Love's Gift
Chapter 10
Castle and Kate are waiting anxiously for news from Jordan that she's obtained a court order to see Woodrow's records. With the privacy laws involved with medical information, every "I" will have to be dotted and every "T" crossed. Castle understands the need for the process and even appreciates it because he doesn't want word of Kate's pregnancy leaking out until she's ready to reveal it. Still, it's frustrating to have a trail to Bracken and not be able to follow it. Their only satisfaction comes from the squad of operatives Jordan has been able to assign to monitor every second of video available in White Plains. With a warrant already issued for Bracken's arrest, a strike force will be able to move in immediately, as soon as they have a location.
Castle is also keeping an eye on Sniffer's postings. So far, her surveillance has been more effective than all the FBI agents put together. He can envision the girl's personal loss moving her to join law enforcement someday, as Johanna's death drove Kate to join the N.Y.P.D.
Castle knows, from his latest update from Jordan, that Maddox will be going to the Federal Penitentiary in Canaan, Pennsylvania. His confession eliminated the need for a trial, but there is still a process to follow. In the meantime, the killer is still being held by the FBI. If he's still holding back any information, Jordan can squeeze it out of him. Castle would love to do some squeezing himself, preferably with electrodes on Maddox's most sensitive area, but knowing that Kate's shooter will pay for what he did for the rest of his life is some compensation for not being able to deliver his own punishment.
Kate and Castle have moved from their CIA safe house to one operated by the FBI, where the accommodations are more current. The film library is not as good, but a bookshelf is well stocked, as is the refrigerator and the pantry - especially regarding chocolate. Castle suspects that Jordan might have something to do with that, but whatever the reason, he's grateful for anything that will make Kate more comfortable.
The house has two bedrooms. Apparently, the FBI is going with the fiction that they'll both be in use, but at least the larger of the two contains a queen-sized bed, somewhat of an improvement over CIA issue. The computer appears to be secure, as does the phone provided. There are no steel shutters, but the windows bear the hallmark scratches of bullet resistant plastic. The doors are reinforced and bear redundant locks.
There's also a basement. Castle usually finds underground spaces fascinating, because they form such intriguing backdrops for the creepier scenes in his books. This one, which houses the washer, dryer, and furnace, holds little to spark his imagination except for a firmly bolted door. His mind immediately spins tales of mad escapes through C.H.U.D.-laden sewers. In some form or another, that door will definitely be going in his next book.
The call from Jordan interrupts a game of rock paper scissors with Kate over who gets to lick the bowl or the spoon from a batch of brownies. Moving in on Bracken trumps even fudgy goodness. Jordan assigns Agent Montcrief to give running commentary of the operation ringing a block of downtown White Plains. Civilians are being rapidly cleared from the area, and Bracken should have nowhere to go. Both Castle and Kate agree that the Senator is not to be underestimated, an opinion that Jordan shares.
At first, there isn't much to Montcrief's narrative, although it's apparent that she's trying her best to make it interesting. Snipers are being stationed on roofs, and every street in and out of the area is being blocked by both vehicles and agents. The operation is large enough in scale that FBI forces have been pulled from New Jersey and Connecticut to partner with their brethren stationed in New York.
Bracken is in the sights of several sharpshooters as well as being tracked by satellite. An armored squad moves in to surround him. According to Montcrief, Bracken's's arguing that as a senator he can't be arrested. As the daughter of two lawyers, Kate immediately blurts out the spuriousness of Bracken's protest. The constitutional restrictions only apply if he is in transit to or from the Senate floor or is performing his senatorial duties. Clearly, Bracken is doing anything but performing his duties, He's been acting against the interests of the people who elected him for as long as he's been in office. As Bracken is forced to his knees and cuffed, Montcrief shoots a few seconds of video and transmits it to Kate. Castle expects to make multiple copies to be preserved for posterity, as a testimony for Kate that even justice delayed need not be justice denied. Their lips meet even before Montcrief signs off.
Hours later, the oven is still on and the batter resting in the pan. Castle shoves it in to bake and hands Kate both the bowl and the spoon, crusty but rich with chocolaty goodness. The rush he is experiencing at her triumph is more than enough sweetness for him - at least for that moment.
It isn't over. Until all of Bracken's contacts can be tracked down, there may be another Maddox on the streets somewhere - already paid and tasked with a deadly mission. The FBI house will still be their refuge until Jordan can supply firm assurance that the danger is past.
Castle is determined to outline his next book while the details are still firmly in his mind, but Kate paces restlessly while he works. When he asks what's bothering her, she confesses that without the N.Y.P.D. to return to, she feels at loose ends. Castle is confused. Even if she were still a cop, she'd have to take leave due to her pregnancy anyway.
Kate admits that he's right, but she's always had a job of one sort or another since she got her working papers as a teen, and she can't just sit around eating bonbons. She shrugs helplessly when he asks her what she wants to do when they're free to venture into the world again. What's making her crazy is that she has no plan, and she needs one. N.Y.P.D. or no N.Y.P.D., she's not about to give up on her quest for justice in the world, she's just not sure how she's going to pursue it. There's not much Castle can say. Even though they will be raising their child together - and hopefully much more - the choice will still have to be hers. He can only hold her and reassure her that whatever path she chooses to follow, he'll be there to support her.
As Kate gazes upward from the circle of Castle's arms, there's a look in her eyes that he's never seen before. She swallows and wets her lips before she can get the words out: "You know I love you, right?" Tears are running down her face, and he can feel her tremble. He can only embrace her more tightly and whisper that he loves her too.
This was not how Castle had expected Kate's longed-for declaration to come. He'd envisioned candles, soft lighting and his offer of a ring. But this is better. She doesn't need a shiny token. Her few words are even more moving because they've been given with none of the accouterments of romance.
She offers her hand as she had on the stormy night she'd first come to him and leads the way back to a bed still in passion's disarray. At that moment, nowhere else exists.