Page 95 of Ranger's Rise
I see the screen and wonder what the fuck this is. A counter is on the screen with the Badass logo.
VP comes in and stands on the other side.“Any idea what this is?”
“No. Maybe Falcon is finished,” Cort says.
It’s too soon for Falcon. So, this is a Badass Lead, but not Major.
The screen hits one and an Ops room shows. “Cort, Raid, Ranger.” The President of Badass Territories is on the screen with Brothers behind him.
“Brothers,” Cort says so I repeat it. I see Jessie in with the Brothers.
“We have some bad news and also some help needed. The Fs will not hit your Club. There were five bodies in the building, but it was cleared of anything else days earlier. The five were supposed to be sent to you. We have records with the date the other five died spanning years.”
“Fuck. I’m glad I didn’t give Web all of them. Are the Bs still scheduled?”
The President nods. “They are. We have two more groups. My need is a place for them. The Ps are eight and nine, there are four. They’re all oriental, but just like the albinos.”
Cort nods. “The As have two orientals. Send them here.”
The President is surprised. “I didn’t know that. Through all the Ops, we’ve only seen albinos. These boys need major medical care like the Rs and Jacques. We’ll send healers with them on the flight. The other group are Ls. There are three from the reports we have. They’re ten.”
Cort smiles. “Do you know how many Falcon is bringing back?”
The President is surprised again. “I’m not aware. We don’t have a report from the Masons. My concern was keeping them with like-kind. They are all albino there. The orientals threw us.”
“Send the Ls too, Ben. We’ll add on if we have to. The Js are doing good here. Jacques and José are already talking. They’re all excited about the new house. We’ll figure it out.”
The President smiles. “You make my life fuckin’ easy, Cort, fuckin’ easy. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll find out about Falcon. I know two groups are already moved. A Mason has a secluded compound that the first group will be happy on. The FBI has contact with him so we’ll get progress.”
“That’s good. I bet Web would like hearing progress from other groups. I do have a need, Ben. Ranger was hit by a flame thrower. He stepped in front of me and as you can see, he’s here and doing well. One of the hardest things to see is a Brother go down standing in front of me.”
The President nods. “Have him at the plane. It’s due there tomorrow at noon. The healers can see him while he’s there. They are incredible with what they can do, Brother. You’ll never feel comfortable with a Brother going down in front of you, but the healers can make that easier. The one thing no one ever said while I was growing up was that this job would be easy. I’m sure you never heard those words either. What we do get is being able to make a difference for kids, our communities and lately our country. Badass is never going to be easy, but it’s never alone either, Brother. We couldn’t do our job if we didn’t have Brothers that believe what we’re doing matters standing in front of and behind us.”
Cort nods. I’m shocked he said so much, but know that he’s right. “I get it. I’m never going to like it no matter how much Idoget it. I’ll make sure he’s there. Thank you, Ben, Brothers.”
The screen goes black. “How does he know me? I saw Jessie there, but he didn’t say a word.”
“They’re sending healers to heal you and you’re asking how he knew you? They show in any room Cort is in. They get into our computers to do that. Web can’t stop them. I think you’re asking the wrong question.” VP makes me laugh.
I hold my ear cursing him. “Fucking bastard. Stop making me laugh.”
Cort swings his head. “All the Fs died. I hope we don’t get another call like that one. I’m glad I didn’t say anything to Web about them yet.”
“Yeah. Did you give him the Gs?”
“No, Brother. I told him seventeen and he knows about the Bs next week. I’ve been telling him as I get the reports of them scheduling an Op. They send me a heads-up.” They start walking toward the door. I follow.
“Do they use the heads-up like Web?”
I hold my ear walking down the hall. “Yeah. It’s cool how they all use his shit.”
“Did you hear him call me a bastard?”
Cort shrugs. “Falcon called us pussies and Mounty agreed.”
I turn around and walk the other way.
VP sounds disgusted. “What ever happened to fucking respect, Brother?”
