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“He is amazing, and I never thought to see something like him in my entire life. Thank you, getting to see him was a gift and just possibly one of those things your people hide.”
“Perhaps, but if they knew about him and others like him how do you believe they'd react?” Ranger asked.
“There would be several different ways and none of them would be good. I understand that's the best course in this case is to keep it quiet.”
“Some secrets can only be revealed to those that are very trusted and some secrets may never be revealed at all.”
“I understand.” There was a knock at the door, and it was time for supper even though it was a little earlier than one might expect.
It was a romantic meal as most of them had been. Candles, flowers, and gourmet food that she absolutely loved. Even a light wine that she was careful not to drink too much of. As they got to dessert, sweet music began to play in the background. Ranger seemed to be an accomplished seductor and yet he hadn't pushed. He knew that was something she truly appreciated because she was still confused, and he knew it.
Eventually, it was late enough that he needed to let her go so he walked her to her room and gave her a sweet friendly kiss. The hallway was not the right place to get too heated or let things get out of hand. “I'll see you for breakfast in the morning. I hope you get a good night’s sleep.”
Toni nodded. He was sure she had a lot to think about.
It was time and he had the evidence he needed to deal with Zaya. He left Toni in charge, and he made a call to the female FBI agent that he had contacted before. She was excited and obviously hadn't felt like she'd gotten enough retribution just from dealing with the junior. Agent Anderson was excited, but unsure if she would get support from her superiors.
“Do you believe they would let you come here so that you know what is going on?”
“Right now, they're very concerned about budgets.”
“We can find you a place to stay that will not cost them. Since this place opened recently that means we have several blocks of rooms we are not using until everything gets going properly. If you can plan your schedule with ours, you can get a ride on one of our scheduled trips here since we are bringing many people in. We also have complimentary meals if you don't mind eating with the employees.” Ranger offered.
“I will talk to my supervisor about this and get things going. What are you doing with the girl for now?”
“Zaya is being held in government custody. We have no jails, so she is basically being kept in a luxury hotel room. Not really much of a punishment, I know. For now, it's the best we can do. We are putting in a prison now and much of it will be prefabricated. That will speed up the completion date I hope.”
“I hope to see you in person soon but there are no guarantees when dealing with the government. Goodbye and thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have been dying to get another shot at Joe Maggio senior.” Agent Anderson had to go, and they both hung up.
Ranger was considering offering her a job. They had investigated her last time they had made a deal with her, and she had a very good reputation for honesty and integrity. She was obviously very loyal, possibly too loyal in her position. The people she had worked for had done her no favors. They had not even supported her when she was clearly right because they were unwilling to risk anything. They would be doing a lot here including trade and diplomacy with major countries and even some not so major around the world. That included the US and while she wasn't a lawyer, she did understand most of their laws.
He felt she would make a good ambassador and most ambassadors had lawyers that they worked with. She was getting pretty disgusted with her government and her agency so there's a good chance she might take it. Considering the way that things worked in the political and law enforcement arena being an ambassador was a step up to being an agent. He was also sure it would pay much better and have great benefits. Ranger lean back in his chair and wondered what would happen next. Toni had told him you should never ask that because it was borrowing trouble.
There was a knock on the door, and he immediately worried the Toni had been right. “Come in.”
It was Carler and he was pushing a male in front of him. “This is one of the guys that Joe Sr sent here to cause problems. This one was trying to cheat in the casino, but the machines immediately picked up on it and sent out a warning.” Carler explained.
“He doesn't look old enough to be gambling. Are we sure his ID is real?”
“We thought it was but after we took him into custody we checked, and it is fake.”
Ranger looked at the young man who seemed frightened. “Why isn't your boss smart enough to leave us alone?” The young man who appeared to be 16 maybe 17 refused to speak. “Do you know what can happen to you when you break the laws in another country? You are not accorded the freedoms and rights that you get in your own country.” Ranger explained.
He now looked even more frightened. It wasn't right the way Joe SR used children to do his dirty work. That wasn't just this guy, but he did it often. His investigator had found dozens of incidents where he had gotten control of some poor kid and put him to use. Toni’s brother David was just another example. That male needed to be brought down and if he kept messing with them, they would be the ones to do it.
They were interfering with his business, his country, and even his love life. He was running out of patience with this male quickly. His detective was getting information, but it seemed to be coming slow. Ranger thought about getting a woman involved with him, but it just turned his stomach to think about putting some poor woman through that. It just wasn't his style to ask that of someone or to handle what was about to turn into a war in that manner.
At this point, he was thinking of having him assassinated. It wasn't like he hadn't come after him and half his people. Joe hadn't been spotted in a while so it would make it more difficult to deal with him when he was hiding out. More difficult wasn't the same as impossible and they had technology and skills that might help him locate him. They also had ways of transporting him without anyone knowing he'd been moved. Maybe locating him, then transferring him would be the best choice. They could give him a choice of being in their prison or living on one of the wild colonies they had. Joe thought he was tough, but he would be surprised by what tough really was in any of those places.
Chapter 4
Captured
Toni wasn't stupid. Something was going on and she wasn't sure what. Zaya had disappeared and no one had expected it. It wasn't that she cared because she was glad Zaya was gone but no one had expected it and it was like she had just magically disappeared. Ranger was on the phone a lot but always talking where no one could catch a word. Maybe she was expecting too much because she didn't think this was about the park’s project, but she felt left out.
Whatever was going on, seemed to have everyone in the highest level of management and any guards that were around at the highest level of alert. In her experience, and she did admit that experience wasn't great, that meant there was danger coming for them and often those not aware of it were the ones that got caught in it. She was sure there was a guard on her so that meant either they knew she was in danger, or they didn't trust her for some reason.
Maybe she had no more right to know what was going on than any of the other employees that clearly had no idea what was going on. But she felt this was more personal and that she was involved in this somehow. Toni was just one of those people that liked to know what was going on if it involved her. OK, maybe she just like to know what was going on if it involved her or not. Didn't everyone? She had bit her tongue trying not to ask but at some point, she wouldn't be able to stop herself.
