Chapter Thirty Eight
"I was hoping to stay here just for tonight; I'm really not looking forward to doing more driving today. I suppose I could call for a car and driver…."
"Do they have a limo with a hitch for the SUV? Come on Rick, let's go, we'll take turns driving."
"Since we are in the City, did you want to stop by your apartment to pick up anything?"
"No, I have all the clothes I need, at least for now but let me call Esposito. He has been picking up my mail. I probably need to pay some bills…and no you cannot take care of them for me."
"Did I say anything? Can't you at least wait until I offer before you turn me down?"
"I know you too well, Rick. You are very sweet and generous but I'm not broke and you've already done enough for me." Kate caressed his face until he pulled her into a steamy kiss.
Coming up for air, she tried to pull away but Rick held her tightly. "Never enough, Kate, you can never do enough for the woman you love."
Kate kissed him quickly but then reluctantly pulled away. "If you keep that up, we won't get out of here until a lot later."
"Would that be so bad?" Kate smiled at him and took his hand as they walked to the bedroom.
Kate never got around to contacting Javi or getting her mail but they did miss the rush hour traffic on the ride back to the beach house. Between the many hours of driving and other activities, Rick and Kate went right to bed upon arriving. He was jolted awake barely a half hour later by the phone by his bed.
"Hello?" He sounded as tired as he felt.
"Dad? Did I wake you? I'm so sorry; I double checked the time difference before I called. It's just after eleven o'clock where you are."
"Not sleeping, just tired from all the driving today. How was your flight, sweetie?"
"Great! Thank you for the fancy sleeper seat. It was so nice to stretch out and take a nap on the way."
"Anything for you, Pumpkin! How is your mom? Can I say hello?"
"She is on her way here now, had a late night of shooting…."
"SHE DIDN'T MEET YOU AT THE AIRPORT?" Kate rolled away from him and Rick quickly lowered his voice. "I don't know why I believed her when she promised to take care of you."
"Dad, I'm not ten years old anymore. I know how to get my own luggage at baggage claim and find a taxi. I got from the airport to the hotel without a scratch and Mom will be here shortly, so breathe. You really need to take it easy; you're not getting any younger and I will be on my own in just over a month."
"Thank you for constantly reminding me you are leaving me soon and that I am getting old."
"Dad, everyone has to get old but Thank God you will never, ever grow up. That's what I love about you."
"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or touched."
"I'll hang up now while you figure that out, from all the commotion in the hall, Mom must be here. Since you're tired and she will be too, if you two talk you will start fighting again and that's not how I want to start my visit with her. So go back to sleep and I'll call you again as soon as can."
"Good night, Sweetie. Have fun but be careful, you know your Mom can be a bit of a….."
"Love you too, good night, Dad!"
Rick frowned at the phone in his hand, Alexis had disconnected the call before he said goodbye. "I love you and miss you already, baby girl" Hanging up Rick laid back felling very alone but within a minute Kate rolled back and cuddled into him.
Smiling he quickly drifted back to a light sleep but the phone rang again before he was deeply asleep. He picked up the house phone only to hear a dial tone. Confused and very sleepy, it took a moment for him to realize that it was his cell phone ringing. "Hello?"
"Rick, sorry to wake you. Someone is walking on the beach by your house. Did you bring back any quests with you?"
He was instantly awake. "No Mike...what should I do?"
"Nothing for now, that's what you pay me for. We will check it out and get right back to you. Does Kate have her gun?"
"She had to turn in her service weapon while she's on suspension. I'm not sure if she has a gun for personal protection, most cops do. I should have gotten one for the house but….."
"I know, Rick. You never wanted guns anywhere near your little girl. While Alexis is away, maybe I can loan you and Kate something...just in case. We can talk later; the man is getting pretty close to your patio."
Rick put the phone down and looked frantically around the room for some kind of a weapon. Easing away from Kate, he moved quietly to the closet. Other than his own clothes and shoes, it held nothing he could use. He opened the door to the connecting guest room but there was nothing there either. Looking out the window he saw the shells Kate brought back from the beach. Using a bed pillow he snapped the largest one in half, cutting himself in the process. Rick smiled as he licked off the blood, it wasn't quite a knife but it was better than nothing. He was about to step out into the hallway to defend the doorway that led to his bedroom and Kate when his cell phone rang again.
"Rick, it's OK. The guy is drunk, walked out the wrong door at a party further down the beach and got lost. He was staying with Mark Garrett, who called the police when his guest went missing. They just arrived and are driving our intruder back to his host as we speak."
"Thanks Mike. We need to talk, now!"
"No, not right now, Rick. Pour yourself a drink, calm down and then try to get some sleep. We will talk in the morning."
Rick turned to look at Kate who had somehow managed to sleep through everything. His heart rate began to slow down as he continued to watch her sleep in peace. Looking at the shell in his hand, he shook his head at how useless it would have been against a trained killer. Walking to the bathroom; he threw it into the trash and rinsed the trace of blood from his hand. A stiff drink sounded really good right now because he knew he would never get back to sleep.
Leaving the room quietly, he went downstairs, poured three fingers of scotch and took a healthy swallow. Walking very slowly around the first floor he looked for something, anything he could have used for a weapon...other than his fancy set of knives that Kate kidded him about, there was nothing. That fact would change first thing in the morning. Pouring another drink, Rick grabbed a pad of paper and started a list of things he wanted to talk to Mike about. Between the scotch, a very long day with a lot of driving plus a wonderful afternoon matinee with Kate, his head soon came to slowly rest on his arms at the kitchen table and the pen fell from his hands.
Hours later Mike walked up to the patio door and saw his friend sound asleep at the kitchen table. He was about to knock and wake him up but out of curiosity tried the handle first and he swore loudly as the patio door slid open.
"JESUS CHRIST, RICK!"
The man in question woke with a start. "What?"
"It would help your house security a lot if you'd remember to lock your doors at night...When the hell did you decide to grow a beard?"
"Sorry Mike never had a reason to lock them before." Rick mumbled apologetically still half asleep. "Kate likes me with some scruff. Why, does it look that bad?"
"That's exactly how you look buddy, scruffy. Look Rick, I owe you, I'll do whatever you ask but as far as I can see you are wasting a lot of money. My team has been here ten days and until last night no one has even come close to your property."
"That fact may be changing fast, Mike. The man that tried to kill Kate is still looking for the files Captain Montgomery hid and now he has found the mystery man I've been looking for, Mr. Smith. You are not going to believe who he is, Trent Cabot-Smith!"
"Wow! Although it makes sense, if the Dragon has the money and power to kill so many people, it would take someone with equal clout to keep him in check."
Rick briefed him quickly on all the information Ryan and Agent Shaw had given them on the attack at Smith's office. "Now he is either kidnapped and they have the files or Smith is on the run with them...so now what."
"No, I agree with Agent Shaw, he wasn't kidnapped. Smith is too smart not to have one or more escape routes out of his place. He is not the type to just go on the run, so he must also have a plan or plans in place if he had to disappear quickly...which is just what you and Kate need."
"Escape plan, like what?"
"A way out of the Hamptons, fake IDs, some cash stashed where you can get at it and a place to lay low, until we kill or catch the man pulling all the strings."
"Kate wants to find the Dragon..."
"Rick, if the Dragon was able to make a man as powerful as TC go underground, you two wouldn't stand a chance all by yourselves."
"He's tried to kill me several times but I'm still alive and I'm getting closer every day." Kate walked into the kitchen startling both men. "Next time you have a discussion about me, I'd appreciate being included in it."
Kate walked past them and turned on the coffee maker. "Kate, I'm sorry. I asked Mike to discuss ways to tighten security around the house."
"It would help if you'd remembered to lock the doors." Kate put down a cup in front of Rick and then Mike. "Kate Beckett, nice to finally meet you, Mike. Your team is good, really good at blending in."
Mike rose to shake her hand. "Nice to finally meet you too, Kate. Rick is not just a client, he's a friend but my job is to protect him and all the people he loves. Do you have a gun?" When she shook her head no, he pulled a small hand gun from his jacket pocket. "You do now." Kate took it from him and smiled seeing that the safety was on. "Rick's pretty good with a gun too, although he rarely comes to target practice with me anymore. I wanted to talk to both of you about security here. I have six men on the house. If he sends one or two men after you both, we could handle it. If they send ten or twenty men like with Smith, you will be sitting ducks and need to have an escape plan. The most sensible way would be to have three plans: by land, by sea and by air. By land, you have the SUV; make sure it has a pretty full tank at all times. I have a buddy who has a sightseeing helicopter tour company. I can have him be on standby if needed."
"By sea, I have a boat but it's at the marina."
"Have you ever had any publicity shots taken with it or on it?"
"No, I bought this house and the boat from the previous owner to get away from the press and my crazier fans, so they are in my real name."
"Good, that's a break for us...A rich man like you Rick, I think it's time you got a new boat, something big, white, shiny and new. Be sure that Paula knows, so we can get pictures of it for the media."
"OK, but why?"
"That new boat will be our decoy. With two boats we can play the shell game with "The Dragon". If he wants to find or hurt you, he's going to have to look in lots of places which buys us time."