Eighteen:

The next day's activities went fairly well – no surprises. Mindy had certainly done her homework beforehand and everything went off smoothly. As Castle was finishing up with the last group of autographs he nonchalantly remarked to Mindy "So where are you taking me to dinner tonight?"

Slightly embarrassed, Mindy feigns a smile and says "Oh, I forgot to mention that Black Pawn was throwing a little shindig in your honor tonight at the Hilton, didn't I?"

"Let me guess, press the flesh with the local media to garner favorable publicity for my books?" Castle replies with mock sarcasm. "Let me guess, this was Gina's doing, wasn't it?"

Mindy now chuckles out loud "Something like that, but I'll never tell."

"No need to." Rick looks down as if upset. "Just tell me when and I'll be there."

It wasn't hard for Rick to figure out which banquet room was reserved for him. After all he was staying there so there wasn't any need for anyone to escort him. He selected one of the two suits that he had brought with him. A little less formal than the other one assuming that a more casual attire was suitable for the media he was meeting. Mindy had advised him to be there by 8:00 pm so promptly at 8:15 he made his way into the banquet hall. Immediately he was swarmed by media members wanting interviews and pictures. Most spoke english and he tried to be as accommodating as possible. He honestly was a little overwhelmed by it all. Pushing her way through the crowd Mindy was speaking in Chinese and english trying to calm the crowd. She assured them that they would try to accommodate their requests if time was available. She invited them all to partake of the buffet dinner and that Castle would be speaking to the entire group first. Reaching her hand down to Rick's she gently tugged his arm to pull him away from the crowd.

He got his first real look at Mindy. She was dressed in a fairly short emerald green cocktail dress that left little doubt about how well she was built. Even Rick was surprised by just how attractive she was. Her legs were even more beautiful than Ka- her, he chastised himself for the thought. Castle smiled taking in the vision that was one Mindy King thanked her for the rescue from the overly active media members. "And may I say Miss King that you clean up really nice." giving her one of his megawatt smiles.

"Well thank you Mr Castle, You're not so bad yourself." She replied.

Mindy sat beside him during the meal making small talk about nothing in particular. Rick actually began to have a good time. He actually started to believe that maybe this whole trip was a good idea though he would never admit it to either Paula or Gina. Mindy was first to the podium where she discussed the reason for their little party followed by introducing the guest of honor. Rick was his usual charming self entertaining the crowd with stories about developing Derek Storm and Nikki Heat characters. It was pretty much the same stories that he told at similar events over the years. The exception being his exclusion of his working with a certain NYPD detective. It was still too raw. A Q and A session followed with Mindy serving as interpreter when needed. Most of the questions were generic and those that hit a little too close to home about his relationship were simply ignored as politely as possible. A brief photo session followed where guests posed for pictures with Rick. The evening actually went by quickly and it was Mindy who was telling everyone that it was time for Rick to leave. Castle smiled and waved his goodbyes to the crowd as they exited the room, Mindy leading the way.

As they stood by the elevators in the hotel lobby, Mindy released his arm and exhaled loudly. "Well, I'm glad that's over. How do you answer the same questions over and over again without going crazy?"

Rick smiled and stroked his chin with his thumb and forefinger as if pondering a deep thought. "I guess the key is not to give the same answer twice Miss King. I sometimes wonder if they're even listening to what I'm saying anyway."

"I don't know about that, but I'm sure that your little 'fan club' were hanging on every word you said." Mindy smirked referring to a group of 5 very young and attractive Chinese girls who were pointing and giggling sneaking glances at him during the Q&A session.

"What can I say Miss King, I'm a RHW." He blushes as he says it.

"RHW?" Mindy inquires.

"Ruggedly Handsome Writer Miss King." He replies.

Now it was Mindy's turn to blush, unable to contain a laugh. "Yes, Yes you are.." Mindy looks into his deep blue eyes and nearly forgets what she wanted to tell him. She chuckles and shakes her head gathering her thoughts. "We'll be traveling to Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon. You have the morning off. I have some business to attend to at the office, but I thought that I'd meet you here at noon."

"So you're coming with me to Hong Kong?" Castle inquires.

"Yes, I'll be with you." she replied. "It's somewhat ironic that I take care of you there, but have to let someone else look after you when you continue your tour in Australia, my home country."

Rick can only smile. "Well, Miss King, thank you for all of your help this evening. I'll see you tomorrow."

"It's been my pleasure Rick." Mindy smiles and gives Castle a peck on the cheek. "Goodnight Castle." she turns and walks to the entrance.

Rick can only smile as his fingers touch to spot on his cheek that Mindy kissed. "Until tomorrow, Miss King." He turned and made his way to the elevator and then to his room.

Rick enters his room, pulls off his jacket and shoes then heads straight for the mini bar. Grabbing a couple of mini scotch bottles and a tumbler he flops down into the armchair. He can't help but wonder how she is doing. While he may not be able to say her name out loud, he still loved her. He would probably always love her. He just didn't like her right now. Part of him actually felt sorry for her. How her insecurities lead her to loose everything that she ever had that was important to her – or at least what he assumed was important to her.

Getting up to grab a couple more bottles of scotch from the mini-bar, he returned to his chair to begin round 2 of the Richard Castle pity party. The warmth provided by the amber liquid did little to quell the chill he felt. He knew that he had reached a crossroad – one path lead to him throwing away everything that he believes in and beg Kate to take him back, or to cut his losses and move on. He had already survived 2 failed marriages, but this was different. He never was really in love with either Meredith or Gina and he knew it the entire time they were together. He married Meredith because there was no way he was going to be responsible for another child that would grow up without a father. He lived with the pain that comes with not knowing everyday of his life until six months ago. He knew that Meredith would never be faithful to him, but stayed with her for the sake of Alexis. He married Gina because she was convenient – she was already his business partner and bossed him around like a wife. All he wanted was someone to fill the void left by Meredith leaving as Alexis' mother. In hindsight, it wasn't all Gina's fault. By the time they married, he was so possessive of Alexis that no one would be adequate in his mind.

Starting to feel the effects of the scotch, Rick rose to his feet to get ready for bed when there was a knock on the door. Not expecting any interruptions he made his way across the room and slowly opened the door. The bellboy smiled and held out a manila covered envelope sized package like those used to send items via UPS. Castle reached out the door and took the package from the bellhop while grabbing some RMB from his pocket to give as a tip. The bellboy took the tip while bowing and smiling. Castle shut the door and fastened the security latch. Curious as to the contents, Castle studied the outside of the envelope for any clues. There was no name on it only his room number. Likewise there was no return address either. Maybe it was some type of thank you gift from the hotel he thought to himself as he felt the package trying to guess its contents before opening. It was a cushioned envelope like those used to send small electronic devices. Squeezing the package would indicate that whatever it was was about the size of a small cellphone. Tearing open the package revealed that his suspicions were correct. It was a small candy bar style phone. It looked worn, but functional.

He pressed the menu button to try to see if there were any contacts in memory or call history. There was none. Still convinced that this must have been some type of gag gift sent by Mindy, Rick smiled to himself and sat it on the nightstand by the bed. He had finished undressing and was about to get into the bed when the phone rang. Rick waited until the third ring before reaching over to answer it. There was no caller ID displayed and now Rick was sure that Mindy had something to do with it. Laughing, he pressed the answer button and said "Ok Mindy, very funny, but I was just getting ready for bed."

There was a pause of a couple of seconds before there was any sound from the other side. "Alex Rodgers, I need to speak to you as soon as possible."

The blood drained from Rick's face. Whatever effect the scotch had on him was gone instantly. "I don't know who you are talking about. You've got the wrong guy."

"Come now Alex, we both know better than that. I'll meet you in the business class lounge tomorrow."

"How will I recognize you?" Castle asked trying not to sound as afraid as he was.

"Don't worry, I'll find you." with that the call ended. Castle just sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall. Ten years, ten long years had passed since anyone had called him Alex Rodgers. That name was one from another life, used by a different man. Not him. There was no one he could call and he was half way around the world from where home was. Walking back to the mini-bar he had to decide if vodka or gin would serve as an acceptable substitute as all of the scotch was gone now. Rather than choose, he took both.

X-X-X

Beckett spent the next day alone in her apartment trying to figure out everything that happened the night before. After seeing first hand just how close Erik Vaughn and William Bracken were, she wondered just how 'coincidental' their initial encounter actually was. Bracken's reaction to seeing her and Vaughn together also raised flags in her mind. It took repeated refusals for Vaughn to give up his quest to have Kate come up to his suite after the party.

What really puzzled Beckett was her brief encounter with the man known as R A Hunter. There was something about him that seemed so familiar. The fact that he seemed to know quite a bit about her was also disconcerting. She racked her brain trying to think of whom he seemed to be like. She took everything into consideration putting herself in detective mode considering his physical appearance, his actions and mannerisms. Only one person that she knew came close – Richard Castle. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Rick had told her about his meeting in Paris and how his father was some type of agent for the government. He also told her how his father had kept an eye on Martha, Alexis and him. It tied in the comment made by Sophia Turner as she was about to kill her and Rick about his father getting him into the CIA.

Only one conclusion came to mind. Richard Alexander Hunter was the father of Richard Castle. 'Did Rick know? What other secrets had Rick been keeping from me?' She wondered feeling a little hurt, but then realized that he was no longer a part of her life and she had no right to feel anything about him.

X-X-X

Hunter closed the phone after reading the text message from his contact in Tokyo. The meeting was set in Shanghai airport's business lounge. It was time to get some answers. Hunter exited the private jet and made his way through Romanian customs. As far as anyone in customs knew, he was a courier for the US embassy in Bucharest and the briefcase he carried containing his SR-25 rifle was full of confidential documents and not subject to inspection.

He glanced at his watch and smiled. He would take a nap and prepare for the nights activities.

X-X-X

The alarm on his phone sounded promptly at 10:00 am. His alcohol induced sleep ended with the usual splitting headache as the outcome. Staggering to his feet, he shuffled to the bathroom and searched through his shaving kit for his bottle of aspirin. Opening the bottle, he grabbed a handful and popped them into his mouth. Reaching for one of the complimentary bottles of water by the sink, he twisted off the cap and gulped down enough to try to was the taste of the aspirin from his mouth. He brushes his teeth, shaves and showers as quickly as he can while pondering why anyone would want to contact 'Alex' after all of these years.

The aspirin and the shower helped a little and he started to pack his bags. He took the cellphone that was sent to him and tucked it into the side of his carry-on bag. He knew that standard protocol was for the phone to be a single use, but he had no idea about anything anymore. Rick sat his bags by the door and called the concierge to take them to the lobby. Making a quick once around the suite to make sure he left nothing behind, he grabbed his key card and his laptop bag and exited the room.

Rick went to the front desk to check out and make sure his bags were waiting for him. The hotel had a coffee shop, but looking across the street, he saw the familiar sign for Starbucks. It surprised him how many western shops and restaurants there were in China. So much had changed in the 15 years since his last time in the country. He ordered a double expresso and sat at one of the tables facing the street, watching the world go by lost in thought. He pulled his laptop from his bag, turned it on and started to type out an outline for his next novel. It would be a standard murder mystery, but without the NYPD or Nikki Heat. Maybe it was time to go back to a male lead character he thought.

Forgetting all about the time he typed away on his laptop when he felt a woman's hand on his shoulder. He jumped instinctively at her touch. Mindy chuckled and said "Hold on there big boy. I'm sorry I scared you. You know you were supposed to meet me in the hotel lobby at noon, right?"

Rick glanced at his wristwatch and exclaimed "Oh Shit! I'm sorry Mindy, I was in the 'zone' and lost track of time."

"That's ok Castle. We've got plenty of time." She replied. If you'd like, we could take the Mag-Lev to the airport and I'll have the driver meet us with our luggage."

They boarded the fastest train in the world in downtown Shanghai. There were only two stops and the entire trip from the city was approximately twenty-two miles. The attendants on the train were all female and dressed much like flight attendants. Each car had a monitor displaying route information and speed in KPH. Soon they were on their way. Rick had to admit that he appreciated the effort made by Mindy. He watched as the monitor displayed the increase in speed as it finally stopped at 422 KPH. The ride was so smooth that they only way you could tell you were moving this fast was the blurred countryside passing by. It was over as quickly as it started as the train approached the airport. Rick thanked Mindy for setting this up for him as he honestly never saw himself returning to China again.

Making their way through the busy airport, they were sitting in the first class lounge on the lower level waiting for their flight to be announced. Rick grabbed a couple of beers and handed one to Mindy as he searched for the mystery man he was supposed to meet. Deciding that a trip to the restroom was in order, he excused himself and walked inside.

"Mr Castle. It's been a long time." Came a voice from behind as he washed his hands.

Rick smiled as he turned to face the man who spoke. He recognized the voice. "Hello Mr Smith. I have to admit you're the last person I ever expected to talk to.."

"We need to talk. I'm staying at the Hilton. I believe that you are too. I'll contact you there.." Smith turned and walked out of the restroom before Rick could respond.

Rick walked out of the restroom and scoured the first class lounge for any sight of the man. He returned to the table where Mindy was sitting finishing her beer. She could tell that something had happened in the few minutes that he was away. "What's the matter Rick?"

He feigned a small smile. "Nothing. I just thought that I saw someone that I knew.. I must have been mistaken." Castle finished his beer and then checked his phone for any emails or messages. 'Of all of the people in the world and all of the places, why him and why here?' he wondered.

The flight was uneventful. Mindy flew beside him in first-class. He never saw Mr Smith on the plane, but knew he was there. Rick had suspected all along that Smith had faked his death. Saying anything about it to anyone served no purpose, so he kept it to himself. He wondered just how Smith and Montgomery were connected. It was obvious to him now that Smith had ties to some agency, he just wasn't sure which one.