Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I guess I was waiting for reviews and then school caught up... well, here's new chapter as apology.

Kate

"I'm fine Castle!" that must have been the fifth time I said it.

"I open the door in the middle of the night and you... fall through it!" he exclaimed, "And the doctor said that you should take it easy four twenty-four hours!"

"I don't want to 'take it easy'!" I said, "I want the prick who did this strung up!"

"I'm telling," he said like a five year old.

"Who?" I challenged.

"Montegomery," his eyes glinted with mischief. Oh no.

"Castle, I'm warning you," I warned feebly.

"Hey Boss," shouted Esposito, "Murder on 9th and Lex!"

"Let's go Castle," I instructed before he could argue.

"I... but... we..." he groaned and boarded the elevator with me, "I'm telling Roy as soon as we get back."

"I'm fine Castle," I was a little- very little- touched that he worried so much.

The body was in a fifth floor apartment. Very nice, a lot like the Castle loft. Big and roomy. Looked impressive even with the absence of furniture.

The body was just dumped. He sure as hell didn't die here. I'm no M.E., but I know my bullet wounds. He was definitely hit with a large caliber bullet execution style. Lack of splatter from the blown out hole in the back of his head only pooled blood. Something was written in the blood, however.

"Jake Tanner," I read.

"I'm sorry," he said, "But did you just say 'Jake Tanner'?" their was something in his voice. Concern? no. something like it though.

Fear.

"Yeah," I confirmed. I gave him my what-aren't-you-telling-me look.

"Jake Tanner is one of the most feared hit men in North America," he explained, "He's got a huge body count. And he knows how to find people."

"What do you mean, he knows how to find people?" I asked.

"He found an underground Russian crime boss," he explained, "The man had been missing for ten years. The feds and his enemies were cooperating to find him and they turned up nothing. Jake Tanner, not only found him, but he killed him."

"So?" impressive to find the boss, but not so much to kill him.

"The man had twenty armed guards hiding in the streets," Castle explained, "Not only did Jake Tanner kill the boss, but everyone of his armed guards! In the middle of a public street. Still, no one got a good look at his face."

"They find any fingerprints, blood, anything?" I asked. Castle shook his head, "Then how did they know Jake Tanner killed him?"

"They received a phone call from Tanner," he said, "He used details only the killer would know. Like how he found him."

"How did he find the Russian?"

"He tracked financials on all the former military and mercenaries in the area. He traced the money wired to a numbered account in Switzerland. Then, he checked their phone records and watched the phone that was being used to wire the money."

"The Russian had to show up to use the phone," it made sense. And I think I heard about that on the news a few years ago. It was called the Bloody Memphis Massacre.

"Hey Beckett!" called Ryan, "So, body was discovered by the real estate agent. She was showing off the place to some potential buyers-"

"And let me guess," interrupted Castle, "dropped the price 30%?"

"35%" corrected Ryan.

"Hey," greeted Esposito, "I checked the neighbors, never heard anything."

"That's cause he wasn't killed hear," said Lanie, making her presence known, "Oh my God," she gasped. She visibly gulped, "Jake Tanner?" she looked as if she might be ill.

"Are you okay, Lanie?" I asked. I had seen her take the most gruesome crime scenes in stride. And a simple name can do this to her?

"No girl, I'm not okay," she said, "That bastard has one of the most fearsome reputations I have ever had the displeasure of hearing! He killed so many people it rivals cancer!"

"Lanie, breathe," I instructed. My friend is one of the strongest people I know. To see her afraid like this scares me, "I don't care who he is, I will catch him. Alright?"

"No you won't girl," she said, "That bastard is a ghost. He evaded FBI, DEA, CIA, NSA, the whole alphabet! I'm sorry girl, but if they can't catch him, with all their resources, how can you?"

That stung a little. I didn't say it, but my friend's unshakeable confidence in me gave me strength, "Lanie, even the best make mistakes. And when he does, I'll find him."

"Beckett!"

Ah hell.

"Yes sir?" I asked innocently. Castle would pay for this.

"Why didn't you tell me we had a intruder last night?" he demanded.

"Well sir," quick think of something, "He didn't really have to knock me out to knock me out. So whatever he wanted was on this floor," good thinking! "So, I naturally assumed that he was after case files. And if I told you, you would have CSU take the place apart," I sometimes amaze myself.

"Yeah, and ordinarily I would thank you for that," he said, "But that was before we had a murder by the most wanted man in the North America!"

He rubbed his temples, "The FBI just called. They are sending in Agent Shaw to help with the investigation. And now I can't let them in until we have done a full inventory of the precinct," he raised his voice and shouted "Everybody out!"

"Well that's great," complained Ryan, "How are we supposed to solve the case without a precinct?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Castle, "We can use my basement!"

"No Castle," I refused. His basement, really?

"No, you gotta see it!" he pleaded, "I have a interrogation room all set up!"

"An interrogation room?" it might be worth a visit just to see.

"Yeah, plus he's got beer," argued Ryan.

"And comfortable chairs," agreed Esposito.

"Okay fine," I agreed, "We'll see Castle's basement.

"Castle, I knew you were obssessed," I observed, "But this just broke any scale I can think of."

His basement is... you can't find a word to discribe it. It was warm and welcoming, like his loft. Unlike his loft, however, the walls were lined with file cabinets and closets. I opened one, and it was full of clay skulls, all showing different signs of trauma, all carefully labeled and neatly organized. A file cabinet had pictures of a dozen different places, from the Empire State building to a seedy apartment in the Bronx. Included were photo shopped bodies and witness interviews and forensic reports. All that were missing was a few guns and it would have been a precinct.

"Okay Castle," I said, "We'll use your basement."

Again sorry for the delay. Next one is on the house.