Here you go.
Chapter 118
Castle looked down at Mirov anger coursing through his veins. The man who had ordered his now fiancée dead was lying in a pool of his own blood, apparently killed by the hand of his father. Or killed at the behest of his father. The difference he found wasn't able to give him any solace.
After Esposito checked Mirov's pulse point he shook his head indicating what everyone present knew. Immediately cell phones came out and orders were given to apprehend the three men who took Mirov into custody.
"Rick, look at me." When he did Kate continued, "He won't get away with this. I'll make sure of it." When she looked at Castle what she saw frightened her. His eyes had a distant look as if he was remembering a different time and place.
"You won't catch them, you can't catch them. Within an hour this will all go away. It will be just a moment in time that never happened," he said in almost a monotone. Then he turned and headed back to the breakroom leaving a stunned Kate and the others in his wake.
When he made it to the interrogation room that Mirov had been questioned in his phone rang. "Castle."
"Son, it had to be this way," a calm voice stated. "He held too many secrets; he couldn't be allowed to cut a deal. It would jeopardize national security."
Castle stepped into the room that had held the dead man only minutes before. "That's your guys' go to response. It always is. Don't you have any other catch phrases in your arsenal? Maybe you could use 'we just don't like the guy' or 'he was an awful poker winner, gloated all the time,' something like that?"
"Don't patronize me young man!" Hunt thundered.
"You lost the right to discipline me when you left Mother! Now I want to know why Kate's mother was targeted and if I don't get the answers I'm looking for, then I will come looking for you! And if Kate Beckett so much as gets a hang nail I will kill you and every one of your cronies. Now tell me what I want to know damn you!"
Xx
When Castle walked away with that look in his eyes Beckett began to worry. She had never seen him look so distant, so soul weary. So she followed him, ducking into the observation room when he answered the call and headed to interrogation.
Her heart broke when she heard him chastise his father who was apparently the person on the other end of the call. She always knew that he loved his mother even if their relationship was unorthodox but she had never heard him defend her so adamantly, or anyone else for that matter. And that said a lot because he had defended his friend Damien to the bitter end when he was accused of killing his wife.
She had always known that Richard Castle loved fiercely but this was the first time she had seen it on full display. And she was buoyed somewhat by the fact that he could love her with the same fire. She had never had anyone in her life, save for her parents, who had loved her with that much passion. Here he was threatening his father's life if he didn't tell him why her mother was killed and by whom. And if anything happened to her he would rain down hell upon him and his men.
It didn't escape her that the person doing all of this was her fiancé, who just a week ago was a mere writer to her. Now here was the man she loved, the man she was going to marry, one of the deadliest men in the world who loved her just as fiercely. She was shaken out of her daydream by the sounds coming from the other room. She looked up to see Castle's phone hit the wall.
Xx
"I can't give you that information," Jackson Hunt told his son in a cold, calculating voice.
"Can't or won't?" Castle sneered.
"Can't or won't, what difference does it make? You still won't have any more answers than before. Just thank me that Mirov's out of your hair."
"Thank you? Thank you!? If it wasn't for you I would have answers for Kate!" Castle's voice erupted.
"And don't forget, when you put the Zombie Apocalypse plan into motion it effectively put you back into the field. I'll be in touch." And with that the phone went dead.
The anger that coursed through his veins earlier was just an appetizer for the anger he now felt. He stood in the middle of the room staring at his phone. Then it happened; all the anger and rage manifested itself in his phone. He might not be able to get his hands on his father but his hands were on his phone. The next thing he knew his phone shattered against the wall, pieces flying to the floor. The next thing he knew he had a chair and was smashing it against the table in the room. One, two, three, four times the chair made a "whack" sound until it, too, shattered to bits.
He was startled by the sound of the door opening, seeing Kate standing there. She rushed into his arms drawing him into a tight hug. "Finished yet? Or do you need to take on the other chair?" she asked quietly, trying to relieve his tension.
"Well, I guess paying for one chair is enough. But it does suck that I have to get yet another phone," Rick replied as he made an attempt at a joke.
"Yes it does, but look at the bright side."
"Bright side?"
"Yeah, we can get a family plan," she answered drolly, doing her best to defuse the situation.
He drew her into a kiss. "I'd like that."
Xx
As Castle began to clean up his mess Beckett left the room to see where the pursuit of Hunt and his men was. Under normal circumstances she would have been the first one down the stairs after the men. But these were not normal circumstances, far from them. As she made her way to the captain's office she could hear his raised voice. He was talking to someone and he was not happy with the outcome of the call.
Kate stopped outside the door only to be waved in by the captain. Roy bellowed, "Yes sir" then slammed down the phone. He looked at Kate, his eyes full of sorrow. "We have been ordered to stand down. We are not to pursue Hunt and his men." His sorrow was slowly being replaced by rage. "I'm so damned sorry Kate. I truly wish there was something I could do to fix this."
"What the hell, sir!?" Her surprise at his statement was apparent. "Why would we stand down? We know who did this, we should pick them up."
Just as she was finishing her diatribe Sorenson knocked on the door. "Captain, may I come in?" Roy nodded and Will somberly entered. "I have been ordered to stand down. A matter of national security or some such crap."
"National security?" Beckett parroted.
"That's what I was told. We are to wrap up the investigation of Mirov then close it. Someone will be here shortly to take over the Mirov homicide case."
"May I come in?" Castle asked as he entered handing Kate a fresh coffee, closing the door as he did. He turned to face those assembled and said, "Executive Order 12333."
"What are you talking about Castle?" Beckett queried.
"Executive Order 12333 states that no one on behalf of the US government may participate in assassinations. It was signed by Reagan and strengthened order 11905 signed by Ford and order 12036 signed by Carter," Castle stated as though he was reading out of a text book.
"Okay Castle, we're lost here. What does this have to do with anything?" Beckett asked.
"What I'm about to tell you is a matter of national security so it does not leave this room. Deal?" After receiving nods from all he continued, "During the Iran Contra affair an ultra-black program was created, Project Starlight."
Roy questioned, "Ultra-black? What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that the only ones who have access to it are the President, the director of the CIA, and the Senate subcommittee chairman. They are the only ones who are briefed on the status of operations and if an operative is compromised he is disavowed. No one will come for him."
He watched the faces of the three law enforcement personnel and continued when he saw understanding cross their face. "Project Starlight is a program that circumvents 12333. Basically it's the establishment of a federally funded, intelligence gathering, weapons-free team."
"Weapons-free?" Kate questioned.
Before Castle could answer Sorenson spoke up. "It means that they have the authority to use deadly force."
"That's right Will, we could use deadly force at our discretion. For lack of a better term we were the US's double O team. We had the ability to terminate at will if it was in the best interest of the US. The only caveat was that political assassinations were only used as a last resort and only with the approval of the President."
"Is that what happened here? Were you one of them?" Kate asked.
Castle sank down in a chair, his head in his hands. "I've done a lot of bad things in my life. I've killed a lot of men in the defense of my country. But I never did anything like this, I never killed without it being the last resort."
Kate sat down beside him. "Is that what happened here?"
"Yes. Hunt runs what is left of the program now. He has for the past five or so years since I officially left the program. Retired if you will. Although I hadn't been active for a number of years before, other than intelligence gathering. We use drones now to end the lives of those who are a threat whether they're American or not."
"But you're done now. You don't do that anymore, do you?" There was a hint of desperation in her voice and everyone in the room could hear it. She so wanted his answer to be, "No, I don't," and wasn't sure what she would do if his answer was "Yes, I do."
Rick pulled her to him engulfing her in his large frame. They had finally made it to this point and he wasn't going to let this go for anything. "No Kate, I left that life long ago. The only time I will revert to my past life is if my family is in trouble."
Kate didn't miss the fact that he said family and she knew that it now included her. She had never needed anyone to protect her, not since that January night when she was nineteen. She had taken it upon herself to make sure that she could handle any situation that could come along. After all, she had graduated top of her class in the academy and most of her records still stood. But she could admit that it felt good to have someone like Castle at her side. If she was honest she didn't have to worry about her safety before all of this began. He had her back and would never let her down. But now knowing what he was gave her an added level of comfort. Knowing that whatever situation they found themselves in, they would come out on top.
Xx
The buzz that indicated Castle had a phone call broke through the silence of the room bringing everyone present out of their own thoughts. Without looking at the caller id of his flip phone he hit the accept button. "Castle."
"Rick," his friend Gray called out. "I have a little news for you about Kate's mother."
Pressing the speaker button, he mouthed for Roy to get out a recorder. When he was satisfied that everything was in place he instructed Gray to continue.
"It seems that Mirov was active in the late nineties in the city. He was trying to build his business and recruited a few cops to assist. I think you may know some of the names."
Beckett's hand went to her mouth in shock. "Raglan and McCallister." It was almost a whisper but everyone in the room knew the names.
"Yes, we know them Gray." Castle spoke for a stunned Beckett.
"Well, there was a third cop as you may or may not know. A Detective Steve Sutton. He died back in early 2003. And before you ask, it was colon cancer. As I said, the three of them were helping Mirov with his business and part of that was reopening a club where an FBI agent had been killed by the mob. Kate, it seems that the cops caught your mother snooping around and were fearful that she had discovered what they were up to so they had her killed."
Castle looked to Kate who was in shock at the revelations so he asked the question that he knew she wanted to ask. "How do you know this?"
"With Mirov dead the director felt that Kate should know."
"They knew and sat on it!?" Montgomery roared.
"It was a matter of national security," Gray returned.
This time it was Castle, who after looking at his near catatonic fiancée, shouted, "Bullshit! Someone was protecting Mirov and I'm pretty sure I know who it is. You tell Hunt that if I find out he even read a memo that had this information I'll kill him!"
"Rick don't. Do not say that ever again. You're not that man anymore and I don't want you to get drawn back down that rabbit hole again. We have our wedding to plan and a future to live. It doesn't matter; the men involved in her death are dead," Kate said as she caressed his face. "I love you Richard Castle, so very, very much. I loved you before I knew you; I loved the thought of you. I've spent a lifetime in search of the thought of you and now that I have you I'll never let you go. So enough of this talk 'kay?"
"'Kay."
Xx
I have struggled with this chapter for at least a month, erasing the entire thing at least five times. I am still not happy with it but it is the best that I can do. I think that there are only a couple more chapters left in this little story.
The Executive Orders are real. Ford was the first one to sign an order outlawing state sponsored assassinations. Carter's order strengthened Ford's order. During a time when some in the intelligence community were clamoring for the president to overturn the order he did what no one expected. He reconfirmed the United States opposition to assassination.
I never liked the thought of Montgomery as the third cop so he isn't in this tale.
Thoughts?
