CH10
As was usual lately, Rick was in shorts and a t-shirt and was barefoot. He had pork chops defrosting in the microwave when Jasmine suddenly started barking. He turned his head to look at what had her attention and saw the signal that Kate was using. He waited since he thought she had seen how to use it often enough by now and she was in the system. A moment later the door opened and out stepped Kate who was immediately greeted by the dog. "Hi Jaz!" She was happy to see her and stopped to pet her, scratch her ears, and kiss her head. She watched her run off, likely to find her toy so she could convince Kate to play with her.
"Hi." Kate walked over and reached up to kiss him while pulling his head down a little. "You're mine tonight and I'm so angry with you. Your letter scared the hell out of me." She reached up to grab hold of his left ear and twisted it. He tilted his head to the left and down, leaning into the twist. "OW, ow, ow!" She still had hold of his ear, but stopped twisting it. "Don't ever do something like that again, ever. Got it!?" She twisted his ear again and listened to him complain. "Yes, yes, yes," he replied while twisting his head. "Good." She reached up and slipped her arms around his neck. "Now kiss me." She stood on tiptoe to kiss him and then deepened the kiss.
She was so going to do wicked things to him tonight. When Kate broke from the kiss she was crying. "I thought I'd lost you." She moved her arms so that they were around him with her head resting against his chest. "You and Ann are all I have."
"I'm so sorry." Rick held her tight. "I thought it was worth it." She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "So what did you find out?" She put her arm back around him. "He's in the medical car, waiting for you." She took a step back to look up at him. "What!?"
"I think he's the one who has answers to your questions. Go ask him." He motioned toward the rail car. "I've pumped him full of drugs that will force him to tell the truth. He's all yours, go ask him. Jasmine and I will be here, waiting for you." He kissed her head. Kate was suddenly conflicted. She let go of him but didn't move. "What's his name?" she questioned. "William Bracken, ...US Senator William Bracken," he replied. "Senator!?" Why would a Senator want her mother dead? "He's restrained and can barely move, plus the drugs make him docile and compliant. He will answer your questions, Kate. Go ask him." He gently pushed her away to get her moving.
She didn't remember getting there, but there she was, standing outside the door that led into the medical car. Even through the glass she could see someone lying on the bed that had an IV bag that was almost empty, the remnants of an electric blue liquid gleaming brilliantly in the light. Her slightly shaking hand opened the door and her wobbly knees got her next to his bed. He was awake and looking at her. It was a look of recognition; he knew who she was. Probably even knew her name. "Who are you?" she began. "Senator William Bracken." She could see him struggle to keep from answering and yet the words came out. "Who am I?" she asked. "Detective Katherine Beckett," he growled. "You knew my mother." She questioned him by making a statement. His eyes were blinking and he didn't want to answer. "Yes."
"Why did you kill her?" Kate got to the heart of the matter. "I didn't." However, his answer came too easily. 'He didn't kill her.' "Who did kill her?" she demanded. "Dick Coonan." He answered her a little too easily. 'Coonan, Coonan?' She thought she'd heard that name before but couldn't place it. "How do you know Dick Coonan?" Kate asked him. "I've hired him to do jobs for me." She noticed that he was back to struggling not to answer. She was on to something. "You hired him. Hired him to do what? To kill my mother?" He was blinking harder and gritting his teeth. "Yes." She couldn't believe it. She suddenly found it hard to breathe. Her mother's murderer was right in front of her. "Why? My mother wasn't a threat to you." She didn't remember her mother ever even mentioning him.
"She knew too much," Bracken responded. "Knew too much? Knew too much of what?" She still didn't understand.
XXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXX
Kate was sitting on the steps leading up into the medical car and was crying heavily. Her arms were wrapped around her midsection trying to hold herself together. It wasn't working. She felt like she was falling apart. She didn't even notice Jasmine had heard her crying and had shown up to try and make her feel better. She loved Kate and she wasn't paying any attention to her.
Jasmine ran for the other person she loved. Maybe he could help her.
She was still crying quite heavily and had fallen down a step when Jasmine came back and nudged her with her nose and got nothing. The dog turned to her master and watched him standing there. Jasmine started whimpering and saw him step in close where he got down on his knees and reached for her hands.
The look on Kate's face broke his heart and his own tears started rolling down his cheeks. Rick could see her looking right at him as her own tears fell and her lower lip quivered. Then she fell into him which allowed him to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. It did nothing to end her crying. He lifted her up and carried her to his room with her head buried in his neck. Neither of them saw Bracken smiling.
He took his time and started stripping off her clothes, including her bra and panties, then stripped himself. He climbed into bed with her and just held her. He was still awake when she finally cried herself to sleep. Rick had witnessed pain, heartache, men on the battlefield crying out for their mothers as they slowly died. This reminded him of one of those times. He patted the bed and watched Jasmine jump up and crawl to Kate's other side and lay down next to her.
XXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXX
Beautiful hazel eyes blinked open and saw nothing but red hair followed by a sloppy, wet tongue. Kate smiled. "Hi Jaz." That was enough to get her licking her in earnest. If one lick got her attention, what would a lot of licking get her? Apparently it got her to start laughing while trying to get her head away from her tongue. However, she had a really big, long tongue and Kate wasn't getting away that easily. Eventually she buried her face into all of that hair and body to avoid the tongue, all the while giggling. "You're a good girl, Jaz." Kate petted her and patted her body.
"Where's Rick, girl?" Kate asked. "Right here." She twisted her head to find him standing there naked, displaying everything which made her smile. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "I brought you a little something to drink." He held out a glass of orange juice. She smiled, sat up a little, and took the glass. "Thanks." She couldn't help but take a peek at his cock. She had plans for it and the rest of him last night. "Careful, I put a little something extra in it." That really made her smile as she chugged it down and felt the tequila burn. "Thanks." She handed him back the empty glass.
"You know where the shower is. I'll have breakfast waiting for you." He leaned in to give her a quick kiss before standing to leave. "Rick?" Kate called out to him and used her finger to have him come back down to her as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I read your letter." She wondered if this was a good idea and decided it was already too late. "You wrote that you love me," she said hesitantly. "I loved you the minute I saw you. I love you even more now." He watched as she smiled widely and blinked back new tears.
He reached over and caressed her face. "No more tears, my Katherine. I hate it when you cry." He used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that had escaped her eyes. She took his hands in hers and looked him squarely in the eye. "I think... I mean I'm... I love you, too." Kate jumped in and prayed this was a good thing and he would be there to catch her.
His smile had her smiling in return and she kissed him with passion when he kissed her. "Go shower and get dressed." Rick leaned in to kiss her one more time then she held his head to kiss him back.
For a change Kate felt light as she walked to the shower naked and actually hummed while she showered. Unfortunately she had to put her old clothes back on. Then she walked into breakfast where she found another waffle with all the fixings on it. "You're going to make me fat," she teased. "There's a box car filled with workout equipment farther down, just past the medical car." That told her how he stayed in such marvelous shape. "We'll just have to see what you've got." She laid down a challenge. "Perhaps," he replied. 'Perhaps nothing! I want to see you working out shirtless and all sweaty.' It reminded her that she hadn't gotten laid last night.
"What are you going to do with him?" She changed the subject rather abruptly, getting serious before she had to leave. "I'll come up with something. I was thinking of looking for an abandoned place in Egypt maybe. What about you? Are you going to be okay?" She had taken a tremendous emotional blow last night. "Honestly, I'm fine, I do have something I need to do though. I may be back soon," she warned. "I'll be here and dressed," he teased. "You don't have to get dressed on my account." She gave him a wicked grin.
"Be safe, love. Oh, and he'll be gone before you get back." Kate nodded as she readied herself for what was to come. Rick let her press the panel, step inside, and choose where she wanted to go. He walked to his room and got dressed in his full combat outfit. It paid to be careful.
Rick wasn't surprised when Bracken tried something. However, Bracken quickly realized why he hired his killers instead of doing it himself. Rick threw him down the steps where he crashed onto the concrete floor. His left arm had been split wide open again, and was bleeding badly. "I can get you anything you want." Bracken tried bribery knowing he had no intention of giving him anything. Rick simply dug his fingers into his open wound, causing Bracken to cry out in severe pain. Then Rick dragged him by his bad arm.
Bracken sat on the floor while Rick chose his new living location. Once there Rick had no trouble getting him on his feet while digging his fingers into his injured arm and pulling him outside into the oppressive heat. "Enjoy your stay as you reflect upon the choices you made that got you here." Rick stepped back inside and went home so he could clean up the mess.
Kate meanwhile, had been building up to a roiling volcano all set to blow. She was headed directly for Ann and encountered her downstairs. "Hi..." Ann started to say and tease her yet again. However, Kate took her hand. "Come with me," she said tersely as she pulled her along behind her, making a beeline for Captain Roy Montgomery. She found him sitting at his desk.
"Beckett?" Roy actually looked a little happy to see her. Right up until Kate quickly pulled out her weapon and pointed it at him. "KATE!" Ann was too shocked to do anything and Roy's smile vanished in an instant. Kate ejected her clip and let it fall on his desk, then she pulled the slide back to eject a round that wasn't in there and threw her gun as far away as she could get it to go.
Next she pulled out her old detective's ID badge and threw it at him, hitting him square in the chest. Roy's face went from shock to anger. "I resign, effective immediately. I had a little conversation with someone you're acquainted with last night, one William Bracken," she informed him coldly as the color leached from his face. If it was possible for a black man to look white, Roy managed it.
"You dirty, stinking, son of a bitch. You knew who killed my mother all this time and you lied about it straight to my face. All this time! YOU KNEW! So much so that you were in on her killing. You, Raglan, McAllister, the three of you. Three despicable, rotten cops on the take. You shouldn't be a captain. Hell, you shouldn't even be a cop. You should be rotting in prison, shanked in the yard for the filth that you are. How many have you let die because you were a dirty cop? How many ROY!? All of their blood is on your hands you ASSHOLE!" Kate screamed at him, her face blazing red in fury. "Kate?" Ann looked at her perplexed even though she had heard every word. "Beckett I can explain." Roy tried desperately to get in a word.
"EXPLAIN!? Explain to my dead mother! Explain to all the people Bracken had killed because you helped him, you protected him. I'll bet you even removed evidence, doctored all the paperwork, covered up every illegal thing you've ever done. GOD, if Evelyn ever saw what you turned yourself into." Kate kept screaming at him, never noticing the crowd her voice had attracted. Thankful that Evelyn and his girls were gone, so they didn't have to see and know what had become of him.
"It's yours, everything I own. You can have it all. I'm out of here." She began walking away. "Beckett it's not what you think." Roy tried to get her to stop and listen to his side. "I heard it straight from the psychotic bastard who ordered all of those murders that you covered up, including my mother's," she called over her shoulder.
Ann pulled her weapon and pointed it at Roy. "Sir, you're under arrest," she informed him, her voice steady. "Someone shoot that son of a bitch for me." Kate yelled just before slamming the door closed behind her. Her life there just came to an end.
"Hastings..." Roy started talking. "Your weapon and shield, sir. You're under arrest. Don't think for a second that I won't shoot you. I know how much her mother meant to her and the possibility that she was lying is zero. ...Someone got some cuffs?" Ann watched him reach for his weapon. She made her point by leveling her weapon a little tighter. "Careful, slowly with two fingers."
Kate was stone-faced and stoic as she placed her hand on the wall outside and waited for the door to open so she could go home. Just as before it closed she heard three quick shots and only for a second wondered if Ann was the recipient of them, but thought it highly unlikely. Still she would check in on her later. By the time the door opened again and she found Rick standing there waiting with Jasmine standing next to him, her resolve gave out and she fell into him and started sobbing.
The one man she trusted most in all these years was part of her mother's murder. Her parents were gone, her partners were gone, her best friend was gone. Her world felt like it was crashing down around her. All she had left was Ann, Rick, and Jasmine. Rick wanted to know how it had gone, but he could guess. He felt justified in killing all those people he had when retrieving Bracken. He'd left him alone in the heat of the Egyptian desert with no water or food. Bracken deserved it. Let nature take him slowly.
XXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXX
"Where are we going again?" Kate inquired watching Rick place his hand on the wall. They were going there empty-handed, wherever it was. "I know of a place that we can use for a while. We just need to move some of the food if you like it." He was still being a little cryptic. "Have I mentioned that I hate surprises?" she groused just as the door opened. "I think you'll like this one," Rick replied as she grumbled in annoyance. She was only two days removed from her confrontation with Roy and her nerves were still raw.
A few moments later the door opened. The warmth of the place hit them as they stepped out. What she found wasn't what she was expecting, not even close. To her right she saw a driveway that had a golf cart sitting in it. To her left there was an outdoor pool surrounded by a black fence and beyond that were trees and the ocean. Rick guided her toward the pool which allowed her to look to the left and see that they had stepped out of a wall of a large house that had a large open space of green grass with trees below them and ocean beyond.
"Where are we?" Kate started smiling since she was liking what she saw. "This place is called Turtle Island. It's near Queensland, Australia. The owners didn't make it so we should have it all to ourselves. ...Interested?" he asked her with a gentle, hopeful smile. "We can stay here?" she asked still looking around. "It has fifteen rainwater tanks, solar power, and solar hot water panels on the roof. A backup generator that runs on propane, which could be a problem. Four bedrooms each with its own bathroom. Green space, a pool, a beach on one end, and a deep water dock on one side. Complete with a boat, last I looked."
"We could even stay here completely naked twenty-four hours a day. We just need to find enough sunscreen and move some of our food here from time to time." Kate turned her head to look at him. "Naked, huh?" She smiled widely at that thought. "Just food?" She smiled even wider as she went back over to the outside wall of the house and placed her hand on it. "You coming, Castle?" Kate grinned and let Jasmine run around since she already loved this place.