551. Chapter 551

After Deep Cover

Episode 6.12

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: You don't need to be a secret agent to know I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Richard Castle loved bookstores almost as much as he loved libraries. He loved the smell and the feel of them, and he loved the sense that the bookstores were filled with his favorite kind of people: Readers.

Apparently, this one had something else. A fan. A tall, well-built young man in slacks, a sport coat and a polo shirt approached him, smiling and holding out a book. Castle recognized it by the cover. It was Heat Wave. Rick smiled back at the man, encouraging him.

"You're Richard Castle, aren't you? You're my favorite author. This is so cool." The man gushed.

Castle smiled happily. He loved his fans.

"Would you sign this? The Nikki Heat books are my favorites."

"Mine, too." Rick reached out for the book and saw there was already something written on the title page. "Richard, don't react. Meet me in the men's room on the first floor."

When Rick looked up, the young man was walking off. He read the note again. It was his father's handwriting. He thought for a second about ignoring the summons but decided not to for two reasons. One, the man was his father. Two, his father wasn't the kind to take no for an answer.

He found his father combing his hair in front of the mirror in the men's room. Castle automatically checked the stalls to see if anyone could be listening.

"I already did that." His father growled at him.

"And I just did it again."

"You think I don't know how to do this, Richard?"

"I think I come close to getting killed whenever I meet you, so I'm being careful. Maybe one of your friends is hiding in there."

His father shrugged. "You're learning." He paused for a second, checking himself in the mirror. "I need your help."

"The CIA needs my help?" In spite of himself, Castle was curious.

"I need your help. I told you the last time we met, I operate outside of the system. But for this mission, I'm too well known and the only people I could find on short notice are too well known. You're not."

"Dad, I am famous."

"You're not famous with the people I deal with."

Castle took a deep breath, knowing he'd probably regret this later. "What do you need?"

"Two things. First, go to Mulvaney's, it's a bar in lower Manhattan, at six o'clock. Ask for a Mexican beer. Any kind will do, the bartender will say they don't carry any. Order whatever you want then and ask if the bartender knows the score of the Met's game. The bartender will give you an address. Go there. A man will contact you and hand you a USB drive. Pick it up. I'll be nearby."

"Okay. I can do that."

"Normally, I'd tell you not to tell Beckett, but she's probably better at this than you are. So tell her. But for Christ's sake, Richard, tell her not to look like a cop. These people are suspicious. Very suspicious." Then he walked out of the restroom.

"He wants me to not look like a cop?" Kate said when Rick told her about his meeting with his father. She nodded. "Tell me, Reekie, vould you like to meet your Russian friend, Tatiana, again? She so wants to see her Reekie again."

Rick smiled. On one of their earliest cases together, Kate had saved him from a Russian thug at a poker game in Chinatown by pretending to be a Russian party girl named Tatiana. He did love it when Kate dressed up as Tatiana, although she wasn't working undercover those times.

Promptly at six, Rick and Tatiana arrived at Mulvaney's. They sat at the bar and Tatiana rested her head on Rick's shoulder. "Do you have Mexican beers?" Rick asked. "Dos Equis or Pacifico?"

The bartender shook his head. "We don't carry any, sir. Can I get you something else?"

"A Bud light for me and a vodka martini for the lady. And do you know the score of the Met's game? They're playing in LA so it should be started."

The bartender shook his head. "I'll have your drinks in a second, sir." He came back with the two drinks and two cocktail napkins. Under one napkin was a small piece of paper. Rick picked it up and looked at it. "It's an address in Little Odessa and a time, seven o'clock. Looks like Tatiana will fit right in."

"Tatiana always fits right in, Reekie." Kate lowered her voice. "And Reekie always fits right in to Tatiana."

Rick shook his head. "I'll remind you of that tonight. Now, I have to get us a cab."

"You von't haff to remind Tatiana, Reekie. I weel remember." She giggled.

The address in Little Odessa, the area of New York City favored by Russian immigrants, was a restaurant that appeared to cater to the Russian mob. The place was full of the aroma of cigar smoke, caviar and sudden wealth. The men were bulky, loud and very well dressed. The women were much younger than their men, equally well dressed and wearing too much jewelry for what was supposed to be a neighborhood restaurant.

One table stood out from the rest. Four young Asian men, quiet and conservatively dressed, sat with their backs to a wall on the far side of the restaurant.

Rick and Kate were greeted by a hostess at the door. She said something in Russian and Kate responded.

"We're expected it seems." Kate whispered.

They were escorted to the table with the four Asians. One of them rose and took Rick's hand. "Good to see you again, Rick. And your girlfriend…?"

"Tatiana." Kate said.

"Tatiana, of course. How could I have forgotten? Please sit and join us. You must have the pelmeni but the shashlik is excellent as well. Would you like some wine?"

They ate and drank while the young men talked about working in the Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. After an hour, their seeming host called for the check. "We really have to get going, Rick. We're on the red eye back home. Good seeing you."

Rick started to complain when Kate leaned over and whispered loudly in his ear. "I need ladies room, Reekie." As she did so, she dropped a USB drive in his lap. The four man left and Kate headed for the ladies room, leaving Rick alone at the table.

He was suddenly joined by a large, Slavic looking man. But as soon as he spoke, his voice was straight out of the Deep South.

"Now, son, you jus' pass that little, ole drive to me an' I won't put no bullet holes in you. One nice thing about the folks here, they don't never see nothin' or hear nothin'. Convenient."

"I don't know…" Rick stopped when he saw the muzzle of a gun peeking over the table top. He reached for the drive.

Suddenly the waitress was screaming at him. "You friend's credit card no good. You cheat us! Give money now!"

"Now, honey, "The man said reaching for his wallet, "my pal an' I have business so…"

There was a hissing and Castle saw the waitress spray something into the man's face. He fell face first onto the table.

"You friend have too much to drink." The waitress removed the man's wallet and gun and walked off.

"Who's he?" Kate asked when she came back a minute or so later.

"I'll tell you later. We need to get out of here."

Parked right outside was a cab and Rick was not at all surprised that his dad was the driver.

"Did you get it?" He asked,

"I damned near got shot." Rick said, handing the drive over.

"Oh, they wouldn't have let Cornelius do anything to you. You were being watched by my people. They made Cornelius as soon as he walked in."

"What's on the drive?" Rick asked.

"Kin Jong Un's favorite internet porn sites."

"What!" Castle screamed. "You risked our lives for that?"

His dad shook his head slowly. "Richard, I wouldn't tell you even if I knew what was on the drive. You know what my world is like. Now just sit back and make out with your fiancé while I drive you home."

So he did.