I know that it's been a while since I last posted. But my computer crashed and it's very hard to write a chapter when you have no computer to do so. I am hoping to get one real soon. And I'm hoping to get this finished. There's only about a few more chapters to go and this is the chapter with a lot of exposition. There is really no way around this, so you are going to just have to bare with me.
And i do not own Castle.
Chapter 8
Holliday enters the first floor of One Police Plaza, she gets off of her phone and walks straight to the front desk. Before Holliday has a chance to say anything to the clerk at the front desk, a voice from the elevator calls her attention.
"Lieutenant." Deputy Chief Gates walks up to her with a stride that would make the a professional boxer cower in fear. "I hope you have some good news for me." Gates was never one to beat around the bush. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. Especially since she not over her bosses breathing down her neck, not to mention that she really is wondering why one of best is laying in a hospital bed alongside her husband right now.
" Actually yes, I do." Was Holliday's response. Although this is her first time entering One Police Plaza, this is not her first formal hearing. It's never fun having to head to headquarters needing to give an explanation as to way. Gates leads her to the elevators.
" So how bad of a PR problem are we going to have?" Is the first thing Gates asks as the enter the elevator alone. Right to the point.
"Not as bad as other agencies at this point. They've got extremely fair amount of egg on their face and they can't cover it up."
"How was it that they didn't know what was going on right under their own nose?" Gates was still trying to figure out that last part.
"Mason Wood was very good at what he did. He was trained by the best."
"Well, I'm going to need you to explain that to the Commissioner and the rest of his staff. They're waiting in the conference room." Gates tells her. Holliday already looks at her with an expression that states that that would not be the best idea. "Is there a problem with that, Lieutenant?"
"I think we should settle on the side of caution and have this discussion in the war room, Chief. Too many people would go far and wide to get at that information." Gates nods, takes out her phone, and presses the button for the top floor.
The elevator doors open to the top floor and Deputy Chief Gates steps out, followed by Holliday. She's been through enough of these situations to where she shouldn't have a problem handling the questions. In the last few hours, she had gathered all of the information that she needed. They go and enter the war room with the Commissioner Frank Reagan and his staff waiting inside. They enter and the door closes and locks behind them. Reagan stands and shakes Holliday's hand.
"I appreciate you coming in on short notice." Was all the commissioner had said when they sat down.
Holliday sits in between Commissioner Reagan and Gates. She looks back at the Commissioner and says, "And I appreciate you for changing our meeting place. I didn't want to run the risk of anything being prematurely leaked to the press." Holliday looked around the control room. She found this room interesting. No outside electronic devices can listen in and no one would be able to slip out. No leaks, no inside scoops, all of this used for the sole purpose of keeping everyone from mass panic, to keep everyone safe as humanly possible.
"So can you tell me the reason why I have one of my precinct Captains and her Husband lying in a hospital beds with gunshot wounds?" Was the first question.
Holliday looked at the Commissioner, took a deep breath, and began her list of accounts. "Captain Beckett and her Husband's shooting is connected to the arrests that she and the other officers of the 12th made last night. The shooter, who was known as Caleb Brown."
Gates looks at Holliday and the Commissioner intently, hoping that Holliday would finally being able to get a grasp of what exactly was going on.
"Right, and from the look of things, Captain Beckett stumbled upon a large drug trafficking ring ten months ago when she received a phone call from Vikram Singh, an analyst that was on her former AG investigation team."
"Do we know what the call was about?" Reagan asks.
"It was a distress call." Holliday Began, "Captain Beckett had started a search two years ago on former Senator Bracken when she was still at the AG office. Apparently, it took two years to get any type of a hit. The analyst forward it to the team and the team was killed twenty-four hours later in a crash."
"Do we know what information was found?" Was Gates' question.
"It was a memo with his name on it, but it had a note written in the margin that said LokSat."
"What's LokSat?" Both the Commissioner and Gates had a confused look on their faces, clearly this was the first time that they heard the name.
"LokSat is Mason Wood, or at least the man who know as Mason Wood."
"The man that was arrested last night?" Was Gates' next question.
"Yes,and he was Bracken's partner in the drug trafficking ring. He worked as a CIA analyst from the late 60s all the way to the 80s. He was the reason Bracken was able ship the drugs into the country from the middle east without being detected."
Commissioner Reagan asked the next question. "Do we know how he was bringing in the drugs?"
Holliday answered "By cruise ship, Commissioner. They were less likely to be searched. He was currently using one called the Bentley. It appears that Mr. Wood had a long standing relationship with Captain Ziering and some crew members."
"What do you mean, Lieutenant?" Gates asked, wanting some clarity to her statement.
"Further background check into Captain Ziering showed that there were a few crew members that worked with him on other cruise ships with several different companies. The captain would ship the drugs in, a man named Vulcan Simmons would sell and distribute, and the money would be laundered through Bracken's campaign fund called Future Forward and Mason Wood would get a substantial cut for the whole thing." Both the Commissioner and Gates eyes shot up at both Vulcan Simmons and Future Forward. Gates was starting to get a clearer picture of what was going on.
Holliday continued, "Once the Analyst looked at the file, he forward it to the AG team leader, Rachel McCord. The following day her team member to were killed in car crash."
"That's not a coincidence." The Commissioner stated.
"No it's not, and Mr. Singh didn't think so either, which is why he called Captain Beckett for help. And after they were able to get some assistance from someone outside a government agency that was also investigating McCord's AG Team's death."
"Which one?'
"The state department, at least that's the 'official' story." Holliday smirks.
"Great, just what we need, more spooks hanging around my city."
"The spooks are gone, Commissioner, that I can promise. They left when Mason Wood and his associates were arrested last night. " Holliday informs them. The agency has too much egg on their face for them to ignore what has happened. THe fact that one of their own has been doing this under their noses for so long. There was no way that they were going to stay in the shadows this time. There was too much for them to answer for.
"Do we have a status on the Captain of the Bentley?" Gates had asked.
"I have detectives and uniforms in route to apprehend Captain Ziering and his crew as we speak." Holliday knows that there's a chance that the Captain and his crew have no idea what's transpired in the last 24 hours and that when they do, there might be willing to save themselves and cut a deal.
"So Lieutenant, my question to you right now is, is this over? Do we have to worry about anyone else coming after one of my Police Captains?" Reagan wanted to be sure that there wasn't going to be any retaliation, because the last thing he needed was someone else declaring war on the NYPD. Reagan had met Beckett only a few times, but knows exactly what kind of cop she is and what kind of determination she has when it comes to advocating for the victims. He also knows that Beckett is the kind of cop that will put herself on the line. And will piss off a few people in the process.
"Commissioner, in my opinion, this matter is closed. If they're smart, they'll plead out." It was all that they could do now. Everything was stacked against these people and there was nothing that they could do about it.
"Well if that's the case, I am glad to hear it. I don't need anymore of this cloak and dagger nonsense going on in my city. Lieutenant, I hope to have your full report on the matter soon."
"You will have at the end of the week, Sir." Holliday says as she and Gates get up from their seats. The Commissioner rose from his seat and shook their hands and as he was about to exit the room, he turns to Holliday and says with a small smile.
"By the way, Welcome to New York." And with that the Commissioner turns and leaves the room. Holliday turns back to Gates.
"Well, that was welcoming." Holliday states as she gather her belongings. She looks up and sees that Gates still has some questions for her and knows that she's waiting for the right time to ask. So she beats her to it. "Did you have more questions, sir?" She has an idea of what it is but wants to be certain.
"Just one, your contact at the State Department?" Care to tell me who it is?" Gates knows that it was a long shot but wanting to ask anyway.
"All I can tell you, sir is that you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Holliday responds as Gates nods. She knew that she wouldn't have gotten a straight answer, but at least she asked. And now that question is going to be in the back of her mind as well as Holliday's. They two begin to exit the room when Gates speaks again.
"How about you pay Mr. Wood a visit while talk to the DA, State, and Attorney General's office and see what he's willing to give us?" Holliday knew that this was a guy that wasn't going to give in so easily. But she hope that if what she had on him is true, he'll doing anything to save his own life.
Holliday says only one thing before they exited the room. "Let's go then."
