Castle and Cape

By Michael Weyer

First Night

If there was one thing you could count on with New York City, it was that crime was never hard to find.

From the typical murders to more mundane robberies, the city was always showing its dark side. The cops did their best but some nights, it felt like a losing battle as there were drug deals and shootings and more anywhere in the city. Which made it perfect for someone trying to establish a reputation.

The car pulled up to the alleyway, the men inside getting out. They were dressed in business suits but clearly not Wall Streeters, They were heavyset Chinese men marching toward another car on the other side of the lot. A group of black men were there, dressed more loosely in leather jackets and purple bandanas. The head of the Chinese men carried a briefcase, carefully holding it up. "You have the merchandise?" he asked in a cool voice.

The leader of the other gang sniffed. "Cash first."

The Chinese man opened up the case to show several piles of crisp bills in bundles. Nodding, the black man opened the trunk of the car to show a large case. He lifted it up to open it, showing several bundles of white powder. "Here you go."

The Chinese man took the case as the black youth took the money. "Pleasure doing business."

The Chinese man simply nodded. Behind them, one of the black youths was near the edge of the lot by an alleyway when something seemed to flow behind him and yank him back. His grunt caught the attention of the two gangs and instantly, guns were in hands and aimed at each other. "You trying to cross us?" the black gang leader demanded.

The Chinese man was glaring back with his own gun. "This is not our doing. If you wish a battle-"

He was cut off as a long piece of cloth swept out to wrap around his wrist. With a yank, it tore the gun away, a bullet firing out of the chamber as it swept across the lot. Before the black youth could respond, another black arm yanked his own weapon away. All eyes spun to the end of the lot and stared.

Crouched upon the top of the limo the Chinese men had come from was a figure dressed in a padded black bodysuit of some sort with dark boots and gloves. A hood covered his head, partly hiding the black mask that completely concealed his features. Two opaque lenses peeked out with a filter at the nose and mouth. Whipping behind the figure was a long cape that flowed easily behind the form.

"Ice 'im!" the gang leader yelled out. However, in the time it took for them to aim and fire, the figure was already moving. It leapt off the car, rolling on the ground and whipping the cape out by its edges. It struck to yank away two more guns before being whipped out, the edges smashing into one man's nose with a cracking noise. As he howled and grabbed his nose, the caped figure lunged in to punch his companion in the face, knocking him down. The figure moved to grab the case with the drugs and fling it out, smashing it across two of the Chinese men. White powder burst in the air as the bags tore, blinding two of the other men. The black figure took advantage to smash two others with punches.

One of the younger gang tried to grab at the cape only for it to fling out, then smack him in the face. The figure spun to punch him back and then kick at another foe. He turned to see two more get guns and made a motion, a cloud of smoke bursting at his feet. The two drug runner opened fire, their bullets ripping through the cloud and they heard a cry of pain. Their grins vanished when the smoke cleared to show no sign of the masked man but one of the Chinese men down.

A sound had one gangster turning his head in time to catch a savage punch. The Chinese gang had concluded discretion was the better part of valor, grabbing the case of the money to run back to the limo. The caped figure reached to a pocket on his belt and threw out some metallic objects. They struck at the limo's tires, causing a blast as they erupted.

The wail of sirens cut through the air as a pair of patrol cars pulled toward the lot. Evidentially, someone nearby had heard the shots and, bucking the usual trend of New Yorkers, decided to get the authorities on the scene. The black youths scattered immediately but one was moving slow enough to be tripped as the cape wrapped around his foot to yank off his feet. The youth fell on his face as the rest started running off. However, two officers exited one of the cars, aiming their guns. "Everyone freeze!" one yelled.

The gangsters wisely held their hands up, those who could, that was. "That goes for you in the cape, pal!" the cop yelled. "Hands up!"

The figure stared for a moment before whipping the cape around itself, a cloud of smoke forming around him. When it faded, the figure had vanished, leaving a rather baffled pair of cops behind.

Ryan sighed as he got out of the car and walked to the lot. He saw Esposito standing with the rest of the cops on the scene, taking notes from one of the officers. He also saw a body on the ground with a pool of blood around it. "What have we got?" he called out.

"Looks our typical drug deal with a bit of a twist," his partner answered. He nodded to the dead man. "Triad guys trying to buy from the 57th Street Dragons." He pointed to the black teens currently being hustled into a waiting police van. "Things went sour fast, shots got fired."

"Double-cross?" Ryan asked as they walked the scene. "Someone wanted the cash and drugs together?"

"According to the cops who came on the scene, there was another player," his partner answered. He looked around and sighed. "No Castle?"

"He hasn't answered any calls in weeks," Ryan pointed out. "Why now?"

"Too bad," Esposito smirked. "He'd have loved this. According to these guys, they got attacked by somebody in a black costume, cape and mask."

Ryan blinked. "You're kidding me."

"Nope," Esposito answered. "The first cops on the scene saw him too, just before he vanished in a puff of smoke."

"Damn," Ryan muttered. "Somebody's been dipping the comic book shelves a bit too much."

"Detectives!" The two turned to see an officer coming up. "Thought you'd want to know, we got a report in. Attempted carjacking four blocks over, perps were taken down by someone in a wild costume."

"Huh," Esposito remarked. "Guess we've got some would-be crimefighter on our hands."

"Or nutcase vigilante." The two turned to see a figure striding forward. She was young, in his late twenties and strikingly beautiful with an almost exotic look to her features. Her brown hair was long, billowing past her shoulders with loose strands around her face. She was clad in a streetwise outfit, dark jeans with a leather jacket over a nice red shirt, the outfit doing little to hide curves that would put a supermodel to shame. However, her eyes carried an intelligence and experience that showed she was more than just a pretty face. She brushed at her hair to show an odd bracelet on her right wrist, a grey band with a trio of gems.

"Who the hell are you?" Esposito demanded.

The woman frowned. "Um…I'm guessing you two didn't get the memo on me joining your unit?"

The two glanced at each other in confusion. "Um, not to us."

"Damn," the woman sighed. "Look, I know this is difficult and all, I don't want to make too many waves. Just…at least give me a shot, ok?"

The two just glared at her for a moment. "Got a name?" Ryan asked.

"Pezzini," she answered. "Detective Sara Pezzini."

As a mother, Martha Rodgers had learned to judge her son's moods a long time ago. She thus knew when he was annoyed and ready for some comforting, no matter his age. Thus, she was already preparing a bottle of sherry as he walked into the living room, barking into his cell phone. "Gina, I do books. Novels. Things that come in real bindings. Not comic books!"

"Rick, you're not getting it," Gina Cowell, his ex-wife and current agent barked from her office in L.A. "This is the best offer I can get you."

"I recall that's what you said when we put the alimony agreement together." Castle shook his head as he passed by Alexis, who was doing homework at the kitchen table. "Gina, come on, I'm a number one bestselling author, I still have stories to tell…"

"Rick, let me be blunt-"

"When have you ever been anything but?"

She went on. "You were in a rut before you hit upon Nikki Heat. It was a good run but the public won't be buying her anymore. It's not fair but that's what it is." She sighed. "I know you two were close and I am sorry. And for what it's worth, I don't buy the whole corruption charges either. But sadly, the public mostly believes it and they won't buy anymore Heat novels because of it."

"So I just give up real books?" Castle demanded. "Go to comics?"

"Brad Meltzer did it. It's a big market, Rick. Marvel's interested in a series of Derrick Storm graphic novels and might offer you something else. At least consider it?"

He sighed. "Fine, considered." He hung up as he took the glass Martha offered to drink it down.

"I take it the consideration is over?" she dryly asked.

"I'm not a comic book writer, Mother," Castle told her.

"They're called graphic novels, dad," Alexis pointed out. "There are actually college courses on them."

"That makes me sad," Castle intoned. He sipped his drink. "I just don't know…Maybe I should just quit."

"And do what?" Martha scoffed. "Honestly, Richard, writing is what you are. You can't just give it up."

Castle rubbed his face. "I don't know, hon. Ever since what happened….I've just…felt less interested now." He leaned on the counter, looking down. "I write all the time about justice winning in the end…Yet all I see is a good woman brought down low. How can I keep hoping for the best after all that?"

"Richard Castle?"

Alexis shrieked and leapt from her seat at the deep voice. Castle whirled around to see the door leading to his loft's outdoor patio opened and a figure standing there. It was crouched on the edge of the railing, its black cape billowing behind him, showing the athletic form in a black suit, the voice coming from a muffled mask.

"Who…who are you?" Castle said, trying not to sound too upset.

"A friend," the figure rasped. "To you. And I was one of Kate Beckett's. I know she was innocent of the crimes she was accused of. I know the guilty. And I won't stop until they know justice."

"Well, that's…um…very…commendable." Castle couldn't believe this conversation was actually happening. "Why…are you here?"

"To let you know," the figure said. "And to give you a message." The mask moved to the side to see Alexis coming up behind her father, staring in wonder. "To all of you. There is still justice in this world. There are people willing to fight for it." The figure moved closer, the voice dropping but swelling with emotion. "Most of all…don't lose hope. Don't ever lose hope."

A cloud of smoke formed at the boots, covering the figure totally. The wind blew the cloud apart to show he had vanished, just the night air left before them.

"Dad?" Alexis whispered, hugging her father. "Who was that?"

"I don't know," Castle whispered back. "Someone dressed as a nutcase?"

"Or someone who wants to help," Martha stated. She smiled at her son. "Maybe there are heroes in the world after all."

He took that in, gazing at the phone as he started mulling over some possibilities.

Beckett winced as she slowly opened her eyes. The sun was streaming in through the windows of her trailer, falling on the large bed she lay in. She sat up, wincing in pain as she swung her legs out of the bed. She was stripped down to just shorts and a sports bra, pulling a t-shirt over her head as she got up. She let out a small gasp at the aches in her thighs but pushed herself to walk to slide on a pair of jeans. She wiped at her eyes as she moved to the small bathroom nearby to look at herself.

Kate rubbed at her face, happy that the blow she'd taken from that carjacker hadn't left too much of a bruise. Evidentially, the mask provided better padding than she had anticipated. She wiped her face off as she exited the bathroom and jumped at the sight of Max sitting behind the small table reading the newspaper. "Dammit, Max, don't do that!"

"Just checking in," Max said, throwing something at her. Kate instinctively caught it to see a bottle of aspirin. She opened it up as Max looked her over. "So, how's it feel to be a real, live super hero?"

"Painful," Kate admitted as she shook out a pair of pills. She paused and then shook three more, downing them all at once before sipping a glass of water on the desk. She looked at Max looking over the paper. "Don't tell me I made it in."

"Not yet," he told her. "But give it time. Someone becoming a real crimefighter won't go unnoticed for long."

"I just hope it works out," Kate said, sipping her water again. She winced as she rubbed her shoulder.

"It'll get easier as you go," Max told her. "Practice makes perfect. That's a lesson true for both circus life and our…other calling." He studied her for a moment. "I get the fighting. But seeing this Castle person?"

Kate narrowed her eyes. "Were you checking up on me?"

"Had to make sure you didn't get killed your first time out," Max brushed aside. "Don't worry, it won't be a regular thing."

Kate rubbed her neck. "I just…had to check on him. Ryan, Esposito, I know they can handle this. But Castle's not a cop, this would hit him hard. I just had to let him know…there's still something to be hopeful for."

"Commendable," Max noted. "Maybe not smart but I can always respect someone putting their personal needs in front of the intelligent thing to do." He smiled. "You care for him."

"He's a friend."

"Is that all?"

Kate glared at him. "Max, really not going into that now. Besides, you keep telling me my life is over anyway. I can't see him anymore."

"It won't stop you from trying, I can tell." That sly smile returned to Max's face. "Stubborn and single-minded, something else I can respect."

Kate shook her head. "This is not how I pictured my life a month ago. I had a good life going, my career, everything was on track. Now…" She let out a light laugh. "I always used to mock Castle for the contrivances he'd put into his books but this…"

"This what?" Max asked.

"Just…if I hadn't answered that e-mail from Orwell, I wouldn't have gone to the docks," she said. "I wouldn't have met Chess, wouldn't have been framed, wouldn't have run into you. I wouldn't be in this whole mess." She shrugged. "Truth really is stranger than fiction, I guess. Lots of wild accidents to lead me here."

She headed to the door. "I need to grab some breakfast, then a run to clear my head. I still want to check the docks again for that Scales guy." Kate shook her head again. "Still can't believe I'm really doing this."

"Think of all the paperwork you're missing out on." Max smiled as she left. The smile faded as he sat back, mulling over her words. He pressed his fingers together, his mind whirling back to several weeks earlier…

He'd been at his desk when the door burst open and Rollo stuck his head in. "Hey, Max! We were checking out the sewers after that big firefight, trying to scrape anything together?"

"And?" Max asked from behind his desk.

"We found some woman, looks beaten up a bit. She got some minor burns but nothing serious."

Max frowned. "Where is she?"

"Infirmary tent."

Max was quiet for a long moment. "Max?" Rollo pressed. "What do you want us to do?"

Max looked down, then back to Rollo. "Get her patched up, make sure she's all right. I'll be there soon."

Rollo nodded and left, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he had gone, Max yanked open his desk drawer and rummaged through it quickly. He found what he was looking for, a large parchment, pulling it out and laying it on the desk. He spread it open, the slightly tattered paper showing the wear of age as he smoothed it out. It was a bizarre mix of strange symbols and words in a language no one would recognize. It seemed to be laid out in a graph pattern with various "X" marks across each of the boxes.

Max moved his pen over from one box to the other, stopping at one that was marked by a square shape. He turned to look at the calendar at his wall, his mind making some quick calculations. He let out a long breath as he reached to the box beside his chair, opening the lid. Reaching inside, his hand stroked the fabric of the cape inside it as he realized a day he'd never truly believed in had finally come.

Max sat behind his desk, staring out the window at Kate walking away. His expression was somber as he leaned back in the chair. "There are no accidents," he whispered as he studied the woman who'd just embraced a new life beyond her dreams.

Hopefully, this gets a bit more reader reaction and hope more reviews to keep it going if enough interest in it.