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Castle's apartment, a short while later
After Castle's brush with certain death, the pair somehow made it back to his loft more or less unharmed, even picking up some Chinese takeout on the way. They sat across each other in Castle's living room, devouring the only food they'd had since morning. After they sated their primary hunger, Castle spoke.
"About this friend of yours who is apparently coming over from Japan, is she a mage too?"
"Well, not exactly. You're better off thinking of her as someone who cannot use magic, but has magical tools and skills. Speaking of which, she should be landing sometime soon."
"How did she get these magical tools? Was she not affiliated with magic before that?"
"How do I explain this…You see, magic has a system called the 'Pactio', whereby through a contract a mage can empower another person or mage with his or her mana. Also the empowered person, known as a minister or ministra, gains an artifact, the aforementioned magic tools. In Ms. Hasegawa's case, as well as mine, our 'magister' was the English teacher I told you about in the car. Her Pactio was more or less out of emergency, however. I learned magic alongside having an artifact, but she didn't really care much for magic. Her artifact has to do with hacking and such things. Mine is a little different."
"So wait, you weren't technically at your full strength back when your place blew up?"
"Not to boast, but I hadn't totally cut loose back then. It's rather pitiful actually, because most competent mages are quite a bit stronger than I am."
"Really? I find that difficult to believe."
"I know a guy who accidentally blew up a mountain testing out a new technique. And my master fought that guy to a draw. Although they're nowhere near normal, trust me, I'm a small fry." Yue's expression did not change in the slightest.
Castle paused, speechless for one of the rare few times in his life. He waved his hand dismissively. "All that aside, how are these contracts made?"
"Long, complicated process that takes weeks. Lots of details that are rather irrelevant right now," Yue lied. I don't need him getting any bright ideas for now.
Castle, however, found the contradiction. Then how did this 'Ms. Hasegawa' get a contract in an emergency? She's hiding something, but I'm not sure why…
Castle saw a second problem as well. "Wait now, if you're basically broke and homeless, where is your friend going to stay?"
Yue's face went blank for a second. "Ohhhh…shit."
"Ah, yep, I figured this would happen. What exactly was your plan, anyway?"
"…I was going to take a small, short term loan and rent a hotel room…"
Castle stared for a moment. "For a really smart person, you are completely fiscally stupid, aren't you?"
"Oh be quiet. Money is the root of all evil." Yue leaned back and stirred a strange, smoking concoction she brewed in a mug a few minutes earlier. "What would you have me do, O Great Money Maker?"
"Nothing, actually. You're currently staying with, not to boast, a guy who can drop a couple thousand here and there if need be. I have a guest room, you know. Sure, you two will have to share one bed, but hey, it's better than a loan shark."
Yue put her hands up and shook her head. "No, no, no, I can't burden you like that in good conscience. I'll find a way. I already have to pay you back for last night and breakfast, not to mention this takeout."
Castle feigned offense. "Ouch, that's cold. I thought we were friends! It's what friends do, right? Besides, the Black Hand has not targeted the precinct or the police in general. That basically means either they don't know what's going on or we've already been narrowed down as the prime targets. Judging that we've been attacked twice already I think the latter is more probable. If I have two magical people protecting me and my family, then it's all the better, isn't it? If you really want to pay me back out of some misguided morality, however, I do have an idea in mind."
Yue groaned. This couldn't be good. "I'm sure I won't like it, but what did you have in mind?"
"Oh, nothing big. I just want you to introduce the name 'Richard Castle' to the people in that Magic World you mentioned earlier. There is no such thing as bad publicity, you know."
"That is worse than I could have possibly imagined," Yue deadpanned.
Castle ignored her. "Speaking of which, I should probably get my books translated into Latin. That's what they speak there, right?"
Yue's cell phone began to skitter around the coffee table between them, effectively ending that conversation. Yue silently muttered a "Thanks" to the caller for stopping Castle's scheme before it started. Chisame was on the other side of the line.
"Yo, Ayase, I'm at JFK. Just landed. Give me an address that these cab drivers can get me to."
Yue paused for a moment before reluctantly dictating to Chisame the address to Castle's loft.
"Yeah, I'm staying with my…investigative partner for…safety reasons, so it should go unspoken that you should come directly here. Talk to nobody and do not hesitate to immediately call me if you think you're in any danger."
"All right mother, I am a grown woman who can take care of herself. Just what kind of mess did you get into?"
"I'll tell you in person. Just get to the address."
"All right. Bye."
As Yue hung up, she turned to look at Castle. Her expression was grim. "What you said somewhere in there, about protecting you and your family? I can try to protect you, but I cannot protect your daughter. I highly advise you to send her out of the city for a couple of days. Things might get…rough from now on."
Castle nodded in agreement. "She will have a fun trip to the spa resort with my mother. All right then, I'll go prepare the guest room."
"You live with your mother? Wow."
"My mother lives with me, that's very distinctly different."
"Didn't take you for a mother's boy."
"Didn't take you for a homeless person."
The doorbell rang. Castle threw his hands into the air. "Great, now you've gone and summoned Martha Rogers from the dark depths of the ninth circle of hell."
12th Precinct Interrogation Room
"Do you know who I am?"
Yue calmly sipped a cup of coffee. She didn't like coffee much, but it fit the image she wanted to present. Her legs were crossed and her expression nonchalant. She slowly yet deliberately pulled the wires from the recording devices.
She'd was not having a great morning. Chisame had arrived from the airport that night. She was greeted with an unexpected hug from a grown man who said "Mother, you're home, how have you been" in a sickeningly sweet voice. After the introductions and a hurried breakfast, Yue had to drive Chisame to the mage association herself. Castle whined about being left behind, but Yue ignored him. Once there, she had to spend a half hour pleading with Conlon to let the resident hacker use their expensive equipment to get information from Megalomesembrian databases and to let her buy a new ring for channeling her magic. Then she had to cross town to get all the way back, only to meet a suspect with a perfect poker face.
Vasilios chuckled. "To think that the NYPD would have a mage in their midst. You're probably pretty proud of yourself right now, aren't you? You successfully masked your presence, allegedly figured out how I did some crime I have nothing to do with, and now you're going to somehow appeal to my sensibilities as a practitioner of magic and get me to confess. Sure, I'll get lenience from any judge, but you forgot something. You're part of the system. You can't just get some piece of paper that serves as a confession without any evidence, especially with the audio out." Vasilios leaned back in his chair. "Your move."
Yue put down the cup and mockingly frowned. "Hey, you know, that's not actually a terrible idea, considering that I do have evidence." She lifted the jacket that had gone to the lab for testing. After muttering an incantation, she opened her left eye wide and it turned green. Rings of light formed between her eye and the jacket, and she murmured to herself. "Yep, definitely magic residues. Paired with the GPS data, that's enough for me to extradite you to Mundus Magicus and have you convicted. But honestly? I was planning to beat the information out of you."
"Really? A direct physical threat? Don't make me laugh. You saw what I am capable of. I could just wreck this entire building right now."
Yue, unimpressed, pulled out her phone and showed it to Vasilios. "I have people capable of destroying this entire borough with a flick of a finger on speed dial. Before you even get your activation key out to use your earth magic, which by the way isn't an explosion, but instead you finding the resonant frequency of a building, this message will go to the entire Ala Rubra, Ariadne and Mahora Academies, half of the Ala Alba, at least four different bounty hunter groups, the Megalomesembrian government, and the icing on the shit cake, the Dark Evangel herself. If she doesn't kill you without hesitation, the Springfield family will." Yue brandished the phone, and internally smiled as Vasilios' horror grew with each name she spoke. Her outward expression, however, was cold. "You also just indirectly admitted to destroying that parking garage. So I ask you again. Do you know who I am?"
Vasilios regained his composure. "W-Why would any of them listen to you, Yue Ayase of the Ala Alba? If I recall correctly, you're their weakest member. I could just kill you right—"
"Aw shit. I accidentally sent the message. Oops. Well, looks like you're screwed." Yue shrugged and began to sip at her coffee again.
Vasilios lost it. Any semblance of calm was obliterated. "W-W-What?! Y-You sent it?! Delete it!"
Yue put a finger to her chin and pretended to think. "Well, should I? It works out for me either way. Of course unless you confess entirely and provide ample evidence of your own mental instability, as well as telling me who sent you to destroy that parking garage."
Vasilios gritted his teeth. "You damned woman…Fine, I was sent by one of his henchmen. Tarquin Sarkhaev. He works under the Black Hand. You can probably find him and his thugs in The Leaking Barrel in Brooklyn. If he's not there, then I don't know where he is."
"What style of magic does he use?"
Vasilios shook his head. "He's one of those damned 'ki' or whatever users. Strong one, too."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Vasilios. Someone will be in shortly to take your confession. If you try anything, I will personally beat your face in." Yue plugged the microphones back in and proceeded to leave.
"Wait! At least delete the message!"
"What message?" Yue flashed a last smug grin at Vasilios before shutting the door.