Ian 2

Chapter 7

Ian pointed to the dark frames of his glasses. "They're just like the ones James Gunn wears. Cool, huh?"

"Very," Kate agreed, "but how do they improve your reading?"

"It's not like they change the way I see the letters or the words or anything," Ian explained. "Before, the background, you know, the margins, and the space between the lines, would sort of jump out at me. What I was trying to look at would get lost."

"The background," Castle repeated.

"I know that look, Babe," Kate said, staring up at her husband. "What are you thinking? Something in the background of the case obscuring a clue that's right in front of us?"

"Just the opposite!" Rick responded. "We've put Gordon Johnson front and center because he's the one in Westside Wally's sketch. But what if it's not just him? What if the answer is the background - The Forge or at least more members of The Forge?"

"You mean like in Murder on the Orient Express where all the passengers did it?" Kate asked, doubt furrowing her forehead.

Castle vigorously shook his head. "Not like that. I heard Johnson and Hughes saying that they thought New Yorkers were getting too soft, that they didn't know how to take care of themselves anymore. Hughes thought that we've lost our awareness of all the predators out there and we need to wake up. The way those guys love to hunt, I thought he was talking about lions and tigers and bears."

"Oh, my!" Kate interjected.

Castle scowled at her. "These guys are more dangerous than anything in The Wizard of Oz. I think Johnson, Hughes, and maybe some of the other members are committing the murders, in an attempt to try to scare New Yorkers into toughening up. They're being careful about fingerprints and DNA, but even if one of them were identified, the next murder, by someone else, would totally confuse the investigation. Kate, behind their ornate doors, The Forge could be hiding a ring of assassins."

"Like in Gotham and Green Arrow," Ian suggested, "Ra's Al Ghul's followers."

Castle nodded. "But hopefully without an evil immortal leader. The members of The Forge are just men. They're men who've pounded themselves into shape for insane purposes but they are still men, and men always make mistakes."

"They made a big one letting you into The Forge, Dad." Ian pointed out.

"I hope so," Castle said.

"But Babe, if you're right, that just means you need to be even more careful. You can't let anyone at the Forge know you're onto Johnson or anyone else."

"No, I can't," Castle agreed. "But I can pretend that I'm coming around to their point of view, even if it means undergoing whatever other means of torture Mike has in mind. The more I worm my way in, the more chance there is they'll let something slip that the police can use to nail them."

"But Dad," Ian protested, "what if you let something slip?"

Castle put his arm around his son's shoulders. "By the time Mike gets done with me, I won't have enough air left, to say much of anything."

Kate reached for Rick's hand. "I don't like it. It would be better if Montgomery could get a tech to dummy up an identity for a cop who could go in there instead of you. I could try to talk him into it. Better yet, I'll talk to Evelyn and get her to talk him into it."

"Kate, my battered body would thank you - and Evelyn - but until that happens, I think I'd better keep up a presence. Maybe I can come up with a weapon that will help me become a more convincing member of the brotherhood."

"Dad, when I was online looking for a weapon for a time traveler, I saw an Indonesian Keris that was very cool. The blade was bronze, like really ancient. It cost like about a years' allowance though."

"In this case, expensive is good," Castle said. "The more I'm willing to spend, the less likely they'll be to have suspicions about me. That Keris may be just what I need. Send me the link."

"Just stay safe, Dad," Ian urged, "whether you can nail the killers or not."

"Listen to your son, Castle," Kate commanded.

"I'm rather set on keeping what's left of this body intact, myself," Castle agreed. "I will display a deadly weapon with Forge-like pride."


Even with expedited shipping, Castle's Keris wasn't scheduled to arrive for a couple of days. Montgomery had taken Kate's idea of sending an undercover cop into The Forge under advisement, but couldn't see how he could jam an expensive masquerade into the precinct's recently curtailed budget, especially if the only justification he had was one of Castle's theories. Until Castle produced more convincing evidence, he was on his own. Rick was more worried about Kate and the baby than he was about himself. Having her husband walking into the lion's den wasn't doing anything for Kate's peace of mind, or for Ian's. He decided to keep his distance from The Forge until his knife arrived. He needed the time to write, anyway. Moses Shannon was well into his adventure, but Rick still had his other two series to pen. Staying away from Mike's chamber of horrors was a bonus.

The murderous gang at the Forge didn't cut Castle or the N.Y.P.D. any slack. The day Castle's antique knife arrived, another body was discovered. In addition to a slit throat, Lanie noted defensive wounds. Lanie also scraped skin cells from under the victim's long acrylic fingernails. The lab was running the DNA, and with any luck, there would be marks on the perpetrator. Castle would not only be returning to the Forge to show off his new toy; he would spend time in the gym and especially in the locker room, where he could spot any telltale gouges. If Rick was really lucky, he might be able to swipe something with DNA on it to compare with what was in the lab. A match would provide all the evidence the police would need to obtain an arrest warrant for the killer and provide probable cause to investigate the rest of the membership of The Forge. Castle could bug out of the assassins' lair for good."

"You're going to have to make up for lost time," Mike warned Castle when he arrived in the gym.

Rick shuddered inwardly and took his place on the mat. "I can't stay too long," he informed his menacing trainer. "I have something extraordinary to present at the weapons club tonight."

"Then," Mike assured him, "we will make every minute count."


An exhausted Castle was tempted to curl up in the corner of the locker room, but Hughes, Gordon, and Galt were all there. When they emerged from the shower, they'd be wearing nothing but towels slung around their hips. Any fresh signs of a struggle would be clearly visible. As much as he would have liked to soak all night, Castle made his own shower as short as possible, emerging before two of the men and while a third was toweling off. Fingernail scratches on Galt's neck that had been concealed by the collar of his shirt were now shouting the weapon lover's guilt. Galt gulped bottled water from as he dressed. "I hear you have something special for us tonight, Mr. Castle."

Castle forced a smile to his lips. "Yes Mr. Galt, I believe I do."

Galt returned the smile, before tossing his bottle into a recycling bin. "I look forward to it."

As soon as Galt was out the door, Castle used a paper towel to fish the bottle out of the receptacle. Wrapping it carefully, he stowed it in his gym bag. "Gotcha!" he whispered.