I, Spy
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: Oddly enough, I still don't own Castle. Rating: M, in spots. Time: After season eight and before children.
Chapter Ten. Norfolk, Norfolk, It's a Wonderful Town.
"Home, sweet home." One of the lookouts on the Indiana said, looking through his binoculars.
All that Rick could see was a dark blur on the horizon. "That's Norfolk, Virginia?"
"Yes, sir. The main fleet base on the East Coast. Plus Newport News, Little Creek, Fortress Monroe….And, just about all of the land around Hampton Roads is a military town."
"What'll you do when you arrive?" He asked Captain Winton.
"Most of the crew will get shore leave. I'll be busy ashore as will some of my officers briefing everyone on this cruise."
"Not much to brief. You didn't find Storm."
Winton laughed. "We'll still have to have a big show and tell about what we did and didn't find. What will you and the ladies be doing?"
Castle shrugged. "No idea. Apparently Montgomery and Namura haven't gotten any orders yet. We're kind of hoping to go home."
Someone called to him from below. "Mr. Castle, Mr. Montgomery would like to see you, sir."
When Rick got to Montgomery's office, he found Kate, Simone and Tatiana were there already. They didn't look too happy.
"What is it?' He asked.
"I'm sorry, Rick. We asked if we could send you home, but command wants to keep you and present you and Kate as Mr. and Mrs. Storm. That way they think Demming's Earth will think he's back and hopefully they'll stop looking for him."
Montgomery tried to make this sound appealing. "We'll have a nice luxury condo for you, a couple of cars and a generous expense account."
"Allow you to remind you that I already have a luxurious place to live, several in fact. And I have some very nice cars, too. I also have enough money to pay my own way."
Rick glared at Montgomery until Tatiana spoke. "You also have some of Demming's people back on your Earth trying to kill you. And I think Colonel Storm would like to kill me after we messed up whatever his plans were for the uranium he wanted to mine in the Taklamaklin Desert. He might want to kill me anyway, even if he doesn't know about that. He's always felt that killing his enemies was best."
Rick looked at both Kate and Simone. Something passed between them. "Oh, hell." He muttered. He turned back to Montgomery. "So how do I become Derrick Storm?"
"We have several people who can brief you until you know his life better than he does. Now you should go and collect your things. We'll be in Norfolk in a few hours."
And in a few hours they were in Norfolk, being driven in a military mini-van by Petty Officer Jones, with Daly and several SEALs with him.
"We're your protective detail, Mr. Storm. You may as well get used to be called that. There'll be more people at your condo, too."
"A protective detail? Is that really necessary?"
"Demming would love to kill our Derrick Storm. So, in spite of the fact that this is a military own, you get a protective detail."
"Why does this being a military town make this different from any other place?" Tatiana asked.
Montgomery cleared his throat. "We've told you about some of the differences between our Earth and yours. About five percent of the people here, and in the European Union and the Japan, actually work at important jobs. They're the smartest, best educated, most imaginative, hardest working people around and they run a society that, thanks to computers and robots can provide enough goods and services to give everyone a nice, secure middle class life style. And they've convinced the other ninety five percent that if the top five doesn't run the economy and the country, the whole thing will collapse in chaos. Hardly anyone votes anymore, so the top five run things. They keep everyone else nice and comfortable and everyone is afraid to rock the boat."
"Except for the military." Daly said.
"Except for the military." Montgomery agreed. "They tried using a military consisting of mostly drones and it didn't work. So, they have to depend on people they consider their inferiors to protect them."
"They don't like us and we don't like them." Daly said.
Montgomery went on. "There are plenty of people who don't want to just sit around and vegetate. They are smart, but not smart enough to be in the top five. A lot of them come to us. So many, in fact, that we have a waiting list to enlist. There are local junior colleges that'll get you a degree in military science. Four year colleges, too. Plus we recruit auxiliaries from overseas. First we recruited them as scouts and translators, because they knew the territory. But, slowly but surely they expanded."
"But how does that make a military town different?" Tatiana asked again.
Daly pointed out of the car. "See the military police over here?" He pointed to an open topped vehicle with four armed, camouflaged soldiers in it. "There are no Federal, State or local police here. The police are all military. As are the courts. You commit a crime, you go before a court martial. All that applies whether you're military or civilian. The town is run by the Commander, Atlantic Fleets."
"You do have civilians here?" Tatiana asked.
"Some retired military and some civilian employees of the military. And some businessmen find it easier to do business in military town. We're basically a state within a state."
"It's hard to believe that the economy could provide all of that for everyone." Castle said.
Daly pulled out his laptop computer. "Let me get you a feed from the shipyard over at Newport News." In seconds a live feed came up. "This is our next carrier, USS Bunker Hill." The video showed robots of all sorts swarming over the ship, doing things that Castle didn't understand. "Your Earth's most recent aircraft carrier took about seven years to build from the time it was laid down to commissioning. The Bunker Hill will take sixteen months." The screen changed. "This is a destroyer, USS Preble. A similar destroyer on your Earth would take two years plus to build and wouldn't be as technologically advanced. The Preble will have taken four months to build."
"How do you pay for all this?" Tatiana asked.
"The US military is the only presence in most of the world outside of North America, Europe and Japanese Asia. We supply coffee from Central America, rare earths from Central Africa, uranium from the former Congo, diamonds from Namibia, all manner of goods. Plus we charge for convoying ships not going to North America who pass through dangerous waters, such as the Mediterranean. Basically, the five percent couldn't get along without us."
"Regrettably, we can't get along without the top five." Daly ominously added, "Yet."
The car pulled up in front of a building on Norfolk's waterfront. "Here we are." Montgomery said brightly. "You have the top four floors. Floors sixteen to nineteen. And the roof has a helipad for your use only. Floor sixteen is where your protective detail lives and where the kitchen is."
"All of us like to cook." Kate broke in.
"Oh, there's a kitchen for you as well in the living quarters, but if you have a party, you'll need a professional staff. Not just cooks, but bartenders and wait staff. The next floor is the formal dining room and ballroom."
"Just what kind of parties are we hosting?" Rick asked.
"Big ones. You're a celebrity, Mr. Storm. A celebrity." Montgomery went on. "The next floor is your living room, kitchen, game room and two offices. You also have a full bath on that floor. The top floor is your bedrooms, four to be exact and each has an attached full bathroom. We assume Mr. and Mrs. Storm will share a bedroom?"
"You bet." Rick said quickly.
They didn't pay too much attention to the first two floors, other than to note that each floor had more square footage than Castle's loft.
The third floor was huge and luxurious. All leather, dark wood and soft carpets, with a great view of Hampton Roads and the surrounding areas. The bedrooms were equally luxurious. "Kate, look at the size of that bed. We could play football on it."
"Touch or tackle?" She said softly, running her hand over his ass.
"Oh, touch, for sure."
"We're going to start on your briefing, Mr. Storm." Montgomery said, interrupting Rick and Kate's train of thought.
"Briefing?"
"On how to be Derrick Storm."
Three days later, Castle felt his head was full to bursting as he came into the living room, to find the three women reading their "legends" as their fake identities were called.
"I need a drink. I've spent twelve hours learning how to be someone I invented."
"Who was your girlfriend in college?" Kate quickly demanded.
"What?" Rick cried.
"Come on, Storm. Who was your girlfriend in college?"
Rick sighed. "Martine "Marti" Anderson."
"Why did you break up?" Tatiana asked.
"She got accepted at Harvard Medical School, a sure ticket to the top five. I didn't get quite so prestigious a place in grad school."
"What does she do now?" Simone asked.
"She's cloning hearts and changing their DNA to make them better. Pretty soon everyone will have a brand new heart waiting for them with zero miles on it."
The three women looked at each other. Kate spoke. "Okay, get a glass of wine and get one for us, too."
"And how have my wife, my wife's twin sister and her little sister doing today?" Rick asked from the wine cooler, describing their cover stories.
"Studying our cover stories."
Rick brought the wine to the three women. "So why don't you look as exhausted as I feel."
"Because our cover story…"Kate began.
"…is that we're from another Earth." Tatiana continued.
"…and all we have to say when asked…." Simone went on.
"…is, "Sorry, that's classified." Kate finished.
"Is that as freaky when we do it?" Rick asked.
"Freaky?" They said in unison, frowning.
"Forget it."
Two weeks later, Castle was standing in front of his mirror, looking at himself in his tuxedo and saying over and over again, "My name is Derrick Storm and I'm a spy."
He was interrupted by the three woman walking into the bedroom. He smiled at them. "Wow! Very patriotic. Kate in blue, Tatiana in red and Simone in white. The three woman were, indeed, wearing nearly identical floor length gowns in those colors. Kate's had a high Empire waist, Tatiana's was nearly backless and Simone's was cut low in front. Very low.
"How can you tell the difference between Tatiana and me?" Kate asked.
"Body language." Castle lied. In fact he'd seen Kate's dress when it was delivered earlier in the day.
"We'll have to work on that."
Rick smiled. "Work too much and I might mistake Tatiana for you."
"I'll quickly correct you." Tatiana said quickly.
"I'll correct you as well." Kate said with false sweetness.
Castle quickly changed the subject. "Where are we going to tonight, again?"
"It's a reception by the Commander of the Atlantic Fleets, Admiral Callan." Roy Montgomery said, sticking his head into the bedroom.
"Why the Atlantic Fleets. Isn't one enough?" Rick asked.
"There are three of them. The Second Fleet covers the North Atlantic, but it's mostly a training command getting ships ready to deploy to the warfighting fleets. These are the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and the Fourth Fleet in the South Atlantic, which covers what's left of South America and West Africa. The Pacific Fleets are much the same. The Third Fleet is mostly a training organization, but covers the Eastern Pacific to include the Polar Sea, the Seventh Fleet covers the Western Pacific and the Fifth Fleet covers the Indian Ocean."
"They cover the whole world?" Tatiana asked.
"Plus there are two almost fleet sized task forces covering two AU Earths." Montgomery checked his watch. "We need to get going." He turned to the women. "You remember who you are?"
Kate nodded. "I'm Mrs. Storm, I should be able to handle that."
"I'm Tatiana Beckett, Kate's twin. Our mother, Johanna, was reading Russian literature when pregnant, hence the Russian name."
"And I'm Simone Renoir. I'm the younger sister of Kate and Tatiana. I'm a widow of a man named Renoir, but I'm afraid everything else is classified."
The reception was similar to hundreds that Rick had been to and he managed to fit right in, flirting mildly with the older admirals' wives and being polite to younger wives. Several young ladies tried to flirt with Rick, but were quickly chased off by a phalanx of Beckett women.
Even though he had to keep reminding himself he was Derrick Storm, the spy, he managed to stay in character. He thought he had it made when he noticed Montgomery headed his way with worried look on his face.
"Problem?" He asked Ray.
"Yes. General Richard Boyd, the chief of intelligence for the Mediterranean Command is here. He wants you to go on a mission, Mr. Storm. Come with me. Admiral Callan wants to see us."
Rick was relieved. Callan was one of the few people here that knew who he really was. Rick was sure he'd quash any ideas of Rick going on a mission.
He was ushered into a side room by Montgomery. Callan and Boyd were the only others there. Callan was a tall, distinguished looking man with enough medals on his chest for several admirals. Boyd was a stocky, dark skinned Marine brigadier general with what Rick would find to be a permanent scowl.
"What is it?" Montgomery asked.
"It's el Hadj Aleman." Boyd said, holding out his hand to Rick. "I'm honored to meet you, Mr. Storm."
Rick ran over his briefing in his mind. He had heard of this el Hadj Aleman, but knew little about him. "What is it?"
Boyd went on. "He's somewhere on the North African littoral and he's planning something big. It's not going to be some suicide speedboat after a merchant ship, or an attack on Tunisia by an infantry company. There's all kinds of encrypted radio traffic we've picked up, people in his organization moving in, weapons, heavy weapons, and I mean very heavy weapons being moved in. Artillery, surface to surface missiles, and surface to air as well. And we picked up a message from some Algerian tribal leader that used an old code we cracked. He said that the infidels would soon feel the heat of the sun in one of their cities. And we have evidence some damned Chinese warlord sold him a tactical nuke. We really need you, Mr. Storm. I've already asked MedCom to have you sent to handle this."
Admiral Callan frowned. "Mr. Storm has been down range with SEAL Team Sixteen, I'm not sure that sending him off so soon is a good idea."
"When we can get el Hadj Aleman? How can you not agree?" Boyd said.
"I'll talk this over and wait for the formal request from MedCom."
Ten minutes later, Castle, the three women and Montgomery were in Callan's office.
"Who exactly is el Hadj Aleman?" Castle demanded.
"El Hadj is an honorific meaning that the person has been on the pilgrimage to Mecca, which all good Muslims are supposed do. Aleman is a corruption of the French word for Germany. The man is named Viktor Brunner. He's German and a brilliant engineer. He should have made the top five in Europe, no sweat." Callan tapped his computer and brought up a photo of a grim looking blond man who was snarling at the photographer. "However, he couldn't control his temper and never got a job offer that would have put him in the top five percent. He walked into a company that'd turned him down and shot five people to death. He escaped and five months later, he showed up in the Caliphate as a convert to Islam."
"Most people in the Caliphate never study anything but the Koran. As a world class engineer, Brunner had no trouble rising in their ranks. He's been quite ingenious in devising ways to inflict damage on Europe." Callan began a slideshow of dead bodies and destroyed buildings.
"I'm not Storm, so I can't really help."
"You can help by just being around. Daly and his SEALS know you're not Storm, so you can travel with them and then just sit back when they go into action. When it's all over, you get the credit."
"Unless Daly and his men are all killed. Then everyone wonders why I'm still alive."
"Let's leave that part to us. In the meantime, we need to give you some training so you at least look the part when the people in MedCom see you."
"We need some training." Kate said quickly.
"All of us." Simone and Tatiana added.
Callan shook his head. "I appreciate your desire to stay with Mr. Storm, but we can hardly…"
"I'm a trained KGB agent." Tatiana said. "I can handle myself as well as anyone."
"I'm a homicide cop by training. I can handle myself too." Kate added.
"And I grew up on a very violent planet." Simone said last.
Callan gave the four a long, hard look. "We'll see what Daly and his SEALs have to say about your abilities. Then we'll see who goes. If anyone. I have no desire to get Mr. Storm here killed by accident."
Mr. Schiller was a warrant officer of many years' service and was in charge of checking their proficiency with weapons. As a member of Seal Team Sixteen, he was aware that Rick was not Derrick Storm, but made everyone stay in character. "Okay, this is the drill. You have a Glock M 13 pistol, 9mm, with two magazines holding seventeen rounds each. In front of you there are twenty four cardboard targets, roughly the size and shape of a person's torso and head. Each target will pop up for five seconds and then drop back. If you hit one, you'll see a flash and it'll fall. You have ninety seconds, and you'll fire until you either hit all of the targets or run out of ammo. Miss Beckett, you're first. Walk to the firing position and stay behind the yellow line."
When Tatiana had done so, Schiller called out, "Ready on the right, ready on the left, ready on the firing line. Commence firing."
As the targets popped up, Tatiana promptly knocked them back down. When she was done, hey heard her say, "Dammit!"
"What is it?" Kate asked.
"I used twenty five round to knock down the twenty four targets."
Schiller laughed. "Don't you worry about it, ma'am. Mrs. Storm, you're next."
Kate fired thirty one rounds and knocked down twenty two targets in the ninety seconds allotted to her. "Too much time sitting behind a desk." She said crossly.
Simone fired all thirty four rounds and hit nineteen targets. She said nothing.
Then it was Rick's turn. When he was done, he holstered his weapon and turned to look at the women. "I need to do some work."
"Mr. Storm, you need to do a lot of work." He checked his clipboard. "Thirty four rounds fired and you hit sixteen targets."
"We only have two weeks until we go to the Mediterranean." Tatiana said.
"Like I said, a lot of work."