AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is completely AU. I wanted to write a story about the Bracken storyline. ITBOTB gave me an idea (because of the undercover and fluent-in-Russian thing but I'm going to use my mother tongue. I can read and understand a bit of Spanish but not fluently. I can also read and understand a bit of Irish Gaelic but also not fluently. I don't want to use Google Translate for what I have in mind.) but then my story doesn't have Caskett romance in it. Just how I will resolve the Bracken (and Vulcan Simmons) storyline and give him redemption. I know it's an unpopular opinion but it will make him realise what he had done is bad.

And since this is AU, there is a new character who plays a sort of major role, connected to everything.

The whole story is already outlined.

This is my first Castle fanfic and my first story here. I don't own any of the other characters except for Sam. I have previously written FRIENDS one-shot fanfic but only published it in our forum.

Reviews are welcome.

"No! Please! No!" he pleaded. "Don't do this."

"Tell me what the secret is and I'll spare you," a booming yet calm voice answered."The secret you have kept all these years. I need it."

The man, on his knees and tied up, his face bloodied and body bruised from the blows of the baseball bat, just looked at his captor and said, "I can't. He trusted me with it and I shall keep it until the day I die."

The large man, a life-sized teddy bear with a menacing demeanor, smiled at him. "Then death shall it be."

The 12th Precinct was already abuzz when Samantha Rodriguez arrived. There were FBI and Secret Service out front and she was subjected to being checked, as she was just a visitor on request by her friend, Detective Kate Beckett. Sam, as she was fondly called, saw her firend and her team in front of the murder board.

"Kate!" she called. "Is something wrong? I had a full body check downstairs."

"Hey Sam," Beckett greeted her. "There is something alright. A high-profile murder. Emilio Sanchez, a retired adviser to politicians. He was found dead in an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn this morning, tortured and strangled. No suspects yet but we assume it's someone who didn't like his mingling with people with power. Sam?"

Beckett looked at her friend. She stopped in her trackes just before she reached the board. "Everything okay?" the detective asked. Sam had barely heard what Beckett had said. She stared at the picture of the victim on the murder board. She nearly passed out and balked to see who it was. Only when Esposito spoke did she get out of her reverie.

"Hey! Beckett asked if you're okay."

"Yeah," Sam stammered. "It's just...I know him. Knew."

Beckett looked at her friend. "How did you know him?" she asked. She knew little of Sam. They only had met a few months before, on a case related to a string of robbery-homicide in some of the wealthy homes on the Upper East. She, Espo, Ryan, and Castle actually arrested the girl because some of the weapons used were evidence that seemed to point to her. When they proved it wasn't her, her talent in being a contortionist - she was a rhythmic gymnast - were used, Catherine Zeta-Jones-style in Entrapment, when the perp struck again, this time in a museum. Other than that, all Beckett knew about the girl is that she is a martial artist, taught in Japan by the best sensei for years. But that short time Kate knew Sam, she was always happy. In fact, all the people at the precinct call her the female counterpart of Castle especially when it comes to certain topics such as Doctor Who. They have such a dynamic that Castle thinks of her as the little sister that he never had. And she's the only one who can stand up to Captain Gates, firmly calling her "Ma'am" when no one does because she says it's not proper for a woman to be called "Sir". Seeing her in this state, speechless, staring at the board, her usually light-filled eyes shrouded in sadness...and fear. It's not the Sam she knew and she's not used to it.

It took a while before her friend replied, "Uh, yeah. He's my, my godfather."

"Godfather?" Castle, who was looking at the board thinking about plausible theories, turned around. "You've got connections?"

"Sort of. But it was a long time ago."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Beckett asked, concern on her face.

"Erm, a couple of days ago. He was telling me something. Excuse me." Sam exited the bullpen and went to the break room.

"Should we?" asked Castle.

"Give her some space," Beckett answered. "She seems really distraught. Meanwhile, any update on CSU report?"

"Nothing much except that he wasn't killed in the warehouse," Ryan said, walking to them. "No slugs, no fingerprints, no blood. His body was probably dumped there. They're also running DNA just in case someone left a little something on the wire."

"So, he was beaten up before being strangled," Beckett said thoughtfully, smacking her lips. "It's pretty bold."

"Possible that the murderer is military," Castle offered.

"There is a possibility since everything is done with precision," Esposito said. "Only question is why."

"His political connections," Ryan suggested. "Someone hired our killer to do this to Sanchez."

"Work that angle, Kev, and see who his friends are, run his financials and see if there is anything connected to any politician. See if he was a member of any PAC," Beckett said. "Meanwhile, I'll see what I can get from Sam."

Castle and Beckett went to the break room and saw Sam sitting at the table, distracted. She hadn't seen them coming.

"Sam?" Beckett said tentatively. "I know this is the wrong time but I need to ask you something."

Sam looked up at her friend. She's not crying. She hadn't cried in a long time. "Sure. What is it?"

"Did Emilio have any family here? Someone we can call to tell them about this." "No. He didn't marry. He was single and he enjoyed it. He told me that he can do what he wanted to because there were no strings attached," she said dolefully. "I just kind of wished now he did. He has a distant cousin in Sacramento but other than that..."

"I'm sorry," Beckett said. "I know how you feel. It really hurts when someone close to you, someone who you knew from when you were a kid, dies."

"Yeah," Sam said. "I need to be alone. Please." Her demeanor suddenly changed. Beckett noticed this change and went on, "Sam, I know..."

"Please!" the girl exclaimed. "Leave me alone." She still isn't crying.

"Kate, let's," Castle said. They left the girl in the break room.

A few hours later, there still was no development and they're still in the dark as to what went wrong with their vic. Lanie had called earlier that she saw no GSW, just lots of bruises on his back that clearly said he was beaten with either a baseball bat or a mace and looked like a fraternity initiation gone wrong. The chicken wire was a red herring. He was already dead when they wrapped it around his neck. Beckett was getting frustrated when Sam approached her table.

"We need to talk," the girl said with determination. "In private."

"Sure," Beckett said. "The interrogation room is free. I don't think anyone is in the observation room so it's private."

"Off the record, too, please," Sam said.

Beckett nodded.

"You can bring Castle. He has to know, too."

Kate wondered why Castle was involved. Maybe because Sam saw him as a brother, an accomplice. Nevertheless, she called for him to come. "Interrogation room 1. Sam wants to talk to us."

In the interrogation room, Beckett disconnected the microphones. She had disconnected the cameras in the observation room a while ago.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

Sam was standing and pacing the room. "I think I know why Uncle Emil was killed." She looked at Beckett with sad eyes. "He was keeping a secret from everyone."

Castle looked at Beckett. The same surprised face he has right now is etched on his fiancee's face. "A secret? An important one worth killing for?"

"Yes," Sam replied. "A secret that will either ruin the career of a powerful politician or can be used in his advantage."

The couple looked at each other, both wondering how Sam and their vic would be involved in a clandestine political matter. Sam continued.

"The thing is, this politician and Uncle Emil were the best of friends. When this man decided to run for office, he asked Uncle Emil to keep this secret. It wasn't to be told in any way, unless this secret is ready."

"'Ready'? " Castle asked. "Is this secret a person?"

"Yes."

Beckett and Castle looked at each other again. This was serious. And their friend was right. If this secret is a person, it can cause the fall of the politician or can be used as an advantage.

"Do you know who this secret is?" Beckett asked, tentatively.

"Of course," Sam said. Then she hesitated. "I am the secret. My father is Senator William Bracken."