It had been eight months since Kate had left the training camp, and she was now in the breakfast bar of a hotel near Southwest Florida Regional Airport perusing the local newspaper. Of special interest was the blurb and picture of Richard Castle who was giving a reading and reception that very afternoon from his new collection of short stories. The picture had his public smile, and the faint praise for the book suggested it was not his best work.
She had most of the afternoon to kill because she was waiting for someone special. Earlier she had gone to the hotel gym and done repeated rounds of burpees and rowing. After the Island, her body craved grueling exercise everyday, and today was no exception. At home she had a dedicated room where she regularly labored until she was slick with perspiration, very smelly, and totally exhausted.
All this was in preparation for weekly sparing matches with anonymous opponents set up by her handler. The size, weight, and gender of your partner were not disclosed until you saw them. After suiting up, these encounters were full contact fights where jabs, kicks, and knees were exchanged without reservation. By the end, both parties were bruised and often bloody. The weird part was the anonymity of the whole meeting. You met, exchanged blows, and left without hardly a word said. In time, she would come to understand that this was intentional. These session were really about normalizing instantaneous brutality against anyone.
After her time in the hotel gym, it was off for a long shower and proper primping. The guest of honor was her sex buddy, Jason. They met on a long airport layover, opted for a room, and very enjoyable sex ensued. The man was made of steel, and his casual attitude was perfect. Castle had introduced her to this illicit world, and once he was agency approved, she saw no reason not to partake in it. At each rendezvous, he insisted on her being without underwear, and today was no exception.
After a leisurely lunch, she was in her rental car on the way to the Castle soiree. Upon Castle's arrival, he immediately recognized her sitting in the second row. After that, a bumpy reading ensued. Obviously, her appearance had rattled him, and she maliciously decided to poke his anxiety with a short reunion.
After the autograph line dwindled, she swooped in at the back and said, "Hi Castle! Thought I would come see you in the flesh. You look frightened. I get that a lot now that badass Beckett has been unleashed. Don't worry Castle, this is just a social call. If it was work, it would be all together different."
"You would even hurt me?"
"Castle, I am in the information business. Talk or hurt - no other option. Most ignore my warning until they feel the shocking consequences. No one likes being beaten, and I don't stop until they talk."
By now Castle had noted her diminished stature and asked, "Kate, you look different? Where are your heels?"
"You get this kind of body when you spend time in a place here you sweat profusely standing still. The training bulked me up, and I wouldn't be caught dead in heels. Feet are weapons - not something for foolish adornment."
"Did you ever use them like that?"
Yes, my trainers believed we should use all appendages because our marks overlook them. That is a standard protocol now in case you want to use it for one of your books."
"After all the drama with us, I opted to try my hand at something new. This is my first stab at short stories. Not sure the critics or I want any more. Are you happy with your new life?"
"Castle, because of my history, I am not driven to seek happy things like you are. When I chose to confront LOKSAT over us, I had to reckon with who I really am. I am drawn to the battle against evil in all its forms. You were right when you said our always wouldn't be enough. The battle is my destiny. The everyday joys of normal life are not fulfilling for me. I enjoy hunting in the swill of humanity and don't mind the stench that goes with it. Successful ops give me a sense of accomplishment that evil doesn't always win."
After returning to the hotel, Jason arrived on time, and things went better than planned from her perspective with three rounds in before both were pleasantly sated. As he dressed, he suggested another romp in a couple weeks, and she was more than happy to oblige. Time with him was fun. It was just great sex, and nothing more.
After he left, she showered and put on a generic brown delivery person uniform with her hair tucked under the usual cap, got into her rental car, and parked a couple blocks down the street from 416 Oak Street. She then pulled out her phone and waited for a text from the surveillance geeks that the mark was ready for contact. Within a few minutes, the go order arrived, and she walked up to the front door.
When the curious female occupant opened the door, Kate's foot stomped hard into the unprotected stomach of the startled inhabitant forcing her to stumble backward and double over. Kate immediately grabbed her long hair and positioned her skull for a violent collision with her knee knocking the victim to the floor well beyond the entryway. Before the victim could verbalize anything, Kate closed the front door and said, "My sources suggest there's lots of coke in this house so you might want to refrain from starting a scene that draws any unnecessary attention."
"Is that what this is all about?"
"I couldn't care less about your life as a drug mule. I am here about your good friend, Ronny."
"Ronny, who the hell is Ronny?"
Kate expected that response and lunged on top of her mark while delivering two unobstructed punches. The girl winced in new agony and Kate said, "If you continue this charade, our time together will be most unpleasant. I am trained to hurt people, and there is no limit on how far I will go. The choice is yours - talk or hurt - bitch?"
That little show of domination turned the tide, and questions were answered loudly so her small digital recorder had a complete record for her superiors. With the recording safely stowed in her pocket, she exited the home and passed it off to the surveillance geeks on the way to her car. The following morning, she dropped the car at the rental center and boarded the shuttle for the departure gates. In the security line she became just another tourist flying back to New York from a quick break in sunny Florida. An hour later she was crammed into a main cabin seat with a passable glass of red and a couple of hours to compose her report.