132. Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Morning at the precinct was a bit tense. The pressure of the looming operation to thwart the drug and possible human shipment they expected that night was weighing heavy, but the element of excitement was also there. Captain Maguire had already arranged for as much camera coverage of the area as could be managed without divulging the police presence, and he would have some of his people in strategic locations well ahead of the intended takedown. The team of homicide detectives and two from Vice, as well as several uniforms, would be executing search warrants simultaneously to the planned interception of the shipments at an abandoned warehouse next to the Hudson.

Mid-morning, Beckett called her teams' lead detectives and told them to have their teams go home, have lunch, and try to get whatever sleep they could. "It's going to be a long day, and I want them going into this as rested as possible. Tell them to be back here by four. We'll need to review with Captain Maguire before we have to coordinate with his team. Our information still indicates that the delivery is scheduled for eleven."

"Thanks, Captain," Santiago said. "We'll tell them."

At four, all three teams were back in the conference room. The incoming information had been reassessed and still pointed to the same expectations, with confirmation that a second unidentified shipment was expected as well. Specific assignments were reviewed, possible problems were evaluated and discussed, questions were addressed, and transportation arrangements were confirmed. CSU and EMS would be on standby; and, since the shipments were coming in from the water, the Coast Guard had also been alerted.

The command center was set up in an alley next to another building a block away with a less than pristine looking truck parked at the street to block the view, and ground based personnel access to the drug delivery area would happen just after dark. The tactical team had people and equipment already in place, well concealed in and around the warehouse; and the entire team was on alert for any sign of activity.

From the command center, the two captains watched as the smugglers began to arrive at the building.

"Looks like they're here," Maguire reported as four men showed up on their screens in front of the warehouse.

"Yeah. They'd be the ones in balaclavas on July first," Beckett answered. "Nothing subtle about these guys."

Their conversation was being transmitted to the earpieces of the rest of their teams. Most were equipped with night vision goggles and others with infrared binoculars.

Maguire's, "They look well-armed." went out as a warning. "Keep in mind that our plan is to close this operation with as little drama as possible." A couple of minutes later, he reported, "Four men in the front are moving into the warehouse, and a truck is stopping. It's backing into the open area to the right of the building and moving toward the dock."

"We're looking for four to six more other than the driver. They could be in the truck, so watch your backs," Beckett added. "We want all of you back in the same condition we sent you in."

"Roger that, Captain," one of the tac lieutenants answered quietly. "We have eyes on the subjects in the warehouse. No sign of others yet, and it doesn't look like we're compromised."

"Six more out back," another quiet voice contributed. "Four more from the back of the truck, driver and passenger getting out from the front…all armed."

Every few minutes, muted voices from varying observation points provided running reports, with the captains acknowledging each of them as they all waited for the main event to unfold.

"Movement on the water. Looks like a trawler," Lieutenant Dobson announced, and he gave them the identification number to communicate to the Coast Guard. "Too big and too far out for delivery so far, but it's stopped."

After a few minutes had passed, another voice said, "I got a couple of good sized speed boats coming up left of the trawler."

"Looks like it's happening," Dobson stated. "First boat is stopped and bales of something are being lowered."

"That's got to be our drugs. Hold your positions until we have everything on the dock," Maguire ordered.

The first boat moved away and turned toward the dock, and the second one moved into place. Another two bales were lowered, and then people started moving down a ladder on the side of the trawler and toward the water. The first figures were two men with rifles. They were followed by women whose hands were bound behind their backs as they entered the boat and were trailed by another armed guard who climbed back up to the trawler's deck before the boat left.

As the boat motored toward the dock, Lieutenant Dobson reported from his perch on the warehouse roof, "I count six hostages and the two armed guards,"

"Only six?" Beckett asked. "I would have expected more."

"Wait. There's a third boat coming in. Two more armed men coming down the trawler's ladder, two more herding more hostages over the side." There was a long pause as they waited. Looks like fourteen more in the third boat, plus three guards. Last armed guy is going back on the trawler."

"So five more armed suspects, and the ten who were already here." Beckett said. "The four inside are back out front. We have two guarding the truck, and two more…one at the front entrance, one at the front corner opposite the truck."

"The rest are at the back," Simpson told them. "First delivery just came in."

"The Coast Guard gets the trawler," Maguire said. "Not our worry anymore. We need to remove the guards at the front. We planned to pick them off as we could. All these guys have their faces covered. As we take them down and confine them, cover your faces and replace them. Maybe they won't notice they're being infiltrated."

"Jones and I got the ones in the front," one man confirmed. "They're in our quadrant.

Not much later, Zentress reported, "We replaced the guys at the truck, Gagged 'em and trussed 'em up like Thanksgiving turkeys in a dark corner inside and got their balaclavas," That brought a few quiet chuckles.

"That leaves nine…armed and dangerous," Beckett reminded them. "Wait until all the hostages are on the dock and get them as far as you can out of the probable line of fire." She paused. "Another truck coming in. Stopped at the corner…unknown number of occupants.

Things were quiet for a little while before someone said, "Drugs are being moved to the truck now. Second boat just came in. First one's leaving."

"Nixon, there's a guy at your three…back corner of the building away from the others." Beckett said.

"Come on Riley," Nixon responded. "Let's go get me a balaclava,"

"Do we get to truss him up?" Riley asked, obviously still amused at the idea.

Before long, Nixon reported, "He's out and I've replaced him. Riley and Yates are watching the second truck. Only see a driver so far."

"The last of the drugs are being loaded on the truck." Santiago said. Waiting to see if the hostages are going there, too."

Sure enough, after a cart carrying the last of the drugs was rolled up the ramp into the back of the truck, the women, whose hands were zip tied behind their backs, were marched up the ramp and into the truck at gunpoint. When the last boat reached the dock, the remaining women were settled in the truck; and the original driver and his security guard were ordered to drive their cargo to its destination. Members of the tactical team met them, quietly ambushed them, hauled them into the warehouse, and replaced them with two of their own. Then they reported their progress to their captain.

"So we're down to six…and whoever is in the second truck. Can we take that second driver before we get to the rough part?" Beckett asked. "That looks like the getaway vehicle to me."

"Me, too." Maguire agreed. "Get that truck with the hostages over here where we planned and cut the zip ties off those women. Let them know they're safe, that they won't be here much longer."

"Now we take care of the rest of them?" Santiago asked.

"Right after we know about that truck. The other truck just left. If that's a getaway truck, the driver should think it's over," Beckett speculated. "He'll know when to expect them, and we don't want him calling in reinforcements if they take too long."

"She's right," Maguire agreed. "Brighton, you and Smith join Riley and Yates and find out who's in the truck. Use the plan we mapped out to get to the corner."

Brighton answered, "Roger that. We got this."

After about five tense minutes, Brighton announced, "There's nobody in the back of the truck except the driver, and he's not going anywhere any time soon."

"Good work," Beckett answered. "There are six of them left, they think they're finished, and they don't seem to know that the other three are ours. What's going on now, Nixon?"

"Cleanup, but there isn't much to do. We need to be fast."

"Six of them. Plenty of us. Time for the exit plan," Maguire ordered.

The three cops removed their balaclavas, and all three announced themselves, rifles pointed at their suspects, one saying, "Drop your weapons."

One of the drug smugglers lifted his weapon to fire, and a shot from above them hit the wooden dock about a foot from where he stood.

Leaning his head to indicate the roof, Nixon warned. "He missed you intentionally. I wouldn't press my luck if I were you. He has two friends up there."

At that point, three of the men lowered their rifles to the ground and dropped to their knees with their hands on their heads. It was clear they had been on the less desirable side of arrests before. Two of those left standing looked edgy, testing the waters by moving their weapons up; and the third one turned and ran. Another shot rang out, and the runner collapsed, holding his thigh and cursing with the pain. Then two more shots hit the dock close to the two left with weapons as the other detectives and the remaining members of the tactical team on the ground surrounded their suspects with weapons drawn. The last two gunmen dropped their weapons and gave up, and all the weapons were collected and removed. Squad cars had been called in to take the drug traffickers to the fifteenth, and the uniformed officers came to the area and frisked and escorted the cuffed smugglers to their vehicles. EMS was on call close by in case of injuries, so by the time the men who were captured and held earlier were "untrussed" and on their way to the precinct, the wounded man was attended to and on his way to the hospital with two NYPD escorts. And everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Good work, people," Maguire's voice said into their earpieces. "Only one injury, it wasn't life threatening, and it wasn't ours. Low key like we planned. Beckett and I are working with the hostages. The tactical van will be here to pick you up in a few minutes, and CSU should be here any time now. We'll see you back at the fifteenth. Zentress, you and your partner stay with the evidence in the truck…stand guard and preserve the chain of custody. Smith and Brighton, you'll stay here with CSU, and Simpson and Dobson, you'll help us get the command truck home and the contraband back and logged into evidence."

Transportation was arranged for the twenty frightened women, and Beckett rode with them to the fifteenth to provide assurances that they wouldn't be kidnapped again.

Once there, the rest of the night was taken in dealing with a large number of people. Sixteen drug and human trafficking suspects had been arrested and had to be processed and questioned individually before reports could be written. Reports had to be in before their files were complete, and files were necessary before they could be arraigned. Twenty young women needed to provide at least preliminary witness statements and contact their families. After the initial organized chaos of safely detaining that many people, the NYPD teams' adrenalin highs were fading, and the work ahead of them looked overwhelming.

"Make yourself some notes, get some sleep, and come in about ten this morning to give me your statements," Maguire told his people. "I'll need to give Captain Beckett a file as early as I can. You saw how much the fifteenth has to process. She has her hands full, and I don't want us to slow things down."

The hostages were all young women, ranging in age from fifteen to twenty-one and were to be sold to the escort service. They represented several ethnic origins and three spoke languages other than English. Maguire spoke Spanish and Beckett spoke Russian, which fortunately handled the communication problem. They spoke with each woman individually, and their short statements all told similar stories. Most of the hostages had been kidnapped in the Boston area, only five from New York City. Each of the women had been charmed by a kind looking older man into having coffee with him…in broad daylight. It all looked very innocent; but he had somehow drugged their coffee and took them with him in a taxi, giving the driver the explanation that he was taking a sick relative to her home.

The English speaking hostages were allowed to call their families on arrival, but the three non-English speakers were all new to New York and confused by the trauma, the language, and the new surroundings. Maguire and Beckett handled the phone calls to their families, and before much longer, the five sets of family members from New York City inundated the space at the precinct, too. After getting contact information, arrangements were made for the five women to return the next day for more complete statements. Appointments to work with sketch artists to identify the man who had lured them into their kidnappings would also be on the afternoon's agenda. Overnight hotel accommodations were made for the fifteen other women. There was palpable relief on both sides as the New York families left with their loved ones, and the Bostonians were taken to their hotel with a small police contingent to stand guard until the next day…which meant about thirty people vacated the premises. Some of the night shift at the precinct had been called on to interview the hostages, and they slowly began to settle back to something akin to normal. The sixteen men who had been arrested were processed and separated for interrogation among the three teams who had worked the cases, but Beckett sat in with McCade for his murder suspect/human trafficker. By the end of that interrogation, they had a confession and McCade had invited Beckett to join any of his interrogations from then on.

"I have no sympathy at all for a murderer who's connected to selling human beings. You telling me it showed, McCade?" she teased.

"Yes, Ma'am, it did," said a young detective leaving the observation room with a couple of others. "That was awesome."

"Just doing the job, Ossio," she answered. Turning to McCade, she said, "I think we have every interrogation room in the building in use right now. You ready for the next one?"

"Yeah. Eddleman's with me for this one."

"Unless you want to take down another one, Captain," Eddleman offered. He had been in observation with the two others.

"All yours, gentlemen. I need to follow up on a few things with Captain Maguire and make sure my precinct is still intact," she responded. "This has been quite a night."

While the traffickers were being rounded up, search warrants had been executed at the home and property of the surviving owner of the escort service. The homicide suspect's home and vehicle had also been searched, all of that leaving more paperwork to deal with.

Beckett had sent Castle quick texts now and then throughout the evening, but she took a minute and went to her office to call him and put his mind at ease.

"Hey, Sweetheart," he said, sounding tired. "Everything still okay?"

"Everything is fine. We're all back at the fifteenth. Every interrogation room is in use at the moment…sixteen arrested, probably a few more to come. Twenty young women are back home with their families, and a good cache of drugs are out of reach."

"Not a bad night's work. I'm proud of you…again."

"I was in the command center almost the entire night. But I did get a confession out of the human trafficker, McCade's murder suspect."

"Wish I'd been there. Was it spectacular?"

"I've got a standing invitation to all McCade's interrogations," she answered with a chuckle. "Must have been okay." She paused a moment and asked, "Are you and Jamie ready to leave tomorrow?"

"Everything is packed and in the car except a couple of things we'll need this morning. Will you be home tonight?"

"I wish. Not a chance, though. Too much still going on."

"We can stop by and take you to breakfast tomorrow. Will that be okay?"

"Rick, it would make my day."

"Then look for us at eight."

Beckett's phone rang. She told Castle to hold on for a minute, picked it up, and put it on speaker. "Beckett."

"Hey, Captain. It's Santiago. We got one here who wants to make a deal."

"I'll be right there."

"Interrogation two."

"See you in a minute." She hung up and asked Castle, "Did you hear?"

"Yeah. Go take care of business. I love you. See you at breakfast."

"I love you, too, and I can't wait. Can you sleep now?"

"Yeah. I think so. I should get in enough sleep not to run into any trees between here and the Hamptons."

"Take your earpiece so you can call now and then to keep me from worrying."

"I will."

"Got to go. See you soon. Gonna go see why a man caught red-handed thinks he deserves a deal."

They ended their call, Beckett took a deep breath, released a long sigh, and went downstairs to Narcotics.

Santiago met her outside the interrogation room. "He's ready to tell us everything he knows, but he's worried about his family. He wants them safe before he talks."

Beckett nodded before going inside and sat down across from the man. He was in his mid-twenties and obviously afraid.

"I'm Captain Kate Beckett. I understand you want some consideration in return for information. Do you understand that I may have to involve the DA's office in order to do that?"

"Whatever you have to do," he said, an edge of desperation in his tone. There isn't much time." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair nervously. "Look, I know what I've done is going to get me locked up. I know charges for being involved with that much cocaine is going to put me in prison, but my family had nothing to do with it. My wife didn't know. And you've got to believe I didn't know about those women. I'd never have had anything to do with that. Two of those girls looked like they weren't any older than my little sister, and I know what was going to happen to them. They needed an extra guy tonight, and the money they offered was too good to turn down. Look, mostly I work in the office with the boss. I take care of all the bookkeeping – legal and not. They know I can tell you where to look for records, and all I saw that was supposed to ship tonight was the coke and 'exotics'. I've seen that before, but I figured he was bringing in crates of animals. I help with the phones a lot, too…communications. I got some phone numbers, a few names, standard procedures, some of the distribution points…" Thing is, this crowd protects itself any way it can. If they're not out of the apartment fast, somebody's gonna be holding my family hostage to keep me quiet. I got a wife and a four year old boy who don't deserve any of that. You get them somewhere safe, and I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Tell us…"

"I'm telling you nothing until I talk to my wife and she tells me they're safe," he insisted sternly. "I don't care about me right now, but please get somebody to them and get them out of there."

"What's her phone number?" Beckett asked. He gave it to her, and she punched in the number.

"Santiago, who have we got to pick them up?"

"Thank you," the man said, sagging in his chair and looking relieved.

"Let me check. Be right back." He returned in a couple of minutes. "Hobbs and Pretner can go. What's the address?"

The young man, Dwayne Barnes, gave them the address.

"That's close to the twenty-fourth. They could be there in ten minutes. Let me see if they can send somebody." She left the room and returned in a couple of minutes.

"Tell her to move as fast as she can to pack what she and your son need for a week away and to expect two plain clothes officers who will show her ID's. Tell her not to open the door until she can see their badges. She's to go with them without question, and they'll take her to meet Detectives Hobbs and Pretner at a hotel where they'll be safe for the night. They'll stay with them until morning, then we'll reassess the situation. I'll have someone make the arrangements now. They should be at the hotel in half an hour…maybe a little less." She pressed "call" and handed Barnes the phone.

"Hey, Baby," he said. "Listen, I got myself into some trouble, and you might be in some danger, too; so listen and don't ask questions. Just trust me and do what I tell you, okay? I'll explain later." There was a little pause and he said, "No I can't. I'm at the fifteenth precinct, and I can't leave. You gotta listen and do exactly what I tell you. I'm trying to take care of you and Joey." He repeated what Beckett had told him, verified the detectives' names, and told his wife, "I love you. Don't hate me, okay? Do what I said. The officers will be there in about ten minutes."

"You ready to start talking? Are you going to give us an address for a search warrant for those records? I'm using up time and resources fast here."

"As soon as she tells me she's at the hotel, I'll give you everything I've got. Not before."

She turned to Santiago and said, "Tell Pretner I want her to call me as soon as they get to the hotel. Have the room arranged and get both of them to it as soon as they arrive. Put his wife on the phone with me as soon as they're in the room."

She looked through her contacts and dialed again. "Judge Markaway? It's Kate Beckett, and I apologize profusely for the hour. We just made a big drug and human trafficking bust, and we're about to get information on where to find records that may yield more arrests. We're going to need a warrant signed tonight while we may still be in the element of surprise window."

"And I'm guessing my signature is the reason for the phone call at this ungodly hour."

"Yes, it is. And again, I apologize."

"When should I expect this visit?"

"About an hour, less if we can manage."

"Fine," he grumbled. "Tell that husband of yours he should expect to throw a hand or two in my direction at the next poker night…or at the very least he needs to be generous with that fine scotch he always keeps around."

"I'll tell him. And thank you for this. Should I let you know how it works out?"

"Damn straight. You wake me up at this hour, I'm gonna want to know if it was worth it."

"I'm still at work if that makes you feel any better."

"Well, apparently I am, too."

"Again, I'm sorry…and thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. I know you wouldn't call if weren't important. 'Night."

"You have a judge you can call and wake up in the middle of the night on speed dial?" Santiago asked, looking surprised.

"My husband's poker buddy," she explained. "Get the paperwork for a search warrant ready to take for his signature as soon as this guy talks."

"Yes, Ma'm. Be right back."

Twenty-five minutes later, Barnes had heard from his wife and was fulfilling his promise. He started with the address where the records could be found, a legitimate warehouse where the drug dealer ran a legal business as well as coordinating and stashing the records for his illegal ones. McCade and his team were again sent with the search warrant and stopped for the judge's signature before moving on to the warehouse. They kept the guard with them, interviewing him as they worked as quickly as possible. Since they expected the security guard to tip off his boss as soon as they left the building, they went directly to the warehouse owner's home, stopping him just as he was leaving his apartment with his luggage, passport, and a plane ticket to Argentina. They now had what they needed to convict the man who ran the local end of both trafficking operations they had intercepted that night. Barnes had a few other names for them to look into that might lead to some bigger fish later, and the women hostages who were scheduled to work with sketch artists later in the day might be able to give them some insight into the man who handled the original kidnappings. It would be interesting to see where he fit in the organization.

By seven-thirty in the morning, a lot had been accomplished, but there was plenty left to uncover. They knew the people higher up the food chain would have been alerted and would already be running for cover, but the fifteenth had accomplished an impressive sweep.

The Coast Guard had intercepted all three speed boats and the trawler, so there were more interrogations to come and more arrests to be made.

Beckett spoke to her three team leaders and explained that her husband and son would be at the beach for the rest of the week and she intended to have breakfast with them at the coffee shop across the street before they left. "After that, I'll be here for the duration," she promised. "I just need half an hour."

Not long after that, Castle and Jamie walked out of the elevator and past the bullpen side by side. Nixon had come up to compare notes with McCade on one of the reports and they intended to clear something with Beckett. As they rounded the desks not far from her office, they saw Castle and Jamie walk into the office and Beckett melt into Castle's open arms, leaning her forehead against the crook of his neck. They were talking softly, and Castle wrapped his arms around her tighter as he spoke next to her ear. Then they both looked down and smiled. She lifted Jamie up between them for a three way hug, and Castle kissed her gently.

"You think this can wait half an hour?" McCade asked.

"Pretty sure it can. We'll talk to her after she has breakfast," Nixon agreed. "She's been here since early yesterday morning."

The family of three left together, unaware of the detectives and their exchange, and walked across the street to the coffee shop, ordering and talking as they ate.

"Do you want to tell me about it, or are you too tired?"

"The beginning went like clockwork, and the end was pretty efficient, too. In between, there was some improvisation, but it was pretty well managed within the original plan. Maguire's team is good, but I'm exhausted and too full of all of this right now. I need a good dose of little boy excitement about the beach. I'll call before I go to bed and tell you about it tonight."

"I hate to leave you alone."

"I won't be alone. Martha and I will be fine. We plan to do something on Saturday afternoon…maybe some shopping or even just dinner…or maybe just an evening with conversation and too much wine. I'll be fine. You and Jamie should have all the fun you can. By the time you get back home, all this should be settled and the precinct should be back to normal. Gates will be at the beach house weekend after next, and I can go to the beach with you the last weekend this month. I can't wait."

"Me, either. Jamie's excited. We've been reading beach books. I doubt he remembers much of last summer. Tell Mommy about the beach, Buddy. What are we going to do?"

"Splash in the water," he said with a grin.

"Splashing seems to be his favorite thought," Castle told her. "What else?"

"Play in the pool. Daddy's gonna help me swim."

Kate smiled at her son's excitement. "Mommy will go with you next time, and you can show me how you can swim."

He nodded energetically and said, "And find shells."

"Will you bring me some?"

"Uh-huh. And there's big colors in the sky." His arms reached out a little wildly to show how big.

"Fireworks," Castle explained. "We're taking him to see the Fourth of July fireworks. I showed him some online."

"It sounds like you're going to have lots of fun," she told her little boy. "You can tell me all about it when you get back home."

They talked a little longer as they finished breakfast, and then she reluctantly said she had to get back to work. "There's a lot left to coordinate."

"Promise me you'll get some sleep tonight."

"I'll be lucky not to fall asleep at my desk today. I don't think that's a promise I'll have trouble keeping."

Castle settled the bill, and she picked Jamie up from the high chair and carried him to the car, walking next to Castle. "Give Mommy a hug and a kiss before you go," she said. He did, and she squeezed him a little tighter than usual and left a lingering kiss on his head before giving him to his father. She shared a suitable-for-the-captain-standing-on-the-street-in-front-of-the-precinct kiss with her husband before she went back to work, then Castle strapped Jamie in his car seat and they left for the beach house.