CH52
Serena landed at the Rapid City airport and powered down for a night's stay as she and Joanne tied the plane down. "I need to spend some time doing maintenance on the engines. Everyone has their satellite phones. We'll divide into four teams of three. You stay with us. Everyone else go into the terminal and rent three cars. I called in the Eagles on the way out here and made arrangements for them to watch the base and Pike's house. The Red-Tailed Hawks and the Turkey Vultures are too far away to help us on such short notice. Do not do anything. I want all three teams watching his house, two close and one long distance. I want to know as much as we can before we move in and take him either at his home or along the way in his car. Then we'll come back here and leave immediately. We wait," Serena told them and watched them leave to go rent cars. Meanwhile she put on some coveralls, got out her ladder, and began removing the cowling.
Four hours later she was cleaning up and taking off her coveralls. "The three teams have reported in every hour. Daniel and his eagles report that Pike hasn't been spotted on the base yet," Joanne told her. "Let's go rent a car and join the others. Don't forget the tablet, we need to stay in touch with the eagles," Serena said to Joanne. Forty-five minutes later Serena was in position as each team took turns watching and sleeping. Joanne was still awake when she got a signal from her pad. After listening she jostled Serena awake. "The eagles have reported that Pike has just left the base. He's driving his personal car, a Porsche Boxster S, with the top down." Joanne started smiling.
She couldn't believe their luck. Their best bet was to hit him while he was still in his car and not inside his house. And the idiot was driving with the top down! The sun had gone down coming up on half an hour ago but it was still warm enough to drive with the top down.
Serena pulled out her map and looked up the location of his house. It wasn't that far from the base which might be good for him but bad for them. "Right there, I'm betting there's a stop sign instead of a light signal. Signal the others and let them know I want one of our cars to stop in front of him and one behind him. The other two will take the cross streets on each side. Let's move." She sat up straight and started her car.
It turned out to be a light instead of a stop sign, however the car in front of him sat through the light with Pike honking at them. The car in front of him turned on the car's emergency lights and the driver got out and lifted up the hood. Pike cursed his luck then the car behind him honked which got his attention for a moment. Movement at the car in front of him caught his attention as the passenger got out and pointed a weapon at his car.
Pike had stopped too close behind the car in front of him to go around the car easily. He quickly put the car in reverse and shoved the accelerator to the floor, only to slam into the car behind him which gave him a jolt. What he didn't see was the passenger in the car behind him got out, pointed a weapon at him, and fired. The dart hit him in the back of the neck which got him to slap his hand over the stinging feeling.
The driver of the car behind him started backing up with his passenger still outside, while the one in front put the hood down after the person in the back seat moved to the passenger seat. The car at the rear saw headlights of a car coming their way so he continued backing up until he stopped far enough away from the Porsche.
The two with guns ran to the Porsche and pushed Pike over into the passenger seat while one of them hopped into the sports car; the other got back into the car in front. Those two cars took off leaving the car behind them to temporarily block the car that came up behind them and stopped. The driver then did a U-turn in the middle of the street while the passenger lifted up the large city map giving the impression that they were lost. By the time that car reached the light, which was red again, all of the other cars were long since gone with the car behind him disappearing into the distance.
They unloaded everyone except the drivers of their cars at the gate to their plane as they carried an unconscious Pike between two of them making it look like he had passed out from drinking too much. The drivers left their cars while one of them drove the Porsche away after having been tossed a gas container over the fence.
"Pike is secured to a space in back still unconscious. His car is being driven to the designated site. The eagles have indicated that the site is presently clear," Joanne informed her. "Let's go get our girl then." Serena ran down her check list as Joanne powered up her screens.
Serena was flying on the course she had requested from the tower when Joanne got a signal. She listened for a moment. "We have a problem. There's a police car chasing the Porsche. The eagles report that her rear tail lights are out, likely damage from when his car backed up into one of our cars," Joanne relayed what she was being told. "DAMN IT!" Serena tried to think just what she could do. "Satellite phone. Have her floor it out into an open field. Ask if she can light a fire that will hit the airplane fuel we gave her. Once lit I want her to shift into her mountain lion and make a run for it heading due south. We'll swing down and pick her up," she said and watched Joanne take out her satellite phone and make the call. "She acknowledges the request and will do her best," Joanne told her.
Serena twisted the plane by turning the nacelles into the vertical position which slowed her way down which got the attention of the tower. She pointed the plane south and headed that way until they both saw something on fire streaking away due east. Serena dipped way down low and raced south ignoring the calls from the tower. She had to guess just how far a mountain lion could run before she slowed the Osprey down to almost hovering and had Joanne lower the ramp.
Her friends in the back were watching carefully when one of them spotted her running flat out across the dirt and started waving her to keep running. Serena got the signal and tilted the rotors to start flying again and was picking up speed just as the big cat jumped into the arms of her friends while one of them slammed a hand on the button to close the ramp. She was undamaged and quickly shifted back into a human while someone grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her. "Well, that was exciting," she said understatedly which had everyone laughing in relief.
Serena never did climb back up into the air where radar could track her. As far as the tower was concerned, she had crashed yet again. It took hours to get home and lock Pike up in his new room.
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Kate was sitting at her desk going over the recent expenditures trying to work out how much she had left in the budget for the rest of the year. She was worried that when winter came costs would go up. Speaking of costs, there had been a pair of men up on their roof looking it over. Now they were sitting in her office. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this but your roof is shot. We counted eight layers of roofing material. If you asked me I'd say that each time there was a problem they slapped down a new layer on top of the old and called it good. Code only allows a maximum of 3 layers. It's also a lot of weight for your roof to support and then when it snows it only adds still more weight. Personally i don't know why you don't have a waterfall in here when it rains."
"I've also noticed that the only insulation you have for the roof is the rigid insulation that is your roof. Out here that's way too thin. What I want to do is rip your roof down to the plywood roofing panels and replace any of those that are rotten as well as check the roof structure if I need to replace any of the supports."
"On top of that I want to put down SIP panels made by Ray Core. The maximum depth they make is 7.5-inches thick which will provide an R value of 50.7. The thin foil on top will act as the vapor barrier. Over that we'll put down OSB panels while staggering the seams. On top of that will be an ice shield that actually has a sticky backing to it. Over that will be the EDPM material which we are going to glue down in your case. EDPM is a very light and durable material meaning we would be less likely to add too much weight to your roof."
"The insulation you have now on the roof has an R value of 23.2. Also, if you want I can open up the walls and replace the fiberglass insulation then put in a wall version of the same SIP panels. Your 2x6 walls presently give you an R value of 19. Replacing the fiberglass with SIP panels will increase that to an R value of 42," he explained to Kate. "You'll reduce your heating and cooling costs by at least 40%. I would estimate you would recoup the costs for the roof alone in 3 years and another 3 years for the walls."
He and his partner had come from Casper, Wyoming to look over her building. "And the cost?" Everything all boiled down to cost even if she would make it back in 3 to 6 years. "The walls would be about $3 grand. Your roof is in the worst shape and would likely be around $8 to $10 grand. If I don't have to replace any structural members I could have the roof done in a few weeks with another couple of weeks for the walls. That wouldn't include new drywall and paint on your walls which would take another week and would be about another $2 grand." He provided Kate with a rough cost since he hadn't had time to get exact dimensions of the building.
"When can you start?" Kate asked him which had him on his phone talking with someone in Casper. "I've got a team finishing a project at the end of next week. Three days to move the trailers we would need here and make arrangements for housing. Say three weeks from today," he estimated. Thirty minutes later they were leaving with a signed contract along with a deposit for them to make arrangements to start work.
"We're going to get a new roof and new wall insulation. We're going to have to put up with some disruption while they work on the walls, but the roof won't leak anymore and it should be warmer in here during winter," Kate informed them which earned her hugs from some of the female civilians who had been working there for a few years. She went back into her office and made arrangements for someone to come out and look at their heating system which, according to the bills, used home heating oil to fire their boiler.
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"Let Pike stew. Don't feed him, don't give him water, and don't let him out for any reason - even if the building's on fire! Joanne and I will be back in a couple of days. We need to attend the selection of a new leader for the Kodiak Bear community since Hunt and his wife are permanently gone," Serena told the others.
They kept the tools and parts in the back of the plane just in case and set course for the backyard of Richard Rodgers, since Serena wanted to take him and his family with them.
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Kate woke up, rolled over, and found Rick was missing. The sheets were cool enough to tell her he had been gone for a little while. She groaned a little since she didn't like waking up alone anymore. Times had changed. "Just when did I become dependent on being in his arms?" she mused. "When I stopped being a homicide detective and found out what being in his arms could do, that's when," she said to herself, answering her own question. She got out of bed and shuffled down the hall, poking her head in each bedroom seeing that both of them were empty. Kate continued downstairs into the kitchen and found Alexis and Sam sitting at the table eating. Both were still in their pajamas.
"Hi babe." Kate walked up behind Rick, wrapped her arms around him from behind, then pressed her head into his back. "Hungry?" he asked her. His answer was her stomach growling. "Apparently," she answered sarcastically. "It's your metabolism, you need to eat more." He couldn't explain more with Sam sitting not that far away. "OH!?" She made a mental note to talk to him about that later. After all, her dragon was pretty big.
She sat down next to Alexis who had Sam next to her. "How are you two? Did you know Sam would be spending the night with us?" she asked looking at Alexis who shook her head. "Well, unfortunately she's going into work with me and back to her mother," Kate gently informed her. Watching the reaction on Alexis's face broke her heart. "I'm sorry she can't stay longer sweetie. Her mother works with me and the others now, but only at night and Sam needs a place to sleep. So I offered to let her sleep here. Now she has to go home," Kate explained. "Okay," her soft little voice sadly agreed.
"Maybe I can talk her mother into letting her stay for a few hours and have Rick driver he home later." Kate offered, since it was the best she could do.
"That reminds me. I've got something for you to take with you Sam. I'll be right back," Rick announced and left his breakfast behind. He was soon back with some printed pages. "This is where I'm thinking of going for Labor Day which is in a little under two months from now. Put these in your backpack and give them to your mom. Just like last time it will be 3 days and 2 nights." He handed them to her. "Oh, this is the paper your mom needs to sign just like last time allowing you to go. She can sign it and give it to Kate who will bring it home." He gave her two more pieces of paper, the second being a release form for emergency medical treatment. He hoped never to have to use it, but it was a good thing to be prepared.
Kate put Sam in the tub first since she would be going into work with her. Alexis could take a bath a little later while Kate was driving into work. "What are your plans?" she asked Rick while holding her arms around his neck. "A little writing followed by going over to your mother's to see if she needs help," he told her. "I hope Mom isn't in over her head." Kate was just a little worried. There was more to owning a restaurant then just cooking. "Not with Oscar around," he assured her.
"They've been kissing," Alexis piped up smiling. Kate turned her head to look at Alexis. She already knew they had kissed once, weeks ago. "A lot or just once?" she asked her. "A lot," Alexis replied, though to her anything over a couple of times was a lot.
"Oscar works in Manhattan and Mom isn't moving, certainly not now." She knew that much. So how was this going to work? "You're thinking pretty hard Kate." Rick could see the emotions playing across her face. "Dad's only been gone about 9 or 10 months and Mom must be missing him. I know I am," she told him. "I asked Oscar how long he was planning on staying this time," he said. "And?" Kate wanted an answer. "He said as long as it takes." He shared with her what Oscar had told him.
"Come with me, please?" Rick asked Kate and took her hand. "Pumpkin?" he called and Kate watched Alexis launch herself out of her chair running for all she was worth. Kate found herself being taken over to the wall of windows as the sun was just starting to rise.
They both heard tiny feet running back down the stairs as Kate watched Rick get down on one knee, which had her heart pounding. 'Yes, yes, yes!' her dragon chanted.
"I can't believe that I had to come all the way out here to meet a beautiful woman who is also so amazing. Out of all the women on the planet, I found the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know there's already something special between us, but you deserve to hear the words."
"Katherine Houghton Beckett, would you do me the honor of being my wife and mate for as long as we both shall live?" Rick asked her as Alexis held up the ring in her hands while she stood next to her dad grinning.
Even though she knew it was coming his words still had her in tears as she held both hands over her mouth and watched Alexis hold up her ring. She nodded as she held out her hand to Alexis who put the ring on Kate's finger for her dad as they had agreed earlier. Kate dropped to her knees, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him deeply. "I love you so very much," she told him and gave him a quick kiss. Then she switched to holding Alexis. "I love you, too, my brave little, …." Kate had to stop herself with Sam likely standing near.
"Kate, does this mean I can call you Mom now?" To Alexis Kate was already Mom; she was the only grown woman in Alexis's everyday life and she loved Kate with all of her heart. "Yes, my little, …. It means you can call me Mom now," she told her and kissed her forehead.
The sound of sniffling got her attention as she turned her head and saw Sam wiping away her tears with the backs of her hand. Kate held out an arm. "Come on sweetie, you can be our witness," she offered and Sam soon had Kate's arm around her as well as one of Rick's. Sam had never been so happy before in her life.
Kate kissed Rick at the door after he gave her a travel mug of coffee along with a bag that had her lunch in it, just in case something came up. She held Sam's hand and helped her get buckled into the booster seat in the back of her Jeep and drove them to work. "Mr. Rodgers is nice." Sam didn't know what else to say. Nice would just have to do. "Yes, he is. He's like no other man I've ever met," she said, agreeing with Sam. 'He's a Kodiak Bear!" her dragon sang out joyfully. Her dragon had hoped for someone powerful like another dragon when she became strong enough after Kate's dad had died, however a Kodiak Bear was more than good enough for her.
"Hi Mom!" Sam ran inside and slammed into her mother. "Hi honey, did you have a good time?" Amber asked her holding her tight and kissing her head. "Kate got married to Mr. Rodgers Mom!" Samantha was so excited. Her news got everyone's attention with heads turning her way. "Engaged honey, I got engaged to be married. I'm not married yet," Kate gently corrected her. 'Details, details,' her dragon grumbled. The women in the office took turns looking at her ring. "He certainly has good taste." Elizabeth loved it as did the others.
"So when's the wedding?" Elizabeth was way out front. "I've been engaged for less than an hour Elizabeth, give us a break," Kate said rolling her eyes. "There will be the pitter patter of little feet in no time. Ten bucks says she's pregnant before Christmas," Elizabeth wagered and started looking for her purse. "And throw away ten bucks? I'm not throwing away good money on a bet I can't win," one of the women countered.
"Mommy, Mommy," Sam called, very excited. She took off her backpack and opened it to pull out the papers Rick had given her and handed them to her mother. "Can I go please? Pretty please?" she begged. "It's Rick's tentative idea on where to go on Labor Day," Kate explained.
Gulches of Fun. 225 Cliff Street, South Hwy. 85. Deadwood, SD. Go Karts, Bumper Boats, Miniature Golf, Train Rides, Bounce House, and Arcade Games as well as a Casino.
Deadwood KOA, Back in, full hookups, 30 AMP, Cable and Wifi. Complete with concrete patio. BBQ grill available for rental. Two side by side spaces reserved for 3 days over Labor Day.
Pan for gold in Broken Boot Gold Mine Tour, Deadwood Model Train complete with a City with exquisite detail and working miniature trains.
"Can I go Mom? …Please?" Amber was taking too long to answer for Sam's liking. "You cannot go into a casino and your father has to say yes," Amber told her. "YES!" Sam launched herself at her mom and got a hug. "Thanks Mom!" It had Amber blinking back tears. She couldn't remember seeing her baby this happy in a long time and she had Rick and her new boss to thank for it. Samantha turned to Kate. "Can I go?" She had forgotten to ask Kate and Rick if she could go. "Weellll, … I suppose. You'll have to help me convince Rick that you should, though," Kate teased which had the little girl dancing in place. She already knew Rick was an easy mark.
