Chapter 21

The FBI Special Agent who was in charge of what had been dubbed "The dragon case" was a middle aged man of Scotch-Irish decent named Micheal Cauldwell. He stood just barely six feet tall and was slightly over weight but not grossly so, he had bright red hair that was only just starting to turn gray which he kept in a short buzz cut. The wrinkles on his face and the deep penetrating gaze that radiated from his brown eyes,seemed to act as an x-ray into the soul of whomever he was speaking with, and gave him the look of a wise all knowing grandfather from whom nothing could be hidden. When he spoke his voice had a gentle reassuring quality to it but his eyes and face gave the impression that this was just velvet covering steel and he was not to be trifled with, this had enabled him to break his share of hardened suspects, still he was not too proud to admit when he needed help. The name of the game after all was closing cases and locking up bad guys. Anything that helped him reach that goal was good in his opinion, and anything that got in the way of that goal, including his personal pride, was bad.

In his twenty-seven year carrier with the Bureau he had earned a reputation for handling complex cases that involved political corruption and organized crime, he wasn't one to play politics so other more political agents tended to take credit for cases he cracked but everyone who mattered knew he was the guy you wanted working the cases that other agents couldn't crack and that was all that mattered to him. Still in all his years he had never encountered a case this big or this complex and he wasn't about to let his pride stand in the way of solving it, he would take whatever help he could get in order to crack this case.

Cauldwell had joined the FBI after a brief stint in the marines, he had done well with basic training and had been made a sniper and he had killed two enemy soldiers, while on a covert mission, he did not regret what he had done but he didn't like doing it at all, shortly after this he had left. Since he had joined the FBI he had drawn his weapon many times but he was proud of the fact that in over a quarter century of service he had never once had to fire his weapon at another person. If he had one odd personal tick that people would comment on it was that when he was frustrated or just thinking very hard he would pace back and forth across his office while snapping his fingers, he himself had no idea why he did such a thing he only knew that ever since he was a child it had helped him focus when he was having trouble solving a problem.

At that moment Special Agent Cauldwell was pacing back and forth in front of his large wooden desk while snapping his fingers. He was not one to turn away help when he needed it but he also disliked being out of control of any given situation and he didn't like calling in outsiders to work on his case, and when he could not be one hundred percent sure that the outsiders were not involved in the case he disliked it even more. It was bad enough that something this big had slipped under the FBI's radar for so long and they didn't even have a clue that it was going on but now they couldn't even solve the problem themselves. Mike Cauldwell didn't play politics but even he could see that this was a huge black eye for the Bureau and that whoever was behind this case was powerful so the more people were involved with the investigation the more likely it became that information would leak and whoever was behind this complex web would vanish, never to be seen again.

Still he had to weigh these facts against the fact that whoever was behind this was completely ruthless and would stop at nothing, including blowing up a hospital in order to cover up his or her crimes. This person was clearly a terrorist in the worst sense, it didn't matter to Cauldwell if the FBI would ever call this person a terrorist in public this person was willing to engage in mass murder in order to farther his or her own ends so that made then a terrorist and he couldn't afford to take one second longer then was necessary to bring them down. Every second this monster was free put people's lives in danger so he had put aside his own personal misgivings and called the mayor of New York city to get the help of two NYPD detectives who's help he needed at that moment. He would work with them to solve the case but he would not trust them and he would keep a strict eye on everything they did.

This was how detectives Ryan and Esposito first laid eyes on the special agent as they were buzzed into his office, he was pacing back and forth in front of his desk snapping his fingers with his eyes fixed on the floor as he did so, he didn't even seem to notice the two detectives entering the room. Ryan and Esposito exchanged a brief worried look and then returned their attention to the older man.

Ryan was the first to speak. "Special Agent Cauldwell?" He asked taking a step forward.

"You must be detective Ryan." The older man stated turning his attention to the Irish detective, he had learned long ago not to be embarrassed by his little personal quirks and he extended his right hand, which Ryan took after a second.

"That would make you Detective Esposito." Cauldwell said a moment latter, turning his attention to the hispanic detective. Esposito took his hand with a strong, firm grasp that told the story of a man who had served in the armed forces and still kept in shape, once he took Cauldwell's hand he shook it in a less then friendly manner before asking the question that was on both his and Ryan's minds. "Why are we here?"

"Right, down to business." the older man replied as he motioned for Ryan and Esposito to have a seat in two office chairs that were in front of his desk, he then made his way behind the desk and sat down. "As you know the FBI is holding Mister Chang in custody in this building after the incident at the hospital."

"Incident?" Ryan blurted out, shocked at how calmly the older man seemed to be taking the latest development in the case. "They set off a god damn bomb!"

"Yes and let me assure you that we are taking this mater very seriously." Cauldwell responded, Neither Ryan nor Esposito seemed very reassured but a life time of working high profile cases had taught Special Agent Cauldwell the folly of giving too much away before a conviction was secured, he liked to play his cards very close to his chest. "This case and bringing down the man known as "The Dragon" is our highest priority at the moment, that is why I am here and why I have called you in."

Esposito in particular did not seem impressed. "Really?" He asked leaning forward in his chair. "Because this all seems like a waste of time, everything we know about "The Dragon" is in our reports. Chang is our best lead, you should be grilling him instead of us."

Cauldwell did not let the implication of incompetence affect him, in fact his face betrayed no emotions at all, he continued addressing both men as if Esposito had never spoken. "Mister Chang is our best lead at the moment, We are following the money trail but that will take time and Mister Chang seems to have had a face to face meeting with a high level member of "The Dragon's" organization so we are hoping to use him to close this case fast."

"Good, because this guy is ruthless, he was willing to blow up a hospital just to get at Castle and Beckett." Ryan said, he still didn't trust the man sitting across the desk from him but it at least sounded like he was on the right track.

"Indeed, ideally we will close this case before he kills again but it is clear he is powerful, rich, and has contacts in high places so I can't promise anything." Cauldwell explained coldly, still despite the lack of emotion showing on the older man's face Esposito thought he detected a hint of frustration in the his voice, it was slight but it was there. It was the same type of frustration he had heard in his commanding officers' voices when they got tired of dealing with Terrorists who refused to come out and fight and instead used unseen explosive devices to do their dirty work for them, he could tell this man wanted the problem taken care of but was hitting one wall after another.

"What do you need from us?" Esposito asked as he leaned forward in his chair slightly, he wasn't sure if he should fully trust this stranger but his instincts told him the man was invested in bringing "The Dragon" to justice.

"Well as I said Mister Chang is our best lead but he is refusing to talk to us, he says he doesn't trust us because he doesn't know if we are involved so he is refusing to give us anything." Cauldwell explained looking from one of the detectives that was seated in front of him to the other.

"So, we caught him in the middle of a plot to blow up a hospital." Ryan said, fixing the special agent with a puzzled look.

"Yeah, just put the screws to him and he will talk. Why do you need us?" Epsosito scoffed, he wasn't sure he understood what the problem was, breaking this guy should be easy.

"Normally that is exactly what we would do but with lives on the line I want this case closed as quickly as possible, and breaking Mister Chang will take two or three days." Cauldwell calmly explained.

"Okay, how can we help?" Ryan asked, like his partner he was now at least willing to listen to the man across the desk from him.

"Mister Chang says he will talk to the officers who arrested him, he says he trusts you." Cauldwell explained as he leaned forward slightly in his chair. "We need you to find out everything he knows and get a description of his contact."

"Sounds easy enough." Esposito said with a shrug and Ryan nodded that he agreed.

"I want you to understand that you will be answering to me on this case and we will be doing things by the book, no more of this off the grid behind the scenes stuff." Cauldwell said firmly, Ryan and Esposito didn't much like his tone but he didn't give them time to object. "Whoever this guy is he is rich and powerful so he will have an army of lawyers and when we catch him I don't want to give them anything they can use. This is the type of scumbag we only get one shot at and I am not letting him get away because of sloppy case work, understood?!"

Ryan and Esposito didn't care for what the special agent was implying but they both had seen enough cases fall apart in court to at least understand where the man was coming from, then there was the fact that this man was their best way back onto the case and Beckett's life hung in the balance, so they swallowed their pride and nodded that they understood.

"All right then, I will show you to one of our interrogation rooms." Cauldwell said as he stood up and the two detectives stood to follow him, they were back on the case and hopefully things were about to hit the fan.

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"Richard do you know exactly where we are at the moment?!" Martha Rodgers huffed in frustration as she paced back and forth in front of her son, who had been enjoying the mid morning breeze which blew through the open windows of the living room/ porch. Castle was tempted to respond with something smart ass since he was under enough stress at the moment without worrying about his mother's petty complaints, but a life time of living with her had taught him the folly of interrupting her when she was venting so he kept his mouth shut and only half listened to her rant. "We are off of the map, we are no longer on planet earth." The actress said raising her arms in the air melodramatically as she turned to face her son.

"It not that bad." Castle scoffed trying to sound amused by his mother's antics but deep down he knew he would be bouncing off of the walls in a few days as well, that is if he could walk he would be bouncing off the walls, instead he was sure that soon he would slowly be going crazy without bouncing off of the walls in a few days. He knew how she felt, trapped and cut off, but he didn't know what else he could do about it other then assure her it was not that bad and let her vent. He really had gotten his family into a fine mess this time, if only he had listened to Beckett when she told him not to go digging in her mother's case, still the past could not be undone, so he had to deal with the problems of life as they stood at that moment.

"Oh really?!" Martha blurted out shocked, and then she took a couple of steps closer to her son. "These people have never even heard of the theater! There is no true culture here, the biggest thing that ever happens here is a new Wal-Mart opening. I have watched the news, it's insane, people can not live like this." She said and then added with a sigh. "It destroys the spirit."

"Well I don't know what to tell you mother, this is how most people live." Castle explained calmly.

"This is not living, this is existing. There is no passion here, no soul." Martha rebutted with a wave of her hand.

"So what, you are saying, everyone who lives here is a zombie?" Castle said with a laugh.

"Yes they are, they have nothing that makes life worth living." Martha said in a mater of fact manor.

"Well then it's a good thing I have been working on my zombie survival strategy since 2004." Castle rebuffed.

"Unless this strategy involves bringing culture to the zombies I am not interested." Martha replied, she could tell she was being mocked and she was not having any of it.

"There is more to life then the theater." Castle pointed out, but all this did was draw a look of disbelief from his Mother. He knew that was a mistake, never question the importance of the theater to Martha Rodger's face, that was heresy and she would burn you to the stake.

"What, court TV?! That isn't art that is trash, theater is the highest art form, it has been practiced in every culture since the dawn of time. If you don't have theater, you don't have a civilization." The actress stated and she advanced to within a few steps of her son.

Castle was trying to figure out how to respond to this when his daughter stepped into the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but your psychiatrist is here, dad." The redhead reported and Castle could tell that while his daughter was trying to sound cheerful, she wasn't taking to the new living conditions much better then her grandmother and a fresh wave of guilt washed over him. Still he was glad to have been saved by the bell and to be able to leave the room and the argument with his mother behind, as selfish as that may have been. Castle thanked his daughter and she left the room as he brought his wheelchair to life and began to follow her.

"But Richard what are we supposed to do?!" His mother called out.

"You're brilliant Mother, I am sure you will figure something out." Castle called out as he left the room. He was not looking forward to his first meeting with the new head shrink but at least it would be a change and who knew, maybe he would get lucky and it would help.

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In the all white interrogation room of the FBI field office in New York city, detectives Ryan and Esposito were becoming impatient, they had been waiting more then ten minutes for Chang to be brought up to speak with them. Even Special Agent Cauldwell was pacing back and forth, so the two detectives guessed that this wait was far from normal and that made them nervous, still no one said a word.

Another minute passed and there was a buzz on the intercom, Cauldwell made his way over to the wall by the one way glass and hit the talk button on the intercom.

"Cauldwell." He stated tersely.

"Sir, this is agent Kelly, I think you need to get down to the holding cells now." A male voice said through the slight feedback put out by the intercom, but everyone could tell the voice was worried.

"What is wrong?" Cauldwell demanded.

"Sir I really think you will want to see for yourself." Kelly insisted.

"Okay, we will be right down." Cauldwell said with a sigh, and he signaled for Ryan and Epsosito to follow him. As the two detectives stood up and followed the special agent out of the room they exchanged a look, they knew that whatever had happened it could not be good.

There were about a dozen people in the hall that ran passed the holding cells by the time the three men got there, but they did not have to make it to the cell to know what had happened, they could smell it. Death has an unmistakable smell, and all three men knew it for too well to mistake it for anything else.

Agents and medics cleared out of the way as the three men entered the cell and when they did their worst fears were confirmed. Chang's eyes were open and lifeless, his tongue was sticking out of his mouth, his face was slightly blue, his bowels had released, and he was hanging about a foot off of the floor by a belt that was wrapped around his neck with the other end wrapped around the metal frame of the top bunk of the bunk bed that was in the cell. He was dead.

"Oh God." Ryan said turning away, He had seen far worse deaths in his time with the NYPD, but this was their best lead.

"Why the hell wasn't he on suicide watch!" Esposito demanded and he turned and grabbed the special agent who was standing beside him by his suit coat. Esposito was no expert but even he knew that a man like this who was forced to get involved in the bombing of a hospital should be watched because he may choose the easy way out.

"It wasn't suicide." Ryan state simply as he returned his attention to the dead man hanging from the bed.

"Yeah, we had him on suicide watch." Cauldwell said calmly as he pushed the detective off of him and then he pointed to the right hand front corner of the cell. He was not going to panic he knew better then to do that, but he did know they were in trouble.

Ryan and Esposito looked to where the older man was pointing and they saw a security camera that had been smashed.

"Do you know what this means?!" Esposito demanded as he returned his attention to Special Agent Cauldwell, he was still angry.

"Yes I do." Cauldwell replied somberly. "It means we have to be very careful."

"The Dragon has someone inside the FBI." Ryan said finishing the thought.

"Shit!" Esposito exclaimed and he punched the wall. They were back at square one and they didn't know who they could trust.

Finally I posted a new chapter. Sorry it has been more then a month, things got a little crazy after the holidays but I am now pleased to report that regular updates are back. Thanks for sticking with me, most readers would have given up after such a wait, you guys are the best. As always I value every review and PM.

Thanks for reading and supporting this story.

Thanks to Caskettfan 5 for helping me edit this chapter and catching a bunch of mistakes I missed.