Chapter 44: You’re Scaring Us
Conversations in Italics understood to be in Spanish.
Ram’s POV
Something is wrong.
I’m no genius. I don’t claim to understand women and there’s a lot about them that I want to remain a mystery, but something is wrong with our CO.
She’s . . . not herself.
I’m back in the Bomber file, looking for threats, but I haven’t found any. The men are discreetly looking for a new stalker. Hal and I are both worried and scared. We called Manny, told him to double time it back here for a day or two to assess her, use his instincts.
His assessment: She’s angry.
Thanks, Manny. I mentally sent him the finger.
Steph’s behavior this week has been abnormal. She spent the past week, since her return from NYC, in the gun range every day, twice a day. Every man here had one eye on his work, the other eye on the CO’s progress in the range. We aren’t sure what to make of it. We’re proud (Finally!) but worried.
My assessment: Whatever pissed her off encouraged her to become deadly. Her shots are accurate, lethal, and very personal. If she doesn’t stop shooting the paper man’s balls, I’m calling in a psychiatrist. She forced me to assess her one morning. I told her I wanted to see her out in a paintballing exercise but if I had to clear her right now, she’d probably pass a small arms assessment. She nodded and asked me to order her a few holsters.
Holsters? A few? I’m wearing a cup. Who pissed her off? Back to the ‘Bomber’ file.
Woody and Binkie report that their shins are in serious pain. The CO is taking her hand to hand and self-defense training very seriously. The video of Steph sending Woody to the ground in a flip made the rounds all day. No one teased either man; instead, we congratulated them for taking the blows silently.
Still, Woody and Binkie begged Hal for relief, so Hal has been on the mats with Steph practicing hand to hand. She can’t take him down (and he refuses to body slam her to the ground) so she’s getting better at coming up with sneaky combinations to use against an opponent. Hal limped back to his office today and iced his thighs. I took him a cup; neither of us commented on it.
Manny watched her in the range and in the gym and told us to chalk that up to whatever happened to Hector in Miami. No one will tell us what went down (I think Manny has a clue), but Hector left in perfect health and returned with gunshot bruises. I saw them; whoever shot him was a semi-pro and they meant business. Only Hector’s vest and the fact that the other RangeMen were blocking the shooter from getting a perfect shot kept him alive. The angle tells me he was already falling when the shots hit. What little we can get out of Manny was that Hector’s shooting had absolutely nothing to do with the CO.
Small relief. Something happened in either Miami or NYC and whatever it was, she’s scaring the hell out of us.
Steph’s been working from Apartment 1 for a week. She barely lets Hector out of her sight. It’s weird. We all like Hector, but he’s like the rest of the Leadership Core: Approach with caution and handle with care. I’ve always known and understood that Hector had a management role, but until we got the org chart, I never realized he was at an XO level. It’s given us a new respect for Hector, a new reason to be a bit more deferential. He’s earned his role at RangeMan.
In any case, we’ve found Hector’s weaknesses: tears and bossy women. Every time Bombshell looks ready to cry, he huffs loudly and does as she asks. As a result, Hector’s been on bed rest for an entire week, a record. He looks irritated by this and we’re approaching with more care than usual, but every time he suggests getting out of bed, Zero says, “OK. I’ll let the CO know.” At this point, Hector should have glared holes through Zero, but Zero is unfazed. We’re afraid of the CO and Hector equally at this moment; we’ll let them fight it out.
Maria, on the other hand, approaches him like a general ready for war. He moans and groans loudly with her about everything. We stopped entering the apartment without ensuring he hears our knocks after yesterday morning’s exchange.
“Here, Hector, let me help. Stop being so prideful and stand still,” Maria said.
We could hear Hector grunt. “I will not. I’m no woman. I am a man. Injured or not, I can still bathe.”
“Without falling over? Without pain or further injury? You’re attempting to take a shower, not a bath. If you were taking a bath, then you wouldn’t need help.”
“Fine, I’ll take a bath. Just leave.” Zero and I were turning red at the effort of not laughing. Hector sounded truly harassed. Maria sailed out of the bathroom with a grin on her face, winked, and walked out of the apartment. We could hear Hector muttering under his breath.
“Nosy woman. I think she just wants to stare at my balls. It’s Granny Mazur all over again, just no pinching.” Zero and I had tears running down our cheeks in the effort not to laugh. It’s not often (ever) that you catch Hector at a disadvantage. “Do this, Hector. Do that, Hector. Here, let me dress you, Hector. Sit still and let me dab this nasty cream on you, Hector. Take your pain pills, Hector.” We heard a few grunts from the bathroom and looked at each other, wondering if we should knock on the door to help, when we heard, “Just as I thought. Still attached and big as ever.”
Zero choked and we were caught. Hector opened the door, a towel wrapped around his waist, and glared.
“Uh …CO is wondering if you need help. If you’re OK. We thought we’d come and check before she came down.”
Hector glared at us, slammed the door in our faces and grunted. We could hear the bath running. We turned to leave, but not before we heard him mutter.
“The first person that asks me if I need help wiping my ass is getting sliced.”
Maria has been here for two weeks and it’s been an eye opener. We never really thought about the housekeeper and her role beyond “This is Ella. Worship accordingly.” Having Maria here has really shown us how good we have it. Maria started off almost timid and shocked by just about everything we do. It made all of us nervous; were we doing something wrong?
Vince and Eddie took point with Maria, helping her understand what to expect from the men she works with. That was an important distinction we wanted to make with her, and I think she’s starting to understand. She works with the men; she doesn’t work for them.
Every man in Trenton was grateful when I talked Maria out of cooking her heavy ‘Miami’ cuisine. It was delicious (albondigas? papas rellenas? Where have you been all my life?), but for the first time in our lives, we understood female complaints about not having enough bathrooms. Every man here was on the toilet. We couldn’t take it. Where were the vegetables? Was everything fried? We didn’t want to dictate to Maria what she should feed us, but our bodies couldn’t take it. There is no way that cuisine is healthy, and we can’t understand how the Miami crew manages to eat that without blowing up. They have to live in the gym, but it does explain why the Miami guys are bulkier than the rest of us. Every other office is full of lean, scary individuals with a few outliers (Hal, Cal, Binkie), but Miami is full of potential body builders.
Hal and Vince finally opened up to me about Ella’s ‘psy-op’ and we’ve been debating appropriate “Welcome Home and Thank You!” gifts. If Ella is clearing the way for Steph to go to Miami and not have as many problems, we’ll treat Maria like a queen so she understands what she needs to expect. I think we’re making a difference. She seems relieved and surprised that the entire branch doesn’t require, ask, or expect her to do their laundry. Ella doesn’t; at most, she’ll do a load if something is severely stained, but otherwise her laundry duties are limited to household needs and the Leadership Core. Now that the Leadership Core is no longer here, Hal, Manny, Bombshell, and I are the only people Ella does laundry for.
That was a shock. I’ve always done my own laundry and the idea of handing my Jockeys over to Ella was uncomfortable. When I told Ella this, back when we took over leadership in Trenton, she smiled and met with me, Manny, and Hal to discuss it.
“I’ve done the Leadership’s laundry for years. I’ve seen everything.”
Believable, but still. This is Ella. She’s not a maid. Finally, she sat down with us and went through the RangeMan housekeepers’ contract. As senior management, we could set the amounts of laundry we were comfortable with. If we just needed her to continue to iron and do spot removal she was fine with it, but if we were OK with her doing full loads, she was OK with doing it.
“You boys, and Stephanie, now work 10-12 hour days. Perhaps more. Laundry takes time, which is now a precious commodity. I consider this a part of the household duties of RangeMan. You are the only people with permanent living space here in the building. I already handle Stephanie’s laundry and I will not be upset at handling yours. Just leave whatever needs to be laundered in your new laundry bags and I’ll make sure it’s done.”
We all looked at each other. Each man was still uncomfortable with the idea. Ella smiled. “Of course, since the Leadership Core doesn’t wear underwear, that usually just leaves the uniform and socks.”
We blinked. TMI? I mean, we knew Ranger and Lester didn’t, but all of them? I’m having problems imagining Bobby swinging in the breeze. Bobby strikes me as a fully dressed Southern gentleman with a large swipe of bad ass. Watching him decimate Liam last week cemented that for me.
I refuse to consider Tank’s underwear habits.
We talked about it and decided to pilot full laundry service for two months. At the end of two months, you couldn’t pay me to do my own laundry again. It’s a new reason to love Maria. The woman is skilled at making whites whiter, colors brighter, and everything smells fresh.
I hope she like flowers.
Hal’s POV
I’m not sure what to do. Sis (Bombshell is just too much) is not herself. Ram is concerned about the amount of time she’s spending in the range. I’m happy that she’s in the range; I’m concerned that she hasn’t seemed happy since she returned from Miami and NYC. It’s not like Steph to be angry for this long. She usually snaps out of whatever it is pretty quickly, so whatever this is it’s serious. A reaction to Hector’s shooting? Anger over what happened to Javi? Something else? Whatever it is, I need an answer.
I’m also concerned about my thighs. Women can kick pretty hard and she’s aiming kinda high.
The trip to NYC must have been a good one. Javier is now more open with me and Danny on the phone about his branch and his problems. While in NYC, Sis called us about him.
“Hey guys!”
“Hey CO!” Danny said. “What do you need from Atlanta?”
“I need to talk to you and Hal for a moment.”
“I’m here, Steph.”
“OK, here’s the situation.” Sis laid out for us everything that had happened to Javier, how he was betrayed by his Core team and how Bobby apologized on behalf of Leadership Core for not helping him more. She said she was coming home that afternoon, but she would go back in two weeks, in conjunction with Lester, to back Javi up some more.
Danny and I were stunned.
I literally could not fathom not being able to rely on Ram and Manny. I’m annoyed enough that Manny isn’t here. If I couldn’t trust them . . . holy hell.
Javi could have anything he needed. I just wish he’d leveled with us sooner. Then again, how did he know who he could trust? It was a completely crap situation.
In any case, Steph wanted us to reach out to him, be his sounding board when he had problems. She confided that he liked speaking to Danny because Danny was quick to give him options and suggestions, and he liked speaking to me because I had the military mindset of how to carry things out. He wasn’t a bad leader, she said. On the contrary, he was actually a damn good one, but he needed more confidence.
I completely understood. I Express Mailed Javi a copy of The Art of War, with the same quote on it that Tank had picked out for me. I told Danny and there was silence on the other end.
“Good choice. I sent him Machiavelli’s The Prince.”
“Cynical.”
“Brilliant. The book has more nuances than people give it credit for, but at its soul is a discussion of how to be a good leader and how to inspire loyalty. ‘It is best to be both feared and loved; however, if one cannot be both it is better to be feared than loved.’ It’s what the Leadership Core practices.”
I thought about that. True. We fear the Leadership Core, but no one hates them. We fear them, respect them, and would follow them to the ends of the earth because we know they won’t allow any man to die on their watch, but love them? I feel a lot of things for Ranger, but I’m not sure love is among them. A healthy dose of fear, admiration and respect is what I feel for Ranger, Lester and Bobby. Same for Tank, with a tad of hero worship.
Danny sent me a quote from the book later, which I spent the day thinking about.
“A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent, so that if he does not attain to their greatness, at any rate he will get some tinge of it.”
I see his point. I make a note to pick up the book and read it. If that’s Danny’s go-to book that informs his leadership in Atlanta, time for me to start reading.
I finally got a brain wave last night. I was still thinking about Danny’s quote and asked myself, “What would Tank do?” and I knew exactly what he would do. I called Hector, told him my plan, and he approved it. He would be watching. I understood the context. I promised to keep to the itinerary.
This was going to be a delicate procedure. It might go wrong. I needed it to go right.
Now it’s time to execute. I ask Maria for her help and she agrees to pack a picnic lunch. I’ll pick it up later. I crack my Bible before approaching the Lion’s Den.
“Steph?”
She looks up. I don’t know how to classify her facial expression. Harassed? Overwhelmed? Annoyed? Dunno, but I decide that the less I speak, the better. I hold my hand out and she looks confused. She attempts to raise an eyebrow and I shake my head. Her jaw clenches, but she locks her computer and grabs her gun and jacket.
I take her hand (she’s so tiny!) and we head to 4 to check on Hector. He’s fine, pretending to catnap (hahahaha, Hector’s afraid of crying women! Hector has a weakness!), so Steph taps his chest lightly.
“Hector?”
He cracks one eye open.
“I’m headed out with Hal.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. I look at him and nod. He pulls out his iPad. Steph kisses his forehead.
“Stay in bed. I’ll stick close to Hal.”
He nods and we leave.
This is how I know something’s wrong. No questions so far. I disable monitoring on the car. Hector’s already transferred her tracking devices to his iPad and the guys can only track me.
“Disable the garage cameras.”
She looks at me, confused, so I take a moment to show her which keys on her key fob control the cameras. I wait and Maria approaches with the goods.
“Enjoy,” she says, smiling.
The odor of fresh donuts from Tasty Pastry lifts Sis’s spirits. I assume this is going to be the usual ten minute torture, but I’m wrong. She eats her Boston Creams quietly.
I’m truly afraid. This has to work.
I pull up outside the bonds office and scan for a moment. Usual suspects so it’s safe to move. We climb out and walk in.
“Steph!” Connie.
“Hey Girl!” Lula.
“Steph! Oh, I thought you couldn’t have donuts?” Mary Lou. Great! I’m glad she made it.
“RangeMan Trenton bribe. I’m not sure what I’m being bribed for yet, but it’s their way.” She looks at me with a small smile, first one I’ve seen all week. Excellent. I wave with my phone and head out.
I finish the bonds run with John and Douglas and pick up some items from FedEx. I’m dreading the next stop, but it has to be done.
“Mrs. Plum?”
“Henry? How nice to see you.”
I whimper mentally over what I have to say next. “I know that it’s last minute and if you cannot accommodate it that’s fine, but I wondered if you would mind if the Trenton Leadership accompanied Stephanie to dinner tonight?”
Mrs. Plum blinks then smiles a huge smile at me. “Henry, I can always accommodate RangeMen. Dinner is at 6PM sharp.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll have Stephanie here in plenty of time.”
No Granny Mazur to pinch my bum. Thank you, Jesus. I’ll ride a pew on Sunday. Promise.
I stop at the florist. I have no idea what to get and Danny was no help here. His standard “I’m sorry I fucked up” floral gift is red roses, but he said that would be inappropriate. I call Candy.
“I’m looking for a gift for my boss. Floral.”
Candy and I have been seeing each other ever since my party. We’re comfortable with each other and we have fun whenever we’re together. My soldier loves her, although it’s not just about the sex (awesome though it is). The rest of me agrees more and more.
“What are you trying to say?”
“You’re scaring us shitless. Please act like yourself again.”
She laughs. “OK…what’s she doing different?”
“She’s been, we don’t know, sad, angry, upset, unhappy. You name it, she’s not the same happy-go-lucky Steph. The men have suggested a hug line; that’s how bad it is.”
“Azaleas.”
She knows we try to do flowers with meanings, but when I think of azaleas, they’re in the ground. “Why?”
“The floral meaning is ‘Take care of yourself’.”
That sounds good. The florist’s assistant is eyeing me with interest. I guess the old saying is true: the moment you have someone, everyone’s interested.
“You can also try gladiolus, mums, or hyacinth. Yellow tulips, too. If you don’t care about meaning and just want something pretty, go with a gardenia, tulips of any color, lilies but not white ones, ooooh orchids . . . “
I’m writing these down. Never know when I might need them again. The way she says orchids makes my mind up.
“Thanks. I didn’t know what to choose.”
“No problem. You and your soldier coming my way this weekend?”
I smile. I know I’m red. “You bet. I need to ride a pew on Sunday.”
Silence. The biggest issue between us. “OK. It’s been a while.”
“I don’t ask that you do anything except sit next to me. It’s important to me.”
“OK. I need extra sex for this.”
I smile. “I can manage that. Bye.”
“Bye.”
The assistant smiles at me. “Can I make a suggestion?” I nod. “Camellias. It can mean ‘Excellence”, ‘Good Luck’, and ‘Admiration’.”
I smile and her smile gets bigger. “I’ll keep that in mind. Can you do a bouquet of orchids and azaleas?”
“Sure. It’ll take an hour.” I nod and pay for the bouquet, then let her know someone else will pick it up. She slips me her number.
Jeez. Where were these women before? This is the eighth number I’ve gotten since my promotion. Feast or famine and I guess I’m in feast mode.
I swing back by the building for the picnic basket then pick Sis up from the bonds shop. I like this nickname better. My little sister. I always wanted one and I’m choosing to ignore that Steph is actually three years older than me. I hated being the youngest.
She looks happier. Thank God.
“What did you do?”
She looks surprised I asked. “Nothing. Sat around, caught up on gossip. Lula leaves in an hour.”
I nod. “Fully informed?”
“Yup. What are you up to, Hal?”
“Light day. I like to get out the office whenever I can. Thought you might need a day out.” The last two sentences are true. It’s my normal, crushing workload day, but Junior has my back. Thankfully, Danny and Javi understand and I’ve told Junior to call them or Ram for anything he doesn’t understand. I can’t wait to see what Sis does to Boston. I’m getting nervous about Mark’s newfound willingness to work with her.
“OK, so where are we headed next? Mall?” Ah, closer to normal. I look at her until she giggles. Success! “What will it take to get RangeMen into a mall voluntarily?”
“Presidential order.”
Sis blinks and laughs. I’ve missed that sound, and she laughs for a good long time. Great. I pull up outside her old apartment. She blinks and looks around.
“Are we picking up my grandma?” She’s smiling.
“Nope. Having lunch.” I verified the old lady is at the Clip N Curl gossiping. One of the new RangeMen has been given the task of surveillance. We’ve told him we want to see how good he is at it, especially scoping a public place. Truth: Newbies get the worst jobs until they prove themselves. “Still have your key?”
She nods and looks at me in confused wonder. Yay! We head up in the elevator and enter.
Edna Mazur’s decorating scheme is classic old lady with a touch of BDSM and stoner chic. Interesting use of bongs as lamps. Pot poster on the wall. I’ll have to ensure Sis doesn’t eat any brownies here. Is that . . . no, I refuse to think I’m looking at a collection of dildos. I’m innocent. Sex stops after 65 as far as I’m concerned. Otherwise, I might have to wonder what my parents . . . YUCK! Even Steph looks disturbed. She looks at me. “We won’t discuss this.”
I nod. “Who would believe us?” We look at each other and laugh. I lift the picnic basket. “It’s not Pino’s, but Maria’s not bad.”
Steph’s smile gets a little shaky and I pass her my handkerchief. I spread the blanket from the couch on the floor and Steph dives into the basket. Meatball subs, pickles, chips, and two beers each.
Let her eat her favorite foods and get away from (almost) all of us for a day. It was all I could think of. It’s what I think Tank would do.
Hector’s POV
Finally! First time in a week Angelita hasn’t complained about me leaving the bed and it’s to attend a Plum Family Dinner. Damn!
I let Ranger know about Angelita’s state of mind since Miami. He’s concerned about her and I tell him we’re keeping a close eye on her.
“Good, but let Ella know. This is an Ella situation.”
“Something we’ve done?”
“No. Me. Inadvertent.”
“Can we help?”
“No. She’ll have to work through it. Ella will know what to do. She’s been like this the entire week?”
“Yeah.”
“OK, there’s time.”
I dread asking, but she’s my partner. I need to know. “Is it . . . a feminine thing?”
Thankfully, Ranger got it. “No. It’s emotional.”
I’m tempted to classify that as a ‘feminine thing’ but I’ll hold off. Thankfully, I supplied him with so much intel from Miami, and Manny’s been passing so much stuff since, that he won’t need me back in the field until after my shoulder heals.
I tell him about Hal’s plans.
“Channeling Tank again?” he says, amused.
“Tank’s flattered, believe me. He’s looking for another book to send him to show his pride.”
“Interesting. I’m beginning to wonder if we need to do that with all the XOs. I’ve had some time to think about what happened to Javi. We never showed him any positive reinforcement. Hell, we never show any of them positive reinforcement. They know not to fuck up, but beyond that their only reinforcement is their bonus check.”
“It’s a good idea. Hal sent Javier the one Tank gave him. I think Danny sent something called The Prince.”
Ranger whistles. “Good choice. Excellent book. You’d love it.” I make a note of the name. I think I’ll read it too.
“What will you do for the CO?” Silence. Sigh. He still has not thought about what life with his ‘Babe’ will be like beyond winning the prize.
“Our relationship is up to her. I need to see that she understands what she’s taking on.“
Two way street, hermano. She knows now what she’s getting. Do you? Have you thought about it?
Ranger tells me the news that I lived hit Miami like a lightning storm. Just as we expected, I’m legend. Sigh. Just means the target on my back is bigger now. I need to get back out there and be seen being the bad ass. Nikki tells me that Reyes have been hanging around her and Hector Manuel and eventually one came to her apartment and let her know that they’re watching out for her. Piman sent them.
I asked Ranger to verify and he confirmed that Piman has taken Rey’s old territory in Atlanta. News of Rey’s defection is out and the anger is high. Piman’s there consolidating his holdings now, and he’s put out the word that Nikki and Hector Manuel are under his protection and not to be fucked with. Interesting. I’ve met Piman a handful of times and he’s watching out for my son? Ranger tells me that he reinforced with Piman that Hector Manuel is to me like Julie is to him. There’s no question that my son will have protection now.
I call Nikki and ask her about the possibility of moving to a gated apartment complex, if not a gated community. The Reyes showing up on her doorstep frightened her enough to consider it, so I call Danny and ask him if he would help her find a nice safe home in Atlanta. His wife knows a realtor and they’re on it. He asks me if I’ve considered asking Nikki to apply at RangeMan. I have but she turned me down flat. Doesn’t like the idea of nepotism and wants to prove her degree and skills apart from me. Grrr. She put my son in the new daycare and made it clear that only those on his approved list can pick him up.
Danny told me that a Reyes showed up at RangeMan Atlanta to talk to him. Their discussion was to inform him, Danny, that Reyes under Piman are told that any intel applicable to the RangeMan is to be passed to him immediately. They want to establish a connection, a point person with the Atlanta branch. Danny didn’t know what to do with that information. I told him to be the point person and arrange to talk to Pedro in Miami about procedures. Piman and Ranger go way back and if Piman is looking to pass information, he should trust what he’s told.
In any case, I’m flat on my back in the bed and still working the streets. I call old contacts and pass the info to Ranger. Almost four months into his op and he’s pulled eight dirty agents off the streets and has another nine under surveillance. He says The Cop is his best agent. He says this grudgingly and I can tell the subtext is ‘I hate I have to respect this bastard for being good at his job’.
I’m glad I get to take a break tonight and get out the building. I’m starting to understand Angelita’s irritation with being in the building all the time. My first lungful of fresh Trenton air makes me cough and makes my shoulder hurt. Angelita immediately looks over in concern and I glare at her until she gets the idea that mothering me in public is not OK. I’ll allow her to do it in that apartment (if I have no other choice), but in public, I’m still the baddest bad ass of this partnership. Don’t make me look like a punk.
We travel to her parents’ home and her mother welcomes us warmly. She’s happy to see Angelita and immediately begins filling her in on family gossip. Mr. Plum is also happy to see us and immediately begins chatting in Italian with Zero. Hal, Ram, and Junior are quiet but happy. Angelita is more animated now than she has been all week. Ram and Junior slap Hal’s back; his plan worked.
No Granny Mazur at dinner is wonderful. Mrs. Plum starts asking Angelita about her skills again and Ram confirms that if he had to test her today, she’d pass a small arms assessment. Mrs. Plum is thrilled, as is Mr. Plum, and Mrs. Plum present her daughter with an extra large piece of Pineapple Upside-Down cake.
We travel back to RangeMan and Angelita leans on me in the car, a happy smile on her face. Every man in the car has a small smile on his face and Hal will be the hero of our office. Our Angelita is back.
Ella needs to come home. Whatever this problem is, it cannot happen again.
Steph’s POV
After the best day I’ve had in over a week, I get a text right before bed that makes it perfect.
“Proud of you, Babe.”
