Gunslinger
Chapter 4
Kate wore everyday clothes but had her weapon behind her back and two spare clips. They were at a coffee shop with WiFi, and she had just bought an Apple laptop.
"Here's one. Sixty-three days on Zillow; it comes furnished, which is good. It has a pool with an enclosure to keep the bugs out. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms. It's not exactly isolated, but it looks nice." Kate showed him pictures.
"Not isolated enough," Rick told her.
Kate killed that one. "Here's one that looks isolated, sort of. It's on a lake. It has a pool, comes furnished, seventy-eight days on Zillow. Four bedrooms and four bathrooms. It's in Texas." She showed him the pictures.
"There's only one neighbor." Kate watched him shake his head. "I'll keep looking. You're difficult to please."
"I want isolation, is all. No neighbors, so fewer doors for them to find us with," Rick explained.
Kate redefined her scope and looked again. "Here's one. It's on 95 acres in Lavenham, Manitoba, Canada. Meaning it'll be cold there now. Probably with snow on the ground. It's two bedrooms, one bathroom, 100% solar power." She showed him pictures.
"That's it, that'll do nicely," Rick told her. "Manitoba, Canada, you said. I think I can make that work."
"Great! Write this down: 50116 Road 54 West, Manitoba, Canada. We can go look at it, and if you like it, we can move in the same day." Kate was relieved to find something for them.
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Kate was hanging up her clothes and putting things away. She rejoined Rick in the kitchen. "This is nice. Hopefully, the owners won't show up for a while. Which reminds me, who owned the cabin you were in?"
"I don't know. I had to bring everything you saw there, but this is much better. The pantry is even full." He opened the door to look at it. "So is the refrigerator and freezer. There's even a big freezer that's full of stuff."
"Well, it has a fireplace for heat and has a piano. Not that I know how to play it," Kate told him. "And it has a washer and dryer and a dishwasher."
Rick smiled at her. "Two beds."
She tilted her head slightly and stared at him. "Meaning what, exactly?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Rick told her, but Kate was thinking they could have sex in one bed and sleep in the other. Except the second bedroom was upstairs, and the lone bathroom was downstairs.
"It has solar power, well water, and is probably on a septic tank. We're all alone just like you wanted it," Kate said. "So what's first?"
Rick's stomach rumbled. "First, we have dinner. Which means thawing something."
"I'll cook," Kate told him.
"You cook?" Rick was surprised at that.
"Yes, I know how to cook. My mother taught me."
"Then why was your refrigerator empty?"
"Because it was easier to eat take-out," Kate replied. She saw the look on his face. She said nothing for a minute, then decided to tell him. "My mother is dead, Rick. And cooking reminded me of her, so I didn't cook."
"Then I'll cook, Kate."
"No, I can do it," Kate insisted. "If nothing else, to prove to you that I can cook."
"All right." Rick raised his arms in defeat. "I'm going outside and check on the greenhouse. See what's growing out there, and then check on the wood pile."
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Rick stomped the snow off his boots and joined Kate in the kitchen. "There's tomatoes and other things out there. The wood pile has several cords of wood, so we're good to go. I brought in some wood and started a fire in the fireplace."
"I found things for a salad, and I can bake chicken and cook rice on the stove. The other thing I need is some soup." She went into the pantry and found what she needed. "Dinner will be in about an hour and a half."
Rick stood there watching her putting dinner together. He was impressed.
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"I'm breaking the law just being here, you know," Kate mentioned.
"We're in Canada. The laws here are different than those you're used to," Rick offered.
She shook her head. "They're not that different."
"Yet here you are," Rick said.
"Yes, here I am," she agreed, "and I don't like it. I'm uncomfortable with this."
"This was your idea," he reminded her.
"I know that, Rick. It was because I wanted out of the cabin. I didn't want to sleep on the wet spot again. Which I blame you for."
"Then we go back to the cabin," Rick told her. He got up after eating her dinner, which was very good, by the way.
"No." Kate sighed. "Alright, I'll stay here, but when the true owners show up, we'll leave."
"Deal." Rick was hoping it would be after winter and the snow melted.
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They made love that night, and Rick gave her five orgasms this time. It was still three more than she had ever had before. She went to sleep naked, curled up next to him.
Come morning, she woke up alone in bed. But she heard the shower running, which gave her a clue where Rick was.
Since she knew the shower wasn't big enough for both of them, she waited for him to finish. She didn't want to use the toilet with him in there.
She dressed in her usual clothes instead of her uniform and put her weapon behind her back. She watched as Rick got dressed in his usual manner. White shirt, gray vest, long black leather coat, blue jeans and boots, gun belt with two guns, and several reloads. Kate only had two spare clips.
He took her to the bathroom door. "Now we wait."
"I still don't understand how you know what door to use and when," Kate told him.
"I'll teach you, but it won't be easy. I was a twelve-year-old kid when I started my training. He taught me everything I know about being a Gunslinger, including how to find the doors," Rick told her.
"You were twelve? Wow." Kate felt sorry that he didn't have much of a childhood.
There was something Kate wanted to know, so she asked. "How do you know what door to go through and when to find these people?"
"I was taught. Be ready and remember what I taught you; you'll be fine," Rick told her. "Get ready. After this one, there will be two doors we have to go through."
Kate took out her weapon, took the safety off, and got ready to shoot.
"Here we go." Rick opened the door and went through it, then ran for the next door and the next. "Ready?" He stopped at the next door and watched as Kate nodded.
He opened the door, entered, and didn't see anything initially. Then he did. He drew his weapon and fired. After that, all hell broke loose. Kate took cover, looked out, and fired at someone.
Rick drew both weapons. He began firing left and right and then up at the mezzanine. Kate took a look and fired at someone.
It was all over in an instant, and no one got hit. Rick looked around, knowing maybe he had just two minutes to look for something. He grabbed a laptop. "We're leaving."
They went through four doors to get home and came out the door to the spare bedroom.
Kate saw him carrying a laptop. "What's that?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," Rick told her.
"Then let's take a look." Kate took it and sat at the dining room table with Rick looking over her shoulder.
Kate shook her head. "It's password protected. What's a good password, do you think?"
"I don't know, maybe something simple like 1234," Rick told her.
She typed in 1234. "Nope, that's not it. Try again."
"Hmm, what would I be if I was a password? Try Darktower, all one word." Rick suggested.
"I'm in! Now let's see what we've got." Kate typed and used her finger. "It looks like there are four maps. Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Jersey City." She chose Manhattan since she knew it the best.
"What are all those dots?" Rick asked her. "Red, yellow, and green dots. Mostly red ones."
"How would I know? Let's pick one." Kate zoomed in and picked a red dot. "It's an address. That's it."
"Can you zoom in even closer?" Rick asked her and put his head right next to hers.
Kate turned to look at him, resisting the urge to kiss him. "This is as zoomed in as it gets."
"Hmm." Rick tried to think, and then his eyes went wide. "It's a door! They're all doors." Rick stood up. "It makes sense now. They're keeping track of all the doors they used. Red means they used it. Green means they haven't. As for yellow, I don't know. But they're all doors."
"That's a lot of doors." Kate zoomed back out. "And this is just Manhattan. They've been busy."
"Do any of them coincide with our list of power locations?" Rick retrieved the list and put it down next to the laptop.
"Only three of the 107 are located anywhere near New York City. Let's see. Nope, no dots at any of them."
"Of course not. They have control of the Gateway. Why would they have a dot there? Unless it's not in New York. Is it just those four maps," Rick asked her and put his head back down next to hers.
"Yep, just those four maps. Sorry."
"Well, we know it's not in New York. Just 104 places left to check." Rick kissed her cheek and straightened up.
Kate smiled at the kiss, thinking about tonight. She wanted him to make her squirt again.
"A hundred and four places. It'll be well-defended wherever it is. You'll need lots of practice if you're coming with me," Rick told her.
"I have two spare clips and a box of 50 rounds. That's not enough, is it?" Kate knew it wouldn't be.
He shook his head. "Nowhere near enough. I've got eight re-loaders and about 12 loose rounds on me. Hopefully that will be enough. You're going to need lots of practice."
"We can go shopping after lunch. Coffee, I need coffee." Kate got up and made a beeline to her coffee maker.
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Kate had four clips and 150 rounds and was outside ready to practice. "Remember what I taught you," Rick told her.
"I do not aim with my hand. He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye. I do not shoot with my hand. He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind. I do not kill with my gun. He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart," Kate repeated and began firing her weapon.
"Better, but you still need lots of practice," Rick said.
It was too cold to continue practice, so they went inside and got warmed up.
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Kate was standing there naked, waiting for Rick to come out of the bathroom. "Make me squirt again," she asked him.
And he proceeded to do just that. He gave Kate six orgasms along the way. Now, they were lying together, each holding the other, sharing soft kisses.
"So, are you a tit man, a leg man, or an ass man?" Kate asked him.
Rick thought about it for a moment. "None of them, I'm a pussy man." And he reached down and started stroking her pussy. Kate lifted her leg to give him more access.
"Prove it," Kate challenged him, so he ate her pussy, giving her two more orgasms, numbers seven and eight.
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It was morning and after taking a shower, Kate was still putting on her clothes. Every movement she made showed how sore she was down there. So she was going slowly.
And Rick noticed. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, just a little sore is all." Kate instantly found herself in his arms.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Rick sounded worried.
"No, not at all. I enjoyed it. No one, and I mean no one, ever gave me eight orgasms before. One or two at the most. Don't worry, I'm fine." Kate kissed him. She would suffer through this soreness.
Rick kissed her and went back to getting dressed.
"So what's first on the list?" Rick asked her.
"The Grand Coulee Dam located in Washington State," Kate replied. "Now you know we don't shoot up the place. We're just there to look around. Right?"
"Right," Rick agreed. "I can do that, honest." Kate glared at him but she let it pass. This would be the first of many tests for him. Hopefully, they didn't have to go to all 107 locations.
His coat hid the fact that he was carrying weapons and Kate's coat did the same.
Distance didn't seem to be their problem. It was finding the correct doorways and the right time to go through them to get where they wanted to go.
They got looks but no one questioned them being there. So they walked around just about everywhere. If ever they were questioned about anything, it was from a distance and they walked through a door and were gone.
"That's one down, just 106 more to go," Kate told him.
"We'll go again right after lunch. We skipped breakfast except for your coffee," Rick reminded her.
"I drink coffee, so shoot me." Kate poured herself another cup while he made lunch.
"What's next on the list?" Rick asked her while they ate.
Kate checked. "Let's see, the Alvin W. Vogtle in Georgia. Unlike the Grand Coulee, which produces hydroelectric power, this one produces nuclear power. So there will be certain places we can't go. Unless you find us a doorway."
"I might be able to do that. No guarantees though," Rick told her.
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The next 12 were just like the first two. They didn't find a Gateway.
"I have something to tell you," Kate suddenly told him over dinner.
"O-kay." Rick was listening.
"This is why I joined the police department. I told you that my mother was dead. She was murdered. Stabbed, actually, and left there to bleed out. The detective in charge told us it was a random act of gang violence. But that answer didn't sit well with me.
"I mean, she still had her wedding rings and her purse with all of her money and credit cards. You'd think that if it had been a gang member, he would at least take the money, but he didn't.
"She had a camera with her – a camera. I never understood that. So I dropped out of college and joined the police. I was going to find out who killed her. Of course, that wouldn't happen until I was made detective, but I was willing to wait.
"That's all."
Rick sat there and thought about what she had told him.
"There is a man. I think he's an alien, but I don't know for certain. I call him the man in black because he's dressed that way. He has some abilities that make him dangerous. I'm not telling you he might be responsible for your mother, but it is possible.
"He doesn't use a knife, however. That would be different. He's not even armed at all, but he's still dangerous. But he wouldn't have a reason to take anything off your mom like money. He would kill her for entirely different reasons, none of which come to mind. Now, if you ever see him, don't hesitate to shoot him and hope that you hit him. He's dangerous."
"You've tangled with him before?" Kate asked him.
"Yes, and I lost. I was left for dead, buried under a pile of debris. It took me a while to dig my way out." Rick paused for a moment. "He stopped every shot I took at him with his hand. Every single one." Rick held up his hand to demonstrate and moved it around a little. "Just one hand."
All Kate could say was, "Wow."
"So if you see him, don't hesitate to shoot him, even if it's from behind. You may not get a second chance, Kate."
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They made love to each other that night, just like every night. Kate was fast becoming addicted to the sex and the orgasms that he gave her. She wasn't willing to call it love, but she liked him.
They were getting dressed to go out again. "It's been two weeks now. I've been gone for two weeks. Royce, my partner, is probably going nuts, wondering what happened to me. Not to mention my Captain.
"I haven't been to my apartment in two weeks," Kate reminded him.
"I can fix that, you know," Rick told her.
"No, that's all right. I don't need to go. I'm just talking. Don't mind me." And Kate soon found herself in his arms.
"Well, I'm glad you're here. As for your old job, let's say you have a better one now," Rick told her and kissed her.
Kate let him hold her as she rested her head against his shoulder.