AN: I was wrong. There will be 43 chapters plus an epilogue or two.
Forty:
The cab ride to Rick's loft was spent in silence. Castle was deep in thought trying to figure out just how he would tell Jim that his daughter really isn't dead and wondering what exactly was on the tape. Jim finally broke the silence. "What's with all this cloak-and-dagger stuff Richard? Do you know what's on the tape? Why was it hidden inside the statue?"
Rick just offers a small smile and replies. "I wish I knew Jim, honestly." The cab pulls up to his building and the two men exit after Rick pays. They're greeted by the doorman as they enter and are soon standing inside Rick's apartment. Rick takes Jim's overcoat and hangs it in the closet along with his own. "Would you like something to drink, coffee, juice, water?"
"A water's fine. Thank you."
Rick walks to the refrigerator, grabs two bottles of water and returns to the living room where Jim is standing. Castle hands him a bottle and gestures for him to take a seat. "Where's Martha and Alexis?" Jim inquires.
"Alexis transferred to Stanford. That was always her first choice for schools, but when they rejected her application for early admission, she decided to go to Columbia. She realized that she wasn't being fair to them, or herself and transferred at the end of the semester. It didn't hurt that her first love was a student there." Castle grins at Jim who understands that's the real reason for her going. "Martha is off in Vancouver shooting a mini-series. That's why neither of them were able to attend the memorial service... First things first, let's find out what is on this tape."
Rick walked into his office and began rummaging through his desk drawers, finally finding the old micro-cassette recorder that he hasn't used in years. He then ran into the pantry beside the kitchen and pulled out a fresh set of batteries, placing two in the device. Castle opened the recorder and placed the tape inside as he returned to where Jim is sitting. "Do you have any idea what this could be?" Castle inquires, suddenly afraid that it may be something personal that would embarrass the man.
Jim shook his head no and signaled for Castle to start the tape. There was nearly a minute of silence and the two men started to doubt if there was anything on the tape or that it had deteriorated over time to where it was unplayable. The silence was broken by the sound of two men in a phone conversation. Rick didn't recognize the one man speaking at the time, but he immediately recognized the other. It was senator William H. Bracken calmly informing the other man that they would need to 'take care' of the problem and that this wasn't the first time that he had used his services. Both men listened in stunned silence as they listened to the two men discussing killing someone as if it was just another job.
"My god Rick! Is that who I think it is?"
"Yes, It's Bracken, no doubt in my mind. Our tech people can verify it before we confront him."
Jim picked up on the 'our' and 'we' that Castle had used but decided to not press the issue at the time. "Do you recognized the other man?"
"If I were a betting man, I'd say it was Dick Coonan. Bracken used Coonan as his problem solver quite a bit. In fact we can attribute his handy work to at least six murders, including Johanna's."
Jim had nearly forgotten that Coonan actually murdered Johanna. He remembered Katie telling him about this right after she had to shoot Coonan. He comforted her as she cried in his arms saying that she failed because she never found out who hired him. "So what do we do now Richard?"
"I need to get this to the right people as quickly as possible. We finally have the smoking gun that can put Bracken away for life."
"How can you trust anyone in the NYPD? After all this started with a bunch of corrupt cops."
"I wasn't talking about the NYPD." Rick walked to where is sport coat was laying on the sofa and pulled out his credentials, handing them to the man.
Jim opened the leather wallet and looked at the ID. There was an extended silence and Rick wasn't sure how the man was going to react. Beckett gave him an incredulous look and replied. "You're a Fed? Did Katie know about this?"
"I sort of got drafted back into government work.. I agreed to help on one case and yes, Kate found out after Vaughn's murder."
Jim's mind was reeling. The proof of Bracken's involvement in Johanna's murder had been in Kate's possession all this time and she didn't know. And Richard Castle is a Federal agent? But nothing could have prepared him for what Rick told him next.
"Kate's alive." Rick spoke quietly.
Jim gave him a confused look, thinking that he heard incorrectly. He started to speak, but Rick held up his hand asking for his silence as he was afraid he wouldn't be able to get through his speech. "After Vaughn was murdered, we knew that they were coming after both him and Kate. Why else would they wait for an opportunity when they were together? I knew that the only way we could keep her alive was to have Bracken think she was already dead. She's in WitSec and I have no idea where Kate is. Only that she's safe and that's what's important."
Jim just sat there in stunned silence trying to process everything that had been discussed in the last few minutes. Rick sat there watching the man, unable to think of anything that he could say that would make things better. Never had Castle wanted a drink as bad as he did at this moment, but there was no way he would do it in front of a recovering alcoholic who probably wanted a drink worse than him. "Would you like a cup of coffee Jim? Or a hot cup of tea?"
"Coffee's fine. Thank you." Jim replies as Rick gets up from the sofa and walks into the kitchen and his ornate expresso machine. Castle watches from the kitchen to see how Jim is processing everything that has been discussed. He hoped that telling Jim the truth about Kate helped, but wasn't sure right now. The sound of the front door opening drew his attention away from the man. Mindy walks into the foyer and removes her coat looking at the two men in the room.
Rick smiles seeing her enter the loft and inquires. "Hey. I'm making coffee for Jim and I. Would you like a cup?"
Mindy smiles and walks into the kitchen and places a kiss on his cheek, not knowing if she should keep up their cover in front of the man. "That would be great. Thank you."
He finished preparing the coffees handing Mindy her's first and carries the other two into the living room. Mindy gives him a curious look and he gestures for her to come into the room with them. Rick places the cups on the coffee table as Mindy enters the room. "I don't think that the two of you have been properly introduced. Jim Beckett, I'd like you to meet special agent Mindy King."
X-X-X
Kate Beckett, now Jennifer Burton was bored and frustrated. Three thousand miles away her friends and family were getting on with their lives thinking that she was dead and she was stuck in a safe house where she felt anything but safe. Hunter had left soon after she took her nap the first day without a word. Robins has been with her the entire time, only leaving long enough to pick up whatever items she happened to write down on one of the lists. He was polite and respectful of her situation, but she could tell it had been years since he had personally handled a relocation like this. She was sure that this was a personal favor for Hunter.
Robins had contacted a beautician who normally deals with the elderly and shut-ins to come in to help with Jenny's makeover. He assured her that once she looked more like her new drivers license's photo they could go out and get her a temporary wardrobe until she reaches her final destination. Kate had studied the dossier for Jennifer Burton until she had it memorized. She was thirty-five, once married, an only child and both parents were deceased. She had a bachelors degree in Russian literature from Stanford. Someone had done their homework knowing that she was familiar with both Stanford and Russian literature. Her past work history was a blank that would be filled in based upon her career choice. Robins was adamant that she could have nothing to do with any job related to law enforcement.
Robins even suggested that she could go back to school if she wanted and pick up an advanced degree. He assured her that all costs would be covered and Kate had the feeling that it wasn't the Marshall's service picking up the tab. 'Maybe it's time to get the law degree you always wanted?'
X-X-X
Rick and Mindy shared a quiet diner with Jim Beckett. Kate's father was still trying to make sense of everything that had been revealed earlier. Castle was pleased to see the look of relief on Jim's face finding out that his daughter was still alive despite never being able to see her again. Rick knew as a father exactly what he was feeling. Castle would gladly give up ever seeing Alexis again if it meant she would be safe. That's what a parent will sacrifice for their child.
As soon as Jim departed, Rick walked into his office to make digital copies of the tape. He composed a quick email to Smith requesting a face to face meeting and shut down his laptop. Mindy was sitting in the living room drinking a glass of wine and staring at nothing in particular. His cell phone chirped signaling an incoming text message. It was Smith telling him to meet in their usual spot.
Rick shared a glass of wine with Mindy as they discussed their days. She was trying to get to account information for the donors to the PAC and had planted several worms in the email servers from remote terminals as she didn't have direct access to these systems. Once they have access to their communication, they may find out exactly who is involved. They continued making small talk but both could sense something was off between them. Mindy looked at the clock on the wall and noted the time, saying that she was tired. Rick glanced up at the clock and noted that it was only 10:00 pm. Mindy got up from her seat and carried her empty glass to the sink. She returned to where Rick was sitting and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek then turned and walked up the stairs to her room. Rick simply watched her ascend the stairs as he finished his wine and went to his room alone.
The meeting with Smith went about as well as he could have hoped. He told Rick that this could possibly change everything and would fly to Washington this evening to give it to Hunter.
Castle continued his work with the IA division keeping notes of any and all cops who were being 'investigated' by Betty Wilson. He needed access to Betty's computer but couldn't find a way to get near it without drawing suspicion to himself. Rick debated asking Mindy to see if she could hack into the server somehow. He knew that she was the key to finding out who in the NYPD was involved, but couldn't think of a way to get to her.
Rick had to admit it was pretty ingenious. Anyone who suspects the dirty cops are involved in anything will just assume that because the IA is already investigating them that things are under control. After all, what cop wants to tangle with IA and risk having them look into their own performance – even if they're clean? And all investigations are sealed unless official charges are filed. It was practically perfect.
X-X-X
Smith's meeting with Hunter was interesting. After playing the tape for him, Hunter decides to go directly after Bracken and hope that he'll give up Simmons in exchange for his life. He hated the idea of letting Bracken off the hook for ordering the murders of Johanna Beckett and all of the others, but it was the only real leverage that they had. Things were moving too slowly to suit Hunter. Richard made a quick call to a his friend in the FBI and made the necessary arrangements.
Hunter and the FBI agents walked into the Capitol building where the senate was in session at the time. The agents waiting outside while Hunter walked into the session and sat beside the senator. Bracken calmly sat there and listened to another senator droning on about a subsidy bill that was needed to support some group that had probably funded his campaign.
Bracken turns and smiles at Hunter. "Richard Hunter. What brings you to the senate? I'm sure you don't have any interest in providing subsides to tobacco farmers do you?"
"No, I came for you. We can do this quietly or we can make a scene. That's entirely up to you. But you will leave here with me." There was a malice in Hunter's voice that left no room for debate.
"Am I under arrest? Do you even have the authority to arrest me?"
"Do you really want to try me? I could make you disappear right now and no one in this room would even notice. Your call senator."
Bracken rose up from his chair and Hunter followed. Once outside the senate floor, the group of FBI agents were waiting to escort Bracken from the building. Two black suburbans were waiting outside. Hunter got into the passenger side of the first vehicle as Bracken got into the back seat, sitting between two agents. The dark tinted windows prevented anyone on the outside from seeing what was going on inside. One of the agents hands Bracken a hood and tells him to put it on. The senator starts to panic a little knowing that wherever they are taking him they don't want him to know. Bracken regains his composure and calmly places the hood over his head.
It took nearly an hour for the suburban to make it to its destination. Bracken was lead into the building with an agent holding an arm on each side, his hood still in place. The senator knew that this was probably some 'off the books' CIA facility and that the odds of someone finding him were slim. They rode the elevator down and the door opened as the men lead Bracken to an interrogation room. Sitting him down on the hard metal chair, one of the agents removed the hood as they left him alone.
Bracken had been a DA, had worked with cops for years. He knew that leaving him alone was part of the process to sow any seeds of doubt that he may have. He did wonder why they were bringing him in now? Did agent Beckett's death trigger some dump of evidence that she claimed she had? No, there was something different about this. He wondered if they had gotten to Simmons and he 'rolled' on him to save himself. Bracken had a lot to worry about.
Hunter walked into the room, a micro-cassette recorder in his hand. He sits it down on the table and then takes the seat facing Bracken.
"I want my lawyer. I won't say anything without council." Bracken smirks as he speaks.
Hunter gives the senator a predatory look and replies. "That's ok, just listen." Hunter presses play on the recorder and the tape begins.
Bracken sits there stone-faced as he listens to a younger version of himself ordering the murders of two people as casually as if he's ordering a take out dinner. Hunter stops the tape and speaks before Bracken can respond. "Oh and before you claim that the tape was faked, I've already had my people compare it to known speeches you have given recently. There's a 98% voice match. More than enough to get a conviction for murder one.."
Bracken's expression falters slightly, but he remains defiant. "What do you really want? If all you wanted was a conviction for murder, you'd have perp-walked me off the senate floor in handcuffs."
"I know that unless you cooperate with me, a murder trial will be the least of your worries. I know that you've got some connection to Vulcan Simmons and that you're using your cronies in the NYPD to protect him."
Bracken has a difficult time masking his surprise at the revelation of his ties to Vulcan Simmons. "If you could prove any of this you wouldn't be talking to me."
"You're right about that, but I'm really close to getting it without you. And if I do that, then welcome to life in Sing Sing. Who knows, you might be able to survive a while. I think that I'll have you share a cell with Joe Pulgotti. You probably don't remember him, but he's the guy that you setup to take the fall for killing Bob Armann. Thirty years is a long time to plot your revenge."
"You can't prove any of that!"
"I don't have to. I'll I have to do is plant a seed.. How many others are rotting away in that place thanks to your handiwork as a DA? Do you think that they'll need any physical evidence before they shove a shank in you? Hell, I wonder if you'd even make it to trial. If you are tied to Simmons like I know you are, you'll never make it out of Rikers to stand trial."
Bracken was a survivor, first and foremost. He would sacrifice anyone to protect himself. In fact, that was what Hunter was counting on. The senator knew that his political career was over and there was a good chance that he would be convicted of ordering those murders. "What do you want? And what's in it for me?"
Hunter gives him an emotionless chuckle. "What do I want? Everything. I want Simmons, I want all of your NYPD lackeys that have been doing your bidding for years. Oh, and the PAC that's funneling money to you for your run at the White House." He pauses for a minute contemplating Bracken's second question. "What's in it for you is a chance to remain among the living."