THE PLAN

Chapter 1

Rick arrived right where he was supposed to. No one saw a thing, thankfully.

He looked around and didn't see her or him. So he walked to the end of the cul-de-sac to have a look. He still didn't see her or him. "Something's wrong," he called out and moved away from where he arrived.

He watched where he was going and got lucky. There was a newspaper box. He walked over to it and tried to open it but couldn't. It was locked. "I need money," Rick murmured. "I need money," he called out. "Fifty cents will do." In a minute, 50 cents appeared on the ground next to him. "Thanks." He reached down to pick it up, put it in the box, and opened it. He was able to pull out a newspaper.

He read the date. "January 9, 1998." He lowered the paper. "It's the wrong time. It's January 9, 1998, not 1999," he called out. "Now what do I do?"

He knew communication was one way. He could talk to Control, but they couldn't talk to him. He raised the paper to look at it again. Maybe if he looked at it more closely, it would change. But it didn't. It was still January 9, 1998.

"I'm going to need a place to live, and I'm going to need money. Are you listening to me?" Rick waited for a while when suddenly, there was a pad on the ground next to him.

"Thank you." He picked it up. It was encrypted and needed a biometric password. So he pressed his thumb on the tablet, and it came to life.

50 Bridge Park Drive #2A, Brooklyn, New York

Ten million US dollars

"Is 10 million dollars enough?" Rick asked, not expecting an answer. "There's just one problem with this money. It's all in a bank. I don't have any hard cash." Rick waited and waited.

He didn't get anything. Then he remembered. "Just two times." Rick rolled his eyes. Number one was 50 cents. Number two was the pad. "Fine." Still grumbling, he started walking.

~oo0oo~

It was late, too late to find an open bank. Using an ATM was out since he needed a PIN number. A number that he didn't have. What was worse was that it was COLD! Cold, cold, cold!

Thankfully he had planned ahead. Not for this exactly, but he had done some research. It was going to come to good use.

He made his way to the New York Public Library, which was open 24 hours. It was a good place to stay that was warm. "Heat!" Rick sighed as he opened his coat and basked in the library's warmth. He decided to find a book, a real book, to read while he waited for the bank to open.

He sat down and found it weird. He was reading a book, a genuine book.

~oo0oo~

He actually finished his book. He finished it! It was time to get up and find that bank. He got up to go outside and made a detour first. "Restroom, I need a restroom."

"Ahhhh," he whispered while he emptied his bladder. His back teeth were floating.

Fortunately, he didn't need to go far to find the bank that had his account. He sat and waited for someone. A woman approached him. "Mr. Castle?"

"That's me." He got up and followed her to her office.

She smiled at him. "How can I help you today?"

He read the name plate on her desk. "Well, Holly. I need to make a withdrawal from my account, and I need an ATM card."

"I can certainly do that. I'll need the account number and your ID," she said.

"Right." Rick took out his pad and read off the number to her. "My ID." He handed over his driver's license. He thanked the gods he had planned ahead.

"Thank you." Holly blinked at what she saw on the screen and looked at him. "It seems your account has 10 million dollars in it." She had never helped a client who had that much money.

"Yes, there is." Rick raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no problem at all, Mr. Castle. "How much do you wish to withdraw?" Holly inquired.

Rick's brow furrowed as he tried to decide on an amount. "I don't really know. Is $2,000 too much?"

"No, $2,000 would be perfect, Mr. Castle. I'll be back shortly." Holly got up and left her office.

Rick sat there, waiting. He was beginning to think he needed to run for it. That something was wrong.

"My apologies for being gone so long. I just need you to sign this withdrawal slip." Holly handed it to him along with a pen.

Rick signed it and gave it back to her. "Thank you. I'll just be a minute."

She returned with his money and sat down. "Your $2,000, all in twenty dollar bills. I hope that's all right. And your ATM card. The PIN is 4424. Is there anything else, Mr. Castle?"

"No, that about does it. Thank you for everything." Rick got up, and she stood and extended her hand. Rick looked at her hand, but he didn't understand. "Thank you." Rick didn't shake her hand and left.

He made it outside and looked around. He was expecting to find a cop or something. When no one showed up, he flagged down a taxi. "50 Bridge Park Drive #2A, Brooklyn." And the driver took off.

Rick watched everything that passed by. It was all so different. So very different. Then they crossed an old bridge. "Please don't collapse. Please don't collapse," Rick whispered. He started breathing again when they crossed safely.

The driver stopped outside a building. Rick paid him and got out of the taxi.

He went up to his place and tried to get in. "A key, I need a blasted key!" He huffed out an annoyed breath. "This is just great!" He meant the opposite, of course.

So he went back downstairs. He needed to find someone who could give him a key.

~oo0oo~

"Thank the gods for Physic Paper," Rick mumbled to himself as she stood outside his door with a key.

Physic Paper = assigned authority based on the reader's perceptions.

He put in his key, turned it, and entered his space. "NICE!" Rick liked it immediately.

He had a private elevator foyer, and he opened the double doors and saw the kitchen immediately. He went around the corner and saw the living room. Thankfully it came furnished. Problem solved.

Then he went through a door and found the primary bedroom. It had two walk-in closets. Another door led to the bathroom with a double sink, a soaking tub, and a walk-in shower.

Down a corridor he found a half bath, two bedrooms that shared a bathroom, and a media room complete with a TV and speaker system. Then another bedroom with its own bathroom. Backtracking, he saw a laundry room with a secondary entrance.

Moving back to the kitchen, he began opening drawers, including the refrigerator. "Looks like shopping is in my future. Speaking of future shopping, I don't have any clothes." Rick closed his eyes and lowered his head.

This mission was turning out not so cut and dried as he thought.

So it was back down to the first floor. Rick went into the office. "Where's the closest grocery store?"

"That's easy, right across the street. It's called Town Market."

"Thanks." Rick walked outside and sure enough, across the street was something called Town Market.

Rick walked in and felt overwhelmed. "This is going to be different," he told himself. He stood there and watched for a time. People came in and took a cart, and they filled it with stuff. So he grabbed a cart and started walking. He went up and down every aisle looking for things that he could use. Then he went into the produce section, followed by the deli counter, and finally the meat department.

His cart was full. Then he went to check out and watched it all packed into plastic bags. He was told the cost and almost had a heart attack. He handed over his debit card and keyed in the PIN. Then he walked out with a cart full of plastic bags.

He pushed the cart into his building. "Thanks a lot," Rick told the guy up front, who looked at him like he'd lost his mind but didn't say anything.

Rick maneuvered his cart into the elevator and went up to 2A. He unlocked the door and pushed the cart into his kitchen. Then he began putting the groceries away.

Finished, he took his cart back downstairs. He stopped back at the front desk. "If you wanted to go shopping for clothes where would you go?"

The man shrugged. "I dunno know. Macy's, I guess."

"Perfect, thanks." Rick pushed his cart across to the Town Market and put it back where he found it. Then he went outside and stood there until he saw a taxi and flagged it down.

"Macy's please," Rick told the driver. Macy's turned out to be this old building. Actually, every building in this city seemed to be old. He walked inside and was instantly overwhelmed. And his nose was assaulted by perfume.

First, he had to find the men's section. He watched other customers go up an escalator, most of whom were men. So up he went.

~oo0oo~

Rick walked out with bags full of two pairs of pants, four shirts, two packages of underwear, four packs of socks, and two pairs of shoes. He was already dressed normally, but he needed more.

He dropped his bags and sat down on the sofa. He had to admit that this place had quite the view. It was maybe a little small, but to his liking mostly. But weird in that it definitely wasn't what he was used to.

He picked up the pad and started searching for something to eat. Yes, he had food, but he didn't feel like cooking. Besides, he needed time to get the hang of using these kitchen appliances.

~oo0oo~

One online order later, he was sitting at the dining room table enjoying his pizza. At least that was normal.

He retreated to the media room to watch primitive TV. He used the remote to change the channels when, at last, he found something interesting. Once that was over, on came something else. "What's with all these interruptions? They're stupid," Rick told the TV.

Tired, he realized that he didn't have anything to wear to bed, and slept naked.

~oo0oo~

That morning, he discovered he didn't have shampoo or anything else. He couldn't even brush his teeth.

Sighing heavily, he got dressed and crossed the street to the Town Market to look for everything he needed.

Back in his place he dumped everything on the counter, took off his clothes, and stepped into the shower with the shampoo and soap.

Still naked but clean and dry, he stood at the sink and brushed his teeth. He was used to something else but this would do. While he brushed his teeth, he noticed his 5 o'clock shadow. "Great, now I need something else. When does it end? I was only supposed to be here one evening, not one year."

~oo0oo~

He decided to go back to Macy's. If they didn't have what he needed he would give up. But thankfully, they had some of it. It was enough for now.

Back at his place, he shaved using the electric razor. Again he wasn't used to the device, but he made allowances.

Since he wasn't supposed to be here this long, he was doing things he hadn't expected to do. He decided to do something bold. Hopefully, it would work out, or he'd be just sitting around for a year.

Rick gave the taxi driver the address on his pad. It didn't take long to get there. He stood outside the house, staring at it. A real house in downtown Manhattan. He wondered how unusual something like that was. Rick sighed long and heavily. This better be a good idea.

He walked up and knocked and waited. The door opened to reveal a young woman who his research told him would be Kate.

"Can I help you?"

Rick smiled. "I hope so. I'm looking for Mrs. Beckett."

She turned her head and yelled, "MOM, DOOR!"

They both waited for her to show up. "Yes, what is it?" Her hand flew to her mouth. "Are you… You are. You're Richard Castle!" Awestruck, Johanna just stood there.

"He's Richard Castle?" Kate looked at him. She didn't recognize him, but then she didn't read his books.

"Come in, come in," Johanna told him and watched him enter her home. She had so many questions. One of which was why her, and why was he here?

"Please, sit. I'll get Jim and get you something to drink." She scurried away, leaving him alone with Kate.

"So you're Richard Castle. Why are you here?" Kate asked.

Rick didn't say anything for a moment. "I'll wait for your mother to return to answer that."

Jim entered the room and stared at him. He decided something was off about him, but he couldn't quite place it. "Hi, I'm Jim Beckett." He extended his hand to him.

Rick looked at it and didn't know what to do with it. There was nothing in his hand, so he didn't understand. Johanna saved him when she entered the room carrying a cup of something.

She handed the cup full of a dark brown liquid to him. "Coffee, Mr. Castle."

"Thank you." Rick didn't know if he should drink or hold onto it. "You're probably wondering why I'm here."

Johanna sat on the sofa with Jim next to her. She nodded. "Yes, I really would like to know."

"I decided to look up one of my favorite followers and spend some time with them. And I chose you," Rick said. "Does this sound good to you? If not, I can move on."

"Yes!" Johanna said eagerly. "You're my favorite author, so yes. Wait, can I get you to sign all of my books?" She got up and brought her books back for him to sign.

Rick hadn't considered that was something he might have to do. And if he signed them in a different style than the real Richard Castle, then she would notice it. But her enthusiasm to have them signed suggested that she might have only one already signed.

"Sure, I'll need a pen."

"Pen, pen." Johanna went looking for a pen he could use. "Pen!" She handed it to him.

Rick spent the next few minutes signing all of her books for her. His signature would now be the primary signature, and maybe she wouldn't notice the original one.

"There, all done," Rick announced.

"Thank you so very much!" Johanna couldn't believe it. All of her books, signed by Richard Castle. Instead of cherishing just the one, she could cherish them all.

"I thought we could spend some time together if that's something you would like. Not every day, but sometimes?" Rick needed to be close. Actually, he didn't need to be close at all. He just thought it might help him in the long run.

"Of course! It just can't be today, though. Jim and I need to go into the office." She felt bad about it, but she had a sudden inspiration. "Katie doesn't have anything to do. She doesn't have class today."

"MOM!?" Kate didn't believe her. She was suggesting that she spend the day with Mr. Castle.

"You'll be sitting at home all alone, Katie. Spend some time with him," Johanna urged.

"Mom, can I talk to you? Over there." She nodded toward the other room, got up, and went in, waiting for her mother to join her. "What are you doing?" Kate hissed. "He's your favorite author, not mine."

"Katie, it won't kill you to spend time with him. He's handsome, rich, and a damn site better than the boys you've been dating."

Kate bristled, taking exception to her describing some of the boys she had been dating. Even if she was right.

"Admit it. Some of the boys you've been dating are losers. It's only one day. Tomorrow you go back to school," Johanna pointed out. "I happen to know that he's single." She skipped over the fact that he was divorced and he had a kid.

Kate rolled her eyes at the single comment. Her mother was playing matchmaker. She turned her head and looked at him, grudgingly admitting that he was handsome. The fact that he was rich didn't even enter into it.

Then Johanna pulled out the big guns. "It'll make me happy."

Kate groaned. "Fine, but just for the one day. That's it, Mom. So don't go getting any ideas."

"Good." Johanna took it as a victory. She walked Kate back into the living room. "My daughter has graciously accepted your offer and will spend the day with you."

Rick opened his mouth to respond then closed it. Johanna was his target. He should be spending time with her. It didn't hurt that her daughter was pretty, but she seemed not to want to do this.

"I would be honored to spend the day with her," Rick told them.

"Great! Well, Jim and I need to get going." Johanna shoved their coats at her husband and dragged him out the door after she picked up her purse.

"What are you up to, Jo?" Jim asked once they were outside.

"He's a damn sight better than some of the boys she's brought home. He's older than she is, but not that old. Just go with it, Jim. Please?" Johanna pleaded.

Jim sighed. "He is better than some of the boys she brought home." He brought up a sore subject. "You remember the one with the motorcycle?"

Johanna shuddered. "Please, I'm trying to forget that one. All because she came home with that motorcycle of hers. So you're in with this idea?"

Jim delayed his response. "He's going to want to spend time with you. You're the reason why he's here. But yes, I'm in with this idea of yours. Provided Katie doesn't put up too much of a fight."

"After today, I think she won't put up that much of a fight." Johanna hooked her arm through his, and they headed out.

Kate was left standing there, looking at Castle. "So now what?" she asked.