Castle
I before the yellow police tape. They wouldn't let me inside. I could see enough from the stairwell.
Wright was in the elevator, his throat slashed. The grisly message written in his blood began to darken, the blood drying. The Lanie preliminary findings were that he indeed died of a cut throat. She found a needle mark on his neck below the slash. She thinks that Wright was drugged and then killed in the elevator.
Why? The thought kept running through my head. Why? Bourne was another hired killer. Was Tanner and Bourne working together? Separately? Why would Bourne kill Wright? What was the connection?
When shit hits the fan, all you have is what you know, not what you don't. My element leader had told me that in Pararescue training. Staff Sergeant Taylor always knew how to find to the connections. So what do I know?
Tanner used a form of MCMAP. Shaw thinks that he may have a military background. So, he is probably an ex-Marine.
Tanner killed Romanov, and Bourne killed Wright.
Both victims were hit man for the mob.
Both were former military, and had special forces training.
They both were staying in the same apartment.
Romanov and Wright were both hitmen. They must have been working together to hit the same mark. Tanner and Bourne might have been working together to eliminate the competition.
No. Tanner and Bourne work alone. Tanner and Bourne were highly skilled, highly sought after. They were ruffly equals in sheer effectiveness. They killed high priced targets, targets that wouldn't go down easy. Bourne specialized in political and terrorist targets, while Tanner specialized in hard-to-find targets. Tanner was more unpredictable. Bourne more public.
It was a competition. To see who was the best. Bourne and Tanner were competitors in the ultimate free-market business. They were both proud, skilled killers and they did not want competition. The more effective one would literally kill off the other.
I saw Kate looking at Alexis's cell phone. She too looked deep in thought. Agent Shaw was directing the FBI techs around the scene. She had already questioned me and Beckett. Kate had a sore jaw and nothing else. I had a concussion. She didn't get a good look at Tanner and if I did, the concussion knocked the image out of my head.
"Hey, Castle," Kate said quietly, "How you holding up?"
"I'm trying to figure out the connection between Tanner and Bourne," I admitted.
"What do you have?" she knew I was doing this to keep myself sane.
"Tanner and Bourne are high profile killers. Why would they go after Romanov and Wright? Those guys are small fries compared to them."
"Maybe they are part of something larger?"
"If they were, their would be signs of torture."
"Lanie says that Wrights arm was broken recently. She'll probably find more injuries once she does the autopsy."
"I got thinking that Tanner is going after Bourne, or the other way around. They want to eliminate the other to get rid of competition."
"Sounds-"
Suddenly, Alexis's phone chirps. She received a text message.
The girl is not harmed. She is sedated, and shall have a large head ache when she wakes up, but is otherwise unharmed.
If you want her back, Detective, you must be at the south end of the pond at 1600 hours. If not, I shall hold her for the rest of my operation.
You may bring Mr Castle with you, but only Mr Castle. And, as a token of my good faith, you may be armed with any sidearm of your choosing.
Only a Sidearm, mind you.
J. Tanner.
I looked at Kate, "Please," I begged.
"You don't have to beg, Castle," she assured, "Shaw."
The woman came over. Kate showed her the text. She looked at both of us, "If we can track him down before four, we won't have to meet him."
"What are the odds of us doing that?" I argued, "You said it yourself. This guy is better than Dunn. He won't give us a clue to his location. We should plan, prepare-"
"If I deviate from his instructions he might kill her," Shaw argued, "And I am not about to let a half cocked writer go into a hostage transfer with only one cop for backup. You can't plan with Tanner."
"Then I will go alone," Kate offered.
"No, Tanner is too dangerous," Shaw looked annoyed, "Neither of you have the training-"
"I spent a year in the Pararescue," I admitted, "That is special ops. I have more training in this type of thing than you do. And that is my daughter. I will save her if I have to beat the shit out of each and every one of you and go their myself," I glared at her, daring her to challenge me.
"You were in spec ops?" Kate asked in a unbelieving voice, "Doing what?"
"Pararescue is the special operations of the Air Force," Shaw said, "They are trained to find downed aircrews. Those guys are trained to hide well in case they are shot down behind enemy lines. If you were really a PJ, then you just might catch Tanner before he gets to you."
"Are you really believing that Castle is a former soldier?"
"Airman," I correct, "Soldiers are Army. Airmen are Air Force."
"Whatever."
"Bring me you service Jacket. If it checks out, I will be waiting at a fifty meter perimeter. And then you you get to catch an assassin."
Castle Loft, Castle's Bedroom
I threw the mattress off my bed. Hidden in the frame was a safe. I dialed in the combination and jerked it open.
Inside were the remains of Airman Richard Amster. I had taken the last name's of all of Mother's husbands every time she married. I probably had more identities than a spy. She was married to a man named Stanley Amster at the time I enlisted. I was selected for a psychological project called Project: PRODIGOUS WARRIOR because I had scored high on everything from physical fitness to intelligence. As of such, immediately after Basic I was rocketed to Pararescue training. All seemed to go well.
Until Bosnia.
After I got back, Honorable Medical Discharge, I turned to writing to stave off the PTSD. Derrick Storm was created. Alexis was born. I buried Amster and became Castle.
Now I needed to become Amster again. I pulled the jacket out of the safe. I handed it to Shaw. She flipped it open and review it's contents, "It's real. You're good to go, Castle."
I could feel the back of my neck prickling. I turned and saw Kate glaring at me with accusing eyes. Once Shaw left, she asked, "When were you going to tell me?"
"I tried to bury the past," I admitted, "Why would I bring that up?"
"Because you brought up my mom's death," she accused, "We are partners. We are supposed to share. You think it was easy for me to tell you about her?"
"Of course not," I said, "It was before Alexis was born."
"I don't care," she shook he head, "I am just angry that you didn't tell me."
"It's why I write the macabre," I whispered, "After I got back, writing staved off the nightmares. I started to improve. My personality changed. Alexis being born was the last nail in the coffin for Airman Rick Amster. I was probably just as broken as Jon when I came home."
Se was silent. I could feel her evaluating her perception of me, comparing everything I did and every Derrick Storm novel to my confession. She nodded, her face neutral.
She hugged me.
"Don't worry, Castle," she whispered into my ear, "We'll catch this prick."
2 REVIEWS=1 NEW CHAPTER