The Other Path
Chapter 78
"These are some ribs!" Ryan declares, using a handful of paper napkins to wipe sauce from his chin.
"Save the bones, especially if they still have any meat on them." Rick requests. "I promised Cronut a doggy bag. Hey, a doggy bag that's for a real dog. I've never asked for one of those before. But I have occasionally been known to sit up and beg."
"I don't want to hear about that!" Esposito protests. "And I'm not leaving any meat on these bones either. A man's gotta have fuel."
Rick shrugs. "I can always get a to-go order. Man's best friend needs fuel too. And speaking of friends, now that I'm feeding you two, what did you want to tell me about the app?"
"We found it," Esposito brags, drawing a dirty look from Ryan.
"It was on one of the sites I checked out," Ryan jumps in. "But the vendor wants $1000 for it. No way we're getting that out of Gates."
"So you want me to put out for it," Castle concludes.
"What's it to you?" Esposito presses. "We saw you throw down ten times that much at the poker game in Chinatown."
"And win back three times what I threw down," Rick reminds him. "Upon which Beckett had to come in and save my ass. But then, I'd be doing it for her, not for you two clowns. So I'll buy the app."
"You still paying for lunch?" Ryan inquires. "Pretty soon, another baby's going to need new shoes."
"When's Jenny due?"
"Another month, But she looks like the baby's about to do an 'Alien,' now."
"Wow, I don't know how Kate's going to feel about looking like that."
Esposito drops his rib. "Wait! Beckett's pregnant?"
Rick presses his hand to his mouth. "Oh boy, I thought you knew. She said she told Gates. I assumed she'd told you guys too. Don't say anything until she brings it up, OK? She'll be back at the precinct this afternoon. She was teaching a morning class. If she finds out I spilled the beans, I'm in deep trouble. And I prefer to keep my manparts intact."
"So you are paying for lunch," Esposito prods.
"Yeah, sure, just keep your mouths shut."
Ryan picks up a menu from a metal stand on the table. "Let's see what's for dessert."
"So you downloaded the app to your phone?" Kate queries, meeting Rick outside the loft.
"Yeah, I took the pooch to the park and sat on a bench while I used the IP address Ryan said would take me to the site. It took a few minutes, but I brought along a treat Cronut could chew on."
"A rib? I figured you guys had ribs for lunch. Esposito had sauce on his shirt."
"Very astute, Detective Beckett. I put in the frequencies Tori wrote down for you. So I guess if we're going hunting for the plane nappers' tracker, we're all set. Plane nappers? That doesn't sound right. Plane snatchers?"
"How about hijackers?" Kate suggests.
"Nah, not when their guy was flying the plane. But I'll think of something. Ah, plane poachers. At least it's alliterative."
"It's that," Kate agrees unenthusiastically. "Castle-speak aside, I figure we can go on a road trip tomorrow morning."
"Don't you have a class?"
"No. I'm only doing three a week, which gives me more time to observe and supervise interrogations at the 12th. But I figure if anyone brings in a suspect, they can cook in holding until we get back."
"I don't want to leave Cronut alone. He's still getting used to his new home, and Mrs. Lucci said she and Stromboli are visiting her sister tomorrow."
"The trip is official business, Babe. We can't take him along.
"What if he's my emotional support dog?"
"Since when have you needed an emotional support dog?"
"Since I got shot, you discovered you're pregnant, and the app I paid for is on my phone. It's all very stressful."
"I get the point. But I don't see Gates going along with it."
"You have your unit with you. And what Gates doesn't know won't hurt us."
"Maybe. But I guess we'll find out."
"I'm getting a signal from the tracker," Rick reports, "but it's very weak. Try going around the block. Maybe I can pick up a direction."
"All right," Kate agrees. "How's Cronut doing? I don't want any messes in my unit."
"He'll be fine. He did his business before we left, and he's happy curled up back there, probably a lot happier than most of your usual passengers."
"Sure he's happier. He's not in cuffs."
"Touché." Rick stares at his phone screen while Kate maneuvers through morning traffic. "Ooh! We've got a hit! The signal got stronger when you were going east. Maybe you should take the Queens Midtown Tunnel to Long Island."
"You may be on to something. Gates said her mother-in-law found out about an abandoned airport on the island. A pilot could have veered into New York City airspace before landing there. I'll head that way. Keep an eye on the signal in case we guessed wrong."
"Roger that."
"Is that it?" Arseny asks.
"The navigation system is loaded in the truck. We're also taking any other unique components we can put on the market," his lieutenant, Ivan, adds. "I've completed the schematics our buyers can feed into a computer for 3D rendering. And with the scans we took, they can even print parts."
"Good," Arseny acknowledges. "After Vasily's error, we don't need to attract any more attention by trying to get what's left of the plane flown out of here. We'll realize an excellent profit from what we're taking. The U.S. government will have to write off a few billion dollars as our accounts in Cyprus grow. And if anyone finds the aircraft, they won't be able to discover who was here. "
"What about the tracker for Vasily's chip? Do you want to take it with us?" Ivan asks.
"No, it's too common to be worth anything, and with the chip still out there, it could be a link to us. Leave it behind."
Rick points through the windshield. "Look! There's a plane inside that hangar!"
Kate slows the car to a stop at the edge of the abandoned airfield. That doesn't mean it's the stolen Mach 3. Someone else might be storing an aircraft here."
"The same someone else who's storing the tracker? The signal says we're practically on top of it."
Kate glances around. "I don't see anyone here."
"Cronut could smell someone before we could see them," Rick asserts.
"I doubt they were eating peanut butter."
Cronut yips and sits up at the mention of his favorite snack. Rick reaches back to stroke the dog's head. "PB or not, he loves people, and he'd sniff out their presence just for fun."
"All right," Kate concedes. "Let him take a whiff, but hold on to his leash. The last thing we need is to have to chase him down."
Rick snaps the leash onto Cronut's collar. "The pregnant lady speaks. We hear and obey." Cronut bounds out of Kate's unit and trots toward the hangar with Rick close behind him. At Rick's side, Kate holds her gun at ready. Cronut crosses a crabgrass-covered stretch of green at a leisurely pace, sniffing the ground as he goes. "Our canine human-detector isn't finding much to interest him," Rick observes. "If our plane poachers were here, they're gone now."
Kate steps out ahead, raising her weapon. "Just in case, I'm going to make sure." Eyes darting side to side for any signs of movement, she makes her way to the hangar. From up close, the plane's stripped condition is apparent. "This isn't just a hangar," she posits as Rick and Cronut catch up. "It was a chop shop. But whoever ran the operation is gone."
