CIA
Chapter 3
Dinner was over, and she found Rick in the study, looking at his computer. Kate came up behind him and stood there. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking for you. Maybe if I can figure out your last name, I can find your parents," Rick told her as he kept looking.
"Ooo." Kate leaned in closer. She didn't understand what he was doing. Things came across his screen too fast for her to follow. And there wasn't anywhere for her to sit except for a stuffed lounge chair. So she retreated to the dining room, found a chair she could pick up and carried it into the study, where she sat down next to him and watched.
"I think I've got something. Working on the theory that you were in Stanford five years ago, I searched admission records and found something. Kate maybe be short for Katherine. I found fourteen Katherines, but only one was studying Pre-Law. Using that, I found your name is Katherine Beckett." Rick looked at her. "Sound familiar?"
"Beckett?" Kate tried, but all she got was a blank. "No, it doesn't ring any bells, but I've been a WHORE for five years. Does that help you find my parents?"
"It's a start," Rick replied. "The problem is I have the entire US to search. Fortunately, you went missing for five years. Providing they applied a search for you and that search was transferred to a computer and not some paper trail sitting somewhere, I stand a chance."
~oo0oo~
It was an hour later and Kate was getting bored waiting for information. "I think I've got something," Rick suddenly announced, and Kate sat up straight and looked at his screen. "A couple named James and Johanna Beckett applied for a missing person almost five years ago."
Rick was puzzled by what he read next. "Then it stopped suddenly. Why did they stop looking for you? I don't understand." He continued his search and found out why. "OH NO!" He quickly read the police report.
"What? What!" Kate wanted to know what he had found.
"I found out why they stopped looking for you."
"And?" Kate wanted to know.
Rick turned in his chair to look at her. "There's no easy way to tell you this, but someone killed your parents. I'm so sorry, Kate."
"WHAT!?" Kate covered her mouth with both hands, and the color drained from her face.
Rick turned back to his screen. "According to this, they were both killed by stabbing. It was eventually labeled a stabbing by a random act of gang violence. That happened in New York City. The date was January 9, 1999.
"You were considered missing at Stanford on January 7, 1999. Does that date ring any bells for you?" Rick looked at her and could see she was devastated. He got out of his chair and put his arms around her. "I've got you, Kate, I've got you."
Kate began to sob so hard that her body shook. She clung to him as if her life depended on it. After she calmed down a little, Rick let go of her, and she sniffed and rubbed at her runny nose. Something inside Kate changed.
"You think the two things are related?" Kate asked him and rubbed her eyes.
Rick sat down. "They were in New York City, and you were in Stanford. I don't see how, but I don't discount it." He turned back to his computer and started typing. "While you were declared missing on January 7, 1999, you could have been missing long before that. There's no way to tell just when that was."
"Random act of gang violence?" Kate questioned.
"That's what the report says. There is no other incident report. It's like the police determined that was the answer, and that was the end of it." Rick continued typing. "The case is old enough that the X-rays have been added to the report so I can download them."
Kate sniffed again. "Okay."
Kate watched as he downloaded the X-rays and the report and printed everything out. She took them and looked at them herself and read them for herself. "Stabbed multiple times, but it doesn't say which stab was the one that killed them." Kate frowned. "Isn't that something they should have been able to tell?"
She pulled herself together and made up her mind about something. "I want you to take out the piercings. All of them. I want to be normal again."
"All right." Rick's fingers flew across the keyboard, and a few minutes later, he said, "You have an appointment this Wednesday at 10 am at Evolve Jewelry. Good enough?"
"Good enough. I want to learn if the two are related somehow. Someone kidnapped me, and only two days later, someone else killed my parents. I need to know, Rick."
"I can put in a request to the Agency, and they can look into it. That's the best I can do for now. Unless they assign me the case," Rick explained.
Kate nodded and re-read the report and the timing of it all. There was just something about the timing that bothered her. She continued to sniff and wipe at her runny nose.
"Thank you." Kate got up and kissed his cheek. She felt different finally.
~oo0oo~
She slept in a new bed, in a new bedroom, naked next to the same for Rick. But she felt different and couldn't wait for Wednesday. When she woke that morning, she saw Rick was still there, right next to her. She liked that.
"How do you work this shower?" Kate called out as she stood naked, waiting for Rick.
He showed up equally naked, which had her grinning, and he showed her how the shower worked. "You want to stay and wash me?"
"We talked about this," Rick reminded her yet again.
Kate sighed. "Not until I think of myself as not being a WHORE," she repeated. It was just that she felt she was on her way to not feeling like a WHORE. "Fine, I'll wash myself." Kate resigned herself to do it alone. But she remembered that the shower had two heads, one on this side and one on the other. Rick moved over to the other side and stepped under the shower head, still naked. Of course, Kate did all she could to watch him washing himself.
Then she watched him dry himself and saw Rick was checking her out while she dried herself, so she knew he was at least interested in her.
~oo0oo~
"Breakfast?" Rick inquired when she reached the kitchen.
"Sure." Kate sat down at the breakfast counter and watched.
He made her a quick meal of scrambled eggs. Kate soon had a plate with light, fluffy eggs on it, and she had a glass of orange juice. Kate watched as Rick sat down next to her with his plate of eggs, and he had a glass of orange juice too.
"So what do we do today?" Kate asked between bites.
Rick nodded toward the window. "Nothing. It's raining out."
That had Kate looking outside. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed, but it was raining. It wasn't heavy rain, more of a constant drizzle. She got up to look out the window. There were gray skies, and it was wet out everywhere. Kate turned to look at him. "Now what?"
"We watch a movie, watch TV, read a book, maybe play a game. Or all of the above. You don't have any rain gear," Rick reminded her.
"Great." Kate didn't like any of those options. She wanted to lose her piercings more than anything, but that wasn't until Wednesday.
~oo0oo~
Finally, it was Wednesday, and Kate could hardly wait.
"The name is Castle, and we're here to have piercings removed," Rick told the lady up front.
"How long have you had the piercings," she asked Kate.
"About five years." Nervous, Kate bit her lip. "Is that bad?"
The woman smiled, trying to put her at ease. "No, it just tells me what you can expect. Removing the piercings is relatively straightforward. It will take about eight to ten weeks for things to heal completely. Now the tongue removal will be quick and painless. Your tongue will close up quickly. About one day is all it takes. However, you can only to eat protein shakes, non-acidic juice, and cold, non-spicy soups. Basically, what you could take when it went in."
Kate looked at Rick for an answer. "Do we have protein shakes?"
"No, but we can take care of that," Rick assured her.
"Now stick out your tongue for me," she told her and waited. She unscrewed the piercing and removed it. "And that's that."
"Next." She watched as Kate removed her top, exposing her breasts. "Nipple piercings. We can take care of that easily. All we do is unscrew them and pull them out. Now your nipples will be sensitive, so no bras for at least two weeks and no sex. …There, all set. Next."
She watched as Kate put her top on without a bra, then off came her pants, and she spread her legs wide, exposing herself to her. "Clitoral hood piercing." She looked it over. She unscrewed it and pulled it out without a problem. "You can wear panties, but there should be no sex for four weeks. Not of any kind, mind you. Sorry."
"I'll live," Kate told her.
She smiled at her again. "That's one way to look at it. You're all set. Taking them out is easier than putting them in. Now remember, eight to ten weeks for the tongue though you can switch to solid food after just one week. About two weeks for the nipples and no sex for four weeks for the clitoral hood.
"Now for the bill," she said to them both. Rick paid for it, and they left.
"I'd offer you pizza, but you can't have any," Rick told her.
"Ha ha, very funny." It was obvious Kate wasn't amused. They stopped and purchased her a week's worth of protein shakes. They stopped for pizza anyway, even if she couldn't have it. But Rick could.
~oo0oo~
Kate sat there sucking on her protein shake while watching Rick eat his pizza. She gave him a look that said I hope you choke on it. Rick just smiled at her and ate his pizza. "So what should we do now?" he asked after she finished her shake. He put the remainder of his pizza in a plastic zip bag, and put that in the refrigerator.
"I know what we're not doing," Kate complained, remembering they couldn't have sex for four weeks. "Can we check on the Agency and see if they'll take my case?"
"We can do that." Rick got to his feet and walked into the study, where he fired up his computer and put in his password. "They've made no decision yet," Rick reported and shut down his computer. "They just need some time."
Kate sighed. That wasn't what she was hoping for, but at least they hadn't said no.
"How do you feel?" Rick queried.
Kate shrugged. "A little weird. I've lived with the piercings for so long that it feels kind of strange. But I'll live. I just want it to be over with." She wanted to feel normal for a change.
"I don't know about you, but I want to watch a movie." Rick got up and strode into the TV room. Kate followed him.
"You can afford this condo but can't afford to live in Honolulu?" Kate questioned him.
"I don't own this condo. The US taxpayers do, or more accurately, the Agency owns it. I merely get to live here, and no, I honestly can't afford to live in Honolulu. I make good money, but it's not enough to buy this condo in Honolulu. This condo in Honolulu would cost me twenty million, and that I can't afford," Rick asserted.
"Surely there are cheaper condos," Kate protested.
"Oh, there are, no doubt, but it's not just the cost of the condo, it's the HOA fees that can kill you. Those can be in the thousands of dollars a month."
"Ouch. Can we look anyway?" Kate asked with doe eyes.
"You must really like Honolulu. …Sure, we can look for one." Rick stood and went to the computer while Kate moved a dining room chair to the study so she could sit and look with him.
"Okay, condo for sale, two bedroom, two bathroom, ocean view, two million minimum price, with five million as a maximum, air conditioning. This site has just one offering." Rick showed it to her.
"I see your point. It costs more, and you get less room. Is it alright if I look while you watch your movie?" Kate asked.
"Knock yourself out." Rick got up and gave her his seat. "Good luck." He left her to look for herself.
~oo0oo~
S
Kate showed up in the TV room. "I found one I want to show you." She retreated to the study while Rick paused his movie and followed her.
"It's only $2,900,000. Three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and 3,095 square feet of living space. Here are the pictures." She showed them to him.
Rick saw a large living room with a view. A dining room that seated just six, but it had a gorgeous view. The kitchen was huge, and it had an island. The main bedroom was quite large with a breathtaking vista. The bathroom was large, and the shower had two shower heads. It had a laundry room. And a separate study.
"It's nice. What are the HOAs?" Rick queried.
Kate frowned. "It doesn't say."
"Year built was 1957, so it's old already," Rick pointed out.
"I didn't see that. Well, shoot." She thought she had found something.
"It is nice. Use my phone, call, and ask the Realtor about the HOA fee and if the infrastructure had any updates done since 1957." Rick handed her his cell phone and went back to his movie.
~oo0oo~
Kate was back, forcing Rick to pause his movie. "The HOA is $1,085 a month, which includes cable/internet, co-op property taxes, base electricity (AC separately metered/billed), water, sewer, and the Common area expenses. In 2000, they updated the plumbing. In 1997, it was structurally inspected. Any more questions?" Kate asked him since she thought she had found something.
"It's only $2,900,000. Can you afford that?" Kate asked him since she was sure she had found something.
Rick explained what had to happen in order for him to be able to move. "The Agency needs to approve of my move. There has to be space to park the jet. It's not just me."
She gave him his phone back. "Call and ask them. What can it hurt?"
Rick took his phone back and put it away. "Wrong phone." Rick got up, returned to his study, and retrieved a burner phone. He used this phone to make a call, giving his call sign and asking if it was possible to move to Honolulu, effective immediately. "I will purchase the place. Call back on burner phone two," he told them and hung up. Rick proceeded to take the phone apart and destroy it.
Kate's mouth dropped open. "Was that necessary?"
"It comes with the job." Rick picked up another burner phone before retreating to the TV room again. Kate followed him.
"And?" Kate asked. She wanted to know right now!
"Now we wait for a phone call. It's not that easy, Kate. Moving to Honolulu may not be in the cards. I'm just warning you that you might not get your wish."
Kate tried to think positively. "But I might."
"You want this badly enough to move us from Seattle to Honolulu? I only asked them. You'll need to sell it to me." Rick leaned back and crossed his arms, waiting for her to begin.
Kate wracked her mind, trying to think of something to convince him to move. "To return from Bangkok, you had to pass through Honolulu to refuel. You can reach Southeast Asia from Honolulu, not just Bangkok." Kate tried to use that.
"Yes, that's true. But what if the Agency reassigns me to a new location?" Rick countered.
Kate fought back. "I don't think so. If the Agency assigned you to Bangkok, it makes no sense to reassign you to a different region."
"Perhaps. It's not up to me though. It's up to the Agency. The ones making those determinations could decide that moving to Honolulu may take me out of range to handle your case and that of your parents," Rick warned her.
"My case. I hadn't thought about that." Kate needed to think about that since she wanted to know who killed her parents. A random act of gang violence didn't sit well with her.
So she needed to decide which was more important to her. Was it her parents, or was it moving to Honolulu? Perhaps, she could have both. She hoped that was the case.
~oo0oo~
Rick was making breakfast while Kate took a shower alone this time, when the burner phone rang. "Yes."
"Your transfer to Honolulu is approved. Your request to take the lead in the Beckett case is also approved. Leave the condo in its present condition as well as the car. Leave the car keys in the condo. When the transfer is complete, advise us. Take the jet with you and park it in Honolulu. Any questions?"
"No, no questions," Rick responded.
"The new condo is using your money, as is a new car. There is no condo to transfer you to. End of line." They hung up on him.
"That went well," Rick muttered to himself.
Eventually, Kate showed up dressed for the day ahead. Rick started with, "I have news. I got a call from the Agency. They approved my request to transfer to Honolulu, as was the request to lead the Beckett investigation.
Kate squealed and hugged and kissed him, really kissed him right on the lips. Rick had his arms around her. "The transfer is using my money, as is the condo and the new car, but it's approved."
She kissed him again; she was so happy. Still, with her arms around him, she asked, "Do you want to move? Can you afford to move?" She had talked him into this, after all.
"Seattle, Honolulu, there's not much difference. The condo in Honolulu is nice, so I don't mind moving, and yes, I can afford it. Even the HOA. I was told to take the jet with me and park it in Honolulu."
Kate kissed him again. "We're moving to Honolulu." She was so happy. "I am going with you, aren't I?"
Rick sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, Kate. You're coming with me. We get to start work on your parents now too. Hopefully we'll learn something but it's not going to be easy. The Agency has no jurisdiction within the United States."
"You don't? I didn't know that." That was going to make things difficult. But still, they were moving to Honolulu!