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 – Thanks again for all the follows and reviews. You make my day. Wow – this is at 37,806 words already. It's amazing how quickly plot bunnies multiply. I wanted to get this posted because I'll be traveling next week – great start to a vacation – watching Sharknado 2 and laughing hysterically and then going to see Guardians of the Galaxy this morning – woohoo!
Disclaimer – Don't own Castle – Marlowe, ABC, and Disney do. The OCs came out of my imagination.
Chapter 18 – He Lied to Us
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Castle and Espo stood frowning at the taillights of the receding van when the squeal of tires and a car making a U-turn in the opposite direction caught their attention. The car was too far away though to make out a model other than a sedan.
"Damn," Castle swore softly.
"Let's get back to the precinct," said Espo. "I'm parked over there."
"Do you think that's wise?" Castle asked worriedly.
"Bro, you've been made and they are probably watching the loft – where else are you going?" asked Espo as they started walking to his car. "Besides it's the most secure location I know of unless you know of someplace else…?"
"Point taken," said Castle.
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Beckett frowned as she tried Castle's number one more time and the call went directly to voice mail. This was all too reminiscent of when she was anxiously waiting for him to arrive at the wedding and then the dreadful time afterwards before he was found.
In an almost panic, she grabbed her keys and started towards the elevator when the door opened and Castle and Espo walked out.
"Oh my god, Castle!" Beckett exclaimed, taking in his ragged appearance. "What happened?"
"They were waiting for me at Aunt Natie's," Castle said as they walked back to her desk and he sat down heavily in his chair. "They killed Kyle. If Espo hadn't been there…"
"Yeah, then the vultures swept in and removed all traces of evidence," Espo said, still fuming.
"Thank you, Javi," Beckett said as she brushed the hair back off of Castle's forehead to examine the cut there.
"It's nothing that a couple of aspirin won't fix," Castle grinned. He carefully handed Espo his handkerchief that contained the crushed GPS device. "Here. We might be able to get a fingerprint off of that."
"I'm not letting it out of my sight," Espo sniffed indignantly as he took the handkerchief.
Castle looked back at Beckett as Espo walked out of the room. "I know why Uncle Armie was murdered," he said urgently in a low voice. "He thought he saw a picture of me at Mr. Melekov's and took it. Only it wasn't me – it was Melekov's nephew." He glanced around and then leaned in and said so softly that only Beckett could hear. "And there was a woman in the picture – Sophia Turner."
"What?" whispered Beckett. "How?"
Castle shook his head. "It must have been taken right before I started shadowing the agency. Her hair was shorter then and had some highlights in it. Maybe that's who she was working for.
"The frame matched the frame of the picture of Melekov's cousin and his son." He frowned in frustration and started to run his hand through his hair but thought better of it.
"But Althea and Anders took everything. The only thing we have is that gps. The man took it out of my pocket and smashed it. And he also smashed my new phone," he said despondently. Castle was sure at this point that cell phones quivered when he walked into the store to buy a new one because he had been through so many of them the past couple of years.
He paused for a moment. "And there was a car that left right after the Company left – we think they were with the guy who attacked me. Espo said this was the safest place to come since whoever they are are probably watching the loft."
Yeah, Espo's right," said Beckett as she picked up her phone. "Hey, Lanie, are you still here? Yeah, Castle needs a little patching up. Can we come down?"
She smiled as she hung up the phone and looked at Castle.
"You know, you could just kiss it and make it better," he said, pouting slightly.
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Lanie was waiting for them at the morgue and to her credit didn't flinch at the sight of Castle when he and Beckett walked in the room.
He had a bloody tissue stuffed in his left nostril that was growing more purple by the moment, as well as a deepening bruise and crusted-over cut above his left eyebrow.
"So you run into a gorilla?" Lanie asked. "Or an adoring fan?"
"A critic," quipped Castle. "But Espo took care of him."
"You're damned right," responded Lanie. She looked over at the exam table and then back at Castle. "Ah, you want to try doing this sitting up?"
Castle shrugged. "Laying down is fine," he said as he sat on the table and then lay down. He shivered as he felt the cold metal through his clothes. "Really could use a table warmer though."
"The people here usually don't complain," said Lanie as she put on gloves and adjusted the light to examine his face better.
She carefully removed the tissue from his nostril. "Doesn't look broken, but you'll want to keep an ice pack on it for the swelling – 20 minutes on, 20 off."
She then looked at the cut on his forehead. "I think a butterfly bandage will do, but I won't be able to tell until after I clean it. Kate, there are some towels over there," she said, pointing to a stack on one of the tables.
"Okay," said Beckett and then walked over, picked up a towel, and handed it to Castle.
Lanie filled a beaker with distilled water and picked up a large needleless syringe. "This may be a little cold," she said as Castle positioned the towel so that the water wouldn't get into his eye as Lanie filled the syringe to clean the cut and moved toward him.
Suddenly Castle was back in a dark room, a blinding light shining into his eyes, catching the gleam of a syringe as it floated closer to him in a strange disembodied way.
A hollow voice taunted him as various vivid images flashed through his mind.
"6 girls laid down low…"
Another voice competed for his attention. "Castle!"
"9 braids up in a bow…"
"Castle!"
"4 more graves to hoe…"
"CASTLE!"
"Fills gates full of woe…"
The second voice finally won his attention as reality returned and he found himself huddled on the floor beside the table, the syringe lying on the floor across the room, Beckett and Lanie kneeling in front of him.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Beckett asked.
He sucked in air trying to slow his breathing and calm the shaking of his body. "I…uh…I was back at the house in the Hamptons – they gave me something… and there was someone saying something…and really strange pictures of girls in graves…and gaudy hair bows…and more graves…"
He swallowed thickly and ran a shaking hand through his hair. "That was so creepy – like someone walked over my grave."
Beckett nodded in sympathy – she was well aware of what PTSD was like. "It's okay, babe. Just focus on your breathing," she said, using one of the techniques that Burke had taught her. "Watch me," she said, taking a deep breath as Castle followed suit.
Slowly his breathing calmed and the shaking subsided.
"You ready to get up?" Beckett finally asked.
Castle nodded. "Yeah – sorry," he said, making a face.
"No problem," said Lanie. "But I think we'll do this sitting up."
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After Lanie cleaned the wound and dressed it with a butterfly bandage, Beckett and Castle went back to the bullpen.
Espo was at his desk, running a search. "The lab was able to pull a fingerprint and match it to Carlos Travis Manning. He's has several misdemeanors on file for assault and battery."
"Put out a bolo on him. Have we gotten the warrant back yet for Any Time car service yet?"
"No," Espo started before Castle interrupted him.
"Any Time car service?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Espo.
"I know the owner," Castle responded. "Charlie Behar has 2 companies – Any Time car service which is cheaper and Deluxe car service which caters to wealthy clients. We've used him several times."
He paused for a moment and took a breath. "In fact, Alexis rented the Rolls for the wedding from them."
"So they would have known that you were driving up separately," said Beckett.
"He uses the same drivers for both services, so, yeah, they would have," Castle finished.
He reached for his phone and swore when he felt nothing in his pocket. "Alexis will have his number."
Beckett nodded and pulled out her phone to call Alexis.
"Hi, Alexis," she said as the young woman answered the phone. "Sorry to call you so late. No, everything is fine. Your dad is here at the precinct with me. No, no – he changed his mind. Said he'd be of more help here than sitting around at home moping. Listen, do you have Charlie Behar's number?" There was a pause. "Thanks. And your dad says 'hi'."
Beckett hung up and then passed the phone to Castle after punching in the number that Alexis had given her.
Charlie picked it up after a couple of rings.
"Charlie, this is Rick."
"Rick – it's good to hear from you. How are you doing, man? Tough luck about the Mercedes. Let me know if you're in the market for a new car – I can get you a good deal."
"I'll keep that in mind," Castle said with a slight laugh and then turned serious. "Do you have a couple of minutes?" he said as he put the phone on speaker phone. "I'm at the 12th precinct with Detectives Beckett and Esposito and we needed to ask you about a pick up you did last week."
"Sure," said Charlie.
"A Mr. Melekov had you pick up Armen Tavitian and take him to a warehouse near the airport."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that," snorted Charlie. "He poached one of my best drivers, Carlos Manning. Really pissed me off."
"Do you remember who booked that service?" Beckett said.
"Well, in the past, I've dealt with his secretary, but Melekov called himself for that pickup," Charlie responded.
Castle and Beckett shared a look.
"Thanks, Charlie. You've been a big help. And I'll get back to you about a car," Castle said as he hung up.
"Mr. Melekov lied to us," said Beckett. "Espo, get units out there right now and pick him up."
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About half an hour later, Espo hung up his phone and turned to Beckett and Castle. "That was Officer Tilmon. Seems that Mr. Melekov has closed up his house because he's left to take care of his cousin's estate in Argentina."
"Argentina?" Castle said questioningly. "That can't be a coincidence."
"Yeah, but we don't have jurisdiction down there," said Beckett. "And unless we have solid proof, extradition could take months."
"Not if you know the right people," said Castle, pulling out the new gps the Company had given him. "I think it's time for a road trip."
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