Nineteen:

They arrived in Hong Kong on schedule and Mindy confirmed that they were staying at the Hilton. The driver was waiting for them as they cleared customs and they rode in silence into the city. They checked in and Mindy suggested that they meet later for dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants. Castle agreed and they made their way to their respective rooms.

Once inside, Rick sees the flashing red light on his room's phone indicating a message. Checking the message all it said was 'room 3121'. All of his years of training told him that this was not a smart move, but he had no one to turn to and Smith had information. Deciding to hedge his bets, he calls Mindy to tell her that he is meeting an old friend and may be a few minutes later than he planned. Mindy was surprised, but told him not to worry, she'd wait for him to call before heading down for dinner.

He left his room, walking to the elevator down the hall. Minutes later, Rick stood in front of the door 3121 and knocked. A few seconds later the door slowly opened and he was face to face with the mysterious Mr Smith.

"Mr Castle, it's good to see you." He extends his had to Rick.

Castle shakes his hand and replies. "It's not every day you get to meet a walking ghost."

Smith offers a slight grin. "You know how the game's played. I needed to disappear."

"Why? You could have taken Bracken down." Rick replies flatly.

"It wasn't the right time. You see Bracken as some sort of puppeteer, when he is really just another puppet."

"Where do you fit in all of this?" Rick inquires.

"My job was to find the puppet-masters. Bracken was being groomed by them. He is just the type of pawn that was ruthless and willing to do whatever needed to be done to gain power. All the while giving off the public persona of an honest truth seeker."

Castle was little surprised by his revelation. He'd been around enough politicians over the years to know that nearly all of them owed their positions to someone behind the curtain. "So why are you telling me any of this. You know that I have no ties to Bracken and Ms Beckett and I haven't spoke in nearly six months."

Smith can only smile at Castle's comment. He gestures to the sofa and chair in the room. "Take a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

Rick walks to the sofa and sits down. "I'll have a water, thank you." Smith grabs a water from the mini-bar and tosses it to Castle as he grabs a couple of small bottles of scotch and pours them into a glass.

Taking a large drink from his glass, Smith pauses as he waits for the liquid to warm him. Sitting down in the chair facing Rick he begins to speak. "This all started over twenty years ago. I was a young agent working an undercover case and got my ass into a serious bind. Roy Montgomery got me out of it. Probably saved my life. I owed him. After the shootout where he was killed, Roy sent me a package full of damning evidence against Bracken. He told me to use it to keep Ms Beckett and you safe. The problem was, I didn't receive the package until after she was shot." He paused to take another sip from his drink.

"Why me? Why did you need to keep me safe from him? He didn't even know who I was at the time."

"Oh but that's where you're wrong. The senator has spies throughout the NYPD from his time as a prosecutor. Bracken knew about you, he knew you had serious connections, but could never figure out with whom. He saw you as an enabler for Beckett. Does your hundred grand donation to find her mother's killer ring any bells?" He paused so that Rick could understand what he was implying. "Bracken wanted to keep the two of you apart. He didn't want to make a move on her. The timing was wrong."

"This doesn't make any sense. Why didn't you use the evidence that Roy sent you to put Bracken away?" Rick inquires, more than a little agitated.

"Roy Montgomery had plenty of evidence to prove that Bracken had accepted money from three dirty cops, that's all. Roy had nothing that would tie Bracken to any of the murders that he ordered. The worst we could have done was end his political career and maybe, just maybe put him in a Federal prison for a few years. Do you think that Ms Beckett would be satisfied with that?"

Rick flinched involuntarily at the mention of Kate. He remembered her talking about how much it would hurt her if they somehow caught her mother's killer and he got a light sentence or was thrown out on a technicality. "No. She wouldn't." Castle replies in a whisper.

"When Roy sent me the package and made the call to both Bracken and you. I knew that there was more to this than just dirty cops and corrupt politicians. I knew that Bracken could not be trusted and all I was doing was buying time. I called you to make sure Ms Beckett stayed away from the case while I tried to find the evidence that would tie him to the murders. I knew I was close when I had my little visit with Mr Maddox. Once you rescued me, I knew that I had to die or they would continue to send other 'visitors' to finish the job."

"I'm not trying to be difficult, but I still don't see where I fit in all of this. Shouldn't you be talking to Beckett? She's the one in real danger." Rick sighs in frustration knowing that her blind quest down the rabbit hole will ultimately lead to her death.

Smith rose from his seat and walked to his bed where his briefcase lay. He opened it and the manila folder inside pulling a couple of 8X10 photos and walked back to where Rick was sitting. He handed the photos to Rick and returned to his seat. "There was an embassy dinner two nights ago. These were taken there."

Taken from different angles, both photos showed a smiling William Bracken talking with Katherine Beckett and Erik Vaughn. Kate was in the same long black formal dress that she had worn to the embassy dinner with deputy inspector Hunt. Vaughn was smiling and had one arm around her waist. Rick couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy looking at her smiling with Vaughn.

"Erik Vaughn is under investigation by the Justice Department for selling restricted technologies to foreign governments and suspected terrorist groups.. Are Ms Beckett and Mr Vaughn a couple?" Smith inquires.

"I honestly have no idea." Rick replies, the defeat in his voice apparent. "What does this have to do with Bracken?"

"We've known for some time that Vaughn has been a major contributor to Bracken. We suspect that Vaughn is receiving something in return like no-bid government contracts. We also know that the people that were pulling the senator's strings started pulling away from him about the same time as the failed attempt on his life. I know that Bracken is up to something really big, but don't know exactly what it is. My sources tell me that he is going to make a serious run at the White House and we both know the type of money that takes."

"Maybe Vaughn is funneling money into one of his PAC's?"

"We've kept a close eye on Vaughn's finances since we started to investigate him. Vaughn so far has contributed the maximum that he is allowed to by law, nothing more."

"Look, we both know that Bracken is a scum-bag and would allow illegal activities to occur as long as he got a cut. It could be anything." Castle replies. "Do you honestly think that Ka- I mean Beckett is somehow involved in all of this? Is there a chance that there is a secret investigation by the AG's office that she's working on?"

Smith's face hardens before he speaks. "To be honest, I don't care one way or another. I fulfilled my obligation to Roy Montgomery. I was told to contact you to see if you could shed any light on the subject. Obviously you don't know anything. And no, there is no official or unofficial investigation of the senator right now by the AG."

Castle bristles at the curt tone of Smith's reply. "If this is true, then why all the cloak and dagger shit?" Castle inquires tersely.

"I flew half way around the world to confirm a few things, which I have and to warn you that Bracken is getting ready to make a serious play for the White House. That means he will need to tie up any, and all loose ends. You, and anyone else that may know about his past are loose ends. How many people besides you and Ms Beckett know about Bracken?"

Castle thought about his comment and question. Everything he said made sense. Bracken had tried to clean house before and nearly killed Kate twice. He wasn't sure if she would survive a third. After seeing the picture of her with Vaughn and Bracken, he wasn't sure of anything that involved Beckett. Even if they didn't know, Bracken would assume that Ryan, Esposito, and possibly Lanie would know about him because of their friendship with Kate. It wouldn't be the first time that Bracken had others killed to keep his secret. "Two, possibly three." He replies.

Smith frowns. "What about your family?"

"No. I've kept them out of this.." Castle replies a little too quickly. He knew that Martha had a pretty good idea of what was going on even though he never told her directly. "What happens now?"

"We need agent Rodgers for a little while.." Smith paused to see what reaction, if any Rick would have to his real name. "You still have ties to the mayor's office and the NYPD. We need you to re-establish ties to both to help me ferret out exactly what the senator is up to. We need to make it appear to everyone that you have moved on and are simply working with the NYPD to develop a new character."

"And exactly how am I going to pull that off?"

"You'll approach the mayor and tell him you want to create a new series of books about the Internal Affairs division. You'll make up some story about how you want to improve their image. If something's going on, that's where the cover-up will be and the mole for Bracken."

Rick nodded his head in understanding. IA would be the perfect place for Bracken's mole and they did have access to everything. He knew that Captain Gates could shed some light on any questions that he may have about their personnel and procedures. Rick trusted her. "Let's say I agree to this. What are you going to do about Beckett to keep her safe?" While Castle knew that they will never be together, there was no way he would sit idly by and let her be harmed. Not if he could prevent it.

"Me? Nothing. I'd leave her hanging, but your father wants to bring her in and find out just how she fits in this mess. If she's clean, I'm sure that he'll bring her into the fold. If not, all bets are off." Smith states matter-of-factly.

Rick is stunned at the mention of his father. He assumed that he was just some burnt-out assassin that once had ties to the government, not one of the people in power. "I'll do this, but only if I have assurances that Beckett will be protected. This is non-negotiable."

Smith actually smiled. "Deal. But I have some conditions also. You will have a live-in partner. To the rest of the world she will appear as your new girlfriend, lover, significant other, whatever you want to call her. Everyone including your family must believe that you've moved on. Do you think that you can handle that? Oh, you'll report directly to me. Can you handle that?"

Castle grimaced at the thought of another fake relationship. The majority of the women that he had been seen with in the stories of Page 6 were 'partners' brought in for assignments. The womanizing persona needed to support his cover became too much of an embarrassment to him as Alexis got older. It was the single biggest deciding factor in his leaving the agency. "Sure. It's not like I have a lot of choice in all of this. I assume that you've already picked out my new 'partner'. When do I get to meet her?"

"You already have. Your new 'girlfriend' is Mindy King.."

X-X-X

Richard Hunter smiled as he peered through the night-vision scope on his rifle. Lying hidden on the roof, he quickly spots the two snipers in place not far away. Obviously both parties involved in tonights transaction did not trust each other and had their own 'oversight' in mind. He waits until both parties on the ground enter the area. Taking a calming breath he aims his rifle at his first target and squeezes the trigger. He smoothly swings the rifle and sights in the second sniper before taking the shot. He tells the tactical squad waiting outside the area that the 'skies are clear' as he starts to bring the first of the baddies into his sights. He waits until a truck pulls up containing what he can only assume are the spent plutonium cylinders. The purchasing party looks inside the container and motions for his assistant to hand over the briefcase he was carrying.

Once the transaction was complete Hunter gives the signal to the tactical team to move in. From his vantage point, anyone trying to escape would meet with a sudden and tragic end. Once both parties were captured and the cylinders were secured, he broke down his rifle and returned it to the briefcase he carried up. His jumpsuit was removed and placed into the gym bag he carried. Minutes later he was on his way back to the airport.

Hunter was reading his text messages as the plane made its way westward towards Washington DC. He smiled when he read that Castle was 'cooperating' with them and would help with their New York investigation. He wasn't surprised at all that Rick made it conditional on the protection of Katherine Beckett.

He just hoped that the woman was worthy of Rick's faith.