Chapter 104 I Lost Weight

Spanish in Italics. Assume someone is translating for Hector.

Ranger’s POV

I slide out of Les’s Range Rover and grin. Mrs. CJ is standing on her porch, smiling. Her hair is blonde this time. I have a twenty on her and Lula having the same shade.

“Ric! Boy, you did lose weight! Come here and let me fatten you back up.” She’s off the porch and walking over to me, hands on her hips, like a woman on a mission.

Steph’s jaw has dropped to her chest, but I jog over to Mrs. CJ, pick her up and twirl her around. I look down at her wide smile and grin. Impossible to stay unhappy or upset around her. “Not too much. I only need five pounds this time,” I tease. “Not twenty.”

I love Tank’s mom. She’s a wonderful woman, so loving and giving to everyone, regardless of who shows up at her door. She lives her beliefs and there’s a lot less pressure staying here or at Bobby’s than in Newark with my family. Mrs. CJ doesn’t ask questions and she lets us come and go as we please. Plus, no pressure to get married or have babies. I’d die for this woman in a heartbeat. Continue reading

Author’s Note to Chapter 103

I saw a lot of comments on FanFiction about Lula’s position in the last chapter. Lula’s position is similar to Vinnie or David. She’s a ‘special’/’contract’ employee, not a RangeMan. Just as Vinnie and David do not have to undergo RangeMan training, neither does Lula because she gets paid for each project she handles. The same for the contract workers who man the monitors at each location. They don’t have to be trained to RM standards because they’re paid per job.

Lula’s in an awkward position. She’s the only wife/fiancée of RangeMan leadership living in the building. She doesn’t have a job and she doesn’t have kids. Aside from school and wedding planning, she doesn’t have anything else to do and, as we’ve seen, bored characters get into trouble. Also, RMSA is Lula’s home, since she and Tank can’t agree on a house. She’s interested in the running of the place and trying to help out as much as possible because that’s her home. Lula working at RMSA started off as a volunteer thing, something for Lula to do while visiting Tank, but when Les saw how good she was at it, they formalized her role.

Essentially, she’s just filling in at the moment, something for her to do while she takes her college classes because she’s not taking a full load. When she starts taking a full load, then she won’t have time to help. If she ever became a full or part time employee then yes, she’d have to get the training and that’s something she’s contemplating already, on her own. An earlier example is Mariela Cortes. When she worked as RangeMan’s exclusive seller’s agent in Miami, she did not have to be a RangeWoman to do that. She worked on a commission basis, piece by piece, project by project.

As Tank said, it’s his job is to hire and Candy’s job is to do employee admin and we’ve seen that when Candy thinks there should be a change made, she doesn’t mind standing up to whoever is in charge. That’s vital for HR people. They have to be willing to hold the line. Now that Candy is on-site to see what Lula’s doing, she can assess whether or not a change needs to be made and she is the correct person to bring that up with Tank, not Steph. Tank and Candy can handle that.

I am stating now, as the author, there’s no hypocrisy in how Lula is being treated. It’s in line with how certain employees, historically, have been treated. It simply feels and looks awkward because RMSA is Lula’s home and the lines are blurry.

Veiland

Chapter 103.5 WE Run This Show

Mark’s POV

Tank calls Diego and me into his office on Friday afternoon, before we leave for the restaurant, to speak to us. He motions for us to take a seat in front of his desk.

The late afternoon sun is shining into the room and I can see Diego checking everything out. The knowledge that this might become his new home is obvious if you know Diego as well as I do. He’s trying to hold it in but he’s excited.

I expect him to do a toothbrush-level inspection. I can’t wait to call Mando!

“First, welcome to RMSA. Glad to have other members of the leadership here with us.”

Surprising. “Thank you, sir. Glad to be here,” Diego replies, getting comfortable. Continue reading

Chapter 103 Who runs this show?

Steph’s POV

Ranger and I spent Sunday together not talking.

Instead, we ordered out and just had a quiet day together. I don’t want to talk about RangeMan yet and Ranger refuses to discuss the op. All I know is that “Buzz Cut” has been arrested. He and Manny discussed the charges against the ringleader, but he hasn’t been arrested yet.

I hope he’s arrested soon. I’m tired of the restrictions and the bodyguards.

I’m tired of this op. Continue reading

Chapter 102: We Come to One Accord

Tank’s POV

Lula’s quiet. That’s always nerve-racking.

“Tankie?”

“Hmm?”

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

Depends on what I have to lie about, but yeah, I’d lie to you in a heartbeat. Or, more correctly, I’d redirect you. “What do you want to know, Lula Bear?”

“Steph had beard burn all over her face.”

“I noticed.”

She’s quiet. “I know what I want to think but I need to know if I’m right.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t wanna be wrong.” Continue reading

Chapter 101: Together with my Best Friend(s)

Ranger’s POV

I love my Babe.

She screams loud enough to bring hotel security to the room.

And Mark. He shows up, gun drawn, and is determined to search the room until he realizes his boss isn’t exactly dressed.

So is Diego. And Hec. And Connie, ML, and Candy. Each one shows up, guns drawn and confused. Well, not ML. She shows up with a pot.

“ML, what’s the pot for?”

“Well, I don’t have a gun. I found a pot. I made do, OK? I was worried and I grabbed a weapon. So sue me.” Continue reading

Chapter 100 Tank Speaks. A LOT.

Tank’s POV

Dinner was excellent. I’m not the biggest fan of churrascarias (overeating’s too easy) but it was great to get everyone together and have fun. Lula looked happier than I’ve seen in months and she and Steph looked excited to talk to each other. I may have to consider going back to New Jersey more often. Lula needs her ‘peeps’.

Diego and I talked about Miami and what he wants to do there. I’m impressed by him. Lots of good ideas, strong leadership skills, no nonsense. Still a little impatient but he’ll learn. We discussed possible ideas for him to try and he looked excited by a few of them.

The RMSA men aren’t quite sure what to make of him right now. Arlo likes him but Gonzo’s not sure. Diego will have to win over Gonzo in order to get the RMSA men to like him. Gonzo can be an idiot but he’s a damn good leader and Marine. They should click off that.

Mark also had good ideas for Diego. I made an effort to talk to Mark. I have to. He’s my soldier too and now that Steph has worked her magic on him, he’s calmer. Quiet. Patient. Eventually, Lula and Steph noticed and we were banned from discussing business for the rest of the night by the ladies. Continue reading

Response to Chapter 98 Reviews

A few things I want to address:

1. Not to belabor the mall point, but one of the big stories in the NY/NJ area right now is the death of a man after a vicious and senseless carjacking at a mall in NJ. He was ambushed loading gifts into his car, which means, obviously, that he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings and neither was his wife. and an FBI Task force was created to capture the four perpetrators. Continue reading

Chapter 99 The End?

Ranger’s POV

Human nature: Try to be mysterious when trying to be sneaky.

Never works. I learned that from Les. When Les wants to be sneaky, he attracts attention. While you’re busy watching him, his associate is screwing you over and all you remember is what Les was doing. The moment you take your eyes off Les, he gets you.

Someday, Javi will figure out that’s how Les keeps stealing his ball. He already knows how he’s going to lift it. He just needs another NYC man to provide a diversion.

If I were Knox, I would never have tried to board a plane in south Florida, but if I were going to try, I would have taken a flight from Sarasota. It’s an international airport but smaller. Instead, he’s trying to sneak out via Orlando because he expects the Disney-exhausted parents and kids will hide him. Continue reading

I Learn to Waltz, Part II

OZ: Oswald State Penitentiary (NY)
Candy Land: Green Haven Correctional (NY)
13 1/2:12 jurors, 1 judge, and 1/2 a chance

A/N: This takes place while Les is moving up and down the East Coast (A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste). Blame my Muse for the late arrival on this one.

I EARN my promotion

Mack’s POV

Javi is losing his fucking mind.

“How does he do it?” He’s standing in front of the ball case, staring at it. The ball ain’t there. Jorge is shaking his head and even I’m confused.

Javi’s gone mad trying to figure out how to protect his ball. Les keeps stealing the damn thing and we can’t figure out how he does it. Javi’s started locking his door and Les still steals the damn ball.

I’m stumped. Les is a fucking great burglar. Levi is pissed.

“Man, I coulda used him in my crew,” he mutters. Les left no fingerprints. The motion activated sensor was not disturbed. The pressure sensor Javi put on the ball’s base wasn’t disturbed.

It’s like the ball disappeared into thin air and landed on Les’s dining room table.

We know there’s a lesson here but we’ll be damned to figure out what it is. Continue reading