Beckett Behind Bars
CHAPTER TEN
All standard disclaimers apply
Kate didn't remember how she managed to wind up back in their cell, but she was sitting in one of the chairs and Val was sitting in the other one, with a look of concern on her face. Valeria was holding Kate's hand.
"Kat, are you all right? What's wrong?" Val patted Kate's hand. "I found you slumped against the library wall. You looked like you were going to be sick."
It took a few more moments until Kate's eyes and mind were able to lock onto the reality of her surroundings.
She shook her head. It had all gone to shit. She had thought that she was so close to being able to accomplish her assignment and get out of this place. Then the world caved in on her. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away.
She was not going to believe that Rick was gone. He wouldn't do that to her. They had gone through too much to get to where they were now. They had finally managed to get to the real beginning of their always. She wouldn't believe that it had all disappeared in the twisted metal of his Ferrari. She had to hold onto whatever hope the fact that there was no body at the accident site gave her. Without that she would fall apart completely.
She bit her bottom lip. Then she hears the announcement that Warden Winslow was gone. That she had retired? That made no sense. What's worse was the fact that Hellicson was officially in charge. Where did that leave Kate now? How would she ever get out? Her paperwork could disappear and essentially so would she. No one would be able to come for her.
Kate was finally able to meet Val's look of concern and grasp the here and now of where she was.
Val squeezed Kate's hand again. "Kat, are you with me yet?"
Kate gave Val a returned squeeze and made an effort to show a shadow of a smile for her cellmate and … friend.
She wasn't sure how she was going to proceed from here on out, but it was going to have to include Valeria. And for that, the abandoned Russian pawn would have to know about everything.
She knew that she was taking a chance, but if she could convince Val that Kristoff was only using her. That he didn't really love her. He didn't love anyone but himself. The only way out was going to have to be together.
"Val, I have some things I have to tell you. You might have problems with believing me, but I swear what I'm going to tell you is the truth."
Valeria's look of concern magnified. "Just take it easy. You must have suffered some sort of shock because you were pretty out of it when I found you."
Kate tried to smile, but only made it half way. "Val, what I have to say is going to hurt you. But you have to know that in these few days, I've come to respect your fortitude and your ability to survive under circumstances that weren't what you expected."
Val shook her head back and forth, causing her mass of blonde hair to swirl about her face.
"You are scaring me, Kat. What' going on? What happened to you?"
Kate grabbed both of the younger woman's hands. "It's what happened to us." Kate stared at the ceiling for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, and her courage.
"First of all, my name is not Katya Koslikov. It's Kate Beckett." She saw the confusion in Val's eyes. "Detective Kate Beckett."
Val's expression turned angry as she pulled her hands away. "So, you're a cop! Just trying to pump me for information."
Kate sadly nodded. "Yes, I am. But think. What does that tell you? If I was sent in here to get information from you, that means that Kristoff didn't. Anitovich never sent me in here to help you, to protect you, to be your 'henchwoman'. He basically wrote you off."
Val shook her head. 'No, he needed me to work on the inside for him. I was critical to the system he was putting in place here at the prison."
It was Kate's turn to shake her head in the negative. "Think about it Val. He had his sister as the top dog here at the prison. Hellicson would have been able to recruit nearly anyone to be the delivery gal for the product. You were just more convenient. They played on your feelings for Kristoff." Kate glared in disgust. "There was never any plan to get you out after six months."
Kate grabbed her hand again. "I can see it now. The excuses, the phony administrative screw ups, the pleading for you to hang on just a little bit longer until they couldn't put you off any more."
Kate's voice dropped to an angry hiss. "If you became a problem they'd find a way to eliminate you as so much dirt swept under the rug. That's how people like Kristoff Anitovich and his bitch of a sister operate. They are family, and no one else matters."
Val snatched her hand. "No, you are wrong. Kris loved me."
"He used you." Kate growled. "Think about how you got here? Did you ever mule for Kristoff before?" Val shook her head. "So, why then? Why use someone who has no experience in doing something like that? And why didn't he have his lawyer fight harder for a lesser sentence. You were a first time offender It should have been a no brainer."
Val continued to shake her head no, but with less vigor. She looked up at Kate, tears were coming from her eyes. "But if what you say is true, then he never loved me?"
"Valeria, I know it's hard, but you have to realize that people like Kristoff only have enough love in them for one person, themselves. Everyone else is there to serve him."
"But what about his sister?"
Kate shrugged. "What about her? She's family, and just as big a crook as he is. They have use for each other but I doubt it goes further than that."
Val sat there, staring at the floor not saying a word for several minutes. Kate let her absorb and contemplate all that she'd given her to think about. Kate understood what she had taken away from the young girl. The dreams, no matter how tainted they were, that Kate had stolen from her.
After several minutes Val finally lifted her head and the teary eyed woman looked Kate in the eyes. "So what do we do now?"
Kate's face fell. "That is the problem. When I was inserted into this place, I was supposed to have an ally. Someone who knew about me and my assignment that would be able to wave their magic wand and I'd be on my way with the information I was tasked to obtain."
"But?"
Kate sighed. "But, that announcement pretty much royally screwed that up. I came into this place with only one person who knew who I really was. That person was Warden Margaret Winslow. Now I find that she's retired? Pretty convenient for someone and pretty inconvenient for me… us."
Val frowned. "Actually, Hellicson has been working on getting Winslow out of here since I got here. Now that she's managed to scare the old lady out, we're hung out to dry."
Kate spread her hands as in supplication. "Who can help us now?"
Suddenly both gals nearly jumped off their chairs as a voice coming from the front of their cell interrupted their conversation.
"That would be me."
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Javier Esposito had dragged his tired self out of Lanie Parish's bed because he wanted to get into the precinct early. He had to catch Gates as soon as possible and fill in his partner, Ryan. Things had gotten much more complicated. And he had some information to share.
He wasn't sure how Gates was going to react because he and Ryan weren't supposed to be in the know from the start. But because of Castle they were. And because of Castle, things were getting very confused.
When he got off the elevator he noticed a definite heaviness in the atmosphere in the station house. He glanced up at the TV that hung from the ceiling. Someone had turned it on, but had turned down the sound. Still that banner headline that scrolled along the bottom of the picture was enough.
There was coverage of the wreckage that was once a flashy red Ferrari being hauled up the side of the cliff face. Headlines read: 'Where is Ricard Castle?' or 'Is Richard Castle dead?' It was more than enough to affect the people who had watched the broadcast. Castle knew nearly everyone on this floor, and was liked by most.
Just then, Ryan stepped off the elevator and saw his partner staring at the screen. Kevin came over and put his hand on Espo's shoulder.
"Can you believe this, Javi?" Kevin's emotions were easily read on his face. "What's Beckett going to do when she hears this?"
Esposito grabbed Ryan by the arm and guided him over to one of the observation rooms. He needed to fill his partner in on what he knew.
After closing the door, Espo turned toward his partner. "Castle's alive Kev."
"What!"
Javi put a finger to his lips. "Shush, keep it down. Castle called me and Lanie last night right after the incident. He'd been thrown from the car, but was banged up pretty bad. He wanted us to come and pick him up before anyone came by and reported the accident."
Ryan paced around in a circle. "I don't get it? Why didn't you call an ambulance, or the local police?"
Espo shook his head. "Castle didn't want anyone to know he survived yet. He'd been run off that road by one of Anitovich's goons."
Kevin cursed like only a good Catholic boy could. "Why was he stirring things up with the Russians?"
Espo shook his head. "He knows more than he's told us. And somehow he put himself on Kristoff's radar."
The two partners were interrupted by a commotion outside the door. They quickly joined in with the crowd that had gathered. They saw that Captain Gates had arrived and was standing in front of everyone calling for the room's attention.
Once everyone settled down, she stood in front and made a gesture toward the TV screen.
"By now," she began. "I imagine most, if not all of you has either seen or heard about Mr. Castle's accident. At this time there is no official cause of the accident, nor has Mr. Castle's body been found at the sight."
She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "We don't know if there is cause to suspect any criminal intent to hurt Mr. Castle or if it was just a tragic accident. Until there is more evidence presented I don't want anyone here going around fueling rumors either way. Let the people whose job it is find that out."
She paused for a moment. "Despite my efforts to the contrary, Mr. Castle has become one of us. And his loss would be felt by all of us. So until we know more, all we can do is pray that he survived somehow." She gave the room a sweeping glance. "Everyone back to work."
Before Gates could turn to go into her office she noticed Esposito and Ryan standing off to one side. She crooked her finger at the two of them and went inside her office, leaving the door open.
Getting the message, the two of them scurried over and into her office.
"Close the door." Ryan did.
"Okay," she let her glare fixate on her two detectives. "What do either of you know?"
Espo sighed. "Castle's alive." There was a genuine look of relief on the Captain's face. "He called me last night right after the accident. He wanted me and Lanie… Dr. Parish to come and pick him up before anyone reported the wreck."
"Why did he do that?" Gates was as curious and surprised as Espo and Lanie had been. "Did he need medical attention?"
Espo nodded. "Yes, he was injured. He'd been thrown from the vehicle. That's why he wanted Dr. Parish to come along."
"Go on." Gates knew that the M.E. was close friends with Beckett, and it was said that she and Esposito dated off and on.
"He didn't want anyone to find him there because he'd been run off the road. Off the cliffs along High Ridge Road by one of Kristoff Anitovich's goons." Gate's shoulders drooped. "He wanted Anitovich to think he was dead for the time being."
Gates pursed her lips. "Do you know why?"
Javi shrugged. "Not really sure. He was pretty badly banged up and after Dr. Parish and I did what we could he passed out on her couch." He was careful of how he worded his next sentence. "He let it be known that he'd come into the precinct sometime today and fill you and Lt. Walters in as to what he was doing."
Gates' face was like a thunder cloud. "Dammed amateurs." She let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, detectives. I'll move you down one in the rotation. I'd like you to be here if/when Mr. Castle comes in."
The two worried partners nodded. "Thank you sir, we'd like to be here also."
"Now, get back to your desks. I'm sure you've got some past paperwork you can work on."
The boys left their captain's office post haste.
Castle had been lying on Lanie's couch staring at her ceiling for quite some time. He was waiting.
He'd been awake, more or less as the pain didn't allow him a very comfortable rest. He'd made sure that he wanted Espo to let Gates know that he'd be in later to fill her in on what he believed he'd uncovered. And to tell her that Walter's from Gang's should be there.
Actually, Castle would make sure of that because he'd call Walters before he left so the lieutenant would be there.
He also made sure he'd called and left messages with both Alexis and his mother not to be worried about any headlines about the accident. He was fine, but he was laying low for a bit. He would explain everything later.
Lanie had hung around for a while, rechecking his bandages, and the makeshift splints she had rigged up for his arm and fingers. His left arm, for all intents and purposes, was completely out of action. And his left hand was worse.
His right hand and arm had merely been scraped up and bruised. Some antiseptic cream and being wrapped were all they needed.
He'd been a little concerned about his legs, because he was going to have to walk on his own. Luckily it was again mostly scrapes and bruises. So Lanie had wrapped them also. His pants had been ripped up a bit, but they still covered everything that needed covering.
After thinking about it, Castle had sent Lanie out with cash, to buy him a long lightweight coat, and a wide brimmed fedora. That would be all the disguise he'd need. This was New York. The 'I see nothing, I know nothing' capital of the world.
After Lanie had made the purchases for him, she left for work.
After she'd gone Rick inspected Lanie's couch that he'd bled all over last night. It was a nice, older, over stuffed three wide unit with soft light brown fabric upholstery. Which unfortunately now had several dark red brown spots and stains all over it.
Rick called up 'a guy he knows' and described Lanie's apartment, and the mix and match furnishings she had. He told the guy to come up with something nice, that wouldn't be 'too much' for the modest apartment. He told him to come up with something practical, but attractive. And it would be nice if he could have it by next week. The fact that this person knew Rick well, he accepted Rick's 'the rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated' without any questions.
With that settled, he had one more call to make on the little flip phone that had survived the crash. He was lucky he had copied his directory onto this phone also. It only rang twice.
"Walters."
"Lieutenant, this is Richard Castle."
"Aren't you dead?"
Rick chuckled. "No, only missing. But I would like to meet with you over at the 12th, Capitan Gates' office this afternoon."
"Gate's already called. Why the mystery?"
"Because I need to stay missing for a while longer. There are people trying to kill me."
"And some of them are the bad guys?"
"Touché'. Needless to say I don't think they plan to give up just yet. I had an interesting interview with Kristoff Anitovich yesterday. I think it would be mutually beneficial if we chatted."
"I'll bet. I'll be there at three."
Castle disconnected the call and wobbled his way to his feet. It was difficult to get the long coat on over his broken arm, which he'd refused to sling, but he managed. He then slipped on the fedora and walked over to a mirror. He'd been right. He looked good in it.
Being careful to get Lanie's door properly locked behind him, he went out and looked for a cab.
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Kate and Val jumped out of the chairs and confronted the woman standing there, leaning against the edge of the cell door. Val glared at her but Kate recognized her right away.
"Chloe?" She was the only guard that she knew since she was the one who did most of the processing in on Kate.
The woman smiled. "It's Officer Albertson, but a few inmates have learned, and call guards by their given names. I think it would be best if you called me that."
Val scowled at the guard. "What are you doing here?"
Chloe smiled. "I'm here to help. May I come in?" She knew well that she had to be invited into an inmate's cell unless there was some legitimate reason to invade their privacy.
"No!" "Yes." Val spun and glared at her cellmate with fire in her eyes when Kate granted permission.
Chloe nodded toward Kate who had a hopeful expression on her face. "She knows why I'm here."
Val's head bounced between the two ladies. Kate nodded.
"I have hope as to why you're here."
"What's going on?" Val was frantic.
Chloe moved farther into the cell and lowered her voice. "Once Warden Winslow knew that she was going to be forced out by Hellicson she had to come up with someone she could trust with the knowledge of your assignment." She pointed at Kate.
Kate nodded, mostly to herself. "So she told you who I am and why I was here?" Chloe just returned the nod. "And you have a way to get us out of here?"
Chloe frowned. "Margret didn't mention anyone else." Chloe looked over at Val and pointed at Kate. "Just Nikki Heat there."
Val had a funny look on her face when she turned back toward Kate.
Kate shook her head. "No, it has to be both of us. Things have changed. The information I came for is just part of a much bigger situation, and I need Valeria to corroborate the information. In exchange for her cooperation I'm offering her protection."
Chloe frowned. "I guess what I have in mind will work with the two of you. Everything has changed as you both know. Hellicson is in charge and we can't just trot out an agreement with the police to let an undercover operative walk out the door at her say so."
Kate frowned. "So you know Hellicson is dirty."
Chloe just nodded. "Warden Winslow knew but didn't expect her to move so quickly."
"So what do you have in mind?" Kate, for whatever reason, was comfortable believing in Chloe.
"We are getting in a food shipment this afternoon. Normally a volunteer work duty crew will handle the unloading of the foodstuffs. I managed to get myself put in charge of the supervision of the work crew. I plan to sneak you in with that crew. You unload the stuff along with the listed crew, then while they are putting stuff away, you will sneak into the back of the truck and hide behind the empty containers."
Chloe glanced back to the cell door making sure no one had been or was listening in.
"The guards at the gate will only open the back door on the truck and glance in at the empty containers. They're too damn lazy to go in and check on the crates." She shrugged. That's the best I could do at this short notice."
"Once the truck is out of our grounds you're pretty much on your own from there."
Kate had been pacing in a circle since Chloe started talking. Once she had stopped, Kate faced the prison guard. "Where does the food come from?"
Chloe stopped and searched her memory. "It's a distribution plant out in Yonkers. Let me see." She bit on her lip. "It' called, Wilkenson Food and Beverage."
Kate nodded. "Could you do me a big favor?"
Chloe's brow rose. "You don't consider arranging your escape a favor?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "Would you call the NYPD, 12th precinct, and ask for Javier Esposito in homicide, and tell him approximately when we'll arrive at that warehouse? It would be kind of a waste of your time if they grabbed us when they unloaded their crates and sent us right back to Belmont."
All three of them chuckled. "Okay, I can do that. But the timing's going to be tight. You two have to be down by the kitchen in about 35 minutes. Don't be late or it will be difficult to sneak you into the unloading crew."
Kate reached out and hugged her. "Thank you so much Officer Albertson."
Chloe blushed. "I'm happy to do it. I can tell you I don't enjoy working for a drug lord. The faster we get out from under, the happier I'll be."
Officer Albertson turned to leave the cell, then stopped and turned back toward Kate. Her expression turned to one of sadness.
"I'm so sorry about Rick Castle. I imagine you knew him well?"
Kate nodded. "But he's not dead."
Chloe raised a brow. "How do you know?"
Kate expression was a mask of calm. "Because he knows he's not allowed to die without me. We go together or not at all."
Chloe grinned and shook her head. "See you in a half an hour."
Val stared at Kate for several moments. "Nikki Heat?" She walked over to their shelf and pulled down Kate's copy of Heat Wave and checked out the dedication.
She stared at her cellmate. "You're freakin' Nikki Heat!"
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Castle came up the stairs, even though his bruised and battered legs complained the whole way up the four flights of stairs. He wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. He was covered with the long trench coat, and had the fedora pulled down low on his brow. He felt like he was a character from a Raymond Chandler novel.
He sauntered over to Ryan's desk and tapped on the desktop with his knuckle. Ryan, whose nose was buried in his paperwork, flinched at the sound. Ryan looked quickly up and before he could say anything, Castle put his finger to his lips. Ryan nodded.
Ryan pointed over toward the observation room, then tossed a wadded ball of paper at Esposito and jerked his head toward Castle.
The two detectives followed Castle into observation one. A grinning Ryan wanted to hug him but Rick put up his right hand to keep him away. His battered body would never survive a bro hug.
Instead Kevin just shook like a happy puppy. "It's great to see you man. I was really worried when I saw the news bulletin."
Javier gave him a smile. "I see you are somewhat mobile. How bad does Lanie's couch look?"
Castle grinned. "I've already arranged for that to be taken care of." Rick checked his little flip phone for the time. "Walters is supposed to come here at three. So I expect him anytime now."
Ryan went over and looked out the small square window in the door. As he did so, the elevator dinged and someone he'd never seen before stepped out.
"Looks like we have company. Someone just got here and is heading for Gates' office."
The three of them made their way over to Gates' office. The door was open and Lt. Walters was introducing himself to the captain. She noticed her detectives and a man in a trench coat, of all things. Gates held back the smile she felt seeing that Castle was obvious well enough to walk.
She couldn't break her image, no matter how she might actually feel. Gates waved them all in.
Castle shut the door behind them.
"Mr. Castle, I'm glad to see you've apparently survived your deadly accident."
Rick gave her a nod. "As am I, but it was no accident." He stretched out his right hand toward the man he assumed was Walters.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Rick Castle."
The man shook his head and allowed himself a slight smile. "I'm pleased that you aren't dead, but whatever prompted you to confront Kristoff Anitovich was foolish."
"It wouldn't be the first time. As a writer, in the past, I have cozied up to mobsters, and the like in the name of research. I pride myself in giving my readers an atmosphere that gives them a more realistic experience than just your average create for the cash type writer."
"Is it worth it to risk your life for a little realism in your books?" Walters shook his head.
Castle shrugged. "My experience in the past has been, with all those in charge of large operations, whether they be legitimate or under the umbrella of organized crime, they all share a common trait. A healthy ego."
Castle leans against the closed door for support.
"Mr. Castle, it's obvious that regardless of your survival, you have suffered injuries. Please sit down and continue." Gates motioned toward the chairs in front of her desk.
Castle nodded. "Thank you, sir. As I said, big shots everywhere love to have their egos stroked. So I approach them in a fairly innocuous manner. Almost like a feature writer for a magazine. But I offer them anonymity, because I am only looking for realistic color for my books. No names, are ever even implied." Castle shrugged. "You'd be surprised how many top level wise guys were willing to spill their guts over some nice drinks and a comfortable setting." Rick chuckled. "They feel safe even though they are confessing to terrible things. I'm just a fiction writer, I'm not somebody who's a threat to them."
Walters didn't notice the glare from Gates when he planted his butt on the corner of her desk.
"I can understand where you are coming from Mr. Castle, but why did you pick Anitovich, he's a whole different breed of bad guy. He came up from the street. He started out a thug, and he's still a thug. What did you hope to gain by interviewing him?"
Castle leaned over a let his hand fall on his knee. "A couple of things. First I wanted to get a gauge on how much danger Kate would be in undercover in that prison. And second, I needed some confirmation of a theory of mine."
Castle looked directly into Walters' eyes. "Tell me Lieutenant, was Dimitri Chekov one of yours?"
Walters' brow went up. "I'm impressed. But to answer your question. No, not really. Chekov was DEA. He'd been under for a few months trying to get information on Anitovich's supply chain. He must've made a mistake somewhere."
Javier spoke up. "So I'm guessing this murder of Dimitri Chekov we have sitting on our desk is never going to be solved."
Walters' shook his head. "I'm afraid the best you'll be able to put in that file is, professional hit."
Gates growled under her breath in the background.
Walters paid Gates no mind. "So let's get to the meat of this then, Mr. Castle. If when you flatter these organized crime bosses with your conversations on how interesting they are, and how they have never lead to threats on your life, why did Kristoff try to have you killed?"
I've been wracking my brain all night, but when I made the connection between Kristoff and Chekov I had it. With someone who, even though he knows that I know that he is a drug lord, he would never admit it out loud to any stranger. So with him I used a different tact."
Castle resettled himself in his seat. "I came at him using his ethnicity. I told him I wanted to write characters that represented the struggle that the recent Russian immigrants had to endure trying to make a go of it in a new land. Both those that succeeded such as himself. And those who took the easy way out by turning to illicit means. Once I got him going, it was hard to get him to stop."
Castle took another deep breath. The accident took more out of him then he thought.
"It wasn't until I made the Chekov connection did I realize that at some point of our conversation he had slipped from adjectives like they and those, to more often ones like mine and ours. I don't think he really realized it at the time. But it must have dawned on him right as I left his office because the security fellow who was escorting me out received a phone call… just like that."
Castle laughed as an embarrassed Esposito quickly grabbed his ringing phone and left Gates' office. Gates, true to form glared at the escaping detective.
Castle gave Espo a wave of his hand as he left the office. "As I was saying. This security gorilla, received a phone call while he was escorting me down to the parking lot. He spoke to whomever was on the phone in Russian. Unfortunately I don't speak or understand the language so, being nosey, I asked about the call."
Rick shook his head as he remembered. "He said it was his wife calling to make sure he stopped and picked up the groceries they needed. At first I didn't think much of it. I kind of liked the idea that this big, burly, brute of a guy was being deferential to the little missus. It wasn't till I'd been on the road for about ten minutes when I realized that I was in trouble. There was this big Range Rover coming up fast in my rear view mirror, and I had just remembered that he hadn't been wearing a wedding ring."
Castle let out a sigh. "The rest you all know. And I think I'd feel safer if Kristoff doesn't know that I didn't go out with the tide just yet."
Just then the door to Gates' office was thrown open and an excited Esposito rushed in.
"I just got off the phone with a guard from Belmont prison, and you aren't going to believe what she just told me."
A/N: Coming soon, the big finish.
All Readers are Appreciated, Review if you wish.