Hey all! Thanks to those who checked out my story. I'm sorry that it's been soooo long, but everyday life snuck in. That and having a bit of writer's block. Anyway, I finally finished this chapter. Just began the next yesterday.
Thanks!
"Fight Fire with the Dragon"
One Month Later...
BAM! The dust swirled up in a dusty cloud and nearly shook the ground below it. A pair of black shoe-clad feet planted themselves on the already shaking ground. Bent at the knees and clenched fists at her sides, the white, brunette woman decked out in black leather straightened herself gracefully. Her darkened expression revealed determination and anger – at who, only she knew.
Her green-brown eyes scanned the area, finding no danger. Minutes later, a similar sound erupted the ground. Like her, he was also in the same position and clothes-attire as she was. His blue-green eyes scanned the area, finding no danger. Like her, he was also in the same position and clothes-attire as she was. His blue-green eyes scanned the area, finding no danger.
Out of all places they could have gone, they landed in the middle of the desert. They were still getting their senses under control. Kate had taken a month off to get them under control as well as Castle, who had postponed his latest book tour, although he sent in a few chapters to Paula and Gina. Now, though, his mind were on other things. She still called her dad; he kept in contact with Alexis and Martha; and together, they stayed in contact with the gang from the 12th.
Along the way, they had discovered they each possessed several abnormal abilities. Some they had together; others made them unique. A week after they woke up the fateful day, those abilities started to make themselves known. The Dragon behind Beckett's mother's murder had nothing on them. What had seemed to be overbearing and fearing was now just a little nuisance. Not only did they take that time off to tweaked their abilities, they've also spent time looking thoroughly into her mother's murder and the whole conspiracy behind it.
"Kate," Castle spoke up.
She turned to give him her attention. What, babe?
It'd be nice to actually use our voices instead of our mutual thought-speak. Castle gave her a scowl.
"Fine." She groaned, stalking off a little closer to the compound a few miles away. "It's sooo much quicker to use thought-speak."
Castle zipped closer to her, stopping just behind her and definitely in her space. "We're trying to stay normal and less like what we'd be termed as freaks." He spoke in a husky voice.
She shivered at his closeness. "So not cool, Castle." She smirked. "C'mon, let's kick some ass."
Castle had to smile at that. That's my girl.
I heard that, Richard Edgar Castle. She glared at him.
Castle smacked her on her ass as soon as she turned her back. She jumped and whipped around, giving him the look. "Too much?" Castle's widened eyes and shaky voice made her smile even more.
"Don't make me mind blast you." She warned. Her gun had been replaced by her new ability, although she still used it when she was on duty to keep up appearances.
"When you say that, it makes me wish you'd use the gun instead." Castle teased. At her look that hinted that she was thinking about it, he was quick to add. "But no need. I've been a good boy. I'll settle for spankings instead, dear."
Kate couldn't help but rolled her eyes at him. Typical Castle. "C'mon, we have work to do."
"Work, work, work." Castle teasingly complained. "No playing."
Just as she was about to respond, something whizzed past them, smashing into the dried land at their feet. Both stopped, turning halfway around, wearing similar glares. "What the..." She trailed off.
"Hell." Castle finished her thought without even using their mutual thought-speak. It was something that they had developed over four years; something neither realized they did until one of their friends or family members pointed it out.
A black SUV, dusty from the land, stopped a few yards away. Three gunmen had the doors wide open, guns drawn. They seemed to be waiting for either partner to retaliate. While Kate was usually the first to respond, Castle surprised them both when he wrapped his arms around her, forcefully pulling her against him as a transparent force field enveloped them. She yelped and buried her face into his chest as the only reaction he received. His eyes remained closed as he continued to concentrate on their only form of protection.
"We need to get outta here." Castle murmured, trying to calm his anxious demeanor. Casing the surrounding area, they both noticed a few other out-of-the-place black SUVs barreling toward them.
Kate turned back around to look at the facility. They were so close yet so far away. "Dammit!" She muttered under her breath. "Get us out of here, Castle."
He grabbed her hand, slamming her against him and wrapping his arms securely around her. "Take a breath." He commanded as he shut his eyes. When he heard her intake of breath, he transported them to his loft.
Whoosh...
She nearly fell down as they suddenly landed in his living room. They both heard someone moving around upstairs, then a door squeak as it opened, then more footfalls descending down the stairs a fast rate, then his mother appeared around the wall, peeking at first before releasing an anxious breath.
"Oh thank God!" Martha said, dramatically as she placed a hand against her heart. "I was worried we had an intruder." She came to them, hugging her son momentarily before moving on to Kate. "But I don't have to worry now. My knight-in-shiny-armor of a son and his equally knight-in-shiny-armor girlfriend are here to protect this old lady."
"Mother." Castle smiled, scoffing and softly chuckling. He blushed, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh Richard, there's nothing to be ashamed about." Martha said, pulling back from Kate, who was smiling with amusement at the mother-son banter. His mother turned around, heading to the kitchen. "Are you kids hungry?"
The two partners looked at each other momentarily before simultaneously responding with a "yes!". They raced to the island, sliding into the two unoccupied chairs. A blast of violent air surfaced, not fazing Martha the least. She had gotten used to their strangeness.
Martha cooked some Mac and Cheese, making three bowls as Castle got some water for himself and his mother and milk for Kate. They ate in silence, each in deep thought.
They had retired to their own rooms after cleaning up. As Kate was showering, Castle called Alexis to check in.
The sound of sharp, swift footfalls were heard in a large hallway, resonating off the walls as the owner of the footfalls walked. Behind those footfalls, equally resonating footfalls followed at a much lower rate. A teenage girl faltered in her run as she glanced back at her pursuer. The tall, burly dark haired man with equally dark sunglasses continued on chasing her with a blank expression.
He knew she could run all she wanted, but she wouldn't be able to hide very well. By now, after three weeks, he assumed she would figure it out; but obviously, she's the type that had to learn the hard way. Sure enough, they came to a dead end. A small, smug smile crept on his face.
"No!" She yelled, raising her hands up in a defensive manner while backing toward the wall. "Please, don't hurt me!" She begged.
He was almost to her before a crackling in his ear telling him that someone else was on their way to help.
A little of the anxiety in pursuing her let up. He grinned. This oughtta be fun.
Up in another part of the facility, Jake Beater stood in front of the big bay window, overlooking the bustling activity below. The open area was set up more like NASA in command center. Rows of long desks was scattered throughout the space with a computer on each desk. There were several scientists, assistants, etc. walking around. The lab-rats were in individual rooms, some in various states of consciousness and experiments.
He stood with his hands on his hips, the ends of his black suit jacket flipped outwardly to make room for his hands. His body was poised in a serious, no-nonsense demeanor. Jake was known to be a hard ass, but at times witty. Nearing his seventies, Jake still had a full head of hair – only it had changed from deep rich brown to silver – and was physically in fairly good shape. Standing 6'0", Jake used his height to intimidate his subordinates or unwilling participants when needed.
Jake turned his head away from the window to look at his fairly neat desk, lined with pictures of his family. Behind it were two large bookshelves as tall as the room and as long as half of the wall. Decked with mostly books of various genres, there were a few fake plants neatly placed in a couple of the shelves along with more family photos.
There were pictures from when his four children – three girls and one boy – were younger at various stages of life. Some photos were of the children with their individual families. He and his wife were posing in a professional photo, happy as can be. There was even one of his eight grandchildren – four girls and four boys. On one shelf – hidden from the public eye – was a few photos of his oldest son, the half-brother of the four children. Some were from when he was younger and recent photos. There were mixed in with his ninth grandchild – also the oldest – at various stages of life. These two he didn't actually associate with, but he had used his resources to watch them from afar. That, plus the very fact his oldest was a famous author helped.
Richard Castle looked quite a bit like Martha, but he had gained some of his body structure. That and his height. Jake wasn't completely sure about his personality, but he noticed that his granddaughter had inherited his maturity level.
A knock suddenly interrupted his reverie. Game face turned on as he leveled with a "enter", to which a young woman who appeared in her thirties with strawberry blonde hair and similar green eyes. She was shorter than him, but still very obviously his daughter.
"Hey Dad," she greeted in a dry, serious voice as she entered the room, carrying a thin portfolio in her pale, creamy hands. Her dress attire gave little hint to just how serious she put her job.
"Hey, baby girl." He returned the greeting in the same manner, except he cast a small smile. Sitting in his office chair, he asked. "To what do I owe the pleasure in seeing you?"
"Unfortunately, work right now." She smirked, not bothering with asking to sit. Her head bowed as she opened the portfolio, rifling through the papers. "We've been successful on Med-Code program. I sent out a couple of our men to test them, and obviously they passed. I just don't believe they realize we can predict their every move."
Jake nodded his head as he listened. "Roy Montgomery was correct in his referral." He commented, trailing off that thought.
His daughter caught it though. "What do you mean? I thought we discovered them by accident."
"You were led to believe that." Jake revealed, only feeling just a little bad by deceiving his child. "The Dragon discovered our intentions and in order to protect her we had to put them in the program. Johanna would've been upset that we didn't do our job. After all, she had been one of the founding advocates for this program. I'd like to think I made her proud by protecting her daughter in this way."
"He just won't stop being a pain in our ass, will he?" She half questioned, half commented.
Jake only shook his head. "Sometimes, you have to play fire with the Dragon. It's the only way to ruffle up his feathers. He'll eventual falter in his path."
"Good thing I chose them then."
I am too. You have no clue just how grateful I am towards you. I can now keep an even closer eye on your brother. Jake thought, letting out a subtle sigh. Everyone involve is going to hate me when they find out the truth. He was referring to the whole Richard-Castle-being-his-son deal. Someone was bound to get hurt.
Please review and possibly give me some ideas of how you'd like to see what path this story takes.
