CH49

While Kate, Richard and Alexis are having dinner.

"Detective Esposito." A very soft and pleasant voice calls.

Looking around, a little confused. "Lucile?" Javi questions.

"Yes, detective. Senator Bracken is making a phone call from an unregistered cell phone. He is calling General Reed."

"Where is his cell phone?" Javi asks.

"I think we left it in his hotel room." Ryan provides, questioning his answer.

"Maybe we shouldn't have left it behind." Javi states.

"We were in a hurry and we only really wanted Reed." Ryan counters.

"Besides if we had the phone what would we say if we answered it?" Ryan adds.

"I don't know, something to rattle his cage maybe. He just left seeing his house destroyed." Javi states guessing.

"And if we had his cell phone they could trace it straight to us if we had it." Ryan counters, thinking having it would be a bad idea. Even if they had thought of it.

"Detective Esposito."

"Lucile?" Not used to answering a disembodied voice.

"I can intercept the call and answer for him."

"You can do that?" Javi doesn't really believe her.

"Yes detective."

"What do we say if we do?" Javi asks, looking at his partner.

"Make something up on the fly. Sounds like a bad idea."

"Bracken has ended the phone call." Lucile states before they can decide what to do.

"Figures! We need to figure out what to say the next time he calls. If he calls." Javi tells them.

"It may not matter. His men are going to get into his room soon and not find him, and probably take his cell phone. So the next time Bracken calls his men will have his phone and answer it." Ryan wonders.

"Yea, probably right." Javi answers a little dejected.

"Kev, we got the General because he was asleep so it was easy. Right. What if we keep tabs on all his men and when they are asleep, we repeat the process?"

"Heavily armed, highly trained killers." Ryan counters.

"They are asleep." Javi counters.

"Lucile said he was horizontal, not that he was asleep. What if at least one of the 3 can't sleep and is just lying there?"

"We stun them before they even get out of bed." Javi suggests. Something has to work.

"He hears us enter the living room area, gets out of bed, and is highly skilled in hand to hand. Can kill in a second. Long before we can stun him." Ryan worries.

"So we announce our presence and stun them one at a time as they come out." Javi tries again.

"And they get up, arm themselves. We stun the first one thru the door, and the rest empty their clips thru the door and/or wall hoping to get at least one of us if not all of us." Ryan counters, shooting his partner down again.

"Who's side are you on, Bro?" Javi is not happy. Ryan just shrugs his shoulders.

A light bulb goes on for Javi. "In the military or police tactical teams they have flash bangs. They render whoever is in its radius disoriented for a second. Long enough for the people using it to give them an advantage."

"We could use the same thing. Open a Transmat wall into their bedroom and toss them thru first before we go thru." Javi now asks hopefully, his partner can't blow this one out of the water.

"What if the bed absorbs too much of the bang?" Ryan digs.

"Everyone throws one. That would be what, 7 maybe 8 at best?"

"We can't kill them. We have to hold them after we have them. Not sure I want them in the same place as the General. It gives them someone to talk to. Make plans with." Ryan seems to be going with it. Trying to think it thru.

"What else is there we can use besides Flash/Bang? Something that doesn't require us to risk going in to stun them?" Ryan asks.

"Tear gas?" Javi wonders.

"A few years ago in Russia some Chechnya terrorists took over a theater and were holding many people as hostages. The Russians attempted to use an untested chemical agent that would cause unconsciousness. It ended up killing many of the hostages and caused others to get severely sick. Survivors were hospitalized for many days. It was a 'Fentanyl derivative" Lanie offers up.

"However most of them died because the military told the doctors that it was, 'Kolokol-1, so they were treating them with the wrong methods based off of this false information." Lanie adds.

Javi just looks at her dumbfounded that she would know this.

"What? If it's medical I read it." Lanie tells him.

"Lucile?" Lanie calls.

"Yes, Miss Parish."

"I'm curious, Castle talked about 'Mom and Teak'. What other ships were there? Are there?" She quickly corrects.

"Pearl and Teak are what you would consider Frigates. To use your vernacular. There are four major types. What you would call a Corvette or Gun Boat. Lightly armed with light armor. However very fast. Excellent for convoy escort duty. Then there is the Frigate. Decent armor, heavily armed for multiple rolls. Similar to your destroyer class. What you might think is a heavy destroyer, if there was one. Also used to transport Marines for insertion missions. Then there is the Cruiser class. More heavily armed with heavier armor. Typically used as a heavy scout or perimeter support for the heaviest ship. Lastly there are the Battleships. Very heavily armed with the most heavy armor. Primarily used in battles as long range firing. Think of it as similar to your LRM launcher."

"What is the red and green that Castle talked about?" Jim asks.

"Those are highly charged particle guns. The speed of the particles along with how they are charged leave a visible trail." Lucile explains.

"Sounds like it takes a lot of people to man them."

"Actually a lot of the systems are automated. Similar to how some of your tanks auto arm their guns." Lucile tells them.

"Also all of the Battleships have an A.I. on board." Lucile concludes.

"Like you?"

"Similar, however based on when the ship was constructed, it could be a 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation unit."

"We can barely get off the planet! We are dead meat, bro!"

"We have a challenge. Nothing more. Look how far we have come since 1920. My cell phone is smarter than any computer used during WWII. They are even smarter than the computer NASA had on the ground during the Apollo missions. We have GPS. We even made it to the moon. Have robots on Mars. Robots to vacuum our houses." Jim tries to calm his fears.

"All done in one lifetime." Jim finishes.

"As much as I like that Castle is looking out for us, this house isn't home. It has things I've only dreamed about having, but it's just not where I want to stay." Jenny announces. Not really sad, just making a statement.

"Honey, Kate is more than just a friend. She's like a sister. We are here to support her. She didn't ask for this. She hasn't actually done anything to Bracken. He just doesn't care who he hurts or how much he hurts them. So long as he gets what he wants, at any cost." Ryan tries to console his wife.

"I know Kev. I know. I just wish. It makes me sad that we, as a race, are capable of these things. It makes me wonder if we are worth it."

"Mrs. Ryan. Life is a precious thing. I know Senator Bracken treats life with such callous disregard. And others care only for the money they can get to support their short term gain. However there are many more who have a vision of greater things. They just don't shout and fight with the same conviction as the ones like Bracken." Lucile tries to explain.

"With the help of Richard and the thousands of others, they will be working to change that perception of life. Help your people to achieve many of the great goals that some people have talked about for years."

"I don't know if you will see it in your lifetime or if your daughter will see it in hers. But a little faith will go a long ways. And if we are successful against Bracken, you will be 'HOME' again." Lucile tries to calm her.

"Are you sure you are a machine? You don't sound like one." Jenny comments.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Mrs. Ryan."

"Lucile, do you know where my daughter is now or what she is doing?" Jim is curious.

"She is in a 'restaurant' on an observation level of the Evergreen. It would be logical to assume that she is or is getting ready to have dinner with Richard and Alexis. She has already completed her required physical examination. The doctor(s) will now review the data they have gained. To determine what is to happen next."

"You can talk to her at any time. Just use the communication disk that was implanted behind your ear." Lucile tells him.

"But she is, countless, untold miles from here. How can that be?"

"Our communication system does not work on the same frequency's that your TV or Radio work on. Plus there is a signal booster between here and the Evergreen."

Not really believing Lucile, but, …. "Katie?" Jim asks silently.

"DAD!?" Kate responds not believing what she hears.

"Are you alright Katie?" Being curious.

"Everything is fine dad. I'm about to have dinner with Castle and Alexis. You should see this place. It's ,... AMAZING!"

"Alexis says hi, dad."

"Do you know how long you will be gone, Katie?"

"It sounds like about 4 days. Give or take."

"You're sure you're ok?" Jim is concerned.

"Yes, dad. It's just different here."

"Can you take pictures?"

"I don't have a camera. …. Or my cell phone. It really is amazing."

"Take care Katie."

"I'll be fine dad. Everyone has been very nice."

"Thank you Lucile." Jim says to empty space.

"I know a guy we could get the flash/bangs from." Javi states.

"And how do we get them? If we use a cell phone, that we don't have any way, they would know."

"We buy burner phones with cash." Javi counters.

"We have to leave here to get them. Driving around will leave us open to attack." Ryan is still shooting him down.

"We use the Transmat wall." Javi states holding out his arm. "Besides, we don't have a car to use anyway. Remember?"

"The same way we get the burner phones." Ryan is seeing positives in this.

"We don't even have to buy them here. We can Transmat into Dallas, or Minihaha. Or Lebanon, Oregon. Tell me Bracken has men located anywhere near there." Javi challenges.

"And strangers in that small a town would stand out like a sore thumb." Ryan rejects that location.

"Ok, how about Vancouver, Canada. Or Victoria, Canada. Using US money we would just be another tourist."

"I like it. Can we look up where we would want to go? So we don't wonder around trying to find something. Quick in and out with the phones."

"How much money do we have?"

"Lucile, can you research where to buy the phones in either of those 2 locations."

"Yes, detective. I will have options for you by the time you decide how much cash you have to spend."

"Great!" Pulling out his wallet. "I've got $56 and change." Javi states.

"I've got $11!?" Ryan is shocked.

"I'll go get my purse." Jenny tells them and heads downstairs.

"I've got $32." Jim tells them.

"I've got $6." Lanie says sadly. "Why, I didn't bring my purse?"

Jenny is back and pulls out and counts. "It's $67."

"That's $172. More than enough for several phones. Should we get phones from both cities?" Javi asks.

"Might be enough, but it needs to be someplace that doesn't have cameras. We don't need them seeing us there some time in the future."