Love's Gift
Chapter 11
It's taking Castle a moment to process the sounds coming from outside the house, but Kate is already out of bed and staring out a window. Putting a finger to her lips, she's signaling for him to look. He can see a hint of movement in the shadows at the side of the house. He reaches for the phone but can't get a signal. Kate nods as he turns the screen, so she can see it. She mouths, "jammer."
Reaching for Castle's hand, Kate leads the way to the computer. The "X" through the icon at the bottom of the screen warns that there's no internet connection. Worse, the white-hot glow of heated metal appears at the edge of the door. Someone is trying to cut his way in! Castle points toward the entrance to the basement and leads the way down the stairs. Grabbing a kitchen knife, Kate follows. Castle raises the metal bar that's across the door and they quickly slip through to a tunnel, illuminated by what appear to be motion activated LEDs. Kate points to a metal rod leaning against the wall and Castle shoves it through metal loops welded to the door, barring the way behind them.
The underground passage is dry with no sign of alligators or C.H.U.D.s. Kate believes they're moving east but isn't offering any guesses about where they'll end up. The tunnel begins to angle slightly upward, finally ending at what looks like a door to another basement. It's locked, but there's an entry system like the kind found near the inner doors of old New York brownstones. Kate holds her knife at ready while Castle reaches for the button. Even before he presses it, a buzzer sounds, and the door clicks open.
The gray-haired woman standing on the other side assures Kate there's no need for the knife. No one has had to use the tunnel to escape in years, but she received an alert from a legacy system in the FBI when communications went out at the safe house. She suspects a team is already on its way.
Kate shows no signs of relaxing her hold on her weapon. Castle raises a questioning eyebrow at their greeter. "And you are?"
She introduces herself as Blanche DuBois and quickly adds that she has rarely depended on the kindness of strangers, but her visitors appear to need some. She adds that she and her husband both worked for the FBI but that he's gone, and she's retired from duty - except for living at the other end of the tunnel. Blanche gestures toward a staircase saying that it's much more comfortable upstairs and she just made snickerdoodles.
Castle can feel his muscles relax as he detects the scent of cinnamon. If Blanche isn't telling the truth about anything else, she is about the newly baked treats.
Snickerdoodles fill three cooling racks on the counter and Blanche waves her guests to seats at the kitchen table. Their hostess taps the phone sticking out of the pocket of her blouse. "I'll get an all-clear when whoever was trying to attack the house is rounded up." She pulls a seltzer siphon like the ones decorating Castle's loft, out of the refrigerator. "This is one of the few leftovers from the old days that I still subscribe to - slightly modernized. The delivery service is web-based."
Castle grins and asks for the URL.
Kate is finishing her third cookie when a fanfare erupts from Blanche's phone. She regards the screen, telling Kate and Castle that two would-be assassins have been captured and that their ride will be arriving in a few moments.
Castle notices that the older woman is staring at him and inquires if he has crumbs on his face.
She shakes her head, explaining that there's just something in his eyes that reminds her of someone she met when she was liaising with the CIA. What Sophia Turner told him about his father immediately floods his brain. Could the traitor have been telling the truth? Is his father a spy? He asks if the someone has a name.
Blanche smiles and pats his hand. "Everyone has a name dear, in this case, I suspect he has had many, but it's unlikely I was privy to the one on his birth certificate. In any case, it's probably just a chance resemblance."
Castle's not so sure.
Blanche receives another signal on her phone. She shows Castle and Kate the feed from a camera. There's a car parked in front of the house with the headlights flicking on and off in rhythm. Blanche points the way toward the door, before winking and handing them each a cookie-to-go.
Castle recognizes Shaw's partner Avery at the wheel of the predictable black SUV and opens the door for Kate. Avery inquires if they want to go to FBI headquarters for the interrogation of the suspects that broke into the safe house. Castle knows that there is zero chance of keeping Kate away, and he's pretty anxious to watch the grilling himself, but even more anxious to find out how the location of the safe house got out. Avery has no idea, but he's hoping that the men they captured do.
Through the glass, Castle gets his first good look at the men who came after him and Kate. He recognizes the type - fit but not too musclebound to move quickly. They remind him of some of the operatives at the CIA- or Maddox. Not run-of-the-mill criminals; more likely mercenaries. If they are, they work for someone, a someone who knew where he and Kate were hiding out.
Avery's eyes harden as he faces the prisoners across the table. He begins by telling them that an attack on a secret government facility is at the least, espionage, something for which there is still a death penalty. He goes on to say they are unlikely to enjoy their wait in the Special Confinement Center in Terra Haute.
They ask for a lawyer. Of course, they do. They probably have millions stashed offshore to pay for one.
Avery smiles, telling them that any funds that they attempt to access for legal assistance that can't be accounted for as earned by legitimate means will be frozen, but the court will be willing to appoint a public defender. He adds that if they're really lucky, the kid might have a year or two of practicing law under his belt.
Kate whistles in admiration. "He's good!"
It's the same way Castle always felt watching Kate in the box. Well, almost the same way. He feels no urge to drag Avery to bed. Still, it is satisfying to watch the for-hire killers sweat. He wonders if the FBI has any popcorn.
After another hour of grilling by Avery, the mercs admit they haven't heard directly from Bracken, but received transfers to their accounts and coded emails with their assignments. Avery tells Kate and Castle that he has already seized their attacker's phones to begin the task of tracking down their employer. It is unfortunately clear that Bracken has a mole in the FBI. Until that person can be uncovered, any FBI safe house must be considered compromised. They'll be hardening Castle's loft as a defensible enough location as any and putting in place twenty-four-hour surveillance teams Avery will vet personally. Castle wonders if it might not be a good idea to hire his own security. Avery admits that under the circumstances, it would make sense.
Castle is lying with his arm beneath his head in his own bed, with Kate beside him. She snuggles into his chest, asking him what he's thinking about. He confides that he can't stop obsessing over what Blanche said. If he puts it together with what Sophia told him, he has a father out there somewhere - working for the CIA. When Bracken's network has finally been destroyed, he's going to do his best to find out if their child has James Bond for a grandfather.