Chapter 33
"Why should I believe you?" Castle whispered harshly at the older man through gritted teeth. "If you are my father, why show up now. Where were you before I was shot?" With that demand tears started to form in Castle's eyes but he wouldn't let this stranger see him cry so he fought against them.
"Look I would love to get into all of this with you but we don't have time." The older man said with a hint of regret in his voice.
"Make the time!" Castle demanded and his voice came close to breaking above a whisper.
"Listen I know what you are planning, word has gone out to the press so I put the pieces together." The man said as he changed the subject.
"What does that have to do with any of this?" Castle asked, clearly not happy with the change of topic.
"Because it will not be enough, you have a good idea since Bracken's power comes from his office." The man continued to explain in an manner that only a true cold blooded professional could. Castle was too stunned to answer so he continued. "The trouble is right now he will be able to tell you don't have anything."
"So you want me to call it off?" Castle asked, his attention turned to the problem at hand for a moment.
"No, but I need to give you more." The man said and then held out a piece of paper and handed it to Castle. "Have your F.B.I buddy look into this bank account and have your girlfriend there." He nodded in the direction of Beckett who was sleeping besides Castle on the double bed. "Look more closely at a drug dealer you questioned a few months ago named Vulcan Simmons."
"What does he have to do with this?" Castle asked, puzzled.
"I shouldn't have come here at all. Bracken has people everywhere and not just in law enforcement and some of them are on to me." The man said quickly as he made his way to the window.
"Wait." Castle pleaded desperately. "At least tell me your name."
"Jackson Hunt." The man replied simply and then he was gone leaving a very confused and conflicted Castle behind.
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It was around three in the morning when Martha Rodgers found Kate's father rummaging around in the kitchen cabinets in the dark. Alexis had finally passed fallen asleep on the porch couch a few minutes before. The teenage girl had been unable to simply go back to bed and so Martha had done her best to distract the girl with gossip and stories about the theaters, but for one her heart just hadn't been in it so they had settled on watching bad late night TV until Alexis had finally passed out.
Jim Beckett had gone straight to his room as soon as his daughter had left. The toll this was all taking on him was there for all to see and he clearly wanted to be alone with his troubles. Still when Martha had heard noise in the kitchen she decided to go check it out. The truth was she missed having someone her own age to talk to and she couldn't sleep any more then Alexis could but she didn't have teenage hormones to tire her out and put her to sleep.
"If you are looking for alcohol, my son poured it all down the drain while I wasn't looking." Martha said quietly as she turned on a single overhead light. The dim glow of the light bathed the room in a soft warm glow that stood in stark contrast to the darkness that covered the rest of the room.
"Ah, no. I was just looking for something to eat." Jim Beckett replied as he stood up and turned to face the actress from across the counter. He had clearly not heard Martha enter the room and was surprised to see her there.
"Oh, don't worry I will not judge. Truth be told I could use a drink myself." Martha said grimly.
"Yeah well I can't put the stuff down and I can't do that to Kate. If she comes out of this alive I don't want to push her away." Jim explained as he looked down at the counter.
"I know what you mean." Martha said and she reached out and placed her hand over Jim's which was resting on the counter. "I keep thinking about all the things I meant to do with Richard and wonder if I pushed him into this."
"Yeah." Was all Jim Beckett said in reply and to his own surprise he didn't pull his hand away. The Beckett's had never been touchy feely people but at that moment he didn't feel like pulling away. "I keep thinking that if only I had taken those phone calls seriously, none of this would have happened."
Martha didn't ask for the story, she could read people and could tell reliving the story would not help the man who stood across from her, plus she could put most of the pieces together herself. Her son wasn't the only detective in the family. "I don't see what you could have done." Martha said in a comforting tone.
"Kate said the same thing, but I still have to wonder." Jim replied with out looking up at Martha.
"We all do, but the past is the past. Live for the present, that is my motto." Martha said, sounding braver then she really was.
"That's easier said then done when you are expecting your whole world to come crashing down." Jim replied gravely and then he looked up at Martha and added. "I'm sorry I am sure the last thing you need is to hear about my problems. My daughter got your son shot and you have a granddaughter to worry about if the worst should happen." He then pulled away and started to leave when Martha spoke, drawing his attention back to her.
"You are right, I don't know what I am going to do. I don't know how to cushion the blow for Alexis when I will be destroyed too." Martha admitted as she looked away from Jim and off to the left.
"Well just don't lose yourself like I did." Jim replied a moment later. "The biggest mistake of my life was not being there for Kate when she needed me. It changed her and the person she was got walled up and I haven't seen the real Kate in years."
"That's going to be hard." Martha said gravely.
"Yeah, I still have not figured out how to do it." Jim said honestly. "I don't understand how you can't hate me or my daughter. Your son is in a wheelchair because of us, how do you do it?"
"Sometimes I do." Martha admitted looking over at Jim. All he did was silently nod that he understood. "Then I see him and even in the wheelchair he is a better person then he was. Your daughter isn't the only one who puts up walls."
"I guess we all have our own walls." Jim Observed.
"Given his reputation, I am surprised you didn't throw a fit when you found out your daughter was working with him." Martha said a moment later.
"I did at first." Jim admitted. "Then I started to see a change in her and it was like the wall started to come down. I don't know how but he found a way inside."
"It was the same with Richard." Martha explained. "He was always an outgoing person and flirty. I guess growing up on the road surrounded by actors does that to a boy. Maybe if I had been a better mother or he had a father things would have been different."
"From what I can tell you did alright." Jim said offering comfort to the actress for the first time. "I don't think you screwed him up the way I did with Kate. He doesn't seem to hide behind walls like Kate."
"That's because his walls are better hidden." Martha explained sadly. "I think in his heart of hearts he always wanted a family and for a while he had that with Alexis' mother. Then she dropped him and his wall went up. Before he was flirty but then he became a full blown playboy, hiding his real feelings behind that mask so he could never get hurt again. I never liked her but he really didn't love Alexis' mother, I think that is why he used to let her use him every time she came into town. Some small part of him hoped things could be fixed, even if he knew in his head it would never work out." Martha then looked a little ashamed. "I really shouldn't be telling you any of this, it's very private."
"It's okay." Jim said gently. "I am a lawyer, I know how to keep a secret." He then added in a lighter tone. "Plus it's good to know something about the man who I am sure will be my future son in-law."
"You really think they have a future beyond the next few days?" Martha asked gravely.
"I hope so." Jim replied thoughtfully. "I keep trying to tell myself even if they don't at least Kate was happy for a while before the end but that is a hard pill to swallow."
"I know what you mean, but since he met Kate it's like the man he was before has been slowly coming back to life, so I will always be grateful to your daughter for giving that back to me."
"Your son has undone a lot of the damage I did and my daughter wouldn't be alive without him, so I will be grateful to him for that." Jim said and then added. "I just wish it didn't come at such a price."
"Me too." Martha replied sadly. "This isn't the future that any parent sees for their child. Still he is happier in the wheelchair then he was out of it and when they work as a team he and Kate have a way of beating the odds."
"They do at that, most people wouldn't have been able to get together with all of the walls and drama." Jim said with a soft smile.
"That is true, there were times when I almost gave up on Richard coming to his senses." Martha said with a small smile.
"I wouldn't place all the blame on him. Stubbornness seems to be a genetic trait of the Beckett woman." Jim pointed out.
"Still all is well that ends well." Martha said, forcing herself to become cheerful.
"I just hope this ends well." Jim observed grimly.
"I am sure it will, you can't keep my son down and Kate is too stubborn to let this end badly." Martha said and then she turned and headed for the living room while Jim Beckett headed up to his bedroom, hoping that the actress would turn out to be right.
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The morning had not started well for Senator William Bracken. He had needed to come to New York to take care of some business last night, normally he stayed out of the city when the more unpleasent aspects of his business were being taken care of but there were some things that he just had to take care of on his own. One of these things was the fact that the idiots he had hired had bungled things and things that were supposed to be taken care of quietly had happened in the full view of the public. Still it was a minor set back and at least he had a good cover story. Terrorist attacks, what a gift that was for someone like him. No one would question it. Still it did mean that he was a expected to be in New York when he made a statement about them. So as much as he wanted to be somewhere else getting things done he had to come to New York and put on a good show.
He hated putting on shows for the press. He wished this country wasn't so stupid. The best man for the job should be allowed to do the job and shouldn't have to put on a show for the press or anyone else. Why couldn't everyone see that? Everyone complained about the fact that the government was broken but he couldn't fix it without getting his hands dirty. It was a fact of life that you had to fight fire with fire, there was no other way to take on the bad guys then using their own tactics and methods of funding against them. That was a fact of the adult world, no different then the earth being round. Why couldn't people understand this simple fact?
He was the leader this country needed, so why did he have to keep getting bogged down in all of this mess? Still he was sure he would get the prize he deserved at the end, it was just he was going through the trials that would make victory all the sweeter.
Still even though he was sure he would win in the end, today was not going to be a good day. He had woken up in his penthouse apartment to find that a small package had been delivered overnight. After taking it into his study and locking the door he had opened it to find that it contained a human thumb and he had a pretty good idea whose thumb it was. In the package there was also a small handwritten note that read "You are in over your head. Back off or the next guy comes home in a body bag."
Reading the note put Bracken into a rage and after he had closed the package and placed it on his desk he decided that he would need to dispose of it himself, he was a careful man and didn't trust anyone else not to ask questions. He then made a few phone calls to set some things in motion to deal with these trouble makers once and for all. He then found out that the idiot writer was staging a press conference this morning, just in time for the national news broadcasts. This wasn't good, but he could weather the storm and the fact that the writer was holding it in front of his apartment building gave Bracken a window to tie up all his loose ends.
Still there was a third party of some kind out there but he had heard that some of his people had picked up a trail, so that could be dealt with in due course.
Bracken looked at his watch, it was twenty-five after seven, five minutes until the press conference. He turned on the large flat screen Tv that took up most of the wall opposite his desk. It wouldn't hurt to hear the writer and the detective's last words, and to confirm that his troubles were over with his own eyes.
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Castle and Beckett were side beside in the lobby of his building, the press had gathered outside and they could see the crowd that had gathered in front of the two microphones that and the speakers that were set up in front of the building. Richard Castle's name carried a lot of weight and when Paula had told the press that he would be making a statement about his shooting that had been enough to get all the national and local press to cover it. Ryan and Epsosito were there as well at Castle's insistence, Gates wasn't happy but had gone along with it. Sorenson had been called into the federal building for a meeting with his boss, a man who did not sound happy over the phone.
It had been decided that Castle and Beckett would deal with the press themselves so they stood together with Ryan and Esposito a few feet behind them.
Castle looked up at the woman standing on his right hand side. "I would feel a lot better if you wouldn't go out there." He said, deciding to plead his case one last time.
"No way." Beckett said firmly with a shake of her head. "We are doing this together."
"You know the risk." Castle said gravely.
"Yes, I do but we face this together like everything else."
"Okay." Castle said a moment later and then he gave her hand a squeeze. "You ready?" He asked, looking back up at her.
"Yeah, let's do this." Beckett replied and they made their way out and into the sunlight and despite the danger it felt good not to be hiding at that moment.
Castle made his way to the microphone and he cleared his throat and then he started to speak. "I would like to thank you all for coming, I will be making a statement about my shooting and then I will not be taking any questions because I am very tired." The crowd began shouting questions as they noticed Beckett step up beside him but both he and Beckett ignored the questions and they died down once he started to speak again. "First however I would like to thank my fans and the NYPD for the outpouring of support I have received over the past week, I am humbled that so many people seem to keep me and my family in their thoughts and prayers."
Beckett shifted from one foot to the next , clearly not comfortable with all of the public attention but she knew she would have to get used to it so she just quietly waited for her turn to speak. "Before I go into the shooting that has robbed me of the use of my legs and the bombing outside of the hospital that targeted both Detective Beckett and myself I feel I should give you some background." This caused all of the reporters to begin shouting questions loudly at the same time and Castle waited for the noise to die down before he calmly continued.
"For the past three years as most of you know I have had the honor of assisting the brave men and women of the NYPD on a consultant basis." Castle and then he motioned to woman standing beside him. "In particular, Detective Kate Beckett and her team who I consider to be the finest people I have ever worked with. In all that time I have never talked to anyone about active cases and I have only talked about cases that I have worked when called to testify in court."
"I would just like to add that Mr. Castle has proven to extremely helpful with cases and it has been a pleasure to work with him." Beckett jumped in and this cause all attention to go to her and Castle was rendered speechless for a moment. Beckett then smiled down at him and a moment later he continued with his prepared statement.
"I say this because I need you all to know that what I am about to do I do not do lightly but Detective Becket and myself as well as our families have been targeted for assassination by a powerful person within the government who is protected by people on his payroll in all branches of law enforcement including the FBI." The whole crowd was now in an uproar and it was then that Beckett spoke again.
"This started with the investigation into the cold blooded murder of my mother Johana Beckett." Her voiced cracked when she said this and it clearly took a lot out of her to be so public with this, so Castle jumped in an saved her.
"We discovered that far from a random act of gang violence this cowardly and brutal murder was a professional hit that was ordered by one man in the government. The assassin died when detective Becket was forced to shoot him to save my life." Castle then looked up at Beckett with pride.
"Since then we have been following every lead in this case and we have found a web corruption and dirty money, rarely seen in the history of this country." Beckett said putting on her best cop face but then it dropped away. "This monster who murdered my mother has murdered and continues to murder many others in order to keep his secret."
"In that Detective Beckett here was the target of the shooting where I was hit." Castle reported, not wanted to expose Kate to the press like this any longer then he had to. He could tell her control was slipping.
"I will forever be grateful to Mr. Castle for jumping in front of the bullet and saving my life." Beckett said and tears began to form in her eyes.
Castle didn't wait for the reporters to stop talking, he pushed ahead. "Since then not only have we both become targets but our families have been threatened and bystanders have been put at risk. That truck bombing was an attempt to destroy the hospital where I was staying. This monster was willing to engage in terrorism just to kill me."
"Thar is why we are here." Beckett said firmly and there was fire in her eyes. "To send a message to the son of bitch who murdered my mother and crippled the man I love." This filled everyone with shock including Castle who was at a loss for words, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. In Truth Beckett couldn't believe what she had just said either but she was on a roll and she wasn't stopping to think about what she was saying. "We will not let you put people in danger any more and we are done hiding. We have a bank account number..."
In his office Bracken was shocked as he heard the number she read off, his worst fears had come to pass. He needed to deal with this situation fast.
"We also know the name of the man who runs your drug operation, so here is the deal." Beckett then looked directly into the cameras, her earlier nervousness and sadness replaced with a cold determination. Castle was still too shocked to speak but no one was paying attention to him at that moment. "We will keep your secret, but no one else dies. If our families or anyone else is ever harmed by you we will use this information and destroy you. You will know true justice in a court of law some day and that is more then you gave my mother or anyone else. If you come after us again, you will be destroyed and you have made powerful enemies who will not wait for you to go to trial to get their revenge. Make no mistake one way or another your days of preying on the weak are over."
As Castle looked up at her with a mixture of pride and shock a million question came at them from the press, but a second later this was interrupted by the loud echo of a gun being fired and as the crowd screamed in terror, Beckett flew backwards and fell to the ground.
Well that is Chapter 33, I hope you liked it.
Oh and I know some people are going to point out that Castle has never testified in court on the show, but the constitution protects the right of the accused to face his or her accuser. So in any case where Castle gave them a lead or found evidence the defense would have the right to question him in court so I am just assuming that has happened off screen. If it didn't every case he worked could have been thrown out.
Oh and in case you are wondering, Yeah I couldn't remember the bank account number so I just wrote around it.
Thanks again for reading and reviewing, you guys are the best.
Thanks to Castkettfan5 for help with this chapter.