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Realigning Destiny
By TT

Sometimes chance intervenes in our lives and causes destiny jumps the tracks. When this happens, fate steps in and realigns destiny’s course to bring us to where we need to be. But, as with the course of true love, the road of realignment doesn’t always run smooth.

Part 13: Junction

Stephanie settled at Bob's familiar, worn kitchen table. She sat her cup of coffee down and looked at the papers scattered about. “OK. So, what's the story?” she demanded.

Bob eyed her for a few minutes. “The story, at the moment, is that I'm not happy you're involved.”

“I didn't think you would be,” Stephanie assured. “But there's more going on than you've admitted and I have too much riding on this venture of yours not to claim a role in it,” she finished, carefully avoiding looking at Ranger. She wasn't sure how much Ranger had told him about their relationship. She was well aware that she hadn't said anything specifically about it. There had been one time in the first year that she'd been there there that she admitted to having left someone behind she loved deeply, but that was it.

Silence filled the room for several seconds before Bob finally broke it. “Fine,” he agreed reluctantly, “but you're only playing a passive role in all this. Research only, nothing active.”

“Agreed,” said Stephanie. When she saw Bob relax, she added, “For now.”

Bob immediately straightened again. “No. Passive only,” he insisted.

Stephanie tamped down her desire to snap back and replied, “If this situation is as dangerous as it appears, it could change swiftly and we could be left with no choice but to include me in the action.”

She could see Bob struggling to deny the logic of her words, but he couldn't. She was right and they all knew it.

Knowing she hadn't won a victory, simply pointed out the obvious, Stephanie tried to focus everyone's attention back on the issue at hand. “So, what are we looking at and what do I need to find out?”

Bob leaned forward and pulled out a topographic map of the area. Laying it on top of everything else on the table, he began his explanation. “This is my ranch,” he began, pointing to a spot on the map. “Over the years I've acquired land around here as it's gone up for sale. It now reaches from my ranch back here to the ridge.

“Each Spring and Summer, I ride out to check my property and make sure there's nothing there that shouldn't be.

“This year I'd just gotten to the junction of this stream and this river when I heard an explosion.

“As you can see, I wasn't that far from the ridge, so I rode up it and spotted the smoke almost immediately.

“It wasn't particularly dry, but fire's always a threat, so I headed off to make sure there was no problem. I just wasn't expecting what I found.”

Shifting his finger on the map, he indicated an area that seemed fairly remote and inaccessible. “What I found was a compound complete with fencing, guards, the whole nine yards. There was no fire. They had set off some explosives in an area they had cleared out.

“At first, I thought it might just be a new militia, but the more I watched, the less I believed it an the more I realized we had something else entirely on our hands.”

After a few minutes of silence, Stephanie asked, “What do we have?”

“Terrorists,” Bob informed. “Well educated, well connected, well funded terrorists.”

Stephanie was stunned. This was worse than she could have imagined and from the looks on Ranger's and Bob's faces it wasn't going to get any better. “How do you know?” she asked, not because she didn't believe him, but because she wanted all the information he had.

“I have some... tools that I use every now and then. One of them is similar to what you probably know as a directional microphone. When I aim it in a certain direction, it picks up and amplifies the sounds that are coming from that way.

“I couldn't get close enough to catch full conversations, but I did hear bits and pieces.

“Among what I did hear were discussions of targets, bomb designs, plans and schematics. I don't know what type of explosion or what type of bomb they're planning, specifically, but their target is Denver.”

“Denver is a long way from here,” Stephanie observed. “How were they planning on transporting whatever it is?”

“That's one of the things we need to find out,” Ranger said, joining the conversation. “Yesterday I went out with Bob and scanned their compound. We think we have a way in, or at least a way to get close enough to get better intel.”

Bob took over at this point. “While we're working on that plan, I need you to find out everything you can about the people in these pictures,” he instructed, handing over a stack of pictures. Gathering together the papers that had been scattered over the table, he continued, “This is everything we have so far: names, dates, conversations, backgrounds. It's not much, but hopefully it will be enough to get started.”

Stephanie flipped through the first few pictures. Some of the images needed enhancement and enlargement. That was something she could do at the office. The names and other information she could begin researching on Bob's computers. There were a few searches she used at the station that she had used at Rangeman. They would be easy enough to install. She'd need to organize everything first, though.

“Stephanie?” Bob asked.

Looking up, she realized she'd been quiet for a long time. She offered a smile and assured, “I'm on it guys. You go do the James Bond stuff.”

To Be Continued in Part 14 – 042. Paper

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