Published: 30 Apr 2011

Chapter 4 - Hunting

Castle was trapped on the other side of the shed that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Go to the end of the street, and we'll pick you up in a couple minutes," Carter called over to Castle.

Everyone cleaned up the various devices spread throughout the area. Beckett even helped carry a couple of the smaller boxes back to the car. She felt like she was holding top secret government secrets, because she was. With the trunk full, the case-less silver device was put on the floor of the passenger side front seat, where Carter now sat.

Carter's phone rang. "Carter. … Hi, Daniel … Yeah, we know. … I found their hide-out. … They hooked up a naquadah generator to a modified Sodan bracelet to hide an entire building. … The General said the same thing. … We had to disintegrate the body we found because it was covered in the worms. … Tell Vala we could use her 'hunting expertise' again. Also call Cam and Teal'c and tell them we need to meet up for weapons. Bring Cassie, too, in case we need medical support. … The Hammond has the coordinates. … We'll tell you more when we get there."

A moment later they picked up Castle, who looked as exacerbated as Beckett felt.

Castle started in, "That building came out of nowhere, but you knew it was there since we left the station. I thought Beckett was the smartest person I had ever met—"

"—and I thought Castle was the craziest person I ever met—" Beckett added.

"—but now I'm thinking either Colonel Carter is the smarter person—"

"—or you all are the craziest people."

"That's cute," the general said, "do you two practice that finishing each other's sentence thing?" The officers laughed, but Castle and Beckett were too used to the kidding they got from Esposito and Ryan to appreciate the joke. He continued, "Everyone who has worked for the SGC, which we all have, is just a little bit crazy. But Carter isn't just the smartest person you've ever met, she's the smartest person in… I don't know… the entire world?"

"In the galaxy?" Jon offered.

"I think it is four or five galaxies now," the general suggested.

"Stop it guys." Carter was blushing. "There are a lot of people smarter than I."

The general said, "We're not counting 'Rain Man' types that count toothpicks. Most people I've talked to think that if you were on the Destiny, they'd be home by now."

"Does that mean you are going to let me go?" Carter asked.

"Hell no. You're banned. Don't give me that look. You're the national treasure. After what happened to Perry, the President has said he doesn't want me using the stones either."

"Like that stopped you last time."

"How many Rite of M'al Shuraan experts do we know?"

"I think Teal'c is more of an expert, and it's not really the rite without a junior," Carter countered.

"Close enough. Anyway, Teal'c had council meetings and we don't know if there would be a physiological issue with him using the stones. My point is we put our top twenty scientists, save you, on Boy Wonder's solution, and not one of them thought of the solar flare problem. I even knew that would be a bad idea, albeit from person experience."

"Ok, I'll give you that. McKay wasn't consulted either, and Rush knew it wouldn't work."

"But the Boy Wonder figured out the ninth chevron before he did, and Rush's Icarus solution was way too dangerous. McKay thought of a better solution. Considering Rush and the Boy Wonder are a wash, McKay is smarter than both, and that annoying man only approaches your intelligence when his life is threatened, I think you win."

"What about Daniel?" Carter asked.

"Doohickeys trump rocks. And it's not like the Asgard needed his knowledge of twenty-six languages they already knew."

"No, they needed my dumb ideas. They did name their science ship after him."

"So what? Maybe they thought you would blow it up and didn't want to waste your name on a ship that wouldn't last."

"I'm not the one she went after," Carter said.

"Stuff trapped in his subconscious doesn't count—"

"Because then you'd beat all of us, and we couldn't have that," Carter teased.

"What did you do?" Jon asked.

"I used another one of those head sucking things," the general said.

"Ouch. Well at least you didn't let Carter use it."

"See," the general said with some satisfaction. "He agrees with me."

"Of course he does," Carter said sarcastically.

From the sound of it, Carter was a genius, and they were all crazy. Also, Beckett was beginning to suspect she really was in the Twilight Zone. The silly argument about who was the smartest was halted as Beckett parked in front of The Old Haunt.

"We're here."

Everyone climbed out of the car and started into the bar. Beckett stopped and said, "What about the equipment in the trunk?"

"What equipment in the trunk?" Carter winked and carried the silver device into the bar.

Beckett opened her trunk and saw only her vest, Castle's 'writer' vest, and a shotgun pushed to the back of the trunk. The rest of it was empty. Where had the boxes gone? Now she knew she really was in the Twilight Zone. She grabbed the vests and shotgun and hurried inside.

Inside The Old Haunt, the place was being transformed into a battle headquarters. More than a dozen soldiers in black fatigues were rapidly at work. Some were moving tables out of the way. Others were bringing in large containers from the cellar. Two wheeled in a large flat-panel monitor, at least fifty inches. Beckett and Castle looked at each other, mouths once again agape. Beckett had been part of enough task forces to know what a mobilization looked like. She had never seen one happen so fast before.

"Where did all of these people come from?" Castle asked.

Beckett pointed to the manager's office, where Daniel and Vala emerged. "How did they beat us here?"

Castle and Beckett were pushed aside by a couple of people entering the bar from behind them. Upon second glance, they saw it was Teal'c and Mitchell. Teal'c was carrying Ryan over his shoulder.

"What happened?" Beckett demanded as Teal'c placed Ryan in the nearest booth.

Mitchell reported, "We were attacked by the creature. Teal'c hit it, but it ran off. Ryan was freaking out so we had to stun him so we could get here."

"Stun him! What do you mean stun him?"

"Don't worry. He'll be fine."

A young woman in a flight suit matching the one worn by Colonel Carter earlier pushed Beckett out of the way. At least that confirmed she wasn't a hologram. "Excuse me, I'm a doctor. I'll take a look." Beckett stepped back reluctantly to let the doctor work. "What did you guys do—zat him?"

"Yes I did, CassandraFraiser."

The doctor huffed.

"We had to shut him up somehow," Mitchell explained.

The doctor shook her head and continued her evaluation. After a few more seconds, she stood and addressed Beckett, "Your friend is fine. Normally he would wake in a couple minutes, but this being the first time he's been zatted, it sometimes takes longer—"

"Zatted?" Beckett interrupted.

"Think of it as a high tech taser. It's safe, most people here, except me, have been zatted at least once. Daniel's probably been hit twenty or thirty times over the last fifteen years." Mitchell chuckled, but stopped when the doctor leveled a glare in his direction. "Normally we would just let him wake up naturally, but when we need someone awake sooner… He's not going to be actively involved in the operation, right?"

"No, he won't," Mitchell answered.

"Ok, instead of the zat quick-revival serum, which would give him the mother-of-all-hangovers, I'm going to give him a sedative—"

"A sedative? He's already unconscious," Beckett protested.

"It's a special blend, specifically for his condition. He's unconscious because of an electrical charge. The sedative will be chemical. It will allow him to wake up more slowly with fewer lingering effects. He'll be good to go in about an hour."

The doctor pulled out a syringe from her bag, filled it and injected the unconscious detective. After putting a Band-Aid on the mark, she stood and directed another glare at Mitchell and Teal'c. "You guys should know better—"

"But Cassie—"

"Don't 'Cassie' me, Colonel. You both know better than to zat a police detective no matter how uncooperative he is being. Now go check in before I change my mind and decide to tell General Jack you two have gone insane and need to be removed from duty."

Mitchell's eyes widened, "Yes Ma'am."

Teal'c nodded to the feisty doctor and said, "Your assertiveness does honor to your mother." The doctor's firm expression melted into a tight smile. The three joined the rest of the soldiers who had finished setting up 'headquarters.'

The center of the room was very crowded, so Castle led Beckett behind the bar where they could get a clear view of the briefing about to take place. As they walked the length of the bar, Beckett overheard a group of four men talking in Russian.

"Most of the sexy women at the SGC are off-limits: married to a general, daughter or goddaughter of a general, or just plain crazy. But there is a woman I'd like to buy a drink."

"Just buy a drink? I'd like to do a lot more than buy her a drink. I think I saw a storage closet on the way in."

The men laughed. Time for some fun. Beckett slung her left arm over Castle's shoulders and around his neck, where she started playing with his hair on the other side of his head. Before he could react, Beckett grabbed his left ear lightly, where it could not be seen. She did not squeeze, but held it in a threatening manner. She whispered in his right ear, "Play along."

Beckett turned to the Russian team and said in a perfect Moscow accent, "Why would I do anything with any of you? My man is a real man. He owns this bar and gives me free drinks whenever I want… among the other things he gives me." She leaned in and brushed her lips across Castle's cheek, causing him to shiver.

The Russians were no longer laughing, although Daniel, who was standing nearby, covered his mouth to hide his quiet laugh.

Castle released a mischievous smile, put and arm around Beckett's waist, and whispered in her hair, "Feel free to use me like that anytime."

Beckett quickly crushed his ear, but released it before he could yelp with his safe-word. She didn't want to destroy the ruse. It is a ruse. Isn't it? Before she could contemplate her own question, the briefing began.

The general had concluded a three-way video conference call on the monitor. With the call windows closed, the screen showed a map of the surrounding area. The Old Haunt, the crime scenes, the last sighting, and the perimeter were marked. Everyone was quiet.

"We are going to be doing a grid search of a four square mile area. Lieutenant, what can you tell us about the target?"

The young doctor stepped to the front. "My tests show the target is a squirrel infected by the extradimesional parasite picked up from Sodan clocking technology. We don't know the exact behavior to be expected because of the unpredictable nature of the mutation caused by the parasite. In two of the previous cases, an herbivore creature became an aggressive carnivore. In the Minnesota case, two bears exhibited pack-like attack strategies."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." The general sounded overly formal, but the doctor/lieutenant barely held in a smile. This must be that goddaughter doing her residency that Carter had talked about yesterday. No wonder she called him 'General Jack.'

The general continued his briefing. "In short, we don't know much of what to expect, except it's highly dangerous. We do know of two victims so far. We believe there is only one creature. Otherwise, there would be a lot more victims. Last time, the creatures had a large hunting area, but those animals were forest animals that had a large habitat. Fortunately, at last sighting, the target was still in the middle of the search area. We are hoping an urban squirrel would stay in a much smaller area. We are also hoping it will stay out of sewers and other underground tunnels. Instead, we need to be more concerned about fire-escapes, and rooftops. A half dozen choppers will be flying low, trying to spot it on rooftops.

"The primary concern is the safety of the civilians in the area. It is now after eleven, so the early lunch crowd is out on the streets. It will only get worse after noon. NYPD has started running squad cars with megaphones asking everyone to stay indoors. We've also used the alert system to inform building security to keep people indoors. The cover story is close enough to the truth: we are hunting a rabid bear that had already killed two people. Local news is cooperating. Anyone you encounter on the street should be escorted to nearest door and instructed to remain there until they hear an all-clear. Carter."

Colonel Carter turned to address the group. "The problem is how to corral the creature. Last time we used radiation packages to drive the creatures into a central area. That was acceptable because the packages had a short half-life and were safe past a distance of a hundred meters. They can't be used here because of the dense population."

"We need bait," Vala called from the back.

Someone sarcastically replied, "What a big pile of nuts?"

Several people laughed to which Vala said matter-of-factly, "Last time General Landry was good bait."

The laughter died quickly, but a few people were still amused at the suggestion of Landry being a big nut.

"That's it!" Carter exclaimed.

"Carrrrter," General O'Neill said. "You can't use Landry as bait."

"No, of course not. But remember the particles emitted by the IVD when we first brought it back from P9X-391?"

He gave her a blank stare.

"I think I can modify the device to shift the particles to the dimension of the parasites. Considering the parasites still exert some control on the host, the particles may bring the creature to the device."

"Are you sure they won't drive it away?" Daniel asked.

"No, but we won't know until we try. If that's the case, we might be able to use that to our advantage as well. It's the best idea we have so far."

"Do it," the general ordered. "All other teams, start your sweeps. Remember to check in with Walter every ten minutes with your location. Move out."

Beckett extracted herself from Castle. She hadn't even realized they still had their arms around each other throughout the entire briefing. It had just felt so natural. "Dr. Jackson," she called out.

"Yes, Detective?" He was holding a machine gun of some sort and didn't look much like a scientist.

"Where is Detective Esposito?"

"Your captain held him back to help with the NYPD mobilization."

"What are we supposed to do?" These people might be very effective soldiers, but that was a large area to cover so they would need her help.

"Jackson!" Mitchell called from by the door. "Let's go. It's Wabbit Season!"

"I don't know, check with Jack," Daniel quickly answered Beckett before rushing to join his teammate.

Beckett looked around the room, which had greatly cleared out. The general was talking to two airmen. One was very young, working on a computer that was hooked up to the screen. The other was an older, short man with chopped grey hair and glasses. Colonel Carter was working on the IVD, which had somehow disappeared from the trunk and transported inside. Colonel O'Neill was standing by, tapping the butt of his gun, impatiently waiting for her to finish. The doctor was checking on Ryan, whom someone had moved away from the booth on to a gurney. The other two dozen plus soldiers were gone, starting their search.

Beckett walked up to the group to the middle of a conversion.

"This is just so weird!" the doctor said. Beckett's concern for Ryan immediately rose. "Growing up I had the biggest crush on you and now you're standing there, looking… I'll admit it… all hot, and all I can think is 'Ewww!'"

"You're right, that is—" The young colonel didn't seem to know what word to say.

"Exactly!" The doctor stood, finished with her quick check-up, and gave the much taller colonel a big hug and peck on the cheek. "But don't worry. I still love you anyway, Uncle Jon," she said as she pulled away.

"I've missed you, too, Cassie." The young man immediately aged in Beckett's eyes. He obviously thought of this young woman as a daughter. The look in his eyes reminded her of how Castle looked at Alexis, and Castle was her definition of what a good loving father should be. Wait. Why am I thinking about Castle's fathering skills?

Beckett broke her thought and asked, "What can I do?"

General O'Neill looked over, surprised. He was engrossed in mission organization and appeared to have forgotten the detective and writer were still there. "Nothing. Just stay out of the way." He pulled out a radio and stepped away to talk to someone.

Beckett was not happy. She needed to be involved—be part of the solution. This seemed to be some macho thing.

As if she had read her mind, Carter said without looking up, "Don't let him bother you. I challenged him with a whole 'reproductive organs on the outside' speech the day we met. It's not a sexist thing with him."

Cassie said, "Walter, what are the odds?"

"Teal'c and Vala are 5-to-3. Colonel O'Neill and Colonel Carter are 3-to-1. Mitchell and Daniel are 8-to-1, mainly because of full SG-1 team bets. The field is 20-to-1, and they're only that good because Colonel Reynolds put fifty on his own team to help morale."

"How much did he put on Teal'c and Vala when no one was paying attention?"

"Eighty."

"See, Detective Beckett. Most people are betting on the two teams with women."

Beckett was surprised, "You're betting on who gets this thing?"

Colonel O'Neill shrugged, "Why not?"

Castle piped in, "Put me down for two hundred on the big guy and the crazy chick." He pulled out two Benjamins and handed them to Walter. Beckett glared at Castle, who said, "What? The guy walked out of here with two guns! He's already wounded the thing and even shot Ryan this morning. He's also wearing natural camouflage so the thing won't see him coming." Beckett couldn't hold her glare, smiling at the comparison of Yankee pinstripes to zebra stripes. "It's not like we haven't bet on who solves a murder before."

Carter was still making adjustments as she said, "Jon, get them weapons. They're going to drive us to drop off the bait, so they should be armed." Apparently, Colonel Carter wasn't concerned that her senior officer/husband had said they should do nothing.

Beckett looked straight at Castle and pointed, "You're staying here."

"No way. I go where you go, partner."

She stared at him for a second before realizing she never won this particular argument. She pulled out her sidearm and handed it to him.

Carter was finishing up and looked at the handgun. "No, that will only annoy it." Jon flipped open a nearby case revealing a row of machine guns.

"Cool, P-90s!" Castle was practically drooling.

"No, Castle." Beckett felt like a mother telling her kid he couldn't have candy. A cute kid that looked like Rick. That would mean—no don't go there.

Jon held out a P-90 for each of them. Castle took one despite her protest. He immediately pulled out a cartridge and loaded it. Beckett should have known better than to be surprised.

Castle grinned at her. "Research for A Calm Before Storm. I went to a military firing range and tried out a variety of weapons. I've fired a P-90 before."

"Of course you have."

Jon said, "Detective, if that shotgun contains breaching rounds as I suspect, by the time you're close enough to do any damage, its claws will be in your throat."

Castle showed her how to load and prime it, while Carter finished with the device. She wasn't entirely comfortable with a weapon she had not fired before.

As the four started to leave, General O'Neill said, "Be safe, Carter."

"I will, Sir," she replied. The two officers stared at each other for a couple of quiet seconds. It was a look of concern, love, and trust. And then the poignant moment between the husband and wife was broken.

That must be what it is like to work in a dangerous job with someone you love. I wonder if I… Who am I kidding? I know what that feels… No. Don't go there.

The general started to say something to his younger counterpart, "You watch her—"

"Of course. Always."

The colonels carried the IVD to Beckett's car. Beckett noticed they had swapped out their jackets for black combat vests. Beckett and Castle got in the front, while the device was placed on the seat between the officers in the back. As Beckett pulled away from the curb she asked, "You obviously have some magical way to move people and equipment around. Why are we driving there?"

"The device is on now, so we have to transport it by hand or it will shut off automatically. It's a safety feature." That wasn't a denial about a magical way of moving things around.

"This animal isn't invisible. What else does that device do?"

"It's emits a harmless radiation we hope will attract the creature."

Beckett was able to drive quickly to the drop-off point. All of the lights around the perimeter had been switched to red, and the patrol cars with loudspeakers had started their rounds, so there was no traffic. She kept her lights and sirens off, in case that would scare away the thing they were trying to catch. Virtually no one was on the sidewalks. The message was out. She was trying to ignore the fact that in the past half hour, martial law had effectively been declared in this part of New York. They had to catch this thing so she could get out of this surreal world of mutant, transphasiwhatever animals and back to her normal world of catching murderers and getting justice for the victims. She really hated this case!

At their destination, Beckett asked, "Now what?" She stopped her car in the middle of the intersection between the two alleys where the bodies had been found. The area appeared deserted.

"Now we get out and find cover," Carter replied. "Considering the aggressive nature of this animal, I wouldn't be surprised if it rammed the car. We don't want to be inside when that happens."

"Great. Maybe it will total the car. I've been trying to get her to upgrade for a while. The seat is so uncomfortable that—"

"Castle! Focus!"

He immediately shut up. Beckett saw the two colonels quickly and quietly move to take positions in nearby doorways on opposite sides of the intersection, weapons ready the entire time. She and her writer exited and hurried to a third corner. She was suddenly wishing she had not parked in the middle of the intersection. It was only a few yards, and they were wearing vests, but she felt very exposed.

"Beckett."

She looked behind her and saw Castle frozen in the street, weapon hanging loosely at his side. Following his glaze she saw it. She couldn't identify it, but it was definitely not a squirrel. It looked to be the size of a tiger. It had a pointed face and brown, patch-worked fur that did not cover all of its flesh. It swung a long bushy tail behind it.

Castle was still frozen when she saw it charge.

"Castle!" Time stopped. Beckett dropped her weapon and tackled him to the ground to cover him. It probably wasn't the brightest idea, but she didn't think her unpracticed P-90 aim would have helped much either. She just had to get to Rick and protect him. So she chose to sacrifice herself in the path of the creature.

She couldn't see what happened next. Bracing herself for the attack, hoping the vest would provide some protection, she instead found herself on her back. She was trying to protect him, but of course he had rolled her over to protect her. Now it was too late to do anything about it.

Then she heard gunfire—a lot of gunfire. After a half a minute, the explosion of sound stopped.

Castle still held her tight. His hands cradled her head from the pavement. His body covered hers. After some length of time she couldn't measure, she carefully opened her eyes. His warm eyes stared right back into her own. Something hard to identity passed between them through their shared gaze. Instead of seeing her life pass before her eyes, she only saw Rick. Then again, maybe that was her life passing before her eyes. She parted her lips slightly. He slowly lowered his head. She closed her eyes and waited.

"See! I told you bait would work. Thanks for playing the bait, guys!" It was Vala. "Score another one for the aliens! Muscles and I bagged another deadly, extra-dimensional, radioactive, monster-causing creature!"

Startled by the interruption, Castle lifted himself from his position and helped Beckett to her feet. He squeezed her hand briefly before letting go. The moment had passed. Looking around, they saw Teal'c, Vala, Carter, and Jon.

Wait a second. Did Vala say' aliens'? She must mean they are not citizens. Teal'c is involved in that foreign election, and Vala has an accent. Yeah, that must be it.

"It looks like it will be a split pot between the favorite teams," Jon said with a cocky grin.

"I doubt my winnings will cover that," Castle said pointing to the side. Beckett looked to see what had caught his attention. Her nearby car sported close to twenty bullet holes. Apparently, it was the backdrop for one of the shooters. Teal'c, Vala, and Jon looked around, not owning up to it. Carter was calling in a report.

"What happened to the monster?" Castle asked.

"We already transported it out of here to a secure location," Jon said. "They'll probably bring in a bear for the TV crews."

At this point, Castle and Beckett knew better than to ask anything else. The cover-up had started.

Mitchell and Daniel ran up to the group. "Man, I can't believe I missed it," Mitchell complained.

"You know what this means." Vala's eyes lit up as she looked at Daniel. "More shopping! And then… dinner! A really fancy and expensive dinner date!"

"Colonels, do you want tickets to the game, or do you want to go shopping with Vala?" Mitchell asked as he pulled out his phone.

"Tickets." Jon couldn't have replied faster.

"Count me out. I still have to check on the Hammond. We were supposed to start engine upgrades today, so I have a lot of work to do."

Daniel said, "No all-nighters, Sam. You better join us for celebratory drinks after the game. I'm telling Jack, and you don't want him to have to order you to join us." Daniel grinned, but Carter's eye roll gave Beckett the feeling Carter ignored those type of orders from her husband.

"Don't worry. A chance to see the 'light-weight' after his 'girlfriend' breaks his credit card… wouldn't miss it." Carter gave him a friendly push to the shoulder. Daniel gave her a glare, which she only grinned at.

Beckett was shocked at how quickly the group acted as if nothing significant had happened. Maybe locking down a city, finding an invisible building, and taking down a mutant animal was all in a day's work for them.

The SG team walked briskly back towards the bar as no one seemed to want a ride in the damaged vehicle. Beckett managed to get the car started, but just drove it to a nearby parking spot, not wanting to risk driving it a longer distance. The IVD was no longer in the back seat, but the disappearance really didn't surprise her at this point. Beckett and Castle walked slowly back to his bar, providing silent comfort to each other through their linked arms.

A/N: I feel like I should apologize to a lot of people. I apologize to…

SGU fans. I'm not saying Eli, Rush, and the rest are idiots. They're just not part of the 'A-Team'. In Star Trek Next Generation, when Q or the Traveler threw the Enterprise across the galaxy, the flagship crew returned in the same episode. However the Voyager crew took seven seasons to get back. That said, I was thinking wormholes and stars don't mix the second Eli suggested it, based on "1969", "Exodus", and "Red Sky". It's not Eli's fault he didn't see those mission reports. Dr. Lee should have known better.

Ryan and Esposito fans. I like them in the show, but this is the second time I've "removed" them from one of my stories. This time I didn't even realize I did it until after the fact. (*spoiler*) In my story Castle vs the Law of Averages, I stunned Esposito and gave Ryan a lame excuse for not being in the rest of the story—the reverse of this story.