Not my characters, they belong to Janet Evanovich, but as long as Ranger can come out and play I can live with that.

For anyone who is concerned, this story is finished and has been posted in its entirety on Yahoo's Perfectly Plum. I am going to post it here a couple chapters at a time Just in case I want to tinker with a few of them. This is a Babe Story. Be warned that it contains harsh language, violence and a very tightly wound Ranger. Morelli appears, but only briefly. He isn't particularly harmed. The characters you don't recognize from the Plum World are of my own invention.

Waiting Game

by

SueB

Chapter 1

"Sir! Sir! You can't go in there!"

"The hell I can't," said the glowering man in black.

Ranger didn't wait well. Particularly he didn't wait well in the reception area of the ER with one of his own on the way to emergency surgery. No twenty something snippet of a receptionist was going to keep him from following the gurney carrying his man through the double doors labeled 'Authorized Personnel Only.'

"Sir, I'm going to have to call security." The poor girl's voice quivered.

"Yeah, you do that," he agreed. Like they'd be able to stop him.

Usually this was the point where Tank would put a restraining hand on his shoulder, tell him to stop being an ass and to let the doctors do their job. Tank was the only one who could talk to Ranger like that and not risk death or deployment to the Third World. But tonight Tank, the voice of reason, was missing. Missing because Tank was the man on the gurney fighting for his life.

Ranger was halfway thorough the doors when he heard another all too familiar voice.

"Ranger! Don't be an ass! Let the doctors do their job."

He hesitated. It was just long enough for the EMT's to rush Tank away and into a waiting elevator.

He knew that voice all right. It was the only other person who could call him an ass and get away with it, but he hadn't spoken to her in more than three months. More precisely, he hadn't spoken to her in three months, ten days and sixteen hours. If he had glanced at his watch he could also have immediately calculated the minutes. That was when he had driven her away. It was right before his last mission. He hadn't known if he would return, but he had known that if he got back there could be powerful enemies right behind him. It was all he could think to do to keep her safe. Yet here she was and him with one man down already.

He turned around, engulfed in a force field of anger. "Who the fuck invited you?" he growled.

It wasn't the welcoming response Steph was hoping for, but she held her ground opening her mouth to reply. Ranger ignored her, instead he cast his eyes over the collection of RangeMan employees filling the room. One of them was studying his shoes.

"Santos!" Ranger barked. "You're on report. I'll see you at 5 a.m. tomorrow." Suddenly he realized that given the circumstances he had no idea where he might be at 5 a.m. tomorrow. He put the onus on the other man. "You find me."

"Cut the crap, Ranger," Steph said, "Lester thought I might be able to help......"

Ranger turned on her spitting out, "I don't need anybody's help."

"with Lula," she finished.

He closed his eyes, let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. Christ! Lula! How could he have forgotten Lula?

Every night they weren't together, Tank called his woman. They allowed an hour window and if he knew he wasn't going to be able to make contact Tank let her know. He explained it like this. 'My baby girl had enough uncertainty in her life when she was a 'ho. She sleeps better knowin' I'm okay, I can do that.' If any of the men found the huge black man's cooed conversations with the former prostitute amusing, they kept it to themselves. Tank could break a man's neck in 10 seconds or less. He could do it with one hand.

Ranger checked the time. Tank wouldn't be making his telephone call tonight and the window was closing fast. Tank might never make his telephone call again. Lula would be disconsolate. Much as he hated to admit it, Lester was right. He needed Stephanie's help.

Without further acknowledging her, he started issuing orders. "Santos, take Stephanie, pick up Lula and bring her back here. Bobby, you're here with me in case I need medical translation. The rest of you," he fixed the other men with an intense black stare, "I want this shooter. I need intel and I want it yesterday. Who is he? How did he know where we would be? His mother's maiden name. Shit, I want to know the color of his underwear. Find him. Is that clear?"

"Clear, Boss. You got it. We're on it, Boss." The men began to file out, but Ranger stopped them with a warning.

"Listen up! We don't know for sure what we're dealing with here. Be careful. Watch your backs." What he didn't say was, 'If this is tied to my last mission, you could all be dead.' It was a huge omission, but one he couldn't do anything about.

Steph followed Lester to the parking lot. Ranger watched them go and then barged through the forbidden doors.

"Boss!" Bobby called.

"Shut up, Bobby," was Ranger's reply.

TBC