Alexis Rodgers

Chapter 30

Alexis had spent the day doing her job and ended it at the precinct, like always. She even found herself going up to the fourth floor to spend time helping them if they had a case. However, she did have a problem. No Kate meant no ride home unless Kate came and got her or she took a taxi.

Alexis plopped down in her chair next to Eva's desk. "You look like a lady with a problem," Eva noted since Alexis one of the most happy people she had ever met. Almost sickeningly so actually.

"I need a wedding dress but those things are so expensive! Dad may be rich but I'm not." She had at least gotten a few paychecks so her savings was growing but she was also paying bills for the first time. So money went in and money came right back out. It was a vicious cycle.

Alexis didn't pay any attention to Eva now that her eyes were on the whiteboard since they obviously had a case. That was also when she noticed all the FBI agents were still there.

"They seem to like that board of theirs." She could see parts of it but not all of it.

###V##][##V###

Alexis was deep into the whiteboard when Eva finally got her attention. "How much are you willing to spend for a dress?"

"Maybe $250 tops." She knew what she needed was a miracle. True, she could ask her dad and likely end up with a dress that cost thousands and thousands. But she was only ever going to wear it once. The very best dress she had, she had only worn twice and she was thinking that dress was cursed so she didn't know when or if she was going to ever wear that dress again.

Alexis went back to looking the whiteboard over again. Then she grabbed her Post-it notes and began writing things down and putting them on the board.

Javi shook his head. "Little Castle is as bad as Beckett."

"Technically it's Little Rodgers but you're right," Kevin agreed.

"Alexis." Eva thought she had something Alexis might like even if it was above her maximum budget, but not by much. "Alexis!" Eva picked up a pen and hit her with it.

"What!?" She wasn't done yet.

"What about this dress?" Eva pointed at her screen. "It says this place is local so you can go see it or simply buy it now then go see it."

Alexis humored her and got up, then stood behind her to look it over. It had spaghetti straps, a plunging back, and 3D organza flowers applied to tulle and veiled over lace. The train was fairly short and didn't overwhelm the gown. It was perfect, both romantic and sexy.

Then Alexis saw the label: White by Vera Wang. She was ready to cry. She'd found the perfect gown but it was a Vera Wang design and had to be at least a thousand dollars, if not more.

It talked about putting it in checkout cart to see the sales price. "So do I add it to the cart?" Eva asked her but didn't wait for an answer and did it anyway. Even she wanted to see how much it cost. However, Eva was betting it was far too expensive. While she couldn't afford Vera Wang, she did know who the famous designer was and what her dresses cost.

Then Eva tapped the cart and it showed them everything. It was $1,398 and the sale price was $300 when bought on-line.

"NO WAY!" both of them said at the same time. It was a savings of $1,100. There wasn't a woman alive that wouldn't jump at that price.

"I need my credit card." Alexis patted herself down until she found it. It was her card, too, not her dad's card that she did still actually have. He hadn't asked for it back and she kept forgetting to give it to back to him.

"Get up! …UP!" She wanted to sit in her chair. Alexis sat down, put her card in front of her, and went through the motions of selecting the right size. She put in her name and address, then input the information on her card. Holding her breath she pressed REVIEW. It ended up over $300 due to taxes but how could she resist? It was a Vera Wang design for $300!

"Press before someone else does." Eva tapped her on the shoulder and watched Alexis press PURCHASE. The screen showed something spinning that was soon replaced with a new screen. A confirmation would be sent to her email address. It told her what she had just bought and how much it had cost her. Now she had to wait up to five days for it to be delivered to her address.

"I got it. I GOT IT!" Alexis jumped out of the chair and hugged Eva. Thanks to Eva she had a $1,400 dress for $300 and change. It was more than she wanted to spend but how could she pass that dress up?

"I got it." Alexis smiled wide at Eva. "Thank you! I owe you big for this. I have a wedding dress. …Except I need to have it altered most likely then hide it from Kate."

"Can we see?" Suddenly they were both surrounded by people on this floor.

"NO!" Alexis turned around, killed it all, and in just two clicks it was all gone. "Not until the wedding." Alexis wasn't ruining this. Someone might tell Kate.

Alexis turned back around to look at Eva and giggled. She had a very expensive wedding dress for a fraction of the price all because of her.

###V##][##V###

Kate had come to pick up Alexis and take her home. They would both be back tomorrow. And Jordan was still there. She and her team almost lived at the precinct. They all lived out of a hotel room that was really close to the precinct. It wasn't the Four Seasons, but it wasn't Motel 6 either.

"Jordan?" One of her team showed her his bug detector and it had a light that was flashing at them.

"Damn it!" Jordan knew it had to happen eventually. "Find it and get rid of it. …Wait! Just find it for now." It had a limited range but maybe it wasn't in here yet.

Jordan watched him as he walked around the room and gave a quick nod at a uniformed officer. He put his detector away and placed his hand on his weapon.

"Surround him silently. I want him alive," Jordan told two of her men and followed them out of the room. Jordan stopped at the desk Javi always sat at and looked like she was searching for something.

Then she nodded and watched her three agents pounce on this officer who yelled and complained. He stopped when he had a weapon shoved against his temple.

Jordan took out her weapon and pointed it at his chest then nodded at the agent with the detector. With little effort he removed the bug from an upper pocket and looked it over. "Good stuff, state of the art…and it's active." Meaning it was already sending out a signal to whoever was listening.

Jordan took it from him. Whoever it was now knew that they knew so there was no reason for subterfuge. "You're going to have to do a lot better than this," Jordan told whoever it was. She dropped it on the floor and stomped it with the heel of her shoe, crushing it. And his detector ceased signaling. There were no more bugs on the fourth floor.

"I want him strip searched and put in interrogation. And sweep the entire building, now." Jordan watched her man take off to sweep the building. Her two agents lifted this soon to be ex-officer up and took him to interrogation where he was indeed strip searched.

###V##][##V###

Kate moaned as she left the comfort of Alexis's arms and grabbed her cell phone which woke Alexis. "Beckett." Kate listened for a moment. "I'll be right there," she said and yawned. There went the rest of her night's sleep.

"Precinct?" It shouldn't be a dead body. They didn't call the captain of a precinct for that. They had homicide detectives for that.

"Jordan caught a uniformed officer with an active bug walking around the fourth floor," Kate told her as she rolled to get out of bed but sat on the edge of the mattress for a moment.

"You have to be kidding! One of our own is bugging us?" Alexis hated that idea. A dirty cop was always bad news.

"I have to go into the precinct. You can stay here. One of us can get some rest." Kate got up and walked into the bathroom.

"Like hell." Alexis rolled out of bed and joined her in the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later Alexis was in her uniform, Kate was dressed, and they were going downstairs to get in the car and drive to the precinct.

###V##][##V###

Alexis joined Kate in the observation room and saw a man dressed only in his shorts, sitting there, looking around, and at the mirror. "Hank McPhee. He's an officer for the 12th." Why would one of her own rat them out?

Then in walked Jordan and she closed the door. Since Kate had let her in, Jordan let Alexis stay. "He had a live mic on him. State of the art. Best available. It sends a signal to a satellite and bounces off to a receiver that could be anywhere within range of that satellite," Jordan explained. "I have people searching the entire building. If there's one there are probably more."

Kate was conflicted. He was an officer for the 12th so she as his captain should protect him. Yet having him walking around with a live mic suggested that he was dirty and she hated dirty cops. "Has he talked yet?" Kate queried.

"Demanded his lawyer even while we strip searched him. I've already got warrants to search his place, his car. To get his financials, phone records, and we've started looking into his background. Who he knows, when he joined the force. He won't be a mystery for much longer," Jordan said.

"Can I speak to him?" It wasn't her case but he was one of her officers.

"I'm sorry but I can't allow that. This is an FBI investigation. The second he lawyered up you were out of the picture. It's a Federal matter now. If the guy who threw you off the roof is behind this, and I'm betting he is, it's way over your head. Might be close to over mine, depending on who his friends are. If he actually has any." Bracken's friends might be friends or they might be paid or blackmailed.

"That bad?" Alexis inquired.

"He just might be above the law." It was one of Jordan's worries.

"No one is above the law," Kate countered since she saw everything in black and white.

"Actually there's one person but that only lasts for as long as he stays in office." Alexis could think of one person. "Please tell me it isn't him?"

"No, it's not the President of the United States. I can think of a few people that even I can't arrest and keep for long. Too many connections, too much power. Almost as bad as diplomatic immunity." Jordan had her fears.

Kate looked at her. Was Jordan trying to tell her something or just talking? She knew there were diplomats who were totally untouchable. They could kill whoever they wished and get away with it. They would be ordered out of the country permanently but nothing else would ever happen to them. She also knew they racked up illegal parking tickets like candy and didn't pay a penny to the city. Destroyed hotel rooms and weren't held accountable. Truly untouchable. Was that what she was trying to tell her?

Kate turned to face her officer. "Even Federal, he gets his union rep to talk to."

"We've alerted him. I wouldn't expect much from this guy though. He strikes me as a hired idiot. Paid to do something and after he does it, he's expendable. Our guy can't afford to leave a trail. He'll be out of here before lunch and you'll never see or hear from him again," Jordan informed both of them.

Kate turned to look at Jordan. "Kill him in my own precinct?"

"That's why we're moving him soon. This is big, Kate. You were right to call us." It was about all Jordan could tell her.

###V##][##V###

The next few days were basically all the same. Get up in the morning and take a shower even if it was in one of the spare bathrooms, eat a quick and easy breakfast, drive to the precinct where Kate would kiss Alexis and let her start her day while she went up to her office.

Each day she would check to make sure her mother's wedding dress was hanging on the inside of her door and get started.

Unfortunately just because the FBI was camped out in their precinct didn't mean the city stopped trying to kill each other, or stopped robbing the other guy, or stopped selling drugs or the gangs would just up and disperse. It was still New York City.

And each day Alexis ended her shift she would sit at Eva's desk and help out if they had a murder case. "Has your dress shown up yet?" Eva asked her.

Alexis was all smiles. "It arrived yesterday. Kate went out grocery shopping so I called a cab and took it to her dad's place to hide it. And no, I didn't show it to him. You're the only one who knows what it looks like. I figured Jim could keep a secret."

"You're going to be positively beautiful in that dress." Eva was so looking forward to seeing her in it and attending the wedding itself. "I haven't gotten my invitation." Eva glared at her.

"We haven't sent them. Haven't even gotten them back from the printer yet. Dad said yes to us using the house in the Hamptons. He even knows someone who's willing to take pictures and not charge a small fortune. Dad's also taking care of the white chairs that we'll need.

"When Kate and I have the same day off we're going to go get registered at places like Macy's. …OH and a wedding license. Be right back." Alexis jumped up and knocked on Kate's door.

"Wedding license." That had them coordinating when they both had a day off so now they knew when they were getting that.

Alexis sat down next to Eva again. "Crisis averted."

"Well I need coffee." Under Kate everyone was allowed to skip out to get a cup of coffee if they didn't like that sludge their coffeemaker made. So Eva did.

That allowed Alexis to steal her chair and pick up her Post-it notes. She studied the murder board, wrote things down, and added them to the board. Not surprisingly Eva found her chair missing with Alexis sitting in it in front of the board, totally engrossed in what she was doing. "You're going to make a great homicide detective one day." Eva prayed she was around to see that day. "But I need my chair back."

###V##][##V###

It took them almost an hour and a half thanks to traffic, construction, and more than one accident but they had made it. "Why does Castle want us here?" Kate got out of the car followed by Alexis.

"He wouldn't say. Just that he wanted us here. …I still think this place looks weird from the front. The gray color and the slope of those roofs doesn't help. But it's what's out back that sells this place." Alexis was looking forward to seeing that view again.

Alexis pressed the doorbell and a moment later Sam opened the door. "Hi, Alexis." Sam hugged her and was hugged in return. "Hey, Kate." Sam hugged her too. "Alexis and Kate are here, babe," Sam yelled and let them in.

"Wow!" Kate and Alexis said at the same time.

"Like it? I think his decorator did a wonderful job." Sam loved this place and it was warm enough finally to enjoy the main deck, let alone the little balconies scattered all over. Even the pool cover was gone so they could use the pool. Just as soon as the sun warmed up the water.

"You got furniture." Alexis was smiling as she walked around and took it all in.

Kate meanwhile walked to the glass wall and saw some of it was covered in plants. Plants in pots on pedestals, sitting on the floor. There was even a large metal open wire shelf filled with plants.

"I don't remember this in the loft." It made the place look soft. Kate wondered if they should add plants to their place. Even if they were high end fake ones.

"That's me. I added those." Sam stepped up next to Kate. "Herbs are here, flowers are mostly here." Sam waved her hand in that general area. "Everything else is just shades of green. Oh, outside." Sam opened a door and walked out onto the deck. She pointed, "Apple tree, peach tree, avocado tree, and a honeysuckle vine."

"I didn't know you had a green thumb." Kate was amazed as Alexis walked around them looking them over.

"I had this little apartment so I couldn't indulge my hobby. Now I can." She was so happy and was positively beaming, if not glowing as Kate looked her over.

"Now you can?" Kate heard a story in there somewhere.

"Rick talked me into moving in with him. Took some convincing but I finally gave in. Then he let me do this." Sam waved her hand at all the green she had done so far. She had plans for still more. She just needed the pots.

"Oh and Rick ordered me this little potting shed I can use. It isn't here yet and I still need to figure out where it will go, but I can't wait to use it." Sam was so looking forward to this summer.

"There you all are." Rick joined them on the deck. "What do you think?" He meant everything. From the new furniture to the plants to Sam being here. Everything.

"This is amazing, Dad. Tell me again why we lived at the loft?" Alexis could see herself growing up here. It was bright and airy and lovely and it had an amazing view.

"At the time I wanted downtown Manhattan. This place really is different." He felt like a new man. He didn't have to be a playboy and he didn't have Gina hounding him for chapters for his next book. He felt different.

"So when's the wedding?" Kate teased.

"Wedding!? You and Sam." Alexis looked at both of them then saw all the plants and remembered what Sam had said. "You moved in!" Alexis hugged Sam and refused to let go.

"We're not getting married just yet. Besides he hasn't asked me," Sam said as she blushed.

"Just so you know, my dad has a lot of child still in him," Alexis warned her.

"Hey, I'm standing right here, you know!" All three women just ignored him.

"Oh, I know and I know how to deal with unruly children." Sam grinned at Rick. "He came home yesterday with this remote control helicopter and sent it way out there." Sam waved her arm at the view. "And then he crashed it." She glared at him.

"I sent it too far out. Got a little too excited." Rick felt bad about that. He couldn't do that at the loft because it was inside. Outside was so much more fun.

"It's down there somewhere," Sam pointed. "Never to be seen again."

They spent part of the day outside looking at the view and part of it inside looking at that view. And stayed for dinner.

Alexis had Sam off to one side before she and Kate went home. "Are you sure you can manage Dad? He can be a handful sometimes. Trust me, I know."

"I can handle his childish side. I'm a school teacher. I've even got a stool and a dunce cap just for him." Sam grinned as Alexis began laughing. Her dad had finally met his match.

###V##][##V###

"Sam seems happy," Kate mentioned as they drove home.

"I don't think my dad knows just what he's in for. Sam has a stool and a dunce cap just waiting for him," Alexis smiled as Kate laughed. "He's so in over his head this time. I guess I can stop worrying about him reverting back to being a playboy and being sued into oblivion." Alexis was so relieved.

"If she can handle a room full of third graders she can handle Castle. She might even teach him a few things!" Kate chuckled as Alexis chortled.