CH2

Arnold opened the iron gate and stepped out into the small alcove/foyer Rick was standing in and twisted him around to face the wall and shoved him up against it and proceeded to search him. He was quick, efficient and maybe just a little over zealous when he got to a certain area. The TSA had nothing on this guy.

Rick was quick to point out, "Hay, those are mine and they still work. And I would kind of like to keep it that way for future use, some late night between the sheets!"

At this Rick could hear the howl of laughter from inside the room.

"He's clean", said Arnold.

Arnold stepped out of the way and allowed Rick to enter. Just inside to the right was a small alcove with a small table and 2 tall chairs. In one of the chairs was an elderly guy (well, older than he was anyway), who looked like he had been through a shredder, then left out in the sun too long. Well, his face anyway. He was dressed conservatively, where Rick was dressed for a night out with his favorite lady friend.

"Richard, Freaking, Castle! … What the hell are you doing polluting my fine establishment with your presence?"

'Insult with an underlayment of respect'. Rick thought he could work with this.

"I thought this dump could use some sprucing up. So I parked out front and made my way in."

"I heard there was a car parked out front. I would have thought you would be in an Austin Martin or a Ferrari. Not some "rent a wreck"!"

"A Ferrari is over rated. And an Austin Martin has too many Gremlins (as Rick wiggles his finger in front of him). Now a nice Jag, however has some fine options that make the ride a lot more comfortable. And speed only counts if you are on a race track, not in downtown rush hour traffic."

Rick gets another howl of laughter. "True enough. Like some wine?"

"No thanks, I drove. And I'd like to get back without some cop pulling me over to give me a DUI so I can help fill the cities empty coffers."

This time rick only gets a giggle out of him. Ok, so maybe it was more of a low rumble.

"Vince, there is a construction site near here that the General Contractor tells me someone is putting the squeeze on his profit margin. He thought you might be able to clear it up, since it is probably just a simple misunderstanding." Rick getting right to the point after having exchanged opening pleasantries.

"I heard there was a site around the corner where an old junk building was torn down and now new construction of something was underway." Vince responds.

"Yeah, I'm building my new home at that site."

Vince almost spits his wine out as he was taking a sip. "No way! Richard, Freaking, Castle is going to be my new neighbor?" Technically the site is not around the corner, but it is in his neighborhood.

"Started construction just over a year ago. Got about another year to go still. Wish they would hurry it up. The tiny Apt. I'm in is driving me up the wall."

Vince reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cell phone and makes a call. "Sam, find Dan and tell him to get his scrawny ass down here. NOW!" And hangs up the phone.

"I'll take care of this Castle. Nothing to worry about."

"Thanks Vince, I owe you one."

"You're damn right you do! And I'll take payment in the form of a signed copy of every book you have published."

Rick gives him his best quizzical look, looking for an explanation.

"They're for the Ms.. She loves your work! Forced me to read one once. I thought it was crap, but she loves them. I can use them to get in her good graces. Gotta keep the Ms. Happy. I'll leave the fact you and me are neighbors for when the next time I'm in the dog house."

Now its Ricks turn to howl with laughter. "I'll get them over as soon as I can. What's her name?"

"Meredith! I guess I'll have to spruce up the place since you will draw a more 'Refined' crowd."

"No need. I'm not that high brow stuffy. Besides I kinda like it as it is. It has a nice homey , rich wood kind of feel to it. Is there a kids menu?" He asks as he suddenly thinks of Alexis.

"There is now." Vince picks up his cell phone again, "Jessica, come down here and escort Mr. Castle to his car."

They lapse into silence until Jessica makes her presence known. Vince gets up and slaps Rick on the back, "Castle, you let me know if you get into any more trouble and I'll fix it for ya! Jessica, take Castle here up to his car. Make sure no one gives him any trouble."

"Yes sir" in a quiet whisper.

"What's that girl? Speak up! Put some back bone in your voice. … Kid's these days?"

"Thanks Vince, I'll come back and see what the food is like. And the Scotch!"

"See that you do Castle. Don't make me come looking for you! I'd hate for anything to happen to those fingers of yours. The Ms. would have my hide!"

Castle laughs and follows Jessica back upstairs. Jessica walks him to his car and waits for him to get in and leave. Castle takes out a bill and gives it to her. "Call me, I think I can help! You have my number already." And gives her a wink.

Castle gets in his car and leaves. Jessica watches him go. Looks at the, '$100 dollar bill in her hand!?' Knows she has his cell phone number written on her chest. And with a huge grin on her face that has not been there for a long time, walks back inside. Maybe, just maybe, there is a God. Or at least an Angel on her side looking out for her.

One year into the build and it was time to tell the General Contractor to take a break and bring back in the first crew of specialists. They were needed to wire up the house with all of the special equipment that was also going to get installed sometime after they were done.

Rick rarely visited the job site during those 3 months. He had only gone to visit twice in that time. He was happy however to know that his visit with Vince had gained him something at least. There were no more complaints from the contractor about any unwanted visits trying to impose their idea of how the construction could go smoothly with no interruption.

Rick had spent most of that 3 months writing and playing with his daughter. Alexis was happy, his publisher was more than happy to learn that he was way ahead of schedule with his next book and could have it to them in less than one month.

Alexis was growing up fast. Maybe just a little too fast to Ricks way of thinking. She had just reached 5 years old this month and should be in First Grade, but everything she did was at Third Grade level and so that is where the school she was in had placed her. This made her 4 or 5 years younger than anyone else in her class. In some ways she was smarter than most of the third grade kids in her class, but Rick was worried about her size. While somewhat normal for a typical first grader, she was way under sized for a third grader. He was worried that she was missing out on being a child and that the older/bigger kids would bully her. But Alexis assured him that all the kids were nice to her, so he didn't press the issue with her. But that didn't mean he didn't go around her back and speak to her teacher to calm his fears. He was just looking out for her after all, he reasoned. And what his all too smart daughter didn't know, didn't come back to bite him in the ass later.

Three months later and the General Contractor was back with his finishing specialists. Drywall, kitchen, bathroom, hardwood floors, carpet in the bedrooms, roof deck complete with hot tub, just to name a few. Also back were the two (2) food trucks that Rick had come out earlier in the project. And once again, Rick would visit the construction site every day for a few hours, swapping stories during lunch with the workers. And just like earlier he was asked to sign any number of his books. Something he was only too happy to oblige to do for them.

Six months later and the General Contractor and all his subs where done with construction and gone. Now the original specialists were back to make all the final installs. Speakers, cameras and connect the security system. Test all the touch panels found throughout the house. Test that the voice activation items worked properly. All of the remotes worked properly. The firewall and anti-virus updates were all in place. The remote access for a number of systems was in place and secured. Finally the interior decorator and her army of movers were due to arrive next week. After that, Alexis and himself would be all set to get on with their lives. And bonus, he was done with his next book and it was in his publishers hands for their (her) review (STORM FALL).