Chapter 5 Alexis's In Wonderland
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, blah. Blah. Rating: M, in places. Time: Shortly after Four of a Kind.
Chapter five: Live to ride, ride to live.
In a flash of blue light, Rodgers and Alexis appeared in an alley in Boston, Massachusetts. Rodgers walked to the end of the alley and looked around. Then he motioned for Alexis to follow him. "That the place?" He gestured to a well-lit bar across the street.
Alexis nodded. "It's a big college hangout. People from Harvard, MIT, Boston College, Boston University, U Mass, and from all over New England come there."
"You'll be carded at the door?"
Alexis nodded. "Absolutely."
"And they have security cameras inside?"
She nodded again.
"Okay, remember to use your credit card and not cash."
Alexis nodded again. "I know what I'm supposed to do." She looked at Rodgers. "Just why are you trying to help me out?"
He shrugged and smiled. "It's what I do."
"Can you tell me what you're going to do?"
"I'm going to have a talk with your father."
"That's not going to do any good. I've told you what he's like."
"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."
"What?" Alexis frowned.
"From The Godfather?"
Alexis just looked at him. "What's that?"
"Better and better." Rodgers sent her off and watched her until she was inside the bar. Then he stepped back in the alley and disappeared in a blue flash.
Rodgers appeared on the roof of Castle's loft. He picked out a shadowy corner and knelt down to wait. The time spent waiting for something to happen in Iraq and Afghanistan had taught him how to wait silently. After two hours, he rose.
As Alexis had told him, the door leading off the roof had no lock as it was open to all of the building's occupants. And since you couldn't get past the doorman downstairs without being let in by someone who lived there, a lock was pointless. He also found that there were no security cameras in the hallways. The occupants valued their privacy. Rodgers used the key he'd had copied from Alexis' key to enter this Castle's loft. A red light on the security system's control panel began blinking. Rodgers input the code he had been given, then turned the system off.
He checked the downstairs of the loft. There was a light in the office. He quietly walked over and looked in. Castle was asleep with his head on the desk, or possibly drunk. Rodgers smelled the aroma of expensive Scotch. Just like I used to drink. He thought. He walked over to Castle and glanced at the open laptop. Better and better. The laptop was running a video of Castle having sex with Alexis.
"Hey, Castle! Wake up."
Castle's head came up off the desk and he looked around blearily. "Who are you?" He slurred.
"I found Alexis for you. I've got her tied to your bed. Come on." He pulled a smiling Castle to his feet and they walked out into the living room. Rodgers suddenly turned and rammed a stiletto into Castle's chest, just below the breastbone, angled up. Castle fell to the floor. Rodgers walked back into the office and put the stiletto's sheath on Castle's desk. Then he walked to the door, turned the security system back on, locked the door behind him, and went to the roof and disappeared.
When Rodgers walked back into the suite of rooms on the Moon, the others were waiting for him.
"What the hell did you do that for?" Rick yelled at him. "Couldn't you have helped her get away?"
Rodgers smiled coldly. "I did help her get away. She got all the way away. Her father will never bother her again." He explained what he had done.
"You're one cold blooded killer." Becks said.
Rodgers shook his head slowly, "Remember, I saw the video of what he did to that girl. There was nothing cold blooded about it." Rodgers smiled. "This is the kind of shit I was meant to do. And I'm good at it."
"You shouldn't have killed him." Kate said.
"What should I have done? Let him keep on raping his own daughter? Gone to the cops with his laptop showing him screwing her? Which Castle would they have arrested? Him or me? It may not have been legal, but it was sure as hell justice."
Kate thought about it. "Castle's loft is in the 12th Precinct's jurisdiction. According to that Alexis, there was a Detective Kate Beckett there. Even if another me didn't investigate this one, the homicide people there are good. Alexis is the obvious suspect. I wouldn't want her accused of murder."
"She won't be. After all, Richard Castle was killed by Richard Rodgers, someone with his fingerprints and DNA. There's no detective that is going to figure that out. And I made sure Alexis has an ironclad alibi."
On another Earth, Detective Kate Beckett walked past the uniform at the door and went to Lanie Parish. "The vic is Richard Castle?"
Lanie nodded. "Sweetie, if you don't want to work this one, everyone will understand."
"Castle and I were over a long time ago." She said, remembering how things had been for the first year or so, before his advances had become so unpleasant and unwelcome. I actually thought I was falling in love with that bastard. Hell, I did actually fall in love with him, and it still hurts me. "Cause and time of death?"
"Cause appears to be a stab wound to the heart. But I'll have a definite answer after I get him on a slab. From liver temp, time of death appears to be between ten PM and two AM."
"The security system was turned off at 11:31. Just prior to that, the door was opened. No way to tell if Castle opened it from the inside or not. Three minutes later, the system was turned back on." Detective Javier Esposito said. "Body was found by a Sindy, with an S, Welles." Espo pointed to a scantily dressed blonde giving a statement to a uniform. "She arrived at 11 AM, the doorman confirmed that, and found the vic."
"Beckett, you gotta see this." Detective Roy Montgomery said from Castle's office. In the office the detectives gathered around Castle's laptop.
"Oh, Jesus!" Esposito said. "That's Alexis. That's his own daughter. How could he…"
"We have a motive." Beckett said, unhappily. As much as she despised Richard Castle, she had always liked his daughter. "Put out a BOLO on Alexis Castle."
Three days later, Kate Beckett went to report to Captain Ryan.
"Sir, we've confirmed Alexis Castle's alibi, for the most part. She says she met a guy named Ron outside a bar in Manhattan who drove her to Boston. She can't give us much of a description of Ron or his car and we've been unable to track him down. Alexis says he dumped her in Boston when he ran into an old girlfriend, then she went to a bar she knew. We have surveillance footage of her in the bar and her signature on the credit card receipt. He alibi is solid, sir. She was in Boston during the window of our time of death."
Ryan nodded. "So what's your conclusion?"
"Based on CSU's sweep and Dr. Parish's report, Castle was alone in his loft. He was drunk and opened the door and turned off the alarm. We don't know why. Maybe he was expecting someone. A couple of minutes later, he turns the alarm back on and opens and closes the door. Maybe he was expecting Ms. Wells, although she has an alibi. She's well known to Vice with numerous arrests for soliciting. We think he was carrying the dagger that killed him, tripped because he was drunk and fell on the knife. The knife and its sheath have Castle's fingerprints and DNA on them, and only his prints and DNA, and there are no smudges to indicate anyone wearing gloves handled the knife. In short, Richard Castle died due to an accident."
"I actually liked the guy for a while, you know. Until he tried to go all medieval on you." Ryan said sadly.
Kate nodded slightly. "I kind of liked him, too. I'm glad I found out what he was like before I let it get serious." Kate frowned slightly. "Sir, I'd like to tell Alexis personally what we found. After what she went through for all those years, it'll help her to get closure to know we know she wasn't involved in Castle's death."
Kate knocked on the door to the loft. Alexis answered it. "Detective Beckett? What do you want?"
Kate explained the conclusions that they had come to about her father's death. Alexis just nodded. She could hardly tell anyone what had really happened.
Kate handed Alexis her card. "Alexis, I know what you went through. If you ever need to talk to anyone, or need any help, please call me."
Alexis was going to take the card to be polite and never call Detective Beckett, then she remembered the other Becketts she'd met. "You know, I could use someone to talk to right now. Can you come in?"
Both Alexis and Kate began the process of getting over what Rick Castle had done to them.
Back on the Moon, the five were sitting around the table enjoying a drink. Metford had told them that there would be no mission tomorrow.
"Intellectually, I know that I never saw that Alexis we rescued before. And I know I never did anything to her. But I feel terribly guilty about what happened to her. I mean it was me who did that to her." Before anyone could contradict him, Rick added. "Yes, I know it wasn't anything I did, but I still feel guilty. I wish I could do something. How many unhappy Alexis' are there out there?"
"Close to an infinity of them." Becks said. "Somewhere there's a happy Alexis and a miserable Rick Castle. And on another Earth there's a happy Castle family and an unhappy Kate Beckett. Someplace else on some preindustrial Earth, Alexis is working twelve hours a day in a coal mine because otherwise she won't eat and her dad died of some disease we cured decades ago. Like Metford and everyone else told us, we can't save everybody. We don't have the resources."
"And some won't want to be helped." Kate added. "Somewhere there's a violent Castle gang, robbing banks and killing people. And Rick and Kate Castle, Alexis and Martha, love what they're doing."
Castle shuddered a bit. "An evil Kate Beckett. If we find one, you'll have to handle her. I couldn't shoot another you."
"We'll manage." Rodgers said.
The next day they did very little. Metford found some of the Nikki Heat books that Castle had written because both Becks and Rodgers were curious about them. Rick and Kate were given a Nikki Heat book written by another Richard Castle. They went into Metford's empty office where they could also look out at the surface of the Moon.
"This guy is good." Kate said when she was about halfway through the book.
"I certainly am." Castle teased.
"I wonder if he married his muse?"
"He should have. All Rick Castles should be happily married to all Kate Becketts."
"Except that it doesn't work that way. Look at Becks."
"Maybe we can find her a Richard Castle of her very own."
"As long as she doesn't want mine. After the last time, I won't share."
"Never." Castle said fervently.
When they woke up the next morning they discovered they had another change of clothes. Kate looked them over. "Heavy black boots, oil stained Levis and black tees and jackets that have Maine-iacs Motorcycle Club on the back. I have an idea what we'll be doing."
Kate's idea was confirmed when they arrived at the red square and saw five motorcycles waiting for them. Kate walked over to examine them. "BSA motorcycles, although I don't recognize the model."
Rodgers was more interested in the rifles in the scabbards attached to the motorcycles. He pulled one out and examined it. "FN FAL."
"A what?" Becks asked.
"It's a Belgian rifle. In French FN stands for Fabrique Nationale which means National Factory, that's who makes them and FAL is Fusil Automatique Leger, or light automatic rifle. It was developed about the same time as the old US M 14 rifle, the early sixties. It's still in use with some poorer armies and some police forces. Pretty good weapon."
"If you check your saddle bags, you'll find you also have Browning Hi-Power pistols in 9 millimeter." Metford told them.
"I'd prefer a Glock." Kate said.
"There are no Glocks where you're going."
"And where is that?" Castle asked.
"To get another Alexis." Metford said. "The virus will give you the information you need."
"Simone, can you ride a motorcycle?" Kate asked.
She shook her head.
Kate turned to the others. "Anyone else?"
"I can ride." Becks said.
"Me too." Rodgers said,
Kate looked at her husband. "Rick?"
"I rode a dirt bike a little."
"How much is a little?"
"Into a lake. Do you know those things don't float?"
"No matter." Metford said. "The viruses will take care of that. Hurry up now."
They were injected with the virus and in a flash of blue light found themselves on a vast, open prairie.
"Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto." Castle muttered.
"Actually, that's where we are. Sort of." Kate corrected him.
As usual, Rodgers went over the information that they had received from the virus. "The main change in this Earth we need to be concerned with happened in 1803. President Thomas Jefferson decided the Constitution wouldn't allow him to buy the Louisiana Territory from France. Accordingly, the United States stops at the east bank of the Mississippi River. After Napoleon was defeated, the Spanish got Louisiana back and it became Mexican when they declared independence. The Mexicans had problems enough nearer to home and paid no attention to the whole area. However, Americans crossed the Mississippi and began setting up their own independent republics. We're headed for the Republic of New Caledonia and the town of Skye. New Caledonia was founded by people who wanted as little government as possible. They got that. No taxes, means no police, no courts, no law and order. Everything is settled by the local clans. Except for the town of Skye which was taken over by a motorcycle gang ten years ago. According to Metford, that's where we'll find the next Alexis. Any questions?"
There were none, and they rode off down a dirt road. Simone and Rick found the virus had made them into excellent riders.
Not more than a mile down the road, they came to a roadblock manned by a dozen heavily armed bikers. They came to a halt.
"Afternoon." Rodgers said in as friendly a voice as he could manage.
"Afternoon." A biker said, smiling at them. "Where you headed and where you from?"
Rodgers turned to show the back of his jacket. "Maine-iacs MC from Maine. Too damned cold back home. We're headed for Skye to look around."
The biker laughed. "Two miles down the road, but you can't carry firearms into town. You leave 'em here, we give you a receipt and you pick 'em up when you leave. Only enforcers, like us with the white headbands, can carry weapons. And if you mess with us, we'll hurt you. Bad. Really, really bad."
They smiled and handed over their weapons. The bikers waved them on after a quick search.
Skye wasn't much. It was one long dirt road fronted by shacks, tents and buildings that looked like they'd fall down at any minute. Most of them sold motorcycles, or parts, or did repairs. The remainder were either tattoo parlors or bars. They decided to hit the first bar they saw.
The bar was crowded and very loud. A band playing some kind of jazz was on stage. Kate suddenly felt a hand on her ass. She slapped it away and whirled around, looking into a bearded, grinning face. "Don't touch. I'm spoken for."
The man laughed. "Yeah, spoken for by me, darling. Sit." He reached out for her.
Kate grabbed his arm and twisted it so that he had to stand, then she kicked him in the balls and kneed him in the face. He sat down again heavily, looking stunned.
One of his friends stood up. "No one does that to a Sidewinder." He growled.
"Hell, Jemmy. Everyone does that to Sidewinders. Even women." A man at another table yelled.
"Come over here and say that!" Jemmy growled. His three friends stood up.
The three men at the other table stood and were joined by a dozen more bikers.
Jemmy and his friends sat down and were laughed at by the whole bar.
Kate and her friends found themselves facing a massive Native American bartender. "The Sidewinders are trash, but even trash can be dangerous. If I were you, I'd leave."
Castle pulled out his wallet and handed the bartender some bills. "Give them a bottle apiece. Tell them it's on the house. By the time they sober up, they won't remember us. Keep the rest."
The bartender smiled. "You're a smart one. You could do well around here, sport. We got lots of tough guys, but not many smart ones."
"I'll think about it." Castle replied as they left.
They hit several more bars but didn't see Alexis. Rick considered asking around for her, but decided that might give whoever was holding her warning that someone was looking for her.
As soon as they walked into a bar called Hog Heaven, the bouncer stopped them. "The boss wants to talk to you." He tapped Rick on the chest.
"Why?"
The bouncer shrugged. "Don't know. The door on your right."
Rick exchanged a glance with Kate and they all headed for the door. Once inside Rick, Kate and Becks got a shock.
The woman behind the desk stood up and held out her hand. "Name's Vickie, I own Hog Heaven and some other places in town. Shawansay, the Indian bartender, told me about you. Said you're smart as well as tough. I can use people like that. The people I have working for me are tough and dumb. You can do a lot with people like that, but you reach a point where they won't take you any farther."
Rick shook Vickie's hand, trying not to act like she was the Victoria Gates he knew. "We just got into town. We haven't really seen much of the country since we crossed the Mississippi and we'd like to look around."
Vickie nodded. "Smart. Get the lay of the land first. Makes sense." She nodded. "Okay, look around. I'll tell my people to be on the look out for you and to take care of you. Go have a drink or twelve. They'll be on the house."
Rick smiled and they left. Once outside he shook his head. "Iron Gates running a bunch of biker bars. I don't believe it."
"There's something else you won't believe." Kate said, pointing to the bar along one wall. There, dancing on top of the bar, was Alexis. Her hair was even longer than the Alexis Rick knew and she was dressed in high heeled boots, complete with spurs, skin tight black leather pants and a very tight and very wet tee shirt which clearly showed her erect nipples.
Castle only took one step towards the bar before Rodgers grabbed him. "We can't just go grab her. Not in front of all of these bikers."
"But that's Alexis."
"That's a different Alexis, babe."
"It's still Alexis." Castle said, but stopped trying to get away from Rodgers. "We'll get her alone later."
Alexis turned to face away from the crowd, then put her hands on the hem of her shirt and pulled it up and off. She tossed the shirt into the crowd. The crowd yelled for her to turn around and she did, dancing topless on the bar.
Castle started for her again. This time Kate reacted, grabbing Rick and kissing him, pushing her tongue into his mouth and rubbing her boobs against his chest. When he settled down, she whispered in his ear. "Just wait. We'll get her out of here."
Suddenly Alexis stopped dancing and yelled. "DADDY!" She jumped down off of the bar and ran for Rick, not minding the men who grabbed her as she ran. She threw her arms around Rick and hugged him, which embarrassed Rick greatly, "Daddy! You came." She slurred. "I'm so fuckin' glad to see you." She looked up at him with unfocused eyes. "I knew you'd come." Her eyes fell on Kate and she giggled. "An' lookie at who you brought. It's Becketty. Katie Katie Becketty Becketty." Alexis giggled again. "Not such the stiff, prim and proper lawyer are you now?" She waved her finger in Kate's face. "I knew when I came home and heard you screaming for my dad to fuck your brains out that you were gonna change, pretty damned quick." She giggled again. "You don't walk around anymore like you have a poker pushed up your ass, do you? Or was something else pushed up your cute little ass?" Alexis dissolved in laughter, holding on to Rick with both hands.
"Nice to see you, Alexis." Kate said, blushing.
"We should get out of here." Castle said.
As they left, Alexis grabbed a bottle of something off a table, kissing one of the men at the table as she took it. She took a long drink and handed it to Castle. It was awful.
They stopped in an alleyway between the bar and a tattoo parlor. "Sam said you weren't going to come for me, but I told him he was wrong." Alexis said, swaying from side to side. "Daddy'll come for his Alexis. But I didn't expect Katie."
"Why don't we buy you a shirt?" Castle suggested, dragging her towards he street, then thinking better of it. "Or Kate can buy you a shirt."
"Who's Sam?" Kate asked, annoying Rick who wanted her to go get a shirt.
"I'm Sam." A burly biker with long blond hair and a drooping mustache said. "Who the hell or you?"
"This is my old man." Alexis said proudly, then fell heavily against Rick.
"Like hell. I'm your old man and you're my old lady." Sam was in front of Rick with his hands balled into fists.
"No, he's my father, dummy." She said with a giggle.
Sam reached inside his coat and came out with a small pistol. Both Rodgers and Kate had been expecting something like this. Rodgers punched at Sam's throat while Kate grabbed his gun hand and forced it up. Sam slammed Kate in the face, but Rodgers got his gun hand before he could lower his weapon. There was a sharp crack followed by two more together as the pistol fired. The alley was too narrow for anyone to help Rodgers.
Then two men in white headbands ran into the alley and grabbed Sam.
"He had the gun." Sam yelled, pointing at Rodgers. "I took it away from him."
"Check inside his coat." Kate broke in. "He has a holster sewed in in. I'll bet you'll find he has ammo for the pistol on him, too."
The two enforcers checked Sam and found both the holster and more ammo. They dragged Sam out into the street, where a crowd had gathered. Two more enforcers had arrived and the four enforcers spoke briefly to each other.
An enforcer held up Sam's pistol. "You know what happens if you break the rules about guns in town. We mean it people. You wanna to see what we do with people who fuck with us? " He placed the gun against Sam's forehead and pulled the trigger.
Alexis had already passed out.