CHAPTER EIGHT
Kate Castle finished brushing her teeth and began to brush her short hair into some sort of compliance. It had been over four months since she had cut it after Rick's accident and it had grown out enough that she could run a comb or a brush through it. It didn't always lay the way she wanted it to, but it would get there soon enough. She had years to wait before she would be able to feel it brushing her back.
"Hey Babe, you going to get up anytime soon?" She shouted past the bathroom door into their still partially dark bedroom. All she heard in response was a garbled mumble. One would think that after all that time he'd recently spent in a bed while recovering from a heart transplant surgery, and healing up from that and the terrible accident he'd been in, he wouldn't be so eager to stay in bed.
Of course, she might have had something to do with that. They'd only been back home in the loft for a couple of weeks, but he was gaining strength daily, and his energy levels were getting better by the day. Still, they were being careful with their love making. Less strenuous, and fewer times were still called for. She grinned as she let her mind remember how it had been before the accident, and she had wondered how his new prosthetics might complicate their love making.
If he wanted to he could probably crush her with those special polymer covered titanium legs he now had. And she made sure that he only used his right hand and arm to caress her. Small prices to pay in order to have him back in her life. But so far so good.
She walked into the bedroom. "Hey, are you getting up anytime soon?"
He rolled over and looked at her with that look that he used only for her. She smiled back.
"What's the hurry? We've got no place we have to be."
She glared at him, all rumpled and sleepy. "Aren't you forgetting that we are supposed to meet one of 'your guys' at our new storage building? We're supposed to meet him at 9:30 this morning."
Castle dragged himself out of bed. Kate was still amazed by how far he'd come since the accident had so radically changed not only his life, but how he saw himself now. It was an ongoing battle they've started to have, and would be having for a while yet.
He took off his sleep shirt and move toward the bathroom. She stared at seams that looked like scars along the areas of his body where the old human part of Rick Castle met up with the new technical marvels that made him whole again.
"Be careful in the shower this morning. There's a couple chipped tiles were you stubbed your metal toe yesterday." She called out as she turned to the closet to dress for the day.
Kate began their breakfast. She opted for waffles, because she hadn't had them in a while. While she was making the coffee, and pulling the syrup and other toppings from the refrigerator, she double checked the ham and the other groceries she had purchased for tonight. They planned on having 'the boys' and Lanie over tonight for a sort of celebration party. She thought that Martha and Alexis might come over too, but neither could definitely commit. Fortunately they'd had chances to spend time together since they got home.
Her father was out of town, so he'd miss the party, but Kate wanted to have a nice long talk with him herself before she laid out everything that had happened, and what it meant for the future. All he was aware of was what the media had put out.
She heard her husband clumping into the kitchen well before she felt his arm around her waist.
"Are you sure that the building's floors can actually hold your weight with the way to stomp around here like an elephant?" She asked as she turned, then kissed him.
"I can't help it if I weight a lot more than I used to." He whined. "Metal weighs more than bone."
"So exactly how much more do you weigh?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe a couple hundred pounds?"
Kate giggled. "I don't think it's quite that much. The bed still seems to be able to support you." She waggled her brows at him. "Even when we are a bit more active."
He nodded with a smirk. "That's true, but we should still take it easy for a while until we get to know what we can and what we can't do safely."
"I'm with you there, lover."
They left the loft, both dressed casually in jeans and a light wind breaker over their T-shirts. With fall just around the corner, the mornings were sometimes a little chilly until the sun had time to warm things up.
It only took about a half an hour to reach their destination. It was an old storage company at the end of a street next to an alley. There was access to an overhead garage door that allowed entry to the building for a small truck or van. This entry drive had double doors, both an outside door and an inside door. That way no one coming in from the outside could see the interior of the building itself as long as the interior door was closed.
They parked their car in a small lot across the main street. The lot rented spaces on a monthly basis so once they decided on this building they rented a spot, for the convenience. The front door was a typical street entry door, with an address number centered on it. There was a bank of windows along the eve of the first floor level. They were good for letting in light, but were too high to see in from the street level. They were also equipped with electronically controlled shades. The front façade was merely a flat surface with lettering newly painted on it. 'Rogers Storage Company', below that was 'Please call for an appointment' and a phone number.
Surprisingly when that number was called all one got was a recorded message that informed the caller that at present all the space was currently in use. Please call back another time.
Rick and Kate stepped up to the front door and with a key unlocked the heavy dead bolt on the outer door. The inner door had a keypad that required a code to unlock it. Kate quickly punched in 41319. The door released the magnetic lock.
Rick flipped the switch that turned on the main bank of lights so they could see everything. They were in a building that was only two stories and their spot had no second floor. Instead, in the front corner farthest from the door was an office set up. A practical large wooden desk with a top of the line Herman Miller chair. Against the wall behind the desk and chair was a set of book shelves and cupboards.
In front of the desk was a couch with a coffee table and a couple of lounge chairs with side tables. Next to that lounging area was a small cupboard and table set up with an expresso machine on it. All this was placed on a strip of carpeting. The rest of the building was a concrete floor and the walls were concrete blocks with a heavy layer of sound proofing insulation.
At one corner of the back of the space was the interior garage door. In the other corner was a full bathroom complete with multiple showers, and both a large soaking tub for two and a Jacuzzi whirlpool tub. Also big enough for two.
Given just those few conveniences, one would think that would leave a lot of empty space in the so called storage company. Well, everywhere else was filled with various forms of exercise machines, and other types of training devices that had to be invented for Rick to be able to discover and hone exactly what he could now do with his new superior prosthetics. He had simple weights, and mechanical weights. He had tread mills, he had stationary bikes, and there were several pieces of gymnastic equipment and a long rectangular pool that had the ability to create a variable current to swim against. There were also several boxes not yet opened. Kate wasn't even sure if she knew what they might have in them.
Kate wandered over to one of the lounge chairs and plopped herself down in it.
Rick smiled at her. "Would you like a cup of coffee, my love?"
She rolled her eyes and gave him a look that said, 'what a stupid question that is'. He just went and made her coffee without another word.
"Thanks," she said when he handed her the cup.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "It's almost time, I'm going to wait by the outside garage door. He should be here any minute. She nodded and waved at him. Her mouth was otherwise engaged with her cup of coffee.
He swiftly moved to the back of the building and opened the inside door, slipped through it, then closed it again.
Kate thought that the double doors might just be a bit paranoid, but she guessed that you couldn't be too careful if you wanted to keep what you were really doing here a secret. If both doors were open at the same time, it would be possible that someone might see something by accident. Something you didn't want known.
She sat back in the chair and allowed her mind to drift back to just a few days ago, when the headlines screamed that Richard Castle was alive.
She and Rick had spent a lot of time before his release from Warehouse Medical as to what they should say about his apparent death, and subsequence miraculous return.
They first had to account for the body that was found with the mangled Ferrari that had been assumed to be Castle. Rick came up with a Good Samaritan answer. Rick claimed he had come across a stranded motorist who was having car trouble and he was giving the unfortunate fellow a ride to the next service station they might come across.
Next they had to deal with the fact that he hadn't died in the accident which hadn't been revealed to the public.
The story that Kate and Rick came up with was that Rick had been thrown from the car during the initial chaos of the large accident scene, which he had been. He, aside from the physical injuries he sustained, also suffered from a serious concussion and was unconscious when he was brought to a local hospital as were most of those injured in the massive accident.
The hospital had been overwhelmed with all the new patients being brought in at the same time. And due to the fact that Castle was unconscious, and his wallet with his ID, was missing, he was admitted as a John Doe. The fact that he wasn't recognized was explained by facial swelling and minor scrapes and bruises.
Eventually, a nurse thought that their John Doe just might be Richard Castle, the bestselling author who was supposedly killed in that big accident. The nurse, not wanting to cause some media frenzy at their small hospital, and not sure that her patient really was Rick Castle contacted the Castle family and they came and got him and took him out of that facility. And because of the chaos the accident had caused with the small hospital, and the fact that he'd been brought in as a John Doe. Richard Castle was never officially at that facility.
For some reason reporters never were able to identify which nurse had been the one to recognize Castle and had gotten word to his family.
Kate remembered that she thought that part of the story was the weakest part of their release to the assembled reporters and media outlets. But it was the best they could come up with and they stuck to their story.
The family then supposedly, took Rick to a private clinic for the rest of his recovery. The clinic was never named for the obvious reasons of privacy. And the family felt it best to not reveal Castle's survival from the accident until he had time to fully recover and could speak for himself.
There had been a lot of grumbling as to Rick's, and the family's reticence to give out more than the basics. Some reporters went so far as to blame Castle of concocting the whole thing to sell more books. Which understandingly, did happen as one might figure under such circumstances.
When the accusation came up, Rick just pointed out all the other people who had been injured in the accident as a whole. He wasn't the only victim, just the only one who was considered a celebrity.
Kate felt that Rick's retaliatory remarks toward the media's tawdry accusations helped divert attention from the more shaky aspects of the story.
Rick and Black Pawn had helped diffuse some of those who wanted to push the conspiracy aspect by donating a significant amount of money to help those who also suffered because of the accident.
Kate knew there were always going to be those who looked for the worst in any situation, but she was just glad to have that part over with. Like anything reported by the tabloids and news media in general, in a couple of days it was old news and interest had waned.
Kate's reverie was suddenly disturbed by the sudden opening of the inside garage door. She watched as it rolled up to the ceiling, revealing a smiling Castle standing next to a fully decked out Mercedes Sprinter van.
Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head. It was a dark grey in color and had the extended height roof line so a person could stand up inside the cargo space. Since Rick had gotten it from 'a guy he knows' she was sure it was tricked out in ways she couldn't even begin to guess.
She got out of her chair and walked toward the vehicle and her grinning husband.
"Isn't it cool?" Yep, just like a kid with a new toy she thought.
It was a nice looking van, but he had never mentioned that he was thinking of getting one. She was a little afraid to find out why.
"Rick, what have you done?"
"Just wait until you see the inside." He was hopping around like a kid at Christmas.
She walked up and stood next to him. "So show me."
Castle made a poor sound of a drum roll. And with a flourish, he yanked open one of the dual doors, then quickly opened the other one.
Kate stared at the interior of the van. It was worse than she imagined.
Both sides of the van were covered with electronic equipment. There were screens, lots of dials and other displays. There were four keyboards and a lot of stuff up against the interior walls that she had no clue as to what they did. It looked like a piece of mission control for the last Mars Rover.
It was now obvious why there were no windows along the side of the van. And the small windows in the rear doors, were heavily tinted. Kate remembered that she couldn't see in through them.
Castle was literally hopping from one foot to the other. "Isn't this great! This van has more tech in it than you can begin to imagine."
Kate nodded her head. "That wouldn't be too hard." She put her hand on his arm. "So Rick, why do we have a van with instrumentation that only Mission Control could understand? And why do we need it?"
Castle was having trouble holding down his excitement. "I've got a guy ready to come by and show us what everything is, and how to use it, whenever I call him." He pointed at the keyboards. "Most of it works much like your computer consul. It just has a few more whistles and bells."
She raised her brow. "Is it even legal to have all this?"
He smiled. "It will be."
Kate reached up and put her hands in her hair. If it had been long enough she might have pulled a couple of fistfuls out. It seemed that she'd been having that reaction a lot lately.
She put her hands on his cheeks. "I love you Richard Castle, but why do we need a van like this?" She was fearful that she had a good idea why he had a van like this constructed.
He grinned like Alice's Cheshire Cat. "It's a surprise. You'll have to wait till tonight, when I let everyone know."
"He knows I hate surprises," she mumbled to herself.
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Kate was working in the kitchen next to Rick as they were finishing up the preparation for the dinner they had planned for themselves and their friends. They had always worked well together when in the kitchen. It was like they would know when and where each of them would move.
Kate was looking forward to seeing her friends again. Lanie, Esposito, and Ryan were all coming over for dinner. Martha couldn't make it, something about a critical rehearsal. Her dad was out of town but Alexis thought she'd be able to get there.
Kate still couldn't shake her feelings of unease. Castle was too happy, and that worried her. They had bought and renovated a storage building into a private work space with a full range of exercise equipment, and that worried her. And they had built a super teched out van, and that worried her.
And he was keeping it all a secret from her, at least until later this evening. And that worried her.
What had that unfettered mind of his come up with while he was lying in bed recovering from his heart surgery? Several thoughts and ideas came to mind. Things that she'd been afraid of ever since he woke up to find out his prosthetics would be able to enhance his physical abilities, and that worried her the most.
They had just finished setting the table and making sure all the food that needed to be was in the warming oven, when the first knock on the door happened.
Castle walked over and greeted 'the boys' Espo and Ryan, who somehow managed to arrive together. Before Rick had a chance to shut the door once they were in, there was a shout from down the hall.
"Hey, don't close that door, I'm coming." Lanie was waving her hand at the smiling Rick.
Once through the door, Lanie made a beeline for her bestie. "Do you know what this is all about?"
Kate shrugged. "I hoped that Rick just wanted to get everyone together in a congenial setting and put all the horror from the last four months behind us."
Lanie stared at the three boys as they joked with each other in the living room. "I'm not so sure. Castle was pretty adamant that we all be able to make it over tonight." Lanie grinned. "If you two weren't already married I would say that you'd be announcing something special." She punched Kate in the arm.
"Ow!" Kate glared at her friend.
"You're not pregnant, are you?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "You do know that he's been under intensive medical care for most of these last several months."
Lanie shrugged. "It doesn't have to be Castle's."
Kate's eyes turned a cold emerald as she gave her ex-friend the death stare. Lanie just laughed.
Attention was turned toward the large red door, as it slowly was pushed open. Alexis stepped through while tucking her key into her wallet.
"I'm not late am I?"
Kate shook her head. "Nope, we were just getting ready to bring the food to the table."
Alexis went into the kitchen and began to help Kate put the food on the table. She leaned close to Kate's ear.
"Do you know what this is all about? Dad just said he'd really like me to come over tonight."
Kate shrugged. "I'm not sure. Your dad has been planning something, but he won't tell anyone about it until dinner is over. So I guess we just enjoy our dinner, have some pleasant conversations and wait for Rick to tell us what he is all hyped up about."
Alexis gave Kate a sympathetic look. "You're worried aren't you."
Kate returned the look. "Yah think?"
The meal passed as expected. Esposito and Ryan ate like they haven't eaten in days. Lanie picked at her food, until Kate whispered threats into her ear. Lanie had confided in Kate that she was concerned about her weight but Kate told her she could pick at her own cooking. With the time and effort she and Rick put into this dinner, she was going to damn well eat it and enjoy it.
Alexis was able to keep the conversation going whenever there was a lull. She would begin to tell her folks and their friends about some of the advanced studies she was enjoying and in just minutes later, other's would be finding other topics to bring to the table.
After eating their fill it was decided to wait until later for the dessert that had been planned. Instead Alexis volunteered to rinse off the dishes and stack them in the dish washer while Kate and Lanie did quick work of the few items that needed to be hand washed.
Kate might have been a bit ticked that the 'women' were left to do the clean-up if it wasn't for the fact that Rick never had any problem helping out in the kitchen, and to be fair, he cooked most of the meal.
Also Rick went into his study to gather the information he planned to share with her and their friends.
Esposito and Ryan planted their butts on the sofa and waited for the inevitable after dinner drinks. Castle always had the best liquor and beer.
The ladies soon joined the group. Lanie sat at the end of the sofa next to Javier. Kate took one of the overstuffed chairs and Alexis took the other. Rick walked out with an arm full of booklets, binders, and a stack of loose paper. He noticed there was no chair available for him.
Kate had to hold back her smirk. "Why don't you pull one of the dining room chairs over, babe."
"Babe?" was chorused by four other voices. Kate blushed, but didn't reply.
Rick set his 'stuff' on the coffee table. "Not a problem, I'll be pacing around while I talk."
Castle rubbed his hands together. "Okay, I'm not going to say, 'I bet you're wondering why I brought you all here'. It's obvious I have several things to say." He paused.
"I haven't shared what I've gone through these past months, but I know that Kate has talked to all of you and so you have some idea that I'm not quite the man I used to be." He took a deep breath. "I'm better."
"Oh no." Kate moaned as she dropped her head and clenched her fists.
Castle shot her a quick glance than went back to his narrative.
"I was lucky enough to be put in a situation that didn't condemn me to a life of being wheel chair bound and mostly helpless. I would have had to depend on others the rest of my life for just the basics. Due to a man who had connections on both sides of right and wrong, I was given a chance to live not only a full life again, but I was also given a choice."
Kate dropped her face in her hands. "Here it comes."
"I was given a gift. Through the miracle of advanced technology I was not only made whole again. I have new advantages that no one has ever had." He allowed himself a grin. "Hell, I'm a freakin' cyborg now and I want to be able to use these gifts to give back and use my enhancements to make a difference."
Kate looked up. Her nightmare was coming true.
"Okay, you've been hinting at these 'gifts', these enhancements as you call them." Espo interrupted. "Exactly what can you do that's so much better?"
Castle just smiled. "I'm still getting used to my new abilities, but I have run over sixty miles an hour on a treadmill." That opened some eyes. "I have been able to lift nearly 200 lbs. with just my left arm. And was able to use a metal paddle to swat a half inch BB through a wooden panel door. And that's just scratching the surface."
Ryan leaned forward. "That's impressive, it really is. But your right arm, and the bulk of your body isn't exactly bullet proof. Your Kevlar vest isn't going to be enough protection if you start messing with the kind of bad guys you seem to want to be taking on."
"Yes!" Kate shouted out.
Rick turned and smiled at her. "Not to worry. I've got someone making me a custom, fifth generation Kevlar protective vest. It drapes over the shoulders like the chain mail worn by the medieval knights of old. It covers the back, and covers the front all the way down to an armored cod piece." He winked at Kate. She glared back.
"And one more piece of protection that I have planned is an armor plated shield that I can strap on my left arm. The reflexive speed I have with that enhanced arm will allow me to move that shield in a protective position faster than a perp's finger can squeeze a trigger."
Kate frowned. "And what if someone decides to shoot you in your fat head."
Rick tilted his head. "Maybe I should look into some sort of helmet."
Ryan flopped back against the plush back of the sofa. "So you are looking to make yourself into some sort of cross between Captain America and Ironman?"
"I'll be the newest action figure!" Rick looked over at Alexis. "Think up a cool name for me."
Kate sat in her chair again wishing she had long hair so she could rip it out in frustration.
Lanie had been sitting quietly thinking that her friend was having a mental breakdown. She pointed her finger at Rick's chest.
"And just how do you plan to do this? Vigilantism is frowned on isn't it?"
Rick grinned his biggest grin yet. "That's the best part. I've already worked out how we can do this completely legally, and with the blessing of the NYPD."
"We?" Another chorused response was heard.
Rick began to pace. "At first I thought that I'd just get a P.I.s license, you guys and Kate being police detectives would be shoe ins to get a license." He scrunched up his face. "But then I thought about it and realized that most private investigations generally dealt with proving or disproving infidelity. I realized that I didn't want to get involved with such tawdry type cases."
He did a trip around the living room. "That's when I had the stroke of genius."
Kate dropped her head again. "Oh god."
"When Kate and Alexis were out yesterday afternoon. I made a call to my buddy the mayor. We talked for a bit, and he said he'd get the Commissioner to come by and we could all talk."
Rick pacing sped up. "I met the mayor in his office. The Commissioner was already there. I spent the next couple of hours retelling most of what happened to me, with a few details fudged here and there. I told them that I wanted to use my new gifts to help, but just helping solve homicides wasn't proactive enough."
"Bob had all his calls held, and the three of us put together a plan." Rick smiled at Kate but she still was covering her face with her hands.
"What we came up with was genius. The four of us would form a special Commissioner's Task Force. We'd use the 12th precinct if we needed it, but we could work out of our new place, Rogers Storage Company. We'll add some more furniture, but you'll love the place. Anyway, we would be directly under the Commissioner's authority. He would be the one to assign us to whatever situation, or case that he felt warranted our capabilities."
Esposito gave Rick a smirk. "Will the commissioner have a 'bat phone' that connects directly to this Bat Cave disguised as a storage company?"
Rick looked at everyone and realized that they didn't really understand the incredible opportunity they were being offered. So he continued his sales pitch.
"There would have to be some changes. Almost immediately the Commissioner wants Kate to take the lieutenant's exam, to provide the official legality. And Javi and Kevin would take the sergeant's exams." He held up his hand before they could protest. "Don't worry about normal testing procedures. You would be allowed to take the tests as soon as can be arranged. Since I don't work for the NYPD, I'd be classified as a confidential consultant appointed by the mayor."
Lanie started giggling. "This is all quite dramatic, and I'm glad you are healthy again, but what does all this cloak and dagger have to do with me, and for that matter, Alexis."
"Ah, yes." Rick held up his finger. "I've convinced the commissioner to talk with the Medical Examiner's office and allow us to have priority to use Dr. Parish if and when we need an M. E.'s services. And so as not to cause too much extra trouble they will allow Alexis, who is studying medicine and has quite a bit of time working as an intern with Lanie in the past, to be any back up help that Dr. Parish may need."
Kate looked up and pursed her lips. "You're dragging your daughter into this?"
"That's okay, I'll do it." Alexis jumped in. Kate glared at her.
Rick was really wound up. "And wait till you see the really cool van I got for us."
Espo frowned. "A van?"
Kate shook her head. "Oh yeah, wait till you see it." Her frown didn't echo the glee her husband exuded.
Rick pulled out his phone and began showing pictures of the van, especially the interior of the cargo area. Javier just nodded, but Ryan was nearly slobbering over the tech he could see and recognize.
Rick was still grinning. "I think I'll call our little van the Mystery Machine."
Everyone just looked at Rick, but Alexis spoke up.
"Ah dad, wasn't that the name of the Scooby Do van?"
Castle stopped pacing. "Was it? Hmmm, well I'll come up with something better."
Rick slowly studied each of his friends sitting on his sofa. He also gave his wife and his daughter a long hard look. Except for Alexis, who seemed excited about the idea, he couldn't read anyone else.
"So guys, what do you think? Does this sound like something you'd want to do? Make a bigger splash in ridding our society of the vilest of the vile?"
"Oh for crying out loud, Rick." A defeated Kate got out of her chair and put her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "Somebody's going to have to keep an eye on you. I couldn't survive having you die on me again." She turned toward 'her boys'. "Guys, will you help me keep a reign on Captain Crazy?"
The two long time partners looked at each other, shrugged, then turned back toward Kate.
"I guess we can suffer a pay raise for a little extra action, and some babysitting." Javier smirked.
Ryan nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to leave you all alone with him, Kate. And I suppose I could be talked into playing with all that top of the line tech."
Rick pulled Kate in and kissed her hard. "Excellent! Who wants dessert?"
Fin
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A/N: This final chapter got away from me a bit but it wasn't long enough to break into two chapters. I hoped you were entertained. Until the next time.
And I apologize for the fubar that happened early with chapter seven. I have no idea how that came about. But hopefully, it will stay corrected.
All Readers are Appreciated, Review if you wish.