Sorry for the delay! Lots of stuff going on. I made this chapter a little longer, hope you like it!
For the second time in as many weeks, Anderson Cross was washing blood off of his hands, grimacing at what had already dried under his fingernails. The mess was worth it – even if the building's housekeeping staff would later have questions – because for the first time in three years, he finally felt like he was getting somewhere.
His phone buzzed. Casting a glance at the man tied to a chair in the middle of Cross' bedroom, duct tape over his mouth and cuts along his cheeks and forehead, Cross grabbed the device and stared at the screen.
A text from Alexis.
Getting food. Kate has a lead.
Cross smirked. He had a lot more than a lead. He was probably moments away from finally tracking down Dmitri Rankoff once and for all. Cross snatched a broken shard of glass from a nearby table, examining the tips already soaked in blood.
"Cut the act." He approached the chair, hearing the other man gasp against the duct tape. "We both know you're almost at your breaking point. So instead of forcing me to cut into you – again – just save me the trouble and tell me about Rankoff."
Kate Beckett wanted to slam the door when she walked through it; she'd chased dead end after dead end since getting to Japan, and the only thing remotely close to a lead wound up at the 12th. They had proven the finger belonged to Richard Castle, and that her fiancé was alive when it was severed – recently, at that.
Beyond that? Nothing.
Kate felt like she was out of her element. She was a homicide detective, used to playing on her turf, familiar with all the rules and trappings of home. In a foreign country, she was on her own; even the intelligence veteran who coaxed her here wasn't acting in any official capacity.
No authority, no power of subpoena. Nothing. She didn't even have a gun.
A muffled yelp in the adjacent room grabbed Kate's attention. Her frustration disappeared as she grabbed a poker from the fireplace, holding it in both hands as she silently approached the door. She heard a male voice, the words indistinguishable, and she tightened her grip on the stele shaft.
The yelp returned, and Kate was on auto-pilot, pushing her way through the door. "NYPD! Freeze!"
She stopped immediately upon seeing Anderson Cross standing with a shard of glass in his hand, hovering over another man, whom she'd never seen, tied to a chair with duct tape over his mouth. Her brow furrowed and she lowered her arms, paralyzed with confusion.
"Kate." Cross tossed the glass back onto the table before grabbing a white rag and wiping his hands. "Alexis tells me you have a lead."
"Dead end." She glared at the older man. "What the hell is this?"
"I have a lead of my own."
Kate studied the bound man, noting the panic in his eyes, the blood drying into his skin. Shallow cuts throughout his face. His breathing was ragged. Physically, he would be fine, provided he eventually got those cuts taken care of – mentally, he was already a wreck.
"I'm guessing interrogation was never one of your strengths." Kate crossed to the other man, yanking off the duct tape. He cried out at the sensation, before leveling an appreciative gaze her way. She leaned forward. "What's your name?"
"Piotr." The captive man swallowed hard, sweat rolling down his temple until it hit one of his cuts and he cringed with a startled hiss.
Cross threw both the rag and the shard of glass into a trash can. "He's a low-level informant for Rankoff. I believe he knows where Dmitri is…and where we can find Richard Castle."
"I tell you, I know nothing!" Piotr screamed in a panic, his eyes darting between Cross and Kate. He looked at her again, his eyes pleading for her to believe him. "Please. I no see Dmitri for two years. I speak truth!"
Cross snatched the poker from Kate and swung it across Piotr's right knee, ignoring the younger man's howl of pain. "My son has been missing for three!"
"Hey!" Kate grabbed Cross by the collar of his white button-down, yanking him backwards and grabbing the poker again. "You gonna let him talk, or do you want me to start swinging?"
Cross shrugged and cracked his knuckles.
Sighing and straightening the hem of her blouse, Kate kneeled before Piotr. "Last time you talked to Rankoff…what did you discuss?"
Piotr's breathing slowly found its rhythm again, though the sting of sweat mingling with the dried blood on his face still elicited the occasional hiss or grunt. His eyes flicked between Cross and Kate, wondering if this was a planned good-cop-bad-cop routine. Judging from the anger in her eyes, he doubted it.
"Shipment." He swallowed. "Heroin. American supplier wanted shipment from Argentina."
Kate nodded. "Did Rankoff ever mention a kidnapping?"
Piotr shook his head.
"Is the name Richard Castle familiar to you?"
Piotr shrugged. "Only when I see in bookstore."
"This is such horseshit." Cross pushed his way past Kate, grabbing Piotr by his shirt and smashing his left fist into the younger man's nose. Kate heard the bone crack before regaining her footing and swinging the poker at Cross' head. He grunted when the heavy metal landed on the top of his head, stumbling back and grabbing his head with both hands.
"Enough!" Kate raised the poker over her head again, her eyes daring Cross to make another move. He gathered his bearings, checking his fingers for blood. Shaking his head, Cross slowly got back to his feet, glaring at Kate.
"You believe this creep?"
"I've been interrogating suspects for over 15 years." She lowered the poker, but kept her grip. "I think I've learned how to spot when someone's lying."
"Well, you're wrong." Cross grabbed Piotr again, ignoring the blood trickling from the captive man's nostrils. "This little sack of crap knows where my son is…where your fiancé is…and I'll beat the life out of him if he won't tell us where he is!"
"And then he'll be dead and we still won't have any answers."
Throwing Piotr to the side, taking the chair with it, Cross approached Kate and flared his nostrils. "Do you have any idea the sorts of things I'm capable of? What I've been doing for the last four decades?"
Kate stood up a little straighter. "You mean aside from abandoning your son?" When Cross' eyes lightened a bit, she pressed on. "Do you know what Castle told me the last time you dropped into our lives? He told me that he kept making the mistake of thinking you were family."
Cross' eyes narrowed, and he took a step forward. "I am his father."
Kate rolled her eyes. "One night with Martha doesn't make you a father."
Cross took another step, watching as Kate tightened her grip on the poker and clenched her jaw. Anger and hatred filled her eyes. He snarled under his breath, his hands curling into fists. "You got something to say to me, Detective, you go right ahead and say it."
"Did you ever notice how there was no invitation for you?"
Cross frowned, then shrugged. "Richard wouldn't have known where to send it."
"No." Kate shook her head. "We never even made one for you. We never put you on the list. We never intended for you to be at the wedding. He never intended for you to be there."
"Right, I get it." Cross smirked. "You don't like me. Not that it matters. I don't need Katherine Beckett's approval to find my son."
Anger having finally reached its boiling point, Kate gritted her teeth and socked Cross in the nose with her left fist – far from her best swing, considering she was using her off hand – but she still made solid contact. He stumbled backward, both hands covering his nose.
"Only a few are allowed to use my full name like that." She grabbed Cross by the arm, leading him to the door. "You're not one of them."
Cross yanked himself free of Kate's grasp, straightening his shirt and glaring at her. "You want to find your fiancé or not?"
"Oh, I will." She opened the door, nodding in its direction. "Just not with you. Get out."
His eyes flickering between Piotr and Kate, Cross hesitated. The anger disappeared from his eyes, only to be replaced by confusion. He knew how Kate felt about him, even understood it on some level. But she had to know that the best way to find Castle was with Cross' help, right? She wouldn't be in Japan, wouldn't know about Rankoff, otherwise.
"Kate—"
"Now."
With a sigh, Cross' shoulders slumped. He gave Piotr one last look before shaking his head and leaving in silence. Kate waited until she heard the main door to the suite latch shut, tossing the poker into the corner and running her hands through her hair. She felt tears burning in her eyes, and she shut them tightly to shake them off.
So busy re-composing herself, was Kate, that she'd forgotten all about the man tied to the chair.
"Miss…?"
The tentative, accented voice snapped her back into the moment, and Kate crossed the room before slowly hoisting the chair upright again. She gave Piotr an apologetic smile as she undid his bindings. "Sorry." She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.
"This…Castle." He arched his brows. "He is important. Yes?"
She nodded with a sad smile, showing him the ring she still wore on her finger. He gave a sheepish nod, averting his gaze. "I…I am sorry." Piotr made himself look at Kate again, cocking his head to the side; he hadn't caught much of the commotion earlier, but he felt like he'd heard enough. "You think Dmitri took him."
Kate shook her head. "I did. Now I dunno."
"Well…" Piotr shrugged. "I hope he did." He cringed when Kate shot him an angry, confused look, placing his hands in front of him in a defensive posture. "What I mean…I want Dmitri to burn. I want him hurt."
Kate frowned. "He fire you or something?"
"He kill my family." Piotr swallowed. "Then kidnap me." The young man leveled another gaze at Kate, his blue eyes empty. "So if it was him, I hope you put bullet in his head."
