CH13
$2.33 Million
$2.33 Million
Kate and Lanie can't believe it! And that was barely half of what was there that they could take, because they couldn't carry it all. But then they may not have had the time anyway since another car showed up.
Drugs were really worth that much? They hadn't done anything to the drugs this time, though they may have if they had the time. Still they would need to not go back there anytime soon.
Of course since they had enough money to do what they wanted and then some now, they had no reason to.
Four more days until they had their ID's and then they could go back to the University and enroll and sign up for classes.
Since they had been up all night they slept the day away, only taking cat naps that night.
It was now 2 days later:
It was still 2 days till their ID's would be ready. Kate and Lanie had plans to go directly to the University with them and sign up for classes and pay their tuition.
It was presently 15 minutes till 11:00 and Kate was just stepping into the elevator. It had taken forever to get to this date and time. Lanie had been teasing her for the last two days. Kate Beckett, the vampire was going on a date with a human. Well two humans technically.
Kate hesitated at the door, but managed to raise her hand and give the door a couple of knocks.
A moment later the door opened and the smell of Rick who answered the door came flying out and slammed directly into her face. Kate took in a deep breath and filled her lungs with him.
Three days without him and Rick hit her as hard as the first time. Kate opened her mouth to say something, but never got the chance. The next thing she knew she was being hit in the legs as Alexis slammed into her.
"Hi Kate! … You going to the Zoo with us?" Alexis had been waiting for this day too.
Kate placed a hand on her and held her close. "Yes I am, you excited to go?" Kate looked down at Alexis.
"YUP!" Alexis looked up at her.
"Me too." Kate answered.
Rick drove, paid to park and paid for the tickets to get in. Rick had a hold of Alexis's left hand while Kate had the right. "So what do we see first?" Kate asks, since she has never been here.
"Penguins!" One of if not the most favorite of Alexis's animals.
"King Penguins, Gentoo Penguins, Rockhopper Penguins and Chinstrap penguins. The average life span is 10-15 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity." Kate started reading the info card, never having seen penguins before.
"Why are they all over there in the corner?" Alexis asks, pointing to where all of them were huddled together far from where the visitors were.
"I don't know. … Maybe they're cold?" Kate offers. Kate had quietly noticed that they all started to walk that way when Rick, Alexis and her showed up.
The three of them waited around for a while to see if the penguins would move, however none of them did. "So what's next?" Kate asks looking down at Alexis.
"Daddy likes monkeys." Alexis offers up.
"Then let's go see monkeys." Kate offers smiling.
Once more they are off following the signs that lead them to the monkeys. Again with each of Alexis's hands holding one other theirs.
As soon as the three of them entered the enclosed habitat area that had a canopy to prevent the monkeys from escaping they ALL suddenly started screeching and ran for the far end of their tree, and continued to screech, huddled together.
It forced Alexis to cover her ears and got most of the visitors to exit the area. Even Kate was forced to cover her ears from all the noise.
They only stayed a couple of minutes. Once outside and away from the noise. "They always do that?" Kate asks.
"No, that's a first. We've never seen them do that before and we've been here a few times." Rick answers her question, looking confused.
"So are there any big animals?" Kate asks since penguins and monkeys were all small.
"Yup, there are cats." Alexis answers and takes their hands and starts pulling.
Kate noticed that they would pass by cages that held smaller animals. Some had fur while others had scales. Then they past a much bigger area that had some really big white animals. "What are these?" Kate starts to read the card out front.
"Polar Bears, 25 to 30 years in the wild and up to 45 years in zoos." Kate looked up and saw that there were only two of them. "Gus and Ida." Kate starts to watch and both of them suddenly get up from what looked like a nap, and relatively quickly run and climb to a section as far away from the zoo visitors as they can get.
"Is there something up there?" Kate asks. "Food maybe?" Kate offers, starting to get an idea why all the animals are doing this.
"No they feed them out here up close so visitors like us can see them." Rick explains.
Kate noticed there were even a pair of balls floating in the water. No doubt a toy for them to play with.
"Cats are this way Kate." Alexis takes her hand and starts pulling again.
Like the polar bears this one was another outside exhibit area that held two cats.
"Snow Leopards, Zoe and Askai. This beautiful cat is able to leap 50 feet horizontally and jump 20 feet vertically! Snow leopards are solitary, spending most of their time alone." Kate starts reading the card, but soon notices that both of them have started to growl and move far away.
Kate deflates, knowing precisely what the problem is. While Alexis is up against the fence watching, Kate steps close to Rick. "I think I should go, they know or suspect what I am." Kate tells him.
Rick whips his head around. "Kate you can't possibly know that. It could be anything, and how would they possibly know anything?"
"Its instinct Rick, they can either sense what I am or smell what I am. Either way they are afraid for their lives. … I need to be going." Kate tells Rick a little louder.
"You're leaving!?" Alexis had heard that last part and soon had Kate's legs all wrapped up.
Kate did her best to kneel down. "I'm sorry honey, but I'm not feeling well. I thought I could tuff it out, but I'm tired. I really should go home and rest." It was a lie and Kate knew it, but telling Alexis she was a vampire and all of the animals were on the run from her, just wasn't going to happen.
Alexis had a look of shocked and sad, plus concerned. Alexis didn't want Kate to go, but she also wanted Kate to feel better.
"I can drive you home." Rick started to offer.
"NO! … You two should stay and enjoy the Zoo, I can take a cab, and I have money. No reason you two should suffer because of me." Kate tells them and doesn't offer to give either of them a kiss since she was leaving on the pretence that she was sick. Though Rick did try.
"DAD?" Alexis looks up at her father. Please read my mind dad.
"Come on pumpkin." Rick takes her hand and Alexis has to run to keep with Rick while they both try to catch up to Kate. It had Alexis smiling all the way.
Kate had wished many times that she wasn't a vampire, today just happened to be one of those days.
Kate was almost out of the Zoo, except the smell of Rick wasn't lessening any, and it should be.
Kate turned around and saw Rick walking quickly with Alexis running next to him. "What do you two think you are doing?"
"You're sick, so we're going to take care of you." Alexis tells her smiling. Alexis thought it was one of her best plans ever and glad that her dad had read her mind.
"Come on Kate, the car is this way." Rick takes her hand and walks the both of them to his car.
Rick drives Kate to his place and takes her upstairs and escorts her into the bathroom and turns on the water to fill the tub. "A nice hot bath and a nap will have you feeling better in no time." Rick tells her.
"Rick, I'm not sick." Kate whispers.
"I know that, but she doesn't. So to appease her you are sick. ... So hop in the tub, and I'll find you something to wear after you get out, and they you can take a nap." Rick tells Kate, pouring in more of the same thing into the tub as last time, and then he leaves.
Kate is in the tub when he comes back and lays something for her to change into when she gets out and then leaves again.
Kate is out of the tub, having liked her little soak very much, and dresses in the shorts and way to big t-shirt Rick had left her.
Stepping out into the bedroom, Kate found Alexis in her sleep clothes lying on Rick's bed. "Alexis?" Kate didn't understand.
"When I'm sick dad has me snuggle with him after a hot bath and hot soup. Dad said to skip the soup part." Alexis tells Kate and pats the bed.
It got Kate to internally chuckle and smile on the outside, and move over to the bed and lay down with Alexis, who promptly moved closer and cuddled in close with Kate.
Kate holds Alexis in tight. "Now what?" Kate asks.
"Now you sleep knowing the person holding you loves you and takes the sick away, making you feel better." Alexis explains. Trying to snuggle into just the right spot.
Kate didn't know if this fixed being sick, but it did feel pretty good.
Kate woke up she didn't know how much later and found that her arms were still wrapped around Alexis who was still snuggled in close.
Yup, if I'm ever sick, I'll have to remember this. ... Wait, Alexis said it worked because the person holding them had to love them.
Alexis loves me!? ... Oh I'm in big trouble!
This insight didn't however get Kate to let go of Alexis, however she also didn't go back to sleep.
It was another hour with Kate watching the clock for every minute of it before Alexis woke up. "Hi." Kate tells her.
"Hhhmmm, Hi." Alexis yawns in Kate's face. "Feel better?"
"Much better, you're very good at this." Kate buries her face in Alexis's hair, breathing her in. She still wasn't Rick, but it was nice.
Speaking of Rick, Kate could smell him. He was out in the living room or kitchen somewhere. The door was closed so it was faint but still identifiable.
"You ready to get up?" Kate asks Alexis. "I really need to go home. My friend Lanie and I have plans." Kate told a white lie. They didn't have plans, but they did have things they needed to talk about.
"You coming back?" Alexis asks not letting go of Kate just yet.
"Not today, but your father is helping us with something, so I'll be back in a couple of days." Kate knew their ID's would be ready in roughly 2 days.
"Okay." Alexis answered softly. Two days seemed like a long time, but at least Kate was coming back.
Kate was up and dressed and met Rick at the front door. "I'm sorry I ruined the trip to the Zoo."
"You didn't ruin anything Kate. You are who and what you are. There's nothing to be ashamed of." Rick steps in and kisses Kate softly.
Kate stepped into Rick and wrapped her arms around him and buried her nose into his chest, and breathed him in.
"You need to drink?" Rick asks her confused why she was doing this confusing it with needing blood.
Kate shakes her head. Her throat wasn't burning, she had blood just a couple of days ago, she and Lanie would be good for a few more days still. "I'm fine."
Rick pulled back but didn't let go of her. "You'd tell me if you did. The thought that you're drinking someone else's blood un-nerves me. If you're going to drink it should be mine." Rick really didn't want her drinking some other guys blood.
It would be like finding out that she was seeing some other guy. Rick wanted Kate all to himself.
It got Kate to smile and start to blush. "I'm fine, honest. ... I'll see you in a couple of days to go get our ID's." And Kate gives Rick a quick kiss and heads for home.
Kate arrives home to find Lanie looking though some of their NYU brochures. "I thought you knew what you were doing?" Kate asks her.
"Oh I do. I'm just looking over the information about the campus. Did you know they have a library? We should be able to use it to learn more about his planet." Lanie offers.
"Anything in the news recently?" Kate asks since she lets Lanie keep track of that.
"US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by terrorists. So far over 100 dead, but more deaths are expected." Lanie supplies.
"Oh joy." Their new home wasn't exactly stable.
"They are still discussing the underground nuclear tests by India and Pakistan a couple of months ago." Lanie supplies.
"Oh and the President of the United States has admitted that he had an affair with a single woman, with his wife standing right next to him." Lanie supplies what transpired on last night's news.
"And she didn't break both his legs?" Kate is shocked. Watching Lanie shake her head.
"Maybe she's waiting until he least expects it and then, ... snap." Kate imitates breaking something in her hands.
"How was your date?" Lanie changes the subject.
"Pretty much a disaster." Kate falls onto the sofa, dejected.
"The Zoo animals sensed that I was a vampire and they all fled from me. The worst was the monkey pen. Those things put up a horrible noise and ran to the far side." Kate hangs her head.
"It was embarrassing Lanie. I didn't do anything to them and didn't even want to, and yet they all ran from me." Kate shakes her head.
"I presume you left early, so why are you home late?" Lanie was digging, and enjoying it.
"I gave Alexis the excuse that I wasn't feeling well and needed to leave. Then her and Rick ended up right behind me and took me to their place.
Rick put me in a hot bath and Alexis cuddled up with me while we took a nap. She's so sweet. ... I still don't understand her mother. If I had a child I'd kill to get her. She just wants someone to love and love her back. I mean how hard is that?" Kate just didn't understand a mother not loving her child.
Lanie decided Kate didn't need her teasing her at the moment. Just that she knew Kate was in deep, and getting deeper.
It was now 2 days later:
"Alexis!" Rick yells out from the front door. "Kate and Lanie are here, it's time to go."
And only a moment later Alexis comes flying out of her room and takes the stairs as quickly as she can, and is over to Kate with her arms wrapped around Kate's legs.
"You ready?" Kate looks down at her.
"Yup!" Alexis looks back up, beaming. She hadn't seen Kate in two whole days.
"Say hi to Lanie and let's go pumpkin." Rick tells her. Getting Alexis to say "Hi" to Lanie.
Lanie is in the front seat with Rick while Kate is in the back seat with Alexis. "What's in the bag?" Alexis asks pointing to the little duffel bag Kate had in her lap.
"We're going to go pick up our paperwork that we ordered a few days ago, and we have to pay him for his hard work." Kate explains.
"Oh." It seemed to satisfy Alexis.
They all walk inside. "Mr. Richard Castle, don't you have a new book due out soon?" Bruce asks.
"In a couple of months, yes. My publisher is likely hacking it to bits as we speak. Which reminds me I need to go over that list I have, I keep forgetting to do that." Rick kicked himself for forgetting to go over the list of publicists Jenn had given him.
"I look forward to reading it, hopefully you got the facts right. ... Ladies, I have all of your paperwork." Bruce starts handing out each piece one at a time, making sure it is going to the right person.
"Keep in mind, if anyone snoops too deeply they will not find your pictures in any high school yearbooks. Nor will whey find out where you worked previously, so you may want to create a cover story. One that fits your situation.
These are however the real deal and no amount of just looking at them will tell anyone different." Bruce explains.
Kate and Lanie each open up theirs to look at them, not that they would now if they were good or bad.
Kate pulled the money out and handed it all over to Bruce. "It has been a pleasure doing business with you two. ... Oh, one more thing." He hands over a piece of paper. "This is your own personal bank account in the Cayman Islands. Your account numbers and temporary passwords are indicated.
I suggest you change the passwords immediately, or at least before you wire transfer any money into them. Try to pick a password that is easy for you to remember but difficult for someone like me to guess at.
For the love of god, don't pick something simple like Doom, Fired, IRS. In fact no simple words at all. Try to mix up the upper and lower case letters. Add some numbers and specialty symbols. Something that makes sense to you. Something that you can remember." Bruce advises. "And change it say once a year."
Kate, Lanie and Rick had thanked him for his work. "Can you drop us off at the University Rick, we need to get started enrolling, selecting classes and paying for the first years tuition." Kate asks of him.
"Might I suggest that you take all that cash you have in that bag and go use it to go get a cashier's check from a local bank, made out to the school to pay for tuition? Most people don't carry around that amount of cash." Rick advises. "And get your money into that back account he set up for you. It's a lot simpler to get money orders or cashier's checks to pay for big things, than carrying around large amounts of cash.
I don't know where you got it, and I'm sure I don't want to know. Just that flashing large amounts of cash can cause people to pay attention to you." Rick cautions.
Kate gave Alexis a kiss and then leaned forward to give Rick a kiss before getting out of the car. "Thanks Rick, give me a few days and I'll call you."
Kate and Lanie had a lot of work to do still if they wanted in to start classes in about 3 weeks.