Mannequins and Marionettes: Chapter 14
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DISCLAIMER: Most of these characters are not mine at all, but they are memorable. Thank you, Mr. Marlowe. The others? Yeah, they're mine
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Sunday – 11:50 a.m., April 1, 2012, in Detective Jennifer Blackard's car in Chinatwon
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Detective Jennifer Blackard steers her car into the heavy traffic of Grant Street, now meandering through the midst of Chinatown. The narrow street is teeming with pedestrian traffic, with tourists filling the local shops. The smell of lunch is in the air from the restaurants dotting the area.
Blackard drives, with Alexis in the front seat next to her. Willie Crockett sits in the back seat, his trademark toothpick dangling from his lips as Kate Beckett sits next to him, staring out the window. All three women pretend not to be eavesdropping in on the phone conversation between Crockett and his boss.
"No, the twins had no idea who the mark was, sir," Crockett tells Sam Carlos. "I think they knew him by face only. They were definitely expecting him, though."
The twins, of course, are the two Asian brothers from the parlor they have left behind. Fraternal, not identical, the men are not an official part of Sam Carlos' family, but they are men that he has leaned on in the past for information.
"Hmmm," Carlos thinks out loud. "That would mean . . ."
He pauses, putting his thoughts together. Crockett finishes the thought for him.
"That would mean that our . . . perpetrator knew Richard Castle would be there," Crockett tells him.
Experience has taught him that he can lead Carlos to the well, but the man likes to take the drink himself. He also glances at Kate Beckett with a smile, seeing the frown on her face, knowing the woman is looking at him through his reflection in the glass window. And she has caught his use of the word 'perpetrator', which hides the man's identify from her.
"And the only way he would know that Mr. Castle would be there would be if he has done something to cause Mr. Castle to be there," Carlos adds, now putting it together himself. "So, the murder that caught Kate and Mr. Castle's attention in the first place – which caused them to go to Chinatown – were orchestrated by the same person. Ooooh, Barry has been a very, very bad boy," Carlos chuckles to himself.
"I suppose my two friends are with you, Willie?" he continues.
"All three, actually," comes the answer.
"Three?" Carlos asks, himself surprised.
"Jennifer, Kate and Mr. Castle's daughter," Crockett responds.
"Ah yes, that would make sense," Carlos agrees. "Put me on speaker, Willie."
"Really?" Crockett asks, now himself surprised by the request.
"Yes, my friend," Carlos replies. "These are my friends. I do not want to hold any secrets from them?"
"You're serious, sir?" Crockett asks, a chuckle easing into his voice.
"Well . . . I don't want to hold some secrets from them," Carlos laughs. "You know what I mean, my friend."
Willie Crockett laughs with him as he puts his phone on speaker.
"You ladies will want to listen in on this," he begins. "Not that you weren't trying already."
"Willie Crockett, I resent that insinuation," Detective Blackard laughs, mocking offense as she half turns her head so that Carlos will hear her.
"I'm sure you do, Detective," Sam Carlos tells her, chuckling himself. "But we have learned much this morning. Information that will help us put this little nightmare to bed."
"Hello Sam," Kate offers from the backseat next to Crockett.
"Hello Kate," Carlos greets her. "And hello to you also, Miss Castle."
It takes a second or two for it to register with Alexis that Carlos is speaking to her. When it does, she becomes wide-eyed with excitement.
"Oh . . . you mean me!" she exclaims, turning around from the front seat to face the phone. The three other adults in the car laugh easily at her innocence, as does Sam Carlos on the other end.
"So, let me state what we have learned, what we know," Carlos begins to his audience in the car. "Feel free to add something you think is missing, as we fill in the pieces to this nefarious puzzle."
"Oh my God, another writer," Kate rolls her eyes. Even Crockett has to smile at this. He finds it odd . . . unique . . . that he is in the car with two women who clearly put his boss at ease. He sees a very different side of Sam Carlos with these women, and it intrigues him.
"First, a murder was committed, which was brought to your attention, Kate," Carlos continues, ignoring her barb. "Your attention and that of Mr. Castle."
"Yes, it brought . . . the police out to our facility," Kate begins, then quickly corrects herself. "Scratch that, Sam. It brought Mayor Clooney to our doorstep."
She decides that lying to her old friend, or withholding information from him will only end up causing mistrust. And something tells her that she is going to need her friends' trust in her new life out here on the west coast. She doesn't notice the slight nod of the head from her companion seated next to her who realizes what she has just done.
"Thank you, Katie," Carlos softens, using the old term for his old college friend. Immediately, Kate realizes that Sam Carlos already knew it was the mayor who made the early-morning visit.
"A murder is committed, which pointed our esteemed mayor toward our friend's facility in Sausalito," he continues. "The man who has orchestrated this murder does so, knowing that Mr. Castle has an ex-detective on staff. He knows that you will put it together. He wanted you to put it together. Which means he wanted you in that massage parlor in Chinatown. They were waiting for you," Carlos continues.
"Yes, that registers," Kate agrees.
"This is the angle that you and Mr. Castle were investigating," Crockett intervenes, now looking directly at Kate Beckett who returns his powerful stare.
"A murder occurs, and evidence points you and Mr. Castle to Chinatown," he continues. "While Mr. Carlos has been looking at things from a different angle."
"Exactly," Carlos agrees. "The same man, the same person who orchestrated this drama with you and Mr. Castle also has an interesting relationship with an old . . . acquaintance of mine. Ironically, from our college days, Kate."
"Who?" Kate asks.
"And what is that weasel up to these days," she asks, a frown on her face. "He actually is an investor in the Castle's Complex," she adds. "What in the hell could he have against Rick?"
"Oh, I do like her, boss," Willie laughs into the phone, and his laughter is shared by Carlos on the other end.
"Who is Mr. Weasel?" Alexis asks from the front seat, bringing yet another round of laughter from Carlos and Crockett. The two other women in the car, however, are less than impressed.
"His name is Klein, Alexis," Kate tells him.
"Although Mr. Weasel sure as hell fits, doesn't it, Kate?" Jennifer interrupts.
"It does," Kate agrees. "Smart. But a weasel type of fellow, always finding secrets, always in the middle of things. Used anything he could learn as leverage. You needed answers for a test? He could get it for you. But you'd owe him. Needed a joint for the weekend? He could get it for you. But you'd owe him."
"And he continued this mindset after college, Kate," Carlos tells the car. "As you remember, as you said, Andy was and is smart. Brilliant in fact. And the ledger he has on people is legendary."
"How so?" Alexis asks.
The car is quiet for a few seconds before Jennifer responds for the remaining adults.
"Let's just say that when you go to college, Alexis, you are going to do questionable things, make questionable decisions, all in the name of maturing into an adult," Jennifer smiles. Her smiles, too, are shared by both Willie and Kate.
"And sometimes, because of weasels like Andrew Klein, those decisions, those mistakes come back to haunt you," Carlos tells her.
"So what does Andy have to do with this?" Kate asks.
"He is the CEO for NuGenetix," Carlos replies.
"I know that, Sam," Kate replies. "Castle and I actually spoke with him at an investor update not too longer ago. Again, what does he –"
"NuGenetix is a biotech firm that – among other things – created this nasty little drug that has afflicted our mutual friend, Richard Castle."
The look on Kate Beckett's face is priceless. As is her stunned silence. Her first thought is wondering whether or not she had slighted the man all those years ago at Stanford, and he has chosen now – with Richard Castle – as the time to avenge himself. Before she can respond, Alexis is inserting herself back into the conversation.
"But what does he have against my dad?" Alexis asks, confused. "Dad has never lived out here, never worked out here, never gone to school out here?"
"Honestly, I do not think – in fact – I am convinced that Andrew had nothing to do with your father's affliction – not directly," Carlos answers. "I mean, yes, it is his drug. But I am certain he did not give this to your father, nor did he know that when he was turning this drug over to our perpetrator, that your father was the intended victim."
"But –" Kate begins to interrupt, but Sam stops her.
"Hold your questions, Kate," Sam tells her. "If you have something to add, do so. But we are piecing what we know together first. Then we can ask appropriate questions once we see the finished picture."
Kate reluctantly – and silently – agrees, seeing the wisdom in his thinking.
"So, as I was saying," Carlos continues, "The same man who orchestrated all of this with Mr. Castle also has a relationship with an old acquaintance that Kate and Jennifer and I remember from our college days. This acquaintance – Andrew Klein – runs a biotech firm that has created a number of things – including the drug now inside Richard Castle. So, Klein gave the drug to the man behind all of this – not knowing how this man would use it, who he would use it against."
"It doesn't remove responsibility from him, if he knew what the drug could do," Alexis innocently and naively adds. She has no idea the impact of her words, nor does she understand why Jennifer Blackard's head snaps quickly in her direction with a pleading look in her eyes.
"You're absolutely correct, my dear young lady," Carlos agrees, and all three women can hear the danger that has crept into his voice. Kate, for her part, notices a visible, haunting change that has come over the large black man sitting next to her. As before, it is almost as if a switch has been flipped within the man.
"And I assure you, this trespass shall not go unaddressed," he continues.
"Sam!" Jennifer barks toward the back seat. She catches Kate Beckett's eyes in the rearview mirror, as both women know what this means.
"Not your concern, Detective . . . Miss Beckett," Crockett tells the women. "The important thing is helping Richard Castle, yes?"
"Yes, of course," Kate agrees, compartmentalizing her feelings and priorities.
"At a later, more appropriate time, I will share with you the identify of the man behind all of this," Sam Carlos tells Kate. Both Kate and Jennifer recognize this as his way of saying that this information is not for Alexis Castle to hear.
"For now, just know that I know who this man is, and he will not get away with it," Carlos continues. "Further, and more importantly, Klein's scientists have made some – I repeat – some progress with an antidote. Not enough, but at least we are moving in the right direction. And with Mr. Castle safely sedated, we now have a little time to work with. And finally, I have taken additional steps to ensure that Andrew is properly motivated to find a good antidote that we can administer to Mr. Castle sooner rather than later."
"What does that mean?" Alexis asks.
"You don't want to know," three adults in the car simultaneously respond, bringing more laughter from Sam Carlos.
"Much as I wish I were there with you, I need to sign off, and return to NuGenetix," Carlos tells the group. "Proper motivation aside, I want to make sure that things do, in fact, continue to move forward."
"One last thing, Mr. Carlos," Willie Crockett adds before Carlos departs. "Ginger herb was added to the concoction that was administered to Mr. Castle."
"Do tell," Carlos replies, interested.
"Yes," Crockett finishes. "They wanted to delay the effect of the drug, until Mr. Castle left their premises."
After a few seconds of silence, Sam Carlos signs off.
"Thank you, Willie," he tells the large man. "I shall pass this on to our friends in the valley. This may help them with the antidote, knowing exactly what Mr. Castle was given."
With that, he disconnects the call, leaving three women stunned, and Willie Crockett smiling.
"You get used to that," he tells his companions in the car. "When we get out of Chinatown, hang a right on Broadway and take it to Embarcadero," he tells Jennifer. "I will get out there."
"Your car is still at my place," Jennifer tells him.
"My car was never at your place," he replies affably, indicating that he was, indeed, dropped off at her home in the Mission District.
"What's down at the Embarcadero?" Jennifer asks, as she turns onto Broadway Street.
"My next meeting," he tells her, and both Kate Beckett and Jennifer Blackard find themselves surprised that he willingly shares this information with them. For her part, Detective Blackard is thinking hard, trying to figure out who of importance lives there.
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Sunday – 12:45 p.m., April 1, 2012, back at the San Francisco Chinese Hospital in Chinatown
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Kate Beckett and Alexis Castle both step out of the car, saying goodbye to Detective Jennifer Blackard. The detective would prefer both come back to her house for some shut-eye; however, both women refused to leave Richard Castle a second time.
"My place is here," Kate tells her. "There is nothing to do at your house but sleep, and I can do that here," Kate reminds her friend.
With that, Kate Beckett and Castle's daughter enter the hospital, going to the elevator and punching Castle's floor. The two women are silent for the short ride. When the doors open, both women are greeted with pandemonium on the floor, near . . . no, not near . . . it is next to Richard Castle's patient room.
Her legs are running now, carrying her faster than her thoughts can keep up as she wonders just what in the world could have happened to Castle while sedated. She enters his room, gasping in surprise. A slightly hysterical Richard Castle is wide awake, frightened, and being restrained on the bed by three orderlies. She look of panic in his eyes stabs her heart as much as the look of defeat in his eyes before his sedation. Fortunately, for him, he sees her and reacts.
"Kate!" he screams, fighting against the men holding him in place. "Kate! What am I doing here!? What's going on?"
"Babe!" she screams herself, now moving quickly to his bed, Alexis beside her. Suddenly, both women are fighting to pull off the orderlies who fight to keep Castle in the bed.
"Let go of him!" Kate yells at the men in off-white. Her days as a police officer take over immediately, as she pulls on orderly off, pushing him aside so that she is next to Richard Castle.
"How is this possible?" she asks the room at large before finding Dr. Chen who stands off to the side.
"We don't know," Dr. Chen hurriedly replies. "We were at the nursing station when we heard Mr. Castle begin to scream. I ran in, and Mr. Castle was awake, panicking. I looked at the IV stand and realized that someone turned off the sedation medicine," she concludes, pointing at the IV.
"But who? Why?" Kate asks, before a tapping on her shoulder gets her attention. She turns back, seeing Alexis standing next to her. The young redhead simply points to the window in the room, which is slightly ajar.
Kate leaves Castle's side. Before he can panic further, Alexis steps in, in one smooth motion to replace the ex-NYPD detective who is now at the window. Glancing out, she pulls the window open and immediately notices the short rope that dangles down, stopping about five feet from the street below.
Without hesitating, she pulls her phone out, and punches the entry to call Mike Monroe. The phone rings twice before the security chief answers.
"Hey Kate," he greets her. "Anything new?"
"You could say that," Kate replies evenly. "I need a favor, Mike."
"Shoot," he replies.
"We're still at the hospital," she tells him. "I need you to send Lindy here."
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A/N: I hope everyone is having a happy and prosperous new year. It's been a good year so far here. My now annual visit to the oncologist came up clean, and everyone is healthy in the family. I can't ask for more. As you can see, we are starting to wind this story down for what I hope will be a satisfying conclusion for everyone.