Hunting Grounds

Chapter 36

Kate was back in her hotel room after getting takeout from The Great Wok. It was a Chinese place practically right across the street from what might be her new work place. She was still eating but thinking about calling Rick when her cell phone rang, and she saw it was Rick. "Hi, lover," Kate purred into the phone.

Rick groaned. "Please don't sound like that when you're not here. I'm not going to get any sleep tonight now."

Kate smiled wide. She had gotten just the reaction she had wanted out of him.

"I toured the house today, and it looks even better in person than it does in the pictures. And yes, I took more pictures for you. I even put in an offer at the full asking price with a few stipulations. I want them to leave the washer and dryer, the outdoor concrete patio set, the exercise equipment, and some of the garden tools.

"The real estate agent said all they'd been getting were lowball offers that they've been rejecting. Now get this, they want to move to Anchorage."

"ALASKA! Talk about a change. Sitka, I could maybe understand. Just don't go getting any ideas. The closest Naval base is still Seattle, I think," Rick cautioned her.

"I don't want to move to Alaska, so you're safe. You're not upset that I put in an offer without talking to you about it?" That was her only real fear.

"I told you that I trust you, Kate. Besides, we could probably use all that stuff." Rick didn't have an issue.

"Where are you? What's all that noise?" She heard a lot of voices.

"Starbucks. People are doing a lot of talking, like me." Rick smiled a little. "I had to get out. I turned off the heat and left the windows open. We used enough cleaning stuff to kill everything in there. I don't think it's ever been this clean," Rick said and listened to her laugh.

"And the bugs?" Kate asked him.

"In the bin out back along with everything else that got thrown out," Rick assured her. "You don't want to know what we found in the back of one of your cabinets."

"I can guess, just so long as it wasn't alive." Kate made a joke out of it, but Rick didn't say anything. "Rick? Oh, God, it was alive?" Kate put a hand over her face.

"Gotta love New York City," Rick said wryly.

"Just tell me it's gone now," Kate pleaded.

"Gone and in the trash along with everything else. I just need to air out the place so I can get some sleep," Rick told her and Kate chuckled. "So you liked the house?"

"We have a neighbor that's so close I'm not sure we can even walk between the two houses," Kate told him. "The other one is a little farther away. I guess we get to know the neighbors."

"We already have neighbors, including the ones across the hall," Rick pointed out.

"That's true, especially Mrs. Anderson. She's a nice older lady. I don't know if you've met her yet." Kate wasn't sure how many of her neighbors Rick had met or even seen.

"I did today on one of my trips to the dumpster out back. Wanted to know if you were moving. Nosy old lady," Rick commented.

"She's not that old, and she likes being in everyone's business when she can." Kate had a sudden idea. "Hey, you might want to ask her if she saw anyone coming and going lately and ask her what they looked like."

"I'll think about it," Rick replied.

Kate mentally poked at him. "Coward."

"So, what's tomorrow besides your interview?" Rick asked her. "Because if you have time you could run past an apartment complex. Rosie found one that has furnished apartments that can be rented monthly."

"I'll be lucky to get out of my interview, lose the rental car, and make my flight after going through security," Kate told him.

"Well, you can't blame me for trying. We'll just have to do that some other way. Get that car later, too. Or do you want me to see if I can put a deposit on it so they don't sell it out from under you?" Rick inquired.

"Hold it for two weeks, if not longer? Doubtful. We can just wait. They might still have that car, and if not, we'll just find another one." Kate wasn't in that big of a hurry.

"As you wish. I'm back at the 101st tomorrow, so I'll be out of Gates' hair," Rick reminded her.

"That should make her happy." Kate sighed. "I just hope Kevin gets that job. It would make Jenny happy."

"Happy wife, happy life," Rick commented.

Kate smiled a wide smile. "Know that one, do you?"

"Some of my team were married remember. I learned all kinds of things from them. Anniversary dates are very important. Not leaving your dirty underwear on the floor is another. Leaving the toilet seat down is critical." Rick heard Kate bust out laughing.

"You've been doing just fine with all of those, babe. Just don't forget them," Kate cautioned him.

"Enjoy your stay and crush your interview tomorrow," Rick said. "Show them the real Kate Beckett. I'll be here when you get back."

"Night, babe, I love you." Kate really missed him.

"Love you too, bye." Rick hung up and picked up his cup of coffee. He needed the laptop and Rosie for what he was thinking about when his cell phone rang again. "Rodgers."

The more he listened, the wider his smile got till he hung up. Now he needed something to celebrate with, and coffee just wasn't good enough. But he knew of one place to go while he waited for the apartment to air out so he could actually breathe.

[_] /\ [_]

Rick was standing there looking at a murder board with the detectives of the 101st. So far, the 54th and now even the 101st didn't have a problem with him being there. And they all seemingly knew who Kate was. It was obvious that only Gates that hated him.

Rick had a thought when his cell phone rang. "Rodgers."

"Hi, babe, you busy?" She had something to tell him and was bursting at the seams.

"Give me a sec." He walked into the breakroom. "I'm in the breakroom. What's up?" He had lost track of time and hadn't noticed that Kate should have finished her interview by now.

"I got the job!"

"That's great! What did they say?" He would squeeze out all the details out of her after she got home.

"They want me to start in four weeks!" Kate told him. "I'll be a junior homicide detective, but everyone is going to get a review in three months, including me, so that might change. $79,747 annually. That's about twenty grand less than what I make now, but everything costs less here."

"You're lead detective here so that might account for some of it," Rick said. "You accepted, right?" She should accept that.

,

"I did. So now you can start boxing if you like." Kate was still smiling wide. "They're starting to board my flight, but I still have time." She wasn't disabled, didn't have children, didn't need help, and wasn't flying first class.

"I have good news and bad news. Here's the good news first. It seems someone with the FBI has apparently been able to sway someone else because when we move, I'll be stationed at the Naval Air Base just outside New Orleans."

"That's great! So what's the bad news?" Kate readied herself.

"It's what I was afraid of. I'm single, so I have to live in the barracks on the base." Rick tried to close his ears.

"OH, NO!" Kate hung her head. "Then we need to get married sooner rather than later. Will that resolve the issue they have?" It better take care of it or she was going to hate the Navy for the rest of her life.

"I asked, and they said yes, that if I had a family, meaning you and any future children, I will be able to live off base since this base can't accommodate families. Just single men and women."

"Well, crap. We can deal with this when I get home. They're not to my row yet. Any ideas? There or here?" Kate asked him.

"None yet. It's your wedding, so you should be planning it. I can talk to Rosie when I get home. It might take her seconds to find something in either location. But you know what this means?" Rick asked her.

"You have to drive to Maine." Kate knew what came next. "Do you think that will keep them away from us? I mean, look where we were last time."

"We won't know until it's gone. It's not too late to back out of all this and take it, you know. We might find a robot. Danger, Will Robinson," Rick grinned.

"And end up lost in space? No thanks. And no offense, but I prefer Robby the Robot to that one." Kate watched as the line got shorter and shorter.

"Who?"

"Oh, my God! You haven't seen that movie? How could you not have seen that movie? I am so buying it on the way home. I have to go. I love you."

"Love you too." Rick hung up and got back to the case.

Kate wasn't way in the back, but she wasn't up front either or sitting on the wing. Getting off this plane was going to take time. But she was supposed to land at 2:29 pm, so she should be able to beat Rick home, find the sexiest outfit she owned, and be waiting for him. They could start packing later.

[_] /\ [_]

They hadn't solved the case at the 101st. Rick wanted to be there when Kate handed in her resignation so he was going back to the 12th precinct tomorrow.

Kate had accepted her job proposal and probably signed a stack of pages, so now he needed to plan when to go get Rosie and take her with him to the ship so they could get rid of the blasted thing. Those aliens had to show up eventually and could possibly find it.

When he got home, he needed to talk to Rosie about wedding venues. It was looking like Kate wanted to be married sooner rather than later.

The paper was not in the door and not on the floor; he was worried. He took out his weapon, then very carefully unlocked the door and pushed it open while standing off to one side. Scanning as far as he could see, he didn't see anyone, but he might be surprising them in the bedroom planting more bugs. So he entered carefully with his weapon at the ready.

"I don't think you're going to need that, babe. I'm more interested in your other weapon." Kate smiled at him as she struck a pose at the entrance to the bedroom.

Rick put his hand over his heart. "Damn it, Kate! Don't do that. You had me worried." He put the safety on and put his weapon back in his holster. Then he closed and locked the door.

Now he finally gave her his complete attention. "Wow, where have you been hiding that?" He didn't know where but he liked it. He liked it a lot.

"This old thing? I've been saving it up for someone special." Kate watched him walk straight to her. His eyes were everywhere till finally, he was close enough. Now his eyes were right where they were supposed to be, centered on hers.

Kate slipped her arms around his neck. "I missed you, and we need to celebrate my new job." Kate promptly kissed him.

[_] /\ [_]

The sex had been as incredible as always. Rick was resting on his side with his head in his hand and his elbow on the bed. His free hand was toying with one of Kate's breasts.

"So, what did you think of them?" She must have liked what she saw and heard, or she wouldn't have accepted the job.

"My new captain seems nice. In some ways, he reminds me more of Roy and how he managed the station. Their building is very contemporary, unlike the 12th. Glass walls on the first floor. It's five stories tall with Homicide on the 4th again. It has these floor-to-ceiling narrow windows all around it. It even has A/C. A beautiful courtyard, and there's some kind of art statue thing out front. Very modern-looking one, too.

"I was introduced to what my team would be. Well, his team; I'm being added to it. One of them was a female, Caroline Moore. She's just as junior as I will be, but she's new. Only been a detective for a year.

"As I understand it, they recently went through a turnover. Retirements, Katrina victims that can't make a go of it, so they left the city. I'm the last one for now."

"So long as they liked you." Rick was happy.

"They seemed to. There's kind of a mix of Caucasian, Black, and Latino. I don't mind. I talked about some of my cases without giving away sensitive information that I couldn't share. I did take your suggestion and took my range target with me. I showed it to them, and pointed out that the Range Commander had watched and signed off on it. I think that got their attention." Kate liked how that had worked out.

"They use mostly Glock 17s as well, and I'm comfortable with that weapon. I have reams of paperwork to fill out on my first day." Kate had been warned.

"You think Gates will be happy or pissed off again?" Rick asked her.

"Honestly, I don't care any more. Two more weeks and she's history." Kate sucked in a breath when Rick pinched her nipple. "You trying to start something, future husband?" Kate soon moaned when that same hand found the lips of her core.

[_] /\ [_]

"I'm going with you today. If we don't get a case, I may spend it in the breakroom writing my report on the 101st. A second one on the 12th will probably be my last. We'll see." He might go to a different one. He wanted to see how Gates treated Kate today.

"I'm a big girl, Rick. I can handle myself."

"Yes, you are." Rick smiled at her, and it made Kate grin. "I just want to see her face. I may go to a different precinct tomorrow."

[_] /\ [_]

Kate stood close to Rick on the train on the way in; she was going to miss this. She was even going to miss New York City. It had its faults, but to her every city did. New York City just seemed to have more than usual and was seemingly always a target for terrorists.

Once she was at the precinct, Kate sat down at her computer. She typed her resignation letter while Rick sat in his chair and watched her.

"Here we go." Kate got up to get her printout and sign the bottom of it.

Gates' door was closed yet again like it always was. Her door was always closed. So Kate knocked and entered. Meanwhile Rick joined Kevin and Javi. "We need to watch this." He gave them a warning.

"Detective?" She had been gone two days, so she didn't have a new case.

"My resignation, sir. Two weeks." Kate placed her paper on her desk.

"Have a seat, Detective," Gates told her, and Kate sat down.

"We are tasked by the city of New York to protect its people. Sometimes that task comes with a cost. I know what they call me, Detective." Gates waved at her glass door. "Iron Gates. I know what they think. She's from IA, she must hate cops. The truth is I love cops."

"On the contrary, sir. You hate cops, all cops. You degrade and insult everyone you can, everyone on this floor, including me and even beyond. Say or think what you will, but your actions and words speak far louder than anything.

"Two weeks, sir." Kate got up and walked out. She didn't care what Gates had to say or what she thought she was doing. She was gone.

Kate walked over to the guys since they were all clustered around Espo's desk.

"Do they know?" Kate looked at Rick and watched him shake his head. "I just handed in my resignation. In two weeks, I'm gone. Would you believe that she thinks that she loves cops? Oh, and she knows we call her Iron Gates." Kate left them, walked over to her desk, and sat down.

However, all three of them followed her. "Can we ask to where?" Espo queried.

"Not until I'm ready to leave. Let's just say I don't need loose lips talking and letting it escape to Gates. Not that either of you two would do that. But not everyone in this precinct might not hate Gates. They might love what she's doing.

"I can say that I'm leaving New York City." Kate planned to play this close to the vest. "I wish you luck in your interview, Kevin, I really do. If they don't believe you have them call me. I'll set them straight."

Espo looked at Rick. "You gone too, bro?"

"I go where she goes," Rick said.

"Be careful, Espo. I don't know what game she's playing." Kate still didn't understand Gates at all.

Kate watched these two stare at Gates on the way back to their desks while Rick sat down. "A little more anticlimactic than I thought," Rick mused.

"She didn't even raise her voice, or insult me, or demand to know why. It was almost like she was expecting it or wanted it. She is still a puzzle. Someone else's puzzle. Now I have to tell Lanie and my dad."

"And my mother," Rick added. "Just when she was learning to like having me in the city."

"Oh, Rick! I'm so sorry." He was following her so this was her fault.

"Don't be, Kate. I've been out of this city for along time already. Mother will adapt. And she'll be happy to know we're going together." He knew his mother wouldn't be that upset. "I have a report to write for the 101st, so if you will excuse me." Rick gathered some papers and a pen and headed to the breakroom.

[_] /\ [_]

Kate was checking her email when suddenly Gates was at her desk. Now what did she want?

"You think I don't respect you, Detective?" Gates questioned her; she had plans to set her straight.

"I know you don't respect me or others. I can't begin to count the number of times you have directly degraded me. Questioned if I was even a detective and used the term loosely." Kate used her own words against her.

"You don't even bother to insult anyone one on one in your office. Everyone here knows and has heard you directly insult me and others on this floor.

"You can pretend that you love cops all you wish, but your actions show the opposite is true, sir. I'm leaving, so say what you want."

"Trouble?" Rick was out of the breakroom to defend Kate if Gates was causing her trouble.

She shook her head. "No, no trouble. Gates was going back to her office," Kate told both of them.

"You better leave with her, Rodgers." Gates turned to walk away.

"And yet another insult out in the open," Kate called out to her back and watched Gates stop for a second. Kate saw her take a deep breath, put her shoulders back, then continue on into her office and close the door.

"We can talk when we get home, babe. We need to stop and get some boxes along the way." Kate went back to her computer.