Part Deux
Chapter 4
“What do you mean ‘you think you know him? You either know someone or not.” I can’t help myself. I get sarcastic when I am upset.
“Babe, I know that this is not an ideal situation and you lash out when you don’t feel in control, but you’ve got to cut me some slack. My shoulder keeps spasming, and all I want to do is scream. We’ll have to work together to get out of here. I was saying, I think I know him, because it has been a while since I have seen him last. Plus I only caught a glimpse of him. Could be someone else, but it felt like Carmichael.”
I knew enough to trust Ranger’s feelings and instincts. He had the Spider Sense perfected to an art form. “Why would this guy want anything with you?”
“I started Rangeman about four years ago, just after I finished my second term with the Army. At the time, I still had the “nobody can touch me” attitude.”
I scoffed, teasing him. “Really, you were like that once?”
“Do you want to know or not?” Ranger asked, exhausted.
“Sorry. I’m trying. It comes naturally. I really want to know what is going on.” I sighed, “I think that I am too scared to be scared anymore,” I admitted. Ranger’s good hand found mine again and intertwined our fingers.
“As I was saying, I thought I was still invincible. I had lived through some stuff in the Ranger’s that not many do. I went back to being a civilian thinking that I could handle anything. When I was getting Rangeman set up, I wasn’t too picky about who I put on staff. Quite a few were easy choices, Tank, Bobby, Lester. I served with all of them. I had decided that I wanted Rangeman to be big. I wanted people to hear the name and know who we were and what we did. Even though I was starting small with skip tracing and various security services, I was hoping that one day the government could contract out to us. So, I went around looking for the baddest mothers out there. I did police records checks, but didn’t search too deep. As long as there wasn’t anything obvious that would keep me from snagging a contract, they were in.
“I found one guy right after we started doing jobs. We were hired to pick up a skip on Stark Street by Manny Kolinsky.”
“Manny’s out of the business now, isn’t he,” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s how the word got out that you don’t mess with Rangeman. Tank and I went into the bar and spotted our guy. We had split and were moving in around him when the door to the bar blast open. A guy that was only probably five feet nine inches tall, and 180 pounds max, strode right up to our skip, picked him up by the collar, and hauled him out of the bar. He was muttering something about bail bonds and getting his sorry ass back to jail while he shoved him through the door. I looked at Tank and we both ran out to see what the hell was going on. Come to find out that Kolinsky had crossed us, and hired Grant Carmichael to find the skip as well. The guy was worth a good $300,000 for attempted murder and rape, and Kolinsky wasn’t taking any chances.
“When Tank told Carmichael that we had been brought in to get the skip too, he yanked the skip out of the car and undid his cuffs. Carmichael leaned in and whispered that if he even caught a hint that the guy was treating women with anything but respect, the only part identifiable left would be his toes. Then he let him go.”
“He let a rapist go?” I couldn’t believe this. “Why did you let him do that?”
“At the time I was pissed at Kolinsky myself and it seemed like a good idea.” If I wasn’t afraid of hurting Ranger more, I would kick him in the nuts on behalf of all the women in the world.
“Carmichael wasn’t about to help Kolinsky get his money by playing dirty. I think that he was going to go after him on his own, damn the consequences. Matter of fact, the next night, the skip was found behind the same bar, with his balls in his stomach after trying to mess with the wrong woman. It was called in as an anonymous tip. Police came, arrested the skip, and was sent to jail without a second chance at bond.
“Kolinsky just about had an aneurysm when he found out that we let the skip go. I’m pretty sure that he did have a minor M.I. when I told him that not only was I pulling Rangeman out of any future jobs with him, but I was also hiring Carmichael. Carmichael was the only high bond apprehension agent that Kolinsky had, besides Rangeman. With Carmichael and Rangeman gone, plus the stories that he doubled booked agents, Kolinsky didn’t have a chance. He decided to cut his losses and take an early retirement.”
“I don’t quite understand why he would be after you for anything. Seems to me like you helped him.”
“Getting to that. So, I gave Carmichael a job offer. I pushed his background check on him, didn’t find anything, then signed him on officially. The thing that I like about Carmichael is that he didn’t dick around. The majority of the time he just went in, guns blazing, and used surprise to his advantage. Most of the guys he brought in didn’t know what was going on until they were already cuffed and bagged. Carmichael is also pretty small for a guy in this business. Skips don’t expect the average Joe to be dragging them back to jail. What they didn’t know, was that Carmichael could hold his own against Tank or I. He had the lean muscle, and he was quick. While he might not have the brute force you get with another fifty pounds or 5 inches, he was sleek and savage enough to make up for it.
“About six months had passed since Carmichael had signed on with us. Business was doing well, and word came down from contacts in various alphabet agencies that Rangeman was being considered for a government contract. I wasn’t expecting an offer so soon, so I was feeling pretty good. Later that week, I put a team together to round up a skip that had been hiding out at home with his battered wife and four kids. We had surveillance on him for the past couple of days, and the guy wasn’t moving. I tried everything I could to keep from disrupting his family, but had no other choice. I decided to take him one night after all the kids had gone to bed.
“I wanted this guy out as quickly as possible, so I had Carmichael do his “snatch and grab” job. Carmichael went it, and about ten seconds later, comes out, holding the skip by his shirt and belt. The skip started to fight him just as they were nearing the porch. Carmichael didn’t hesitate. Just grabbed the skip by his chin, and twisted. Snapped his neck and damn near wrenched his head off. Worse part was, Carmichael just walked away. Told Tank to clean up the mess, like it was a puddle of water.
“As I looked down at the skip, I could see the contract getting smaller and further away. There was no getting around something like this. I might have tried to come up with something if Carmichael wasn’t so nonchalant about killing him, but not now. I couldn’t afford to have a man like him on my team anymore. I called Tank and Bobby over and asked their advice. They agreed that we had to turn Carmichael in.
Through Ranger’s story, I couldn’t help but notice that he was close to babbling. Well, as close to babbling as Ranger got. “You’re not going to die are you,” I asked, only half joking. “You certainly are telling me a lot. What ever happened to the mystery mystique you had going on?”
“I think you need to know this. It could help get us out of here. Besides, I’m not going to die yet; too much I still need to do. Talking just helps keep my mind off the pain.” Ranger answered.
“Gotcha,” I replied. “So you turned Carmichael in?”
“Yeah, we called in the police. Since we gave them the killer, they were able to keep the circus at bay, and took care of the scene quickly. Carmichael was picked up walking down Hamilton and held without bond. I was called to testify at his trial. When I told the courtroom about the decision to turn him in, so we wouldn’t have any problem getting the contract, I thought he was going to come over the table at me. I will never forget the look on his face. Cold hatred that stops at nothing. That is the look that I saw on our attacker.”
Chapter 5
“Ranger, we need to come up with a plan. If it is Carmichael, and he has this beef with you, then I don’t think that he’s taking us out to dinner.” I was being the practical one. Imagine that.
“I know Babe. I’ve been thinking about how we can get out of here with your head and my bum arm.”
“Can we wait until he stops the car and opens the trunk? We can overpower him and take the car.”
“Except it’ll be next to impossible for us to get into a position to do that. Not enough room to maneuver. Besides, I think that he would expect something like that. I’m sure that’s he’s heard the talking and what moving we have done in here. Probably can’t understand what we are saying, but he’ll know that we are awake.”
I started feeling around the rest of the trunk. There were the ropes that we got off, but not much else. “You always have more toys than GI Joe; do you have anything that we can use?”
I felt Ranger sift carefully. “He took my gun and switchblade. My boots are still pretty tight. Do you think you can untie my left one and see if the boot knife is still there?”
Ranger brought his leg up, and rested it over my thigh. I twisted a bit and felt around for the laces. I tugged at them a bit, but nothing loosened. “Did you double knot them?” I asked.
“Habit from the Rangers. Always tie your boots tight so you don’t lose them in mud or something else.”
I aimed my glare towards the boots and let loose a good “Die lace scum” look, but nothing happened. So much for that theory. I finally managed to get a little movement, and was able to loosen up the boot. Just below the top of the boot, on the inner side of his ankle was a slim handle. I loosened the boot a little more and was able to reach the sheath. Didn’t want to cut Ranger or myself, but figured I would manage it in the long run anyway. I placed it in Ranger’s good hand and retied his boot. I did my best to get it as tight as it was before, but I don’t think that was possible.
“Well, that gives us a little advantage anyway,” I said, keeping my spirits up.
“Yeah, but we have to come up with another way to get out of here. Can you see if maybe there is a trunk release near where the latch is? It should be a little plastic handle.”
I felt around near the center of the back wall, and just felt different layers of metal. “I don’t feel anything.”
“But do you see where the release might have been. There should be enough light from the tail lights to see that.”
“Ranger,” I said, panic setting in, “What are you talking about? I can’t see any lights.”
Chapter 6
Ranger’s hand danced over my face and gently guided my head to the side. “Babe, are your eyes open?”
I though they were, but put my hand to my face anyway. I blinked and could feel my lashed flutter against my fingers. I opened them again and searched for any traces of light. “All I can see a few splotchy dots, you know, like you always see when your eyes are closed.”
Ranger’s hand ran over the back of my head, and I winced again when he passed over the lump. “God I wish there was more light in here. I don’t know what is going on. You were hit on the back of the head, around the optic region of the brain. It’s possible that it is affecting your sight.”
“Are you saying that I am blind?” My voice was reaching that of Karen’s, from Will and Grace.
“I don’t know right now,” Ranger scooted a little closer and laced our fingers. “I’ll be straight with you. It’s possible. If you were hit hard enough, it’s possible to detach your retinas”
“That’s fixable, right?”
“No, Babe. That’s not. If it’s just a tear, maybe, but not if they are fully torn. But don’t worry about that yet. It’s possible that there is some temporary swelling, or something else. I’m not a doctor, but I know enough. When it is lighter, I’ll check your pupils and see if I can tell anything. Till then, don’t worry about it. There is nothing we can do about it.”
“How can we get out of here now? With one of us mostly fine we may have had a chance, but now? He took you down earlier, when you were fine. How are we going to get out now?”
“We will Steph. Believe me. Even though we might not be at a hundred percent right now, we have determination and in your case, pure stubbornness,” yeah, he got a little kick for that one. “Let’s just play it by ear and see what happens. We need to wait and make our move when we are in control of the situation. Why don’t you sleep a bit, and see if that doesn’t help things.”
I nodded. “Can you talk till I fall asleep? I have too much going through my head right now.”
“Yeah, Babe. It will help me too.” And I listened about his daughter’s birth until the cadence of Ranger’s voice lulled me to sleep.
“What do you mean ‘you think you know him? You either know someone or not.” I can’t help myself. I get sarcastic when I am upset.
“Babe, I know that this is not an ideal situation and you lash out when you don’t feel in control, but you’ve got to cut me some slack. My shoulder keeps spasming, and all I want to do is scream. We’ll have to work together to get out of here. I was saying, I think I know him, because it has been a while since I have seen him last. Plus I only caught a glimpse of him. Could be someone else, but it felt like Carmichael.”
I knew enough to trust Ranger’s feelings and instincts. He had the Spider Sense perfected to an art form. “Why would this guy want anything with you?”
“I started Rangeman about four years ago, just after I finished my second term with the Army. At the time, I still had the “nobody can touch me” attitude.”
I scoffed, teasing him. “Really, you were like that once?”
“Do you want to know or not?” Ranger asked, exhausted.
“Sorry. I’m trying. It comes naturally. I really want to know what is going on.” I sighed, “I think that I am too scared to be scared anymore,” I admitted. Ranger’s good hand found mine again and intertwined our fingers.
“As I was saying, I thought I was still invincible. I had lived through some stuff in the Ranger’s that not many do. I went back to being a civilian thinking that I could handle anything. When I was getting Rangeman set up, I wasn’t too picky about who I put on staff. Quite a few were easy choices, Tank, Bobby, Lester. I served with all of them. I had decided that I wanted Rangeman to be big. I wanted people to hear the name and know who we were and what we did. Even though I was starting small with skip tracing and various security services, I was hoping that one day the government could contract out to us. So, I went around looking for the baddest mothers out there. I did police records checks, but didn’t search too deep. As long as there wasn’t anything obvious that would keep me from snagging a contract, they were in.
“I found one guy right after we started doing jobs. We were hired to pick up a skip on Stark Street by Manny Kolinsky.”
“Manny’s out of the business now, isn’t he,” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s how the word got out that you don’t mess with Rangeman. Tank and I went into the bar and spotted our guy. We had split and were moving in around him when the door to the bar blast open. A guy that was only probably five feet nine inches tall, and 180 pounds max, strode right up to our skip, picked him up by the collar, and hauled him out of the bar. He was muttering something about bail bonds and getting his sorry ass back to jail while he shoved him through the door. I looked at Tank and we both ran out to see what the hell was going on. Come to find out that Kolinsky had crossed us, and hired Grant Carmichael to find the skip as well. The guy was worth a good $300,000 for attempted murder and rape, and Kolinsky wasn’t taking any chances.
“When Tank told Carmichael that we had been brought in to get the skip too, he yanked the skip out of the car and undid his cuffs. Carmichael leaned in and whispered that if he even caught a hint that the guy was treating women with anything but respect, the only part identifiable left would be his toes. Then he let him go.”
“He let a rapist go?” I couldn’t believe this. “Why did you let him do that?”
“At the time I was pissed at Kolinsky myself and it seemed like a good idea.” If I wasn’t afraid of hurting Ranger more, I would kick him in the nuts on behalf of all the women in the world.
“Carmichael wasn’t about to help Kolinsky get his money by playing dirty. I think that he was going to go after him on his own, damn the consequences. Matter of fact, the next night, the skip was found behind the same bar, with his balls in his stomach after trying to mess with the wrong woman. It was called in as an anonymous tip. Police came, arrested the skip, and was sent to jail without a second chance at bond.
“Kolinsky just about had an aneurysm when he found out that we let the skip go. I’m pretty sure that he did have a minor M.I. when I told him that not only was I pulling Rangeman out of any future jobs with him, but I was also hiring Carmichael. Carmichael was the only high bond apprehension agent that Kolinsky had, besides Rangeman. With Carmichael and Rangeman gone, plus the stories that he doubled booked agents, Kolinsky didn’t have a chance. He decided to cut his losses and take an early retirement.”
“I don’t quite understand why he would be after you for anything. Seems to me like you helped him.”
“Getting to that. So, I gave Carmichael a job offer. I pushed his background check on him, didn’t find anything, then signed him on officially. The thing that I like about Carmichael is that he didn’t dick around. The majority of the time he just went in, guns blazing, and used surprise to his advantage. Most of the guys he brought in didn’t know what was going on until they were already cuffed and bagged. Carmichael is also pretty small for a guy in this business. Skips don’t expect the average Joe to be dragging them back to jail. What they didn’t know, was that Carmichael could hold his own against Tank or I. He had the lean muscle, and he was quick. While he might not have the brute force you get with another fifty pounds or 5 inches, he was sleek and savage enough to make up for it.
“About six months had passed since Carmichael had signed on with us. Business was doing well, and word came down from contacts in various alphabet agencies that Rangeman was being considered for a government contract. I wasn’t expecting an offer so soon, so I was feeling pretty good. Later that week, I put a team together to round up a skip that had been hiding out at home with his battered wife and four kids. We had surveillance on him for the past couple of days, and the guy wasn’t moving. I tried everything I could to keep from disrupting his family, but had no other choice. I decided to take him one night after all the kids had gone to bed.
“I wanted this guy out as quickly as possible, so I had Carmichael do his “snatch and grab” job. Carmichael went it, and about ten seconds later, comes out, holding the skip by his shirt and belt. The skip started to fight him just as they were nearing the porch. Carmichael didn’t hesitate. Just grabbed the skip by his chin, and twisted. Snapped his neck and damn near wrenched his head off. Worse part was, Carmichael just walked away. Told Tank to clean up the mess, like it was a puddle of water.
“As I looked down at the skip, I could see the contract getting smaller and further away. There was no getting around something like this. I might have tried to come up with something if Carmichael wasn’t so nonchalant about killing him, but not now. I couldn’t afford to have a man like him on my team anymore. I called Tank and Bobby over and asked their advice. They agreed that we had to turn Carmichael in.
Through Ranger’s story, I couldn’t help but notice that he was close to babbling. Well, as close to babbling as Ranger got. “You’re not going to die are you,” I asked, only half joking. “You certainly are telling me a lot. What ever happened to the mystery mystique you had going on?”
“I think you need to know this. It could help get us out of here. Besides, I’m not going to die yet; too much I still need to do. Talking just helps keep my mind off the pain.” Ranger answered.
“Gotcha,” I replied. “So you turned Carmichael in?”
“Yeah, we called in the police. Since we gave them the killer, they were able to keep the circus at bay, and took care of the scene quickly. Carmichael was picked up walking down Hamilton and held without bond. I was called to testify at his trial. When I told the courtroom about the decision to turn him in, so we wouldn’t have any problem getting the contract, I thought he was going to come over the table at me. I will never forget the look on his face. Cold hatred that stops at nothing. That is the look that I saw on our attacker.”
Chapter 5
“Ranger, we need to come up with a plan. If it is Carmichael, and he has this beef with you, then I don’t think that he’s taking us out to dinner.” I was being the practical one. Imagine that.
“I know Babe. I’ve been thinking about how we can get out of here with your head and my bum arm.”
“Can we wait until he stops the car and opens the trunk? We can overpower him and take the car.”
“Except it’ll be next to impossible for us to get into a position to do that. Not enough room to maneuver. Besides, I think that he would expect something like that. I’m sure that’s he’s heard the talking and what moving we have done in here. Probably can’t understand what we are saying, but he’ll know that we are awake.”
I started feeling around the rest of the trunk. There were the ropes that we got off, but not much else. “You always have more toys than GI Joe; do you have anything that we can use?”
I felt Ranger sift carefully. “He took my gun and switchblade. My boots are still pretty tight. Do you think you can untie my left one and see if the boot knife is still there?”
Ranger brought his leg up, and rested it over my thigh. I twisted a bit and felt around for the laces. I tugged at them a bit, but nothing loosened. “Did you double knot them?” I asked.
“Habit from the Rangers. Always tie your boots tight so you don’t lose them in mud or something else.”
I aimed my glare towards the boots and let loose a good “Die lace scum” look, but nothing happened. So much for that theory. I finally managed to get a little movement, and was able to loosen up the boot. Just below the top of the boot, on the inner side of his ankle was a slim handle. I loosened the boot a little more and was able to reach the sheath. Didn’t want to cut Ranger or myself, but figured I would manage it in the long run anyway. I placed it in Ranger’s good hand and retied his boot. I did my best to get it as tight as it was before, but I don’t think that was possible.
“Well, that gives us a little advantage anyway,” I said, keeping my spirits up.
“Yeah, but we have to come up with another way to get out of here. Can you see if maybe there is a trunk release near where the latch is? It should be a little plastic handle.”
I felt around near the center of the back wall, and just felt different layers of metal. “I don’t feel anything.”
“But do you see where the release might have been. There should be enough light from the tail lights to see that.”
“Ranger,” I said, panic setting in, “What are you talking about? I can’t see any lights.”
Chapter 6
Ranger’s hand danced over my face and gently guided my head to the side. “Babe, are your eyes open?”
I though they were, but put my hand to my face anyway. I blinked and could feel my lashed flutter against my fingers. I opened them again and searched for any traces of light. “All I can see a few splotchy dots, you know, like you always see when your eyes are closed.”
Ranger’s hand ran over the back of my head, and I winced again when he passed over the lump. “God I wish there was more light in here. I don’t know what is going on. You were hit on the back of the head, around the optic region of the brain. It’s possible that it is affecting your sight.”
“Are you saying that I am blind?” My voice was reaching that of Karen’s, from Will and Grace.
“I don’t know right now,” Ranger scooted a little closer and laced our fingers. “I’ll be straight with you. It’s possible. If you were hit hard enough, it’s possible to detach your retinas”
“That’s fixable, right?”
“No, Babe. That’s not. If it’s just a tear, maybe, but not if they are fully torn. But don’t worry about that yet. It’s possible that there is some temporary swelling, or something else. I’m not a doctor, but I know enough. When it is lighter, I’ll check your pupils and see if I can tell anything. Till then, don’t worry about it. There is nothing we can do about it.”
“How can we get out of here now? With one of us mostly fine we may have had a chance, but now? He took you down earlier, when you were fine. How are we going to get out now?”
“We will Steph. Believe me. Even though we might not be at a hundred percent right now, we have determination and in your case, pure stubbornness,” yeah, he got a little kick for that one. “Let’s just play it by ear and see what happens. We need to wait and make our move when we are in control of the situation. Why don’t you sleep a bit, and see if that doesn’t help things.”
I nodded. “Can you talk till I fall asleep? I have too much going through my head right now.”
“Yeah, Babe. It will help me too.” And I listened about his daughter’s birth until the cadence of Ranger’s voice lulled me to sleep.