Flashforward

Part One

Chapter 9

2009

Kate stared at the sheets of paper scattered around her: images of her mother dead in the alley, a headshot of her, fresh-faced, straight out of the academy; photos of half a dozen other people: cops, lawyers, some she knew, some she didn't, each picture with a name printed on white tape on the bottom; financial statements, emails, phone logs, newspaper clippings - the mob abductions, Bracken's rise through the ranks, blurbs about the murders, and some other instances she had never known were connected.

The fluorescent lamp buzzed and flickered overhead, giving the cramped storage locker an eerie light in the pre-dawn hour as she sat on the cold concrete floor, the file sprawling before her. She curled a lock of hair behind her ear, sighing as the short strands fell back into her face, as she stared at the picture of Johanna Beckett staring blankly back at her from a pile of garbage. It would be so easy to just gather it all up and walk it into the Police Commissioner's office, hand it over and be done with it all. Bracken would go away for good; justice would be served…

Her eyes floated over to the photograph in the corner, a copy of what must have been the one Ryan and Esposito had seen in the bar the night Montgomery died. Montgomery… She felt a pang rip through the phantom scar in her chest. There was no way to bring down Bracken without taking Montgomery down with him. He was too deep into it— there would be no way to protect him from the legal ramifications. His life, his badge, his good name all gone…

No, she couldn't do that. Not to him. He had given his life to protect hers. One of two things had to happen now. Either she would do what Montgomery did – use the file as blackmail – or she would just cut the dragon off at the knees. Scenarios flashed through her mind. A freak car accident, a tasteless powder slipped into a drink at a conference, a single shot with a stolen gun. She had seen it dozens of times before. The only difference was that she could do it better. Finish it once and for all and then disappear into the ether.

She drew her eyes up to the corrugated metal door, her heart pounding in her chest, a plan formulating in her mind. It wasn't unjustified; it wasn't cold blooded. No, she would be saving lives.

Glancing at her watch, Beckett sighed at the time. Three AM. She started to shuffle the pages together, collecting them so she could fit them back into the saddlebag of her Harley, after all this was over she would take it out for a joyride- an infinite trip up the coast. Now she needed to go home, to sleep, she hadn't in over 48 hours, since all of this began.

Running a single finger down the length of her mother's smiling headshot she paused. This was it. This was the end. Her friends, her family. If she did this, if she took Bracken out, she would have to leave, she would lose them all. Was it worth it? For her? Her mind wandered back over the past four years, her heart pounding as images of Richard Castle filled her mind, the silent tears running down his face, his lips whispering "I love you" as she gasped for air in the grass, how hard he had tried to be there for her over the years, how he always was…

There was still time, she could apologize, coax him back. If she used the file, if she struck a deal, maybe life could carry on like normal. Montgomery wouldn't have to die, she and Castle could have a chance, sooner. She would savor the undercover dance and the gorgeous Cinderella dress at the dance company fundraiser; she could say yes to the Hamptons. And then eventually, once she figured out how, she could take Bracken down.

Yes, that is what she would do. With a confirming nod to her own thoughts, she struck out, gathering the rest of the pages, shoving the file back down in the leather pouch just as her phone started to vibrate in her pocket.

Pulling it out, along with the keys to her cruiser, her eyes hesitated on the name flashing across the screen for a moment before she flipped the phone open and pressed it to her ear. "Beckett."

"Beckett, it's me. We need to talk."

2012

She could feel his eyes on her as she paced the office: back and forth, his eyes following like a pendulum. She was at a complete loss. She had no clue what the other "her" was doing or why, and Castle was no help.

"Google!"

Kate froze in her place, pivoting on the balls of her feet so she was facing the desk. Castle was out of the chair now, hands pressed to the desktop, arms braced, a mixture of excitement and self-satisfaction painted on his face.

"What?"

Castle held up a single pointer finger as he settled back down into his chair, opening the laptop in front of him. "I'm going to Google you. Maybe that will help."

"Google me?"

"Yeah, you know, look you up on Google. Haven't you ever Googled yourself before? I Google myself all the time."

"I'm sure you do," Kate couldn't help the innuendo-laced sentence from rolling drolly off her lips. "But no, Castle, I can't say I've ever been in the position to need to Google myself."

Castle's wide eyes were on her now, fingers frozen over the keyboard. "Wow."

Kate quirked a single eyebrow at his suddenly hoarse voice, an impish smile playing across her face. Yes, she could definitely see why she had kept him around: he was fun to play with.

"I...um…"

Beckett forced herself to suppress a smile as she pulled on her best poker face. "What?"

"Umm, well… I… oh, here we go!" Castle focused his attention back on the screen, ignoring whatever train of thought he had been starting to go down. "Katherine Beckett… hmm, strange, there isn't much here… a couple articles about cases you worked as a cop, but those are from years ago… a blurb about Heat Wave… oh, this is new…"

Castle clicked on the link, pulling up an article. "Page 6, impressive. New York City renowned surgeon, Joshua Davidson, announces engagement to Katherine Beckett, former NYPD detective at annual Doctors Without Borders Gala…"

Beckett did a double take, rounding the corner of the desk to read the article over Castle's shoulder. "Former detective?"

"That's what it says… so a surgeon, huh? Fancy."

"Yeah, sure. Why would I… she… stop being a detective. And what am I doing now?"

"Uh, it doesn't say. Oh, hey, let me check this one here…"

Castle clicked on the next link in the list as Beckett leaned in further to get closer to the screen, forearms braced on the back of his chair, her hair falling in a wave over his shoulder, brushing the side of his neck. Her eyes widened as he sucked in a stuttered breath.

"Wait? Where'd it go?"

They both stared at the error message on the screen. Oop! Sorry, page not found.

Hitting the back button, Castle scrolled back to the list of hits, only to find all of the links had changed.

"Oh no," she murmured, her hand gripping his right bicep, fingers digging into the muscle, "She's changing things again."

2009

Her hands fidgeted as she stood in the middle of the dock waiting for him, the misty cool night surrounding her. Fingers flexing and bending, a futile attempt to expel the quiet nervousness swirled in her gut. Nothing good ever came from meeting on a dock in the middle of the night, and yet she stayed, rocking from foot to foot as she waited for Captain Montgomery.

He had to know it was her, there was no other reason for him to want to meet with her in the pre-dawn hours in a secluded location. Either that or he was about to fess up to having the file.

Either way she waited, arms wrapped around her torso, teeth digging into her lower lip. Glancing down she caught the time on her father's watch; she had been waiting for half an hour. Montgomery should have been there by now.

Pulling out her cell phone, she flipped it open, punching in the captain's number from memory.

The ring droned on as she whispered, begging. "Come on, come on."

Her leg jiggled, heel tapping on the wooden planks of the dock. "Pick up damn it."

The sound of a soft click from behind her made her freeze as Montgomery's voicemail message switched on.

"Put your phone and gun on the ground, turn around slowly, and then kick them over to me."

2012

"What do you mean she's changing things again?"

"I mean, it's small this time, but the search pages changed, so she's doing something..."

Beckett reached to get the picture, only to find the spot on the desk where she had left it bare.

"Where did the photograph go?"

"What photograph?"

Kate growled in frustration as she jabbed a finger in the direction of the front door. "The one that I brought with me when I came over."

Castle looked over his shoulder at her, his forehead creased in confusion. "Beckett, you didn't bring a picture with you."

"Yes, I did. It had changed before my eyes and I wanted to know if you had any answers about it. Oh, God..."

Kate's eyes grew wide as she straightened up, her fingers releasing his shoulder to tangle in her own hair, pulling at her roots, blunt fingernails digging into her scalp. "It disappeared completely. She's changing more than I realized..."

2009

Kate's mind raced as she crouched down to place her phone and gun side by side on the damp dock. What were the chances that she could turn quickly enough to kill him before he shot her? Could she make a lucky shot with her back turned? If she made a run for it and dove into the river would she make it out alive?

Straightening back up she pivoted slowly, arms raised, hands level with her ears. Her eyes widened when she saw the man holding a gun level to her head.

"Coonan." The name came out in a low growl of disgust.

Dick Coonan cocked his head slightly to the left, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."

"Not yet," Beckett retorted. "We haven't met yet."

Coonan shrugged off the comment. Taking a step closer, the gun never wavered.

Kate swallowed, the sound echoing in her ears. "Where's Montgomery?"

"Roy got tied up with something… It's a shame really, he would have been a valuable asset if he hadn't grown a conscience."

Kate pressed a hand to her head as it swam in disbelief. No. No. She had done this, all of this to make things better, to keep Roy alive, to keep them all safe.

Think, Kate. Think. She could get out of this; she just needed to keep him talking long enough.

"I have the file. It's someplace safe. Somewhere you'll never find it. If I die it will go public and you all will go down."

Coonan smirked. "If you think your storage unit in Brooklyn is secure then you have severely underestimated who you are dealing with here, Detective."

Her stomach fell, bile rising in her throat as the world tilted. "You see, my boss likes to keep tabs on his assets and his potential enemies, and you and the good Captain were at the top of the list. The minute you broke into his house we knew exactly why. It wasn't hard to track you from there. I have to say though, that you did make a valiant effort. No one would have ever known you were the one who broke in, well if we hadn't been watching, that is.

"What did you do to him?"

"We did nothing, Detective. You did. Captain Montgomery and his family were regrettably killed in a follow up break in tonight. Unfortunately, your death is going to be a little more difficult to cover up, but I'm sure with a few dollars in the right hands that it will be explained well enough. Just hope that your cop buddies don't get too suspicious or else they might have to join you at the bottom of the river. You can congratulate yourself about one thing though."

"And what would that be?" Kate snapped, her face a passive mask.

"At least you drove that writer away in time, or else he would be on the list too."

Castle…

Beckett's eyes darted around the dock. He would show up right? He always came, no matter what she had done or said he always showed up.

Coonan took a step forward, breaking through the boundary of her personal space, the gun inches from her eyes, forcing Kate to take a step back, then another and another, as she walked backward down the dock.

"What, you're not going to stab me like you did my mother?"

"No, Detective, I'm not. That would leave too many connections that could be made, paths that could be followed."

Kate glanced back to see only the black of the river looming behind her.

"Goodbye, Detective."

2012

Castle stared at his computer screen, clicking the button to get back to the search list from the broken link, his eyes widening as he took in the list of headlines.

"Beckett! You have to see this…" Castle turned his head to look over his shoulder only to find the space behind him empty. His brow furrowed in confusion.

Turning back, he looked at his computer, his bewilderment deepening when he saw the screen. Why was he searching for this?

"Richard? Why are you still in your pajamas? We have lunch with Jake and Amelia in half an hour."

Castle sighed as Gina walked into the office, her hands deftly fastening an earring to her left lobe.

"I, um… sorry, I must have gotten distracted." He responded, shaking his head, suddenly dizzy.

A finger grazed the track pad, the cursor highlighting one of the links as Gina rounded the desk, leaning over to look at the computer from behind him. His left hand came up to rub a chill out of his right shoulder and neck, an odd sense of deja vu overcoming him.

"Oh, Richard, don't tell me you were serious about resurrecting Nikki Heat. I thought that was just an empty threat to get your way with the editors. Dropping a best selling series like Thyme to go back to that inane stripper by day, cop by night detective series would be career suicide."

Castle stared at the link, frowning. Body of Missing Detective Found in East River. The smiling face of Kate Beckett stared back at him.

"No… I um, no, it just got me thinking about her, that's all."

"Richard…"

"I should have done something; I should have stopped her."

"Richard, you need to stop blaming yourself for this. It's been three years, and you barely knew the woman. There was nothing you could have done."

"No, I should have known something was wrong. I shouldn't have left; I should have made her tell me what was going on. I could have helped."

"Richard… you need to let it go. Not everything is a CIA conspiracy. It's a shame what happened to Detective Beckett and Captain Montgomery but they already arrested the guy. Like all the articles said, Beckett figured out who broke into Montgomery's house and chased him to the docks. It's a tragedy but there was nothing you could have done. Come on," Gina sighed, planting a peck on Castle's cheek. "We need to go."

"Yeah…" Castle took one last look at the screen as his fingers pushed the top of the laptop closed. "Goodbye, Kate."

He padded toward the living room, pausing, his hand braced against the wooden doorframe as he glanced back at the room, his eyes lingering on the spot directly behind his chair, a shiver climbing his spine.

With a sigh he stepped through the doorway only for the world to tilt around him before going black, the faint chime of an elevator bell filling his mind.

End Part 1.

A/N: Stay tuned for Part 2: Flashback. Thank you for all of your kind words, flails, encouragement and patience when it comes to this story. This story has been more than a little tricky to write but your enjoyment of it makes it completely worthwhile. Thank you also, as always, to Kate Christie who spent HOURS with me hashing out plot points, time ripple effects and just overall mind-bending nonsense which can only be made better by wine. I couldn't ask for a better partner in crime (writing).