It was getting late. Kate sat on a musty smelling sofa in a NYPD safe house with goop in her hair reading case files both past and present. She sighed. She should be having a home cooked meal, curled up in Rick's arms on his obscenely comfortable leather couch. Some days life just didn't play fair.
She looked at the timer. Ten more minutes and she could wash this stuff out of her hair. Blonde. She didn't like being blonde. She'd done it once before for this very case and had been thrilled when her natural color grew back. Now she wondered how Rick would feel when she came back as a blonde. The corners of her mouth turned upwards as she imagined his reaction to her Russian accent and blonde locks. A little role play might be fun. Maybe blonde wouldn't be so bad, at least temporarily.
Lt. Casey thought going back to blonde made sense.
"You were blonde when you went undercover the first time. We want you to feel as familiar to them as possible. They trusted Katya. Your cover was still intact when it was over. If we play our cards right there's no reason why they shouldn't trust you now."
No reason? She tried to suppress the eye roll. No reason other than these were hardened criminals moving enough crystal meth to get half the city high. Trust wouldn't be their first reaction.
Montgomery still wasn't convinced. He wasn't sure how he felt about handing his best detective over to a team he didn't know. "What about the press she's gotten because of the book? What if she gets recognized?"
Kate had the same thoughts but already set them aside. "The last photos were for that Cosmo article. There was only one of me and that was over a year ago. I think Lt. Casey's right, Sir. If I go in as a blonde, speaking Russian, they'll remember me as Katya. They knew her before Nikki Heat ever existed. If anyone notices a resemblance I should be able to play it off."
"So you're OK with this?" Eyebrows raised, the Captain looked a bit surprised.
"If it weren't for a technicality Zukov would still be behind bars where he belongs. I'd like the opportunity to finish the job. Besides, if everything is set up the way Lt. Casey says, then it shouldn't take very long."
Things moved quickly after that. She barely had time to call Rick and explain.
"Give me twenty minutes and I'll be there." A Russian drug ring. Kate as Katya. He didn't' want to miss this.
"Castle, no. They're moving me to the safe house now to get me prepped. The less people involved, the less attention it will draw." As much as she wanted to see him, as much as his presence might ease her nerves, she knew it was smarter to keep him out of this.
"But I can help you prep. Go over the case files. Make sure you don't miss anything." He knew he was grasping at straws but he didn't like feeling left out.
"I can read a case file all on my own Castle." She took a deep breath. She didn't mean to sound annoyed with him. He was only trying to help. Her voice softer, "Any chance I can get a rain check on dinner? If the intel they have is right we should close this thing in two days. You can help me celebrate?"
"Fine." He was pouting. "Just hurry home Detective. I'll have big plans for dessert."
...
...
Undercover. Over a year ago the prospect would have excited him. Imagine all of the great stories his writer's brain would have concocted. Now it just put a knot in his stomach and wouldn't let him sleep. How things had changed.
Their phone conversation kept replaying itself in his head. She had just become a detective. The higher ups pulled her for the undercover assignment because she spoke fluent Russian. She'd spent a semester there, which meant she had first hand knowledge to weave into her cover story.
Katya. The name sounded so sexy the way she'd said it over the phone in her Russian accent. He closed his eyes and tried picturing her as the struggling student immigrant who was desperate enough to start selling drugs to survive. When the case had closed they had taken down a major drug distribution ring, or at least they should have. Most of the main players had been put away but not Andrei Zukov. Kate said the sleazeball's high priced attorneys held the case up for years. In the end he walked away on a technicality. Now he was back in business, same game as before and even more determined to cover his tracks.
Rick sighed staring at the ceiling. Of course she'd agreed. Kate wasn't one to walk away from a case and she still felt like this one was hers. So she was going back to finish the job. She'd done her best to explain it, to ease his mind. Said that her cover was still intact. When it all went down the first time Katya was arrested with everyone else. They'd made it look as though INS had deported her. She wouldn't be the first immigrant to sneak back in for a second try.
And he had to admit, the way she told it, it made sense. Made a good story. But right now he didn't want a good story. He wanted Kate sleeping next to him safe in his bed. Two days. It should all be wrapped up in two days. Until it was he figured he wouldn't be getting much sleep.
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