The Gambit

Yep, Tyson and Nieman are back with a vengeance. And this is an AU version because it's so definitely not going to be what the writers will do in episodes 14 and 15.

Author's Notes: Okay, so I said I wasn't going to write anymore fanfic for a while, but the evil plot bunny latched on and won't let go and Castle's a repeat tonight and I'm bored, so here goes… And this is going to be short. And I can't find the DA's name in Probable Cause, so I'm making one up.

And for all you reviewers who are going to say, "You didn't warn us!," please read my author's notes on my other fics. Unless I specifically say something in the synopsis, it doesn't happen.

All characters belong to Andrew Marlowe, ABC, and Disney. Just playing with them.

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Chapter 1 – Culling the Herd

Even though Castle hadn't had a lot of clients up to this point, Black Pawn was having a field day spinning press on his PI business and had booked him on the spur of the moment to speak about his new endeavor at the local mystery writers conference.

He had almost cancelled the speaking engagement when Beckett had come home late last night, looking pale and drawn. She had left early that morning after getting a message about a body drop and he had spent the day putting finishing touches on his presentation, aptly titled "Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk".

He finally coaxed the reason out of her and it sent chills down his spine.

A young woman, Adrianne Flowers, had been murdered, found by her roommate who had just returned from a business trip. She was young, blonde, lying peacefully in bed, a 3-ply green and white cord wrapped around her neck.

Lanie estimated that the time-of-death had been about 48 hours before the call came in, the roommate's return having been delayed about 36 hours due to inclement weather.

Ryan had gone through the video feed from the building and a cable repairman had been in the building, even though no one had called in for service.

So was it the real deal or was it just another crazy disciple?

NYPD wasn't sure, putting all precincts on edge, and Castle didn't like the fact that he couldn't work with Beckett on this, couldn't be there to watch her back. He knew that Ryan and Espo would, but he didn't like it none-the-less.

And now, he wasn't sure how he had let Paula and Gina talk him into staying to sign books after his presentation (which had been very well received) and they had graciously given him a 15-minute bio-break which he desperately needed after drinking several cups of coffee that morning because he hadn't slept well after Beckett's news.

He quickly finished, tucked himself in, and was washing his hands in the bathroom sink when a hand touched his shoulder and a low, sultry voice purred in his ear, "Hey, handsome, miss me?"

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Beckett looked at her phone – Castle had promised to text her when he finished his speech but she hadn't heard from him yet – and then looked at the murder board, hoping that something would jump out at her.

The only pictures they had of the cable repairman were from the back, but they were the right height. The weight was about the same too, but then, they only had their memories to go by since all of the evidence on 3XK had been stolen last year.

The van that the fake repairmen had used had been stolen an hour before the estimated TOD and ad been wiped clean.

So now, they were on pins and needles, waiting for the other shoe to fall – for the next murder to be committed and 1PP was not happy to say the least. They were sitting really hard on the press to suppress the news of the murder so not to cause a panic, but Beckett thought that might be the way to go now – to make people aware of the danger.

She looked over her shoulder and frowned slightly as the elevator swished open and Alex Conrad walked out, carrying several books.

Ryan and Espo looked up at the same time and smiled, standing up to greet the man.

"Hey, bro. How's it going?" Espo said as they hugged and thumped each other on the back.

"Great book," said Ryan as they shook hands.

"Well, the advice you guys gave was invaluable," Conrad said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"You need help again?" Espo asked.

"Actually, I was in town and brought you all copies of my latest book, personally autographed by me," he said as he handed each of them a copy.

Espo looked at the cover. "Hmmm, The Duplicate Man."

"Yeah, it's the 3rd in the series – hope you like it. I signed it personally for each of you." His phone beeped and he quickly looked at the screen. "My taxi's here. I'm flying to LA to meet with producers about making a movie from my first book."

"Congratulations," the group said.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't have done it without Castle's help." Conrad looked around expectantly. "He's not here?"

Beckett shook her head, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "No, he's not," she said simply and then opened the copy of the book Conrad had given her to read what he had written.

"Well, when you see him, please thank him for me. I even brought a copy for him. Bye, guys," Conrad said as he shook hands again and then walked to the elevator.

As the doors opened, he stepped to the side and let DA Cummins exit before he entered.

Beckett and the team stood routed in place as the DA strode briskly towards Gates' office and knocked on her door.

"Captain Gates, I got a message that you had some urgent information to tell me on the possible 3XK murder case," Cummins said.

Gates took off her glasses as she stood up and walked to the door. "I didn't call," she said, frowning. She looked at the team. "Did one of you call?"

"No," said Beckett, looking at Ryan and Espo, who also shook their heads.

"You said it was urgent – that it would break the case wide open," the DA said.

Gates shook her head. "Ma'am, if my team says they didn't call, they didn't."

Cummins frowned. "I don't understand. Then who called?"

"Detective Esposito, get the phone records from the DA and have Ellis trace all calls," Gates said as Beckett's PC chimed.

She frowned at it. "Someone is skyping me," she said as she answered the call.

"Detective Beckett, I have some important information on the Adrianne Flowers murder," came the garbled voice. "And I'm assuming that DA Cummins is there now. She'll be interested in hearing what I have to say also."

"Who is this?" Beckett asked.

"Oh, you know me, Detective. It hasn't been that long. Although it was very dark on the bridge that night. You know, I never got a chance to properly thank you and Castle for your help. But I can fix that now."

The monitor sprung to life, showing the inside of a warehouse. The camera moved around until it landed on a figure standing by the door.

Beckett froze, her heart in her throat – Castle – what was he doing there?

"You know how they cull the herds?" the voice continued. "They remove the unwanted animal from the pack – do what it takes to separate them – and then destroy them."

The team could only stand and watch as Castle called out, "DA Cummins?"

"What the hell?" Gates and Cummins said as the same time as the DA walked out of the shadows in the warehouse and towards Castle. "Mr. Castle, thank you for meeting me today. And I understand if you say no…due to the circumstances…but you may be the only expert we have on Jerry Tyson. We would like you to help on this case."

Castle shrugged. "Sure – of course. I'm sure Detective Beckett—"

Cummings held up her hand. "I'm sorry, but we need to do this off the books – we'll provide you everything you need, but we want his focus to be on what the 12th is doing."

Castle nodded. "Okay…" he said.

"And one more thing," said Cummings as she pulled a gun out of her pocket and fired two quick shots, knocking Castle backwards and off his feet. "Tyson says 'hi'," she said as she walked up to him and aimed the gun at his head.

The screen went blank as the team heard one more shot.

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