A/N: I've heard from some of you that you didn't like where I broke the last chapter. Hopefully you'll forgive me after you read this chapter. ;-) Still not mine.
It had been bad enough when the guy had been grinning at him but suddenly the guy was gone. Then he noticed that his gun was gone too. What the hell? Then he heard a thump that made him turn towards where his partner had been with the cop. His partner was lying on the floor, apparently unconscious and his guy and the cop were both pointing guns at him. He wasn't as stupid as he looked, he knew what was next as he raised his hands in surrender. This day sure was turning out to be a bad one. He'd been looking forward to having some fun, now he was busted and he had no idea how it had happened.
While Kate covered the conscious man, Rick cuffed the unconscious man, put on some gloves and quickly relieved him of several interesting items secreted about his clothing. He took a zip tie from his pocket and firmly tied the conscious man's wrists together behind him. He didn't have nearly as much of interest other than a nasty looking knife.
Rick removed his gloves and grabbed the conscious man by the back of his head as he started talking to Beckett. "I had my recorder going, how about you?"
He saw momentary confusion appear on her face before she caught on and replied, "Of course." Rick paid attention as the man thought about what they'd have on him and it was a nice summary of what he wanted to know. He also got some images of what the man had wanted to do to Kate as he had looked at her earlier. He was so tempted to put more pressure on his grip but didn't want to take any chances on messing up their case. He got distracted as the man wondered if the others outside would come to his aid but when he pushed his senses out, he couldn't find them anymore. They must have left their former location to follow Bracken. He was pretty sure he recognized the sounds from one of the men in the car with Bracken.
He relaxed and saw Kate giving him a curious look. "They seem to be leaving already. We should have no problem catching him unaware later. He'll have no idea his plan has failed." Her predatory grin made him smile too. This was going to be fun.
Fortunately, the unconscious prisoner came around just before they arrived at the precinct so it was easy to get them booked. Rick was amused by how incredulous he was to find himself under arrest. However, things slowed down considerably once they talked to Gates. She insisted on getting the leading members of the task force informed in person after listening to both of their recordings even though they were identical. She also questioned them about the contact Bracken referred to and seemed satisfied with Kate's explanation of following a lead they got from Narcotics. They had agreed on the story earlier so she denied knowing in advance that the ringleader was Bracken and put it off as his own paranoia plus buffing on her part when she saw the situation.
Later, he could see some hostility from the task force leader so he went aside to call the Chief of Detectives and it turned out he was already on his way. The Chief cleared the way for Kate to be the arresting officer and the members of the task force shut up. When they found out that Senator Bracken was meeting some party officials at a nearby hotel, almost everybody converged on the vehicles for the trip. It seemed everybody wanted to be there to share in the big arrest.
The Chief came with them so Rick ceded the passenger seat to him and sat behind Kate. The Chief was very impressed at how they handled themselves. Rick was forced to take credit for disarming his assailant first which allowed Kate to take down her distracted assailant. That is how they had decided to explain it after Kate insisted on him getting more of the credit, especially since he actually took care of both of them.
They gathered outside the conference room that their quarry was in and they had to shoo nervous hotel staff away to keep things quiet. Rick stayed back, which seemed to irritate Kate a bit but the head of the task force really wanted to be up front with her. Rick was slightly disturbed to find himself near Gates but she seemed to be more interested on keep an eye on developments rather than paying any attention to him, which suited him just fine.
Two uniformed officers opened the doors and stationed themselves there as Kate, the task force head and the ones following them trooped into the room. Despite not being in front, Rick was able to track the various reactions of the people in the room. He recognized some of the people in the room and the rest must be aides of some sort. Most of the occupants looked at the police with astonishment or even irritation in a few cases of the more famous of them. However, the reaction that Rick liked the best was Bracken's. He looked as white as a sheet and his mouth hung open uselessly as he stared at Detective Beckett as she approached him.
"Senator Bracken, you are under arrest for seven counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy. Stand up and turn around."
Bracken remained in place, simply staring at her in shock. Finally Kate had had enough and she spoke again. "Senator, if you fail to cooperate, we'll be adding resisting arrest to the charges."
Bracken reacted with a blush and then a glare but he slowly stood up and turned around. Kate cuffed him and the head of the task force finally made himself useful as he grasped Bracken's other arm and they both led him from the room. Bracken finally spoke as they got into the hall. "I want to see my lawyer. I have nothing to say to any of you."
"You need more than a good lawyer for this, Bracken." Rick sensed Bracken's fury mixed with fear after Kate's reply but he never turned and just continued to go where they guided him so Rick simply followed along.
Kate declined the invitation to ride in the van with Bracken and as her eyes sought Rick's he felt he knew why. She clasped his hand tightly but quickly let go again, apparently reluctant to do any more with so many witnesses around. After murmured congratulations once again, even the Chief found some other vehicle and it was just Kate and Rick in her cruiser. As soon as she was out into traffic, her right hand was out seeking his and she kept a tight grip the entire way back.
He could tell she was barely keeping her composure at first but eventually she was more in control. Gates called the four of them into her office and she said that as soon as their paperwork was done, they had the next two days off with her thanks. Rick had given statements before so he quickly typed it out and sent it to one of their printers for Kate's review. Ryan and Esposito didn't have much paperwork to do and their offer of help was declined since there wasn't much they could do anyway. Kate sent them on their way so she and Rick could concentrate and they took it with humor as intended.
Kate had Rick change one part and add some more in another and they both turned their paperwork in to Gates. She scanned through them and seemed satisfied. She promised to contact them only if absolutely necessary and sent them home. Kate got them there as quickly as she could, practically dragged Rick to their bedroom and gave Rick the most intense experience of his life. He had absolutely no complaints.
Rick watched as Vulcan Simmons reluctantly followed his instructions and carried his recordings with him towards the 12th precinct still over a block away. He waited until Simmons looked back over his shoulder and smiled to see him shudder at finding himself watched. Since he was still worried about cameras catching a masked man lurking near Simmons, he quickly jumped to the top of the building and continued to watch from the roof. He smiled again when he saw Simmons do a double take after looking back the way he had come.
Although Simmons' heartbeat started to slow a bit, Rick could still sense his anxiety as he approached the 12th as if he were approaching the gallows. In a way, Rick could sympathize as Simmons was really in a bad spot but he'd make his own choices and he now had to live with them. Facing prosecution was preferable to him than being 'hunted down' by the masked man who'd been holding him prisoner.
Rick couldn't believe the Chief and the Mayor were doing this to him. He was proud to be with Kate when she was presented with the NYPD Medal for Valor but he was standing up in front with her and received his civilian commendation next. He felt they had laid it on a little thick with their rhetoric about what he'd done but Kate acted so proud of him that he did his best to play the role of grateful recipient.
It didn't hurt that his mother was in front smiling at him proudly as she sat next to Kate's father Jim, who looked equally proud. Both parents made it clear they were proud of both of them and he was glad that they were all getting along so well. In fact Esposito, Lanie, Ryan and Jenny were right next to them like a supportive family and in a way that is exactly what they were. Even though Rick was keeping secrets from most of them, he felt closer to them than he had to anyone else ever. He was also glad that Kate had so much support as well. Everybody needs friends and family and they shared some very good ones.