A/N: This is when things start to heat up.
The next three days were very frustrating for Kate Beckett. First, they had to turn everything they had to a task force and although they could continue their investigation unofficially, anything they got had to be turned over immediately. The Chief had regretfully told her that he'd been overruled because of her personal involvement and she couldn't join the task force. Allowing her to investigate on her own was the bone that he had thrown to her and it wasn't nearly enough in her mind.
There were no new leads from the NYPD investigation or at least nothing they would share with her and the only other thing of note that they'd learned from their reluctant guest under the Old Haunt was that Bracken was looking for an old tape that had him worried. They had concluded it must be the tape mentioned by Montgomery but where was the damn tape? They had nothing new on that despite going through everything she'd saved of her mother's and poring over her coded appointment book. By the third day Kate was in a bad mood about the case and had to try hard not to take it out on those around her.
On top of that, they seemed to be running out of time as rumor had it that the search for the new captain was nearing the end. To make it just a little bit worse, rumor also had it that the top candidate was one Victoria "Iron" Gates. Kate had heard of her and she had come up through IAB, was very by the book and political. If she was the new captain, their freedom to pursue this even unofficially would probably be much curtailed.
She was going through a report that was part of her temporary captain duties when she accidently dragged a fingertip along the edge of a page and got a painful paper cut. There wasn't much blood so she just pressed a tissue against it for a little bit and continued digesting the report. It wasn't until she was done and contemplating the report when she noticed she was tapping her fingers and felt no pain. She looked at the fingertip she had cut and found nothing at all. She was so puzzled that she tried to pull the cut open and her fingertip was completely unblemished. It seemed so impossible that only the tissue with a spot of blood still on her desk kept her from questioning her memory.
She looked towards Castle and he was unaware of her perplexity as he seemed to be researching something on his phone. She glanced around at the nearby detectives and they were busy doing their own duties. She wanted to talk to Castle about this but decided to wait as this was not a conversation that she wanted to risk being overheard.
At the end of the day she was driving them back to the loft and she contemplated the one thing they had accomplished in the last three days. She was now officially moved into the loft and only had some things left at her apartment that she had been storing to decide what to do with them. It was about time in her mind, most of her stuff had ended up at the loft anyway and it made sense for them to stay close together until this was done. After that, they'd have a different reason to stay together and she couldn't help directing a smile at her silent partner in the passenger seat. He gave her a slightly curious smile back but she didn't feel the need to explain her look at him.
She was a little tired as they approached the door to the loft and her contemplation of a quiet evening at home with Rick was interrupted when he suddenly became very alert as he paused in the act of putting his key in the lock of the door. He glanced around then whispered to her, "Someone has been here."
Her hand went to her gun but she didn't draw it as he first examined the door and then touched it with his hands and concentrated. He relaxed as he looked at her again and whispered, "Whoever it was is gone. There's nobody in the loft."
She decided to stay on alert anyway as he opened the door but paused in the doorway. She looked around him into the loft and saw nothing amiss as he scanned the room better than she could. He stepped in to make room for her so she entered and stood to the side. After he closed the door he added, "They left something in my office. I think it is just papers, I sense no danger or bugs."
She relaxed and nodded and followed him into his office. Sure enough, there was a large manila envelope waiting for them on his desk and after scanning the room, he dumped the contents on the desk and saw a paper about Arantus Solutions on top. He began reading the material and since she had long ago realized she'd never match his speed of reading she continued on to change into something more comfortable as he absorbed the material. When she returned, she wasn't surprised to see him sitting on the loveseat waiting for her with a thoughtful expression, his reading already done.
His manner was solemn as he announced, "My father came through for us." She had been aware of his estranged father for quite a while now so she put her hand on his leg to show her support. He looked at her with a small smile and covered her hand with his, which made her smile back. She eased her hand over so they clasped hands and intertwined their fingers as he continued.
"The CIA considers Arantus Solutions to be a rogue company because they aren't fussy about clients or what they are asked to do. He thinks they are probably on the FBI's radar but he isn't aware of what the status of any investigation might be. He provided a list of probable owners and investors, some of them have a connection to Bracken. He is pretty sure that Bracken is the client for Arantus to come after you. He offered to have Bracken killed if we want."
Just from his tone of voice, she knew that was the last thing that Rick wanted and since it didn't fit her sense of justice she silently agreed and squeezed his hand again. He gave her a brief smile before he resumed his summary. "It turns out that one of the names I gave him is the sniper's real name. He is Cedric Marks and he gave me the unredacted summary of his military service. He probably shouldn't have done that but there's not anything interesting for us. It just proves that Marks doesn't mind killing and probably enjoys it. Unfortunately, there's nothing that we can use in court to pin on Bracken from this."
She leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder as she contemplated what he had told her. She'd never give any indication of this to Rick but this almost made things worse. They knew some more things but there was still nothing they could prove. It seemed like wasted effort but she appreciated what he'd tried to do anyway. She decided to provide a distraction.
She lifted her head back up to look at him. "I got a paper cut today."
He gave her a blank stare and she just smiled back at him until he asked, "And that is news because…."
"It disappeared within minutes. What happens if you get injured?"
Understanding dawned in his face as he replied, "It heals quickly, like you."
"It seems there is a side benefit to making love to you. I have felt like I have more energy lately and I thought it was just how happy I am with you but now I'm not so sure." She leaned into him and was so close that her lips brushed his as she added in a low voice, "I'd still do it just to be with you though."
She squealed and laughed as he abruptly lifted her up in his arms and started carrying her to their bedroom. This was starting to look like another wonderful evening.