Jack and Jill IV

Chapter 19

Alexis was spending today doing business things without Rick this time since Kate had him down in the exercise room. That would be followed by putting him in bed for a nap. She didn't even see Storm or Jayne. Most businesses ran quite well without being micromanaged so it wasn't as difficult as it sounded.

It looked like so far this year was going to be a good year though she needed to plan for what was coming. Once word was out that a fleet of enemy ships was coming or already here and landing somewhere, it was all going to hell. So just what could she do to mitigate that negative effect?

The resort on that island would be closed since people going on vacation would end. Maybe that might not be such a bad spot after all. Get all the guests and most of the staff off the island and arrange to have lots of food delivered. It might work. She was going to need her dad and Storm for that. But that idea could wait.

Now all of a sudden she was looking to purchase something. So what was remote? Self-sustaining in terms of power and water and you could plant and grow food? Not that she knew anything about being a farmer. Her dad certainly didn't. Storm and Jayne were combat and Kate had been a homicide detective.

"What am I doing?" Alexis closed the laptop. That idea was never going to work. There was just the five of them and how were they expected to be able to survive all alone for years and years? "Bad idea."

Alexis was up and headed for the opposite side of her dad's bedroom and sitting area. This side didn't have that massive gun that was still here even though it had actually worked. She didn't make it; she saw Storm and Jayne carrying large metal boxes. One in each hand. So she followed them. This was more her home than theirs, after all.

"WOW!" Storm had opened one of the boxes. It looked like ammunition and it was big. "Do I want to know what's going on?" Alexis was close to Jayne and actually felt pretty comfortable standing next to such a big man.

"We used up the ammunition shooting down that fighter. We're reloading it with what little we could lay our hands on," Jayne answered.

"But we killed everyone, so why?" Alexis didn't see the need.

"Precaution. Better to have something and not need it than to desperately wish that you did but don't. Maybe it never fires again and maybe it does. Think business. You have a cash reserve, right?" Jayne questioned her. She nodded. "Think of this as a cash reserve."

"Come find me when you're done. I have a question." Alexis rubbed his arm and left him.

Jayne wasn't sure he wanted to know the question. She was the exact opposite of him in every way. He didn't want to drag her into his world. Would he step in front of a bullet for her? In a heartbeat. But what they were doing was something else entirely.

oOo

He and Storm spent the next two hours checking everything and making sure it all worked perfectly. "We're out of Stingers," Jayne pointed out since that was what ultimately brought down that wounded fighter.

"I know. I've got a call in. Hopefully two more in like a week. Pray we don't need them before then." Storm gave him a grim look.

Jayne nodded his head. "How about a mini?"

"Three days. Already planned for that. Damn thing was harder to find than the stingers," Storm grumbled.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you, Storm. Now if that Bowflex would just show up." He was looking forward to a little workout.

"I hear that. I'll be in the kitchen." Storm left him and headed downstairs. That left Jayne to search this floor for Alexis since she had a question for him. He found her almost straight away.

Jayne saw her pat the space next to her. She watched as he sat down. "Just how viable is this idea of us all escaping to some remote location that has power, water, and can grow food? I know I don't have a green thumb and neither does Dad. I'm betting Storm doesn't and can only guess that neither Kate nor you do either. So are we spinning our wheels here?" That was her question and it had Jayne breathing again.

"Depends. Storm and I can hunt and fish, just not grow anything. So it would help if trees grew fruit, wild bushes grew berries to be picked. To do it right? It would take a lot of planning and a lot of time.

"Horses to get around on since gasoline will go bad eventually. Even the horses will need a farrier, a rasp to grind down their teeth, stalls to house them. We'll need a blacksmith shop a huge amount of hand tools since powered tools will be useless—"

Alexis stopped him. "Okay, okay I get it. You can stop now. I just needed confirmation is all. I'd be wasting my time finding something to buy."

"Not necessarily." Jayne saw the look she was giving him. "Say for a moment that the Amplitur Suggest too many people and we end up not only fighting them but ourselves. The battle on our planet lasts generations like it has on all the other planets. Sitting up here would be a bad idea.

"They land in Russia and spread out and start winning a little. Enough that they take over various ICBM sites. Yeah, they want us all alive to join their Purpose. Nukes can be a threat so who knows?" Jayne shrugged.

"Well, shit!" Alexis cursed.

"Just pick somewhere nice and warm all year long with lots of rain. Even if it takes you six months to build it up and get stuff there. It's your money. Though I'm still betting it doesn't come to that." Jayne squeezed her shoulder and left her behind to think.

"Shit!" Talking to Jayne had only made things worse. She sighed and went back to her work space. It needed to be available and not cost too much since upgrading it was going to cost money.

oOo

"So this is real?" the president questioned the team he had at a big conference room in a secure space. Even cell phones were not allowed in this room and everyone was searched and scanned.

"Yes, Mr. President," the Secretary of State assured him. She broke it all down. "We have three dead bodies, two dead bodies that have been autopsied for us, and another one is presently underway even as we speak. We have their computers and equipment. We have the remnants of their fighter that does indeed look to have been made of crystals and we have questioned these two Artificial Intelligences."

"We've also found their ship they used to reach our planet. Getting it out of the water is going to take days, Mr. President," Vice Admiral Card said.

"Our first team on site of the ship has suggested that it may be larger and weigh more than we had originally thought," Admiral Lotterer informed him. "We're going to need to be careful raising it or it'll break apart on us and we want it intact so it can be searched. To think of getting our hands on a real functioning FTL engine!" He couldn't wait to get his hands on that ship.

Madam Secretary spoke up. "We do want that ship in one piece, Mr. President. What we have to convince countries that aren't our allies is going to require we have that ship. We can't do this alone."

"An unknown number of troop transport ships all the size of an aircraft carrier." The president needed to think about that. "Speaking of aircraft carriers where are we?"

"We have nineteen carriers of which only eleven are available for deployment. Of those eleven only eight are presently available. Five of those eight are already at sea where we think we need them, Mr. President."

"Half!?" That was really bad news. "Get all eight deployed and get to work on getting all eleven of them ready for deployment and get me a list on the other carriers," the president ordered.

"This gets out to the general public and we're going to have riots. Have all states form up all of their National Guard. We only have three weeks so we can't wait. If a governor resists inform them they don't have a choice.

"Create a plan to get as many ships, submarines, and aircraft that we can ready for deployment. Find out from all bases what can presently be deployed. How much ammunition and fuel they have. If we're going to be fighting for our planet we need to know what we have and who needs what.

"Where are these AIs now?" the president queried.

"New York City, Mr. President," the Secretary of State replied.

"Three weeks. It'll take all day to arrange a visit to him and even longer to get them here. A pair of civilians have them now?" He didn't like that idea much.

"A Mr. Castle," Madam Secretary said. "He's the richest man in the State of New York. He was a quadriplegic prior to coming into contact with the AI named Jack. Jack has repaired his body and Mr. Castle is no longer a quadriplegic. He can move his arms and legs."

"So this AI is more than just an AI. Interesting. And the other one?" he inquired.

"That one is attached to a Katherine Houghton Beckett. She was at one time a homicide detective for New York City. She was the star of the NYPD. Her mother was murdered. Her father drank himself to death. Shortly after that she was arrested and given a five year sentence. She was let out on parole after serving nine months. She's the Personal Care Assistant to Mr. Castle now," Dennis Dowell who was the Chief of Staff told the President.

The president needed to think. A rich quadriplegic and an ex-homicide detective. "Retrieve those AIs from them and bring them here. I'm not leaving them in the possession of two civilians, especially one unstable ex-homicide detective," he ordered.

The Secretary of State looked around at the others in the room. "I don't know that we can, Mr. President." She saw him glare at her. "The AIs are attached to each of them, sir. We don't know where or exactly how they're attached. I was informed by Jack that even if the correct limb was cut off they would still be attached to that limb.

"Something about literally being attached to the bone. Attempts at removing them may result in damage. In addition they are representatives of an Interstellar Government. They may have diplomatic immunity because of this. Also no one can see them or scan for them. Something about a Chameleon system so that they blend into the body they're attached to."

The president groaned loudly. Interstellar AIs in the hands of civilians didn't sit well with him. Civilians shouldn't even be involved in any of this.

Gary got his attention. "Mr. President, Mr. Castle owns the top five floors of a high rise in New York City. Thanks to Derrick Storm his space is now heavily guarded. He managed to shoot down that fighter that crashed a few blocks away. We can't even see in. There's only one elevator to the bottom of the five floors and only one stairwell.

"I know Storm. He could hold off an entire squad of Green Beret with ease. Even a helo insertion will have been taken into account and he's not alone," Gary warned.

"And who is this Derrick Storm?" The president had never heard of him before.

"Derrick Storm." The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs opened the folder he had just for this.

"An unnamed truck driver was killed by five months of radiation exposure to a 1.3 curies (48 GBq) caesium-137 source that had been put into the door of his truck around February 1995. He died of radiation-induced leukemia on 27 April 1997.

"It was a smuggling operation. Guess who stopped it?" General John Vessey questioned him but didn't wait for an answer.

"My personal favorite. On 13 September 1999, six people attempted to steal radioactive cobalt-60 rods from a chemical plant in the city of Grozny in the Chechen Republic. Guess who put an end to that?" the general inquired.

"If there's a problem somewhere the one person everyone wants on site to solve it is Derrick Storm," General Vessey informed him. "He was in Columbia last I knew, solving yet another problem."

"Back to my first question," the president said. "Who is Derrick Storm and why is he even involved in this?"

"Mr. Richard Castle is his son, Mr. President," J.J. replied. "And he is prepared, sir."

That left the president sitting there and thinking. "Are they willing to travel? If we're going to convince NATO we need them to be able to travel."

"We can ask, Mr. President," J.J. offered.

The president lost his temper. He smacked the table with the palms of his hands and leaned forward. "I'm. Not. Asking. I'm stating. They want to keep these AIs they damn well will go where we tell them to! Make plans for a trip to Brussels. We're down to twenty-two days so they fly out tomorrow. Getting there should be easy. Getting back out might be more difficult.

"Chuck, they'll be using your plane and you're going. I want you two," he pointed at Chuck and J.J., "Create a team. General Shanahan, work with General Vessey on air support. Those two AIs are too important to lose. Take a combat team with you.

The president narrowed his eyes and stared at the Secretary. "I suppose this Derrick Storm will insist on going as well?"

"It might be best if everyone including the ME that did the autopsies goes, Mr. President," she suggested. "We are doing our own autopsy, however, she did the first one."

The president sighed. "Fine save for this ME. Send someone to inform them that they'll all be attending. Everyone is going to need a hotel. Get started. Everyone needs to be in Brussels tomorrow. I'll start making phone calls." The President closed his folder, stood up, and left.

He left behind people that needed to talk and make plans but needed to leave the room to make phone calls.

oOo

Alexis answered her phone. "Yes?"

"Melanie is on her way up. This is a courtesy call, Ma'am."

"Thank you." Alexis hung up and walked to the elevator. The doors opened and revealed Melanie with a big blue ball in her arms and boxes at her feet. "I'll give you a hand."

In moments they had everything in Rick's sitting area. "Your Bowflex should be here within the hour. They need to bring it up in parts so likely lots of trips and they'll put it together for you," Melanie warned her.

They didn't have space for that. "Help me push?" Alexis asked her and together they made room for it.

"How is Rick doing?" Melanie still wasn't sure she believed. Aliens were coming? That she believed. Make it so that Rick wasn't a quadriplegic any longer? That she had more trouble with. She understood only too well why anyone was a quadriplegic.

"Dad is amazingly well. Kate takes him downstairs then puts him to bed. Gets him up in time for lunch. Gives him another shower if he needs it. As unqualified for this job as she is she's doing pretty good. I'm actually beginning to like her. I was so sure she was going to fail." Alexis was willing to give her credit.

"Well get ready for the next step," Melanie cautioned and saw the blank look on Alexis's face. "Rick is handsome and rich. Kate's pretty and not stupid. A true professional like myself isn't going to fall in love with Rick. At least not like that. I love him and care about him but I'm not in love with him. Next time you see them together watch how they look at each other. I'm pretty sure they're falling in love if they aren't in love with the other already.

"Now are they talking to each other about it? I have no idea. But they will be soon. For now go see if they're ready," Melanie asked her. "I need to unbox all this and teach both of them how to use this stuff properly to get the results we want."

oOo

Melanie was happy and gone. "You two understand what to do?" Alexis inquired to make sure.

"I got it. Don't overdo it and make sure I watch him," Kate repeated. "He'll have muscles eventually. Maybe not like his dad or Jayne, but muscles enough to help himself."

"Wait? Am I working myself out of a job?" She got Rick so he was walking and eating for himself and taking his own showers, that was her job.

"No," Rick told her.

"Dad hired you. You need three strikes for me to fire you. That was the deal." Alexis left them and was smiling most of the way. She had done as Melanie had suggested. Both of them mostly only had eyes for each other.

oOo

It was starting to get late and all of them knew what that meant. They were down to twenty-one days till the Amplitur ships might arrive. They were all saying might have twenty-one days given they didn't know exactly just when they had left let alone how many.

Since they had started using it again they were eating at the dining room table. Just like always Kate was cutting and feeding Rick by hand. He could do some of it but he tired quickly so she simply skipped that part and fed him.

"Your Bowflex is here for anyone who is interested. It's in Dad's sitting room," Alexis informed everyone.

"Good." Jayne was going to put that thing to good use.

Kate and even Storm had plans as well. Between them they just might break it.

Alexis heard her phone ring. "Yes?"

"I have an FBI officer down here. A Will Sorenson. He says he has a message to deliver."

"FBI? Tell him to leave his weapon behind and pick it up on the way out or he'll be shot." Alexis was betting Storm would shoot him the second the door opened. "If he refuses he stays down there. Then you can send him up." Alexis hung up.

"An FBI guy named Sorenson," Alexis announced. Kate's head snapped around and looked at Alexis in shock. She hadn't seen or heard from Sorenson in years. So what was he doing here?

"We'll handle him." Storm got up, checked his HK MP5-SD, and made sure the safety was off. There was a round was in the chamber and Storm went over to the elevator with Jayne right behind him.

oOo

Moments later all three of them were in the dining room. "Kate?" She was the very last person he expected to see here or almost anywhere.

"Hello, Will." Kate still didn't like him much.

Alexis noticed both of these two as did Rick, Storm, and even Jayne.

"You have a message?" Alexis asked.

"Yes." Will took it out of his inner jacket pocket and held it out only to have Storm take it from him and look it over.

It didn't look hermetically sealed so it probably didn't have any white powder in it like Anthrax so he handed it to Alexis. It did, however, have a water seal that wasn't broken. So Mr. FBI here hadn't opened it.

"Thanks." Alexis ripped it open and found a single sheet of paper inside and started reading it to herself. She dismissed him absently. "You can go now."

"You heard her. Let's go, Mr. FBI." Storm motioned with his weapon for Will to get moving.

Will really wanted to know what he was delivering. Even more to the point he wanted to talk to Kate.

He stood up to Storm. "You realize I'm the FBI?"

"You can leave standing, Mr. FBI, or you can find yourself in traction in a hospital. Those are your only two options and I can guarantee nothing is going to happen to me," Storm informed him.

"You better just go, Will. He's not bluffing or lying," Kate said sharply. She may not like him but she didn't want to see his legs and arms in traction, because that was what he was playing with and couldn't prevent. She was sure Storm could break him in seconds.

oOo

Storm was back and Mr. FBI was gone. "It's from the Secretary of State. We are to present ourselves at the private jet terminal tomorrow at 11:00 for a trip on Air Force Two to Brussels. We are to anticipate being gone three days," Alexis told all of them.

"So we were right," Rick commented. Good thing they were ready for this.