The dragon has a name. The former assistant district attorney who is now United States Senator William Bracken is a murderer. He is responsible for ordering the deaths of Johanna Beckett and numerous other people.

Not only did the captain keep copies of the files, he listed additional avenue of investigation and names of both suspected and verified people involved in the cartel. Roy Montgomery spent years tied in knots as the skirmishes probed just where the line stood between them. The law enforcement officer seemed to have the upper hand because of an audio recording where Bracken admitted having Johanna Beckett killed. The problem is that Montgomery no longer had procession of it, but that is a puzzle for another day. The vast reach and power of the black network is terrifying. It also provides numerous places to poke at a soft underbelly.

Rick hadn't slept since he left the dynamic duo (an exclusive club of KB's former lovers so he doesn't qualify.) He can't keep up appearances (his looks are going to hell) but he does a credible imitation of a caring father. He cajoles his offspring to come with him to the gym where he does a long, hard workout Once they're home he pops several aspirin and fixes dinner, all the while teasing his daughter about boys who were trying to show off for her. Only once she goes up to her room for the night does he descend to the dark mire of Bracken's world. He's finally got a plan. The best way to fight dirty politician is to play dirty, and since he isn't affiliated with the NYPD. Richard Castle had no qualms about doing what needs done.

He relies on his extensive list of contacts and tells them what he is searching for. The next round of gadgets and people he needs will be expensive and not something a simple wire transfer can cover. He picks up the phone and dials his accountant, Tayrisha. After numerous rings his call is answered, "I need you to get me more cash - immediately," he blurts without the preamble of a greeting.

"Mr. Castle, it is four in the morning. And while I am very aware that you are not just the number one client of the accounting firm, that you own it, you do not own me even though I make myself available to you beyond business hours."

Shit. He was so used to cop hours and enjoying his own profession that has no set schedule that he sometimes forgets what is considered normal. "Um, sorry? I've been so busy and then had to plot things out and I'm not sleeping well so I obviously lost track of time and I'm trying to knock things off my list so I just reached for the phone..." He's rambling. He's losing track of things and god forbid if the fatigue causes him to make a simple mistake and the dragon...

His mind is racing again, so he forces himself to take a deep breath and tune back into what Tayrisha is saying.

"Rick, you told me that none of this will have receipts or be deductible, so I won't lecture you about how much you have spent, but you depleted your slush fund."

"I don't care. I need more and I need it today."

"Rick," she warns with her no-nonsense motherly tone, "I will follow your wishes if, and only if, I am convinced that you are acting with a clear head. And before you start trying to convince me, please remember that you gave me some other directives to follow when I assembled the last withdraw of funds."

Oh, he told her to assume his financials are being monitored. Large withdrawals might spark unwanted interest or make the dragon nervous. He has hidden accounts, but transferring an asset or money from them would take time to obfuscate to keep them sufficiently separate from his holdings. "Um, yes. You're right. How should I, well, what do you suggest?"

"According to the insurance inventory, you have gold bullion on site as well as stored at a secure facility. I suggest you use what is on hand, but recall any large sales will still generate banking forms."

"That is getting used, too."

"Rick..." Geeze, he just made an adult woman whine. It's not fun like when he does it to Beckett. He tunes back into the scolding, "I need to know these things if for no other reason than to remove them from the balance sheet. Your choices are leaving a paper trail or selling something to a 'friend' at a black market price, but you are not making rational decisions. I urge you to give me a few days to do this the right way, and tell me now if you anticipate needing another large cash infusion anytime soon."

"No, this should be the last of the cash flow problems. I'll have a check from Black Pawn as soon as the edits are done on the book and I can use that to replenish the slush fund. What about the Star Wars collection? Can't we just sell it to the auction house?"

"The financial result would be greatly diminished. Currently you own the collection and are employing the auction house to sell it on your behalf and they are motivated by a percentage after expenses. Under your proposal, they would buy it from you at a significant discount of appraised value. A rough estimate might be you would receive 50% instead of 70% of final value."

"Do it."

She sighs and then a bit of silence follows.

"Rick, are you sure? I saw how attached you were to the collection. It was something you invested a lot of time and money into putting together. It represented hours of your youth. It's one thing to move it along at a fair value. It's another thing to feel like you've had it stolen from you."

Now Rick sighs. She's sweet. He's woken her up in the middle of the night, made demands, and she's trying to look out for him - both professionally and personally. There's not many of those people in his life. He wonders if Beckett is one of them, but pushes the thought away. "I'm sure. Whatever the selling price, it is still worth as much or more than I paid for it, so financially it is still a good deal. Even if I were not going to come out of the transaction money ahead, the funds I need are for a greater purpose. As for the personal side of things, it's time to let go of the past. I'm okay with that. I've become painfully aware of what is important in life, and it's not toys from decades ago. I'm trying to grow up - to man up. Can you please take care of this for me?"

"That's the clarity I needed to hear to be sure you know what you're doing. Yes, I'll have it settled for you by close of business today."

"You're an angel."

"I won't argue only because it sounds like you need angels on your side."

That's certainly true. He also needs hackers on his side. No matter what he boasted before always knowing "a guy" he's wary of them. They have their own code and like to mess with people - including the very people who hire them. He's got a guy who's trustworthy, but he's not of the caliber needed to poke around in Bracken's underworld.

His guy, Echo, can post the first challenge on the dark web for him. He needs to hire someone with skills so he has to create a high threshold to test the responders. He can have them hack into Black Pawn's system and steal a manuscript called Black Knight. It's a terrible manuscript Castle bought to help a struggling teacher get some much needed funds to buy supplies for good kids from impoverished homes. When he was married to Gina and researching hackers for a Derrick Storm plot, he requested proof that the publisher's computer system was secure and posted a reward for anyone who could steal it. Echo did and made even more money showing the tech company how to make Black Pawn impenetrable. His guy has never been able to break back in.

Castle whisks the info into cyber darkness for Echo to post and works on what the hacker's second challenge will be. He stares off into nothingness. He's been doing that a lot. His brain isn't working up to par and he needs to be sharp. Beckett never had this problem. He was amazed how she could run on so little sleep and still be full of insight. He pulls out the drawer with her letters. He's got the one Sorenson gave him memorized. He's still got the small note Jim gave him sealed, and the other missive came via Lanie. He touches the envelop and runs his finger over the closed flap. With a sigh he puts it back because he can't afford the distraction. It's done its job because he's refocused on the current problem.

He needs to know if the hacker is a "black hat" or a "white hat." He needs the kind of internet guru that tries to lure child molesters into stings that takes their picture and posts them online to humiliate them. Castle has a charitable foundation that currently has a low balance because it hasn't been replenished since the last round of anonymous giving. He can ask the hacker to steal from a charity that buys books for kids. The one that refuses will be the one he hires.

He glances at the time. Thankfully he can stop pretending he's been asleep and get moving. He fumbles the combination to the safe and gets out the gold bullion. He's got a trade to make and then he has to cajole his mother into helping with a crazy plan that is a longshot.

Martha Rogers has only an hour before the session with her students begins. She smiles at the delicious bribe Richard brought from the impossible-to-get-reservations Q3 restaurant. Perhaps she should exact further compensation for having to upend her careful teaching schedule, but she would do anything to help Katherine put these demons in hell.

Perhaps the truth of the matter is that Richard needs help. The actresses has an eye for detailed character nuances, and it startled her just how much her son's appearance has changed. His eyes are bloodshot, his look is haggard, and his unshaven facial hair makes him look scruffy. He moves as if he is in slow motion and he's developed a tic of rubbing his hands together. At least he is no longer brooding at home locked in his office. She might have to nag him into going out and living it up to shake off the cobwebs of his gloom.

The actress refocuses on the task at hand. Her students were supposed to spend next week working in health care settings to absorb the realism needed to play various medical roles. Dallfin, who is much better in her role as a production assistant than she ever was in her anemic career in the chorus on Broadway, had a nursing home, various hospital positions, and home health care lined up. Those positions will have to wait. She waves, the bangles on her arm clapping in unison, clears the plan gone awry and recalls the theater always has unexpected events.

When the diva actress sails into the room, the few dozen students immediately gravitate to her. No matter the age, gender, orientation, or background, the students adore their mentor. "As you know, here at the Martha Rodgers school of acting we don't focus solely on the mechanics of how to act. We want you out in the world gathering experience to draw upon when it comes time to portray characters. Thus far we have crewed on harbor vessels to learn about life on the water, gotten down and dirty with the community farming program, and rubbed elbows with geniuses at the Goddard Space Institute. This next experience is one that will have benefits in multiple ways, especially if you are successful in your acting career."

The throng of students move in closer.

"Publicity and journalism. I want you to understand what it means to be in the public eye, what it takes to track down a story, in short, I want you to emulate the press corp."

Smiles break free. The students like the novelty of the experiences that Ms. Roger's connections bring to the learning process. This one sounds like fun.

"Before you get visions of getting up close and personal with the A-list actors in the big apple, I won't let you sabotage yourselves. You can't stalk an actor now and expect them to forgive you a year from now when you're trying to get a guest role on their television show." She watches to make sure they understand the caution and gets the appropriate nods of understanding.

"Politicians and power - that's what you are going to study while leading the life of a journalist." She notes the approval on their faces of the challenge. "I've chosen a subject that is important enough to warrant publicity but accessible enough to allow you opportunities to pursue. Your quarry is the US Senator William Bracken. We are fortunate that he will be in our city in just two days time and you will have twelve days until he goes back to DC."

Martha continues to command the room, "Divide yourself into two groups. The more visual oriented over here and those who wish to emulate journalists to the opposite side." She waits until they sort themselves out, and turns to the first group. She does a quick count and nods to herself; Richard's check to cover expenses will do nicely. "Our visual artists will 'watch and learn.' You must present a collection of photos of the senator interacting with as many different people as possible. To accomplish this your first task will be to research cameras - which one work best for distance or low light shots or fast action. I will have an account set up," she consults a slip of paper, "at Alejandro's AV just over the bridge. You have a limit of $300 and will have to show your student ID. You must summarize the merits of your chosen camera and also compile a quick tutorial on how to use it, so the next class of budding stars can benefit from your experience. The bulk of your grade will concern the portfolio which will be judged not just on the number of unique shots, but the variety and nuances of them. A handshake at a political fund-raise is less interesting than a photo at night with a man dressed in black. I want to see different times of day, locations, types of people, and especially the emotions captured. Once the final prints are submitted, we can study the interactions of a powerful person with the public. You can work in teams - heaven knows I don't want anyone trying to do 'round the clock surveillance!"

She turns to the smaller group. "Your experience is to live the life of a journalist hunting for a story on Senator Bracken. I want you to write an authentic background piece that fit the theme: 'What you don't know about the Senator... .' I want you to interview people and corroborate the information. I want the details just like a real editor would." She warns them, " I do not want a tidbit from a press release masquerading as an original story."

Once that group nods she centers so all the students are guided to a starting point. "We are very fortunate that the Senator's campaign is starting to gear up for the next election cycle. Volunteering there is a way to garner contacts and gather information. Also remember Kevin Bacon."

The transplant from Chicago looks a little clueless. Martha points to Hector to explain.

"Oh, all actors are connected to Kevin Bacon by six or fewer fellow actors. For the Bracken thing it means a chain of friend-of-a-friend connections can be made to link us to the right people to do our project."

The Chicago blond whines, "But what if the story isn't nice? He's the kind of politician I wouldn't mind getting up close and very personal with and I don't want to tarnish his reputation." A saucy little wiggle accompanies the words.

Martha soothes her, "Perhaps you don't know that campaigns often hire outsiders to dig up dirt on their own candidate just to see what is out there. More importantly, if you do unearth such a story, you can be assured of getting top marks on the project, so seize the day!" The students laugh and everyone starts trading ideas, excited to start.

Martha fervently hopes this little charade bares some dirty secrets. Richard is certainly putting a lot of imagination into going after this chameleon. She also silently admits her willingness to play a part in this undoing of injustice. As an actor her life has been insulated from great moral contributions to society, but in the winter season of life this contribution might fill that void.

All it takes for evil to thrive is for good people to do nothing.