Chapter 15
Kate looks up to Rick and she thinks that he knows that there is no other way to entrap Tyson. Even though, his eyes show her all the love he has. His face shows just the exact opposite. It is fear she reads. If she thinks about this long enough there will be no way she can just arrest him. Or let him stand trial then possibly get his sentence reduced by having a smart resourceful lawyer. No, this would go against everything she knows. She has taken lives to save her own. Even Rick's, this is now something bigger than she can grasp.
Smith's plan is a complex one. He will plant the evidence in her office about her taking bribes for information on Castle's case. More evidence that will implicate Kate will be physical in nature. It will be hidden in her gear locker at the 12th precinct. Knowing that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 moles holding low level and upper brass positions he will need to go over his partial list of moles to determine who to leak the information anonymously of course.
The only problem is going to get Tyson to take the bait once his mole has relayed the information back to him. He thinks that logistically this could present a problem. The problem will be having Kate there at the exact time she needs to take out Tyson. He still has his doubts that she will actually carry the plan to its final outcome.
Kate's head rests on Rick's chest. It was not easy positioning her petite body alongside him to accomplish this position. She knew that he was a little upset about what she needed to do. Though, Tyson did actually succeed in "killing" him. Steps needed to be taken. She was going to be the one to take them. She just wished that Rick would see why it needed to be done. Rick's mind was in overdrive. There were so many things that could go wrong.
Smith needed to talk to Kate and made his way to his son's room. He knew that she would be there with him. He never expected to see her lying in bed with him.
"Kate, I really hope that I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Smith asks from the doorway after spying them together.
Kate's cheeks turned a bright shade of red.
"Of course you aren't." Rick replies.
"Well okay, then we need to talk…" Smith responds looking directly at Kate then exits the room so that they could disentangle themselves.
However, he did not get too far when Rick's authoritative voice rang out.
"Smith you do not have to go. Whatever you need to talk about to her you can do it right here in front of me. There are no more secrets!" Rick says.
Smith returns to the room then shuts the door as Kate starts to move away to sit in the chair.
"Okay son. Kate, there is going to be the question of timing to get to Tyson." Smith says.
"How so…?" Kate wonders.
"Listen, we know that he has informants on his payroll in the NYPD that are from your basic beat cop to the upper brass. Finding the right mole to leak the information will be the deciding factor. It has to lead him to assume that what we are planting on you will be believable." Smith replies.
Smith pulls out a list with about twenty names on it give or take. Seeing this, she looks to Rick and then back to Smith.
"May I see this list?" She asks.
"Kate, I'm not sure that this is such a good idea. It could cause you to behave differently around them. This could tip them off that something is up and Tyson would be in the wind." Smith advises.
"Smith, I won't ask again." Kate says adamantly.
Wait Kate, I know you…You think you will not be affected. Darling Smith is right your behavior will tip them off. Think of the consequences if the moles do not do their jobs and you are found out by real NYPD officers?" Rick says trying to get Kate to see reason.
Kate was persuaded by neither Rick nor his dad.
"Let me see the list Smith!" Kate reasserts.
"Okay, but don't say that I did not warn you." Smith says placing the list in her hands.
Kate looks over the list for one name in particular. Rick is intently studying the expression on her face when it all of a sudden goes from normal to very, very dark. She looks at Smith and seems to be searching him for some kind of answer.
"Smith is this correct, are you sure that list is all of Tyson's moles?" Kate asks.
"Kate this information has been thoroughly been vetted by my sources. The list is solid." Smith replies though secretly worried they might have missed some in the process.
Kate drops the list onto Rick's bed. She then looks to Smith and as he faces her he sees tears forming in her eyes. Rick picks up the list and reads through it himself until he sees a name he thought he never would see. It was there right in front of him in black and white...
Captain Roy Montgomery.
Smith sees the pain Kate is now facing. Her own Captain is a corrupt cop. Smith has so many questions for her he doesn't know where to begin. So he starts from the beginning.
"Kate, let me ask you something. When Roy banished you to the 5th floor of the precinct what was his behavior like?" Smith asks.
"Smith, he acted like he always acted. I can't really say that he was gathering any information but then again I was trying to find out who had shot Castle at the time. I never noticed his conduct being anything but normal." Kate says.
"I see, even though he had placed listening devices somewhere in the room. I'll bet he even had eyes on you too. He heard everything you and your team was planning. Yet he acted normally?" Smith asks.
Now this was all starting to make sense to Kate. He had pushed her more and more evidence her way to get her to look into someone else other than Tyson for "killing" Rick. She almost went along with it. She had unknowingly put Ryan and Espo in danger.
Rick wondered out loud
"So what do we do now?" He asks.
"Nothing changes. We still need to narrow down the list to find a strong mole to leak this information. Obviously Montgomery is no longer a viable candidate." Smith assesses.
The three of them reread the list and they decide on the one mole that could, hopefully, get the job done. His name was Lieutenant McCormick. Looking over his service jacket they now realized why he was on Tyson's payroll. He had been married three times and all his marriages ended badly. He was up to his eyeballs in debt from having to make three alimony payments per month as well as living day to day.
"Lt. McCormick, he is definitely our best candidate." Rick states.
Smith and Kate nod yes in unison. Smith now needed to plant the fabricated evidence in Kate's gear locker at the 12th. He had to contact Leader and ask him to pull a NYPD patrol uniform from the local dry cleaners. They needed to get ready to head out to the 12th. Within the hour, he stood in front of Smith and looked him over. This would get the job done and when he was satisfied with appearance Smith gave him the package. Now it was out of his hands.
Two and a half hours Leader returns and meets with Smith and utters only two words.
"Package delivered."
Smith acknowledges him and he leaves. He returns to Rick's room where he finds Kate talking to him. He knocks on the door they both look up.
"Is everything set?" Kate asks.
"We're good to go." Smith replies.
"Kate, why don't you and Rick go to the room that we have set up for you? Rick do you think you can get out of that bed?" Smith asks.
"Dad, I am not sure that I should, I just got out of surgery two days ago." Rick replies.
"Rick, I am sure that the nurse will be able to remove the monitoring equipment If you feel up to it we can get you up and around for just one night." He responds.
Kate looks to him and he sees the fire in her eyes. She gives him a silent look that says it all to him.
"Well, I guess I could try this bed is so uncomfortable for sleeping." Rick explains.
Smith calls the nurse on the radio. Within seconds she is there
"I want to know if Rick here is well enough to move to another location on his own power?" Smith asks.
The nurse reads over the chart then conducts an exam of the bandages. It looks fine to her.
"It looks well enough to me but we would need to wait for the doctor. He is still attending our other patients." She says.
"How are our other patients doing?" Kate asks.
"Well, physically they are healing well…Mentally well, that is debatable especially the smaller one. I think some sort of therapy will be needed once he is fully healed." She says.
"Kate, I know they are your friends but they need to resurface at a real hospital. We can not keep them here much longer." Smith says.
Do they know I'm alive? Rick asks.
"No, I have not told them…All they know is. I saved them with a merc team." Kate replies. "I have kept them intentionally in the dark. Though, with Lanie's findings they might still suspect."
"That is good, Kate. You will need to explain your actions to your Boss when they surface." Rick replies as Smith nods.
The Doctor walks in.
"Ah Doctor when can our other patients leave?" Smith asks.
"Well, physically they are stabilized and they are ready for transport. You give the word and they are gone." He says reading over their charts. "Of course they have to maintain medical care for at least another two weeks."
"I see thanks" Smith says.
"So the nurse says you want to get up and move around Rick?" He asks as he moves to examine his wounds.
"Yes Doctor I feel so confined by this bed." Rick responds.
"Well, according to my examination. We can get you up on your feet now. However, slow movements and have someone with you to support you if you tire out. Your muscles have been continually stimulated during your recovery so I doubt there will be too many signs of muscle fatigue. Nurse, will you assist Rick in get him off the bed?" the doctor orders.
Soon Rick is slowly standing with both Kate's and the nurse's assistance.
"Ok, Rick I want you to take a step forward." The nurse says.
Rick made a tentative step then another all the while feeling better and stronger. Soon he was walking around his room with less assistance. He was feeling more mobile than he has in any time in the past few weeks.
"So Smith, You said something about a room?" Rick asks while standing eye to eye with his father.
Smith smiles, "Come on you two…Just follow me."