Kate was really liking the way he responded to her hug. In fact, she can't figure out what was holding her back and now she doesn't really care. From what this feeling is giving her in this embrace right now, she was a fool for ever denying the love she felt for her best friend. Now she knows she had spent way too much time keeping him from her heart and decided to take a chance and let the final wall that she was using to keep him out finally crumble to a pile of dust. Her head is right against his chest and she speaks in a low tone. The problem is that he's not hearing anything she is saying because her voice is muffled by her being so close to his chest.

Rick stills at the sound of her muffled voice. He can't make out what she is saying so he lets his arms drop from her body and his body stiffens up. He can only just wait for her to repeat what she just said.

The second her body feels him becoming stiff as a board and stops responding to the hug she wonders what went wrong. It was a brief feeling but she can't pinpoint exactly what made him become as still as a statue. She wants to keep feeling what she was feeling so she calls his name very quietly.

"Rick?"

Again she feels him still standing there stiffly. She lifts her head from his chest, takes her right hand, and puts it under his chin moving his head to the left and down so they can look eye to eye.

"What's wrong Rick?"

"Kate, there's something that you need to know about Smith. Other than being involved by keeping you safe in holding the file that is protecting you, he is also a friend of Roy Montgomery's. A good friend. It seems that Roy had saved his life during an operation that had taken place during a major offensive in Vietnam. If I were a betting man which I am, I'd say they were both involved in the Khe Sanh Offensive. They were in Bravo Company, 26th Marines together, and from what I researched about Roy he was wounded in the battle but not seriously. They were on a patrol searching for two Marines who were MIA from a previous attack about a month before. When the battle started they were cut off from getting back to the base and by the time they could get back to the base they learned that they themselves were listed as MIA's. Roy survived by being one step ahead of the Viet Cong. He kept moving himself and Smith during the cover of the night. They made it back to the base three days later. By then the compound was all but destroyed. Smith was sent back to the states for surgery on his back while Roy stayed with his unit to keep fighting until '71. Since that time Smith is the man that is also protecting him. He's loyal to him Kate."

Rick was stuck between the rock and the proverbial hard place. If he admitted to her that yes Roy was indeed dirty it would be the end of them being together. But in his mind, he knew that Roy was just as guilty as Raglan and McAlister. As a last resort, he does have proof but he's not sure that she's ready to handle it. He just doesn't know if she'll be able to survive everything he can tell her.

Jackson gathers everything he has on the man sitting in the room across from him in the chair. He'll have to do this with tact and fear as his two allies so he needs to bring his A-game. In the short time that he has been watching Braken sweat under the lamps in the observation room, he can sense that Bracken has been through something like this before. The file in his hands shows his career path from his part-time job after school working as a stock boy at the local Grand Union supermarket to when he was an attorney all the way up into his second term as a United States senator from the State of New York. If anyone was to get away with sanctioned killing for their past crimes Bracken will be at the top of the list. He comes off as an angel in disguise because of the number of murders he has ordered he puts the Cardano, Genovese, and Gambino crime families to shame. He reads on further and finds out that Bracken has ties to Vulcan Simmons. He knows with the recent death of Vulcan Simmons can only mean one thing, Bracken is taking care of all his loose ends. That's when it finally hits him. He has figured out what could happen in the next 24 hours. Armed with this new information he closes the file, exits the observation room, and enters the interrogation room. As he does, Bracken looks up and sees a man with a very serious attitude walking his way.

"Mr. Bracken, have you been advised of your rights?"

The second that this man started talking Bracken knew that he was no Dime Store Detective. But what scared him most was the fact that the statement he just made was said with finality and he called him Mister Bracken. It was odd because he could have sworn he heard that voice somewhere before he just couldn't place it.

"Yes, I have been advised of my Miranda Rights. And I would like you to address me in my official capacity. That of a member of the Senate. It's Senator Bracken."

"Good. Now we can move forward." Jackson says totally ignoring the latter part of his comment.

He tried to start talking his way out of this but even as he heard the words coming out of his mouth he knew it was a half-assed attempt at best.

"I would like to request my legal representation be present. My attorney can be here within thirty minutes."

"Mr. Bracken there will be no need for attorneys, juries, judges, or even jails. And in a very brief time, I will explain to you just why you won't need any kind of legal representation.

Bracken can tell that this was the wrong thing to say. The fire in the man's eyes standing opposite him had just risen by about three hundred degrees. He envisioned himself 0ver an open fire being turned on a spit as a stuffed pig that was being slow-cooked. And another odd thing he realized was that this man had still called him Mister Bracken and not his official title as a senator.

"It seems Mr. Bracken that you have been a very naughty boy. For once your curiosity has demanded that you stick your nose into business that it doesn't belong in. This is where I come in."

"And just who are you?" Bracken asks as if he is the one demanding answers.

"My friends call me Jack. But you can refer to me as Jackson Hunt."

"And by whose authority are you interrogating me?"

"Ah-ha I see that you're finally getting your sea legs under you so to speak. You're getting bolder as we move on and that's a good thing but again it will do you no good. My official title is and still will be the assistant director of the CIA."

Bracken's face pales as he hears this information.

"I see you've heard of me? That makes it easier for me to tell you the next part of my story."

"Story?"

"Yes. The story that will end with your demise. You see you just had to request a report of an agent, illegally I might add, that just so happens to be very close to me."

"Do you remember that agent that you had looked into when you hacked into the CIA's network?"

At Bracken's nod, he continues.

"Well, it turns out that he is a person I care deeply about."

"I doubt that. I've heard stories about you Mr. Hunt and from what I'm told you are very ruthless. You give no one the benefit of the doubt and you take no prisoners. Yes, I've heard about your missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and from what I've heard you should be tried for your war crimes and never see the light of day ever again."

"Mr. Bracken while I appreciate your brief and inaccurate kudos about my career, you don't understand one little thing. All of my operations have aided in saving the lives of our troops. I've also put a stop to many attempts at terrorism on our own country's soil. Every one of my missions was sanctioned by the U.S. government so there will be no trying me for anything. But enough about me. As I was saying when you accessed my son's personnel file when he was with the CIA you poked the hornet's nest. Did you not think that there would be repercussions from you looking into something you shouldn't be? And of all people, it had to be my son? No, there is no forgiving you of this major transgression."

Bracken tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. It's like he couldn't breathe when he was told that the writer was Hunt's son. Two things were abundantly clear to him right now. The first was that this was his last couple of hours on the planet. And if all went right he would have the last laugh. Because the assassin that he had texted right before he was arrested should be proceeding with the plan to have him eliminated. The second was that Roy Montgomery should already be dead.

"I can see the gears turning in your head, Mr. Bracken. But what you fail to realize is that I work for one of the most efficient information gathering agencies in the world. Don't you think that I knew that you sent a text to your assassin to have my son eliminated right before we placed you under arrest? Are you familiar with the Arctic Wolf?"

When Bracken shook his head to the negative Jackson started explaining.

"The Arctic Wolf is a very vicious defender of his offspring. He will give his life willingly to protect that of his son or daughter. Once his mate gives birth to their pups he never leaves their side. He teaches them everything they need to know to survive in the wilderness. And if it comes down to it he will give his life so that they can live. I am a lot like the Arctic Wolf. I will protect my son until my last breath. Now, as far as Captain Gomery Montgomery is concerned right now he is being transported to a safe house in Vermont. He's alive and well and giving us his role in what you had him do back when you were ADA. Now before I eliminate you I just have to wait for the rock-solid proof I know is out there so I can make sure that I'm making the right decision. Although I know I am doing the right thing by ridding the world of scum like you without it, but I am a patient and thorough man."

As William Bracken sits in the chair he wonders how this man is going to get away with killing him and not be held accountable. There's no way in the world that anybody can assassinate a sitting US senator and get away with it. So he inquires as to how this is going to be so easy as he put it.

"You do know that I'm a sitting senator from the state of New York and my disappearance would be questioned by every law enforcement agency from here to Washington DC. How will you explain my disappearance?"

Jackson welcomes the fact that Bracken has already thrown in his cards. He knows he will die soon but he will humor him and tell him how he will die or should he say how he will be found.

"You see Mr. Bracken everybody knows that your stand on environmental atrocities by large companies that skirt the laws is what brings you to far out of reach places. It's no secret that you go out to Alaska, the Everglades in Florida, and the Mojave desert constantly to check on the environment in those areas. So that is what your cover story will be as to why you have left this world. Yes, people will mourn your passing but in the long run, being rid of you will actually be a godsend. No longer will you cause any more families any more pain and grief."

"There will be people who will question your story. My wife for one."

"Mr. Bracken I hate to inform you of this but your wife, as faithful as you thought she might has been having let's say is still having relations with a Senator's aide from Texas. I'll let you figure out which one it is. I'm surprised you never put it together because whenever you were out of town he was always in town if you get my drift. So I don't think that your wife really cares that much about what happens to you. Oh, she will mourn of course but she'll move on and she will do it rather quickly."

Just as Hunt finishes his sentence there is a knock on the door. He turns picks of the file he brought in with him and walks out leaving Bracken to think about what he was just told.

Rick hated to do what he needed to do next. But it was the only way that she would know he was looking out for her. He wanted her alive and with the threat of Bracken hanging over her, the threat was always there that he would take her life. So he takes a step back from her and says,

"Kate, I need you to stay right here for one second. I promise I will explain everything but again you have to believe that I did not want to hurt you.

She gives him a look that could be interpreted as curious but she nods her head anyway. Rick retreats to his office to get two pieces of vital information that will once and for all give her the closure that she needs. In less than a minute he is standing right where he left her.

"In my hand, I have two pieces of evidence. The first one is a copy I made from a microcassette on a CD. After we listen to it we need to leave the loft and confront your mother's murderer with that cassette."

Kate can only put her hand over her mouth to stop from screaming out and fight back the tears that threatened to fall. She trusted him, she really did but with this new information, all she wants to do now is kill the son of a bitch who gave the order to have her mother killed.

Rick slips the CD into the laptop's DVD/CD drive and they wait. When nothing is heard on the CD after about twenty seconds Rick puts his hand up to stop her from commenting. and just like that when the counter reads twenty-six seconds the voice has started talking.

All in all, she is a total wreck after hearing what she has just heard. In her mind, all she wants to do is pull out her gun and shoot Bracken right between the eyes. She knows that it is him who ordered the murder of her mother at Coonan's hand. She never knew that it would have gone this high up. Rick gently takes her hand, entwines their fingers together, and gives her a comforting squeeze to let her know that she is not alone in this fight. After about five minutes he does the same thing she did to him because she's staring off into space. He takes his right hand, slides it under her jaw, and moves her head slowly to the right. Once their eyes are locked together she is looking at him with tear-stained cheeks.

Knowing that he had caused her to feel this way Rick steps up, pulls her into his body, and simply hugs her. It's then when she breaks down completely. After about fifteen minutes she has gained some of her composure back and he says,

"Kate, we need to go now."

When she hears this she runs a hand through her hair steps back from him and he can tell that she is determined to find out what the next step is.

"So what do we do now Rick?"

"It's simple Kate, we're going to finally get you the justice you deserve. But you have to trust me for about another day. And then I promise this will all be over."

All she could do was allow him to lead her to what was going to be the showdown. In a way, she was filled with anticipation but there was also fear. Fear that she felt she was going to lose everything by trusting him. But she did give him her heart and she hopes that it's enough to get her through this.

Roy was given an ultimatum. He was basically kidnapped by the FBI or the CIA on his way home from work. He didn't know which agency was taking him. But the second they were all in the back of the black Suburban he was given specific instructions by an agent in the front seat to be prepared to give testimony for his part in the murder of Bob Arman. The whole ride out of New York and into Vermont was Roy getting his facts straight for his confession. It was a while ago so he needed to think about what exactly happened on that day. The Suburban pulls up to a town called Middlesex in Washington County, Vermont. The town itself is like many small towns around the country. He was told that there was to be no communication between any citizens and himself during his stay here. The town doesn't even have a Dunkin Donuts. They pull up to a very small Cape Cod type house, parked in the driveway and two of the three agents get out to check the house to make sure there are no surprises. When the coast is clear Roy is led into the house by the driver of the Suburban. Once inside he is given a yellow legal pad by the agent who brought him in and he tells him to start writing. He starts just before 7 p.m. and by 11:40 he is finished with the events that led up to the kidnappings taking place. He brings out what he is already written and hands it to the agent who is reading what looks to be a Kindle. He sees the agent shut down the device and they have a short conversation. He in turn gives Roy his overnight bag with his clothes and toiletries in it and calls it a night. He wakes the next morning to the aroma of good smelling coffee so good that he is up and dressed ready to start the rest of his confession. All in all, it takes him close to fourteen hours to write out everything up to and including when Arman was killed. When he told the agents that he was finished they re-read every page he gave them. They were a couple of questions they had regarding the timeline but for the most part, what he wrote was accurate.

Jackson waits in the hallway for his friend to finish telling him what he found out. Since this is an unauthorized operation everything he has done has been done to protect his son and his girlfriend the cost is all his own. The only thing the agency let him use was the safe house in Vermont. When his friend is finished giving him his final report he is pleased to find out that Montgomery has given his second team everything about his participation with Bracken. But they're still one more crucial piece of evidence he's waiting for and it should be here any second.

Kate watches as Rick pulls his Mercedes in front of a very common-looking office building in the middle of Brooklyn. He parks the car and then explains to her what's going to happen next.

"Kate what we're going to do next is go inside that building right there, I'm going to give them the CD that I made and the cassette that your mother had. From there you will be able to find closure for the pain you have had since that day in January."

At Rick's prompt, they both get out of his car and walk slowly towards the building.

"Hunt, they're here." Jackson's friend says.

"Good. Show them to me when they clear security. I'll be in the office."

"Will do."

Jackson knows that this will be coming to a close soon. He goes over his plan one more time in his head before actually putting it into motion. If his son has the tape as he predicts they should all be leaving here within the hour. He carefully chooses what he needs to finish off Bracken. He will die the way he had told him he would and the great part of this plan is that Bracken himself will be able to witness the last few precious seconds of his life. The door to his office opens and his son and Detective Beckett enter.

"Please come in and have a seat," Jackson suggests.

They do and when they get settled Rick hands him both the disc and the microcassette.

"His confession is on here?" Jackson asks his son.

"It is. There are about twenty seconds of silence at the beginning but everything we need is there."

Not knowing who this man was Kate looked at him strangely. Something about him looks familiar and his voice was an octave lower than Rick's.

"Have we met before?" Kate asks.

"No, I'm afraid not. I would've remembered you if we had met." Jackson replies.

"Excuse me but can I ask who you are? And what do you know about my mother's murder?

"Detective Beckett, I'm sorry to have kept you dark, but the man sitting across from you is my son. Together we have been working for the past six months to bring Bracken to justice. This brings me to my next point. It is my understanding that you want to see your mother's murderer punished. Is that correct?"

"It is."

"Well, I'm here to tell you that you will get your wish. But the way I go about it will be final. So you better be able to stomach what I'm about to do to Ex-Senator Bracken."

Kate can only wonder what's going to happen next. So she gives her okay hoping that whatever he has planned won't turn her stomach.

"Good, then it's settled. If you two will get up and follow me I'm going to bring you to a room where you come face-to-face with the man who ordered your mother's murder."

They all rise, turn and exit the room. Out in the hallway Jackson points to a door and his friend opens it for Kate and Rick. This is different from Jackson's room where all he had was a video screen to look at Bracken. What they're in now resembles an actual interrogation room complete with a two-way mirror and recording equipment.

They both sit down in the chairs facing the window, and Kate can't take her eyes off Bracken.

It takes about two minutes before Jackson walks in. He slowly walks up to Bracken with a portable microcassette player that he has in his hand. The second he stops in front of Bracken he can see that the man looks terrified.

"Well, Mr. Bracken it looks like the evidence then I was hoping would make it here actually did make it to me."

With that said Jackson presses play on the small device.

Bracken is now is sweating bullets because he knows that he's guilty of ordering Joanna Beckett's murder. But what he doesn't remember about the tape was that he also ordered three other people to be killed in the same manner within a six-month span after she was murdered. And then there is also the blackmail charge. He's in deep shit. When the tape is finished playing he knows that there is no way out of what he just heard. Jackson walks back to the entry door and his friend hands him a bottle of cold water.

Jackson walks back with the bottle of water and stops in front of Bracken.

"You must be parched Mr. Bracken. Now I'm a very civilized man and I think you shouldn't have to struggle with your confession. So have a couple of sips of this ice-cold water and we'll get down to business."

Bracken opens the lid which was sealed and drinks greedily from the 20 oz bottle. When he finishes about half of it he puts the cap back on top of the bottle and waits.

The look on Jackson's face is one of satisfaction. He's ready to start bracken's confession so he does.

"Mr. Bracken from this point forward everything you say will be recorded when we're finished here you will be escorted from this building to your ultimate resting place."

Jackson goes through the procedure of getting an ironclad confession out of the ex-senator. Within forty-five minutes he has everything he needs to convict Bracken of four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and blackmail along with one count of money laundering. he watches as Bracken finishes off the last of the water he gave him an hour ago.

Kate watches as Bracken spills his guts to Rick's father. She can't believe that this has come to an end. She looks up to Rick and has a question that's burning in her mind so she asks him.

"Rick, what I saw in there is a complete confession by a politician who had given the order to have my mother murdered. I understand that we have him in custody now but this isn't the justice I was looking for. You know me. You know that there is no grey area; it's either white or black. So where is the justice that I'm seeking?"

Rick looks her directly in the eye, lifts his right arm, and looks at the face of his watch. As he does he sees the seconds tick away and then he tells her to look through the two-way mirror and she'll get the justice she deserves.

No sooner did she look through the two-way mirror, Jackson, who must have been reading her mind, smiled at her as he looked at her through the glass. He walks over to Bracken, removes the empty water bottle, and walks out of the interrogation room. Kate looks on as Bracken starts to shake in the chair he is sitting in. She watches as the shaking gets more violent. After fifteen seconds everything stops. Bracken slumps forward a little bit in the chair and there is drool coming down the side of his mouth and onto his throat. His eyes are open and she can tell that his heart is still beating. But he's in a comatose state. He's not even moving anymore. Just then Jackson walks into the room and they're both in.

"Richard, did it happen?"

"It did. I'd say he's had enough to keep him out of it for at least the next twenty-four hours."

Kate looks at both men who are standing side-by-side and if Jackson was younger he would look like Rick's twin.

"What just happened in there?'' She asks.

"Detective, what just happened in there is the justice you were seeking. Here's what's going to happen to what is left of ex-senator Bracken. Today he will be transported to a small town in Alaska. From there I'll let my son and his storytelling abilities fill you in on the rest of it. But you should know that there will be no way he will be able to get away. As it is right now he has no control over his bodily functions whatsoever in every muscle group except for that of his brain and his cardiac and respiratory systems are still functioning perfectly.

"I don't understand how something like this happens?"

"You can thank Richard for this. He was the one who came up with this idea and I was in total agreement with it because it fits the narrative. Just keep your eye on your daily news channels for the next couple of days and you'll see just what I'm talking about."

Kate looks through the window one last time and she notices two men manhandling Bracken out of the chair he was sitting in. They end up dragging him with each of his arms over their shoulders and his feet dragging behind him. The next couple of days should be very interesting, to say the least.

It is now 1 year later…

True to his word, Jackson Hunt had predicted that Senator William Bracken would die for his cause. It turns out that his body was found in a remote area of Alaska. Not too far from the city of Anchorage. His twin-engine plane was found upside down on the slope of a mountain near the Chugach State Park. He was surveying the effects of global warming when the plane crashed. The drug that he was given in the water bottle kept him immobile and his body was exactly where it should have been when the plane crashed. In the passenger seat towards the exit door. Fortunately, the pilot had a parachute, and once he was out of the plane and safely on the ground he was never heard from again.

Roy Montgomery had made many demands after he had finished giving his confession to the FBI. Actually, it wasn't really a demand but more of a request. The deal that they struck with him once he had finished giving his account of what happened on the day Bob Arman was murdered and the days before it he was given protection within WITSEC. The only thing he wanted was his daughters, son, and wife to be added to the list of people needing protection. While the FBI wanted to immediately grant protection the director of the FBI was second-guessing his facts of the night in question. The information later turned out to be credible but they didn't really need it because Bracken ended up face down in the snow, dead. But once this happened Roy was given the chance to become a free man once more and return to New York City or stay in WITSEC.

He did neither. He had enough time to retire with more than 32 years with the NYPD under his belt so he decided that it was time to really retire. He sold his house in New York and two of his children were just ready to graduate high school and his son was already in college at UCLA. Roy ended up moving down to Texas. There he was able to buy a house free and clear in the city of Houston. He was close to the port and this is where he stored his forty-five foot fishing boat. His first daughter graduated high school and went to Texas A&M University right outside of Dallas. His younger daughter went to the University of Houston to study engineering. All in all, he thought this was the right move. He couldn't live his life hiding as somebody else.

Jackson Hunt's last case with the CIA was the one that involved the ex-senator, William Bracken. After everything was said and done the final cost for getting Braken to confess to his past crimes was just shy of 1.7 million dollars. That included everything that he had done from day one until the day bracken's body was found in the wilderness of Alaska. He followed a similar route close to what Roy Montgomery did. After thirty-six years with the agency, he finally retired. He had thoughts of staying in the game but he knew that his body was getting to the point where it would be useless to help anyone. And he knew that his mind wasn't as sharp as it used to be. He looks back on the experience and thinks that he went out on top.

During the last year, Kate Beckett had gone in an opposite direction. Once Bracken's body was found and he was declared legally dead her issue with him was finally over. Did she get the justice she deserved? If she was being sensible, yes she did. And she's grateful for not being part of what Rick's father had done. As she finishes her thoughts her toes are in the sand and she has finally seen that her mother was right all along. She needed to live her life and after her crusade was complete she did exactly that.

A pair of strong arms wrap around her midsection above her stomach and a voice whispers in her ear.

"Babe, are you just about finished?"

Kate turns her head and looks up to her husband and says,

"I am. I'm getting my final thoughts down for the last day of my journal. After I finish this I am all yours."

"Good to know. I'll start getting the California rolls and the salmon ready for us to eat."

"Rick, do me a favor and grill the salmon tonight. I have two people who did not like the way you cooked it the last time. So if you would, I'd appreciate it grilled.

"One grilled salmon steak coming up."

She watches as her husband turns and walks back to their island beach house on the shore of Oahu. She returns to her journal to finish her last thoughts.

But Mom, the best thing is that I found my soulmate. You'll be happy to know that the two boys that I'm carrying right now are going to be named Reese and Jake. Rick is going to make a great father. I finally took your advice and started living my life. Since your murder was the case that made me become a cop in the first place and I solved it, Rick and I had sat down to talk and decided that since your case was closed there was no longer any reason for me to stay with the NYPD. I tendered my resignation two weeks after your case was solved. The night your case was solved Rick made love to me, capping off a great night of celebration. It was the best night of my life and we got married the next day. But what we didn't expect was the fact that we are now expecting twins who should be here any day. I hope you are happy where you are Mom. I know I am finally at peace with your case being solved.

All my love,
Katie.

~Fin~

I'd like to thank everyone who read, favorited, and commented with reviews for this story. I have the first couple of chapters finished for my next story. It should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 chapters. Not sure when the posting will start though.