CH65

Rick was looking at Kate like she had lost her mind. But he also knew his daughter enough to know what Kate meant to her, and to her life. And that if he tried to leave her behind now she would just follow them and end up being alone up there on that roof.

Alexis turned to face the door and opened the Transmat wall herself and stepped thru right next to Kate.

Rick went right keeping an eye on his bracer and Kate with Alexis at her side went left, both keeping an eye of their bracers.

Rick was looking to try and come in from a flank side and Kate was looking to do the same from the left.

Suddenly there was a little blue dot shot out and hit someone who immediately dropped. Kate surges forward to the guy who was hit. Looking down she sees he has a Barrett 82A1 still partly in his possession.

"Alexis, was that you?" Kate looks down at Alexis who is still standing right next to her.

"Yes mom." She responds softly as if she was in trouble.

"How did you know?" Kate looks at her perplexed.

"It had to be him." Alexis just tells her.

"And you shot him without actually seeing him." Because Kate never actually saw him except for the red dot on her bracer.

"The same way I beat you at laser tag." Alexis thought it was obvious.

Rick came up, "You got him." Looking at Kate.

Kate just shakes her head. "Alexis here got him." Kate tells the truth.

"Pumpkin?" Rick asks her.

"I pretended he was you or mom and it was a game of laser tag." Alexis explains to her dad.

Rick just stands there opening and closing his mouth while staring at Kate. While Kate simply shrugs her shoulders.

"Well help me drag him to the door and we can take him to his new home." Rick tells them.

Kate grabs one side and Rick the other and they drag him towards the door while Alexis is watching her bracer for any red dots.

Rick opens a Transmat wall and they drag him thru with Alexis right behind them.

Faroe Islands

Víkar, a town on Vágar, has been abandoned since 1910.

They stripped him naked and opened a Transmat wall to return home. "Where you going pumpkin?" Rick asks as he sees his daughter headed up the stairs.

"I'm going to go turn on the grill. I'm hungry dad." As Alexis disappears upstairs.

"This is all your fault." Rick is looking straight at Kate.

"MY FAULT? How do you figure this is my fault?" Kate asks amazed.

"Because she is taking after you, MOM. And last I saw you were the only one in this family who is a cop. And carries a gun." Rick reasons.

"And who taught her laser tag?" Kate counters. "And plays it in the dark?" Kate finishes.

"And laser tag is a game! What we just did is far more serious. And she's only five." Rick turns serious.

"We need to have a talk with her before bed tonight. This can't continue Rick." Kate pleads.

"We talk to her?" Rick questions.

"Yes WE! We are a family." Kate confirms her stance.

Rick after this moves in and takes Kate into his arms and kisses her. Pulling back after breaking away from the kiss. "I love you, ….. MOM. And WE will talk to her when WE tuck her into bed tonight." Rick tells her.

Kate immediately blushes and holds Rick tight in her arms while resting her head on his chest. God this felt good. Why had she been fighting it all this time? These two had taken her heart and shown her how empty it was and then had proceeded to fill it up. And just when she thought it would burst, it just got bigger and kept filling up.

Rick kisses her head. "Come on let's get the food, before we en cure her wrath about being hungry."

Dinner went off without any more trouble. This was followed by a game of Disney Scrabble Junior Edition. Again showcasing that Alexis is not your typical five year old.

Bed time however was a lot more serious.

"Pumpkin we need to talk with you about something. We can't have you helping us capture or shoot bad guys. It's too dangerous pumpkin. They shoot real bullets." Rick tries.

"But they are after mom." Alexis pleads.

"I know they are and if they get her you'll be sad. But how sad do you think Kate is going to be if the bad guys get to you?" Rick counters.

"Lucile will protect me." Alexis is confident.

"Lucile was not up on that roof today protecting you." Rick counters again.

"But I can help. I'm good at laser tag. I beat you and mom all the time. And I'm better than mom on the shooting course." Alexis is not convinced.

"I know you are sweetie and I'm proud of you. But the mannequins don't shoot back." Kate tries.

At this point Rick clears his throat. And gets a look from Kate that tells him he is a dead man.

"You're shooting laser lights or stun balls is not the same sweetie. Bullets are permanent. They do permanent damage." Kate tries again.

"But I have nanites too." Alexis counters.

"But they aren't going to stop you from bleeding until there is no more blood to lose sweetie." Kate tries to counter.

And Rick clears his throat again.

"We'll talk about this again in the morning sweetie. You get some sleep." And Kate leans in to kiss Alexis good night. And promptly grabs Rick and hauls him downstairs. Not stopping until the bedroom door is closed.

"Talk Rick or so help me I'll shove one of these little blue stun balls where the sun doesn't shine!" Kate is holding up her left arm.

With his best please don't shoot the messenger looks. "Well, the mannequins are armed with stunners. And if you want you can have them active when you run the course." Rick kind of ducks for the swing he is certain is coming his way.

"And I suppose Alexis has run the course with armed mannequins?" Kate glares at him.

"A few times, yea." Please don't shoot me look.

"And the not bleeding to death?" Kate changes topics.

"Well they will help close a wound faster than normal. So depending on how bad it is, it is possible." Rick is still cowering.

"And of course Alexis knows all this?" Still glaring at him. To which Rick can only nod.

"GREAT, just great. I've got an ET boyfriend who has his own super computer and a ET daughter who thinks she's a super hero because she has nanites in her blood." Kate is stalking around the bedroom as she talks.

"BOYFRIEND?" Is all Rick gets out?

Kate however walks right up to Rick and pokes him in the chest. "Now you listen to me Richard, whatever your middle name is Castle, …" And is cutoff by Rick.

"Edgar." Rick speaks softly.

"What?" Kate questions.

"My middle name, it's Edgar." Rick tells her.

"Edgar. Really Rick. Edgar? … Well you listen to me Richard Edgar Castle, you better think of a way to keep Alexis from following me, .. us when we go out after Bracken's men, or so help me, … I'll castrate you! Got it?" As Kate pokes him in the chest.

Only by reflex does Rick move his hands down to cover his crotch area. "Got it." Rick confirms.

"I'm going to go take a shower, … and no you can't join me." Kate turns and heads for the bathroom with a smile on her face. As she has spotted Rick with his hands covering his crotch area.

Kate steps out of the bathroom ready for bed with her hair still a little damp. And climbs in under the covers with her back to Rick.

"Kate she's just trying, …" And gets cut off by Kate.

"Go to sleep Rick. You can talk to her in the morning." Kate tells him.

"Kate I'm just, …." And is cut off by Kate again.

"Sleep Rick." Kate tries to make it sound final.

"Yes mother." Rick tells her.

And Kate is up and on Rick in a heartbeat. And has his hands trapped by his side with her legs. "I'm not your mother Rick. And unless you want me to move into one of the spare bedrooms, you would do well to remember that. Got it?" Kate is serious as a heart attack.

Looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Got it." Rick whispers out.

Softening the look on her face. "Rick I don't want to fight. But I'm not losing Alexis or you because both of you will not see reason that Bracken and his goons are dangerous. With or without Lucile. … Bless her." Kate adds softly.

"Kate I know he's dangerous." Rick tries.

"Do you? He's a homicidal wacko with dreams of untold power, with an army to back him up. Guns, explosives and connections even Lucile can't completely identify. And we've got stunners, Lucile and each other. And I'm not losing any of it because you or Alexis can't see or accept how much danger he represents.

I love both of you too damn much. I'm in too deep to even think of running now. I've never had this much to lose. And I'm scared Rick.

It used to be just me, and I could live with that. But my life is so much more now, and I can't lose you or Alexis because you two won't see the light. Please Rick, don't make fun." As tears are streaming down Kate's face.

Falling onto Rick's chest with the tears not stopping anytime soon. "I can't lose, …. I can't." Kate finishes.

"I don't mean to make fun Kate. And I'll talk to Alexis in the morning. She's had her first and last encounter with Bracken's men. I promise." And since he can't move his arms still, he doesn't draw an X on his chest. "Sleep Kate, just sleep." Rick finishes.

They are both woken up a little later with Kate still laying on top of Rick. There are lights flashing everywhere and soft sounds seem to be coming from everywhere.

"Lucile?" Rick asks.

"There are three heavily armed men with several pounds of Semtex combined presently entering the property. Two would appear to be headed for the garage doors and the other is headed for the front door.

All defensive systems are now powered. Targeting systems are active. They have split into two groups. The closest is now approaching the front door." Lucile gets interrupted as Alexis comes flying into their bedroom with her bracer active showing three red dots.

"Mom, Dad?"

Lucile comes back up before either of them can respond to Alexis. "Deploying stunners. Targeting now. And firing. … All targets are down. …. No other targets or vehicles detected." Lucile concludes.

Kate and Rick get up out of bed. "We need to clean up the mess before someone calls the police and makes this even more complicated." Rick tells Kate.

"Lucile, can you get Espo and Ryan to Transmat over and help us with them?" Kate asks. "We are also going to need somewhere to take them." Kate adds.

Ryan and Javi arrive about 15 minutes later. Rick and Kate have taken the time to get dressed and ready to go outside.

"We take their weapons first guys. Search them and take everything on them." Kate tells them.

"We are going to run out of time. So as soon as you are done with that stun them again. Don't wait for them to wake up. Just stun them." Rick tells all of them.

Rick picks up as many of the weapons as he can and takes them inside and down to the garage. Then is back outside for the rest to take them down to the garage.

"Ryan stand guard over these two. They blink, stun them again. Javi help me move this one inside." Kate issues out orders.

It took a little time but they got them all inside and out of sight of any neighbors. Where Rick opened up a Transmat wall and they carried them thru one at a time where they stripped them naked and left them behind.

Chaitén is a small city in southern Chile that was heavily damaged by a volcanic eruption.

They all went upstairs to discuss the latest development and Ryan made sure to have Jenn join them in what to do next, as did Javi with Lanie. They were all involved thanks to Bracken so they all should have a say.

About 30 minutes later Jenny with baby girl and Lanie arrived and joined the others in the living room. It was time to discuss options.