CH16
Rick was sitting in his office early next morning going over the paper Jenn had given him.
There were 5 names.
Lara Shriftman – 26 – Young and determined. In 6 months made Larkin the toast of New York City, was Jenn's comment on the side.
Amanda Carter – 30 – Her motto is "Make it happen", was Jenn's comment on the side.
Lauren Cerand – 35 – Best of the best, was Jenn's comment on the side.
Paula Hass – 27 – Blunt, possessive and rude, was Jenn's comment on the side.
Johnathan Hay – 39 – High profile and you pay for it, was Jenn's comment on the side.
Each had a phone number and an address associated with them. Rick took his list and placed a priority number to each one and would contact the first one Monday while Alexis was in school.
While he was making his plans the house phone rang. "Hi Henry." Rick greeted him after finding out his lawyer was on the phone.
"We have a response from Black Pawn that we need to go over." Henry tells him.
"Anything I need to be concerned about?" Rick asks him, more than a little curious.
"Have you been keeping up with news in the Ledger?" Henry asks.
Rick curses silently, since he had been ignoring the paper lately. "No I haven't, what's it saying now?" Rick squeezed his eyes closed. This was going to be bad, he just knew it.
"Black Pawn has made it public that Gina Cowell has been transferred to their LA office, meaning you will be getting a different publicist if you re-sign with Black Pawn, and what they have offered is what we need to talk about." Henry tells him.
Rick opened his eyes wide. NO MORE GINA? No more snotty remarks about Alexis going with him? No more having to fight with his publicist over how he is treated and the fact that he is a father, who is trying to protect his daughter from being teased in school.
"Is Monday after I drop off Alexis at school soon enough?" Rick asks.
"Monday morning at 10:00 am will be fine." Henry writes Rick in for that date and time.
"Great, I'll be there." And Rick hangs up, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. No one was more important to him than Alexis. He may like Black Pawn, but what Gina did just couldn't be repeated.
Finding places to take Kate that didn't include food, wine or anything else had proved to be challenging. Still Rick found one thing that might be interesting.
Rooftop films, specialized in special films at special locations.
8:00PM
Doors Open
8:30PM
Live Music by ARMS
9:00PM
Films Begin
11:00PM
After Party Dance Party
THE FILMS
Sun of a Beach (Arnaud Crillon | 6 min.)
You're at the beach. It's hot. Too hot…
Numbers & Friends (Alexander Carson | Canada | 7 min.)
In his search for happiness in North America, a European man discovers the pleasures of Fantasy Baseball. Using his new appreciation for sports as a metaphor to re-imagine his life choices, he begins to find new meaning in the world around him. Numbers & Friends is a playful and amorphous cine-essay about sports fandom and cultural identity.
Krisha (Trey Edwards Shults | 14 min.)
Krisha has not seen her family for many years. When Krisha decides to join her family for a holiday dinner, tensions escalate and Krisha struggles to keep her own demons at bay.
The Lion's Mouth Opens (Lucy Walker | 15 min.)
A stunningly courageous young woman takes the boldest step imaginable, supported by her mother and loving friends in this stunning documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Lucy Walker.
Balance (Mark Ram | Groningen | 11 min.)
Two mountain climbers are scaling the extreme peaks when disaster strikes. They are dangling three thousand feet above the ground. What seems certain death becomes a balance between the two, connected by a single rope.
Yearbook (Bernardo Britto | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6 min.)
A man is hired to compile the definitive history of human existence before the planet blows up.
Of God and Dogs (Abounaddara Collective | 12 min.)
A young, free Syrian soldier confesses to killing a man he knew was innocent. He promises to take vengeance on the God who led him to commit the murder. Winner of 2014 Sundance Grand Jury Prize.
The North Sea Riviera (Joshua Wedlake | 12 min.)
A tale of love, life and lunacy told via an estranged odyssey through the digital uncanny. Set along the East Coast of Britain in the latter half of the 20th Century, two deeply introspective and nostalgic men wander through a melancholic seaside resort as it languishes in its dying throes.
The Missing Scarf (Eoin Duffy | Ireland | 6 min.)
A black comedy exploring some of life's common fears: fear of the unknown, of failure, rejection and finally the fear of death. Narrated by George Takei.
Rick knew Alexis would be asleep before the last film was shown, but he didn't really want to find a baby sitter, so going to the dance after the movies was likely out.
In this case it was on a rooftop, if it rained the films would be shown inside, no refunds permitted.
Rick did his best to get Alexis to take naps during the day hoping that would help her keep her eyes open later at night. Still having her awake at 11:00 pm to go dancing just wasn't going to happen.
Kate showed up at 3:00 pm because that was the time they had agreed on.
Kate noticed that while Rick's smell hit her in the face like always, it didn't leave her quite as weak in the knees as yesterday. It still didn't stop Kate from wrapping her arms around him and bury her nose into his chest and breathe him.
Rick wrapped his arms around Kate and breathed her in too. It was somehow comforting to have her in his arms.
With the door closed and locked they were now sitting on the sofa. "Where's Alexis?" Kate could smell her but it might be a residual smell, this was where she lived.
"I'm trying to get her to sleep during the day so she'll be up longer tonight. There is a small party on a rooftop tonight. They will have a live band, a series of short movies after that, followed by dancing.
Except the dancing doesn't start till 11:00 pm and I don't think Alexis can stay up that late even with sleeping the day away, plus she has school in the morning. So we will likely be leaving after the last movie." Rick explains.
Kate couldn't help but smile. It made Kate wonder if this choice was all because of her?
Rick shifted a little closer and took Kate's hands in his. "About yesterday, you looked nervous yesterday. You want to tell me about it?"
Kate opened her mouth to say it was nothing but closed her mouth instead.
Rick released one of her hands so he could lift her chin so she would look at him. "Kate, please talk to me. I know there a lot of things we don't know about the other, however that's to be expected. We haven't known each other that long, and we're still learning.
It's just we're past the big one. Alexis and I now both know you're a vampire and neither of us is running from that. Granted I'm still trying to process hearing my little girl offer you her blood, and just what that means.
But we're not scared of you, …. so talk to me. Please?" Rick moved his lips in close to hers and let them brush across hers before pulling back.
Kate was still amazed at these two, everyone wanted her kind dead and here were these two who only wanted her closer.
"I don't think you understand how special you two really are. My kind have been on the run since I was little. There is even a dedicated group out there whose only job is to see my kind exterminated.
Everywhere we've ever gone we've had to hide so the locals wouldn't rat us out, and this group is good at what they do. … We call them Hunters. They have been placed above the law, above everyone. In their attempts to exterminate my race, they can kill anyone who gets in their way and not worry about the repercussions.
I have no idea how many people have died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
My race has always been nomads for as long as I can remember. My parents told me stories about we used to have our own home. It didn't really make sense since we need blood to live and another vampire's blood will not work.
Some of my kind decided to fight back and went on a killing rampage. Thousands if not hundreds of thousands of humans were killed. Drained dry and not because they needed to feed, but to really kill.
It was somewhere around this time that the Hunters were formed. They are good at their job, plus they have access to the most advanced weaponry available, anywhere." Kate pauses since she got off track of the point she was trying to get across.
"I'm a vampire Rick. … I drink blood to survive. To a lot of my kind you are prey, someone to be hunted down and drained dry. Not someone to do what we are doing." Kate cast her eyes downward again.
"But you're different." Rick points out.
Kate nodded her head. "My parents raised us, Lanie and me, to not kill and live with the humans. To try and fit in. To learn how to live off of blood bags instead of biting people to get the blood we need to live.
But we have to stay vigilant. To always watch for signs that the Hunters have found us, and then run. Lanie and I have changed homes countless times, always trying to stay one step out in front of the Hunters.
I can't have you two getting killed by the Hunters when they finally show up to kill Lanie and me. They'll kill you too and not have to pay a price." Kate freed one of her hands to stroke Rick's face.
Then Kate's hearing had her hear a sniffle and Kate whipped her head around quickly to find Alexis sitting at the top of the stairs, crying. "Alexis?" Kate now hated herself, she had never intended for Alexis to hear all of that.
Rick had never seen anyone move that fast, though to be honest he hadn't actually seen Kate move at all. Kate was sitting right next to him with one of her hands in his and now she was at the top of the stairs with her arms around Alexis, crushing Alexis close to her body.
"Alexis!" Kate's heart was breaking. Alexis was far too young, sweet and adorable to have had to listen to all that.
"You're leaving." Alexis cried into Kate's chest. Kate could feel Alexis shaking as the crying turned into sobs that were making her body shake.
"I'm a vampire honey, I'm too dangerous to be around. If the Hunters killed you or your father I would never forgive myself. The pain would be too much for me." Kate didn't want to leave them, but it really wasn't safe for them to be around her. Kate was beginning to wish she had never gotten involved with these two in the first place.
Leaving them was going to hurt her heart. Plus she was going to miss both of their smells and the taste of Rick's blood, but it was for their own good.
"NO! Please? …. We can protect you." Alexis sobbed into Kate's chest.
"The Hunters are too dangerous honey, they would kill you and your father in a heartbeat, and the thought of you dying breaks my heart. I shouldn't be here." Kate was trying to convince herself yet again in addition to Alexis.
"Maybe, maybe not." Rick was right behind Kate by now.
Kate didn't let go of Alexis. "They're too good Rick, they are almost as strong and fast as my kind. The suit they wear increases almost everything. It's state of the art, along with all the weapons they have access to. Far better than anything this planet has to offer." Kate tries to talk him out of this.
"You'd be surprised at what I can do." Rick had his own secret. "Wait, you said planet." Rick's mouth fell open.
Oooo shit! I just had to open my big mouth.
Might as well come clean, since she was leaving. "I'm a vampire but that is also my race. Vampire. I'm not a dead or undead vampire because my race wasn't born or created here. Lanie and I came here from another planet, far, far away from here." Kate cringes now sure how this was going to go over.
"You're a space vampire?" Rick didn't think he got shocked easily, but this was a big one. "You're an alien, a real live alien from another planet."
Kate could feel Alexis's head pull away from her chest, where Kate had it placed firmly between her breasts. It got Kate to look down at her. The look on Alexis's face wasn't one she was expecting.
"COOL!" Alexis whispers out.
"Really cool!" Rick adds right after her getting Kate to turn her head to look at Rick.
Just who are these two? Really! Being a vampire doesn't scare them away. It seemed to do the exact opposite actually. And now they know she's an alien from another planet and their still not running.
"WAIT! … Is that yours up on the roof?" Rick asks, thinking he has 2+2= Kate.
"You've seen it?" Kate was shocked again, as her eyes open wide.
Rick nodded his head. "Alexis even got it to open. It has two seats, a bunch of TV screens and two portholes. One in each door." Rick tells her.
"You've been inside?" Kate's mouth was now the one hanging open.
"Alexis has, she was so fast I couldn't stop her. … Then it was gone one day and back the next. I think Alexis cried for half the day it was gone." Rick chuckled lightly.
Kate looked down at Alexis again, who was still in Kate's arms and her in Alexis's.
"It was COOL!" Alexis looks up at Kate smiling. "Can you fly us in your ship?" Alexis was excited at the prospect. Alexis had wanted to meet the aliens who were on her roof, and it was Kate all this time.
"PLEASE?" Alexis gave Kate her very best puppy dog eyes that always worked on her dad without fail.
"It's a shuttle not my ship, but sure, some day." Kate didn't stand a chance against those eyes.
It got Alexis to place her head back between Kate's breasts and let Kate hold her tight. Just where Alexis has wanted to be for some time now.
Kate shakes her head. "It doesn't change anything. The Hunters will kill you if they find us together." Kate points out the original problem.
It got Rick to fidget in place, not that Kate was looking his way since her face was buried in Alexis's hair, not seeing Kate blinking back the tears of what this separation was going to cause her.
"We can protect you." Alexis mentions again, talking into Kate's chest. "Dad has a gun." Alexis tells her.
"ALEXIS HARPER CASTLE!" Rick stood there shocked yet again. Today was just getting out of hand really fast.
"Oooops!" Alexis whispered out and buried her head even further into Kate's chest. She was in trouble now.
"Rick?" Kate turns her head to look up at him.
Rick squeezed his eyes shut. Having Alexis see them or at least one of them was bad enough, having Kate find out about his past like this, wasn't what he had planned.
Rick squeezed in and sat down next to Kate and his daughter. "It was a long time ago, before Alexis was even born. Even before I ever met Meredith." Rick paused waiting for Alexis to say something since he had said a bad word, but thankfully Alexis remained silent.
"I was seeing someone while I was in college. College after college actually. Her name was Kyra Blaine. I was actually thinking of asking her to marry me. While in college I got what I would call today as being conned into joining the military, the Navy to be precise. At the time recruiters were all over colleges, or just outside.
I hadn't been in very long, just enough to go through training. Since I was in I decided to go into specialized training. There are only a very small few of us, divided up into teams. Then I got called up suddenly and had to ship out. Still not sure how I got talked into joining. I hadn't planned on doing it, and then suddenly I was.
The mission wasn't that long, but I took a round in the back during extraction from the site. The rest of my team dragged me into the boat and got me out to our ship. It was supposed to be simple, and it was up until it came time to leave.
The ship's doctor wasn't good enough to remove the round from my back. It was wedged up against one of the disks of my spinal column, he was afraid that if he or the ship suddenly moved a fraction I would be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of my life.
The round never was removed actually. No one in the VA thought they could take the risk at removing it. I still have to worry that if the round moves for some reason it will leave me paralyzed.
I was discharged from the military due to medical reasons. Kyra found out about the injury and ran away to Europe before I even got home, I've never seen or heard from her since I shipped out." Rick hung his head low.
Now Kate has another reason to run away. Rick is thinking. He has a medical problem that has the potential to change their lives.
GOD, first this Kyra and then Meredith. What is it that these women can't see that she can? And how after all of this is he the most kindest, gentlest person she has ever met, and not afraid of her being a vampire? And then there was Alexis.
Except what Kate did next was to keep her head turned looking at Rick and kiss the side of his head and start smiling at him.
"So tell me about these Hunters." Rick needed to know what he was up against.
"Hunters." Kate pauses, talking about them wasn't an easy topic. "Some are human looking, others are not. Doesn't really matter since nothing of them can be seen, just the suits that they wear.
They have a built-in targeting system in their helmet. The weapon they use will follow the targeting system. The helmet itself can see normal, infra-red, ultraviolet, and is capable of magnification. There may be more to it than that. Most upgrade their systems when they can.
The suit they wear doubles as armor and enhances their normal ability. They also have a scent dispenser to fool anyone from smelling their presence, allowing them to get in close.
They have two basic weapons. One is a fully automatic weapon that fires an explosive round or an armor piercing round, depending on the Hunters personal choice. They also have a launcher that can fire a small plasma ball. It is powerful enough to take out half of a building, like this one.
Most carry a small side arm and all of them have various knives built into their suits. They can walk through any gas they chose and not be affected. Fighting in the dark is actually a preferred method. Their suit even has a limited air capacity, so they can be out in space for a short time." Kate explains a Hunter, or at least what she knows of them. "They are highly trained fighters and more than capable of killing my kind in hand to hand. They are the most feared thing in the universe that my race knows of."
"And they want you dead." Rick wasn't really questioning.
Kate could feel Alexis stiffen at Rick's comment and Alexis had soon twisted in place and wrapped her arms around Kate's neck. Alexis pressed her lips into Kate's ear. "Please don't die." Alexis whispered ever so softly. It sounded like a heartfelt plea to Kate, and it made her heart flip.
Rick stood up coming to a decision. "Come with me." Rick holds out his hand for Kate to take.
Kate takes his hand and lifts with Alexis in her other arm and carries her downstairs with her easily, following where Rick takes her.
Rick steps into his study. "I had this installed not long after I moved in." Rick reached down and pulled open one of the drawers that was under the bookcase. Inside Kate could see what looked like a weapon behind a glass case that had a lock in one corner.
Rick pulled out a set of keys out of his pocket and opened the glass and pulled out the weapon locked away inside the drawer.
"The FN SCAR®-H CQC features a 20" heavy barrel and an improved two-stage trigger module, with an FN-FCU 1.5M fire control system." Rick easily ejected the clip holding the rounds. There were 3 more clips in the drawer.
Rick used his thumb to eject one of the rounds into Kate's hand.
"7.62x51 mm NATO round FMJ+AP with an experimental coating designed to penetrate the armor of an M-60 tank. …. Each clip holds 30 rounds." Rick explains.
Kate held the round. "What's the tube attached to the bottom of it?"
"FN40GL-L grenade launcher, fires a 40mm low velocity grenade that bursts in an area upon impact." Rick explains.
"I don't see any of these grenades." Kate points out.
Rick puts the weapon back and closes the glass door and re-locks it, then opens the drawer below that one. Behind this piece of glass Kate could see 6 grenades that would fit in the launcher. She also saw 2 hand guns with 3 spare clips for each gun.
Then Rick closed the drawer and opened a side drawer built into the shelving. Inside this drawer was hanging a thick looking vest along with some shelves that held small boxes.
"It's a flak vest, it won't stop the rounds the FN can fire, but it will stop the rounds any hand gun can fire." Rick rocks his head. "Most any round." Rick modifies his statement.
Who is this Richard Castle?