Chapter 5: Breakthrough
"That guy had big brass ones taunting Beckett like that." Esposito stated as he looked into the interrogation room from the observation room. "We should have let her hit him."
"Yeah, I don't think any cop there would have turn her in." Ryan replied as he looked over the transcript from the meeting. He also looked at Anton's criminal background. "This guy's been in the system since he was 13. Theft, assault, DUI, burglary, drug possession, intent to sell." \
"Well we can add murder and attempted murder to the list." Kate stated coming into the observation room. She saw Anton just sitting there smugly looking at the glass. "Ehanced photo's comfirm it's him."
"So we got him for Gates's murder and the attempt on Castle." Esposito stated looking at Kate. Then he looked back through the glass. "How do you want to handle it?"
"She's not handling it. I am." Hunt stated coming into the room. He looked at the trio. "Ryan, Esposito will come in with me. That will make the questioning legal. Kate sit this one out."
"I can handle it." Kate told him as she came face to face with him. "I won't let him get to me."
"It took five people to hold you back Kate at the park." Hunt told her. He sidestepped her and looked into the room. "This guy has a breaking point, they all do. And if you are in there, you won't get to it, because he won't let you. Trust me. Go see Rick, and take a break for a little bit."
Ryan looked at Kate, then through the window. "He's right Beckett. This guy will just play with you until you break."
"Esposito?" Kate asked looking at him as he stared through the glass.
"I would to see you get his hands on him, but they're right." Esposito said to Kate as he looked at her. He went over close to her. "He'll play with your emotions. Go see Castle, we've got this."
Kate looked across the room before nodding. She knew they were right. She nodded and left the observation room. She went to her desk and gathered her stuff before leaving the precinct to go to the hospital.
Inside the observation room, Esposito, Ryan and Hunt stared through the glass for a moment. Then the silence was broken. "How you going to do this?"
Hunt looked over at Ryan who made the comment. He held up a file. "Photos from my end, your investigation, as well as intel that can be used. But we are going to let him stew for a moment."
"What about his lawyer?" Esposito asked while still looking into the room.
"On the way." Hunt replied to the question. He looked at the duo. "However, he waived his rights as we brought him in."
"Because he thought he was getting Kate." Ryan stated with a smile. He nodded and turned around. "You ready?"
"Oh yeah. This will be fun." Hunt replied to the question as he led the duo out of the observation room and into the interrogation room. "Anton, how are you doing?"
"Where is the attractive detective at?" Anton asked seeing the three of them come in. He shifted in his seat.
"Oh you mean Detective Beckett; she is visiting her husband in the hospital." Ryan stated as he took a seat across from Anton. "You know the guy you fired over a dozen automatic rifle rounds at."
"Yeah, the man who is also a friend of ours." Esposito also added into the converstation. He nodded to Hunt who passed over the file. Esposito opened up the folder and pulled out the surveillance camera photos. He laid them out. "You see this is you in the front seat of a SUV after you murdered Captain Gates, and this is you as you fired rounds at Beckett's husband and our friend."
"So, I will never face jail time for it." Anton boasted with a smirk on his face. He then looked at Hunt. "You can never prove any of this."
"True, the gun is probably scrap medal by now, but not this." Hunt said pulling out a photo from the file and laid it out on the table. "This is you with Illyana with an arms dealer in Switzerland from last year. I'm assuming you were providing security. Yet this arms dealer sells the guns you guys sell him to terrorist."
"This means you're aiding international terrorists." Ryan said with a smile on his face
"Do you know what this means man?" Esposito asked leaning forward over the table and close to Anton. "I can turn you over to my friend here to be taken into Federal custody, who in turn will take you to a prison that may not be here in the United States."
"You can't do that. I was born here." Anton stated now with a bit of fear in his voice.
"You know you're right I can't, but my boss can." Hunt answered. He then pulled out his phone and laid it on the table so he can look at the number that Hunt brought up. "That is the Oval Office direct line. I can call him, and have your citizenship stripped within an hour. Then I can take you to any site I deem."
"Dude I would listen to him, I heard about some of these sites. Not exactly the tropical paradise that Gitmo is." Esposito also stated as he leaned back into the chair across from Anton. He stared at him for a minute. "So save your skin and give us something?"
"Then you can face charges of murder, attempted murder, numerous of federal gun charges, blackmail and extortion, oh yeah and aiding terrorist here in a regular federal court." Ryan stated now as he leaned forward in his chair. "All you would face is life in prison without parole, instead of life of intense questioning and enhance interrogation techniques."
"You're bluffing." Anton said in defiance. He smirked at the trio. "I don't think you have the guts.
Hunt didn't respond. He picked up the phone and hit the number. He put the phone on speaker.
"Oval Office, Katie Johnson."
"Katie, this is Agent Hunt, may I speak with the President please?" Hunt said into the phone.
"One second Agent Hunt, he's on the direct line to our ambassador to China." The Presidential Sectary stated.
"Hold it." Anton stated now with his eyes wide with fear. He called the bluff and lost.
"Katie, I'll call back." Hunt said into the phone once he took it off speaker. "You were saying Anton?"
"What would you like to know?" Anton asked as he said shifting to in his seat. He looked at the group.
"First of all who shot the security guard?" Hunt asked pulling out a photo of the Mr. DeGarmo and laying it out on the table.
"I did, Nikolai arranged it to bring you guys out." Anton replied as he looked at the picture. He pushed it back towards Hunt. "It was Illyana's idea. Get the cops distracted by looking at a corrupt team, but she didn't count on the writer being good at investigations."
"Thanks a lot." Ryan and Esposito said at the same time which drew a small smile from Hunt.
"So right before she left, if we took out the head, and the heart, it would distract the police long enough to complete the deal." Anton stated as Ryan made notes of all this.
"Where did she go?" Hunt asked him getting up out of the chair and walking close to Anton. "Lie to me and you're gone."
"She flew to Europe to meet the arms dealer to complete the deal." Anton stated as he turned to face Hunt. He then turned to Esposito and Ryan. "She's flying back tonight to an airport just outside the city. Then tomorrow night, she is going to supervise the loading of the arms on to a freighter for the destination."
"Did she tell you where?" Ryan asked writing all this down on the notepad.
"No not even the time. She would call us when she is ready to go." Anton said leaning back now in the chair. He looked around the room and his eyes ended up on Hunt. "What are you going to do to me now?"
"Hold on to you for the time being." Hunt said getting off the table and motioning for Ryan and Esposito to follow him outside and back into the observation room. "What you think?"
"You think he knows who the arms dealer is" Ryan asked getting a shake of the head. "He looked scared when you dialed the number and spoke to that agent. I believe him."
"So do I." Esposito stated looking into the room. He then looked at Hunt. "That was a nice move calling the agency to have an agent play the presidential sectary."
"That was the Presidential sectary." Hunt answered with a smile as he walked out of the observation room to check on the whereabouts of Illyana as Ryan and Esposito looked on in shock.
While Esposito, Ryan and Hunt were interrogating Anton, Kate was walking into her husband's room at the hospital. Rick looked up from his computer as he heard the footsteps. He smiled at the sight of his wife.
"Hey I thought you be off saving the world for democracy." Rick said with a smile on his face. It quickly disappeared when he saw the look on his wife's face. "Kate what is wrong?"
"We caught the guy that was part of the team that killed Captain Gates, and shot you." Kate answered pulling up a chair next to his bed. She took his hand in hers. "Yet he got to me when we arrested him."
She told him everything; how they discovered the mole, set up the operation, and what happened prior to her coming to the hospital. "I don't know if I can handle doing this any more babe."
"Being a cop or the case?" Rick asked as he used his thumb to stroke over her hand. He his free hand had the IV running into it and he didn't want to risk pulling it out if he moved it further than he had to.
"Both, neither, I don't know." She replied to the question. She was close enough that she put her head on her husband's shoulder. "And with McCord hanging over this like a bad cloud, I just got a feeling like we are never going to get anywhere."
"You're the best in the department, and Hunt wanted you for some reason." Rick told him as he placed his chin on the top of her head. He heard her chuckle. "I remember one thing you told me when we first met."
"Yeah what's that?" Kate asked as she felt comfortable in the warmth of his presence.
"It's about getting justice for the victim." Rick told her. He felt her relax as she slowly got up and looked at him. He nodded.
"I love you." Kate told him. She lightly kissed him on the lips, and then placed her head back on his shoulder. She looked around the room. "Where's Alexis and Martha?"
"Out to lunch. Mother said the food here is abysmal" Rick stated with a laugh which got Kate laughing a little bit. "But thanks to Alexis for bringing me my computer or otherwise I would be bored."
"You're supposed to be resting babe." Kate answered, turning her head to try to look her husband in the face. She looked at the screen. "What are you doing looking a newspaper article from seven months ago?"
"When you guys told me about McCord I got curious and started to look for anything dealing with her team." Rick answered as he brought up the computer closer so she can see it. "From what you told me everything is making sense now. McCord's team seven months ago was under congressional investigation for the deaths of 6 members of a Navy Seal Team and one Federal Agent on a mission in the Middle East."
"Yeah I remember that. The intel was old, so the Seals missed the bad guys, but on the way out they were shot down." Kate stated while looking at the article. She scrolled through it. "A couple months later congress cleared them."
"Yeah I know, but I read over the document from the investigation. The mission was launched with intel provided by McCord's team." Rick said as he brought up the PDF of the Congressional Inquiry into the failed mission and subseqentional downing of a US helicopter. "This doesn't tell you names of the fallen Seals or the agent, but I called a friend of mine down in DC who was able to get me the names that were left out of the report because everyone agreed it wasn't for the best"
"Oh Castle don't tell me you contacted the families?" Kate asked shooting her head to look at Rick.
"No I didn't, but I was able to find one name that stood out." Rick told her. He brought up an article from a Washington D.C. paper. "Navy Seal Lt. Cmdr. Adam McCord was buried today in Arlington National Cemetery. Lt. Cmdr. McCord was killed while engaging combat operations against ISIS forces in the Middle East."
"Husband?" Kate asked.
"Brother." Rick replied as he brought up a photo of a clearly distressed Agent Rachel McCord accepting her brothers flag. "I think she is using her assignment to get revenge."
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