Hunting Grounds

Chapter 23

Go back to chapter 22, somehow i mixed them up. my apologies.

Kate had woken up just in time to see a naked Rick with an erection walking into the bathroom. God, how she ached to help him with that. She needed to taste him, to feel him. Hell, they hadn't kissed yet, and this was two nights in a row with no sex.

She had done just fine without sex before him, but now she realized she couldn't live without sex. "God, I'm a mess." Whoever was listening to them could infer what they wanted to from that. Besides, her hair was a mess, and even she could taste her morning breath.

Finally Rick came out of the bathroom after taking a shower. He also no longer had an erection. She wondered if that was because he had used cold water for his shower, or if he had touched himself. She hoped it was cold water. No one should be touching that except her, and that included him.

[_] /\ [_]

They were standing in front of each other again on the subway to reach the 12th Precinct. "Any guesses about what happens today?" Rick asked her.

"They're all out of questions. They're not going to tell us anything about Roy or what he's told them. We could risk going by his house to see if Evelyn and the kids are there. If they are gone that will tell us something. But we probably can't do that, either. We'll have a tail on us. We might have one even now." Kate didn't look. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

Kate sighed. "I'll likely be told how long I'm suspended today, and then told to get out."

"I've watched Ryan and Espo look our way, but I can't get close enough to them," Rick told her. "I haven't even seen any of those high school notes that you pass under your desk."

Kate looked up at him. "You did that? I thought only girls did that."

"You do when you have a crush on the girl that sits next to you."

Kate so wanted to ask what her name was, but she swallowed it down. She wasn't jealous, she wasn't jealous, she wasn't jealous... Yes, she was. But he was hers now. She'd had her chance.

"We can finally go looking," Kate offered.

"In my truck, after we get gas. I don't trust a gas gauge made in '53. Even if it does have a 26 gallon gas tank," Rick pointed out and Kate chuckled softly.

[_] /\ [_]

Rick and Kate were outside the Precinct. Both were still without weapons, and she no longer had her shield. "Well, that was fast." They had only been inside for about an hour, and now they were both back outside. "Suspended for three days without pay." The Commissioner himself had handed down her suspension.

"My bag should still be in the truck. You need to go pack an overnight bag and meet me at the garage."

It sounded like they were going to go look at that house to her. They certainly had time. But what did he mean by meet her there? He could just come with her. "And bring the bug detector with you. I have something I need to get." Rick gave her a quick kiss and walked away.

[_] /\ [_]

Kate had her bag with two nights of clothes in it along with a lot of condoms. She might be on the pill, but it wasn't 100%, so she wasn't taking any chances. She just hoped she'd brought enough because they had a lot of catching up to do.

Kate was standing just outside of the garage waiting for him when she spotted him and noticed he was carrying something. "You got me a cushion." Kate gushed all over the thing. She loved him just a touch more for this. "And it even has a back to it." Kate raised up on her toes to give him a quick kiss.

Together they took the elevator up to where the truck was parked, a space that was costing Rick a pretty penny. It was New York City after all.

Rick held out his hand and Kate fished his bug detector out of her bag. She took her cushion from him and waited while he walked over to their truck.

"SHIT! That was fast." It had a bug. Now she was watching him get down on his back and go under the truck. It wasn't long till he slid back out and showed it to her. It looked to be about the size of a cigarette lighter.

"Now what?" Kate asked.

"We give it to the guy next door, of course." Rick was down on his back again and searched for a good spot to put it. It wasn't long till he was back up again and let Kate swat all the debris off his back.

Kate put her bag in the back next to his and climbed in. The doors didn't have locks. "Quaint." It definitely lacked decor. She placed her cushion on the seat and saw that he already had one and climbed in.

It started right up with no problem and they didn't blow up. "What if they're watching?" Kate asked him.

"Watch a '53 truck sitting in a garage 24 hours a day? Are you kidding?" Rick asked her right back.

Kate was willing to doubt that there was someone sitting out there somewhere watching. "I could if I had a camera. Our place is bugged, the truck is bugged. I wouldn't put it past them."

"Then they get to follow us to Maine and watch us visit a real estate agent. Oh, would you keep your eyes open for a tail?" Rick put it into gear and backed out. Kate decided she could do that.

[_] /\ [_]

Two hours later, after getting gas, they walked back to the truck with cold drinks in hand. "You drove this thing all the way to the hangar? How fast were you driving anyway?" Kate queried as she got in with her drink.

"I don't actually know. The speedometer doesn't go that high." Rick grinned at her and started the truck.

"You know, even with a cushion, this seat is a killer," Kate commented.

"Welcome to army life," Rick said and got back on the road. "See anyone?" He had sort of been watching but knew she was better at it.

"Nope. I thought I did for a moment, but he got off before we even left the city. Nothing since, so maybe you're right. We still have five hours to go. Maybe we should have picked something closer than Maine," Kate suggested. Even with a cushion her butt was suggesting that idea.

"It could be worse." Rick offered. "We could have chosen nowhere Canada. Drive across the border on some logging road. Buy this little beat-up cabin with no heat except for the wood burning fireplace."

"Leaky roof, squeaky floors, broken windows – if it even has windows. I think I'll pass." Kate was suddenly willing to drive to Maine.

[_] /\ [_]

"Welcome to Hartford, Maine." Rick stopped outside of the real estate office. It was the first time he had been there.

Kate got out of the truck and rubbed her aching backside. "Oh, my poor butt! I need a new cushion or another cushion, something." Kate reached for the sky to work out the kinks in her body.

Rick suggested an alternative to another cushion."How about one of those pool mattresses? It's full of air."

"Anything." Kate rubbed her butt again and flexed her muscles a bit to get the blood flowing down there again.

Stepping inside, they saw the real estate agent. "Deanna, I'm Rick Rodgers. I apologize for the delay. Something came up at the last minute." Rick reached out to shake her hand.

"Not a problem, your house is still on the market. Let me grab what we'll need, and I can show it to you. You're going to like this place. Completely off the grid but still luxurious." She was thinking the price was holding people back, but she hadn't set the price.

She saw a green military truck from World War II sitting out front. "You came in that?"

"I have the sore butt to prove it." Kate rubbed her backside again to prove her point.

"It has a 26 gallon gas tank, it's military, so nothing stops it. Its a 4×4, and it has a bed to put supplies and anything else in." Rick liked his truck. Alright, it had a few issues, but it was perfect.

"I'm glad you like it. Let's go see a house." Deanna got in her little SUV, and Rick and Kate joined her, listening to her talk while she drove.

"Three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, 2,592 square feet of living space. It's on 27 acres that are mostly all woodlands. Built in 2004, it has an emergency generator, solar panels, well water routed through a water softener, radon removal, and a UV light," she explained as they drove.

"Radon removal?" Rick queried.

"I thought that was air borne or something," Kate mentioned curiously.

"Technically, it's in the ground and leaches up into basements mostly, but it can be in the well water," Deanna explained. "Main building, barn, and garage. Currently, the barn is partly a workshop. The house comes fully furnished and totally turnkey. The owner is leaving everything behind. There might even be something in one of the freezers."

"As in more than one?" Kate asked since she didn't remember reading about that.

Deanna nodded. "As in three. One in each building and one is a chest freezer."

[_] /\ [_]

Even from here it was a bit of a drive. "You should see this place in the fall. Lots of color. Simply beautiful. Do you live in Maine now?" she inquired since they hadn't said and she hadn't asked till now.

"New York, actually. We want to get away on occasion," Rick said.

"Well, you can certainly do that here." Deanna knew that for certain.

"And here we are." She stopped in front of the garage. "The garage, the house that has three floors, and the barn is beyond the house. Follow me." She led them to a side of the house so they could see the view.

"This is your open land. We've been driving on the property for a little while. It goes all the way down there, off that way, and back to the main road we were on.

"The four banks of solar panels will power the entire place. Put a full workshop in the barn if you like; it can handle it. Now, let me show you the main house. This is the best part." She took them to the door, used her code to unlock the lock box to get the key, and opened it up.

Deanna smiled. "Go everywhere. I'll meet you at the barn. We can view the garage on the way back to the car."

"Wow, this is a lot of wood," Kate commented as they stepped inside. Granted, they had seen the pictures, but this was something else.

"Wood beams, wood floors, wood ceiling, wood staircase. We need termite control." Rick knew that right off.

"It's too new for wood rot hopefully, though carpenter ants could be somewhere maybe?" Kate didn't know. "The stairs cut the place in two, which is interesting."

"Pantry." Kate opened a door and was even impressed by the size. "A kitchen with a view."

Rick spotted the range. "Looks like gas, meaning propane, meaning a delivery truck."

"I think this is granite. Not a lot of cabinets, but they're nice," Kate nodded.

"You're forgetting the butler's pantry." It had lots of space.

"This is true." A lot of it could go there.

"Wood table seats six and with a view." The same view Deanna had shown them first thing.

Kate went up first instead of down. "The master bedroom!" Kate didn't remember vaulted ceilings in the pictures. "They like wood. And look at the size of this sitting room." Kate sat on the leather sofa to try it out. "Books." Kate gestured to the long, three shelf bookcases filled with books already.

"Bathroom with tub and shower combo." Still not big enough for two. They still couldn't take showers together. It wasn't a clawfoot tub like she had now, but it was nice. Kate took the hair dryer out of its holder that was attached to the wall. It was like one in a hotel room or something. "Different. Just the one sink." That was all they had now, and it was working out so far.

"Second bedroom." They walked in to look it over.

"Nothing special here." Rick looked around and then walked out. "Downstairs?" Rick went first.

"So this is where that wood stove is." Rick thought he remembered seeing one in the pictures. "Laundry and a tub sink."

In another small room, they finally found the battery backup. Along with that were the water softener, radon removal, UV light, and all the controls for the solar panels, and the emergency generator that ran using diesel.

"Rick!" Kate had found something and he joined her. "The TV room, I'm thinking. With movies already."

Rick looked around. "How do you get out? I'm not squeezing out that window." Rick looked at that maybe foot-high window above the sofa.

"Good point. I think this is the only window I've seen down here. This might be a death trap." Suddenly the basement didn't look all that appealing.

[_] /\ [_]

They had caught up to Deanna. "Ready for the barn?"

They were both thinking barn, like in hay barn, but no. "This could be a workshop if you're into that," Deanna mentioned.

They walked through the double doors into a workroom. Rick looked over the workbench, and he saw something in the middle of the room. "A table saw, I think. Sadly, I'm not into woodworking." But he did see an entire wall full of spare parts and drawers, as well as two almost floor-to-ceiling openings full of wood in the wall to heat the place.

"What's upstairs." Kate took the stairs, followed by Rick.

"A game room!" Rick smile got wider. "Get a pool table, ping pong table, Foosball table, ice hockey." Kate let him have his moment and his boys' toys. Or was that riding lawn mower and other items? Whatever.

"Attic access." Kate pulled on the cord, unfolded the stairs, and went up just enough to look. "Insulation and storage mostly." She went back down and pushed it back up. Nothing to see there.

They went back outside and they found Deanna waiting. "If you'll come with me, I'll show you the bottom floor of the barn." They walked down a slope to the back of the building. There was a garage door, and to the left, a side door and window.

Deanna pressed the garage door control. There were four ladders, two on each wall, a John Deer riding lawnmower, and some gas cans. Stored on the left side was spare lumber, a portable workbench, a wheelbarrow, and some odds and ends. Mostly it was one big empty building waiting to be filled.

Everything was certainly big enough and had plenty of wide-open space.

[_] /\ [_]

The last thing they saw was the garage that was built into a small hill. Rick thought his truck would fit nicely. They walked up the slope and saw a step, a four foot by four foot stoop, and a door that led to the attic. Storage was accessible through that door. A set of tires was in the attic for something they had yet to see.

"That's it. The road can get a bit tricky during winter. The place is a four season home. You can live here full time; it doesn't have to be a vacation home. What do think?" Deanna had left them alone to form their own opinion.

"There's lots of wood." Kate liked wood, but maybe this was too much. She didn't know yet.

"But not on the walls," Rick noted so Kate gave him that one. "The living room seemed a bit small. I loved the master bedroom," he said.

"Yes, the bathroom was small, though that sitting room was so nice." Kate adored the bedroom.

"The garage is just a garage. Love the off-grid items and all those solar panels," Rick enthused.

"And the view. There wasn't a pond or even a stream, but lots of trees and open grass space. It could be amazing in the fall." Kate was willing to admit that Deanna had a point about that.

"Can we walk the woods a little if you're willing to wait?" Rick asked her.

"Of course. Say 30 minutes?" Deanna offered. "I need to lock up anyway."

"Why are we out here?" Kate questioned him.

"I get that it's 27 acres, but where do we land the ship? I have an idea how to hide it better, but where exactly do we land it?" Rick asked her. "Not out in that open grass space even if landing there would be easier."

"Good point. We might need Rosie for that once we overfly this place," Kate suggested.

Rick conceded that point. "That might be best."

[_] /\ [_]

They were back, and Deanna was still here, which was good since she had driven them.

"It's listed at 660. Are you thinking of an offer? The seller might come down a little. It's just that places like this don't come around all that often. Little three season vacation cabins are all over Maine, if that's what you want. I can create a list," Deanna offered. "Those can come with a hundred acres or have neighbors right next door. Have no power or water at all with outhouses or be on city power and city water."

"No outhouse." Kate made a face of disgust. She was a city girl, and she knew it. That alien planet had not been fun, and that was ignoring the part where someone was trying to kill them.

"650, maybe?" Rick looked at Kate who nodded. She could help him buy it.

"Then let's go back, write it up, and see what they say. I don't know of any other offers presently on the table," Deanna informed them both.

Rick signed the offer paper and she was going to submit it immediately. "I might know something tomorrow or might take up to a week," Deanna advised them. "It just depends."

[_] /\ [_]

The closest hotel turned out to be in Auburn, Maine. They chose Hilton Garden Inn Riverwatch. It was literally right on the river. There was a king bed but nothing special about the room.

"Hungry?"

"Starving, actually," Kate replied. "No breakfast, which is normal for me. We didn't stop for lunch, and it's almost dinner."

"Pizza's out front." Rick watched her shake her head. "That means driving." He knew what she thought about his precious truck.

"I know. I think my butt can survive it, and we're staying here two nights." She had a three day suspension so they might as well stay here. The neighbors could listen to her scream out her orgasms and like it.

Rick drove them across the river and turned right down a canal street. Kate looked at him. "Indian, I like Indian food."

"Mother India it is." Rick would find something worth eating, he hoped.

"They have a lunch buffet," Kate said hopefully. They could come back for lunch tomorrow.

"A bit pricey."

"Yeah, a bit. Do you see anything you like?" Kate saw lots of things she liked.

"Lamb Kebab."

"Ooo." Kate started looking and now she had a choice to make. "Do you trust me?" Kate asked him since their server was back to take their orders.

"Obviously." He trusted her with his life and had already.

"We'll take the Samosa, Lamb Kebabs for him, and Lamb Biryani for me. Just water is fine." Kate sat there and smiled at him. He trusted her. She wasn't sure if she'd told him that she loved him, but she did. He had told her that he loved her. They had an honest-to-goodness spaceship they needed to hide.

Plus two whole days of nothing but sex. Save for coming back over here for the buffet.