DISCLAIMER: The characters of the show CASTLE do not belong to me, they belong to ABC.
Author's Note: Sorry for the mega late update. I was super dizzy with Vertigo, and then I lost inspiration but watching some S3 Castle episodes brought me back in the mood. Please enjoy! And leave a review when you're done reading.
Chapter Eight
Castle didn't know what to say or do, he stared at the envelope in Alexis's hands. Whatever was in the manila envelope had something to do with the Captain's past and Castle wasn't sure if he was ready to open such a can of worms.
But what if it helps you save Kate? A voice in his head asked.
And really, if Castle was being honest, that's all that it really came down to. If he could somehow use whatever information the Captain felt was important enough to impart to him, then he would have to use that to whatever advantage that he could.
"Dad?" Alexis asked as she held out the envelope. "Aren't you going to open it?"
"Yeah," Castle confirmed as he took the envelope from his daughter. "But I'm going to do it alone."
With that said, Castle turned and went into his study, closing the door behind him.
"Grandma," Alexis began quietly as she looked to Martha.
"I know darling," she replied as she wrapped her arms around Alexis. "But this is something that your father has to do on his own."
...
Kate's mind was doing it's best to throw off the shackles of her drug-addled fog, but it was all in vain. The muffled voices came closer and drifted farther away and Kate tried to hold onto some semblance of reality but it was no use, she quickly found herself drifting back into the dark.
...
Castle couldn't believe what he was reading. All the evidence that Montgomery had collected was now sitting in his hands, and it pointed to the man that the Captain had spoken of. But this just can't be right, Castle thought wildly to himself as he tried to wrap his brain around what he was reading. I know him, we're— okay we're not friends but we...
Ryan and Esposito, Castle continued, his mind jumping from one thing to another. They need to see this, they need to act on this. And without thinking of another thought, Castle quickly took pictures of all the pieces of information before placing them back into the envelope. He then left his apartment leaving a bewildered Martha and Alexis behind.
...
"With all due respect ma'am," Ryan began as apologetically as he could to Carter, trying to make their new boss understand that just sitting around doing nothing wasn't really the way that they operated. "We've got to get out there and chase down some leads."
"Leads are one thing," Carter argued. "But wild goose chases and suspect detective work are another thing all together."
"I might be able to help with that," Castle stated as he strode boldly forward.
Carter looked Castle up and down and for a moment the writer was sure that he could see a particular look in the woman's eyes, but the look was quickly veiled with disdain and mistrust. "Ah Mister Castle," she began apathetically. "How nice of you to enquire in the case, but I am afraid that we do not have time—"
"Please just hear me out," Castle pleaded as he held out his phone. "I've got proof as to the mystery man that Montgomery mentioned."
Carter gave him a wry smile. "Ah yes, the man who supposedly is pulling the strings, well let me just say this, that man whomever he might be is probably a phantom and I am not going to spend any resources on chasing down ghosts."
She paused and turned to Ryan and Esposito. "When you've got something solid, let me know."
And with that she was gone.
The minute Carter was out of ear short, Ryan and Esposito turned their attention back to Castle. "What have you got bro?" Esposito asked.
"Something that'll lead us to Beckett?" Ryan asked.
Castle nodded. "I think so, but..."
"But what?" they asked almost in tandem.
"But I'm not sure that you're going to like this."
"If it gets Beckett back then I don't care if it's the mayor himself who's behind all this..." Esposito stated, watching as Castle accessed the main piece of information. A picture which showed the man in charge speaking to someone in shadows.
"Is that?" Ryan asked, not finishing his sentence as he leaned forward to get a better look.
"It can't be," Esposito added.
Castle shook his head. "But it is."
"So what do we do?"
Castle looked to Ryan. "We go to him."
"Fishing trip?" Esposito asked. "I mean, what else do we have?"
"This should be enough to get us what we need," Castle pointed out. "And if it's not, I've got a few tricks up my sleeves."
"We're going to have to clear this by the Captain," Ryan pointed out.
"The Ice Queen?" Esposito asked. "No way."
"Is she that bad?"
Esposito nodded. "She is bro, she's just..."
"...not Montgomary," Ryan added. "She has us on lock down,"
"No one leaves without her consent."
Castle sighed. "Then we should see if we can't talk to her."
"No man," Esposito argued. "We go, you stay."
Castle's face crumpled. "But..."
"Just for this meeting," Ryan assured. "When it comes to confronting this guy an getting Beckett back you'll be with us."
"Like always," Esposito added.
And with that said, Castle watched as his two friends went towards the office of their new boss.
...
Carter looked up to see Ryan and Esposito standing in her doorway. They looked anxious and nervous and she wondered what it was that they had found that made them so jumpy. "Find something boys?" she asked, deciding to get straight to the point rather than beating around the bush. "Beckett doesn't have much time left if this follows the trend of most kidnapping cases."
Esposito nodded, doing his best to try and keep his cool. "We know that which is why we want to go talk to the Mayor."
Carter's eyes widened. "Why the Mayor."
"We think that he might be involved in this," Ryan answered.
"Another wild goose chase."
"No ma'am," Esposito assured. "We've got proof."
Carter sighed as Esposito held out Castle's phone. "Mister Castle's phone..."
"Please," Ryan asked. "Just take a look."
Carter nodded reluctantly. "Let me see."
Esposito handed over the phone and they both watched as Carter scanned through the photos. No look of surprise or horror passed over her face. Then they watched as she locked the phone in one of her desk drawers before looking back up at them, an unreadable expression on her face.
"What Mister Castle has found is nothing but a hoax," she stated. "A desperate attempt by a desperate man to try and help but following such an outrageous lead would only lead you both and probably Beckett into danger so I am ordering you to ignore this... do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Ma'am," Ryan muttered.
"If that's your orders," Esposito added.
"Good," Carter stated as her eyes flicked back down to the mountain of paperwork on her desk. "Now go."
...
Castle watched anxiously as Ryan and Esposito emerged from Carter's office. "Well?" he asked.
Ryan shrugged. "She said no."
"But we're still going to do this?"
"Hell yeah bro," Esposito replied. "You've got the files safe?"
"I dropped them in my safety deposit box on my way here and there are copies of the pictures on my computer and one of my more obscure e-mails. They'll never find all the copies."
"And your phone is in her desk," Ryan added.
"So we go?" Castle asked.
Esposito nodded. "We go."
TBC—hopefully sooner than later.