CH86
There were soon 8 police cruisers, three unmarked cars along with 3 County Sheriff vehicles and two NYPD K-9 units soon parked outside or inside the old factory building.
This was soon followed by 4 ambulances along with three more unmarked police cars and also a town car.
These three carried the District Attorney, Police Commissioner and a representative for the Governor. The town car had brought in the Mayor of New York City.
All of this of course had been followed by 4 television vans along with other reporters with still more on their way.
"OK! Let me get this straight. I've got an injured Senator, 4 live gang members that this same Senator had brought with him, along with 1 live mercenary that he hired. All the rest are dead. And you have all of this on tape?" The district attorney was interested mostly in the tapes, but liked having witnesses like the gang members who would probably cut a deal and leave Bracken hanging in the wind.
"Including Bracken yelling to have me killed, yes sir." Kate answers.
"Captain Montgomery, you took it upon yourself to do this without authorization or notifying my office?" The Commissioner asks.
"Yes sir, Bracken has ears everywhere, probably including your office. And even if he doesn't have them now he may just buy his way in later and we would never have caught him. Sir." Roy responds.
"So you're suggesting that my department is corrupt?" He didn't like the implication.
"No sir, only that Bracken may have ears and learned of this little sting and would never have come in the first place. Or sent even more hired mercenaries to have us all killed." Roy counters.
That Bracken could or already did have ears in his office was what was really pissing him off. Even more that having one of his Captains go rouge on him with an unauthorized sting operation on a US Senator.
"And just how does a private citizen fit into all of this?" Roy had taken it outside of the precinct; it only made his blood boil a little more.
"He's my husband sir, and I trust him with all of our lives. Plus he is useful in a number of ways." Kate answers his question smiling at Rick.
"I don't give a damn how useful he is at home, what the hell is he doing here?" The Commissioner had caught the innuendo about being useful in bed that Kate hadn't really meant. Well not intentionally anyway.
Rick pulls out his wallet and hands over a few cards. Some where all his weapons permits for all the weapons he had brought with him today. One other was a card with a name and number on it for Quontico. The last one was an ID that had FBI written all over it.
The Commissioner had recognized the name and number on the card. It meant he was going to be relegated to watching from the sidelines as he got to watch the Feds swooped in and take over.
"I see Agent Castle. I suppose this means we all get swept to the curb now?" He didn't like this idea. This was his city, not some Federal play toy.
"It involves a US Senator Commissioner, it was always going to be a Federal matter." Rick responds.
Kate, Roy and the boys however are staring at Castle wondering what the hell just happened.
Kate especially was giving him an evil eye, that told Rick he had a lot of explaining to do if he wanted to go on living.
Just then the Commissioners cell phone rings. After listening for a while. "Yes sir, … no I understand sir, … yes sir our office will assist in any way we can sir. …. Thank you sir." And hangs up.
"Ok let's get this mess cleaned up. Get the wounded to the hospital for medical attention and double the guard on all of them. Plus I want another detail outside the hospital. I don't want anyone screwing this up.
It seems we are all wanted downtown. The FBI and the AG's office is already there waiting for us. Damn it, I'll never get any sleep tonight." And the Commissioner heads for his car along with everyone else.
Downtown they find yet another mob of reporters waiting for them.
Inside they find even more people. "I'm Agent Carl Villante and this is Agent Rachel MCCord, we are with the AG's office. And this is Special Agent Will Sorenson representing the local FBI office. We'll give you a moment to get cleaned up before we get started." Carl tells them and has an officer escort them to the restroom area.
In the men's restroom Rick is surrounded by Roy, Ryan and Espo so he can't talk to Jack about anything. But he trusts Jack to do what is in their best interests.
Kate however was all alone in the women's restroom. "Jill dial the operator for me."
"Dialing."
"Operator."
"Code name Natasha Fatale, code Narf, Duh, 4418, Zeta Gamma 0000, Pink Submarine, Rock Hudson."
"Name and code verified. How may I help you?"
"I need one Special Agent Will Sorenson with the New York FBI unit removed from the Bracken case and replaced with a woman. I also need him to be transferred to another city, like Santa Fe New Mexico. NO, make that Tucson, Arizona.
I also need an undercover FBI identification as a temporary transfer from NYPD to work just the Senator Bracken case." Kate tells her.
Kate was sooooo going to kill Rick for not talking to her about this. Oh he was so dead!
"Removal will take place in the next 15 minutes; his replacement will be there in 2 to 4 hours time. His transfer will take place before the end of day tomorrow, (since it was not yet midnight), and your ID will be ready in less than 5 minutes." And the call ends.
Kate went to work cleaning herself up a little. Rolling around on that filthy floor had made a mess of her.
Kate was the last to join the others. "You are each going to be taken individually and debriefed by one of our agents." Carl tells them. "McCord you take detective Castle, I'll take Captain Montgomery, and Sorenson you will take, …" But he is interrupted by another agent.
After reading what he is given he walks off without finishing.
Will takes this moment to step near Kate. "You should have stuck with me Kate. Marrying this loser of a writer was a big mistake. I'll do what I can for you, but I'll expect, …." But he is interrupted when Carl returns with two men.
"Agent Sorenson, by order of the director himself you are being removed from this case and are being transferred. A Special Agent Jordan Shaw will be taking your place when she gets here. You will go with these two men. …. NOW Agent Sorenson." Carl makes it plain delay is not an option.
The two men with him step up and start escorting Will out of the building. "Bye Will." Kate tells him, smiling.
Carl turns to McCord. "You take the female Agent Castle and debrief her, I'll take Montgomery, and until we get more people hold the other three separate from each other. No talking."
McCord looks confused, just when did 'Detective Castle' turn into 'Agent Castle'? This should prove to be an interesting interview.
Kate was with McCord for a little over three hours so far. Kate had gone over everything that she thought she could.
McCord had come and gone countless times. Each time she came back a new topic was brought up. This told Kate that she had been viewing some of the footage or audio recordings that Rick had arranged for.
Kate had asked a few questions about his place on the kidney transplant list, however McCord just brushed it off. She wasn't here for that, she was here for what they had done.
Kate had also asked about the television footage of Bracken going to the club house of the local gang that he had brought with him to the factory.
However McCord had passed over that too. She often asked the same questions countless times after bringing something else up first.
Kate had long since figured out she was trying to find something wrong in what Kate was telling her. Kate would have and had done the same thing countless times before.
Finally there was a break and Kate and the others were given something to eat and drink and relax a little before starting again.
Lunch comes and goes hours later and they are still at it. Question after question.
Kate finally found herself alone in the restroom again. "Jill how is Rick and the others doing?" Kate was tired, almost bone tired. She had been up for a very long time now.
"Jack says he is tired but holding up about as well as you are. He hasn't spoken to the others since we all got here." Jill tells her. Just like Kate hadn't talked to anyone but McCord since she got here.
"Jack has also found out by monitoring the web that the press are all over it. Speculation about a lot of things. A lot of it is just that, speculation. However it does appear that some of the press is getting accurate information from someone.
They have Bracken being involved with an attack on NYPD using gang members. The same gang members that he was spotted going to their club house earlier.
A number of them have noted that his office in DC and his hotel downtown as well as his home in New York have been raided. And that hours later they were still searching all of them.
They have monitored that a lot of his cars had been towed away. There are also unconfirmed reports that his vacation home in Key West has also been raided.
Jack has also leaked information that him and Rick had uncovered. They are chasing those items also" Jill tells her.
"How about his kidney problem?" Kate asks her.
"Two people on the transplant board have been detained for questioning. Their offices and homes are also being raided. DC and New York is alive with federal agents all over the place.
Jack is estimating that the FBI has flown in over 40 agents from other regions in the last 6 hours.
His hacking has found that a lot of what they have taken is being flown out of town.
Both political parties are working overtime. His is conflicted to either back him or condemn him. The opposite party is using it as a demonstration of how corrupt the other party has become.
The other two senators that had renal failure have also been detained. Their homes and offices are also being raided.
The President has called for a new conference about 18 hours from now." Jill tells her.
"Doesn't sound like Bracken is going to hide from this mess." Kate tells herself smiling.
"Anything on my mother?" Kate is forced to ask.
"There does not yet appear to be anything concrete mentioned as yet. There is a lot of implication that he is involved in having people killed. Sorry Kate." Jill tells her.
"It's early still. They will be investigating him and others for months to come yet." Kate is convinced.
It was near dinner time when Kate saw food coming in. This told her she wasn't going home anytime soon. Complaining that she had a daughter to feed and take care of and get to school in the morning fell on deaf ears.
Rick was having the same problem when it came to Alexis. Then they all saw something that caused their stomach's to fall. They were bringing in cots with blankets and pillows.
Since the precinct had a workout room it also had showers, and just before 10:00 PM that night they were all allowed to use it.
"How you holding up?"Roy asks them. Though he looked like a zombie. Even after the shower looking into the mirror only confirmed their worst fears.
"Are they going to crucify us or let us go?" Espo asks Roy.
"I think they are still working on what to do with us. Our little operation wasn't sanctioned by anyone, and yet I get the feeling there is someone in our corner. Or we wouldn't still be here. We would be all alone wondering what building just fell on us.
Got any ideas old friend." Roy turns to Rick.
Rick actually did know who was probably in their corner, but even he had his limits if he wanted to keep using him and Kate and not give up information on Jack or Jill.
"I'm guessing they found something somewhere. Office, home, car, somewhere. And they are using us to fill the holes in the time line." Rick offers instead.
"Bracken's home and office." Ryan says it out loud. Though he had considered it for some time now.
"He's who we were after, now they are looking into him to find out why." Espo gets it barely, since he is barely standing.
"Think we get to keep our jobs?" Ryan asks. Wondering what his wife is learning without him to talk to. What is she hearing, reading?
"Don't worry about it. Just answer their questions. If they put it together we'll be alright. Just answer their questions." Roy tells them.
They head for their cots wearing NYPD sweats that came from who knows where.
Kate meanwhile is sitting on a cot in a room that had been cleared for them. There were four other cots in here with her.
Her heart told her that the others, like Rick would be sleeping here with her. Her mind however was playing games with her. This was just something they were using to break her so she told them something different.
The door opens and Roy steps into the room. Kate jumps up and sees him but doesn't see him. He's not who her heart wants to see.
Roy notices Kate but wanders over to one of the empty cots and lays down and is asleep before he hears a single word spoke.
Ryan is next with Espo right behind him. "Beckett." Ryan notices her on his way to one of the empty cots.
"Hey Beckett it's good to see you." Espo steps up to her and notices that she is looking past him. He just grins and moves on to one of the two cots left.
Finally Rick steps in and Kate's legs turn into Jell-o and her breathing becomes difficult. She wants to run and squeeze him for all she is worth, but her legs aren't listening.
Rick's legs however take him to her and they hold each other. Also holding each other up. Neither of them say a word just revel that they have each other. It takes a while before they pull back to look at each other.
Rick grabs one of the cots and pulls it as close as physically possible to the one she was standing in front of.
It's a cot so they can't lay in each others arms but they can at least touch while they go to sleep.
THANKSGIVING:
Rick and Kate were long since home. They were both busy cooking. Ryan, Jenny, Espo, Roy, Evelyn, their two girls, Lanie, Jim, Martha and Alexis were all here at their home to celebrate.
The fiasco of Bracken wasn't yet over, and probably wouldn't be anytime soon. He was still in jail and was being held without bail in isolation. The prosecution had successfully pointed out that he was a flight risk. They were afraid that if they put him in with the general population he wouldn't last the day. He would end up with a shank in his throat.
They couldn't have him dying on them before they executed him now could they?
The press was all over him. He was the very first topic on all the major networks for weeks. Radio talk shows lines were lite up like Christmas trees even today. One political party was in major damage control while the other was blasting the entire party for not knowing anything about their guy.
If you thought there was gridlock in the Senate before, you should see it now!
Bracken was already on his third lawyer. The first one quit from all the death threats, not that it helped having his house shot up in a drive by shooting. The second one quit on him when he found out Bracken didn't have any non-dirty money to pay for his services.
A lot of his staff had also been arrested, however most of them rolled over on Bracken to get a lighter sentence. Plea deal if you prefer. The gang bangers had done the same. While the lone surviving mercenary had been killed the second he made it into the general population. After he sang like a canary.
The Royal Javelins disappeared and other gangs carved up their territory amongst themselves. But not without a few more deaths of the gang members doing the carving. It got to be very busy in their old turf.
Kate had been standing next to Rick, since neither of them had left the others side unless they had to for any reason, when Kate handed over the envelope holding Roy's ticket.
Roy had taken it without saying a word. After opening it. "HAWAII!? They have been in Hawaii all this time? You sent them to Hawaii?"
Roy, Ryan, Espo and Kate had all been ordered to take two weeks off with pay. It was essentially a suspension with pay. The Brass was mad, really mad, however what Rick had in video and audio to cover their respective asses had it seems helped them out immensely.
That and everything the raids had found. Only Kate and Rick, thanks to Jack and his hacking ability, knew what they had found. And more was added every day. Bracken had it seemed been careful to a degree. There was literally no paper trail leading directly to him. However with all the people taking plea deals to rat out Bracken it made up for it, in spades.
Roy spent his two weeks in Hawaii with his family. Evelyn had barely scratched the $60,000 in cashier's checks Kate had sent with her. There was a late night celebration out on the beach his first night there. Complete with a camp fire on the beach.
They ultimately found out that Jenny got pregnant during those two weeks.
Evelyn had kissed Rick for all she was worth after clearing it with Kate and her husband.
Kate never saw Espo or Lanie for any of those two weeks. It was only a lot later that Kate figured out where those two spent their time. And Kate gave Lanie hell over her and Espo as Lanie had given her over Rick.
Rick and Kate never left home except to take Alexis to school and back. Martha had even teased them about it being a factory that made glue.
It was during this time that the Castle family found themselves in a cemetery one day. Standing in front of a stone that said Johanna Beckett.
"I got him mom. After all this time, …. I finally got him."