AN: Thanks, jag389 for the catch. There was an editing error in regards to a new captain. It has been corrected and chapter 5 updated. Sorry for the confusion!

CHAPTER 7 – Layers upon layers

Riley Neal stood in her kitchen sipping on a cup of coffee when her cell rang. "Neal."

"Good morning, Agent Neal. Assistant Director Hunt, CIA. Do you have a moment?"

Riley put her coffee down and switched the phone to her other ear. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"I understand you are now assigned to Cyber Command working under Lillian Strand."

"Yes, sir."

"I also understand you are partnering with Gabriel Vaughn."

"Sir, I believe some of this is classified."

"No worries, Neal. I just hadn't met you and wanted to chat for a few minutes. We seem to be assigned to the same team temporarily. Please say hello to Lillian for me when she calls you in a few minutes. Have a pleasant day, Agent." The line clicks off.

Riley stands there, a bit perplexed. She knows of Hunt but has never had reason to interact with him before. His attitude reminds her of her partner. Thinking back, she remembers part of their first meeting...

Gabriel: Now what? Following around a charming devil with a microchip in his brain?
Riley: Impressive. Almost every word of that was accurate.
Gabriel: Almost? Which word I get wrong?
Riley: Charming.

To be honest, she had broken protocol and had begun to think of Gabriel as a partner and not as a protectee…and she had to agree; he was charming. Thankfully, Lillian had understood and restructured their working relationship into a partnership. He had become her best friend and maybe more.

She was startled from her reverie bye the ring of her phone. Looking at the Caller ID she shook her head. "Neal"

"You say that so sexily."

"Shut up, Gabriel. What do you want?"

"Oh, sassy! I just got a call from an FBI agent named Shaw. She said to tell you hello, by the way. Amazing circle of friends you have, Riley. It seems like they want us in for a brief in about an hour. You dressed?"

She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "Oh, Gabriel..." She smirked and yelled into the phone "YES I AM DRESSED."

"Geez, Riley! I think you just reset my chip." He shakes his head. "Meet you at the car in ten. I'm naked still." Click. Shaking her head and chuckling, she rinses out her cup and gets ready to go.

A dressed Gabriel Vaughn hangs up the phone grinning as he grabs his gear and heads out the door.

TCOP

Lillian Strand was sitting in her office when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Lillian? This is Dak Thorne. Do you have time for a meeting this morning?"

"I'm sure I can spare a few moments. When's good for you?"

"I'm about fifteen minutes away. Will that work?"

Intrigued, she sat for a moment to make him think she was checking her calendar. "I have an opening in 30. Will that work for you?"

She heard a slight chuckle through the phone. "That will work, Lillian. We'll see you then." Click.

Lillian sat back in thought...we? She shook her head and went back to perusing the reports from Gabriel's last op.

Ten minutes later she looked up to see Gabriel at her door. She waved him in. "Hi boss."

Lillian rolled her eyes. "Are you okay? I heard your ego got bruised yesterday."

Gabriel snorted as he thought back to almost getting taken out by a female suspect. "Wasn't even close, Lillian. Besides, she was topless and using her feminine wiles on me."

Riley had just opened the door. "Well you had ripped her top off."

"It wasn't on purpose! I grabbed for her as she was running away and all I came back with was some cloth. If she'd have been wearing a bra there would have been no confusion! I was amazed she could run with those things unholstered!"

Lillian grinned. "So let me get this straight...you were pursuing a suspect and tried to grab her but only caught her shirt. Then you ascertained that the only hidden weapons on her were 36D's..."

At that both Riley and Lillian burst out laughing. Gabriel, however, looked thoughtful. "Nah, she was a 34 and a C cup. And the lack of a bra meant they weren't THAT hidden. It was a chilly day yesterday…" Then he grinned.

Riley punched him in the arm. "You shouldn't have looked in the first place."

"Why, Miss Neal! Are you jealous? Besides, I didn't look. She posted her measurements online."

At that, Lillian rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. "Watch it, you two! We have the FBI coming here in ten."

"That's why I stopped by. We are headed to their NY field office. Either Riley or I will update you after we meet with them."

"Okay. Keep me posted. Oh, and Gabriel?"

"Yes?"

"Next time make sure you grab more than the shirt. It usually works better that way." She waved them on. At the dismissal, they left her alone.

Lillian sat back in her chair and waited for her next appointment to arrive.

TCOP
Kate Beckett strode across the floor towards the bullpen, followed closely by her partner. At the sound of her heels striking the floor, Ryan looked up and smiled. "Hey, Beckett."

"Hi Kev. Where's Espo?"

"He's meeting Lanie about something. Hey Castle!"

Rick grinned, wishing it were a week earlier. "Hi, Kevin. How's Jenny?"

"She's good…worried about you two, actually."

Kate looked surprised. "Why is she worried about us?"

At her reaction, Kevin grinned. "Well I told her Mom and Dad went off somewhere and left us kids to ourselves with no instructions..."

He was treated to a classic Beckett eye roll. "Smartass." Rick grinned and patted her shoulder, nodding toward Montgomery's office. She nodded back.

Kevin just grinned watching the exchange. He schooled his features before Beckett turned back to him. "So, Ryan, what's going on?"

Rick knew that Kate would be okay, so after their brief exchange he made his way to Montgomery's office. He saw the man sitting there poring over some papers on his desk.

Rick knocked. "You have a minute?"

Roy looked up and smiled. "Sure, Rick. What's up?"

Rick closed the door. "Well, Sir I was wondering. Are you available this evening for dinner?"

"Evelyn and I had no special plans...I suppose I am."

"Would you come by the loft about 7? I have a new beer I want to try out. I want to see if you like it. Also, I want you to meet a buddy of mine. We're thinking of organizing a charity golf event and we'd like to see if you want to be involved."

"Sounds good. I will come over about seven then."

"Thanks, Roy. See you then."

TCOP

Rick got up and left the office just as Esposito got off the elevator.

Giving Castle a once over, Esposito immediately noticed a difference but before he could say anything Castle called out to him. "Hey, Espo. Got a second?"

"Sure, Castle. What's up?"

"Are you doing anything tonight around 6:30? Buddy of mine found a new beer you might like."
Esposito raised an eyebrow. "A new beer? Well, bro, you know I am in. You have enough to include Ryan?"

Rick winked. "Of course! He's such a Honey Milk anyway. See you two at 6:30 then."

Kate noticed the exchange and excused herself. "Hey Kev...I hate to do it but I have to run. I have to go see Lanie. Catch you later!"

Rick followed Kate out of the elevator towards the morgue. As he followed her along the familiar hallway, he smiled thinking back to the hundreds of times he has made this trip. "You know, working with you has been so rewarding, Kate. I've grown so much and am a much better man because of it."

Kate smiled softly. "And you've helped me grow as well, Rick. I am a much better woman for having known you."

"Well, aren't you both precious?" They both turned around to see a smirking Lanie. "Now, does someone want to tell me what's going on?"

Rick looked at Kate. "Well, Dr. Parish, we dropped by to invite you over to the loft this evening for a beer tasting as we both know how much you like to try new beers."

Lanie thought about the writer's comments for a minute before it hit her. "Hmmm. I might be persuaded to come. Is there a dark beer in there somewhere?"

Rick winked at Kate, knowing Lanie had caught on. "For the lovely Lanie, of course! Come about 6:30 and I will make sure to have something palatable."

Lanie raised an eyebrow at the use of her first name (which was very uncommon for Castle). "I'll see you then. Now I have customers waiting so I'll catch you later."

Kate smiled at her and then they turned to leave, followed by her partner. She just barely heard his comment as they were walking away. "Her customers are usually in no hurry…"

TCOP

As they turned off of Worth St into the parking garage, Kate looked over at Rick. She watched him as he went from Castle to Agent Rodgers. "Hey Rick?"

"Yes, Katie love?" She grinned at his response. It was the only pet name he used for her.

"Don't forget that I'm here, okay? If it gets to be too much, we'll get through it together."

He took her hand. "I won't, Kate. And together? Always."

"I hate this, Kate. I hate having to be someone that I used to be. But they are all expecting it. Please be patient with me, okay? I am Rick when we are at home, Castle at the precinct and Rodgers here until we get this done. For now, you are Kate at home, Beckett at the precinct and here, but soon...very soon, mind you...I'll call you Castle too."

She rolled her eyes. "I love you, Rick Rodgers Castle."

He grins. "And I love you, Kate Beckett...Castle." At her giggle, he winks. She watches him put the persona of Agent Rodgers back on. "All right, Beckett...let's get this moving."

They got out of the SUV and headed towards the elevators.

TCOP

The door to Lillian Strand's office opened and in walked three men she was very familiar with. The first was her father, Leland Strand. Next to him was Dak Thorne, the current director of the FBI. Lastly was Jackson Hunt, an Assistant Director of the CIA.

Lillian smiled slightly at her Dad. "Well, Dad, interesting company you keep. You gentleman want to sit or is this a drive-by?"

Chuckling, the three sat. Hunt grinned at her. "Hello, Lilli. How's my favorite god-daughter?"

"I'm doing ok, Uncle Jack." She looked at Thorne. "What can I do for the FBI today, Dak?"

Dak looked at her for a moment. "I'm sorry for not coming over sooner, Lillian. It's been a fight to get some things together at the Bureau and sometimes I wonder why I agreed to become Director at all. Many of them hate me because I won't tolerate sloppiness. But that's not why I'm here...I'm sure you don't want to hear my whining."

She looked at the man that used to treat her like his own daughter when she was a teenager. "I wouldn't mind listening, Dak, but I know we have a situation to resolve."

He nodded at her and motioned to Hunt. "Jack can bring you up to speed as he is on the task force. Jack?"

Hunt nodded. "First...Lilli how secure is your office?"

"It's swept weekly as is my computer."

"Okay. Let me begin by giving you a brief background. Our suspect codenamed "Dragon" is a politically powerful individual. The first signs of his corruption show up in the mid-90's when he was an ADA. Extortion, blackmail, money laundering and drugs have been his methods of fundraising. He has been linked to several murders, particularly opponents and those that got in his way. We have linked him to individuals both at home and abroad that cause concern. But we had no way to tie it all together until recently. The FBI is taking point on this one, but it is definitely a multi-agency operation. So far we have FBI, CIA, DEA, IRS and CyberCom assets. When the play goes down, we are going to have to have all of our ducks lined up to make sure that the entire operation is locked up tight. Any questions so far?"

Lillian sat back in her chair letting her mind link up the items she had heard. "I don't think so. I've heard some grumblings and I have a good idea as to the Dragon's identity...what tied it all together?"

Dak leaned forward. "Lillian, do you remember Rick Rodgers?"

"Sure...we worked a few cases together. Then he left to become a famous mystery novelist."

"No, he left because of some personal issues. THEN he became a writer. But the linchpin is not Rodgers...it's his girlfriend, Kate Beckett. Her lawyer mother was murdered in 1999 on orders of the Dragon because she was about to topple his whole empire. Kate Beckett didn't believe the corrupt cops that labeled her mother's death a random gang violence incident. She abandoned her plans to be a lawyer and became a member of the NYPD. She collected evidence and then when Rick began working with her he was able to get a lot more evidence. Rick then fell in love with the girl and that's when the Dragon miscalculated. She was shot and almost died; if you know Rodgers you know the gloves came off."

Lillian nodded. She had seen Rodgers when he was angry. He had a way of controlling his emotion on the outside, but he would not give up until he got justice. "So where are we on things?"

Hunt leaned forward again. "Rick Rodgers has been brought out of retirement and been promoted to SAC. He has the full backing of our groups plus the NYPD. We are doing full surveillance and we are inserting Gabriel into the security detail following the Dragon. We should be able to get the last of the evidence we need within the week. Then we will move against the entire operation in one night, capped with the arrest of the Dragon."

Leland Strand watched his daughter, knowing how her mind worked. He saw when she committed herself by the way her brow furrowed. "Any thoughts?"