t deserve to go down with us.

“I apologize for the weeks and months of frustration you felt. I’ve heard from Pat and Susan and now you: I failed to give the men across this company a reason to trust and believe in Ms. Plum greater than ‘Because we said so’ and that was wrong. That’s a failure of my own that I own.”

I bite my lip and nod again. Ranger sits back in the chair, fingers pitched, again saying nothing as I wipe my face.

“The issue of your job performance will be handled by Bobby. He’s your boss. His decision.”

I’m safe then. If Bobby were gonna fire me, I’d be dead right now. My entire body relaxes. I mean, it’s so noticeable that I just now realize that my jaw was tight and my muscles were locked most of the morning. Hmm … 1100. Ranger listened to me for two hours. I can’t remember the last time I got that much of his attention. Ever? Probably never.

Ranger produces a notepad from thin air. Like, one minute his hands were empty and the next he’s putting a notepad on the desk. Jesus, does the man practice magic tricks in his spare time?

“No, I don’t. You weren’t paying attention to my hands.” My eyes close in embarrassment. We know Ranger can read minds but it’s still embarrassing when he catches us. “Now tell me, how could I have made the transition easier?”

I sit and rub the back of my neck, thinking. “I wish we’d had more time to get to know her before you left, sir. She came to Boston having made snap judgments about all of us based on her experience with the Core Team and with Mark, which was unfair to the rest of the men. They didn’t deserve that and they didn’t earn that. She withheld opportunities from them based on nothing more than the fact that they were from Boston. That’s like saying the NYC men don’t deserve a chance because they’re like Liam or Shane.”

Ranger writes a note then motions for me to continue. I’m trying to think of what else would have helped us trust Ms. Plum from the beginning.

“I wish she’d called me and Pat when she saw she wasn’t getting anywhere with Mark. We would have helped! Her visits were both a visit and a review and, like I said, it turned into judgment day for each branch, no matter that she said it wasn’t. It was!

I mean, think about it. She lands in Atlanta with a positive impression because Danny invited her and she’s met Chase. They’re already ahead of the curve. Javi needs help, so she’s sympathetic to his needs and Javi’s a likable guy. Plus, she already has a positive report about him from Manny.”

Ranger writes another note, his brow furrowing.

“I’m sure everyone warned her that Miami was full of sexists so she lands there thinking everyone’s an asshole. But is everyone an asshole? Or just one clique? That’s your home branch, sir. Did it not deserve the benefit of the doubt?” I shrug. “I’ve heard a lot about what went down in Miami and my opinion?” He raises a brow. “Maria didn’t complain about her treatment to her boss and Mando got whacked for that. Mando is not Maria’s boss and from what I hear, he was trying to correct her thinking and his men’s.

Watching the way he treats his wife and Lourdes, I’d say that 75% of the housekeeping problem in Miami was due to the fact that Maria allowed herself to be treated like that. I heard that when she went back to Miami, the problem disappeared because she didn’t allow it. You teach people how to treat you, sir, and she taught the men there to treat her like dirt.”

“Agreed,” Ranger murmurs.

“Now, is Trenton going to be reviewed neutrally? She lives there and the XO calls her ‘Sis’. Don’t see how it’s possible for them to get a neutral review. Boston got creamed because she hated their XO and the Core Team went after unauthorized business but she walked in with a chip on her shoulder.” I lean forward. “What galled me, sir? What truly galled me?” He nods. “Vic admitted that he called the heads of bonds enforcement around this company for more information on her. He told her he did and that didn’t bother her.”

I laugh a completely disbelieving laugh. “So, let me see … Vic calls the other heads of bonds enforcement, gets opinions on her, and acknowledges it to her openly and honestly. Pat and I want to see her ourselves, make up our own minds about her because we know that peoples’ opinions can be tainted. We’re doing it with an eye to improving her rep with the entire branch and we got yelled at?” I sit back. “How is that fair, sir?”

No answer. Ranger merely writes another note and sits back.

“RMSA? I heard that nearly went off the rails—”

“Heard from who?” Ranger asks sharply.

“Mark. He said she was upset during the RMSA review. Apparently Lula and Maria were trying to come up with some kind of party or icebreaker for her at the end of the trip, so she could get to know the men, but Tank told Lula to cancel it?” I shrug. “Mark said something big happened and the RMSA review was looking questionable for a minute because there was noticeable tension between her and the Leadership Core.”

Ranger’s mouth thins. “So her feelings about the leadership at each branch affected her review of them?” he murmurs.

“I would assume so, sir. I think you’ll find that’s the prevailing view in Miami too. OK, Tony and his crew were assholes. There were some other die-hard hostile sexists in the group. Gotcha. Remove them and what are you left with? It’s a branch of mostly good men. Somewhat sexist? Yes, but that’s Miami. It’s the city and the culture of that city. Could she have reviewed Miami without insulting them constantly?” His brow rises but I nod. “Oh yeah, I heard. I heard from the men, not Thomas, because Thomas likes her. He was sick of Tony and his ilk, so whatever Steph did was good for him, but talk to the men. Talk to the men here. Their view of her is not so friendly.”

“How many are here?”

“Six. Each branch took six of the men with the highest sexism scores. I’ve gotten to know the men here, supervising them while we’re at the Boys and Girls Club and helping out at the battered women’s shelter. There’s no love for the CO among them.” I snag a pen and a piece of paper. I’m starting to tense again. I feel it.

“Why?”

“Because they felt prejudged. Miami is home base. They wanted to get to know her. They really did. The prevailing view is that she’s your woman, regardless of the cop. They expect that she’ll spend a lot of time in Miami in future and they wanted to develop a relationship with her like RMSA has with Lula. Like Trenton has with her. Then they were caught off guard with a sexism survey?” I raise a brow. “Some of those men have wives and girlfriends trying to endure this separation.”

I’m doodling, trying to keep my thoughts straight and represent the interests of the men who have been maligned and whose voices have not been heard.

“The Miami men look at how the results of that survey were implemented in Miami versus everywhere else and they’re not happy. Their jobs were threatened and their lives disrupted. You know they talk. They get together on IM and on the phone and talk, sir. Four of them are considering talking to a lawyer.”

Ranger sits back, paling rapidly.

“I don’t think they will, but that’s how hurt they are. Like me, they’ve been transferred away from family and friends but their transfer was due to the result of a survey, not previous performance reviews or disciplinary write-ups. A survey!” I lean forward onto my desk again and snag a blue pen this time. “Now, in every other branch, that survey was used in conjunction with disciplinary write-ups and performance reviews, but not Miami.

Miami was deemed the land of sexists and since they’re all sexists, she’s not helping them grow their branch stronger. Oh no, unlike every other branch, they have to figure it out on their own.” I stare at him. “So what was the point of her visit? So she could drop in, yell at them, and leave? The men said it was basically a Kiss my ass visit.

Mando and Diego wanted to fire the troublemakers in that office. Why not let them? She could have done the same review and allowed Mando and Diego to do their jobs. So all she proved in Miami is that she can’t work with men unless she’s the one in charge. The very idea of taking orders or directions from a man is insulting to her and if you hurt her feelings, she’s vindictive.” I shrug. “Their opinion, sir. Not saying they’re right or wrong. That’s their opinion.”

Ranger is silent. I open my mouth to continue and he raises a hand. I watch as he makes a few notes before turning the notepad over. I sit back, trying to relax. I’m alive. I’ve made it out of this thing alive. Here’s one for Irish courage!

“I’m only telling you the opinions as I’ve heard them, sir.”

“I understand. Go on.”

“OK. So now they have this survey, the brotherhood in their office has been seriously disrupted, and they’re reeling from the impact. The view there is, couldn’t she just give them their scores and work with them to show them how this impacts their lives? The men like Candy because that’s what she’s doing and she’s serious about this.”

Ranger smiles. “Not because of her figure?”

I grin. “The men aren’t dead yet, sir.” He snorts. “There’s appreciation for Candy because she’s a beautiful woman, but they consider her like they do Mariela. Beautiful but taken and her man doesn’t play, so stop ogling her ass and pay attention to the brain.” Ranger nods. “No, they like her because she comes up with good examples for them to discuss.

She’s a Miami native. She understands the culture better and she knows how to get them talking and thinking. 50 Shades of Gray? Genius. Once they finished reading that and talking about the discussion questions she gave them, they were surprised at how hard it was not to see parallels in their own sexist tendencies and the actions of this literary character they widely considered an asshole.”

“Agreed.” And he does look as if he does agree.

“Didn’t care for Christian Grey, sir?”

“Was on-board to beat his ass like everyone else.”

We both grin. Twilight and 50 Shades will be banned for my daughters. Edward Cullen and Christian Grey? Assholes and I won’t have my daughters swooning over that kinda bullshit. Nah. I’ve heard good things about that new Hunger Games trilogy. I plan to read it first though. I want my daughters to admire female heroines like Hermione Granger and Mulan, the original Mulan, not that Disney crap. Be smart, kick ass and take no prisoners. Tamika has them reading Nancy Drew and Matilda and she’s looking for some African-American heroines for them to admire. That’s more us. Don’t wait on a man to save you, baby girl.

I pull my mind back to Miami and articulating all the complaints I heard. “Right. The scores were pointed out to them, they talked about it, and the men are working with those impacted by sexism. That approach is appreciated in Miami and the respect that the CO gets everywhere else, Candy would get in that office. They aren’t Neanderthals. They’re men, products of their environment like we all are, but we can learn if given the information we need. Candy respected the men, which shows how big she is since I heard she was groped when she first visited.”

Ranger’s eyes widen.

“Yeah, but that was the action of one man. She didn’t make every man pay for that. No, she used that as a ‘teaching moment'”—I finger-quote—”and asked the men if they would appreciate the woman in their lives being groped. Ben got his ass kicked for that.”

I smile, as does Ranger. “Whaley?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Surprising,” Ranger murmurs.

I was surprised too. Whaley’s dad did five years for a domestic charge. Whaley was not exactly known for his prowess with the other sex, but he was known for crap pick-up lines. I guess he decided to stop talking and starting acting. Bad first move, though. Hal flattened his ass and the Miami men realized that touching Candy might be their last move ever.

Candy could walk through the Miami office naked now and no one would touch her for fear of Hal.

“Now, the CO? Did she have to allow her grandmother to harass them? She diluted her own message doing that and was amused by it, which showed her to be a hypocrite. And, by the way, the men still in Miami intend to file a complaint.” Ranger’s eyes close and his face takes on a look of pain. “If they liked Ms. Plum they wouldn’t, but since they don’t and her grandmother is back in house, they intend to. I think you’re probably the only person who can talk them out of that right now, sir.”

“Noted. Thank you for the warning.”

“You’re welcome.” I sit back and sigh heavily. “At the end of the day, sir, I respect the job the CO has done. She’s moved the company forward and no one can deny that. That’s great and I respect her for that. I think that’s the prevailing view in Boston. We respect her professionally but not so much personally.”

Ranger sits back. “I was just in Boston. Respect for her was higher than you suggest.”

“Who did you talk to? Chas and the monitoring group?” He nods. “Yeah, again, they got something from her visit. We have a new office in the North End, which the men love since it puts them near the best Italian in the city, and they got new comfy chairs. Vic likes her because he finally gets to go after the contracts he’s always wanted, but bonds enforcement isn’t working them yet, so that hasn’t had much of an impact. Mike likes her because he assumes that his participation in the training program is due to her, not Tank, not Danny, and not Boston Core. Our recommendation put him in the training program, Danny interviewed him, and Tank approved it. So again, like NYC, they each got something from her visit. Who else did?”

He’s quiet for a long time. I take the opportunity to check my email. Pat’s wondering if I’m still alive. ‘I mean, your email is still working, so I assume you haven’t been walked out, but call me. ASAP. Do I need to deliver the sad news to Tamika?’

‘Still with Ranger. I’ll call you.’

‘Thank god! You’re still alive. OK. I’ll wait.’

I look up; Ranger’s watching. “Done?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Miami?”

Takes me a minute to realize what he’s asking. “Don’t come back. We don’t like you personally, we don’t really like you professionally because you didn’t do shit for us, and if your grandma pinches one more man, we’ll ship her ass home in a body bag.”

Ranger’s lips thin again. He takes a deep breath and tilts his head back. I slouch in the seat and get comfortable.

“Your personal opinion?”

I shake my head. “I’m not advocating for myself because I did screw up. I’m waiting for your judgment, sir, but the rest of the Boston men didn’t deserve that. She was hypocritical. She prejudged them and then got upset with the men in my branch for doing the same to her. She wants respect but she also wants everyone to ignore her reputation as if that shouldn’t matter. We followed her because you said to. We didn’t trust her not to get us killed and we didn’t trust her not to burn the company down, so to speak.”

“So you needed to know what about her to trust her?” Ranger’s voice is soft, but edged with steel.

I consider how to answer this carefully. “We needed a true reason to trust her, sir. Why did you believe in her? Was she a great businesswoman? Was she an accounting whiz? Was there something in her background that made her the right person for this job that we didn’t know about? We still don’t understand why you elevated her, sir. What was it in her background that led you to believe that she would do the good job she’s done all year?” I sit back and rub my forehead, thinking of an example, then quit because I can’t think of one.

“You tasked the Trenton men to protect her, correct?” He nods. “They did it at first because they were following your orders. They went out into the field with a woman whose refusal to train meant they could be shot at any moment. Lots of men have suffered trying to back her up. We got the details, finally. We finally heard some stories.

Each man in Trenton had to find his own reason to like her. I reached out to Ches Deuce, to congratulate him once he became a liaison. We shot the shit one afternoon and he told me it took him a long time to like her because of her attitude to her job. Wasn’t until she ran a distraction to give him time to catch his skip that he started to like her because he’d been stunned twice in the field trying to protect her and back her up.

So you see, sir, even knowing that you believe in her doesn’t mean that we do. The video in RangeWorld right now? That helps. We can finally see her in the field and we see that training paid off. OK, but that’s one video versus all the stories.” I shrug. “We followed the captain because the general said to. Doesn’t mean we didn’t wonder if the captain could get us killed because her history said that a disaster was not only possible but likely.”

The ultra-blank face is in place. I’m on shaky ground.

“Again, sir, we followed her orders. We told Mark to shut up. We insulated the men from his opinions until he calmed down. We did what we could to find out positive information about her to make the men see this was a good move, to help them move from following orders because the Leadership Core said so to doing it because Ms. Plum has a knack for doing good things and making the right moves.

I should have called Bobby and said, look, she’s going over like a bad clam in summertime here, but Mark had a point. What was the response going to be?” I raise a brow at Ranger. “You invested her with your authority. The Leadership Core did this as a joint move. The CO had your confidence.”

I’m finally quiet. My throat is dry. Ranger has a ‘thoughtful’ look on his face. It’s nearly noon and I’m hungry. I’m going to live, Ranger’s listening to me, and I’ve said a lot of what I wanted to say. I’m satisfied. I retrieve water from my fridge and hand one to Ranger, then go back and grab my grapes, my mid-morning snack. He nods his thanks and stands, walking over to my window.

“So what do you think I should handle first, Rodney?” he asks quietly. I walk over to join him, standing in the window to block anyone from seeing him, and offer him grapes. He shakes his head and stares out of the window.

I swallow carefully. “The most dire thing?” He nods. “The Miami men. They feel betrayed, hurt, confused, annoyed, you name it, they feel it. They got tarred with the brush of assholes and are being penalized for their beliefs about male-female relationships and the role of women. If she wanted to make a point, she made the point. Work with the men to reduce those scores. Talk to them about how it affects their lives. Don’t just point out what you think is a problem, then walk away.

Even more, don’t treat them like they’re diseased. Miami had the worst scores, but not by much. Every branch has a problem with sexism. They don’t see her shipping Atlanta’s men off to other branches. NYC’s men had an issue with hostile sexism just like they did. Why weren’t they moved? The men here, volunteering at the shelter? It’s made a difference. They see the correlation now. They’re talking about it. I think Miami will vote to continue their work with the shelters. It’s made a difference to them personally.”

“Good.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Anything else?”

“Mark.”

“Yes?”

“He’s really trying, sir. We’re still in contact. Mark’s really trying to retain his position and show that he’s learned from his mistakes. Pat too. Me too.”

“And what have you learned?”

“First, do my job, regardless of what’s going on. I’m not responsible for Ms. Plum’s feelings if they’re hurt by my honest rendering of the mood in my branch. She’s a grown woman. She can deal and if she can’t she shouldn’t be in charge.”

“Careful.”

My mouth snaps shut. I see the line now. She was still Ranger’s decision. Not my place to tell him she shouldn’t be in charge. I chew carefully, wondering if I’ve just found Ranger’s limit.

“No.”

“Yes, sir,” I whisper.

“Continue.”

I nod. “Second, Bobby has never ever penalized me for telling him the truth. I should have called him and told him what was going on and allowed the Leadership to handle it. Maybe if I had, we would have gotten better information sooner.”

I rub my face and sigh. “The Leadership Core has never been adverse to the truth in the past. Why we thought they would be this time, simply because a woman held the reins, is unfathomable. Third, stay humble and trust in the men, in the brotherhood. My position as liaison was overshadowed by Mark’s spying and incessant calls to men in other branches. It eroded trust in me. I should have checked him sooner. Finally, have more backbone. I should have continued to hold the line against Mark’s plan. I never should have agreed to go after the Hospitality contracts. I should have just called Bobby.”

“Noted.” He turns. “Why did you choose to tell me this?”

I stand at attention. “Sir, you’ve never penalized any man for his opinion or for telling the truth. If you want to know, I’ll answer you honestly. Two, I understand the purpose of my exile to Charlotte.”

“Which was?”

“To help me get my backbone back. Was I a leader or a follower? I followed Mark and did something extremely stupid and I was supposed to be a leader at my branch. I should have continued to hold the line. I should have called on senior leadership for assistance. I should have done a lot of things I didn’t do. I’ve learned better. I know better.”

He nods thoughtfully. “Anything else?”

I think carefully. “No, sir. Just awaiting your judgment of my actions. And thank you for the opportunity to state my case.”

—oOo—

“Well?”

Pat sounds hopeful.

“I don’t know when I’m coming home. I’ll have to talk to Bobby but I’m off probation.”

He sighs audibly. I’m relieved too. Ranger shook my hand and patted my back as he left, telling me to await Bobby’s call.

“My work here in Charlotte saved my ass, but get this: Ranger let me run on until I got tired.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” I kick back. “I told him everything I thought and what I’ve heard lately, and he listened.”

“He always listens.” That’s true. Ranger always listens. Pat’s quiet. “He listened to me too. I told him I was OK with Steph when it came to company work but in the field …”

I snort. “Well, I took a different tack. I pointed out that she was a hypocrite, she demanded respect but didn’t give any, we had no positive information on her to counter her reputation, and she played favorites.”

“Wow. Both barrels huh?”

“Yeah.” I’m quiet. I still can’t believe I said everything I did. It was like the tap was turned on and the words just flowed.

“Mark’s left.”

I feel for my boss. He’s dead man walking unless Ranger chooses to save him. “How do you think he’ll come out?”

“I’d be extremely surprised if he weren’t demoted.”

—oOo—

Ranger’s POV

I send the recording of my interview with Rod to Bobby. I want him to listen to it.

Me?

I’m numb. I hit the gym and run a few miles.

One thing I’ve always loved most about getting out among the men is the complete honesty I get. Every man knows not to lie to me, so I hear the true state of my company at the ground level. The people I count on most for honesty are the Boston men and Susan. Susan’s never hesitated to tell me exactly what she thinks, and this report is sobering.

The Boston interviews all came back to the same thing: We trust you but we didn’t trust her. We knew nothing good about her, so we were following her based on your recommendation. She’s proven herself to be good within the company, but we still wouldn’t follow her in the field.

We miss having you at the helm, sir.

So, lesson truly learned: If I elevate someone to my position, I need to give the men a reason to trust that person. I need to ensure that everyone knows why this person has my confidence and authority.

I didn’t name Stephanie Plum CO. I named the Bombshell Bounty Hunter CO and my men were confused and fearful. I caused a lot of these problems in the way I elevated her. I really should have done more to ensure the men understood there was a business reason behind the move, something besides ‘I’m going to be out of the country and the rest of the LC is going to be incommunicado’.

Some of the other stuff?

I wondered if she understood that she was being a straight hypocrite.

Well, excuse me for falling prey to human nature and wondering if you‘re competent.

Mark said something big happened and the RMSA review was looking questionable for a minute because there was noticeable tension between her and the Leadership Core.

Everything we can find out says she‘s in a relationship with a local cop and you’re the boy toy on the side.

Lie to me, Rod. Please. Lie to me.

—oOo—

I spot Eddie from Miami as I’m leaving the gym. It’s hard not to; he’s clearly waiting on me and I wave him into Mando’s office for a quick chat. Rod was correct; Anti-Steph sentiment in Miami is rising the more they talk. They can’t stand her, her grandmother, or anything about her. I tell him to grab the rest of the men and I listen to them for two hours. I allow a no holds barred session and they tell me everything they’re thinking and feeling.

The Miami men are not stupid and the longer you give them to think about something, the more airtight they can make their case. My men have had months to think about this. Their grievances are air-tight and fully noted.

Armando comes in and listens as his men detail every complaint they have. I watch; Mando has on his “unshakable” blank face, so what his men are telling him hurts. It mostly comes back to they wish Tony and his crew had been fired earlier and that they do not like Steph.

Candy took the right tack with the men; she’s working with them, positively, to show why and how sexism is a big deal. They’re on Lourdes’s housekeeping committee and she’s teaching them to cook for themselves. Not having a housekeeper is making a difference in Miami. The men there are getting together to learn to cook and make their own meals, led by Juan. Oddly enough, having to fend for themselves pulled the men still in Miami back together, and the men in other branches around the company want to go home and rejoin their own rebuild. They want to top NYC and show that home base still reigns supreme!

At the end, I stand. “You can put this out on your ‘gossip’ lines now. Mrs. Mazur is moving out and she will not be allowed to move back into RangeMan unless I’m personally there. Also, she will never be allowed to harass the men of RangeMan again.”

Every man smiles, looking relieved. “Gossip lines, sir?” Eddie says, raising a brow.

“You men move info faster than teenage girls at lunch.”

Everyone laughs, relieved, and I dismiss them. Mando and I look at each other. I raise a brow. “Tell Thomas so he can put it out on the official liaison line.”

“Yes, sir. She can’t go back,” Mando murmurs. “Not anytime soon. Definitely not before you return from overseas, sir.”

I agree. Steph will have a rough time with the men there and, given Les’s current ambivalent feelings about her, she won’t have the unconditional support from him that she used to. He’ll make them respect the position. Making them respect the person?

Fuck! Always something.

There’s a hell of a lot more about what Rod said that I need to digest but I’m too numb right now. I need some happy and, just as I’m thinking of her, she shows.

Steph looks happy, like she’s had a good day, and my heart lifts seeing her. She and Mari are gabbing about something and teasing each other. I listen; they went to a museum. I laugh inside. Steph’s still not a fan of abstract art.

OK, so Ranger Mañoso was whipped by a ‘white bread girl from the Burg’. Fuck you. My woman has more backbone than you fat fucks. I need to think of a way to flip a finger to TPD without ruining my business relationship with them. Perhaps raising the price on their contract? I’ll think of something painful but professional, something that should remind them that their job is to care for all their citizens, not just the Burg ones.

I’m surprised when she immediately grabs my hand but she’s been doing that ever since we started this trip. When she did it in Boston I was surprised, but doing it today, in front of these men, I feel that connection with her. That reminder that we’re in this together. We’re a unit and I like that feeling.

I like holding hands with her.

—oOo—

I leave and take over Chase’s office for the afternoon since he’s out in meetings. My review of Charlotte is largely done and, although I might have waited a year or two to set this branch up, Steph and the men did a good job. The Atlanta men here think of themselves as Charlotte men and I believe this location will be ready for a RangeMan class of their own in the new year.

My phone rings just as I’m finishing my review of Charlotte.

“Yo.”

“Tough.”

I drop my pen and lean back, rubbing my forehead. “Opinion?”

Bobby sighs. “I got nothing. I called a few of the men, the lower level leadership and some of the men whose opinions I trust. Rod’s right. The mood among the men is toxic against her and if Edna returns to that building, you’ll never find the body.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. They’ll only accept her with you around, bro. She could save their lives right now and they’d still hate her.”

“Should she even transfer there? Should she stay there without me?”

“They’ll protect her if ordered but she won’t get any brotherhood in that office from anyone except leadership. I can look for another therapist in another city, if that’s what you want. San Antonio, Atlanta, I know some decent people there.”

“But Miriam’s the best,” I mutter. Miriam is the only person I allow to poke around in my head. Steph deserves nothing less than the best.

“Yeah, Miriam is who she really needs, but she also needs a supportive environment around her. The men of Miami? Only if she stays out of that office until their hatred of her dies down to mere loathing.” He barks a laugh. “Besides, they don’t have a housekeeper anymore either, so unless Steph joins in and cooks … she’s going hungry or eating her weight in junk food, which will only cause her more problems if she fails a health check.”

I consider Steph at my stove. Scary thought.

“How did this shit happen?” I whisper to myself.

I hear Bobby snort on the other end but, for once, he’s quiet. Thanks bro. I can’t take another round with you right now. Your liaisons are enough. The line clicks. Finally!

“Yo.” Tank.

“Yo.” Les.

“Well?”

Deep sigh. “Cloak the issue under me.”

“Why?”

“I authorized that move,” Tank says. “Armando made the decision to move them out and it was approved at LC level.”

I feel an immense amount of relief. “The PIPs were my idea.”

“Then that insulates Steph,” Les says. “Make sure you call all the Miami men together and let them know that.”

We’re all quiet.

“Gotta go,” Les says. We hear his line click. I text Hec; he’s busy in the server room with the men. Do I need him ASAP? No, I reply. I’ll talk to him when we hit Atlanta tomorrow.

“What would you do?” I ask.

“Honestly?”

“No, Bobby. Lie to me.”

“Well—”

“Don’t.”

He laughs. “Honestly, one, I’d tell her.”

“What!?”

“Yeah. She needs to know. No lying to her, no keeping things back. She needs to know that the men in Miami don’t like her.” I groan and rest my forehead on the table. “OK, what advantage is there in not telling her?”

None. I know that. And I promised to tell her about things that affect her. Fuck. Well OK, first test of that promise.

“Tell her and let her deal with it. From everything I hear, and believe me I did some intense questioning, the dislike of her is due to her decisions and her actions. If Edna doesn’t move back in, that’ll help, but Rod was absolutely accurate in what he told you about the mood about her there and among the Miami men around the company. Eddie and the men were right also.”

I knew it, although some small part of me hoped not. “Fine. Next?”

“She may need to reconsider moving there while you aren’t there.” I thought so. “Maybe she should spend that time in Atlanta with Hector or San Antonio with Tank and Lula. Support around her, encouragement, and I can find a therapist to bridge her until you come back.”

I note that as an idea. “Les is going to Miami.”

“No, I’m taking Les to the Bahamas at the beginning of the year.”

Bobby’s voice is ice cold and I stare at my phone for a moment.

“I don’t care what you and Tank say, he’s burnt out. My RB has spent the past nine months putting everyone’s feelings and hopes ahead of himself and has gotten only one thank you, from you. Les is keeping a close eye on Manolo to ensure no one is fucking with him and watching for gang members up and down the East Coast searching for you, Hec and Gabriel Levy. He’s trying to position Jorge to get his daughter without incurring the wrath of the Bratva and working to get Mack out of NYC before he’s tits up. Les isn’t the kind of man who needs thank yous but he’s not opposed to getting them. He’s given and given and given until he’s pooped out. He’s burnt the candle at both ends. Time for a break.”

“On me.”

“Nope. On me. He’s going to be on vacation until further notice and we leave the same day you do.”

I shake my head. “So we’re leaving Tank to run the company?”

“Thanks,” Tank says drily. I grin.

“Tank’s headed on a tour of the company anyway. Les is training Manny, on the sly, to take his role. I’ll position Rod and Ram to do mine jointly. The paperwork for the new division, and by the way, fuck you”—I smile; you earned it, you fucker.—”has been filed, so we’re waiting on the response. Steph can do her thing from wherever but long story short: my RB comes first. I’m taking him away to screw his head on tight again.”

I’m not fighting Bobby. I don’t know what he and Les get up to on their joint vacations, but they both come back looking like Cheshire Cats. I always feel as if I’m in the military again, waiting for someone to call me to request I toss them in the brig.

“Next?”

“Honestly? That office needs you, bro. You are the pulse there and you’ve been AWOL for a long time.”

“Agreed,” Tank chimes in. “Each office is a reflection of the man in charge of it, except Boston and Trenton. Miami? Miami is schizophrenic because of you.”

“Schizo?” Bobby asks.

“Brilliant security professionals, smart and loyal RangeMen, occasional assholes.”

“Thanks, RB,” I mutter, but I’m laughing. So are Bobby and Tank.

“They have a split personality. They know what’s right but execution?” There’s a noise in the background. “Gotta go.” Click.

“Good point,” Bobby says. “They’re trying to overcome their base instincts to do what’s right. They’re trying to overcome years of training and their cultural background to not respond the way they’ve been raised. Look at Mando.”

Good analysis.

Bobby sighs. “Put someone you trust in there while you’re in Syria and make the commitment to lead from the front when you get home. Move back to Miami.”

“Steph seems to want to move Mando back in.”

“You sound ambivalent.”

“I think it’s a good idea and she should. In a few more months. Perhaps when I’m back to back him too.”

“Then what?”

“I have an idea, but I need to speak to a few more people. And, by the way, fuck you.”

He laughs. “Enjoying the Miata?”

“I’m cramped, I have bucket seat butt”—he roars at that—”and Steph likes heavy metal.”

“Shit. Disaster.”

“Yeah.” Click.

I look at my notes, barely remembering what I wrote, my head buzzing with Rod’s words. I know now why I’m numb.

I‘ve stopped lying to myself.

I thought I had. I realize now that I hadn’t. I still had my condo in Denial Land.

Rod just forcibly ejected me.

You invested her with your authority. The Leadership Core did this as a joint move. The CO had your confidence.

But the general has lost the confidence of his men.