We have no proof, thought Castle as he made his way to the airport. This part of their plan was tedious, but necessary, in case anyone was tailing him. He'd purchased a ticket to Chicago online, called a cab, and planned to check in at the kiosk, then reverse course and get on the shuttle back to Manhattan.

We have no proof, he reminded himself. His scattered memories were insufficient for anyone, let alone a legitimate agency, to point a finger at Reed. Their suspicions about Vikram or Caleb were just suspicions. The operation currently underway might clarify them, or it might muddy the waters further.

Castle was not so deep in thought that he didn't catch sight of the tail. Instead of heading for the security gates, he wandered into a coffee shop and parked himself with a hot drink and a pastry, ostensibly watching the teeming hordes go by. His shadow hung back, studying a map of the transit system on the wall across the concourse.

I can sit here all day if necessary, Castle told himself firmly. He got out his notepad and a pen and started to sketch the plot of what might become the next adventure of Derrick Storm. It was only an hour later that his phone buzzed, a call from an unfamiliar number.

"Castle," he answered briskly.

"Mr. Castle, it's Vikram Singh. Please - don't hang up."

"What do you want, Vikram?" Castle asked sternly, but he was trying not to grin and look around.

"Can we talk somewhere? Neutral ground?"

"Sure," said Castle. "How about the Airborne Cafe, at LaGuardia? Main concourse."

"At the airport?" Vikram sounded wary. "Um, it might take me a while to get there."

"Oh, I don't think so," Castle replied. "Seeing as how you're standing less than fifty feet from it at the moment."

His peripheral vision caught the flash of motion, a man spinning around to scan his surroundings. A man standing near, but not at, the public phone bank, and staring directly at Castle as the crowd between parted momentarily.

Castle ended the call, pocketed his phone and waited for Vikram to come into the cafe area. The younger man slid onto a stool next to him, looking both astonished and sheepish.

"When did you know?"

"That I was being tailed, or that it was you?" Castle smirked. "I assumed I was being followed. When I got out of the cab, yours was making sudden moves to get out of my line of sight, so I hung back and spotted you getting out."

He turned to face Vikram, and the smirk vanished. "Now tell me why you're on my tail. You have two minutes before I call airport security on you."

"I'm trying to keep you safe," Vikram muttered. "If that means keeping an eye on you all the way to Chicago and back, then I'm on it."

"Really? Your expense account must be bottomless. You're not armed, so what are you going to do if someone attacks me en route? I haven't seen your hand to hand skills, but I assume you're sufficiently trained. I suppose I should feel reassured."

"Mr. Castle," said Vikram, "I have great respect for you and for Captain Beckett, but you are in over your head. Joking aside, are you aware that LokSat has ordered your death? By any means necessary?"

"I am," said Castle calmly. "Pardon me if I feel safer now than I did when you and your associate shanghaied me on the way to the book signing. Are you ever going to tell me what that was about, by the way?"

Vikram opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again and shook his head. "How can you be so cavalier about this? It's not about me, or you, or even about Captain Beckett. It's bigger than all of us. You're going to end up dead, along with the captain and anyone else who knows anything about LokSat."

"I don't think so," Castle replied. "It's in LokSat's best interest to keep us both alive. I have information that I haven't shared with anyone, even Beckett, about that summer I went underground. I'm sure LokSat is aware of that, and they're more bent on interrogating me than killing me."

"You should come with me. The people who sent me can keep you safe, you and the captain. Your daughter and mother as well."

"My mother and daughter know nothing about the situation," Castle snapped. "They can't be used as leverage, either - they're both under the eye of people who will act if they're harmed in any way."

That was only half bluff, Castle told himself. He hoped that Beckett had been able to contact the people he had in mind, along with everything else they'd put into motion.

"Now, it's time for you to step away and vanish into the crowd," he continued. "Let me go my merry way, or I'll find airport security and tell them you're stalking me. Should tie you up until my flight takes off, at least."

He finished his coffee and rose. Vikram just looked at him, frustration all over his face.

"If you're not concerned about yourself, what about your wife?" Vikram asked. "Don't you care that someone's gunning for her?"

Castle managed to refrain from seizing Vikram by the collar. Barely. He leaned in and growled at him, "Don't assume anything about Beckett's ability to take care of herself. Or about my feelings for her. You're not very observant, Vikram, or you'd see that she doesn't need me to save her ass. She's done that herself on multiple occasions - you've seen it yourself - and if you think your actions are anything but a token gesture of loyalty, if you think you're doing her any good with your would-be spying, you need to sit the hell down and think again."

He turned and strode away, leaving Vikram staring after him. Probably intending to take up the surveillance at the boarding gate. Well, he'd have some trouble getting through security, thought Castle, fingering the wallet he'd lifted out of Vikram's pocket when he'd crowded him against the counter.

Castle went into a men's room and checked the wallet, finding Vikram's I.D., some cash, debit card, a couple of gift cards. He pocketed the ID and debit card and exited the stall, washed up a bit, then left the men's room and meandered around the concourse vendors for a bit. Vikram was nowhere to be seen, which meant he was either more careful this time or off somewhere trying to contact his handlers.

Castle found a quiet corner and called to cancel his flight plans, then dropped Vikram's wallet in a random trash can and made his way out of the airport.