Chapter 51

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The Hamptons (earlier that evening)

After Alexis finished her video chat with her father, she looked at her Gram's eyes and read all the pity of one who had withheld bad news. She sat, cleared her throat and looked from Martha to Jim, while Patrick situated himself next to her.

They spent the next several minutes comparing notes, then they fell into silence. Patrick was the only one hearing of Daniel Sutton for the first time, but he reserved comment to let the others think. Alexis added, "Dad said that he might send Sutton to relocate us, and that if that happens, we can trust him and go along with the plan. Will that be a problem, Gram?"

It was obvious by her uplifted eyebrows that Martha hadn't expected that twist. "I'll go along with anything Richard wants us to do, of course." She had imagined more than once, a lot more than once, in the past few days, what it would be like to meet Daniel Sutton again. Her heart raced from nerves. She had run lines mentally, taking all the individual feelings and trying them as opening lines to set the tone of their face-to-face meeting. In the end she decided she had best rely on her improvisation skills and not dwell on something that might not actually happen. Except now it actually might.

Alexis was trying to read her Gram's train of thought. Martha patted her knee and assured her. "Darling, I trust your father's judgement."


Once their bedroom door had shut for the evening, Alexis had insisted that Patrick let her tuck him in. He complied, laying on his stomach feeling the welcome coolness of his pillow on his face. Alexis lifted his shirt, and he let her work it off him. She saw that despite the stitches some cuts had bled through the improvised bandage made from strips of gauze that covered the majority of his back. She peeled back the bandage, and saw his perforated skin, irritated and angry. She had been there when he was being stitched and after working with Lanie the sight of blood didn't bother her. But being this far removed from the shock of the explosion combined with having privacy affected her more than she had expected. She gingerly traced around his shoulders and his sides, and he let out a sigh.

"That feels nice."

"Patrick, you're off duty, please take something for the pain, this has to feel terrible."

He shook his head. "It's really not that bad."

"You need to sleep, and you can't be comfortable."

He reached for Alexis' hand and lightly rubbed her fingers with his thumb, "Alexis, as long as there is a remote chance . . . . I can't."

"Dad even said you were off duty."

"I know." He couldn't bring himself to tell her that her dad had encouraged his sacrifice.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "You're such a cop."

He smiled, "Yeah, and you know how stubborn we can be."

"Trust me, I do." She stood and got the supplies that the paramedics had left. She started gingerly dabbing antibiotic cream on his stitches and other cuts. He started relaxing more and his breathing became even. By the time she had fashioned a new bandage from long strips of gauze, Patrick had fallen asleep. Alexis fixed it with surgical tape, kissed his slack cheek and climbed the ladder.

Patrick startled awake an hour later. He had felt Alexis tossing and turning in the bunk above, but it was the sniffing that caught his attention. She was awake.

He wished so much that he wasn't injured, but despite all his assurances that he was fine, he hurt, badly. He couldn't muster the strength to get up the ladder, so he called to her

"Alexis?"

He heard a weak, "Yeah?"

"Can you come down here?"

She was on the ladder in seconds, "Patrick, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," He tried to sit and Alexis stopped him. "I just . . . I heard you and . . . do you want to talk about it?"

She nodded. Patrick tugged her arm so she climbed over his prone body and lay between him and the wall. Even though he was compromised, he wanted to feel like she was protected if danger should come knocking on the door. She saw the tightness in his jaw and felt the tension in his arms and shoulders. She was afraid to touch him too much or jostle him. She held his hand and brought it up to her cheek and the floodgates opened. She started talking and telling him of all her fears and her worries about her dad and the uncertainty of what was to come, even after the case was resolved. He listened, encouraged her not to keep anything back. He traced her face with his fingers as she spoke. After she felt that she had decompressed, she leaned over and kissed his cheek, eliciting a silly grin. She scraped fingers through his hair as she had done earlier to relax him and eventually they both fell asleep.

Their evening was cut short with a knock, then the door was opened wide by . . . her father? Alexis sat up and blinked several times, and O'Riley, with the same line of thought, instantly jumped out of bed, realizing how it might have looked. He pulled his stitches in the process and yelled, "Gah! We just fell asleep, I swear!"

They couldn't see Sutton's smirk at their embarrassment, "At ease, O'Riley, I'm not the hall monitor." It was dark and the outline looked like Rick Castle, but the voice was a little off. Alexis stood and Patrick blocked her from the intruder. "Who are you? How did you get in here?" He was kicking himself for not being more vigilant as he edged closer to the nightstand that held his service weapon.

Sutton turned a flashlight on and shined it on his own face. "You won't need the gun, at least not yet. I'd turn the lights on but we're being covert. I'm Daniel Sutton." He flashed it on Alexis then added, "Your dad sent me to supervise your relocation."

"You're . . . " Sutton wasn't sure what to expect, especially after the cold shoulder Richard had given him their first meeting. Alexis stepped forward and stopped herself right before she touched his face in the darkness. "You look so much like him, and sound like him, too." Patrick tried pulling her back, still uncertain. She seemed to come to herself then stepped back. She put out her hand and said awkwardly, "I'm Alexis, but I guess you already know that."

He shook her slender hand, and it reminded him so much of another hand, from another lifetime. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person. I understand you're a remarkable young woman."

"Uh, I really don't know anything about you except that you're CIA and my dad trusts you."

At those words Sutton balked. Richard asked him to do this for him, but seeing Alexis standing in front of him, he realized just how much faith his son was placing in him, and it dawned on him again how much he didn't deserve to be there meeting his granddaughter.

"There will be time to catch up later, for now I need you to follow me." He nodded towards Patrick, "You too, O'Riley, you're on the guest list. You might want to throw a shirt on, though."

He did. The last thing he wanted was for the others to make any assumptions.

Sutton led them down the hall to the spacious bathroom, which was without windows, and he turned on the light. Alexis stared at Sutton, her brow furrowed. O'Riley clearly hadn't recovered from the embarrassment of being caught 'sleeping' with Alexis and was still a blotchy red, but he held her hand protectively.

Sutton started, "Alexis, this is not the way I would have wanted us to meet. I'm sorry." She just nodded, still a bit stunned.

"Should I get the others?"

"Which room is which?"

O'Riley answered, "Mr. Beckett's first bedroom on the right, Mrs. Rodgers is second door on the left." He nodded.

"O'Riley, you get Beckett, don't turn on the light. I'll get Martha."

Alexis offered, "I can get Gram, if that would be . . . I can do it if you want."

He smiled knowingly. "Thank you, but it will be okay. We'll meet back here."

Sutton turned off the light and they opened the door and made their way down the hall, knocking lightly then entering at the same time.

Martha had thought that she had heard voices, but it sounded like Patrick and Alexis, and she wasn't about to investigate. She heard the knock and expected her granddaughter to come in and check on her, or to need to talk. Although with Patrick around she knew she wouldn't be her granddaughter's first choice. What she hadn't expected was the voice. "Martha?"

She sat up, shocked and lured by the memories.

"Daniel?"

He walked cautiously to the bed.

"Well, isn't this fitting, you sneaking into my bedroom?" She didn't say it bitterly, just commented as though it were light conversation.

He flicked on his flashlight and shined it on himself. "Martha, I'm sorry about this. Richard asked me personally to make sure you were safe, and the best way to go about it is to do it quickly and in the cover of darkness. The others are up and waiting for us in the bathroom."

"Well, this is all very cloak and dagger! I suppose this is what your life has been like? Did you know that Richard often imagined that you were a spy off on secret missions? Either that or an astronaut or archeologist. That was easier for him to believe than you not wanting him. I suppose I'm thankful that you made a choice based on what you thought would be best for him, misguided though you were."

He sat on the bed and shined the flashlight in her direction. "Martha, you look as beautiful as you did that night." He lifted a hand and graced her cheek with the back of his fingers. She leaned into him instincitively. "Up until a few days ago, I thought that I had done the right thing by both of you."

"And now."

"And now . . . now our son asked me to help, so I'm here." She caught his hand in hers and closed her eyes.

"Daniel, you were always the one that got away." She kissed his hand. "You know, Richard looks just like you. You missed so much . . . so, so much." That line of thought brought her back to herself. She dropped his hand and patted her mussed hair to clear her romanticized thoughts.

"So, what is the plan, Secret Agent?"

"We're moving you to a safe house upstate, just a precaution. For right now we need to meet the others down the hall." He reached out his hand and in the darkness Martha took it. She pulled him back and crashed her lips against his. He surged with an excitement that he hadn't felt in over forty years. He dropped his flashlight, wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist. She felt his face with the tips of her fingers while they got lost in the moment. As she started leaning farther into him, Daniel pulled back, giving them space to recover.

She could feel his breath against her neck as he said, "Martha, we need to go, they're waiting for us. Not that I wouldn't love . . . if things were different." He knew that the light of day too often brought regrets and he wasn't about to abandon her twice. Plus they were on a schedule. He was on a mission.

"Sorry, Daniel, I shouldn't have . . ." Sutton was kicking himself, that certainly wasn't what he meant.

He pressed a light kiss to her lips and said, "I'm glad you did. I hope once this is over things will be different. However, I just met my granddaughter and I don't want her wondering what I'm doing with 'Gram.'"

Martha laughed, "Well, I'm certain she knows it's happened before."

"Still." They stood and before they reached the door he stopped her, "This boy she's with? Is he good enough for her?"

"Without a doubt."

"You know I have resources."

"Oh, you and Richard would make quite a pair. That boy you both are intent on torturing is a saint, which is more than I can say for Alexis' father, or you. Too bad Jim isn't genetically related, that would have given hope for future generations."

"I'm glad she has Beckett all the same."

Sutton opened the bathroom door and he and Martha slipped inside. Jim Beckett stood in front of the younger two with his arms crossed.

Martha stepped in front of Sutton, "Jim, this is Daniel Sutton. Richard asked him personally to oversee our transfer to a safe house." Sutton knew that Jim Beckett was a lawyer and he certainly felt as though the man were evaluating him as a witness for the other side.

Jim broke the silence, "You paid to keep my daughter safe?"

Sutton eyed him evenly, assessing him as well. "I did."

Jim nodded and extended a hand, "Thank you."

Sutton shook his hand and nodded.

Jim continued, "Now, what, exactly is going on? Why are we being moved?"

Sutton looked at each of them, "We have not apprehended the bomber. My CIA team tracked the car a few miles from here then they lost it. We think he would have gone back to the city, but we're not certain so we're being cautious. Richard asked me to assess your safety and act in your best interest. They would have handled this, but I think you're all well aware of what they're up against and the less exposure, the better. Richard doesn't know that we're acting on this right now." He looked at Martha then Jim, "They're exhausted so I'm handling this for them. I'll let them know first thing tomorrow and I'll give you a burn phone. He already has one."

O'Riley asked, "What's the plan?"

Sutton handed out flashlights. "Grab a few days' worth of clothes, using the light discretely. We'll meet back here then we'll go out the back. A helicopter will fly in over the water and land on the beach. Once you're secure, the helicopter will take you to anther location and my men, will escort you to a place a few hours from there. Richard's burn phone is the first number programmed, mine is the second. Call me first if you have any concerns at all, anything. He handed sheets of paper to Jim and O'Riley. "This paper has the photo IDs of each person who will be guarding you, both in transit and at the new location. If there is anyone that you do not recognize on this sheet anywhere near you, phone it in and take cover."

Martha felt the adrenalin kick in at being involved in a covert mission. The actress in her had imagined what a situation like this would feel like, but to have a dashing mysterious hero crash into her bedroom, kiss her passionately, then whisk them all away to a secret location in the middle of the night . . . . it made her rue the fact that she was well past the age to be considered to play a Bond Girl. Ah well, who needed to act a role when she was living it. She refused to accept that this would end any other way than the world being saved and her kissing Daniel Sutton through the credits.

They gathered their clothes and regrouped. Sutton led them down the stairs and flashed a signal out the window. A few minutes later he heard the whirl of helicopter blades and the sand from the beach kicking up. Sutton opened the door and guided them out, with O'Riley bringing up the rear. Sutton handed each of them into the aircraft, and didn't pass up the opportunity to kiss Martha's hand. When they were secure Daniel popped inside, and reminded them, "If anything is off, anything at all, call me."

Martha, clearly disappointed asked, "You're not coming with us, Daniel?"

He shook his head. "I have some unfinished business. I'll check in, not to worry." He flashed her a smile that reminded her of her son, so reassuring and confident. He spared another smile for Alexis then hopped out.

As he ran towards the house he noticed a guard peering over the balcony. He had spoken with the head of security before the extraction so he knew their coverage plan. No one should have been at that point at any time. Sutton could see the outline of the rifle emerge and take aim at the helicopter and had precious little time to act. He aimed his own weapon and fired. Sutton could see the jolt of the edge of the rifle an instant before it fired. His hit had knocked the shot off target. Sutton dove for cover behind the corner of the house then peered back to the balcony. The rifle was gone. He heard the rush of guards' feet and was blinded by the flood lights illuminated the back of the house. He ran towards the balcony and saw the ground below it disturbed. The shooter must have jumped over the edge and fled. Sutton ran into the trees, gun at the ready.

The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain in the back of his head and an aggravated voice warning, "Tell Detective Beckett the next time I pull this trigger she won't walk away."