Castle and Cape

By Michael Weyer

Chapter Two: The Carnival of Crime

Alexis Castle had seen her father in many moods before. Often, they coincided with a bad review of one of his books. But this was different. Far, far different. He'd been moody for the last two days but now…something had happened in the phone call he'd gotten that sent him into his den and opening the liquor cabinet, something Alexis hadn't seen him do in a long while. She knew he wanted to be alone but part of being a good daughter was helping in a crisis. "Dad?"

Richard Castle sat in a large chair, staring into space. Alexis was happy to see his glass of bourbon was mostly untouched, more for show than actual drinking. "Dad?" she asked as she entered the den. "What's wrong?"

Castle sighed. "My publisher just called. Evidentially, they have reconsidered taking my next Nikki Heat novel."

"What?" Alexis blurted. "Why?"

"Apparently, the fact that the woman I based the character on is now a disgraced and dead cop has taken some of the marketability away," Castle sighed. "I'm already getting requests to 'pull a Derrick Storm' on her."

Alexis sat next to him, rubbing his shoulder. "It's not right. I can't believe she did that."

"I don't either, hon." He reached for his glass to take a sip. "But we're the minority in this." He stared into space. "I just can't believe she's gone."

There were times when nothing more than a good, long, steady hug from a daughter could suffice and this was one of them as the two mourned together.

The third time was not the charm for Kate Beckett as she once more clawed her way back into consciousness. This time, however, she was aided by a wave of water thrown right into her face. She gasped out, blinking and whipping her head around to clear herself. She was once more bound to a chair but as she looked around, she realized she was not in a small space by any means.

It looked for all the world like the interior of a huge circus tent, light filtering from above and various bulbs and lanterns placed about. The floor was wood with something painted over it and her chair was in the middle of a large ring with slews of amusement park-type items strewn about from a popcorn machine to a pipe organ to a large trailer set at one end. Movement caught her eye and she looked up to see someone sitting on a trapeze, swinging as she looked down at Kate. She looked around to see more people gathered at the ring's edges: A man on ten-foot tall stilts, a contortionist bending his body in half absent-mindedly, another sitting at the trailer with a guitar, all gazing intently at her.

"Rollo, wake her up," came a booming voice and Kate looked over to see a three-foot tall man with a bald head but a mean face, wearing a unitard with a chain mesh top, ready to throw another bucket of water into her face. "Wait, wait, I'm awake, I-" She was cut off as the water smashed into her, causing her to sputter. "Sorry," the dwarf named Rollo said with no sign of sorry at all.

As soon as her eyes cleared, Kate saw the dwarf stepping aside to join two others who stood in the ring. One was a tall man who was rather handsome with Middle Eastern features, a dark beard and penetrating eyes. He was clad in a silky suit, playing with some balls in his hands. The other was a pretty woman in a wild top and tight green pants, her blond hair spreading out and tattoos on her arms, chewing on a ball of cotton candy in her hand.

The final person in the ring was the one who really caught Kate's attention. He appeared to be in his fifties, black-skinned with grey in his short hair. He was clad in a strange black suit with multiple rings and necklaces around his throat. He lounged in the chair, examining a folded newspaper with one hand while the other held a glass of wine. He tore his eyes away from the paper to look Kate over, then looked back at the news. "One hundred and twelve on the nose, am I right?" he calmly asked.

"What?" Kate blinked in confusion. She felt a smack on her head and jerked toward Rollo. "He's guessing your weight," the dwarf said. "112, right?"

Utterly baffled at this, Kate had no consideration for ego and nodded. "Yeah…yeah, 112."

"He's never wrong!" the woman said in a chipper voice, waving to the black man.

"I never miss!" he answered, raising his glass.

Kate swallowed. "Where the hell am I?"

The man spread out his hands lavishly. "Welcome to Malini's Oddities and Amusements." He bowed his head. "Max Malini, at your service." He sipped his wine as he regarded Kate. "So…you're one of Chess' people."

Kate shook her head. "No…no, I don't work for Chess."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Do I have egg on my face? I wonder where I could have possibly gotten that idea from?" He threw the newspaper down at Kate's lap. She looked at it, seeing a photo of herself in her uniform under the headline Homicide Detective Killed, Implicated as Chess Accomplice. A photo of the destroyed train was underneath along with an editorial of police corruption.

A blasting sound echoed and Kate jumped in her chair before realizing it was Max playing the organ dramatically. "Listen," she began, licking her lips. "You want the truth…Chess is Peter Fleming."

The reaction was much as she expected as everyone immediately broke out in derisive laughter. "He is!" Beckett yelled. She sighed. "Look, who the hell are you people? What do you want?"

"Money, you sad, slow-thinking woman," Max hissed as he came to face her, the laughter gone and his hands spread out to wave at everyone around them. "We are the Carnival of Crime. We're professional thieves. My people pulled you out of that tunnel because we thought there might be a use for you." He leaned in, glowering. "Now is there or not, because I'm getting thirsty!" He tossed the wine onto Kate's face, causing her to gasp again.

"I'm really…really…getting tired of being drowned like this!" she yelled.

"Life is full of disappointments," Max shrugged. "Well?"

Beckett shuffled in her chair. "I'm just a cop."

"Wrong answer," Max hissed. He stepped back as Kate felt Rollo smack her across the head. "We hate cops!" Max called out. "They tend to arrest people like us."

"Max," the tattooed woman said. "You…you're screaming."

He looked over at her and his voice suddenly changed to a more casual and defensive tone. "Wha...I'm using my stage voice!" It suddenly dawned on Beckett that this wasn't an interrogation, it was a performance piece. Max sat down as one of the performers refilled his wine glass. "When you were with Chess, you were interesting," he finally said with exaggerated disappointment. "Now, you're boring." He took a sip of his glass and shrugged, looking to the Arabian man nearby. "Ruvi, dump her in the bay, cut off her hands. Head too, I guess."

"Aw, come on, Max, she's kinda hot!" Rollo said as if he hadn't spent the last few minutes smacking Kate.

If there was one thing working with Richard Castle for two years had taught Beckett, it was thinking fast on her feet. "Wait…wait…wait!" she yelled out as Ruvi moved toward her. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she began to speak. "I'm a cop….who can give you the personnel, schedules and security codes to the Manhattan branch of the ARK Security Corporation."

That got the Carnival's attention, Max sitting up straight in his seat. "Get Tattoo here to check my shoe," Kate went on, lifting up her foot. At Max's nod, Rollo pulled the shoe off and reached in, pulling out the card that had been nagging at Kate all day. He paused to give her a light smack before handing it to Max. Shrugging the shot off, Kate went on. "That contains all the data I mentioned. But it's also a master key, it'll open any vault ARK has set up in this city. That includes banks, jewelry stores, personal safes, you name it."

Max studied the key for a moment before looking at Beckett. "You say you're a cop. And yet, you're ready to give us a free reign to the robbery spree of a lifetime?"

Kate returned his gaze just as steadily. "The money and goods are insured by ARK. The investors and owners don't lose a dime. The only person who gets hurt is Fleming and believe me, I want to hurt him." She took another deep breath. "So….how much is my life worth to you now?"

Max studied her, then the card before looking to his followers. A sly smile came to his face as he held the key up. "How many times do I have to tell you all? A little showmanship goes a long way." He nodded to Rollo. "Let her go. Raia," he turned to the tattooed woman nearby. "Her room ready?"

She nodded as Max turned back to a gaping Kate. "What? We're thieves, we're not monsters." He chuckled and Kate made a mental note to someday have this man drop by and clean up at Castle's next poker game.

Martha Rodgers disliked coming this deep into the city unless it was for shopping. But to shop, one needed money and as her son wasn't much in the mood to go out lately, that left her to do this. She was clad in one of her usual stylish dresses with a light hat, going through her dated checkbook to make sure she had the right account numbers. She hated waiting in line but some things were simply unable to be avoided.

She sighed as she tried to put her thoughts in order. Poor Richard had been so distant the last two days, it was amazing he had even see her go. She couldn't blame him though. The way the media acted, you'd think Kate Beckett had drowned her own children. Granted, Martha hadn't known her as well but she regarded herself a good judge of character and there was no way that woman was some corrupt cop. But once the media juggernaut got started, it was hard to stop and with her face plastered and vilified, anyone standing up for her wasn't due for a good time.

Her musings were interrupted by the door banging open. She looked over, curious as to who could be entering that way and why make such a noise. She turned in time to see a group of figures enter, all dressed in bizarre quasi-military outfits with motorcycle helmets and goggles, a couple in ski masks. Their leader, a heavyset black man, swept out a cane to knock the guard at the door off his feet. A dwarf fired a shotgun that looked bigger than he was, causing everyone to yell out in surprise.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the black man announced, his mouth split in a huge grin as he threw up his hands. "This is a hold-up!"

The gang spread out, yelling at everyone to hit the floor, face-down and no sudden moves. Ignoring the aching in her bones, Martha quickly complied, wincing as she saw one man kick a guard down as a third leapt onto the counters to cover the entire room. One gang member, a woman under her strange outfit, raced to the large bank vault and held a card up to it. There was a series of beeps and then a loud click. She spun the huge wheel around as the black man came up to help her pull the vault door open.

"Face down!" the dwarf barked at Martha, aiming the gun at her and she quickly obeyed. She peered up through her hands to see the leader, the woman and another exit the vault, each carrying several large bags marked with the ARK lettering. "Let's go!" he called out and the gang backed up with him, still covering the customers. They left the bank, leaving behind a shocked group of people and Martha Rodgers realizing life truly was more dramatic than anything the stage could provide.

The laughter rang loud and long as the bags were emptied onto the desk inside Max's trailer. It was surprisingly opulent, covered with thick carpeting and paneling and shelves lined with bizarre items from around the world. Max was sitting behind the desk as the Carnival gleefully watched tens of thousands of dollars in bound piles pouring onto the desk.

Max lifted his glass up to the woman standing at the far end of the trailer. "Folks…we have a winner!" He gave a toast to Beckett before settling back as they started to count their ill-gotten gains.

Kate sighed before turning to exit the trailer. She had managed to grab a shower, now wearing a spare pair of jeans and a dark shirt from one of the members of the crew. She walked out into the center ring, looking upward. She felt a presence and looked up to see Raia hanging overhead from the trapeze. "Didn't want to come along?" she asked.

Beckett glared at her. "I'm a cop."

"Was a cop," the acrobat corrected. "Now, you're just a lost soul, like all of us."

Kate looked back at the trailer. "I don't get it. Why are you all here?"

Raia shrugged. "We all have our stories. Me, grew up in foster care, never had a real family. I got into going on wires and on roofs to escape people, sort of evolved from there. I was making a living as a small-time thief when I met Max. He gave me a home. A family."

"This is a family?"

Raia smiled softly. "Closer than most blood. You're a murder cop, you should know how crazy 'real' families can get." Beckett had to concede the point as Raia sent her trapeze on a wide swing. "You found out how unfair the world really is, Kate. That's the first step to being one of us."

"I won't be," Beckett argued as she started to walk away. "I'm a cop at heart, I'm not like you."

The acrobat just smiled as she walked off. "Not yet," she whispered.

"This sucks, man," Esposito was muttering under his breath. Being in a cemetery was enough to make anyone downbeat but the circumstances weren't helping. It was him, Ryan, Montgomery, Castle and his family and Lanie, all dressed in black clothing. The medical examiner had a tearful expression as she stared at the coffin nearby. A wreath with flowers was laid on it with a photo of Beckett next to it. What was obvious were the dozen empty chairs laid about, expecting a funeral party that didn't arrive.

"Tell me about it," Ryan muttered back. "She gave her life for the job, they wouldn't even give her a cop funeral?"

"I tried to get guys to come," Espositio said. "Got a dozen dirty looks and that asshole Blake from Robbery actually asked if Chess was throwing the lunch afterward."

"Remind me to punch him next time I see him."

"Already done."

Lanie was wiping at her eyes, trying to compose herself. "I still can't believe it. I can't…" She shook her head. "I wanted to check the records, to make sure but the feds took over, I can't get the files."

"Does it matter?" Ryan asked. "You saw that explosion on the news, how she was nearby. No way anyone survived it."

"But it's not right," Lanie pressed. "We knew her, we know she wasn't some corrupt cop in Chess' back pocket."

"What we know and what we can prove are two different things." They all looked up to see Montgomery standing before them. "I'm with the rest of you. I know she was innocent. But the higher-ups have made up their minds, they want this closed fast."

"And she gets shafted?" Ryan argued. "Kate Beckett goes down as a corrupt cop, it's not right, Captain!"

"I know," Montgomery said. "But right now, I'm fighting to keep them breaking this unit up."

"We're not a unit without Beckett," Espositio argued.

Montgomery sighed as he sat down next to them. "I know. But she'd want us to do our jobs." He glared at them. "Which means not looking into this." All three were opening their mouths in protest but he cut them off. "This is an order. IA is looking into all of us already, we can't handle extra scrutiny. Any of you are found looking into Beckett's case, even on your own time, and I won't be able to protect you."

He settled into his chair. "Right now…we mourn her. We remember her. And we try to move on."

The others reluctantly sat back as Castle stood up. He walked to the head of the coffin, sighing as he rubbed the lid. "I know she's not in here," he began. "She never was the spiritual sort. Neither am I, really. But I'd like to think she's in a better place now. She was a special woman. She was tough, dedicated, she believed in justice with all her heart." He glanced back at the cemetery's entrance where a slew of reporters had gathered. He did his best to swallow his bile at the idea of them showing "the fallen cop's funeral" and pushed himself to go on.

"I was in a bit of a flux when I met her. Funny how a series of murders ended up giving my career new life. She and I argued and fought but I always respected her. She…" He felt himself choking up and continued. "She was a friend, one of the best I've had. No matter what they say, she was the best cop I've ever known. And she…meant a lot to me. Not as some muse or inspiration but…As someone who helped me out in tough times. Someone I knew and…wanted to know better and…" He stopped, wiping at his eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't…"

Alexis came up to hug him tightly and help him back to his chair. Martha was dabbing at her eyes under the veil she wore, rubbing her son's shoulder. The priest moved to begin the service as the group of mourners remembered their friend. One in particular doing so with a weight of guilt on his heart he hoped wasn't showing on his face.

The figure leaned on a tree twenty yards away, staring at the funeral. From a distance, it was no one special, jeans and a dark sweatshirt with both hood and a baseball cap pulled to conceal their features. Had someone been close, they'd have seen the feminine features with a sheen of tears in her eyes as she gazed at the ceremony.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Kate spun around to see Max standing behind her, leaning on his cane, a top hat with his usual strange outfit. "Watching your own funeral," he went on as he came to her. "And they accuse me of being melodramatic."

"What are you doing here, Max?"

"Stopping you from making a huge mistake," he told her, his smile fading. "I know you want to go down there, tell them the truth and everything. But the minute Fleming knows you're alive, not only are you dead, so are they."

"They can keep it quiet."

Max rolled his eyes. "Good lord, woman, are you that naive? You think Chess doesn't have people watching this thing right now, if only to make sure Montgomery doesn't crack?"

"There's evidence out there, there has to be."

"So what if there is? Who are you going to give it to? He owns the cops, he owns the media, who knows who's he got in the feds?" Max put a hand on her shoulder. "The best way to hurt him is to steal his money." He grinned. "And who better to help you with that than me?"

Kate looked back to the funeral and Max sighed. "I know it's hard. You think you're the only one who's lost everything? It's why most of the Carnival exists." He turned her around so Kate could look him in the eye. "I promise you this, Kate. I pay my debts, despite what some will say. You gave us that card so I promise, you trust me and I'll help you find a way to get back your life."

Kate saw what looked like true sincerity in his eyes. Of course, the man was a master showman so it was hard to tell if it was for real. But she still nodded back in agreement. Max adjusted his hat. "We'd best be off before someone catches sight of us for an ugly scene." He began to walk off, Kate holding back to gaze at the funeral. Particularly the one heartbroken man she desperately wanted to heal but couldn't. Then she walked off to join Max and her new life.