Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, but oh, how I dream…
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Team Caskett
Chapter 8
Emergency Meeting
The first few minutes of the Emergency Meeting were spent with Lanie in the kitchen pouring drinks and dishing out snacks, while Esposito played host; letting everyone in, and setting up the extra chairs in the living room. Lanie brought the tray of refreshments in and put them down on the coffee table, and then she called the meeting to order. Well, order was one way to describe it – if you were high. In actuality, they were all arguing amongst themselves, pointing fingers at each other for what had gone wrong so far, and talking animatedly over one another.
Everyone was there: Martha (Red Hawk), Alexis (Autumn Heart), Esposito (Romeo), Ryan (Beacon), Madison (Golden Eagle a.k.a. Crazy Girl), and Ryan's wife Jenny (Cupid's Arrow) who'd signed up after the first meeting to head the party planning committee.
"Okay, settle down everyone. We've got a lot to discuss." Lanie (Code Name: Raven Compass) said, as she took her place before the group, checklist in hand.
No one was listening to her, so Lanie let out a piercingly loud, yet effective, whistle, so deafening, it caused half the team to hold their ears, while cabs passing by pulled over to check for fares that would never be. Javier had never heard her whistle before. Huh, she never stopped surprising him.
She now had their attention. "As I was saying…I'd like to begin the meeting now. Thank you all for coming. An unfortunate series of events occurred today. Let's review, shall we..." she said calmly. Esposito and Ryan were both leery. They've known her too long. This would be what they refer to as "the calm before the storm".
Lanie slowly paced as she spoke, eye-balling them individually, as they cringed under her scrutiny. "There were mix-ups on the deliveries, a failed attempt to lock Caskett in the elevator, traceable flowers, and let us not forget… the piece de resistance, and my personal favorite, an "unauthorized" purchase… which I'm sure was meant to be saved for the bachelorette party… the newest member of Team Caskett; Rigid Ricky. Sorry Alexis. Anyway – You. Know. Who. You. Are."
Madison couldn't stop herself. "I'd just like to say, in my defense, studies have shown, they've been proven highly effective in bringing couples together."
"Well, be that as it may – you're officially off the gift committee and you're a little off your rocker." Lanie said. "You should look into that."
"Fine." Madison sighed. "But I bet they thank me someday." She said with a smirk, and Esposito and Ryan both made the mistake of laughing.
"What the hell are you two laughing at? Lanie asked, addressing the boys. "First, you let Castle deliver the thing to Kate and then you spent two hours stuck in the elevator when you should have been assessing the situation and working damage control." They immediately stopped laughing and tried their best to appear remorseful. Jenny smacked her husband's arm ignoring his Ouch! She couldn't wait to give her man hell for being stuck in the elevator with Javier for hours. She loved giving him crap about their bromance. He'd somehow forgotten to mention the elevator incident to her. She smirked at him and he shrugged his shoulders, looking to the heavens for help, for his wife would be merciless later.
Lanie proceeded to fill in the ladies on what happened. "Kate thought Rick sent the - back massager – Lanie said for Alexis' benefit, (Alexis just rolled her eyes) so she assumed he sent all of the other stuff too. They got in a fight, and now they're both suspicious that whoever sent the gifts knows both of them. They're investigating, so now we have to cover our tracks. Well, go Team Caskett!" She glared at them. "All of this could have been avoided if you had followed the plan. It's a very simple plan people! Did you not get the memo? But I digress…" Lanie said, feeling her blood pressure rising. She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Now for the good news... In spite of the aforementioned, let's just call them, serious errors in judgment; I can report that things are looking up. We were able to repair some of the damage. Kate went to dinner with me, and Castle went with Romeo and Beacon over here." She said, flipping a thumb in the boy's direction.
"Kate admitted to me, she lied about hearing Castle say he loved her, and she's getting closer to confronting him. She's ten seconds away from taking action people! Tonight could be the night! Meanwhile, Ricky, uh, I mean Castle, confessed to the guys he loves Kate, and told her so the day she was shot. He's jealous as can be over her secret admirer, and suspects Paul, from Vice. He's nearing closer to a confrontation too, so it looks like they're finally on the same page. He also spilled about keeping Mr. Smith a secret from Kate, but he doesn't know we're already on it. They made up from the fight they had earlier today; Kate believes Castle wasn't to blame for sending any of the gifts. And before I forget…Lanie couldn't stop the grin if she tried, the flight attendant is – HISTORY!"
"Yes!" Madison and Jenny cheered, and they high-fived.
"Oh, thank God!" Martha said raising her wine glass in a toast.
"Amen!" Alexis seconded with a big smile, clinking glasses with her Grams.
There was rejoicing, which Lanie appreciated, however, she'd lost their attention again. She tried to get the meeting back on track.
"People. People? Simmer down now! We're not done yet. Alexis, Martha?" Lanie called out to them. "Were you able to contact the Mayor?"
"Yes. Actually, Alexis called him." Martha replied, pride evident in her voice. She patted her grand-daughter's hand before continuing... "He's got a soft spot for her. I was listening in, giving her pointers, not that she needed any. She was fantastic! She's got her father's charm, which he gets from me, naturally."
Alexis blushed at the compliment before speaking up. "He's totally in for the party! Oh, that reminds me. I promised the Mayor we'd send him a t-shirt." Lanie made a note.
"Tell them the best part Alexis!" Martha exclaimed.
"The best part is… he was all over the Gates thing! He said he'd be happy to help. He thinks my Dad and Kate belong together. Oh, he also said he'd love nothing more than to rattle old Iron Gates' chains. He said she needs to lighten up. Those were his exact words." Alexis said matter-of-factly.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Lanie. "Way to go Red Hawk and Autumn Heart!"
"Thank you." Martha told them. "But wait, there's more. May I, Alexis?" Alexis nodded to her Grams. "He's the reason Caskett was sent on a "stake-out" tonight." She said using finger quotes. "And Gates has to attend the party tomorrow."
"Well, that explains her worse than normally horrid, mood today." Ryan said.
"I can shed some light on that." Alexis told the group, as she tried not to laugh. "When I spoke with the Mayor again, after Gates left his office, he told me she totally wigged out on him, and security was even called in. They almost had to haul her butt out of there, but she finally calmed down!"
"Man, What I would have given to see that! Do you think security has a video?" Esposito asked Ryan, who was trying to think if he knew anyone over at the Mayor's office.
"We might have to get her drunk tomorrow night. Her being there could back-fire on us, depending on her mood." Ryan said, half serious. Esposito considered this, but said nothing.
"We so need a code name for Gates - something other than Iron Gates !" Said Alexis, and the topic took off like a rocket.
"Iron Maiden!" Esposito yelled out. "Not the band. I'm referring to the fact, the woman's a walking torture device." Kevin fed him the birds.
"How about The Iron Lady?" Martha suggested. All the girls seemed to really like this one.
"The Phoenix, from X-Men!" Shouted Alexis. "The most powerful super-villain." This was followed by her best evil laugh impression, which had them all smiling.
"Alien Queen is a good one." Said Madison with a shiver. "That movie freaks me out every time I see it."
"Ooh, I know, what about Lady Tremaine, from Cinderella? A wonderful character!" Martha said, before adding, "She's one evil mother!" They all stopped speaking to turn and look at her, their mouths hanging open. ""That's STEPMOTHER, darlings!" She clarified.
"How about Titania, another Marvel villain?" Lanie said.
"Oh, wait! I've got the perfect name - Captain Bligh, from Mutiny on the Bounty!" Ryan piped in. "My vote's on Captain Bligh!"
"What about Cruella de Vil, from 101 Dalmatians." Jenny asked. "Anyone know how she feel about dogs?" They all shook their heads.
The whole group got really loud again as the debate kept up. Lanie gave them five more minutes, but when they still couldn't seem to agree, she knew it was time to redirect them.
"Okay. Enough about Gates' code name. We'll vote on it later – clock's ticking and there's still a lot of work to be done – the party's in less than 24 hours. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She couldn't help but smile. As much as she wanted to be the serious leader of this beloved band of misfits, she was as excited as the next guy. Even with all of the mishaps, everything was falling into place.
"Castle still doesn't know there's a party tomorrow, right?" Lanie asked the group. There was a general consensus that Castle still had no clue about the party.
"He doesn't suspect a thing!" Martha said. "And Kate's bringing the cake."
"Perfect!" Lanie replied, checking it off on her list. "At this time, I'd like to turn the floor over to Jenny, or should I say, Cupid's Arrow, to discuss the guest list and party plans. After that we'll discuss covering our tracks from the gift fiasco."
"Hi." Jenny said coming to stand before the group. "First, I'd like to say thanks for allowing me to be part of Team Caskett. I knew the day I met them, Kate and Rick were in love and destined to be together. Sometimes, when you see two people…" she said gazing at her husband, "You just know, you know? Which is why I tried to toss her my bridal bouquet at our wedding. And if it wasn't for my damn cousin Gloria, the ogre, who practically knocked her out of the way for it, Kate would have caught it too." She looked at Kevin, who motioned to her to continue with the party plans. "But anyhoo… for my first order of business, I'd like to go over the special guest list for the party tomorrow. It's really something, isn't it honey?" She beamed at Ryan, who was nodding profusely. We contacted everyone on the list and the positive response has been overwhelming…
A/N: A short chapter, I know, but I've already started on the next chapter which is The Caskett Stake-out, and it's going to be much longer. Thanks Mr Fuzzy & TonyCastle78 for the code names you sent in. If you have a sec, please review & I'm tallying votes for Gates' code name! More soon. Thanks! Karen
