The Wonder: Chapter 21
DISCLAIMER: None of these characters are mine, but they are memorable. Thank you Mr. Marlowe.
Same Day, Friday July 19th, in Washington, D.C., at 6:20 p.m.
Former Detective and now Federal Agent Kate Beckett is alone at home her D.C. apartment. Ernie, the Verizon field representative has just left her home a few minutes ago. At least that is his alias. Ernie is actually a free-lancer who sets up secure networks for important people who can afford his services – the type of services that pretty much ensure no one is tapping in on your conversations, be they voice, data or video. Jordan Shaw has sent Ernie to Kate's home to get her set up properly. Ernie had done this previously for Jordan after a particularly rough federal case left Jordan feeling exposed at home, for her family.
This was one of the items on the checklist that Jordan and Kate came up with a week ago during Kate's stay at Jordan's home. Jordan affectionately dubbed this the Dragonquest, which Kate immediately took a liking to, given the inside name she knows that one Senator Bracken occasionally goes by. Making sure that Kate could have secure conversations and transmissions was step one, and one that Kate hadn't considered herself. She nods her head, reminding herself exactly how fortunate she is to have Jordan Shaw as a friend. Once again, she finds herself realizing that had it not been for a serial nut-job named Scott Dunn, their paths would never have crossed.
Now, to test things out.
She brings her iPad back to life, and connects to the new secure network in her apartment. She clicks open the FaceTime application and calls her Chicago friend. After five or six rings, she sees the CONNECTING CALL message. Seconds later, the smiling face of the FBI profiler appears.
"Everything set up?" Jordan asks her.
"Yep, I'm just trying it out. You are my first call," Kate says, smiling.
"Ernie does good work," Jordan comments, biting into a graham cracker.
"Still eating well, I see," Kate says with a chuckle. "Does Jenna know you are taking her crackers?"
"Jenna knows she doesn't buy the groceries," Jordan counters, and both women find themselves laughing for a few moments. Both know this conversation is about to get serious. Both know that they are placing themselves into the modern day coliseum, and they are the sport, the gladiators.
Kate, for her part, realizes that except for Jordan, she truly is on her own. She has left New York, but done so in such a way that she has also left her friends, left her partner, left her lover. She realizes now that she has truly – and inadvertently – cut the cord with them. The fact that not just one of them, but instead, each of them harbors some resentment towards her helps her see how differently she could have – should have – done things.
When Javier had returned her call last weekend, she knew bad news was coming. Had he and Kevin been willing to help, there would have been no 'let us skull it over' from her friends at the 12th. The fact that neither man jumped at the chance to help her made her realize that it wasn't just Castle that she abandoned. Jordan, for her part, found it difficult to see how Kate did not recognize this sooner. Fortunately, however, the woman is not judgmental, but simply pragmatic.
"I don't think any of them begrudge you your decision, Kate," Jordan had said to her. "I do think, however, that somehow you executed this decision in way that left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. And like I suggested to you regarding Castle, in retrospect you should have reached out to them personally, with no other agenda other than to say hello for that first call."
"I'm running out of friends, Jordan," Kate had lamented to her then. "This is all my doing. I have to fix this – with Javi, with Kevin. And especially with Castle."
"You need to remember that it's all part of Bracken's plan," Jordan had reminded Kate. "He knows you, he has known you for a long, long time. And he is playing you, predicting your reactions, predicting your decisions. So far, he has been spot on about you, Kate. He's managed to split you from your support. He's been right about everything so far."
"Then we are going to have to trip him up – for my sake personally as well as professionally," Kate had said then.
"So what do we do now?" Jordan had asked her, surprising her.
"We?"
"Well, I'm in this with you, now, Kate," Jordan had told her. "I know exactly how you feel, regarding your mother. Exactly." Kate had nodded, grateful to her friend.
"So, I'm in this. I will do what I can from here, but just know that you aren't alone in this."
"Thanks, Jordan," Kate had told her. "This means a lot." She realized that she was getting something of a second chance. Jordan was going out on a very thin and fragile limb for her.
So now, tonight, she sits at home, on a video call with her friend, as they plan out her next step, as agreed upon back at Jordan's home. Not the ideal way to spend a Friday night. But things have, indeed, changed.
"I thought about what you said," Kate begins now, watching her friend munch on her crackers and milk. "You were right. I can't go back to New York. Not yet," she says sadly. In truth, all she really wants to do is rush back there, go straight to Richard Castle's loft and do whatever is necessary to fix things. More than anything, that's what she wants to do.
"I know it's hard, Kate," Jordan tells her, smiling weakly. "I know you want to just run back to Manhattan, to Castle. But you know why you can't do that – not yet."
"I know, Jordan," she tells her friend, wiping her brows with her thumb and two fingers. "I just-"
"This is the most selfless thing you can do, Kate. It's the right thing to do. Don't question this," Jordan warns her.
She knows the profiler is correct. Senator Bracken is starting to make his move, to make his play, and he has decided that the best way he could ensure success is to separate Kate Beckett and Richard Castle. To separate Kate Beckett from her support team, her friends. And Jordan is also correct about how well Bracken knows her.
Somehow, the bastard just knew that Kate would muck it up, would leave New York on difficult terms so that her friends – and even the man she claimed to love – would end up estranged, and hesitant to jump in and help her. Somehow he knew that if he gave her an out of what appeared to be the perfect relationship, she would take it. In retrospect, she cannot believe how stupid her decision has been. Not in that she took this stupid job – but that she gave up everything – needlessly – in order to get it.
Finally, she also knows – and this is most important – that right now her adversary is content to play chess, and he considers her to be nothing more than a piece on his game board. She sees this now very clearly. But if she returns to New York, then the dragon side of her enemy is likely to make an appearance. If that happens, then she can expect him to return to the scorched earth methods he has previously employed – knifings, snipers, assassins.
No, going back to New York puts her friends squarely in danger. It puts the man she loves in danger.
"I never should have called Esposito and Ryan," she tells Jordan, again, for the fourth or fifth time in the past week. "It was selfish of me to ask them to step back into the crosshairs," she sighs sadly, once again disappointed with herself.
"And I know I can't go back," she finally says, a tear streaking down her cheek. Jordan feel for her, truly feels for her. She knows how difficult this is for Kate, and how much more difficult it is going to get. She knows this is the best, least selfish thing Kate Beckett has done in years – and she knows how much it will likely cost her friend, long-term.
Kate knows that she is keeping Richard Castle safe. She also knows that she is putting more time between them, and time heals all wounds. By the time this is over, she will have either defeated Bracken, or be dead. Regardless, in either case, Richard Castle will have moved on. Time will ensure that.
"True," Jordan says, now pushing her snack away, and moving a strand of hair from her face. "But Kate, understand this. Bracken has made a mistake. A big one," she continues, seeing the hope barely crease across her friend's face.
"He has underestimated you, Kate. He thinks he has stripped you away from your all of your support, your team. But he has underestimated the friends you have," she tells her. "You and I will hold the fort until your other friends return to the fold. And they will return, Kate. All of them."
Kate nods, wiping the tear away, beginning to draw strength from the conversation. It is not the first time they have had this conversation. Jordan is repeating what they have already discussed, what Kate already knows.
"For now, you just have to stay in D.C., and just play the role. Act like you know nothing. Go on the trips they assign you. Solve the cases – not for the Feds – but for the people you are supposed to be helping," Jordan reminds her. "Staying in D.C. allows you to operate under the radar, finding clues, discovering that which they don't want you to know. We will uncover this."
"Thanks Jordan," Kate gives her. "I know. I know. And I appreciate this."
"Has Eric called yet?" Jordan asks, changing the subject.
"Not yet," Kate responds.
"No matter, he will. He's nothing more than a piece on Bracken's board also. Remember that," Jordan says. "And remember this, too Kate. This is a marathon. This is not a sprint. Bracken understands this point very, very well. You get this, don't you, Kate? He has been running this race for over a decade. He understands this is a marathon. Do you?"
"Yes," Kate says with determination. "I know –"
"Can you pace yourself," Jordan interrupts. "Can you run the race? Because if you can't Kate, then you and I are dead women walking," Jordan warns, and her face can't hide the small sliver of fear there. Jordan isn't afraid of Bracken per se. She is more afraid that Kate won't be able to handle the long race. She is more afraid that Kate will start sprinting too early, wanting a short cut. A short cut will kill them both. A short cut puts Jordan's family in danger.
"I need to know," Jordan continues. "Can I trust you with this?"
"Trust me, Jordan," Kate tells her. "You can. There is no rush. I've already lost a lot – an awful lot now. I have to make it worth the loss," Kate says, and then adds, "and I have to get back that which I have lost."
Jordan nods, satisfied for now that Kate is of the right frame of mind for this. She knows this is difficult for her friend. She knows her friend feels alone. She knows her friend feels abandoned, even though she is the one who left. Jordan sees a lot of herself in Kate Beckett, and finds herself wondering, not for the first time, how she and Kate could have had such similar backgrounds, but taken such different paths. She realizes the dark place that she herself could be in, had she taken Kate's path, made Kate's decisions.
Suddenly, Kate's phone rings.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit," Kate says, the frustration and nervousness showing on her face. Jordan knows who it must be.
"Is it him?" she asks.
"Yes," Kate nods – not wanting to answer the phone.
"This is good fortune that he calls now. Kate, remember – this is a marathon," Jordan tells her quickly.
"I'm not sure I can do this," Kate admits.
"Yes you can. Run the long race, detective," Jordan tells her, intentionally referring to her with the old, more familiar title. The title she knows that Kate Beckett finds comfort and confidence in.
Kate nods her head, forcing a smile, forcing a change in her demeanor. On the fourth ring, she answers.
"Hello, this is Beckett," she greets him, answering the call on speakerphone so that Jordan, still video-connected, can follow the call. Eric calling right at this moment while she and Jordan are Face-Timing is an unexpected edge that she plans to take full advantage of.
She won't let on that she knows it is him, that she still has his contact information stored. She had kept it for very pragmatic reasons. She knows that not everyone has a billionaire philanthropist in their contact list, so you don't just delete that kind of person. Once again, she is glad for the decision. But he doesn't need to know this. She will let him think that he was just a passing interest in her life. Just another case. Because in truth, that's all Eric Vaughn has been to her, despite her momentary slip a few months ago.
"Kate," Eric says in greeting, putting as much charm into the single word as he can.
"Oh he is good," Kate reminds herself.
"This is Eric Vaughn," he reminds her, knowing that she will recognize his voice. The fact that she did not greet him with his name is a bit of a surprise. He figured she would still have his contact information, and know it was him calling. That she does not is a surprise that he makes a mental note about. This may not be quite as easy as he anticipated.
"Eric. Well hello, Eric," Kate feigns, and she sees Jordan smiling at her on her iPad screen, nodding her head. "How have you been?"
"I've been good, really good," he tells her, altering his tactics slightly. "I heard that you had left New York. I also heard that you departed alone," he says with false sympathy. "Honestly, Kate, that surprised me beyond measure. Forgive me, but I did not think anyone would be stupid enough to let you out of their sight."
Jordan rolls her eyes, and just the simple gesture gives Kate confidence. She wants to be angry at how she now knows she is being played. That he thinks she is so gullible – worse, that in the past, she actually was that gullible. But she watches her friend on the video screen, reminded that she has a role to play.
"Well, that's in the past," she says, trying to display sadness. It turns out that it isn't all that difficult, given the fact that for now, it is a true statement. "What can I do for you, Eric?"
"It's what I can do for you, Kate," he tells her, still oozing charm. She can imagine the smile on the other end of the phone, only now realizing what a sham it is. She is ready to kick herself all over again. Fortunately she is listening to Eric and watching Jordan at the same time. Jordan has been writing something, and now picks up the piece of paper and shows the words to Kate.
Stay on task. You can do this.
Smiling and nodding, Kate perks up – ready to do battle. Because that is exactly what this is – a battle. She realizes this now.
"Let me see you," Eric continues. "I'm in town for the weekend. Let's get together for dinner tomorrow."
"I don't know, Eric," Kate responds, pleased with the fact that so far, this is precisely how Jordan predicted the call would go. "I'm not really ready to jump back into anything just yet."
"I wouldn't expect you to, Kate," he tells her. "I imagine you are still hurting a bit," he continues, drawing yet another eye-roll from Jordan. Jordan's reactions are really helping Kate see through the mirage. She is thankful that fate has placed the two together.
"Consider it just two friends getting reacquainted, Kate," Eric says, growing with confidence, knowing – or believing – he is getting through. "I am sure we both have so much to discuss."
For a moment, had Jordan not been on the video call with her, Kate knows she would weaken, would fall for this. There is just something about him that makes you want to believe him. She realizes now it is just his gift – and probably why he is so successful, so wealthy. Glancing at her smiling friend one more time, Kate drops the final shoe.
"Eric, that sounds nice," she says, and she can imagine his victorious smile on the other end, before she blows everything up after pausing for a second or two. "But I think I need to take a rain check. I'm just not ready for much of anything right now."
Kate then, as planned, lightly wraps her knuckles on the table, feigning a visitor at her door.
"There's someone at the door, Eric," she lies, barely able to contain her smile. "I need to run. But call me the next time you are in town, okay?"
"Uh . . . okay, I will do that Kate," the billionaire says, not quite able to mask his surprise at the rejection. It is something he is not used to. Worse – the senator will not be pleased.
"Thanks for calling Eric," Kate tells him, and then disconnects the call. She puts her phone down, glances at Jordan in the video, and both women smile, and raise their hands in a virtual high five to one another.
"Could not have gone better," Jordan tells her, almost chuckling. "He really is pretty predictable," she continues.
"I can't believe that went down exactly as you said it would," Kate reflects. "I know you're lonely, I can't believe he let you out of his sight, it's just a friendly dinner," she says, mimicking the words out loud of the philanthropist from just seconds ago.
"It's what I do, Kate," Jordan says without arrogance. "I've gotten to be pretty good at it," she reminds her with a smile, and Kate is grateful that the woman is simply speaking the truth.
"Are you sure, Jordan?" Kate suddenly asks, and Jordan knows what she is thinking about. It had taken more than a little coercing on her part to convince Kate not to accept whatever dinner or lunch offer Eric gave her.
"I mean, wouldn't it be better to have said yes, to let him think I am falling for his pitch," Kate asks. "I could get closer, find out more –"
"We've been through this, Kate," Jordan tells her, not testily but firmly. "Right now, everything – absolutely everything – has been going according to Bracken's plan. He moves a piece, then another, then another. He considers you predictable, Kate – hence he just moves you here and there. Now, he will know you are not quite as predictable as he has believed you to be. He can't just move you indiscriminately. And you have done this without alerting him to the fact that you know something. You have just come off as someone who is hurting, who doesn't want to jump into anything new, whether friendship or romance. You have done the unexpected. That's what we need you to do more of," she reminds her friend.
"You're right, you're right," Kate tells her. "I'm just not good at this, I usually just react. I'm not good at this –"
"But I am," Jordan reminds her. "And we're going to get you there, Kate," Jordan continues, and then breaks into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Kate asks, now confused.
"I'm just thinking," Jordan begins, "I'm trying to imagine the uncomfortable phone call that is going on right about now," she says, and Kate now joins her, chuckling.
"Amen to that," Kate says. "I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear that conversation," and both women laugh again.
"Wish we could, Kate. It would have been beneficial to hear that one," Jordan agrees. "Perhaps we can correct that for the future," she smiles.
"Is what you are thinking even legal, Jordan?" Kate asks, her legal sensibilities kicking in. She was, after all, a cop for a long time. An uncorrupted cop at that.
"Is murder legal?" Jordan asks her. "You just leave that to me," the profiler tells her. "Remember, this is a marathon," she says. A few minutes later, the two women sign off, agreeing to connect again in the morning.
"I am curious what his next move will be," Jordan says, in closing.
"When do you think that will be?" Kate asks.
"Sooner than you think," Jordan responds. "Sooner than you think."
Same Evening, Friday July 19th, in Washington, D.C., at 6:45 p.m.
"What do you mean she said 'no?'", Senator Bracken asks, the menace in his voice intentionally showing through.
"She is hurting – at least that is how it appears," Eric Vaughn tells the senator. He has been dreading this conversation, and had to compose himself for a few minutes before calling. He knows that his role in this was considered critical by the senator, and he won't be pleased with this unexpected development. He is proven correct.
"She said she isn't interested in jumping into anything right now," he says, quickly adding, "but she did tell me to call again the next time I am in town." He hopes this last piece of news is a bit of an olive branch to the man on the other end.
It is not.
"I'm not interested in the next time, Eric," Bracken says softly, causing the hairs on the back of Vaughn's neck to stand at attention. "I asked you to do a simple thing – I thought this is what you do," Bracken adds. "I am disappointed, Mr. Vaughn."
"Senator, we can-"
"We can do nothing," Bracken interrupts, correcting him. "Let me think about this," he says, but then adds, more thinking to himself than talking to his caller. "Perhaps a more direct approach with my former detective is in order."
Vaughn is searching for something to say, while knowing that his next words could be very important. He is no fool – he is wealthy, he is handsome, he is powerful – but he knows that with this man, he is nothing more than a chess piece. Not a pawn, but a piece none-the-less. He knows that this man considers him to be his Knight. But he is still just a piece. And he realizes that he has let the man down. He immediately thinks about the man's Queen. He knows – more than anything else – that he does not want a visit from his Queen. That is not a move than anyone survives.
Bracken interrupts his thoughts.
"No problem, Eric. Plan B," Bracken tells him.
"I'm sorry, Senator," Eric offers him, quickly.
"As am I, Eric," Bracken says, and Vaughn's heart jumps for a moment. "But things happen. There is no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water," the senator says, knowing he is giving a visible reprieve to the billionaire. He, too, subscribes to Kate Beckett's thinking: You don't just throw away a billionaire. At least not yet.
"I will get in contact with you in a few days. Let me sort a few things out," Bracken says, and hangs up the call, leaving a slightly relieved but still nervous Eric Vaughn on the other end of a disconnected call.
"Unexpected," Senator William Bracken says aloud to himself. "I wonder if she suspects anything," he muses aloud. He considers this for a moment, then changes direction. No, she can't suspect anything – he's been careful. Perhaps he has just underestimated her feelings for the novelist. Perhaps she is still reeling, as Eric Vaughn has suggested. It is not the reaction he anticipated from Beckett. Still, it can be used to his benefit as well.
"Yes, I can use this to my advantage," he smiles to himself. "There is more than one way to keep you occupied, my former detective."
He considers his options for a few more moments, and then takes out a key, and reaches under his desk to unlock a secret compartment. He retrieves a burner phone used for just this purpose – for activating pieces in his game. He opens the contacts and finds who he is looking for.
Four rings later, a voice answers at the other end.
"This is Bishop," the voice says in greeting.
"Hello Bishop," Senator Bracken smiles. He likes his games, and he enjoys the myriad of pieces that he has assembled over the years. He learned long ago that this is a country that is very comfortable with isolated events, with single, crazy man theories. But conspiracies? Actual planned events under the control of one man, or a small group? No, this is something that most people are not comfortable with. That is a conclusion that most people avoid.
And that is why it works so well for him. His pieces play their role, all for his greater good, while the public at large sees them as simply isolated, unrelated events.
Bishop is one such piece.
"Consider yourself activated, Bishop. I need a few actions to keep someone out of my hair for a bit," Bracken tells the man.
"Who is the mark?" the voice asks.
"Someone you know – someone I had you test a few years ago. Kate Beckett."
The senator smiles as he hears the soft chuckle from the other end. Scott Dunn has been hoping, waiting for another shot at the detective for a couple of years now. Things didn't go quite as he had planned that last time, but Bracken had been pleased. Bracken had learned so much about the detective, and the idiot writer who kept tagging along. That he might get another shot at her causes him to smile.
"I look forward to it," Dunn tells his boss. "Rules of engagement?"
"No harm to her – not just yet. But as the last time, pull her into your games. The last time was just to test her reactions. This time – just keep her busy for a couple of weeks."
"With pleasure," Dunn tells him, hanging up the call.
"I'm sure it is, my friend," Bracken smiles to himself. "I'm sure it is."
A/N: This concludes this particular storyline, establishing a new AU where Kate has left New York, left her support infrastructure in shambles, and is now (with the exception of Jordan Shaw) on her own. The next story in this AU, entitled Hunt the Hunter, will pick up where this has left off, in a week or two.
My thanks to everyone who has stuck around for this story. I am fully aware that many readers on these boards are looking for Caskett stories. Some of my stories are Caskett, some are not, and some might be. For me, however, I have long wanted to read a story about redemption for Kate Beckett. Like any human being, Kate has made some good decisions and some bad decisions. But in Season 5, her behavior, the decisions the writers had her make at the end of that season defied logic. And Castle was no better. I believe the only reason we as viewers didn't hold the writers to task was because they had Castle completely roll over, and propose – a response to her actions that no man that I know of – not one single one - would have taken given her words at the time. So I have long wanted to read – or write – a story that doesn't just sweep Kate's decisions under the rug, but instead forces her to deal with them, and causes her to become a better, stronger character for it. So the next story in this AU deals primarily with Kate Beckett – and her road to redemption – something that TV never gave us. And while I – like most people – love seeing Kate and Castle together, I also love the idea of her picking herself up, reinventing herself on her own, without depending on a man. Call it my dad complex, as I have two daughters who I would hate to ever have to need a man to be successful. Having a man, and needing a man are two different things.
At some point down the road in this AU, Kate and Rick will definitely reconnect – either as friends or otherwise. But for now, each of them has their own separate journey to walk – a journey that will make both stronger, should they survive it of course.
Thanks again to all. See you soon.