Thirty-Four:
Castle was having an equally hard time trying to go to sleep, but for different. His writer's mind played out different strategies and their most likely outcomes for how they would go after Bracken. He was now sure that Simmons was they key. Taking him down will take down Bracken. The problem was how. He rolled over to his side and smelled the pillow. It was Kate's scent. He forgot how much he missed her scent. How much he missed sleeping with her beside him. He mentally chastised himself for thinking about her when she had already moved on without him. Once she goes into WitSec any and all bridges to her past will be burned. He needed to accept this and move on.
Mindy. He felt like such a heel. She really cared for him and he was still too damaged to realize it. After a heated make-out session earlier, that left both of them more than a little worked up, Rick stops her citing that he couldn't take things any further right now. She smiled and said that she understood, but her eyes were filled with pain. He was so screwed. The woman he loved didn't love him and the woman who cared for him he wasn't sure if he could ever return those feelings. "What a mess". He mumbled to himself.
He woke from a fitful sleep a little after seven. After a quick shower, he dressed and found his way to the kitchen and his beloved coffee machine. A few minutes later, he's sitting at the counter with a cup of his favorite brew, inhaling its scent. Alexis is the first to come down a few minutes later dressed in sleep pants and an oversized tee shirt. Her hair was a tangled crimson mess and Rick couldn't help but smile at the sight, so reminiscent of how she looked as a child. Alexis returns the smile and walks to where he's sitting wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "Good morning pumpkin. Did you sleep well?"
"Good morning dad. Yes, I slept very well." Alexis' smile could light up the room.
"I gather that your date went well?" Castle inquires. Alexis can only grin in response as she places a kiss on the top of his hair.
She walks over to the expresso machine and prepares herself a large mug of the beverage. Little Castle walks back to the counter and sits beside her father as she takes a sip of her coffee. She smiles and bumps her shoulder against her father's. "So did Mindy like her present?"
Rick couldn't help but chuckle at the devious smile his daughter wore as she asked the question. What she really was asking was 'just how did Mindy thank you for her gift?' Castle knew that Alexis and Mindy got along very well, better than she ever did Kate. He cursed himself again for comparing Kate to Mindy. It wasn't fair to either of them, or himself. Rick knew that Alexis' feelings for Kate were a byproduct of her concern for him. He'd often wondered if his daughter knew the whole story would like Beckett more, or even less?
Alexis watched as his chuckle changed to a look of sadness and knew that somehow he was thinking about 'her'. 'Damn her for continuing to hurt her father.' She thought to herself. Alexis couldn't shake the image from her mind of Beckett and Vaughn kissing as her father looked on heartbroken. She wasn't sure if she could ever forgive Kate for all of the hurt that she had put upon her father. Alexis hoped that her dad would see that Mindy was there for him if he'd just push the past aside. She gently bumped his shoulder again and said in a near whisper. "That's ok dad. You don't have to tell me.."
"I'm sorry pumpkin. My mind was elsewhere, thinking about my new job working with the IA division. I just hope captain Gates puts the good word in for me.. You remember how long it took to gain the trust of the cops at the 12th precinct?"
"I remember dad. Don't worry, you'll be fine.." Alexis replied, not exactly sure if it was true.
Wanting desperately to change the subject, Rick inquires. "So, you and Ashley?.."
"It's like we never broke up. I remembered all of the good times that we had together.. He's matured and so have I.."
"Does this mean that you're going to give him a second chance?" Rick asks.
"I.. Part of me wants to, but the other part can't get over all of the things that caused us to breakup in the first place." Alexis sighed and raked her fingers through her hair. "What do you think dad?"
"Pumpkin, I'm probably the last person in the world to ask for relationship advice.." Rick replies with a grimace. "The only thing that I know for sure is you have to resolve the reasons for the breakup first.. I made that mistake with Gina.. I was vulnerable and she was being really nice at the time. All I could remember was the good things about her. The things that made me marry her in the first place. The problem was we never addressed the reasons why we split and over time all of those things came back – with a vengeance."
"I understand dad. Ashley was so focused on school that I felt like I was being left behind. That I wasn't important. But now after being in college for a while, I understand just how easy it is to get caught up in school work. He told me that breaking up with him was the worst thing that ever happened to him.."
"Now that you understand the why's can you forgive him?" Rick asks in a calm, fatherly voice.
"I think I can dad."
"Well, you don't need any advice from me. You know what you want, don't you?"
Alexis grinned and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you dad. Love you." She jumped up from her seat and placed her cup in the sink. "Gotta go dad, I promised that I'd meet Ashley for lunch as Remeys. I've talked about their cheeseburgers so much that he said he had to try one before he went back to California." She walks out of the kitchen towards the stairs nearly walking into Mindy who was approaching from the opposite direction. Alexis apologizes and quickly heads up the stairs still smiling.
Mindy walks to where Rick was sitting and kisses him on the cheek. He turns his head and returns a soft kiss on her lips. "Did you sleep well?" He asks with a smile.
"I slept alone, if that's what you're asking." Mindy replies while trying to give him a mock glare. Her expression softens and is replaced with a toothy smile. "And how did you sleep Mr Castle?"
"Alone also." He replies as he gives her a wink. "Would you like some coffee?"
"Yes please!" She exclaims as she takes the seat that Alexis vacated beside Rick. He gets up and walks to the machine, preparing her a cup the exact way she liked it. Walking back to the counter, he places the cup in front of her as she smiles and takes a sip of the beverage. "Oh that's wonderful! Marry me quick, before someone else finds out about your coffee making skills." She laughed as she finished her comment, afraid of scaring him.
Rick thought about the hundreds, no thousands of cups of coffee that he either bought or personally prepared for Kate. Each cup prepared the exact way she liked it. Each one a caffeine infused I love you, yet he never got anything more from Beckett than a smile or a thank you. He quickly regained his composure knowing that Mindy was just joking about her proposal, yet still feeling nice to be appreciated. "You better watch out there.. I might just take you up on your proposal.."
Rick returned to his spot beside her and they made small talk. He explained Alexis' excitement with rekindling her romance with Ashley. How proud he was of her maturity and humbled that she would ask his advice about relationships. "I'm the last person anyone should ask for relationship advice.. Unless they want to see how to do it wrong." He didn't realize that he had said the words out loud and his cheeks quickly turned red.
Mindy grabs his bicep in her hand and squeezes it tightly so he would look at her. "Listen here. Your daughter loves you. Even more important, she respects you. She knows that you would never say, or do anything that would hurt her. Hell, you flew to Paris on your own with no plan to get your daughter. She knows that."
Rick was more than a little surprised that Mindy knew about Paris, but assumed that his father had probably briefed her before their meeting in Beijing. He couldn't help but wonder how much she actually knew about him that she hasn't let on. He then had the dreadful thought that he was nothing more than an asset and that her assignment was to keep him focused on the mission at hand, nothing more. His whole body seemed to shrink at the thought of another woman using him to get what they needed.
The blonde could see how Castle's body seemed to deflate as his mind processed her slip-up about Paris. "It's not what you think Rick. Martha was the one that told me about how you went off alone to Paris lying to everyone, including Beckett. And yes, I was briefed about you before this assignment, but only the details that were directly related to the op. And no, you are not a 'mark'. I am here as your partner, not your handler. We have to trust each other. If you don't trust me, I'm sure that your father will find a replacement." Mindy was nearly in tears by the time she finished speaking.
Rick turned to see her fighting back crying as she spoke and thought that either she's the best agent I've ever met, or she's telling me the truth. Castle wanted to believe that it was the latter. He rose up from his stool and wrapped his arms around her placing his mouth on the top of her head. "I'm sorry Mindy. I'm so used to being lied to that I just assume everyone is. Can you forgive me?"
Mindy sniffed back a tear and smiled as she turned and returned the hug. "I forgive you. Anything you want to know about me, just ask. No secrets and no lies, agreed? We're partners."
"Agreed."
Their conversation then turned to happier topics, mostly Alexis. Rick was happy to see a genuine smile on his daughter's face again. The breakup with Pi had left her a little stunned, despite the brave front she put on. Martha came down and joined them for a little while then returned to her room to prepare for a class at her studio.
"So what are your plans for the day?" Mindy inquires.
"I need to visit a couple of contacts, the type of people that don't want it to be known they talk to people like me. I need to see what they know about Simmons and his business." Rick replies.
"Why would they tell you anything?"
"The enemy of my enemy is my ally. That's why." Rick smiles. "Do you have any plans? I feel bad about leaving you here, but these are not the type of people that you want to bring your girlfriend to meet."
Mindy couldn't help but grin. "So now I'm your girlfriend?"
"Let's go to dinner tonight and find out." Rick winks and places a gentle kiss on her lips as he pushes himself up and away from the counter.
Rick walked back to his bedroom and pulled his shoulder holster from the closet. He slipped it on and grabbed his P226 from the case beside his bed. Slipping the gun into his holster, he pulled on his dress jacket and checked to make sure the bulge was concealed as much as possible. He walked to the closet in the foyer and slips into his long coat.
He pulled his Mercedes in front of the bar and parks as one of the bodyguards standing outside the entrance watches his closely. Rick grins at the man and tells him to keep an eye on it for him. Once inside, he takes in the sights and smells, bringing back memories of his last time here. He calmly walks up to the bar and orders a pint of amber ale. The bartender eyes him and then glances to the booth in the far corner of the bar waiting for approval. He pours Castle's beer and slides it in front of him. Rick thanks the man and throws a twenty on the bar. Taking a large sip, he smiles and asks the bartender if Finn was around. The man simply nods and tilts his hear towards the booth where the mobster was seated. Rick thanks the man and walks back to where Rourke was seated.
Rourke eyes Castle warily as he approaches. One of the two bodyguards seated at the next booth rises up and proceeds to pat Rick down, stopping when he feels the weapon in the shoulder holster. He quickly extracts the gun from Rick's holster, laying it on the table.
"Mr Castle, what brings you to my fair establishment and carrying a weapon?" Rourke asks with a predatory smile.
"Can't a couple of bar owners just talk to exchange business ideas?" Castle grins as he speaks.
Rourke has to laugh at Castle's question. "So you come here after all this time to ask me about how to run a bar?" Finn gestures for Castle to take a seat beside him in his booth.
Rick slides into the booth and places his glass of beer on the table. Rourke's smile fades as he stares at Castle. "Ok, now why in the hell are you really here? If you're still playing tag along with that NYPD skirt, I've got nothing to say to you." The malice in his words left no doubt about his seriousness.
Rick just grinned and took a sip of his beer. "No. I've parted ways with the NYPD."
"Then why in the hell are you here?" Rourke asks as his anger rises.
Castle reaches into his jacket, causing the two bodyguards who were watching to reach for their weapons. Rick holds his one hand up in surrender as he waits for Rourke to allow him to proceed. Finn nods to his men and
Rick reaches for his credentials and hands them to the mobster. Finn looks at the credentials and laughs out loud. "The Feds must be hard up to bring you back." He laughed.
"They are." Rick replies with a grin as he takes another drink from his beer and puts his credentials back into his jacket. "What do you know about Vulcan Simmons?" Castle watches as Rourke's body tenses at the mention of Simmons.
"Laddie, that fucker is evil personified. He operates with no morals or honor. He'd whore out his mother if it would make him a buck. Why are you interested?"
"We have reason to think that he is being protected by people in high places. Allowed to operate freely in exchange for a cut of his profits." Rick figured that giving Rourke at least part of the story will open him to tell the truth.
"What about me?" Rourke asks.
"Do you think that I'd be sitting here if I cared about your business? I'm not that stupid."
Rourke grins. "I don't know boy-o, You looked pretty stupid following that skirt in here the last time I saw you."
"Thanks for not letting her know that we knew each other." Rick takes another drink from his beer and watches as Rourke simply shrugs his shoulders. "So what can you tell me about Simmons."
"He's dangerous and appears untouchable. He's been trying for years to get his drugs on my streets.. First it was Coonan, then it was the Jamaicans, and now it's the Mexicans. He's too smart to come at me head on, but his power is growing.. We've 'interrogated' a few of his people and know that something big is about to happen. They didn't know exactly what it is, but it's a safe bet it's drugs."
Rick shuddered at the thought of Rourke's interrogations. He knew that Finn was thorough and the person interrogated left out nothing, probably just before a painful death. "Any idea who's protecting him?"
Rourke gave Castle a glare that would have melted steel. "Why don't you ask your fucking NYPD skirt? The cops have been protecting him for years.. You don't rise to power like he has without the cops looking the other way. He's not that smart or discrete."
Rick had tolerated Rourke's repeated barbs about his following Beckett, but found it hard to remain silent. "That 'skirt' as you call her, is one of finest if not misguided cops that I've ever met. The NYPD may be involved, but not her." Castle's tone left no room for debate.
Finn could only grin at Rick's response. "So you're sweet on the lady cop?"
"We're not together. She left the NYPD." Rick replies as he pauses a few seconds, never looking up from his beer. "Let's make a deal. If you keep me informed of anything you hear about Simmons, I'll let you know if IA has any plans to come after you."
"Why would Internal Affairs come after me? That's not their jurisdiction." Rourke inquires.
"They wouldn't, but that's where I'm going to be working for a while.. That's the best that I can offer you." Rick slides out of the booth and extends his hand to Rourke.
Finn rises up from his seat and shakes Castle's hand. "You better watch your back boy-o these are some seriously dangerous people you're going after."
Rick simply smiled as he picked up his Sig from the table and put it back in his holster. "You too Finn." He turned and walked out of the bar and out into the cold street.