Okay, I felt that I have held onto this chapter long enough. I had injured my back earlier in the year and I found it very difficult to write while on pain meds :). So here is Chapter 5, mistakes and all. enjoy.
Chapter 5
In the tech room of the 12th precinct, Vikram and detective Ellis work diligently on the assignment that they were given. Vikram still seated at his station as he goes through ever file that he could get his hand on. Ellis was still working through the photos of every employee that works or worked at that law firm upstate.
"Have you found anything yet?" Vikram is the first to break the silence in the room. As much as he likes the quiet when he's alone, it just feels awkward when there is another person in the room.
"Nothing so far, "Ellis tells him. "Just everything that you already had on him." Ellis continues to type. Ellis was getting tired of looking for the same pieces of information over and over again. She felt like she wasn't getting anywhere until a page popped up. "Wait a minute. I think I got something here. Vikram is out of his seat and rushes over to Ellis' station.
"What is it?" He knows that it has to be good, and he was also wondering why he had not found it himself.
"It's an older newspaper article about the firm that Brown worked in, his first year there as an associate." Ellis shows him the article and the photo that went with it. Ellis and Vikram look at the photo and the caption underneath it with the names of the associates from left to right. They both look at the photo of a young man in the far left corner and under his name is Caleb Brown. They young man had lighter color hair and was about a half a foot shorter than the Caleb Brown that they knew.
"So this is the real Caleb Brown," Vikram states he looks back over to his computer. "I'm going to start a new search with this image and see where I get. You should keep digging into this firm as see what else you can find. Vikram moves back to his station and begins a new search on the original Caleb Brown. Just then an another alert pops up onto his screen. "Oh my God."
"What is it?" Ellis asks as she stop what's she's doing and rushes over to his station. She looks at the image on the screen. She stands in shock as she looks at the image. Just then Ryan and Esposito walk into the room.
"What'd you guys find?" Esposito asks. Ryan stands over Ellis and Vikram as they look at the image in front of them.
"Let me put it up on the main screen." Vikram throws the image onto the main screen. The four of them look at the image that is on the screen.
"Is that who I think it is?" Ryan asks the group as they look at the image of the four young men sitting together in uniform.
"Well, you are going to have to tell me who they are." The group jumps and turns when they see Holliday standing at the back of the room. "Well, who are they?" Holliday steps closer. She stares at the photo of the four young men in the military fatigues. Esposito is the first to speak.
"Well, the guy on the far right is William Bracken. He was arrested last year for murder and drug trafficking. The guy next to him is Vulcan Simmons. He went from running the drug game in Lincoln Heights to running one of the largest up and coming drug cartels on the east coast." Ryan comes in to fill in the rest.
"Simmons was laundering money into a super PAC called Future Forward. It was how Bracken was funding his presidential campaign." Ryan finishes. Holliday nods in understanding. She had heard about the story when it had first come to light.
"Right, America's champion turning out to be a drug lord. That definitely put an end to his political career." Holliday states. She looks at the two men that stood next to Simmons in the photo. Recognizing both of them in an instant. "And that's Mason Wood." Vikram is typing away, getting more information on Wood as he can.
"Apparently Wood, worked as an Analyst for the Navy intelligence in the 80's. His cover was a lawyer during that time. I am still trying to figure out the identity of the that last man in the photo, but there is not much." Vikram tells the group. Holliday looks at the group and decides to tell them what she just figured out.
"That's Joseph Wyatt." Esposito looks back at Holliday
"The Ghost?" Holliday nods. "I thought he was just a myth."
"You are a former special forces, Detective. You should know by now that there are myths when it comes to intelligence community." Holliday tells him.
"I'm sorry, but who's Joseph Wyatt?" Ellis asks Holliday Ryan and Vikram look back at Holliday, waiting for an answer.
"He was an intelligence officer with the United States Navy," Holliday began. "He was heavily involved with the intel during Operation Cyclone in the early 80's which is when this picture was taken." Holliday continued to look at the photo. It had a long time since she seen any photo of Wyatt. Remembering where his picture sat on her grandfather desk in his study. Her grandfather held Joe Wyatt in such high esteem, even her mother admired the man. So much so that her mother named her after him.
"I heard stories about this guy." Esposito continued. "He took on an entire unit in Afghanistan. They thought that there was a whole army. It was just him. They said that they finally caught up with in 85. Insurgents had him surrounded by mortar fire. That a Napalm explosion final got him." Esposito remembered the stories that he heard when he was over there. The legends that the older officers told them about. But that's what he thought they were; legends, stories that they told them just to mess with them. How was he supposed to know that they were telling the truth? Or at least part of it?
"He was killed because someone sold him out, And I'm thinking that it was these guys." Holliday says as she points to the three in the photo. Her grandfather always knew that there was something strange regarding the circumstances of Wyatt's death. He never got over it. "It started here, with these guys. Taught them everything he knew and they killed him for it. To make a profit."
"Do you know the name of the unit they were in?" Vikram asks her. He figures that the more background he can get on these guys, the better. And now that there is no one blocking his attempts to find the information, it should be a lot easier to find.
"I don't have a clue as to which unit they belonged to, but it shouldn't be too hard to find now. Mr. Vikram let me know what you find." Holliday turns and walks out. Ryan and Esposito get up and follow Holliday out the door.
Holliday walks into Beckett's office and grabs the file on the desk. She walks over to the window and leans on the shelf as she goes over the file. She looks back at the chair that she knows she could sit in, but doesn't out of respect for the Captain and her team. As she looks through the file the door opens and in in marches Esposito and Ryan. Esposito has a look of determination on his face.
"How much do you know?" He demands. He hates when people keep things from him and needs answers now.
"I know about as much as you do, Detective. Everything I know I told you in that room." She answers him calmly.
"I think that you're hiding something." Esposito tells her straight out. He's tired of all the secrets and lies and cover ups. He wants answers.
"I get it. You're frustrated. And I don't blame you. I can't stand secrets any more than you do. It's why I left Navy intelligence. Lives were being saved, but not everyone was getting justice. Not everyone was getting answers. That's why I'm here, to get the answers, to get the truth. And you need to trust me on that." Holliday tells Esposito flat out. She could have reprimanded him for talking back to a superior officer, but she knows that everyone's emotions are high. She was about to say something else when officer Velasquez knocks on the door and enters.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Lieutenant. We have a double homicide uptown in a parking garage." Holliday looks back at the two detectives and takes the slip from the officer.
"Is there any else available?" She asks her.
"No, Staggner and Karpowski are working a pop and drop in central park. They left five minutes ago." Velasquez tells her. Holliday takes the slips and hands it to Ryan.
"I need you guys to takes this. I have Detective Ellis and Mr. Vikram continuing their background work on this case. There is nothing else that the two of you can do right now. I need the two of you to take this homicide and I promise to keep the two of you updated." Holliday instructs the two of them. Esposito looks as though he's about to say something else, but is cut off by Ryan.
"Let's go. We got this." Ryan pulls on Esposito's sleeve and practically drags him out of the Beckett's office. Holliday goes back to reading the file in her hand.
Ryan and Esposito are heading towards the elevator. Ryan's hand still on Esposito's sleeve. Esposito finally pulls his arm back from Ryan.
"Did you have to drag me out like that?" He asks Ryan.
"Yeah, I think I did. Espo, she's on our side." Ryan tells him. Ryan is as frustrated and wants answers as much as he does, but Esposito is starting to cross the line.
"She's hiding something. I don't know what, but she is." Esposito snaps back. He tired of all the games and hiding and the lies.
"If she is, she'll tell us when she's ready." Ryan replies. He has a feeling that she might be hiding something too, but thinks that it might not be relevant to the case.
"Now we have to wait because this homicide. I rather being in there getting our answers." Esposito complains.
"We she's right, there's nothing else we can do right now. Let Vikram and Ellis do their part and we will do ours. Holliday said that she will keep us in the loop and I believe her." Ryan tells Esposito. He knows that Esposito's angry, hell he's angry too. But they have a job to do and he knows that Beckett would want them to do it.
The elevator chimes and the doors open and Hailey steps out. She looks at the two of them.
"Where are you two going?" She asks them, wondering if they are heading back to the hospital.
"Crime scene. What are you doing here?" Esposito asks her. He thought that Hailey would be spending the rest of the day with Martha and Alexis.
"Martha resting in her apartment with Alexis and I wanted to see what you guys found out." Hailey explains to them. She really needed to get out of that Apartment and thought that she might be of some use here at the 12th.
"Vikram and Ellis found a connection between Bracken, Wood and Simmons." Ryan fills Hailey in. The more that she knows, the better chance of putting the whole picture together.
"Which was what?" She asks, she spent months trying to get through the fire wall to figure out LokSat's identity. And these guys seem to get the information with a few minutes. She had forgotten how good Holliday can be at getting intel.
"They were in the same unit in the mid 80's." Esposito starts be he's interrupted but Holliday when she sticks her head out the door and sees that the two detectives were still standing in front of the elevator.
"Detectives, I was hoping you would get the crime scene sometime today." Holliday steps out of the office and looks at the three that are standing in front of the elevator. Holliday walks towards them and gets a good look at Hailey. The elevator doors open and Ryan and Esposito step inside.
"Keep us posted." Was the last thing Esposito said before the doors closed on them. Holliday walks up to Hailey.
"Now you're the last person I expected to walk into a police precinct. How've you been Hailey?" Holliday says. It had been a good long while since she seen Hailey last. And it was nice to see a familiar face for once.
"It could be better." Hailey answers her honestly. The nightmare that she lived through with Castle and Beckett was enough action to last her for a good, long while. She's just hopes that this mess is finally over.
"I agree. So what did the boys tell you?" Holliday asks, knowing more than likely that that was the three of them were talking about.
"They were just updated me on the case. Mason Wood and Bracken were in the same unit?" She knew that there was a connection between Bracken and LokSat and was glad that they finally found it.
"Yeah, Joe Wyatt's unit."
Holliday stated as she hands Hailey a tablet with the image on it. Hailey looks at the photo and then back at Holliday.
"You're kidding?" Hailey looks back at the photo. Hailey studies the photo some more, to try to look for some clues as to where and when the photo was taken.
"I wish I was." Holliday takes the tablet from Hailey and enlarges the photo and zooms in on Joe Wyatt's face.
"Do Jackson and Rita know?" Hailey asks as she crosses the room and leans on the bookcase by the window. Holliday puts the tablet on the desk in front of her.
"That their training officer was probably killed by his protégée? Probably not, but I wouldn't put past them to have this place wired." Was her response. She knew how those two operated better than anyone.
"They're not watching this place." Hailey tells Holliday, it was the truth.
"No, they just sent you in to keeps an eye out on Captain Beckett and her husband." Holliday tells Hailey. Hailey just looks at Holliday and the way she said her Beckett's husband. In that moment Hailey realized that Holliday has no idea about the connection between Rita and Castle. She almost wants to tell her about it but knows that it's not her place to tell. Another secret for her to keep from someone.
"Rita's been tracking LokSat since the Gemini data breach last year. She was in the middle of that investigation when Beckett just fell into the mess when her old AG team was killed." Hailey explains
"The bodies just keep piling up on this case. Don't they, Hailey?" Holliday walks over to the chair in front of the desk and drops herself into the seat.
"Well, in the business of secrets and intel there usually are a few unfortunately." Hailey walks over and sit in the other chair next to Holliday. "What happened in Los Angeles, Jo?" A look of actual concern on her face. She always worried about Holliday, the same way she has always worried about Alexis.
"Too much." Was the only response Holliday was willing to give Hailey at the moment.
"Well, you picked a hell of a day to start working for the NYPD." Hailey states as she sits in the chair next to Holliday.
"Between this and the strange phone call that I got today, it's been interesting." Holliday looks out the window and sees the sun peeking through the blinds. The late afternoon had become evening and she didn't even realize it.
"What phone call?" The last statement had Hailey wondering why there was still some cloak and dagger elements to this case still.
"Someone called and asked me to look into the death of Allison Hyde." They said that the death was connected to this case." Holliday explains.
"She was investigating the deaths of Beckett's former AG team last year. Vikram ended up connecting Hyde to a group of mercenaries that tried to kill him and Beckett. They found her dead with what looked like a self-inflicted gunshot to the head." Hailey explained to her.
"Well, our mystery caller wanted me to look into it. She thinks that there is more to the story. I had Dr. Parish pull the file. Do you know why the AG team was killed?" Holliday asks her. She figures the more she learns about this past case, the more it will help her put this current case together.
"Vikram has more information, but Beckett had put in a keyword search on Senator Bracken two years ago and last year a hit came up. Most of the file was redacted and he just forward it to her old AG team. The next you know; they are all dead." Hailey tells her.
"Did he ever say what was on the memo?" Holliday asks. It was then Vikram comes into the office with his tablet in his hand.
"Not much, most of the memo was redacted and the word LokSat was written in the margin." Vikram overheard the last part of the conversation that Holliday was having with Hailey. He probably figured that Esposito would not be a fan of him offering up information, but he knew that Hailey trusts Holliday and that was good enough for him. "And I found something in connection with that. Take a look." Vikram hands her a tablet with an email.
"What am I looking at?" Holliday looks at the email in front of her Hailey looks over her shoulder.
"This was an encrypted email that was sent to Mason about five minutes after I got the initial hit on Beckett's search." Vikram begins, he then swipes to the next screen. "This is another encrypted email sent to another address. Now it is going to take some time to decrypt the two emails but I was to trace that email back to the original hit squad that took out the Agent McCord and the rest of her AG team. Holliday flips back and forth between the two emails.
"How long before you are able to break the encryption?" Holliday knows that these emails are the smoking guns that she's been looking for. She knows that she needs every single piece of evidence to lock the bastard up and throw away the Key.
"Honestly, no idea. The encryption in the emails could take forever without the encryption key." He tells Holliday. Vikram knows that it is not the answer she wants to here, but he figured that it would be easier to keep her informed of what's going on. And he knows that he can break the encryption, he just needs some time.
Holliday hands Vikram back the tablet. "Keep at it. I'm going to call in some reinforcements to help with the encryption." Holliday was about to pick it up when it began to ring. "This is Holliday." She responds.
"Did you find the information that you needed?" The cryptic voice on the other end is the same from before. Holliday snaps her fingers at Vikram and tells him to trace the call. He jumps and rushes out of the room. Hailey walks over to Holliday as she puts the phone on speaker.
"I'm still looking into it." Holliday informs her anonymous caller. Hailey looks at her and mouths her to keep the caller on the line. Holliday looks back at her with a look on her face that says "I know how to do my job."
"You should be looking into Allison Hyde's financials as well." The voice continues.
Holliday ends up with a look on her face that says 'why is the person telling me what to do?' Vikram then reenters the office with his tablet and a signal connector attached to the end of it.
"And why would I do that?" Holliday hopes that she can keep the caller on the line long enough to trace the damn call, but she knows that she is dealing with a professional.
"Because if you did you would have notice that the money in her accounts were added after her body was found. Not everything is as it seems." The voice tells her. Holliday could swear that she almost hears a hint of desperation in the voice.
"What's in it for you?" Holliday asks as a thought enters her head. Hailey sees the wheel in her head begin to turn as she asks the caller the question. Vikram moves his hands in a circular motion, telling Holliday to keep her talking. Holliday wants to roll her eyes at him, but focuses on the caller instead.
"Justice for McCord's AG team. That's all this is about. Too many people have been suffering at the hands on Mason Wood. He needs to be held accountable." Was the caller's response. Holliday and looks up at Vikram and mouths to her that he needs another twenty second to trace the call. Holliday knows that there is no way that they are going to get the location.
"Justice. That's all you want?" Holliday asks her.
"If you don't believe me you can see for yourself. Meet me at the Jersey state parking garage in three hours. You can bring Miss Shipton if it makes you more comfortable." And with that the caller hung up. Holliday looks at Hailey and then back at Vikram who shakes his head. All three look out the window, but knew that weren't going to see anything. Holliday looks at Vikram.
"Were you even close to a location, Vikram?" Hailey asks him. She's at least somewhat hopeful that the computer tech was able to get something out of the whole exchange.
"I had it pinned down to the tristate area, but that was as far as I got." Vikram tells her. They both look at Holliday as she looks out the window. "What do you want to do now, Lieutenant?"
"Something I haven't done for years." Vikram looks at Holliday in confusion while Hailey gives her a knowing look.
"Which is what?" He asks, somewhat afraid to know the answer. Holliday turns around and faces them.
She hated the game, it's why she got out of it. It didn't matter to her how good she was; her heart wasn't in it. Not like Rita, not like Hunt. Even Hailey still enjoyed it from time to time. But she had no choice at the moment, she had to play the game, and she knew just where to start. "Play spy."
