Close Encounters 26
Logan took blood samples to test at the lab, but he didn't leave their house. He stayed back in the kitchen with his blood machine and worked on things there. Kate wondered if he was waiting on Castle to come back downstairs, or if maybe Castle had asked him to wait.
Didn't matter. She was getting somewhere with Colin Hunt.
He had listed into the side of the couch, his eyes closed. She'd stopped taking his answers at face value, had thrown it back at him every time, insisting on the truth, not willing to let him snow her again.
She was finally getting real answers. "Colin, why do go along with him? You're an Inspector with Scotland Yard, you make good money, you have the respect of your peers. I'm having trouble understanding why you do these things. You're so much better than him. Better than this petty kind of - sibling rivalry?"
He rubbed his thumbs into his temples, but his eyes were on her, uncertainty warring in his eyes. He wanted to talk; he wanted to talk to her.
Kate pulled her feet up into the armchair, put her chin on her knee because she knew that Hunt had - inclinations. And it always worked with Castle, looking small, looking - needful.
Colin sighed, closing his eyes as if he knew how it worked on him.
"It's all a game, Kate," Hunt said finally. "I do what I have to do to keep ahead of the game."
"Am I a game to you?" she asked. "Is my son a game?"
Hunt touched his side, a flicker of something over his face. "Honestly, I wasn't thinking about - about him. Not until I saw him. I needed inside, and I - did what I had to do."
"You had to get yourself stabbed? You had to lie to me?"
"It's not like your husband really wants me here. I knew the only way in was through you, to play you - I thought - play on your sympathy."
She felt that, a strike like a wound, even though she didn't want to feel it. She wanted not to care about him. But. "You're playing on my sympathy, fine. Won't fool me again, Hunt. But one thing is true: you're brothers. You're family. Blood."
"Blood will out," he muttered.
"Yes. So use it, Colin. You're not stupid. Start now. Play on that sympathy; tell us."
"I'm not giving up details on Black. He is my only shot."
"Oh, yeah?" she countered. "He's the worst shot you got; you're better off with no shot at all."
"What do you want from me? This is my life. I can bloody well take care of myself, woman."
"You got stabbed just following his damn orders," she stressed. "You destroyed evidence at Interpol. You nearly died. He does that to people who follow him. He twists everything around. Have you not seen us? What he's done to Castle, how he's fucked up my husband? And continues to? Fucking hell, Colin, we are both in therapy."
Hunt waved that off, avoiding her gaze.
"Listen to me," she insisted. "I've seen what he does. You only think you've got him on your side. John Black is on no one's side."
"And so what are you doing with him?" Hunt said. He looked stiff, like his wound was sending pain up his hip and into his ribs. "I'm doing what you're doing, Kate, just a whole lot better than you. He's not sending agents out to infiltrate my home now, is he?"
Kate froze. From behind her, she realized that Logan had been haunting the doorway and now he stepped up to her chair, gestured to Hunt. "Is that what all this? I thought the knife wound looked odd, but I'm not a forensic pathologist. Agent Beckett, perhaps Dr Parish could take a look, let us know if it's self-inflicted."
Holy fuck.
Hunt shifted.
"Colin," she bit out. "Colin, tell me that's not why you're here."
"I made peace with my bloody place in life a long time ago, Beckett." He was struggling to sit upright again, digging his elbows into the back of the couch. "I didn't injure myself, but I perhaps could have been faster."
"You were dying," she hissed. She'd seen his fucking face. She'd brought him into her home because of the blood sheeting out of him.
"You took too long," he snarked. "I perhaps didn't avoid the knife as I might have. But the Collective agents are real, and they are here in this city, and it's my job to act like your fucking friend until the scent is off."
"You brought them here," she yelled. "To my door. To my home, you damn-"
"I didn't bring them here. They were already here."
"To my house, Colin-"
"Bloody hell, woman, I did not."
"What the fuck are you even-"
"I didn't bring them here! They were here," he shouted, his voice breaking.
She wanted to throttle him. She could gladly kill him with her own hands. "You betrayed my trust. If they're in New York because you're doing Black's fucking dirty work-"
"No," he insisted, pushing up off the couch. They stood toe to toe now, her anger like a electric aura around her and sizzling off of him, even sick with blood loss like he was. Hunt swayed but she wasn't feeling sympathetic.
She lowered her voice, not wanting to attract Castle's attention. She vaguely registered Logan at her back, but her eyes were on Colin Bloody Hunt. "What did you do, Colin. Tell me what you did. What you've brought down on us."
"It's not like that. They were already here - Jolin. La Lune. Whatever she's got going on - you don't want that. She's one cracked, cold-hearted bitch."
"But you did this-"
"No," he said again, reaching out to grip her arm as if he needed help to balance. "No, I wasn't - I'd never do that to you, Kate."
Why did she want to believe him so badly? Because something about his smile reminded her of Castle? Because they were brothers? "You wouldn't do that? But you did. You stabbed yourself to-"
"I didn't do it to myself. I just - managed to run afoul of her agents out in the street. Acting like a hoodlum, nothing more. I'm quite good at doing shitty things, didn't I say?"
He swayed again, and she saw now how thin the skin around his eyes was, pinched. His mouth, usually so - sensuous, really - was twisted with the effort to control his pain.
"Sit down," she growled. She couldn't look at him; she turned to Logan, needing him to - do this. "Logan, make him."
"Gladly."
She didn't look, but she was fairly certain that Logan wasn't nice about it.
How was she supposed to tell Castle that Colin Hunt had been a plant - and that she had fallen for it?
Castle had heard her yelling at Hunt, but her voice was still in control. It wasn't cracked with stress, didn't do that disappearing thing where her fury made her mute. So it was part of her game, her interrogation, but it made James's head come up.
Castle skated his fingers down James's nose. The way both his eyes closed and his head dropped to his father's chest made Castle smile. James stirred and resisted the lure of Castle's fingers down his nose again, lifted his head to peer towards the door.
"It's okay," Castle murmured. "Mommy's working. You don't really get to see Mommy work, do you?"
He stood from the glider slowly, keeping James against his chest so that the boy stayed calm and mellow. He never really wanted to wake, now that Castle thought about it. He liked sleeping late in the mornings, liked his nap time as well.
Liked to cuddle. It was - made Castle's throat tight.
"Well," he murmured, heading quietly towards the door. "Let's go see Mommy in action, huh?"
Castle kept his footfalls soft, stopping at the top of the stairs to get an eye on what was going on in the living room. Logan was in the dining room, hunched over the bloodwork and sitting amidst a plethora of toys.
"We need to clean that up, wolf." He nudged his chin into the top of James's head, started down the stairs until he could hear Kate in the living room.
"The Collective? Why? What's going on?" she croaked. She was sitting narrow-shouldered and small in the armchair. "Black sent you here to buddy up to us, to fucking trick me - just to warn us about Jolin? That's not like him; he's not - altruistic like that."
He'd done what? Hunt had done what?
"Altruistic, no? But if you know how to play him," Hunt shrugged. "I know what he's capable of, and yes, I'd sleep with one eye open if he's in the room. But he's not Collective. The Collective is bloody awful bad, if you want to be simplistic about it. If you're splitting hairs here."
Castle started fast down the stairs, his voice booming. "You know how to play him? Then you have no idea what he's capable of. You want bloody awful, Hunt? He followed my wife to an NYPD-secured event, and when a crooked senator didn't murder her for him, Black fucking well tried instead."
Kate stiffened. Castle stormed towards them with James in his arms, but the boy was calm, even if Castle felt cold as ice in his fury. He wanted to throttle Hunt for that whole I can play him bullshit.
"Rick," Kate tried.
"No," Castle said back. "He should hear this. He should know the whole damn truth, if he wants to fucking lie down with the dogs."
Logan had come into the room behind him, to help or hinder, he had no idea, but Castle went straight for Colin Hunt. He had a fucking point to make.
"You know what he did? He dragged her into an alley at gunpoint, Inspector. He forced her to her knees, and he put a gun to her head."
Colin's face washed out. He glanced at Kate with dark horror in his eyes. Welcome to the fucking party, Hunt.
"He put the gun to her head," Castle repeated, sinking down to the coffee table with James in his arms. His son, his son who should never know any of this, still too sleepy to even lift his head from Castle's chest, innocent at least in this.
"Castle," she murmured. She had scooted in close, her knee hitting his thigh as she moved to sit on the couch.
But Castle leaned forward and held his hand out like a gun, his finger the muzzle, pointed at Hunt. Give him a fucking demonstration. "He put the gun to her head and put her on her knees - my wife - and he pulled the trigger. He pulled the fucking trigger."
"He shot you?" Colin husked. His eyes hadn't left Kate's face.
This time Kate said nothing.
Castle cleared his throat. "He shot. At her. He was going to execute Kate. Because she's good - good for me, good for the - because she's Kate. The only thing that-"
"Castle saved my life," Kate said quietly. Her eyes cut to his. He realized suddenly that she had never spoken the story out loud. Not to anyone. She kept going now. "Castle jumped Black and - and beat him half to death before I could get him off."
"Bloody hell," Colin groaned, tilting his head back. He thumped it repeatedly into the back of the couch. "Bloody - fucking - hell - Kate - Beckett."
"So you go ahead and play both sides," Castle growled. "You fucking sneak into our home, preying on my wife's mercy. Because she pulled me off Black, and she'd pull me off you if it came down to it - she'd let you live. But do you really want to live, after I'm through with you? After he's through with you?"
"Castle-"
"Bloody hell," Hunt groaned again. "You never said that." His head jerked up and he pointed an accusing finger at her. James was very still and very quiet in his father's arms, the only thing that kept Castle from ripping that finger off Hunt.
Kate shook her head. "What was I supposed to say? You were in Belgium with us. You saw what that was like."
"He was playing the fucking game," Hunt said, slapping his hand onto the arm of the couch.
"Her life is not a game."
Kate leaned in and tried to take James out of his arms, but James wouldn't be budged. He clutched at Castle's shirt and pressed his face into his father's chest. Right over the wolf tattoo.
Hunt ran his fingers through his hair. "Not her life - Kate, he wouldn't have - It's just how this is always played. Your life wasn't ever truly-" He turned to Castle, desperation on his face. He didn't want to know this. "Castle. It wasn't like he would have let her die," he hissed.
"He would have. He wanted to. If not for the fucking tenuous deal we have, then yes." Castle watched Hunt struggle with that, his agenda up-ended by the truth.
Kate had shifted forward on the couch, one of her hands on Castle's knee as if to hold him back. She turned her face to Hunt. "Colin, you said to me, how was our deal with Black any different than your deal with him? Well, ours is for our lives. And he could - and would - renege on that deal the second he's able. And you know what would make him able? Putting a man inside our home and gathering the information he needs to - I don't know - kidnap my son? Kidnap my husband? Do you know his end game, Colin?"
Hunt's mouth dropped open and he shot a swift look to James. "Your son? No. That's not even - he said learn your routines, alarm sys..."
He trailed off, buried his head in his hands.
Learn their alarm system. Codes? Castle was going to fucking murder him.
James mewled in his tiredness and leaned over towards Kate, his mouth downturned, reaching out his arms. Kate took him now, cuddled him against her chest, sinking back against the couch.
His arms felt empty without his son, but Kate looked a lot better. James's fingers were playing in her hair.
Alarm system. Codes. All the things Hunt was supposed to report back - could still. Castle kept his mouth shut because he was going to say something - it would be bad - it would burn bridges they absolutely couldn't burn. She'd already told him to let her lead in this interrogation, let her do the talking because he was going to antagonize a potential source, but fucking hell, if Hunt-
"He tried to take Castle from me before," Kate said suddenly. "We were in Tunisia. He - tricked me. I thought I was playing him, making deals; I thought I was saving Castle's life. Instead, I made the worst mistake of my life, and it nearly cost both of us our lives. Even when - when we were free of the initial threat, he still almost kidnapped Castle."
Fuck, how bleak it sounded out of her mouth. How bleak he had felt then, for their future, for any of it.
Hunt lifted his head, hands pressed over his face so that his grey eyes had a lifeless cast to them. He stared at Castle as if searching for the truth, and then he looked to Logan who was still in the room with them. "Are you hearing this for the first time?"
"No," Logan said slowly. "It's old news where I come from. We're doing everything - breaking our backs and bleeding out our guts - just to stay on top of this so that they don't have to make deals with the devil. But right now, right now, he's still got more answers than we even know the right questions."
Castle wished he still had James in his arms, but maybe it was better that Kate had him; she had closed her eyes, bowed her head over the boy's. If he felt shitty about it, he knew she just - took it harder. She took so much on herself.
"If you two are brothers," Logan went on, "then maybe we can start asking some of the right questions. Extra data set."
Hunt groaned into the silence. "Bloody... what do I care about brothers?" he muttered, lifting his head to Castle. "I said it just to get in the door. I don't care, Richard, what you got stuck with, what you have over me."
"Then that was a damn convincing act," Castle muttered, regarding the man warily. "And you fucking kissed my wife, you bastard."
"Because your wife is hot. Maybe it's sibling rivalry, what the fuck do I know? Yeah, I'm sorry you got there first - and you can bet your arse I'll be here the moment you forget how damn lucky you are - but no. No, I don't care about the rest of this - the damn games he plays."
"You do so well playing them," Castle sniped. He had promised her he wouldn't beat this man's ass in front of his son. He wouldn't.
But Hunt glanced to Kate. "I just want to do my job. I'm a cop. I make London less like the shithole I had to grow up in - but the deal is, I have to do a few things on the side."
"Interpol?" Castle said quickly.
"It's a job. A moonlighting thing, consulting work," he shrugged. "What I care about is my city. London. Justice. Something I know you understand."
He was talking dead to Kate, dark and competent and in control, like he'd never been stabbed with a knife, like he had always been putting on a mask with them. And now here was the real Colin Hunt, the one who had tried to kiss his wife, yes, but also the one who had engineered their escape from that embassy with Threkeld.
Same man. There was a real-ness behind him now that there hadn't been before. He leaned in close to Kate and Castle kept back; James was buffer between them at least.
"Kate, I know what happened to your mother, that she was murdered. I've seen the papers, and read the police report, and I know that you know exactly how I feel when I say that I am a cop. I'm a cop. I do the bloody spy work to stay a cop. He's my brother, fine; I'll use it if I have to, but otherwise, I don't give a bloody shit. What the hell do I need with it? So I'm not in this, Beckett. You hear me? This is your show, with him. Not me. I'm bowing out."
Castle growled. "You're so concerned about justice? Who do you think killed her mother?"
Hunt's gaze darted between them, assessing, clever. "Mob related. Senator Bracken was-"
"No," Kate said. "Bracken ordered my mother's death. He hired a psychopath to kill her."
Castle leaned in now, cutting into Hunt's line of sight. "A psychopath my fucking father - our father - created."
Hunt's hands stopped on his knees, his body went still.
Castle gritted his teeth. "You don't get to bow out. You're in this - just like me - just like my son - by virtue of blood." His eyes were haunting. "Blood in. Blood out."
"I owe you an apology, Kate."
"And him," she answered quickly, nodding to her husband.
Hunt looked to Castle. The two of them squared off for a heartbeat longer than was totally necessary and then Colin offered his hand. "I do. I apologize. Brother."
Castle didn't take his hand, and Kate kicked his shin. He yelped and glared at her and James stirred from his position. The boy was sticky with nap-sweat against her chest, more alert now, but he seemed to have decided his best option was to hunker down.
"Be nice," she muttered.
"Same to you," Castle muttered back.
"Colin, it's obvious you haven't been given the whole story," Kate said, mostly for Castle's benefit. "And you were acting on the information you had."
"I didn't know that's what it was like in Belgium. I've seen him do some unethical things, but so has every other covert agency. But this - this is..."
"Personal," Castle growled. "It's an agenda, systematic and total, to ruin everything good."
James wriggled in her arms - apparently he thought everything was fine now - so she let him get down. His hair stuck up where his head had been mashed against her chest, and she reached out to press it down with her fingers. He giggled and ducked away from her, and then he went lurching for Sasha.
"Castle has a flair for the dramatic," Kate said finally, lifting her eyes to her husband so he saw how she meant it. "But he's not wrong. Black has a specific vision for his life, for the program, and Castle has deviated very widely away from it."
Hunt still looked somber. And wounded, she thought. More than just the knife. "Well, I won't be his CI," Hunt said. "He'll get nothing from me about you. I can give you that promise, and you know I'm true to my word."
"We know."
Castle snorted, and Kate kicked him again. From the corner of her eye, she saw Sasha walking slowly towards them, James lurching along beside her with his hand tucked in the dog's collar. The boy was so much steadier that way, confident, she thought. He was going to be running soon, and all this at only nine months.
James flopped his whole body at Castle's leg, catching his pants in a little fist, and Castle leaned down to gather him up. But James wanted to stand, and he bounced on his feet in Castle's arms, grinning.
"I won't tell him a thing," Hunt said heatedly. "I bloody well swear it. He'll get nothing from me."
"Maybe you shouldn't go back to him," Castle muttered.
"What else am I supposed to do?"
"You could - the CIA is always looking for a few good men," Kate said lamely. Castle was glaring at her and now she got a foot in the shin. She knew it was impossible. It really wasn't something they could offer a foreign service agent, even if he was merely 'moonlighting.'
"You're already too tangled up in his crimes," Castle said. "You do know there's a Capture/Kill order out on Black, don't you?"
"I had heard," Hunt answered. "I assumed... politics."
"It's because he tried to murder her," Castle growled.
"That... makes sense." Hunt sounded like he was going to faint. They should stop; they had to give Hunt a moment to rest, get himself together.
Kate stood up and Castle did too, reflexively it seemed. She took him by the elbow and began tugging him away from the couch.
"We're done for now, Colin. You should rest. You don't look good. We'll talk with Logan about wound care; we'll get you healthy again."
Hunt gave a kind of salute, but his eyes were already closed.
Castle was still bristling at her side, but he allowed her to lead him away. She took him into the kitchen, the baby still in his arms, hoping it would keep a rein on him. James was chewing on two fingers, grinning at her from around his slobbery fun, and she kissed the edge of his elbow, trying to claim some of that good spirit for herself.
"Why'd you yank us out of there?" Castle rasped.
"We need a plan," she told him, keeping her voice low. "And he's about to fall over. So tell me what it is we do here. What are we doing with Colin Hunt?"
Castle sighed, tilted his head back as if he might howl. But he merely grunted his frustration and dropped his gaze back on her.
"My brother, you mean. Colin Hunt, my brother."
Kate took James out of his arms and gently set the boy on his feet, their legs making a kind of jungle gym for him. When she straightened up, Castle was forced to deal with this 'plan' she had just come up with. He'd listened - he had been good - but he still didn't fucking like it.
"I guess," he said finally. Reluctant agreement.
"We brought the boys, Lanie and Carrie into this," she reminded him. "And Mitch, Logan, the medical team. Castle, our little inner circle is rather large when it comes to it."
He rubbed a hand down his face. "I don't know that I can trust Colin Hunt with full disclosure here, Kate."
"I didn't say full disclosure. I said we should hit the highlights - and be honest about Paris and Black." Kate looked down and his gaze followed. James was wriggling between her legs, either trying to escape or just liking the small space, and she pressed her knees together to trap him. James giggled and tilted his head up to them, sharing his laughter.
Castle just couldn't be amused. He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded Kate again. They needed to nail this down while Hunt was unconscious out there. "And what do we say about the program - about us, our son? I don't feel comfortable about arming Hunt with all this insider knowledge, just so he can run to the Collective."
"He's not going to run to the Collective. You heard him. He said Jolin was crazy. And you can't seriously think that your own brother-"
But he was saved by the bell. Literally. She was interrupted by the jangle of a super-catchy pop-song ringtone. Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I'm just gonna shake-
Oh, yeah. He forgot he'd done that.
-shake, shake, shake-
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Kate burst out.
Castle smirked. He'd messed with her phone just last night. Felt like a year had passed between then and now.
"You changed my ringtone," she grumbled, punching his shoulder. "Ow."
Castle chuckled, catching her hand in his and bringing her fingers to his lips for a soft kiss. "Go get your phone, babe."
"Just for that, I should let it ring," she muttered, nudging James with her knee to get him off of her.
Shake it off, shake it off, oh-oh, shake-
She stepped back and Castle reached down to catch the boy. James wanted to follow his mother, but Castle held him back, grateful for a little drive-by mirth after the day they'd had.
I shake it off, I shake it off-
Kate jogged back around the corner and into the kitchen. "It's Esposito," she said, holding it up to him like that helped anything at all.
"Answer it," Castle muttered, rubbing a hand down his face. He pushed a knee against the oven door as James tried to pull on the handle. "No, Jay. It will smack you in the face."
"Let him do it once, teach him not to do it again," she said.
"Answer the phone, Kate. That's getting annoying," he shot over his shoulder, trying to guide the boy away from the oven. "Espo is tasked with Jol-"
"Javi?" she answered.
Castle swooped in and gathered James up; the boy grunted and protested his lack of freedom, but Castle was too distracted by Hunt passing out on his couch and whatever new crisis was coming over the phone to pay attention like he should.
Kate spun back on her heel, her mouth wide, her face white, phone against her ear. "No. Are you serious?"
His stomach plunged. "What?" he asked.
She put her hand to her head, scraped her hair back hard. "Espo, no. You can't let them do that."
The silence stretched out and their eyes met. She moaned.
"What do you mean it's already been done?"
"Kate."
She held her hand up to him for silence and he felt as frustrated and trapped as his own son. Castle wrestled the kid down to the floor, nudging him towards the dining room and his toys, trying to get him out of there so he could go back to Kate. But James didn't want to go. He came back and tried to run-lurch towards Kate.
Kate sank to her knees and opened her arm to him, gathering him close, but she didn't stand. She just - squatted there, hunched over - holding James against her and listening to Esposito on the other end.
And then she hung up. Her forehead came to her phone and the boy was still, quiet for her. Almost conciliatory.
When Kate spoke, her voice was ragged. "Diane Jolin is exhuming Dick Coonan's body."
The End of Close Encounters 26: Licence Renewed
Stay Tuned for Close Encounters 27: SeaFire
