Sixteen:
Mindy was right. The Hard Rock was only about 1000 feet from the front of the hotel. The hostess lead them to a table on the upper deck. They had an excellent view of the stage, but there wouldn't be any live entertainment until 10:00 pm. They both ordered cheeseburgers and a pitcher of Tiger beer that was on draft. They made small talk until the food arrived which Castle devoured as if he hadn't eaten all day. Laughing to himself, he realized that he hadn't eaten all day. He looked around the restaurant admiring the rock and roll memorabilia on the walls admiring the signed Fender Stratocaster owned by Jimi Hendrix.
Mindy finished her burger and they started to discuss the plans for tomorrow. A book signing for the entire Derek Storm series that are being re-issued in both Chinese and English would be the main event. Mindy had arranged for interviews with national publications. It should be over before 5:00 pm and they had a flight to Shanghai scheduled for 7:30. Castle finished his beer and looked at his watch. It was 8:00 pm here. He would call home and check in with Martha and Alexis as soon as he returned to his room. Mindy looked at him checking his watch and guessed that he wanted to call home. "If you need to get back to your room, we can leave at any time. We've got a busy day tomorrow and I'm sure you could use some sleep."
"I'm normally better company, but I really need to call home." Castle replied offering a faint smile. Mindy raised her had to the waitress signaling for the check. Mindy paid the bill and then get up up leave. Castle followed her out the door and they walked side by side to the hotel. After entering the lobby, Mindy gently grabbed Rick's elbow. He flinched at her unexpected touch, turning to face her.
"You need to be checked out of your room before we leave in the morning. The driver will pick us up at 9:30. The book signing starts at 10:00 am. They have an excellent buffet breakfast here. If you like, I could meet you for breakfast if you'd like." Mindy smiled and started walking towards the elevators.
Castle smiled back and replied "No problem. What time would you like to meet for breakfast."
"How about 7:30?" Mindy inquired.
"Sounds good. I'll see you then." The door on the elevator opened and Castle motioned for Mindy to enter first. Castle leaned across her to press the button for her floor followed by his own. As the elevator door opened, Mindy turned to face Castle before exiting. "Mindy," Rick paused. "Thank you for everything that you have done. I know that I can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I'll grow on you. I had a wonderful time."
Mindy was surprised. She replied "No worries, mate." In a Crocodile Dundee voice, leans over and gives him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Good night Castle." Mindy purrs as she exits the elevator.
"Good night Mindy." He says as the doors close.
Back in his room Castle plops down in the armchair and grabbed his phone from his jacket. He dials Martha's number and waits. After a couple of rings, Martha answers. "Hello?"
"Good morning mother." Rick replies.
"Oh darling! I'm so glad to hear from you. How are you? Did you have a safe flight? Hows China? Did you eat?" Martha was rambling now.
Rick chuckled. "I'm fine. Good flight. China's really different from what I expected. And yes, I just had dinner. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing fine. Alexis is still madly in love with Pi. I have to sneak out if I want a dinner with meat in it. So tell me Richard, have you met any ladies?"
"Mother, why would you ask me something like that?" Rick was annoyed.
The next few minutes with small talk that really Castle had no interest in. He glanced at his watch and told Martha how he really needed to speak to Paula. Castle hung up and started to call Gina. As the phone rang he almost wished that it would go to voicemail so he wouldn't have to deal with her.
Gina answered on the 3rd ring. "Hello, Is that you Rick?"
Castle paused for a second. "Hey Gina, how are you doing?"
"Where are you? How's the book tour going?" Gina inquired.
"I'm still in Beijing. First appearance is tomorrow. Then I'm off to Shanghai."
"Great! Sounds like everything is going to plan. How are you getting along with Mindy? She's quite attractive isn't she?"
Rick could see Gina's slyly smiling through the phone. "Yes, Mindy and I are getting along just fine. And yes, she is very... tall. Please don't start."
"Start what!" Gina asked mockingly.
"You know. I'm not ready for anything like that. So stop. Please." The pain etched in Castle's voice.
"Ok Ricky, I'm sorry. It breaks my heart seeing you so sad. And besides, you cannot write when you're like this."
"I'm nearly finished with my outline for my next new character. I'll be ready to pitch it once the tour is over. Doesn't that count for something?" Castle using his little innocent boy voice. "Gina, I've got another call to make before I go to bed. I'll call you again in a couple of days. Ok?"
"Ok. I'll talk to you then. You be careful." Gina hung up.
Castle sat on the bed staring at the walls dreading his call to Lanie regardless of the reason why. Walking over to the mini-bar he grabbed a couple of the mini bottles of scotch and a glass. Taking a sip, he looked through his contacts until he found Lanie's number. Taking another sip, he pressed the call button and waited.
Lanie answered on the second ring. "Hello, this is doctor Parrish."
"Lanie, it's Castle, how are you doing?"
"Richard Castle." Lanie said in her I'm gonna smack you voice. "Where the hell are you? And why did you leave without telling any of your friends?"
"I'm fine. I'm in Beijing. I've got an Asian book tour. And..." His voice trailing off looking for the right thing to say. "This thing just came up at the last minute. I didn't have time to tell anyone." Wanting to change the subject, he inquires. "So are you and the boys keeping the big apple safe?"
Rick could hear Lanie's smirk through the phone. "Yeah, the boys and I are keeping the streets safe from crime. We could always use some help. A certain 'civilian consultant' comes to mind, but I hear that he's off galavanting around the world.."
Castle rakes his fingers through his disheveled hair and laughs. "I'm sure the big apple is doing just fine without me. How are you doing?"
Lanie knows that Rick is dancing around the real question that he wants to ask. "I've been better.. And no, I haven't heard from her. Have you?"
"No. Not that I expected her to."
"Phones work both ways." Lanie replies.
"I could say the same thing to you then. Look, she made her choice. It's obvious that none of us were part of it."
"I'm so sorry Castle. Before she took the job, I'd never seen her so happy as she was last year with you. I knew that you had always loved her, but I saw that she was in love with you too. Then something changed. I don't know what, but I got the feeling that she was slipping back to her old insecure self. She had convinced herself to get the job she wanted meant that she had to choose between you and it." Lanie's voice was calm and reserved.
"Did Kate tell you that she never told me about the job until I found the boarding pass from her trip to DC in her jacket? When I confronted her about it, she told me that it was only an interview and probably would lead to nothing. When I asked her why she didn't tell me about the interview, she immediately went on the offensive telling me that it was her life. I left her apartment knowing that it was over. That I had wasted 5 years of my life chasing after a woman who would never put me first in her life." The pain in Castle's voice was clear.
There was a long silence on the line before Castle continued. "I thought that I could be her 'one and done', lucky number three for me.. I carried the ring in my pocket a month waiting for the right moment, afraid of her running away from commitment. I even went to get Jim's blessing. Then everything started falling apart. First it was Vaughn.. Then the damn job." Rick let loose a nervous laugh. "The upside is I didn't have to suffer through a rejected proposal."
Lanie was touched by Castle's confession. "You really are a romantic." Lanie fought back a tear as she said it.
"I thought great romances had happy endings?" Castle quizzed.
"Your story's not over." Lanie replied.
"You're more of an optimist than I am. I gave it my best shot. There's nothing left of me to give." Rick sighed, his voice trailing off at the end. "Will you let Ryan and Espo know that I said hi and that I'll try to see them when I get back to New York?"
"I certainly will Ricky. You be careful, you hear?"
"I will. You take care of yourself Lanie." Castle presses the end button on his phone.
X-X-X
Kate really didn't know why she accepted Vaughn's offer when he called back later that day. Maybe she could actually talk to the AG and see if he knew anything about Cochran and his investigation of Bracken she thought. 'Maybe you just need a night out with a friendly face. Was Vaughn a friend?'
Beckett got an ample dose of ribbing from her partner when she let it slip that she was going out the next evening. While McCord knew little about Richard Castle, she knew quite a bit about the billionaire Erik Vaughn and was more than a little envious of the junior agent. When McCord presses to find out just how she knew Vaughn, Kate was evasive, saying only that she had recently worked a case in New York that he was involved with.
"So you two were close?" McCord teased.
"No." Kate replied defensively, a little too quickly.
McCord grins, knowing there is more to the story.
"I see.. Weren't you with the writer at the time?"
Knowing there was nothing she could say that wouldn't make things look worse, Beckett decides to change the subject. "So what did the prosecutor say about our case?"
Rachael can see that Kate is embarrassed by her previous question. Something happened with her and Vaughn that Beckett didn't want to talk about. 'Maybe he was the reason that she broke things off with her writer?' "He says that we have a pretty strong case and that he's going to take it before a grand jury. Happy now?"
Kate can only offer a sarcastic smile. "Deliriously. What's next?"
McCord grins. "Possible civil rights violation case. South Dakota. A lawyer for one of the local tribes claims that the local LEO's have been a little too aggressive with the natives after they have too much to drink at the town's only watering hole."
The recent discoveries of oil deposits in the area had created a boon. Lots of jobs and money. The local LEO's were overwhelmed with things that they never expected like organized crime, gambling and prostitution. Forced to expand their force quickly, many of the towns took on LEO's who were less than qualified. It was the AG's office to determine if the complaint had any validity and if it did was it a rogue cop or an organized effort.
"We fly out this afternoon. Who knows, you might get lucky and we get back before you have to cancel your 'date'." McCord smirked.
X-X-X
William Bracken smiled as he read the coded-word report from one of his contacts in New York. It appears that everything was moving along as planned. Vulcan Simmons had established a pipeline from Bolivia for the drugs that would fund his bid at the oval office. With Beckett and her 'friends' out of the way, Simmons should be able to operate threat free. His contacts within the NYPD would see to that. Once everything is in place, Bracken will make the necessary calls that will tie up any loose ends.
He still didn't know about Richard Castle. There had been unsubstantiated rumors that Mr Castle had strong ties to the CIA and someone very high up on the food chain. The type of connection that could bring down the senator. As long as Mr Castle stayed away from Kate Beckett and the NYPD, then he could continue with his plan. Her other 'friends' would become victims of unfortunate accidents. He'd save Beckett for last so she could see how easily she was duped and how everyone she knew became a victim because of her. Bracken couldn't stop smiling at the thought.
He debated if it was time to call in 'agent Cochran' and have him see if Beckett knew anything about the real Richard Castle.. He'd let Cochran give her just enough truth to make the lies believable. It had worked thus far.
X-X-X
Richard Alexander Hunter sat in a small office in the Pentagon. No one ever came around and he liked things that way. His official title was Director of Special Operations, but had no ties to any of the three letter agencies. R A Hunter held a seat on the NSC and reported directly to the President as he had for the last ten years. He was responsible for the type of 'problem solving' that could not have any ties back to the President or any government agency.
The credenza behind his desk was a barren as the rest of his office except for a small picture of a red headed little girl sitting on the shoulders of what one could only assume was her father. The loving looks that the two in the picture exchanged for each other was hard to miss. Next to the picture lay two books, Casino Royale and Naked Heat.
Hunter had two issues to deal with at the time. The first one was job related. It appeared that a Libyan arms smuggler with ties to several terrorist groups was attempting to purchase spent plutonium cylinders from a Ukrainian weapons dealer. The spent cylinders could be used to make dirty bombs. The exchange was supposed to take place in Bucharest in two days. His assignment was to intercept the shipment and terminate both parties in such a manner that a clear message was sent to anyone else who might consider such an act.
His second issue was more personal. There had been several not-so-subtle attempts in the last six months to find out any information that the government may have on one Richard Castle. While he couldn't confirm whom was making the inquiries, there were strong indications that it was someone in the office of William H. Bracken, the two term senator from New York. Hunter had no idea why the senator had shown an interest in his son, but he was sure that it wasn't good. He needed to talk to Richard and find out why Bracken was interested in his background.
Checking with his source at Black Pawn, Hunter was able to confirm that Rick was in China. Not willing to risk a trip there himself for various reasons, he devises a plan that will allow him to accomplish both tasks. A couple of brief calls and the plan was set.