267. Chapter 267

After Deep Cover

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I'd be in deep doo doo if I claimed to own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Sir, Mr. Hunt is here."

He looked up from his desk in an unremarkable building in suburban Virginia. "Send him in."

Hunt walked in and sat down.

"You're back to using the Hunt name?"

Hunt smiled. "It's kind on a favorite of mine."

"Whatever."

"Jesus, Phil, you look like hell."

He did. He was skeletal looking with his waxy skin pulled tightly over his bones. "The doctors say the cancer is in remission. I'll be around for a while." He tapped three files on his desk. "We need to talk about the Gemini mission."

Hunt shrugged. "I got the DCO list back and terminated Blaine. And as far as the NYPD is concerned, Blaine is a killer on the run. And they're not likely to find out any different. Not until the sea gives up it's dead."

"That's not what we need to talk about. You moved Rollins' body from Coney Island to his apartment in Manhattan?"

Hunt shrugged. "It allowed me to tap into some additional support personnel. I was working alone on this, remember?"

"An interesting way to describe them." He tapped two of the folders on his desk. Although Hunt couldn't see the face of the reports, he knew they were his son's and Kate Beckett's files. "The idea, Jack, is not to involve non- Agency personnel. Ever. That's basic tradecraft. Spy 101. You know that. You know it damned well."

"Oh, hell, Phil. We involve other people all the time."

Phil nodded. "Military, people from other intelligence agencies, contractors. People who have been properly cleared and are under our control. People we know."

"It worked, Phil. It worked."

Phil shook his head slowly. "One thing we learned from the whole Linchpin fiasco was that he's damned smart, and while he may not have conventional training, he knows a hell of a lot. And she's damned smart, too. And she's got training. We'd just as soon that outsiders not become too knowledgeable about us."

"You know why I had to contact him the first time. Did you expect me to ignore that?"

"No. Of course not. But while that was personal for you, as far as we're concerned, it was a win. Volkov was a giant pain in the ass. There were a lot of people at Langley that did the happy dance when you terminated him. That doesn't mean that you should make all of your missions a family affair."

"And it doesn't mean I should pretend they don't exist. Hell, Phil, you're doing surveillance on them so I won't have to."

"And in case I haven't told you this enough, they're both very smart and very knowledgeable. Plus they have a lot of equally bright, well trained people around them. That damned ex-sniper almost ID'd one of our people a couple of years back. Luckily, we were able to provide convincing evidence that our guy was just some homeless bum who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it was close. We can't keep a close enough eye on the two of them to keep them safe, Jack. Not without tipping our hand. To them and to the other side. We don't want that."

Hunt smiled coldly. "I could solve that problem easily."

"No. No way, Jack, and I mean it. No matter what the pros and cons of this guy are, the precedent is unsupportable. We can't have the Agency killing off our political masters. We'd end up like the old Praetorian Guard of the Roman Empire, setting up Presidents and disposing of them at will. And the guy has friends in the upper echelons of the Agency. Someone would find out."

Hunt shrugged. "Friends? Probably not friends, bit I see your point. Besides, the political appointees come and go, but the professionals who get things done go on and on. And I agree with you, up to a point. If anything happens to either of them, all bets are off. You won't be able to stop me."

Phil shook his head. "It's a damned shame he is what he is. If he was a little more ruthless, cynical, opportunistic and egotistical, he'd scare so damned many people they'd find some way to ease him out of the picture. If he was a little less ruthless, cynical, opportunistic and egotistical, he'd be just the sort of President we'd want. "

"Cheerful thought." Hunt said.

"It's a shame she didn't work out with the AG. We put a lot of effort into getting her that job, not that she wasn't perfect for it. We could have had her under surveillance 24/7. Him, too. She'd have thought it was all part of the job."

"It was one of ours that screwed that up, Phil."

"Yeah, talk about how not to recruit an agent. All stick and no carrot." Phil thought for a second. "Now that you've met her, what are your impressions?"

Hunt laughed. "Do you really expect me to provide more info on your dossier on Kate Beckett? She's going to be my daughter-in-law."

"One question then. Will they stay together? His history isn't that good. I hope we're not using assets on something that won't last."

"It's lasted six years, Phil. I got to know a little about the first two wives. And I thought he was a hell of a lot dumber than I thought for marrying either of them. If he lets her get away, which he won't, I'll break his fool neck."

Phil nodded. "Okay. Keep yourself available. The Middle East is turning to shit, which it always is anyway, but we may need you, Hadji Hassan el-Baghdadi. Your Arabic up to speed?"

"Salaam. Allahu akbar." Hunt said with a bow.

"Okay. Get out of here. There won't be any record of any non-Agency personnel involved in this. And we'll keep an eye on the two of them. As best we can."

Rick and Kate sat on the couch in the loft. Her head was on his lap. "He is your father, you know. He is family. As the old saying goes, you can pick your friends, but not your family."

Castle idly stroked her hair. "Okay. He's biologically my father. I have half his genes. But in no meaningful sense of the word is he family. And that was his decision, not mine. He made that decision a long time ago and nothing I've seen of the man indicates he's changed."

"So we won't invite him to the wedding?"

"Won't make any difference. If he needs to come for some reason he'll be disguised as the elderly lady playing the organ."

"Or a floral wreath?" Kate added, smiling.

"One thing's for sure, he forgot all about us as soon as his case was over. Forget him, Kate."