Moment in Time Part 3

Chapter 43

Dead Red

Part 6

Vasily bends over Anatoly in the "frunk" of Rick's Ferrari. "Hey, little sunshine! The Russian ably pulls the spy out and pushes him toward a nearby building. Then, grabbing a roll of duct tape from nearby metal shelving, Vasily secures his prisoner to a rusty but sturdy chair. "Russian Intelligence picked up chatter about an attack on Russian citizens in the United States. If our people should die on American soil, it would be bad for both of our countries."

"We can take that to Homeland Security," Castle suggests, wondering if Damberg is already on top of it.

Vasily vigorously shakes his head. "I cannot because I believe the attackers are also Russian. Do you understand now? I believe that Anya Mishkin and this traitor are part of the conspiracy. Poor Grigory died because he stumbled into it." Vasily sheds his jacket and points to Anatoly. "I must break him."

Anatoly glares. "I'm not telling you squat, Comrade."

"Did you hear that, Castle?" Vasily asks.

"If you think I'm going to…." Anatoly is cut short when Vasily shoves a dirty rag in his mouth.

"Even if he has lived as an American all these years, he is still a Russian in his heart. But I will soften him up – like ice cream on a hot summer day." Vasily takes a set of electrodes from the shelf where he found the duct tape.

Castle throws out his hands toward Vasily. "Whoa! I can't let you do that."

Vasily smiles indulgently. "Rick, you're a nice guy, and I really do enjoy your books. So don't make me hurt you."

Rick gulps against the lump in his throat.

Kate charges into Tech, planting herself in front of Vikram. "I can't reach Rick. Tell me you have a line on Vasily."

The digital investigator shakes his head. "I'm not picking up anything."

"Did you ping Rick's phone?" Kate demands.

"It's off."

Rising acid burns Kate's throat.

"Pain is the only way we get the truth," Vasily declares.

"No, it isn't!" Rick argues. "I've watched Kate dig the truth out of suspects in Interrogation at least a hundred times."

"She didn't succeed with Jurgen Kass," Vasily reminds Castle. "That took more – how shall I put it – extreme persuasion. Look, Rick, I wish I had more time to humor you."

"Just give me 60 seconds," Castle urges. "You can spare that. Please."

Vasily taps on his large chronograph. "All right, 60 seconds. Show me what you've got. Go!"

Rick ungags Anatoly. "This would be a lot easier if you just tell him what he needs to know."

Anatoly spits out the oil from the rag. "What he needs to know is that you can both go f**k yourselves."

"Rick, I hate to be rude, but so far, I'm not impressed," Vasily admits. "Fifty-five seconds."

"OK, OK, if he's at the center of the conspiracy, he might have a clue on him." Rick grabs Anatoly's wallet.

"Forty-two seconds," Vasily interjects.

"Wait!" Rick cries desperately. "Here's a receipt – for a lamination kit."

"Which means?" Vasily asks.

"Lamination, lamination, oh, he's making phony IDs."

"For what?"

"I have no idea." Rick pulls out Anatoly's phone. "He searched for uniform stores. I'm checking his call history. He called the same number three times last week." Rick dials.

"Twenty-nine seconds," Vasily counts down.

"It's a catering company. Catering, phony ID, he must want to slip into an event as a caterer. But what event? Where would a Russian kill Russians?" Rick snaps his fingers. "The party at the consulate Jurgen Kass wanted to get into, the one with wall-to-wall Russian models. But I'm guessing that Frank/Anatoly here wanted to do more than get laid. Right?"

Vasily claps his hands. "Brilliant! And with two seconds to spare. Now the real party's about to begin."

Rick turns his phone back on. "I need to call Beckett."

"Hurry."

Before Rick can call Kate, his phone sounds off. "Kate and I may have a line on the other half of this conspiracy," he explains to Vasily after listening to a brief message. "Anya's been spotted near the consulate. I'll have Kate meet us there."

Guests are pulling up in limousines as Rick, Kate, and Vasily regard the consulate. Kate turns to Vasily. "Given the possible threat, why hasn't the Counsel General canceled the party?"

"It's not good for business," Vasily explains. "If Oborin cancels without clear proof of danger, he looks weak in the eyes of his adversaries. And in Russia, there are always adversaries."

"Politics wins over death threats?" Castle wonders.

"In my country, it is better to lose your life than lose face."

"I can have my people watching from a distance, but they can't enter consulate grounds. So you need to get us in now," Kate insists.

"It's by invite only," Vasily explains.

"So invite us," Castle suggests. "We'll be your plus two."

Smiling, Vasily claps Rick on the shoulder.

Working the room, Kate notices a red laser shining through a window and aimed right at Oborin. She tackles him just as the shot is fired. "Are you all right?"

Oborin checks himself over. "I think so."

A groan alerts Kate to Sergei on the floor not far away. Blood spreads over his tuxedo shirt. "Someone call an ambulance!"

Castle's phone vibrates. He checks the screen. "Damberg has the trigger-happy package. Transportation outside." He pulls at Kate's sleeve and starts toward the exit.

"Wait!" Vasily calls after him.

"You have your meetings. I have mine," Rick replies over his shoulder.

Rick rolls his eyes at the appearance of black hoods. "Really?"

A CIA agent just stares, holding up the head coverings.

Rick shrugs, grabs one and gives the other to Kate. "Some things don't change."

"So what was the end game, Anya," Kate asks, under the watchful eyes of Martin Damberg. "Money for selling secrets in a Caymen account so you and Anatoly could sit on the beach?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Anya claims.

"But the price for the fantasy was too steep," Kate continues. "It cost your son his life. Grigory found out the truth, didn't he? And he threatened to expose you. So you had him killed. But what I don't get is why you stuck around for the assassination attempt at the consulate."

"Everything I did was for Grigory," Anya insists. "All I had left was vengeance."

"Why? What did Oborin do to you?" Rick asks.

Anya shakes her head. "I wasn't aiming for Oborin. I was aiming for Sergei. And if you hadn't interfered, he would be dead now as he should be. I am not the devil you think I am, and I am not a traitor to my people either. Sergei wasn't just writing about economics. He was selling economic secrets to enemies both of the United States and Russia. That's why I was working with Anatoly."

"So why didn't you tell Vasily Zhirov when he came to investigate Grigory's death?" Kate asks.

"Because Sergei is connected, more so than Vasily. If I'd turned Sergei in, he would have used his political muscle to bury me. Laws mean nothing in Russia, only power. I would have been the one on trial in Russia, not Sergei. But Sergei discovered that I knew."

"So you faked your death to protect yourself," Kate concludes.

"And Grigory. But my son became suspicious."

"Are you saying that Sergei killed his son?" Rick presses. "What father could do that?"

"Grigory is not Sergei's blood," Anya explains.

"Are you telling me that Sergei killed Grigory to cover up that he was selling secrets?" Vasily asks as he huddles with Rick and Kate in an office at the consulate.

"That's exactly what we're telling you," Rick confirms.

"But there's nothing we can do about it," Kate continues. "Sergei is on Russian soil here. And even if he leaves, he still has diplomatic immunity."

"That is true," Vasily acknowledges. "However, we've suspected Sergei was more than he seemed for some time. And there is still Russian justice."

Rick quirks an eyebrow. "We were told that he is too connected for it to reach him."

"Let us just say that one of his connections has taken medical leave," Vasily replies. "These things happen when you fall out of a window. Sergei's been recalled to Russia to pay a fine and start his retirement. But Rick, how is this as an end for a Nikki Heat adventure? Ice sets a plan in motion for the murderer to live out the rest of his life in Oymyakon."

"I've heard of that town," Rick realizes. "It's the coldest place on Earth."

"It takes four days of burning fire to thaw the ground enough to bury the dead," Vasily agrees. "And what is it that Dante wrote? The worst circle of hell, the frozen one, is reserved for those who betray their masters. Sergei will long for the warmth of a prison, American or Russian."

Rick opens his arms. "Come here." The two men hug. "Wow! Strong!"

Vasily grins. "This was fun, yes?"

"Yeah."

"We must do it again sometime," Vasily suggests.

"Call me first," Castle replies.

"You know," Rick recalls as he and Kate stroll toward the exit of the consulate, "you and I have kissed in six different countries."

"You're keeping count?"

"Aren't you? This is Russian territory. Care to make it seven?"

Looking around for a convenient nook or cranny, Kate spots a hiding place behind some tapestries. "Or we could make it more than a kiss."

Rick's eyebrows ripple above his grin. "Lead the way."