In the end, they never got a chance to deploy their risky plan.
By the time they left the break room behind, Gates was waiting for them in undisguised impatience. Next to her stood a tall African American man in military dress uniform, his peaked cap tucked under his arm, his brown eyes watching them intently.
"Pardon for interrupting your meeting…", the captain said condescendingly and pointed toward their visitor, "But this is Lieutenant Solomon Vargas, Military Intelligence. He needs to speak to you about your case. Detective Beckett, I told him that you and Detective Esposito, wherever he may be, would have the most to offer him in regards to the inside track on this case."
Meeting Gates' glare in guarded neutrality, Beckett nodded faintly, her team fanning out around her to greet the man who carried an aura of complete authority, making even the captain scurry away once they finished exchanging pleasant formalities.
"Detective Beckett, your reputation precedes you.", the man noted and offered a firm handshake, doing so with the rest of her team.
"I don't know if I should be flattered or scared.", she countered with a faint smile and directed him toward her desk.
"Probably both."
When they arrived, he placed his cap next to her laptop and walked over to the murder board, studying it intently for many long moments.
After a while, Beckett walked up to him with a frown.
"The captain said you needed to talk to us."
"That's true.", Vargas replied and pointed at Lafayette's picture, "We've been tracking this doctor for several months. I have reason to believe that he's into some…shady business, to put it in your terms. We've been having trouble closing in on him but then I saw the request from you ME circle the area, asking if anybody else had died of a combination of Sofidia and Nodant, and I knew we'd struck gold."
Drawing in a deep breath, Beckett looked over at Castle and Ryan, seeing the surprise on both of their faces as well.
"So, it is true, he is using his network to experiment on soldiers suffering from PTSD, turning them into lab rats and killing them when they're no longer of any use."
Her feeling of confirmation lasted only a few seconds when Vargas shook his head, his lips curling to a sad smile.
"I'm afraid you are on the wrong track, detective. The truth is a lot worse than that."
