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“I’m going with you,” Lula said.
“No. He said I had to be alone.”
“Yeah, but I could be somewhere nearby in case we need to do a takedown.”
“I’m sure Ranger will be there,” I said. “He’s probably tapped into my phone, planted a bug in my messenger bag, and equipped my car with a GPS tracker.”
“That’s an important thing to know,” Lula said. “A man who takes that many precautions to keep you safe is gonna have a good supply of quality condoms.”
Ranger called. “Come to Rangeman and I’ll outfit you with better equipment.”
“Gotta go,” I said to Lula. “I’m getting equipped.”
“Be careful.”
I gave her a thumbs-up, took a second doughnut, and left the office.
Rangeman is on a quiet side street in the center of the downtown district. It’s a perfectly maintained, unremarkable building. I used my passkey to get into the secure underground garage and parked next to one of Ranger’s personal cars. I waved at the security camera, stepped into the elevator, and pressed the button for the fifth floor. That’s where the Rangeman nerve center, a small cafeteria, and Ranger’s offices were located.
The elevator doors opened, and Ranger stepped in and tapped the button for the seventh floor. His apartment. He was dressed in the Rangeman uniform of black fatigues with the Rangeman logo on the sleeve. This was his usual work uniform. It was the same uniform every other man in the building wore. The only womanin the building was his housekeeper, Ella. Ella kept everyone perfectly pressed and organically fed. Her husband maintained the building. Every part of the building, with the exception of Ranger’s apartment and office, was under constant video and audio surveillance. The result was a very quiet building where people moved about with measured efficiency. I’d learned not to talk in the elevator with Ranger. Even innocent small talk was enjoyed by the men in the control room. I don’t mind, but Ranger is a privacy and control freak.
The elevator opens to a small foyer with one door. The door leads to a short hallway with crisp white walls and subdued lighting. A narrow, exotic wood console table sits pressed against the wall in the middle of the hallway. A silver tray designed to hold Ranger’s personal mail and keys is the only object on the table.
Beyond the hall is a small, sleek kitchen equipped with high-end appliances that Ranger rarely uses. There’s a dining area off the kitchen with seating for six. Beyond the dining area are a designer-furnished living room, small office, and master bedroom and bath. The walls and window treatments are white, the upholstered pieces are man-sized and comfortable, the fabrics are warm browns and creams with black accents.
The first time I saw the apartment I decided that Ranger must have slept with the designer, because she got everything exactly right for him.
Today there was a black tote bag on the floor by the entry table. Ranger picked it up and carried it into the kitchen.
“The kidnapper has chosen a busy intersection for this meeting,” Ranger said. “There are midrise buildings on all sides.The windows and balconies look down on the red table. Several businesses with front and back doors open into the area. Bottom line is that the kidnapper has good visibility and good access. So do we. I have men on the street and men on rooftops. I’ll be on the street.” He took a small box out of the tote bag. “You need to take your hair out of the ponytail, so it covers the earbud I’m going to give you. It looks like an Apple AirPod but it’s a state-of-the-art sending and receiving device. I’ll be able to talk to you through it and I’ll also hear everything you say.”
He handed the earbud over to me and we gave it a test run.
He took a second device out of the bag. “This is a backup to the earbud. It’s a little larger and has a little more power. You need to slip it onto your bra. I’d personally insert it, but it might make us late for the kidnapper.”
I smiled and raised an eyebrow. “So, you think it would take that long?”
“Not for me, but past experience tells me you require more time.”
Okay, now I’m officially embarrassed. “You’re talking about inserting the listening device, right?”
Ranger took a step closer and raised the bottom of my T-shirt, exposing my Victoria’s Secret lavender lace demi. “Pretty,” he said, his fingertips brushing across my breast as he slipped the flesh-colored piece of plastic into the demi.
He leaned in to kiss me and I thumped him on the chest. “Stop it,” I said, tugging my shirt down.
He stepped back and smiled. “You’ll come around.”
I looked in the bag. “Do you have anything else in there?”
He handed me a Glock 42 handgun. “Small but deadly,” hesaid. “And it’s loaded, unlike that Smith & Wesson you sometimes carry.”
I dropped the Glock into my messenger bag and looked at the time. “I need to get on the road.”
“I’ll be right behind you. I want to stop in the control room before I leave.”
I found a parking place on the street a block away from the coffee shop. I was fifteen minutes early so I went into the shop and ordered a caramel frappe. I took my drink outside and sat at the red table. There were three other little round tables, and they were all empty. To say I was nervous would be a vast understatement. I had my cell phone on the table and the six coins in a plastic baggie in my messenger bag. I looked up and down the street and at all the buildings. The car traffic was heavy. The foot traffic was light. I wasn’t sure what a kidnapper looked like, but I didn’t see anyone who stood out as suspicious. I’d spotted one of Ranger’s men at a high-top table inside the coffee shop. He had a coffee, and he was working on a laptop.
Ranger came on in my earbud. “I’m in a van across the street. I’m here with my technician, who will be monitoring your devices. You can relax. We’ve got your back.”
