67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

AN: In the last chapter, I said I drew very heavily from the episode. Perhaps I should have said it was mostly a retelling, for which I take no credit. I did that because, when I re-watched the episode, I was surprised at how much I had forgotten and thought some of you might have, too. A good bit of the first third of this chapter falls into that same category, and mostly goes back to AU from there. Thanks for your patience with that.

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When Harden drove Beckett to their target's house, she sat in the car and annoyed him with a litany of questions about the intended victim…who he was, what he did for a living, whether he was alone, why he was targeted…and Harden became both impatient and more suspicious. When challenged, she passed it off convincingly as recon, needing to know if his profession would mean there were guns in the house, etc. "Curiosity keeps me alive," she told him firmly. "I don't work like this. This is sloppy."

Harden pushed to get the job done anyway, saying maybe Lazarus wanted to see how she could improvise, then he handed her a gun rather than a knife. "Lazarus doesn't want this one related to your other kills," he explained before he sent her into the house.

She was gone for a few minutes, and after Harden had seen evidence of gunfire from the house, he confronted Beckett when she returned to the car. "Show me," he demanded.

"What?! No! We don't have time for this," she answered.

When his demand continued, they went to the side door where their target could be seen lying on the carpet with blood all over his head and blood spattered on the refrigerator and the cabinet close by.

"I'm done auditioning," Beckett told him. "You tell Lazarus, he wants to play games then this deal's off."

"Looking surprised, Harden agreed it was time to go.

xxxxx

"A contract killer? That's who you sent Beckett to impersonate, and you didn't know?" Castle growled at Captain Fowler.

"Mr. Castle…" Gates started.

"She's pretending to be Elena when she doesn't know who Elena is. She can't keep that up forever without giving herself away, and now Markov is out there. You know what's going to happen when the real Elena shows up?"

"If anyone in this precinct can think on their feet well enough to handle this, it's Lt. Beckett," Gates assured him. "You said it yourself. She's flexible…and resourceful."

Castle nodded his acknowledgment as he took a deep breath and combed his fingers through his hair. He was quiet again, but he still periodically paced the room like a large, caged cat. After several of his passes across the room, Jordan Shaw took pity on him.

"SWAT is almost there, Castle, and the GPS signal is still strong. We can find her."

At that point, Gates's phone rang, and she answered it, immediately looking puzzled. "What? Where?" Closing the call, moving toward the door, and motioning for them to follow, she said, "We might have a break, gentlemen. Observation, interrogation room two."

A man named Evan Potter was in the interrogation room with an odd story about a cop entering his house and telling him if he wanted to live he had to do everything she said. The tale involved ketchup and beet juice from his kitchen and playing dead where he could be seen from the sliding glass door. And his instructions were to contact Gates as soon as he was sure he was safe.

Potter was an attorney, but his field had nothing to do with anything that might have him targeted by a drug ring. They were having a hard time finding a connection to explain the intended hit.

In the observation room, Ryan breathed a sigh. "At least we know Beckett's still alive."

"But for how long?" Castle asked dismally.

"Hey, she might be your wife, but she's also a damned good cop. Don't sell her short," Esposito reprimanded.

"And we're sure she knows who Elena Markov is now." Ryan smiled. "That was pretty creative of her. "

Castle did manage a little smile at that. 'Yeah, it was," he agreed.

xxxxx

When Beckett and Harden returned, Jones asked, "So how did it go?"

"The package was delivered with no issues," she answered.

"Good. Clean yourself up. Lazarus is ready to see you," Jones told her. When she returned from the rest room, he said, "This way," as he walked Beckett through a long hallway to a descending staircase.

"You keep him in the basement?" Beckett asked.

Jones smiled. "He likes it there. He thinks it suits him."

They passed through a very long, narrow room where tremendous amounts of money was being counted, and Beckett seemed surprised.

"What's the matter? You've never seen a counting room before?"

"Yeah, but never to this scale. I'm impressed you've been able to hide all this from the feds," she answered, sounding fascinated.

"You don't know the half of it," Jones bragged.

Hearing screaming from the room they were about to enter, Jones went in alone first. While she waited next to the last counting desk, Beckett could see lists and a check showing payments to a payee called Future Forward. Then Jones came back to escort her in.

As she stood at the door, she could only see the back of the mysterious Lazarus. And then, with a bloody cloth in hand and some sort of device still on the table, the man with a chillingly familiar low and resonant voice said without turning around, "I apologize for the delay. I had a business matter to attend to. I don't usually meet like this; but for you, I'll make an exception. Between our needs and your skill set, this could be a very profitable arrangement." He cleaned his hands and poured drinks before he turned and saw Beckett. Then he stated clearly, "You are not Elena Markov. I know you."

Beckett tried to bluff; but Simmons was certain, and he told Jones who she was…immediately reminding her of their last meeting. She tried to use the gun they had given her, but Jones stopped her, and she was again a hostage.

xxxxx

"SWAT just arrived," Jordan reported. They've parked away from the compound, and the team is approaching on foot. Since we don't know who we can trust in Scarsdale, we're going with the act-now-and-ask-forgiveness-later approach.

"Any word on Beckett yet?" Castle asked.

"The signal is still strong, but we have no way to know what's happening with her yet." There was a pause as Jordan listened. "Well, that's odd."

Castle stopped pacing. "What's odd?"

"Every security guard at every entrance to the compound is down…all still breathing but bound with zip ties and unconscious…like they've been drugged. If I didn't know that the CIA doesn't work here, I'd suspect a visit from Mr. Ghost."

"What's happening now?" He wanted every scrap of information he could have.

"They're entering silently," Jordan responded. "The higher the level of surprise, the less likely any outside contact can be made. We know where Beckett is. They're only one room away from her now.

Vulcan Simmons demanded to know who Beckett was working for and what they knew…insisted on knowing her mission. He had already held her head under ice water for long intervals a couple of times. After starting with demands, then adding taunts about her mother, and threats, she continued to defy him. He had advanced to offering her an easier, more dignified death, and the last interval in the water was frighteningly long, driven by Simmons's anger and determination; and while all three sets of eyes in the room were focused on the drama between Beckett and Simmons, two members of SWAT had entered the room quietly. By that time, Simmons had finally decided Beckett would never break, and the team had slipped in just in time to hear his comments, and to see Jones pull Beckett's head back out of the water, Beckett gasping for breath and looking half dead. They then heard Simmons order her death and tell them to scrub the compound and get out. Medics were quickly called for Beckett, and the room's other occupants were taken into custody and removed to holding areas.

"Castle, they've got her. It was a close call, but they've got her. Medics are with her now," Jordan told him.

"How bad?"

"She was water boarded…ice water, like Ryan a few years back. She's struggling, but she's alive."

Castle sat down, head in his hands, and tried to hide the tears of relief. "How long?" he asked.

"They're bringing her back by helicopter. Probably about an hour by the time they check her over. They wanted to take her to the hospital there, but…"

He nodded from his current position. "Not sure about who to trust there. I know." He left them alone after that.

Fowler was still there as members of the various departments and agencies engaged in the efficient flurry of activity that had obviously been mapped out well ahead of the moment they were in, everyone handling their jobs even better now that they knew Beckett was safe. He was also exposed to their respect for Castle, mentioning past work as if he were one of them. Fowler, on the other hand, was being effectively ignored. His place among them now lacked any semblance of the swagger and command attitude with which he had entered the precinct that afternoon.

IA and the FBI contingent, after questioning him thoroughly, had decided earlier that his worst crime was extremely bad judgment, and that they didn't have time to deal with him right then. IA would soon have their hands full with Bracken's moles in the precincts, a number of whom had already been identified. They kept Captain Fowler there for a while longer in case he might know anything else that could help them; but, for the time being, he would be left to his superiors. Once Beckett was recovered, though, he was effectively ejected from the conference room as FBI personnel increased in number and their activity picked up in intensity…as well as need to know. He didn't need to know about anything more than the small parts of the drug operation he heard mentioned. And he was dismissed with a stern warning that any leak of so much as an iota of information at this point would be worse for his career than the problems he had already caused.

Against medical advice, Beckett, having been effectively treated by the medics and having had time to rest and recover somewhat on the flight home, insisted on stopping at the precinct. She felt she needed to give at least a minimal report to Jordan Shaw and Gates before accepting any more medical attention.

One of the medics took her to the break room, and Gates saw that she had a couple of minutes with her husband before asking any her questions. Castle took her into his arms and held her gently with his cheek resting on the top of her head and her arms around his waist. Not a word was spoken between them. None were needed. After allowing themselves one reassuringly tender, lingering kiss, they went to sit at her desk and wait to talk to the others.

Captain Fowler was very clearly not a man given to wordy, heartfelt apologies, but he did stop to see Beckett before he left.

Castle saw him coming and stood to meet him at Beckett's desk to try to keep him away from her, finding himself unable to hold back the urge to protect her from someone who had been so cavalier about her safety. As Fowler approached, Castle shoved close into his space, saying, "Haven't you done enough?"

Fowler lost his balance momentarily, and in the effort to regain it, his hand hit the ceramic elephants on Beckett's desk, knocking them across the desk and sending them crashing into the floor on the opposite side near her chair before she could catch them.

Hearing the sound of splintering ceramic, Castle began to apologize immediately. "Kate, I'm so sorry. Those were your mother's."

Beckett seemed a bit dazed at the commotion around her. "Castle, you need to slow down and let me catch up. I'm okay…maybe not a hundred per cent, but okay. But I need…" Then she was coughing harshly again.

When the coughing settled, Fowler stumbled his way through a very brief and not too well worded apology to Beckett, including an assurance that Castle had every right to be angry; and then he left as rapidly as possible. His status as persona non grata at the twelfth was evident.

"Arrogant twit," Castle growled. "Not much with words, either."

"Well, at least he had the decency to try."

"Yeah, I guess," her husband mumbled grudgingly, still unimpressed.

Beckett somewhat dazedly turned her attention to her elephants, leaned down as if checking something, and stood as Gates called her. Once she had briefly explained her time at the compound and answered the questions she could, she mentioned the payee called Future Forward, and they discovered the Super PAC.

Castle sat with her for the few minutes it took her to give them an overview of what she knew and to answer their questions as best she could, and then he told her, "You've done what you needed to do. The medics recommended a follow up here."

"No, I just want to go home," she protested strongly. "I'm fine."

The others around them looked a bit uncomfortable at the pushback. Beckett wasn't known at the twelfth for easily giving in to medical attention.

"Not happening, Kate. We're going now. Your lungs, Sweetheart. You lost part of one of them in the shooting, and not to be careful now... it makes no sense to take that chance. You're going. No arguments."

Beckett looked resigned, sighed deeply, and stood, shivering as she did. Castle took off his jacket, put it around her, then added his arm around her shoulders, and said, "See you tomorrow," to the others as he guided his wife out of the room.

"Wow," Ryan said, his jaw slightly dropped. "Never thought I'd see her give in like that."

"Yeah. Our boy gets props for that one," Esposito agreed. "She even let him get away with 'Sweetheart' and laying down the law to her in public."

"I get the feeling there's stuff there we don't know, Dude."

"I'm pretty sure there's stuff there I don't even want to know," Esposito responded, and the two of them exchanged a fist bump at that remark.

xxxxx

Gates called ahead to the hospital, explaining in general terms both the security situation and the medical problem in hopes of facilitating a shorter, safer wait for her lieutenant; and not much later, Beckett was set up in one of the cubicles in the emergency room. Since it was the same hospital where she was treated for the gunshot, her records were already in the system, only requiring an update.

A nurse came in, asked questions related to the present, as well as her former, more extensive injuries, checked more recent records, and said she would inform Dr. Kovacs that Beckett was in the hospital again and of the current circumstances. But she explained that he was presently involved with the trauma team, working with an automobile injury victim. Then she handed Beckett a plastic cup and issued instructions. While Kate dealt with the nurse's questions and instructions, Castle filled out the paperwork the hospital required in spite of all the available records. He walked to the restroom around the corner with her and was glad to see someone from his usual security company appear, escorted by a nurse, before his wife returned.

"Josef. Good to see you," he said, extending his hand.

"You as well, my friend," Josef answered with his lilting accent, warmly accepting his handshake. "Your Kate has had another difficulty?"

"An understatement. I want you outside her door wherever she happens to be and with her any time she's being moved. I'll be inside."

"Josef," Beckett said when she came back into the hallway. "I'd rather you just come and visit at the loft, but it's good to see you again."

"And I will…after we're sure you are safe."

"Fair enough," she sighed as they all walked back to her cubicle.

An ER staff doctor who introduced himself as Dr. Garza did a preliminary exam of chest and lung sounds and ordered standard bloodwork for Beckett's circumstances. After disposing of his gloves, he stopped long enough to tell them, "I'll be back after we have the test results, and we'll discuss what needs to be done."

"Wonder how long that will be?" Kate grouched.

Castle smiled indulgently, knowing his wife's dislike of all things medical, and kissed her on the head before he sat down in the chair next to her bed to keep her company.

The phlebotomist came in almost immediately, drew blood, and left. Alone again, the couple sat holding hands for a few minutes, Kate leaning her head back and closing her eyes and Castle enjoying that she was safe enough now that he could watch her do that.

It had been a while, and both Castles were a little antsy, so Rick fired up his laptop and found a news program. To their dismay, they were met with the face of Senator William Bracken.

Bracken had chosen to return to New York City to make his announcement. His intent to run for the presidency was to be made more dramatic by proclaiming his plans from the same site where he had launched his first political campaign…the race for his New York Senate seat. It was meant to bring out his New York base and cement his solidarity with the people of the city...as well as to provide some showmanship. The news report switched from his picture and the news anchor's voice over to Bracken's smiling, confidant approach to the microphones, waving and nodding as he accepted the applause from the crowd gathered behind the reporters.

"Those of you who know me," he intoned importantly, "know that I've gotten where I am today by doing whatever it takes to get the job done. That is the kind of leadership this country needs, and that is why I am forming an exploratory committee for a run for the presidency of the United States." Cheering from the crowd followed his announcement, and then the screen shifted to the news anchor.

"Senator Bracken, an early front runner, is rumored to have significant funding already lined up from major contributors," she announced before moving on to another subject.

"Bracken is about to be rendered senseless," Castle whispered to his wife. "Jordan's people are working on the destruction of his disgusting career as we speak." He closed down his computer and rested his forehead on her shoulder, still speaking very quietly. "I want to believe you'll be safe now, but I can't yet. We still have to be careful. He's about to have nothing left to lose."

Kate nodded, took his hand in hers again, and answered softly, "I might still be a little scared."

"After today, I'd worry if you weren't," he answered. They kept their conversation quiet enough that no one around them would hear more than murmurs.

"Oh, I found one of those little micro cassettes in the broken pieces of the elephants. I wasn't quite myself then, and that was when Gates called us in. Maybe I'm still not quite myself. I don't know how I'd forgotten until now. Do you have anything at home to play it on?"

"Maybe in the storage room. I'll look after we get you home and settled."

Kate just nodded and closed her eyes again.

"Any idea what it could be?" he asked.

"No," she said, opening her eyes. "But if it's something Mom hid in those elephants, it's probably important. I've never heard anything rattle in them, though. It must have been wedged in tight."

xxxxx

Jordan Shaw, along with Gates, Ryan, and Esposito, were still looking at estimates of the unbelievable amounts of money found at the compound and being funnelled into Future Forward.

"I still can't believe this is right," Gates said. "Future Forward is actually a Super PAC…funded by enormous amounts of drug money."

"Yeah," Ryan stated as he entered the room and rejoined the conversation. "And that's a direct connection to Evan Potter."

"Our would be hit victim?" Esposito asked.

We finally figured out the hit. Potter did all the work to set up the Super PAC for a client of his…a wealthy hedge fund manager with significant connections…name's Jason Kochler."

"So we talk to Kochler," Shaw said, picking up her phone.

"Hard to do," Ryan answered. "Kochler died of a heart attack this morning."

"Well, that doesn't sound like a coincidence," Jordan observed; and she was on the phone in seconds, ordering that his body be immediately transferred to Dr. Parish at NYPD and placed under guard until further notice.

"So to recap, Fowler couldn't find the money because it's being used to build a massive political war chest," Gates said shaking her head in disbelief. "And if we didn't already know who's doing it?"

"It would be impossible to find out." Esposito answered. "If your guys hadn't found it, it would just have been gone. Federal tax and banking laws that regulate these kinds of Super PACs are pretty loose."

"For all practical purposes, this money was legally laundered, going through an anonymous shell corporation and a second secret Super PAC," Ryan explained.

Comments bounced back and forth between them, frustrating them more as they progressed through the conversation.

"Someone must be able to tell us something."

"Evan Potter?"

"No, he just set up the PAC for Kochler."

"But he didn't run it."

"How can anybody…even any organization, keep up with so many moving parts?"

"Can we beat this, Jordan?" Gates asked.

"We're going to at least make a big dent," she answered before pausing briefly. "And, if I were Bracken, I wouldn't count on much more of the public trust."

xxxxx

"When is that doctor coming back?" Kate whimpered between coughing jags. "I think he forgot us and went home. I did everything they wanted…answered their questions, peed in the cup, let them take enough blood for a vampire's dinner…" There was more coughing, but not as bad as the last attack. "I want to be home. With you. That's where we were supposed to be all day."

"That's what I want, too, but I want to go home knowing you're okay." After a quick kiss, he insisted, "And next time you have a whole day off, you're not answering your phone if anyone at the precinct calls…especially the captain."

She leaned her head back against the bed again and said, "Deal."

Then Dr. Garza was back, announcing, "You'll probably have some discomfort a little longer. Results in general look good, but I'd like to keep you here for observation and some treatment. I know you'd rather be at home; but I'm afraid the best I can do for you right now, staying within the bounds of reasonable medical care, is to provide you with a bit more comfort and privacy."

Castle saw little trails of tears slip from Kate's closed eyes, and he stood and leaned to kiss her forehead.

"I understand from both Dr. Kovaks and from your captain's call that there could be security issues. We've had hospital security close by, and I assume the large man outside the curtain is with you?"

"He is," Castle answered.

"We have a room ready for you, Mrs. Castle. As long as there are no complications, I don't foresee much more than an overnight stay. However, Dr. Kovacs will see you as soon as possible, and he'll have the final say."

Turning to the doctor, Castle said, "Take us to her room, and then I have a request. I'll pay for every cent of the inconvenience."

After a little more work at the computer on the part of one of the nurses, Kate was taken to her room with Castle and Josef at her side.

Once she was settled, Castle asked to speak to the doctor alone. "I know this isn't normal procedure, but what she's been through…what we've been through today isn't normal, either. I'd like to arrange for a larger bed…the hospital must have bariatric beds. In the course of working together, we've both been through enough difficult situations to be given to nightmares; and it would help us to be together. If she's going to have to wake up during the night for breathing treatments again, I want her feeling as safe and comfortable as possible between them. Charge me whatever it takes, but please let me do this for her."

The doctor seemed reluctant to consider the request as he looked at the woman who had clearly already been through hell and back once and was here because she had been given another taste of it that day…and at the anguish of the man who so obviously loved her. He hesitated for a moment as if he might refuse, but he then left the room to arrange for it. "I'm going to look into Mr. Castle's request," he told Kate. "When I get back, we have some things to discuss." He closed the door as he left.

"God, I hope that isn't as ominous as it sounded." Castle said in the doctor's wake. "I hope he comes right back."

"Me too," Kate answered, looking worried. "I've had about all the unwelcome surprises I can handle today."

Castle sat down in the chair next to the bed and took her hand. "Whatever it is, I'm here."

"I know that," she answered, stroking her hand over the back of his.

The doctor returned in a blessedly short time and launched into his information. "We need x-rays of your lungs, but it's going to require informed consent."

"Informed consent sounds serious. I've never been asked for that before. It's just an x-ray, isn't it?" Kate asked.

"Ordinarily, yes. But in this case, there's another consideration, confirmed by the standard testing for a woman your age."