Sideways Chapter 34: The Art of War, a castle fanfic

AGAIN: I have no ownership, rights, connection of any kind to Castle. I also have no ownership rights to The Human Target, Suits, Numb3rs, Bones, Blue Bloods, The District, or their characters.

All reviews welcome. I only ask that you be polite and constructive. Feel free to point out grammatical, spelling, or factual errors. I do a lot of editing so sometimes cut and paste errors may slip through. Please let me know.

AN: Ok, I'm trying a new approach to post shorter chapters but posting more often. I'll see how it goes.

Also, a shout out to member EpicOprb. On the first try, they got the answer to the question I posted the last two times. The first person to do that.

I posted the question again below if others still want to try. If you just want to know, send me a PM because I'm not sure when it'll show up in the story.

Why does Castle hate Kate calling him by his last name, specially since in this story he is a police officer too? There is valid story reason for this. I may have not made this clear so far, but he really does despise being called by his last name. He just shrugs it off from Kate because of his feelings for her. Please feel free to PM me with guesses as to why you think he hates being called Castle instead of Rick. By the way, it has nothing to do with the word 'Castle'. He would equally hate it if she calls him 'Rodgers'.

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January 4, 2004 Sunday

RICK'S BEDROOM

"Welcome to the wonderful world of parenthood," Rick said giggling. Thank you pumpkin. She almost had me that time. What do I mean, almost. She's got me. That's it. I can never go anywhere again without Alexis in tow. Have to admit, nothing will keep the love of your life from jumping you and stripping naked like the possibility of a 5 year old at the door. Of all the plans I've had, this has got to be the most idiotic.

"This is not funny," Kate whispered with a look of fear on her face, "Please tell me you locked the door." Come one Alexis. Mommy just needed a little more time. I did not just think that. She's not yours Kate. You're too messed up to be anyone's mom.

"No, I didn't."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't expect you to attack me like that," he said whispering back, "You're sending me some very mixed signals."

"I'm what?"

"You keep telling me how we're not going to happen and then you keep trying to jump me.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"You keep telling me you love me and then you refuse to sleep with me."

"I wasn't going to refuse this time."

"You weren't?"

"Did it look like I was refusing?"

"It didn't look like you were refusing in your office either when you got my panties off but you did."

"Well, this time I had a moment of weakness."

"A moment of weakness, is that what they're calling it now? Well not to worry. I won't be tempting you with this offer again." Of course I will. No, I can't let it happen. This time I won't be just dumping a guy but Alexis too. I can't hurt her like that. I have to end this now.

"Sure you won't," he said with a disbelieving look, "and why are we whispering?"

"Because I'm naked, you on top of me, and your five year old is on the other side of the door."

"And that five year old is determined to make you her new mom. I think she understands I'm going to get something out of the deal."

Kate shot him a deadly glare.

"Daddy...Kate…" they heard her knock again and what seemed to be scratching from her four legged sidekick.

"Quick answer her before she comes in."

"Just a minute pumpkin!" Rick called out, "We'll be right there."

"OK!" came the response.

"She's a very polite child," he continued to whisper as he got out of bed, "She won't come in until she's invited. Besides, Kate, didn't you ever knock on your parents door early in the morning?"

"Eww, you did not just put that image in my head," she a pillow flying at his head, "I hate you."

"No...you don't," he replied holding her gaze until she smiled warmly.

Kate then got up to collect her clothes.

"Here you go," he said tossing her a pair of his boxers.

"What're these for?"

"As I recall, yours were very damp and possibly ripped."

She just gave him another frustrated look and put on the boxers first and stood with her hands on hips, striking a pose.

"Happy?"

"You have no idea."

Without thinking, she sent another pillow flying towards his head, and began to quickly get dressed putting her T-Shirt, sweatshirt, and sweatpants.

She then crawled on to the bed and sat leaning against headboard.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," she responded after giving herself a finally look over.

He then headed for the door.

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NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK

"How does taking down the bank get us in those properties? They're not owned by the bank. The bank just owns the paper on them," Royce asked.

"You would think, but for guy who barely graduated, Van Cortlandt, has come up with a brilliant scam," Justin answered, "Instead of foreclosing the properties, he set up the bank as part owner in return for not kicking them out. The bank then claimed the money from the drug storage was from these partnerships."

"I can see that for the businesses, but how did he explain the homes?"

"He set them up as home businesses. Anyway, Coonan's business are only a small fraction of the bank's scams. That's what we're focusing on, the stuff Coonan isn't looking at because it's not his problem."

"And since the bank is part owner of all theses properties, they get seized too," Royce said smiling and shaking his head, "Considering your family history with the guy who runs the bank, I would think that you'd want to be there to gloat?"

"As fun as that might be," Justin replied, "Have to remember Chapter 4, lesson 1."

"The Art of War again?"

"Yup, the good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

"Bracken and Coonan don't know we're after them. Even if our names came up, we're just pet nerds who are are no more a threat to them than TV dish installer. They see the Kate Beckett's of the world as the real threat, badges and guns pounding the streets looking for clues, looking witnesses, and building cases."

"We are beyond defeat because they don't know they have to defeat us," Royce says, "Any other pearls of wisdom?"

"Chapter 3, Lesson 6," Ethan answered, "Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field."

"We drop a little bit of information in the right hands and let the Fed and State banking authorities do all the work for us."

"Still, hard to believe we're going to take down a major drug operation with a white collar charge."

"Why not?" Ethan responded, "If they focused on taking down Al Capone just for murder or bootlegging then they would have never gotten him. But when they decided the primary focus should be to just take him down, tax evasion."

"More Sun Tzu?"

"Chapter 5, Lesson 5," Justin answered, "In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory."

"Even I can get that one. Coonan's crew are looking for potential raids for drug dealing. White collar banking crap is beyond them."

"Very good grasshopper."

"I was wondering how long it would take you to use that line."

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OFFICE OF DICK COONAN

"What's the fallout," Alderton asked.

"Well, considering all Mr. Coonan's other schools are legitimate and certified by UNESCO and other international organizations, you can spin this as an aberration. Given the remoteness and insecurity of the area, you couldn't completely control the situation. Much older organizations have had similar problems, and they aren't trying to corner poppy market."

"I'm getting a little tired of your casual attitude about all this. My business is circling the drain."

"And I'm getting tired of your attitude. You're not Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, or Steve Jobs. You're not building a great enterprise that will make the world a better place. You are a drug dealer. You destroy the lives of children.

"You're a criminal sir, but SO AM I. The business I conduct leads to little children having their legs blown off when they've barely learned to walk. The difference is that when one my enterprises goes wrong, I don't treat it like some great injustice, a violation of the rules of fair play. Believe me, I do everything I can to avoid such reversals, but if they happen, I accept it because I am honest with myself that I am doing things no decent, civilized person would do. Then, I move on. I suggest you stop ranting and raving like child that had his candy taken away and find a way to move on."

Coonan, sank in his chair, "How do you suggest I move on?"

"First I avoid, starting up anything new in the foreseeable future. Your organization is about to go under a press microscope for at least a month.

"Second, you're going to need a new source of supply that is far removed from you previous one and you're going to need it fast. There will be no time to develop from scratch. Most of the fields that fit your needs are already committed to customers worldwide."

"Then what do you suggest?" Alderton asked.

"Find a competitor in New York with an established connection and arrange a merger or something less friendly," the broker said in a calm voice taking a piece of paper from his pocket, "Here is a list of those who fit your requirements. However, All but one are backed by national or international organizations that I suggest you not anger. The remaining one, which you undoubtedly recognize, is a localized operation like yours."

Coonan took the list and looked at the names, realizing which one Tarzi meant, "I don't know. We've had a truce for a while."

"A valid truce is between people in equal positions. Your position is now much weaker, and he will soon know that if he does not know so already. He may decide to move first to arrange a merger as it were. Isn't that what you would do if the positions were reversed."

"Yes"

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ELISE'S LOFT

"Hey sis?" Serena greeted her redheaded surrogate sibling with a hug.

"Where's Mary Ro?"

"She's upstairs with Isobel," she answered as she looked around, "Is Kevin Ryan still around. Don't tell me you called to help me move the remains?"

"Oh, I put him in a cab and released him back into the wild," she joked as they walked towards her office.

"Are you going to see him again?"

"He's been tagged for future tacking," the redhead said with a mischievous grin.

"You really like him, don't you?" the blonde said looking at her little sister with a warm smile.

"Yeah, I do," she responded with a genuine warm smile of her own as they entered the office and she sat at the terminal, "But, that's for another time."

"Any luck on that other problem for Phase 3 of Operation Laurents,."

"I agree with Ethan and that Mike Royce guy that the main city base has to be in an abandoned subway station and tunnels. The question is finding it."

"It has to be in their territory and near to the old brownstone they use as a headquarters. But we need an exact location and schematics to do what Rick wants without cratering a few city blocks."

"Don't they have old maps we can look at?

"They do, but none have been computerized yet. We would have to go to the NYCTA archives that we can look at them, but that may not even be the biggest problem.

"Given how paranoid Coonan is, Royce suggested he might be watching those archives. Not that tough. He sends a guy pretending to be a real estate developer and slips a clerk a few bucks to warn him if someone starts looking at maps for the area. Given all the gentrification going on, no one would think twice."

"Any ideas?"

"Well, we could run financials on all the clerks to zero in on the guy. Then we somehow get them out of the office. It may take a while, time we don't have.

"So, it being a Sunday with the offices closed..." she says in a sing song, nonchalant voice.

"A Stanford educated genius level I.Q. and the best you can come up with is breaking and entering?"

"The classics never go out of style. I already got everything you need. Just get in, snap some pictures and get out."

"It's the first time Zalman is coming over for Sunday dinner and..."

"You were hoping to get laid afterwards?"

"Well, yeah."

"Just say a family emergency came up. It's kind of true," she says looking up at her sister, "We'll even break Ethan's leg if we have to."

"Don't you dare give me the puppy dog eyes and the batting eyelashes. I taught you that trick."

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HAMPTONS FAMILY HOME

"Vanessa speaking," she said answering her cell phone.

"Hi Nessa, it's Mark," a smooth, if slightly shaky, familiar voice said on the other end of the line.

"Mark, the Caller ID didn't say it was you."

"Yeah, I'm using one of the office burner cells. I was afraid you wouldn't pick up if you saw it was me."

"Good guess," she said with a sharp tone showing irritation, "What do you want Mark?"

"I was at the office when a report on what happened at the Airport came through."

"Where are Amanda and Peter?"

"With their grandparents for the weekend," Mark Fallon replied. It somehow made him feel good that her first instinct was to ask about his kids.

"How are they?"

"They miss you," he continued in almost a pained voice.

"Yeah, I miss them too," she responded in a softer voice that was starting to crack, "So, back to my original question, what do you want Mark?"

"The report...it's preliminary...not much there, but it mentioned your brothers and that you were also there. It says one of you was wounded. Didn't say who. And I was worried."

There was just silence on the line.

"Nessa? You still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. I'm fine. Rick took a knife wound to the arm."

"Is he alright?"

"He's fine...he's had girlfriends scratch him deeper." they both forced a chuckle at that.

"Are you back in the city?"

"No, I'm at the Hamptons House."

"Is Ian Edgerton with you?"

"Why do you ask that?" Ian's name wasn't supposed to be on any reports.

"There was a picture of you two in the paper going into Rick's New Years Eve party and there has been some scuttlebutt."

"Really and how is this any of your business?"

"Look, Ian is a good guy, but his track record with women isn't the greatest."

"I know all about Ian's history...look...I can't do this Mark."

"Do what?"

"Talk to you about Ian like we're old friends. You don't want me, but you want veto authority over who I see. I have five brothers and three sisters who already try to do that."

"I didn't mean it that way?"

"You seem to mean things the wrong way a lot, like when you broke up with me and made me feel like I was home wrecking slut trying to take you and your kids away from the memory of your late wife."

"Please Nessa, try to understand."

"I did understand Mark. I understood why. I understood how you felt guilty. What I will not understand is you playing games with me, whether you mean to or not."

She hung up.

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OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER

"You're still not convinced are you," Roland said leaning forward with his hands on one of the examination tables with his head hung down.

"She's like a sister to me."

"She's still there you know."

"At Rick's place?"

"I talked to Rick this morning. We didn't get back too late, but I guess Alexis wore her out because they were cuddled in his bed together when he came in."

"Aww," Lanie's mood softened at the thought of her best friend in the mom role, "Where did he sleep."

"He crawled into bed with them, Alexis sleeping between them."

"That is so adorable," the ME Intern said, smiling broadly.

"I really do want this to work out for him. I think Kate is who he needs, and Rick's over the moon in love with her. It's only happened once before and nowhere near as powerful as this. I think this whole thing...could wreck it before it even has a chance."

"Is that why you're dragging your heels on calling him?"

"Alexis is not going to let her go that easily today," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, "I wouldn't be surprised if they spend the whole morning together. I'll talk to him when we go to brief the mayor. I don't want to dump this on him while she's still there."

"What do you think Rick will want to do when he finds out."

"Oh, that's easy. In the fundamental Ninjō-Giri conflict, Giri wins with Rick every time."

"Ninjō-Giri conflict?"

"They're Japanese terms. Ninjō is roughly translated into "human feelings", what someone desires for themselves. Giri is moral obligation. There is no real word or phrase in Western Languages that convey the exact nuances of meaning.

"So, he's caught between the woman he loves and his obligation to obey the orders of his superiors."

"Well, you have it half right. Kate is the Ninjō side of the conflict, but for Rick, the Giri side isn't any obligation to politicians or rules. It's not necessarily even to the victims or their families like Kate."

"Then what it is it?"

"There is a good chance that because of Brinkley, there is now a killer or even multiple killers on the loose who should have been stopped. Rick's obligation is to save the future victims."

"So, he won't tell her?"

"The Mayor is having a press conference tomorrow so she's going to know something."

"You can't let her find out like that."

"I'm sure Rick won't. I'm sure he'll personally fill her in before hand."

"He'd better or I will. Understand?"

"I understand."

"Alright, I'll keep it to myself," Lanie finally voiced her reluctant acquiescence, "But I hope Kate understands. When it comes to her mom's case, good reason or not, she tends to lose any sense of reason or control.

"I'm beginning to understand that."

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COLIN'S APARTMENT

Colin and Charlotte ate breakfast and got showered and dressed.

"Are you sure I have enough time to get up to New Rochelle?" she asked.

"Absolutely. Sunday morning traffic, you should be there in half an hour tops."

"Well thank you for breakfast," she said giving him a deep kiss, "Maybe I'll get both types of bangers next time."

"I doubt it," he smirked as she gave him an amused quizzical look, "Actually, I don't really know how to do a traditional English breakfast. My mum was American, and after she passed I went to an American boarding school. Didn't even have any traditional English cooking until we became friends with this Indian chap whose family opened a takeaway place down the street from Cornwall Academy."

"And they sold traditional English food?"

"Oh, God no, Pizza. I should say his father was Indian. His mum was Welsh-Italian. Still, dad thought I shouldn't be cheated of our culture so he would fix me a plate when I visited."

"Our culture?"

"Well, he was born and raised in the East End. He's probably more English than I am."

She laughed at that.

"Don't laugh. Where do you think you Americans got the whole melting pot idea. For centuries, the wretched refuse of Europe landed in Britain. Being an island, we ran out of room and started sending them to you."

"Well, I guess we Yanks have forgotten our roots."

"Actually, luv, I'm the Yank."

"Come again?"

"The word comes from the Huron Native American tribe pronunciation of the French l'anglais, "the English", which sounded as Y'an-gee.

"Is that even true?"

"I have no idea, but in a charming British accent, American women tend swoon at it."

"I don't think it's just the accent that makes them swoon. The chiseled features, cut muscles, blond hair, and boyish stubble help as well," she said leaning in for a quick kiss.

"They help."

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RICK'S BEDROOM

As soon as he opened the door, two little balls of energy went right past Rick and headed right onto the bed. The red headed one did not stop until she threw her arms around Kate in a big hug.

"Good morning Kate!" the little one said as Jango Fetch jumped on the bed after her.

"Good morning pumpkin," Kate responded giving the little girl a hug back and kissing her forehead.

Then the dog gave a bark and Kate rubbed his head saying, "Good morning to you too Jango."

"And what about me? You know the guy who feeds, clothes, and takes care of you," Rick said with pouty face then turning to Jango, "No to mention buys you squeaky toys?"

The dog just wags his tail, barks and returns to nuzzle with Kate.

"Oh, I see. I'm at the bottom of the pecking order in my own house."

"Oh, don't be such a big baby daddy." Alexis responded with cuddling into Kate's side, "Besides, you're here all the time dad. It's not every day Kate is here."

"Yeah, dad," the brunette detective said in support.

"You could have fooled me."

"What did you say," Kate gave him one of her patented glares but this one was different. It was playful glare that made him wish he had sent Alexis to Serena's much earlier.

"Did you sleep alright, Kate?" the little redhead asked.

"Yes I did sweetie."

"Good. Daddy slept in the bed with us last night…"

"Did he?" She said raising an eyebrow and Rick shrugged.

"You were even holding hands."

"Oh really."

"And this morning when we got up, he said we shouldn't wake you because you looked so happy and pretty sleeping...and he was right."

"Why thank you little one," she said kissing her on top of her head and giving her a big hug.

"So we got up quietly," Rick added,

"And daddy got all cleaned up in the guest bathroom so he wouldn't wake you."

"Thank you," Kate said to Rick.

"Hey pumpkin, why don't you go and I'll get your breakfast. I need to take you up to your Aunt Serena," then he turned to Kate.

"Yeah," said the little redhead excitedly, "Mary Ro and I get to help her plan Sunday dinner, then go shopping for ingredients, and then help cook."

"Sounds awesome," Kate said getting infected by the little girls enthusiasm.

"Can Kate come tonight?" Alexis asked her father and then looked between him and Kate, "Mary Ro heard you asking Aunt Serena permission."

"Permission?"

"Long story, but years ago we agreed to clear it with each other before inviting anyone."

"And you asked about me," Kate said a bit flustered.

"Well, I was hoping to invite you yesterday, but things got out of control."

"So, can you Kate, please?" Alexis said giving her the big eye and puppy dog pout.

Then she looked up at Rick.

"You're both giving me the puppy dog pout? This is so unfair."

"Yup!" father and daughter said smiling.

She looked into the little girl's big blue eyes again and that was it.

"OK," she said with a big smile and tickling Alexis quickly to make her giggle.

"Yay!" the little girl screamed between giggles.

"Come on pumpkin, let's go get you and Jango Fetch fed."

"OK, love you Kate."

"Love you too," the detective said without thinking. She then kissed the top of Alexis' head

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AGAIN: I have no ownership, rights, connection of any kind to Castle. I also have no ownership rights to The Human Target, Suits, Numb3rs, Bones, Blue Bloods, The District, or their characters.

AN: Ok, I'm trying a new approach to post shorter chapters but posting more often. I'll see how it goes.

Also, a shout out to member EpicOprb. On the first try, they got the answer to the question I posted the last two times. The first person to do that.

I posted the question again below if others still want to try. If you just want to know, send me a PM because I'm not sure when it'll show up in the story.