A Convergence of Storms
Summary – Someone from Castle's past is murdered and that gives Kate a look into his unconventional childhood and time spent shadowing the CIA, something that hasn't really been discussed on the show (yet). AU of course, with some grounding in canon.
Author's Notes – Still waiting to see what Amann, etc., are going to do. Definitely not what I'm doing.
Disclaimer – Don't own Castle – Marlowe, ABC, and Disney do. The OCs came out of my imagination.
Chapter 16 – Decisions
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Beckett had just arrived home from work when Castle came stumbling out of the bedroom, now dressed in a rumpled t-shirt and boxers, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands, his hair sticking out at odd angles.
He stood at the bedroom door for a minute and stared at Beckett uncomprehendingly. "Uh – are you just leaving or getting back from work?" he finally managed.
"Just getting home," Beckett replied as she put her purse down and walked over to give him a quick hug and kiss.
"Huh," was his only response as he kissed her back, stifling a yawn in the process.
He blinked several more times, trying to get his eyes to focus. Strange, he didn't remember drinking last night – or had it been the night before – but he sure felt like he had a hangover.
"Are you hungry?" Beckett asked, walking into his office and depositing her gun and badge into the safe. "I can fix us something to eat."
"Uh, yeah – okay," Castle said as he walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, staring inside at the contents as if something was going to magically appear in his waiting hand.
"This what you're looking for?" Beckett asked, walking back into the room and handing him a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
"Thanks," said Castle, opening the bottle and drinking about half of it in one gulp, and then pressing the bottle against his forehead with a sigh.
He then sat down at the dining table and laid his head on it, closing his eyes again. The coolness felt good against his forehead.
"How about a sandwich?" Beckett asked.
"Uh, huh," came the muffled reply.
Beckett smiled as she quickly prepared the sandwiches and then placed one on a plate and slid it next to Castle's head.
Castle groaned as he sat up and stretched, trying to work some of the kinks out of his neck and shoulders.
"So how was the meeting?" she asked curiously. "Althea texted several times that it was taking longer than expected."
Castle thought as he chewed a bite of his sandwich and then swallowed before taking another sip of water. "I'm pretty sure that the prisoners at Gitmo are treated more humanely. You'd think I was withholding the secret to cold fusion by the way they acted," he said in almost disgust.
He let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head, pushing the plate away. "I don't know who they are or what they want. I just draw a blank anytime I think about it."
"So nothing was resolved?" Beckett asked gently.
"No, not really," Castle replied, frowning. "They don't know who Sophia Turner was, other than she's not KGB, so they have no clue who she was working for – who's behind this whole thing.
"But she is from Romania – her name is Denisa Albescu – and the first real documentation they have for her is when she attended Harvard. Which costs a chunk of change but the records show that she paid for it, so that's a dead end."
He stood and started to pace.
"And apparently I'm not good at keeping secrets because, during the 'primary incident'," he said, making air quotes, "as they call what happened on second trip to Argentina, whoever it was got the information they wanted, only it wasn't the right information or whatever they were looking for wasn't where it was supposed to be."
He ran a hand through his hair. "So they've just been waiting all this time until something happened to my father and now think it's safe to come after me."
Castle flopped down on the couch and leaned his head back, closing his eyes wearily. "I just don't know how to fix this," he said finally.
Beckett patiently listened to his rant and then sat down beside him on the couch, taking his hand in hers. "Babe, whatever this is, we'll get through it together."
Castle straightened up to look at her and started to say something when she put her finger on his lips.
"Together," Beckett said insistently. "I won't leave you – you're not leaving me – no matter what."
Castle smiled sadly and nodded. "Always."
He gathered her into his arms. "I think we need to tell Gates and the boys what's going on."
Beckett nodded. "We can do that first thing tomorrow, but now," she said, getting up and pulling on his hand, "I think you could use a hot relaxing shower and a bedtime story."
Castle let Beckett pull him up off the couch. "As long as you don't read a James Patterson novel," he said as they walked towards the bedroom.
"I was thinking something more along the lines of the latest Nikki Heat book," Beckett replied with a sly smile.
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Gates was surprised to get the text from Beckett that said she and Castle needed to meet with the team in the morning. She was even more surprised when she got to the precinct and found several people waiting for her, and Gates didn't like surprises on her home turf.
Espo, Ryan, and Lanie arrived soon after and stood around, slightly uncertain as to what was going on.
"Captain Gates, I'm Althea Conrad," the woman said, extending her hand to the woman. "I've heard a lot of good things about you and your team."
Gates frowned slightly as she shook the woman's hand. "And you would be…?"
"I'll be glad to answer all of your questions as soon as…" started Althea, and then the elevator opened and Castle and Beckett walked out. "Ah, here they are now."
She motioned towards Gates' office. "Why don't we go in there?" she asked and then waited for everyone to enter the office.
One of the suits closed the door and waited outside.
"So, now, why are we here?" Gates asked, cutting to the chase, steepling her fingers and leaning forward slightly, in full Captain-mode. "Does this have anything to do with what happened to Mr. Castle?"
"Unfortunately, yes," said Althea. She looked at Castle's questioning look. "We've already swept the place, Richard, so yes, it's safe to talk."
Castle nodded and started without preamble. His first words "When I worked for the CIA—" caused a slight flap as Ryan made a small fist pump and whispered a victorious "Yes!" and Espo's mouth dropped open.
"As a field agent?" asked Gates incredulously.
"Oh, no," said Althea. "Richard was too recognizable. We didn't think that would be safe."
"Which didn't work out quite as planned," responded Castle. "I analyzed reports." He looked at Beckett.
"Do you remember the case where my car ended up in the river?" Beckett asked.
"Uh, huh," said Espo, who still slightly fumed over not being included.
"One of the CIA agents on the case was a woman called Sophia Turner," said Castle.
"You based Clara Strike on her," Lanie said.
"Turns out it wasn't such a good idea," replied Castle, a serious expression on his face. "She was a sleeper agent."
"As in KGB?" asked Ryan.
"No," said Althea. "But she was an enemy agent. We have not ascertained who she worked for yet."
"So what's this got to do with Mr. Castle?" asked Gates.
"Sophia gave me some reports to read that I shouldn't have read. There was something in those reports that she or whoever she worked for needed," Castle said simply. "And because things happened, I have no clue what was in those reports."
"Which makes Richard a hard target and this team a soft target," said Althea.
"Oh," said Gates, sitting back, studying Castle for a minute. She turned to Althea. "Do you think this has anything to do with Mr. Tavitian's murder?"
"We're not sure," said Althea. "But as a precaution, we've already vetted everyone in this precinct that Richard may come into contact with. And while we don't want to interfere with your day-to-day operations, we've taken measures to ensure your safety."
She pulled several small devices out of her briefcase and handed one to each person. "These are GPS trackers. If you think you're being followed, simply press the red button and go to some place with a lot of people – not overly crowded, but some place public where there are plenty of witnesses. The Company will be there in a matter of moments."
Espo scoffed as he took the device from her. "You've got to be kidding," he said.
"No, Detective Esposito, I'm not," Althea said, looking at him. "I'm aware you were in the Special Forces, but it's been a while since you were on active duty."
Beckett raised her eyebrows at Espo and he took the device and put it in his pocket. "Yeah, okay."
Gates frowned and leaned forward again. "Mr. Castle—" she started.
Castle raised his hand to stop her. "Before you say anything, sir," he said, "Kate and I talked last night and decided that it's not safe for the team for me to be here with this target on my back, so I'm leaving until this is resolved."
He stood and kissed Beckett on the head. "See you at the memorial," he said, squeezing her shoulder, and then walked out of Gate's office.
Althea nodded at Gates. "If you notice anything suspicious, please call us immediately."
"I will," said Gates, watching Castle walk to the elevator with the agents.
She turned back to her team, pausing for a moment. "Detective Beckett, do you think this case has anything to do with what happened to Mr. Castle?"
Beckett nodded slowly. "I do, sir, but we haven't been able to make a connection yet."
"Then let's solve it so that our team can be complete again," Gates said.
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