Summary – Kate is at mandatory police training and Castle gets into trouble while researching a story. Can the 12th save him in time?
FYI – There are more characters is this story than I can select.
Disclaimer – Don't own Castle: Marlowe, ABC, and Disney do. Just writing for fun.
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This Is Castle We're Talking About – Chapter 10
Danberg watched Castle pace animatedly around the room as the writer told him about Paris and his theory as to what had happened Monday and Tuesday, and laid out his plan to catch Linderhoff before he escaped and was unreachable. The problem that was that all of this was based on conjecture and not fact because Castle had no memories of what had actually happened.
However, given everything, it was a fairly logical conclusion – a well laid out story. After the Linchpin incident, the CIA agent had wondered why Castle's file was designated "eyes on" and had made some discreet inquiries. The findings really didn't surprise him with the level of access Castle had been given to the CIA for his research.
Now it seemed to be an albatross around the man's neck.
After he finished, Castle waited anxiously as Danberg mulled over his options.
"I think we can manage that," he finally said. "We'll have to bring in some more agents—"
Castle shook his head. "No, there's not enough time and the less people who know, the better. Kate said that Linderhoff was leaving tomorrow night. If you want to catch him, we have to do this now and make it believable. Can you get the equipment tonight?"
Danberg nodded again. "We should be able to. Do you know who you want on the team?"
Castle nodded. "Yeah, I do."
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After a long day of meetings, Erik Vaughn was relaxing in the hotel lounge, checking out the scenery, when he noticed several men in dark suits stationed in various areas. He wasn't surprised when Danberg pulled out a chair and sat down at the table with him.
"Your country has a request of you," Danberg said.
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When the ringer went off, Demming first slapped the snooze button on his alarm clock and then reached for his phone. "Demming," he said, squinting at the time.
"Detective Demming, this is Agent Fallon," said the southern drawl. "We've had a break in the case and you need to come to the hospital immediately."
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Sorenson was already awake and running through his morning workout when his phone went off. "Sorenson," he said, wiping the sweat off of his face with a towel.
"Agent Sorenson, this is Agent Fallon," said the southern drawl. "We've had a break in the case and we need you to come to the hospital immediately."
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Davidson was going through his calendar for the day when he got a 911 page from the hospital. Castle had taken a turn for the worse and he needed to come in immediately.
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"You do know that impersonating a federal agent is a federal offense punishable up to 5 years in jail, Agent Fallon," Sorenson said as he watched Castle change into the scrubs that Davidson had finally agreed to get for him after Castle told them his plan.
It was fairly simple – break out of a high security facility, go to the New York public library because that's where Castle was certain he had gone after hearing Linderhoff's message, find out what he had been researching Monday, and take that back to the precinct. Something in that research must have caught Linderhoff's attention and had been the catalyst for everything that happened since then.
Demming and Sorenson reluctantly agreed to his plan because they didn't have anything better and they were definitely running out of time. Davidson agreed when Castle said he would take fully responsibility if they were caught.
"Not real worried about that right now," said Castle as he tucked his hair under a cap and hung a mask around his neck. "If this man is any threat to my family, I want him gone. And as it is right now, you don't have anything on him. I'm sure what I was doing Monday can change that."
"So you just plan on walking out of here with the shift change?" asked Demming.
"No," said Castle, looking at a badge he clipped to his shirt. "Dr. Hernandez is."
"Where'd you get that?" asked Davidson, startled.
"From the shredder box," Castle shrugged. "This place is more worried about people breaking in than out. Let's go over the plan again."
"You and I are stuck together at the hip – where you go, I go," said Demming, which was his condition to agreeing to this mad scheme. "We go to the library and see what you were working on Monday. At that point, you come back here and I'll take whatever we find to the precinct for analysis – nothing held back."
"And I'll back up Kate in case someone goes after her," said Sorenson. "And keep her away from the hospital for as long as I can."
"And if Kate shows up here before you're back, I'll stop her from finding out you're doing something stupid – again," said Davidson. "And then sign your death certificate when she kills you." He thought a moment. "Yeah, definitely death caused by cardiac arrest from ingesting toxic lead."
"Real funny," said Castle, picking up the notebook from the bed. He looked at the front of it and then looked away. "There's also another reason I wanted all of you here," he said, taking a deep breath.
"Dr. Bresslier explained the side effects to me. If I'm one of the lucky ones, the seizures will stop after a few days and there won't be any more problems. If I'm not, they'll continue and I'll just think that Kate's away at a training. And then, I won't think about her at all, but that shouldn't last too long. If that happens, just make sure Kate – just make sure she's happy."
The rest of the men had the decency to look uncomfortable and nodded. "Yeah, okay," they replied.
Castle looked at the clock. "Shift change," he said. "Let's get this show started. We're leaving now."
He pulled the mask higher to cover part of his lower face and walked out the door, holding a chart and talking with Davidson as they passed the guards and swiped their badges. Davidson let out a sigh of relief as the elevator doors opened and he and Castle entered without any challenges.
A few minutes later, Sorenson and Demming walked out of the room. Sorenson swiped his badge and they also left the floor without any problems.
Castle had changed into street clothes and was waiting for them outside the side entrance.
Sorenson handed Castle a phone. "We're monitoring this phone, so keep in touch. Speed dial 1 when you find something."
"I will," said Castle, pocketing the phone. "The library opens at 10 am, but I've got someone who can let us now."
As they walked away, Sorenson pulled out his phone and called Beckett. "Hey, I've got some new leads – can you meet me at the precinct? Castle? I stopped by to talk to him this morning and they're running tests so he's going to be out of pocket most of the day."
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Danberg watched the blip on the monitor over Vaughn's shoulder.
"We're up and running," Vaughn said, adjusting a few settings on the tablet. "Sound quality good – GPS contact good – vitals good. I'm starting the recording now."
Danberg nodded and looked over at Candace.
She dialed a number on the burner phone. "Hi, this is Candace – I'm Mr. Castle's personal assistant. Mr. Linderhoff had mentioned wanting to meet with him while he was in town so that Mr. Castle could sign some of his books. I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Castle will be at the New York Public library about 11 am if Mr. Linderhoff would like to meet him there. Good – thanks, I'll let him know."
Candace ended the call. "Mr. Linderhoff is in a meeting right now, but his assistant will text him about the meeting. She was sure he would be most interested in meeting Mr. Castle."
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Even though the library was less than 4 miles from the hospital, it took Demming and Castle more than 30 minutes to get there in the morning traffic. That gave Castle time to go through the files that Demming had in his car, much to the detective's dismay.
"Castle, quit touching stuff," he admonished.
"Hey," said Castle, pulling some pictures out of an envelope. "You didn't show me these. I'm surprised you didn't take a video."
The writer looked at the time stamps and put the pictures in order and then read off the times and the contents. "9:05 – Linderhoff and I are talking at the warehouse; 9:15 – I drive off; 9:20 – Linderhoff leaves; 9:40 – Linderhoff's assistant and several other people get into a car and leave; 9:45 – I return, get out of my car – am I picking something up?" he said, turning the picture at various angles. "I can't really tell."
"Whatever it was, you put it in your pocket. It was too small to get clear shot of it. And FYI, between 9:15 and 9:45, you parked at the end of the complex and got out of your car and just stood, doing nothing."
Castle rolled his eyes – he really was doing something and that was watching Kate's plane to take off and wishing her god's speed and safe travel on her trip. The end of the complex was the best vantage point for that.
As Demming parked, Castle pulled out the phone and made a call. "Hey, Starla, it's Rick. Is it okay if I come in early? Thanks. I'll meet you at the back entrance in a minute."
Castle pocketed the phone. "We're in."
They quickly walked to the back entrance where a young lady was waiting for them.
"Hey, Rick – good to see you again," she said as she gave him a quick hug.
"Starla Torres, this is Detective Tom Demming. He's doing some research with me."
"Glad to meet you," said Starla, shaking Demming's hand.
"Uh, Starla, were you here Monday?" Castle asked as she led them down some long narrow hallways.
"No – it was my day off fortunately. I understand it was crazy because someone set off the fire alarm in the back Monday afternoon and the whole place had to evacuate."
"I'm surprised that didn't make the news," said Demming.
Starla laughed. "If we had a news crew out here every time that happened, that's all you'd hear."
"So it's a frequent occurrence?" asked Demming.
"Unfortunately, yes. We've installed cameras around the fire alarms to catch the people, but someone had put something in front of the one in the back Monday so we didn't get anything."
"Starla, is there any chance I left some research here Monday?" Castle asked as they reached the main room.
"Let me look and see if Krish put anything aside for you."
"Thanks, Starla."
Castle sat down in front of a computer and reached to turn it on. "Let see, if I was off grid Monday and didn't want my actions tracked, I wouldn't have used my personal library card. Uh, you got a library card, Demming?"
Demming snorted and reached past Castle to log into the computer using his library information. "Isn't this against the rules?"
"Not if you're trying to track a smuggler and not let them know you're doing it. Thanks," Castle said as he pulled up a browser. "Then I would have pulled up all the exhibits that Linderhoff had set up in the last year to see where he was. I would have ruled any out in the United States because we don't typically need to sneak people across state borders." Castle did a quick search. "And it looks like he did 6 internationally – Paris, London, Beirut, Dubai, Shanghai, and Minsk. The last 4 have possibilities…" Castle paused and frowned at the Paris one. That was the same time that he and Alexis had been in Paris when she was kidnapped last year.
Castle pulled up each article about the exhibits and read them slowly, occasionally glancing at the clock on the wall. He just had to stall until 11 am.
Starla walked back in the room, carrying a file. "Krish had this in the desk with a note that you'd pick it up Monday."
"Thanks – you are a lifesaver. Iced peach green tea with a shot of lemonade for you and double espresso with an extra shot of chocolate for Krish?"
"Of course. You spoil us too much, Rick," Starla laughed as she walked away.
Castle opened the file and leafed through the contents, groaning.
"Not what you expected?" Demming asked.
Castle shook his head. "No – just a list of events my book agent and publisher want me to go to."
"Oh, yeah," said Demming as he looked through the pictures. "They said you need to do more PR – you need to get your face back out there or else everyone will forget who you are and not buy your books anymore."
"Oh, hey, look – there's Erik Vaughn," said Castle, looking at one picture. "That would be the Winter Black and White Tie gala a year and a half ago."
"With a very nice piece of arm candy," commented Demming.
Castle gave the folder to Demming to add to his file. "Here, you can dress up as me and go to these."
He turned back to the monitor and continued reading. "There's nothing here that look unusual. That is, unless he's smuggling royalty into rival countries for clandestine meetings."
"Do you want copies of these?" Castle asked Demming.
"Of course, and I bet you don't have any money either."
Castle shook his head. "Don't even have my wallet."
"Don't go anywhere," Demming said as he walked off to find a vending machine for printing.
Starla walked back in the room, pushing a cart. "Hey, Rick – I found several magazines that Krish saved for you. They're behind the desk in a box if you want them. And watch the bottom drawer on the file cabinet. The edge is bent and can snag your pants if you're not careful."
"Thanks, Starla," said Castle as he stood and walked to the desk. Going behind the desk, he spotted the box next to the file cabinet and bent down to pick it up.
Demming came back into the room a minute later and glared at the empty chair. "Castle," he said in a loud stage whisper. "Where are you?"
"Over here," said Castle from behind the desk. "Just getting—"
There was a loud ripping sound as he stood and Castle swore as he looked down at the tear in his jeans.
"Told you so," came a loud voice from in the stacks.
"Oh, great," said Castle inspecting the rip. He glanced at the clock. "I dropped some pants off at a cleaners a couple of blocks away last week. We can go there and stop by the coffee shop and be back here before the library opens."
"Why not go back to the precinct now? Haven't we got what we're looking for?" Demming asked.
Castle shook his head. "No – I don't think so. I don't think we've found everything yet. I'm sure something will turn up."
Demming rolled his eyes. "All right," he said finally. "Cleaners – coffee shop – back here and then to the precinct." He was finding that herding Castle was a lot like herding cats and was beginning to feel a little sorry for Kate. But then, he always thought she would be a good mother and Castle definitely needed a firm hand.
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By the time they reached the cleaners, Demming was sure that Castle was either insane or directionally challenged. They had gone down several side streets and made several wrong turns before they reached their destination.
Fortunately, there was an open parking space across the street from the building and very little traffic to impede them as they crossed the street.
"Good morning, Mrs. Sun," said Castle as he walked in, smiling at the lady behind the counter.
"Ah, Mr. Castle – so good to see you so soon. And what have you done to your pants this time?" she tisked at him as she looked at the rip.
"Met with a filing cabinet that didn't like me," Castle quipped.
"You're too funny, Mr. Castle. Who wouldn't like you?"
Demming felt like raising his hand at that.
"I have the pants you left here Monday ready," Mrs. Sun continued. "But I don't think I can fix these."
"So I was here Monday?" Castle asked.
"Yes – large coffee stain on your khaki pants. Hard to get out, but we did." Mrs. Sun walked to the back and came back with a pair of pants. "You change and give me those – I'll see what can do."
"Thanks, Mrs. Sun," said Castle taking the pants.
Demming looked around. "Is there—"
"Through the door and to the left," said Mrs. Sun.
"Thanks. " He turned to Castle. "Stay here and don't leave."
"Okay," said Castle, looking defensive. It wasn't like he was going anywhere without him anyway, especially since he knew they were being followed and didn't know who it was.
Castle went into the changing room and quickly changed pants and then pulled out his phone, knowing that the conversation was going to be recorded.
He punched 1 and waited for a few minutes. "We're definitely being followed. Is it one of yours?" he asked when Sorenson answered.
"Not ours – do you need assistance?" Sorenson replied.
"No – they're just watching right now. We're headed back to the library. I'll call you when we find something," Castle replied.
He stepped out of the changing room and handed Mrs. Sun the jeans. "Thanks again."
"You've very welcome. Oh, you forget to clean out your pockets again, Mr. Castle – here," she said as she handed him a necklace in a small plastic bag.
Castle smiled as he took the necklace and looked at it. Had Kate given him something to remember her by while she was gone? His smile slowly faded as he looked at the necklace and recognized it. This must have been what he picked up at the airport, but that was impossible. Alexis said that they had buried this with Alyssa after the young woman had passed away unexpectedly.
His head snapped up as he remembered the conversation he had had with her uncle – Alyssa had been out the night before she died – the coroner's report listed the cause of death as a seizure.
And he made the connection because he had all the pieces now. When he and Alexis were at the embassy in Paris, he had stepped out of the room to collect himself and get coffee and had run smack dab into his worst nightmare – two distraught parents grieving the loss of their daughter. That could have so easily been him if things had gone differently. The daughter had also been out the night before and when the parents got up the next morning, they had found her dead from a seizure.
This had everything to do with Paris, but nothing to do with his father, and this was the piece of evidence that the people were looking for.
"Danberg," hissed Castle. "I was wrong – they aren't smuggling spies – they're human trafficking."
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