Author's Note: Ok, peoples, here's the next instalment. Firstly, I am very sorry it's taken me so long to get this one done, folks. Aside from a few issues out here in the real world, I have been working on some of my other neglected fics the last week or so, as well as experimenting with a new writing style. The upside of that is it allows me to write better, but the downside is that it's not exactly chronological, so the updates are a lot more sporadic. Anyway, thanks again to my most excellent beta Manuxinhace, for putting up with my nigh-on endless procrastinating, as well has helping me flesh out the half-written scenes. The end is in sight for the case, peoples, so any suggestions on where to take it after that will certainly be taken on board. I still can't believe the story so far has over 100 reviews! *does happy dance* Best. Readers. Ever. And remember, reviews feed the plot bunnies!
Previously, in Layers…
We were clued in to the ID of the suspect (a very nasty person from the time Castle was on deployment in Bosnia), and a motive. Esposito (with his own military background) is starting to do the math re Castle's history, and our dynamic duo got sprung necking on the couch by Martha.
8:40am Saturday, 12th Precinct
A cheerful smile on his face, Castle passed a cup of hot coffee to Beckett, who was leaning against the desk as she ran her eyes over the murder board. She took a sip of her coffee, throwing her partner a grateful smile.
"Where are we on the potential victim list, Esposito?" She asked, her fingers wrapping around the coffee cup, absorbing the warmth. The Hispanic detective finished jotting a note on his pad and spun around on his chair, facing them.
"We have two from the list: Amanda Watkins, daughter of Michael Watkins, and Zac Dyson, son of Edward Dyson. Both live in the tri-state area, Dyson is back home on leave at the moment, Watkins is up in Vermont, visiting his mother." Hearing the detective's words, Castle let out a slow breath, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose, an unhappy sigh slipping from him as Ryan hung up his phone and joined the trio.
"That was tech. I got them to run traces on incoming calls to both houses for the last week, looking for short-duration calls from payphones. Nothing popped on the Watkin's place, but they logged one ten second call to the Dyson residence yesterday at 12:15. The call came from another payphone on the upper east side, not the same as the last one though, this one is a few blocks away from it. We should have video of him making the call in a couple of hours." Beckett put her coffee down and moved over to the board, uncapping the marker as she went. As she updated the board with the new information, she spoke.
"Okay, Esposito, we need to get a plain clothes detail on Amanda, see if we can get a visual on our suspect, or at least stop him from crossing her off his list." She re-capped the marker, and turned to Ryan. "Cross-check those payphone locations, and get an APB out for the car, and circulate the photos to the other jurisdictions. If this guy so much as shows his face, I want him brought in." She leaned back against the desk, sipping her coffee as she thought hard, trying to find something in the information they had that would give them something solid to move on.
11:35am Saturday, 12th Precinct
Beckett looked up as the uniformed officer handed her a folder. Opening it, she quickly scanned the documents inside, a triumphant smile on her face. Wordlessly, she handed the folder over to Castle.
Castle ran his eyes over the pictures in the folder, a mix of emotions swirling through him as he examined them. One photo showed an older, grainy picture of a lean figure in his thirties, uniformed and unshaven, getting out of a vehicle. The other photo showed the same face, but older looking, more haggard. The eyes, however, were identical, as was the look of cold disdain on his face. The last shreds of doubt fled from his mind, it was Marenkovic all right, alive and in New York, and hell-bent on revenge.
Seeing her partner still sitting unmoving, she stood up and made her way toward the murder board once more, one hand absently resting on his shoulder as she passed behind him. She paused, noting the tension in him, and let her free hand come up to his other shoulder. She stood still for a moment, before reaching around to grab the pictures from the folder. Wrapping her arms around him for a second, she briefly rested her forehead against his hair and wished that they weren't in the middle of the precinct, so that she could hug him properly. The elevator chimed the arrival of more people to the bull-pen, and Beckett straightened back up, giving his shoulder a quick, comforting squeeze before plucking the folder from his hands and walking over to the murder board once more. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Castle followed her over, leaning back against the desk as he watched the detective at work. They had a suspect, some leads, and a murder-board that was rapidly filling up. He smiled softly as he watched Beckett in her element.
Marker in hand, she quickly added the name underneath the suspect's pictures: Goran Marenkovic. Moving back to the desk, Beckett leaned back, her shoulder just touching Castle's, the immediate heat between them a welcome comfort as they both stared at the board, trying to force it to reveal some hidden clue.
1:20pm Saturday, 12th Precinct
Castle knocked on the door to Montgomery's office, Beckett by his side.
"Come in" The Captain said, looking up from his paperwork and smiling at duo. Motioning for them to take a seat, he asked,
"What can I do for you two?" Opting to stay standing, they both looked at the captain. Recent events having unearthed a lot of things he had thought to be buried, Castle slipped back into military mode. Clasping his hands behind his back, feet apart, back straight, Castle spoke quietly, his voice firm.
"Captain, I take it Beckett has given you a run-down of the case as it stands?" Seeing Montgomery glance over to his partner and nod, he continued. "I need to be there when we bring Marenkovic in, sir." Frowning slightly, Montgomery looked at the detective again, puzzled, he asked,
"Why wouldn't you be there, Castle?" A slight smile on his face, Castle shook his head.
"I don't just mean along for the ride, Captain. Marenkovic and I go way back, and there's no chance in hell I want Beckett anywhere near him unless I'm there with her. I know what he's capable of, sir. I want in." The captain laced his fingers together and turned his gaze to Beckett.
"Are you happy to have him along, Detective? I know you prefer him to wait in the car for the dangerous ones..." Kate grinned a tight smile, her eyes sparkling with repressed mirth as she responded.
"I think he should be fine to tag along, sir..." A little confused at the lack of protest from her, Roy leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together as he wondered exactly how much the detective knew about her partner.
"If you are happy for him to be there, Beckett, I don't have an issue with it. Was there anything else?" Castle took a deep breath before replying.
"Actually, Captain, I was hoping to go in as proper backup." He shot Kate a look, pausing for a second. "I don't want either of us put at risk because I couldn't help sir. I would like permission to go in armed." Montgomery let out a heavy sigh. Looking back to Beckett, he raised his eyebrows in a wordless query. Beckett gave a single, decisive nod in reply. Taken somewhat aback, Roy glanced between the two of them, wondering exactly why his finest detective would suddenly be happy for her famous sidekick to carry a gun. How much did she know? Silence hung in the air for several seconds as the captain considered the request.
Unsure if he would approve, Beckett decided she needed to give the captain a nudge in the right direction.
"Sir..." She paused, shooting Castle a quick look. The barest of nods from her partner providing all the consent she needed, she went on. "Personally, I have no issue with Castle going armed. Honestly, Captain, his range scores are better than mine. I know he will be fine." His lips quirking into a grin, Montgomery's face eased as he replied.
"If he can pass the NYPD validation, he can go in armed, Beckett." Glancing at the author once more, his grin became a full-fledged smile. "I'm assuming your pistol licence and permit to carry are still current, Castle?" Beckett's jaw dropped as she looked between the two men. Seeing the look on her face, the captain elaborated.
"Detective, didn't you ever wonder why the NYPD was happy to let a famous author wander around behind you? You know he signed the waivers, but we had to run a full background check as well. If he was nothing more than a rich playboy, the negative publicity if he got hurt would be horrific, not to mention the risk he'd put you in. A Marine Corps Corporal with proven combat experience was whole different ball-game." He chuckled, relieved at last to be able to let the cat out of the bag. "To be honest, I was wondering just how long it would take you to realise there was more to Castle here than he let on." Addressing Castle once more, he asked, "Would you like to borrow a pistol, or bring your own?" The author grinned back.
"I work better with my own, sir. When would it be convenient for me to sit the validation?" Roy glanced at his desk calendar, then at the clock.
"Detective, can you spare your partner here for an hour or so? We might as well get this out of the way sooner rather than later. I'd rather we have it taken care of, in case you get a solid lead today." Montgomery stood up and made his way out from behind his desk. Recovering slightly from her shock, Beckett replied.
"Actually, Captain, we were heading out to grab a bite to eat as soon as we were done here. I'm sure we can head down to the range first." Beckett flashed him a grin, clearly wanting to be there when Castle did his validation. Ushering them out of his office, Montgomery fought to keep his face neutral as he wondered just when his best detective had taken to keeping regular lunch hours which included proper food. He had a suspicion Castle was the main reason, if the way Beckett's face lit up was any indication. Making a mental note to see what the odds in the pool were on the couple, he left his office behind them.
1:30pm Saturday, 12th Precinct Pistol Range
Castle stood behind the shooting table, earmuffs on his head, protective glasses on. Focused on the task at hand, he slipped his hand into the small of his back and drew his SIG P229 from under his jacket. Checking the safety was on, he proceeded to eject the magazine and locked the slide back and placed both on the table in front of him.
He glanced up as the Range Officer approached, a box of ammunition in one hand, two spare magazines in the other. Nodding to the author, the officer placed the items on the table next to the pistol and went to stand next to the captain.
Quickly emptying the rounds from his own magazine, Castle opened the box of ammunition and began topping the clips up, talking as he did so.
"My clips will only take ten rounds, so I'll only be putting up to that many in them for the validation. Not really fair to use something here that I can't carry in the field." He loaded ten rounds into each magazine, placing them in a neat line next to his pistol. Facing the range officer, he went on. "Three targets please. One at twenty, one at twenty-five, and the last at thirty please." The officer nodded and adjusted the targets as requested. Montgomery looked at Castle and back to Beckett, a little puzzled at the distances. Most officers shot at ten, fifteen and twenty metres, certainly not the ranges Castle had indicated. He addressed the author once more.
"In your own time, Castle" Nodding, Rick slipped the ear muffs over his ears and turned to face down-range, not noticing the figures of Ryan and Esposito quietly walking up behind the others, their faces afire with curiosity. Flashing puzzled glances at Beckett and the Captain, Ryan opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced by a sharp look from their boss.
Castle took a steadying breath, releasing it gradually. His heart-rate slow, his hands steady, he paused for a second, hovering over the pistol on the table before moving. Smoothly, he picked up the first of the magazines, slipping it into the pistol without taking his eyes off the first target, his thumb flicking the safety off. The slide had barely locked into place when the first shots rang out, two rapid-fire bursts shattering the quiet. Beckett knew her partner could shoot well, but she had never actually had the chance to see him so focused. The last time she was down here with him, other than some flirting, he had casually fired three rounds into the ten-ring so rapidly she had almost missed it. This time, she paid close attention. Never blinking, his eyes locked on the target, his finger twitched rapidly on the trigger.
Noting the slide lock back, she realised he had already fired the first ten rounds off. Still in motion, he ejected the empty magazine, replacing it with the next one in the line, the slide slamming forward an instant before he resumed firing once more, the last spent case still airborne from the previous target.
He repeated the procedure flawlessly with the second target, this time a quick three-round burst, two single shots, and then the remaining five rounds. That clip now empty as well, he switched his aim to the last target, the final magazine slipping into the pistol as Kate saw his face crease into a grin, the staccato sounds of his firing blending into one almost-continuous sound, before fading as he ejected the final clip. Checking that the slide was locked back, he placed the cleared weapon on the table next to the empty magazines and lifted his ear-muffs off. All told, less than twenty seconds had passed from the time he picked the pistol up. Turning back to face the others, he was startled to see the other detectives, but nowhere near as startled as Ryan, who gaped openly at the author. Esposito was grinning at him, surprise and approval warring in his expression. Both having some idea what to expect, both Montgomery and Beckett were still taken aback at the ease with which Castle had shot, the movements appearing to have come as naturally as breathing to the normally carefree writer.
Before the silence could be broken, the range officer approached again, the targets in hand. Collecting them, Montgomery held them up for everyone to see. The first target had two ragged holes in it, one between the eyes, and the other obliterating the ten-ring. The second target showed a little more variation than the first. A tight, three-shot group between the eyes, a single shot to each shoulder, with the same ragged hole in the centre of the chest as the preceding target. Stunned, they turned their eyes to the final target, and burst out laughing.
Opting for a more graphic demonstration of a controlled change of aim-point, Castle had placed double-taps where each of the target's eyes would be, a single shot for the nose, and the remaining five rounds forming an arc, completing a smiley face on the head of the black silhouette.
Castle looked at the Captain, his lips twitching as he tried to keep a straight face. Mirth dancing in his eyes, he asked,
"So, did I pass?"
A/N: My apologies in advance, I'm probably not going to be able to keep this updated with a new chapter every week, folks. Pushing myself to get those earlier chapters done really took it out of me, and it actually started to feel like *shudders* work. I'm going to keep going with it, but just less... workishly. Writing should be fun, and I am hoping to keep it that way. Anyway.. *exerts mental Jedi muscles* push the 'review'' button... you know you want to... ;-)