I Dream of You – The Missed Wedding Version

Summary – Castle agrees to go on a marathon book tour in August so they can have the wedding in September, but disappears from the plane on the flight back. I'm sure this is going to be one of many "missed wedding" fics because you just know that these 2 aren't going to have a normal wedding. Where would be the fun in that? But AM may give them one just to give them a break – who knows?

Author's Notes – Thanks again for reading, commenting, and marking this story as a favorite. It really means a lot. Sorry for any mistakes. I wanted to get this posted tonight so I read it quickly for typos and have probably missed a couple. One more chapter and then we're done.

Disclaimer – Don't own Castle. ABC and Marlowe do. Just playing with the characters.

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Chapter 10 – Karma

It was several minutes later before Castle and Beckett emerged from the interrogation room, almost running into Ryan and Espo as they raced into the bullpen. Gates was talking on the phone in her office.

"Bro, for a dead man, you look pretty damn good," said Espo, giving Castle a quick manly hug and backslap.

"I'm glad to say that the report of my death was an exaggeration" Castle replied.

"Yeah, how did you pull it off?" asked Ryan, giving Castle a quick hug. "They told us that you had died in a fire fight."

Castle frowned at his friends. How much could he really tell them? "They?" he prompted.

"Agent Endel of the CIA," explained Beckett. "When they found out where you were, they were going to stage a rescue but Demetri attacked Volkov's compound before they could and that they thought you were killed in the attack."

"Demetri – huh – you just never know," Castle said to no one in particular and then grew serious at the memory of the scene in the main yard. He was sure that the Volkovs had treated Demetri like their son and to have him turn like that... "It was more of a castle, but no – no – just wounded. I was one of the lucky ones," he said, shaking his head.

Beckett smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

"Well, bro, I'm just saying you did look pretty tight with Volkov, playing poker and smoking cigars," chided Espo.

Castle started to reply, only to be cut off as the elevator opened and a stern-faced man strode out.

Agent Endel stopped suddenly when he saw Castle and took a deep breath. "Mr. Castle, I presume?" he asked.

Castle nodded. "Agent Endel, I presume?"

The man stared at him for a moment. "This is rather unexpected, but a pleasant surprise. Excuse me, but I need to talk to Captain Gates for a moment and make some arrangements." He walked over and knocked on Gates' door.

Castle turned to the group. "How did you know I was playing poker?"

"The tape – the CIA had planted an asset in Volkov's group," said Beckett. "They sent the video to prove you were there. They pulled the asset out right before the planned rescue."

Castle thought for a moment. "Yeah, they did," he nodded and then looked at Beckett as she took her hand back and sat down at her desk.

"You're mad," he said as he sat down in his chair and then shot a glance at Espo and Ryan to move off so they could have some privacy. "I know my dad got word to you what was happening."

"You did look pretty cozy with them," Beckett said, pressing her lips into a thin line. "And that joke, Castle – what were you thinking?"

Castle cringed – he only knew one joke in Russian and it wasn't one for polite company and the type he usually stayed away from. "I was thinking of a way for them not to kill me," he said quietly. "Volkov threatened to mount me on the wall."

"Yeah, I can see what a great trophy that would have been," remarked Beckett.

"No," said Castle, glancing down so that Beckett got his drift. "Me—"

"Oh," said Beckett, glancing down also and then grimacing as she looked at him again. "Oh, that would have been awkward."

"I'm sorry," Castle said. "I promise to never tell that joke again – do you forgive me?"

Beckett looked up at him and smiled. "Always," she said as she placed a hand on his cheek.

Castle smiled back at her and then sat back in his chair. "And speaking of emasculation, I need to call Gina at some point and let her know that I lost the manuscript she gave me to review."

"No, you didn't. It's right here," said Beckett, pulling a stained manila envelope out of her drawer. "Agent Endel said they found it on the plane Volkov used to take you to Russia."

Castle frowned at the envelope as he took it from Beckett and opened it to look at the pages inside. He glanced up at Endel and Gates speaking in her office and then frowned at the envelope again. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Beckett nodded. "They said it was proof that Volkov had taken you."

"Uh, I'll be back in a minute," he said as he got up and walked to Gates' door, holding the envelope in his hand.

Castle took a breath before he knocked on the door and then opened it. "Captain, may I speak to Agent Endel privately?"

Gates looked at Castle in surprise and then nodded. "Of course."

She stopped as she walked by him and said quietly, "Mr. Castle, I assume that the incident in the interrogation room was a one-time event and won't happen again anywhere in the precinct."

Castle shook his head, knowing they had been caught. "No, no, sir, I give you my word that it won't."

Gates nodded sharply before walking out of the office. Most people thought of her as cold, unyielding, but she knew of desire and passion. She had felt the same thing when her husband had been in the military and deployed oversees for months at a time and their joy when he returned. But she also knew she had to run a tight ship at the precinct and couldn't play favorites.

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Endel looked at Castle as he walked into the office and closed the door. "Yes?" he asked.

Castle stared at him for a few moments before looking at the envelope he was holding. "Beckett said that this was found on Volkov's plane."

The agent nodded. "Yes, the asset sent that as proof that Volkov had taken you, along with the video of you playing poker with them."

Castle frowned. "But how did it get there?"

"What?" asked Endel.

"The envelope – how did it on the plane?" asked Castle. He stared at the envelope. "I went to the bathroom on the flight from LA and I took the envelope with me because I knew Gina would kill me if I lost it.

"But then I got really dizzy and had to sit down in coach before I could make it back to my seat." Castle looked off in the distance as he remembered the event. "The last thing I remember is that someone took it out of my hand and put it in a plastic bag with several other envelopes – a trash bag." He frowned at Endel. "They didn't take my carry-on bag or my luggage, so why would they bother with this?"

Endel shrugged. "They must have seen you with it. Who knows what they were thinking?"

Castle's eyes narrowed as he studied the man. "No, no – I don't think they took it." He held it up. "It's got coffee stains on it so it was put in the garbage."

"Then they got it out of the trash," explained Endel.

Castle shook his head. "So how did they know it was mine?"

Endel shrugged again. "It's got your name on it," he said.

"No, it's a blind copy," said Castle. "I don't know who the author is and it doesn't have any identifying marks – not my name, not Black Pawn. So if Volkov's people threw it away, why did they go back to get it?"

"I have no clue," said Endel.

Castle nodded slowly. "I think you do because no one can disappear from a plane without someone knowing. You needed proof for the CIA that Volkov had taken me before the asset sent the video – proof that you needed to stage a rescue, but it wasn't a rescue, was it?" He watched the man as he continued. "You found out about the plot and for some reason, you wanted Volkov to kidnap me. I'm guessing you wanted a chance to take him out."

Endel returned Castle's stare for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, we found out about the kidnapping attempt. And in the same chatter was Demetri's plan to take Volkov out." He paused. "Volkov was just a Russian mobster – content to be big fish in a small pond, enjoying his lavish lifestyle. But Demetri – he wanted to expand globally with cyber attacks. So, yes, we saw an opportunity to take him out."

"And you used me as a diversion," said Castle. "But it didn't go quite as you planned it, did it? I don't doubt that you planned a rescue, but Demetri jumped the gun and attacked first."

"And it worked out quite well," said Endel. "Volkov was killed in Demetri's raid and Demetri was distracted by the raid and killed by the Russian police. Unfortunately, we had to abort the rescue attempt when we realized that the raid was taking place. I hope you understand our position."

"Yeah," said Castle, shaking his head. "It would reflect badly on the CIA to be caught during that action." He thought for a moment. "So how did you know when to stage the rescue?"

"Our source told us the day that Demetri was going to attack and we were going to rescue you right before he attacked. Unfortunately Tikhvinsky was wrong."

Castle started suddenly. "Tikhvinsky, really? He owed me $150,000, so I doubt he would have told you that I was alive." He stared as the man looked away quickly. "But I think he did tell you that I was alive and for some reason, you didn't want me found. Was that because I could prove that you knew about the plan?"

Endel's face was set in stone when he looked at Castle again. "You have no proof, Mr. Castle, other than that envelope. And this is a classified action, so if you tell anyone about this, you'll spend the rest of your life teaching writing in a maximum security detention facility."

Castle's hands balled into fist as he looked at the man. "You're right – I don't have any proof other than what I know and I can't do anything about what you did, but I can do this."

Endel staggered backwards into the window of Gate's office as Castle placed a right punch directly on the man's chin.

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Just as the noise of Endel hitting the glass caused everyone in the bullpen to jump, the elevator opened and Agent Danberg and two burly MPs carrying assault rifles walked to Gates' office without even pausing.

"Dude, that's not right," said Espo as he started towards the door, only to be stopped by Gates.

"Stand down, Detective Esposito," she barked.

They were pleasantly surprised when the MPs escorted Endel out of the office in handcuffs and quickly took him away.

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Danberg took a breath and looked at Castle. "Mr. Richard Castle, your government sincerely thanks you for your contribution in this endeavor."

Castle gawked at the man. "You knew too?"

Danberg shook his head. "No, we didn't. Endel had hidden it too well, but as you said, people can't just disappear from planes. We suspected, but knew we had to let him play his hand to get the proof we needed." He paused. "Endel wanted to move up in the agency and came up with this plan in conjunction with the Russian government to get credit for taking out a cyber terrorist."

"So how did you know when he confessed?"

Danberg pointed at the plaid shirt Castle was wearing. "Top button," he said simply.

The writer threw his hands up in the air. "Dad," he swore.

Danberg smiled slightly at him. "Our asset reported in once she realized you were on Volkov's plane. By then, it was too late to do anything."

"Tatiana," said Castle, nodding.

"Who?" asked Danberg.

"Tatiana," replied Castle. "She was your asset."

Danberg shook his head. "No, Brigette was the asset. Tatiana was a distant relative that the Volkovs adopted after her parents died in a fire at a factory."

Castle let out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair. "Unbelievable," he said. "She was – is a Russian agent."

"Tatiana?" asked Danberg.

"Yes," Castle nodded. "Oh, she is good – not regular Russian police, probably KGB. They must have recruited her when she went to college. In the mornings, she took me out for a walk and showed me around the grounds. I think she was trying to get me to escape. That way, they win either way – if I had tried to escape and got caught, they would have said I was an agent and accused the CIA of trying to kill Volkov. Or they get you and the Russian police to do their dirty work in killing Volkov and Demetri."

"Then I'm sure we need to check our intel," said Danberg. "Once again, Mr. Castle, we do sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you." He stepped back several feet out of Castle's reach. "But as appreciative as we are, I do have to tell that Endel was right – this is a classified action, so if you tell anyone about this, you will spend the rest of your life teaching writing in a maximum security detention facility."

Castle pressed his lips together. "Kate – I need to be able to tell Kate about this. We don't keep secrets from each other anymore."

Danberg thought for a moment. "Well, you could if you were married."

Castle watched Beckett talking to Martha and Alexis who had come in while he was talking to Danberg.

"That won't be a problem," he said, smiling.

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