Hej!
First things first: One review? Seriously? I mean, I'm used to getting few, but only one is just sad, even for me! Seems like there is exactly one person interested in this story out there - thanks to you, FDWojo, by the way.
Second: Sorry for the wait. I had some serious trouble with the second half of the chapter, I had to start writing it three times until it was even close to what I wanted... But I'm afraid I'll stay with this updating schedule at best. My freetime will get drastically limited for the next weeks, so: I'm sorry. In advance. But in my defence (at least for now): This is the longest chapter I ever published.
So, now you're allowed to read on :-) A whole lot of talking in this chapter - but a lot of explanation, too. Have fun!
"Beckett! Espo!" Both detectives started at the sudden call. They looked in the direction the voice had come from and saw Castle hurrying towards them.
"Castle!", Beckett exclaimed surprised. "What are you doing here? Is everything alright with Alexis?"
"Yes, yes, she's fine", he answered, slightly out of breath and stopped next to Beckett's desk. "I found out!", he told them without further delay.
"You found out what?", Esposito, who was sitting on his by now habitual place at the corner of the table, asked.
"What Gallagher has to do with Ryan. I found the connection!"
"How?" Beckett asked, while Esposito exclaimed "What is it?"
"Alexis made me realize it. She told me about a razzia on campus today. For drugs." Castle could literally see understanding flashing across the other twos' faces.
"Drugs, that's it!" Esposito jumped from the table and excitedly walked over to the white board, pointing at one of the pictures. "Simon Gallagher is a chemist so he knows how to manufacture all kinds of substances."
"Including drugs", Beckett interrupted him. "And he's Irish."
"The mob!" Esposito concluded.
"Exactly." Castle had to admit, he was quite proud of himself for figuring it out first. "The Irish mob, which is known for dealing on a grand scale. I bet he's working for them."
"And Ryan was with the narcotics squad before he switched to the murder squad, right?" Although Beckett's question clearly was rhetorical, the others nodded.
"So maybe he arrested him back in the day", Esposito suggested.
"If so, Gallagher would have known him", Beckett contradicted him.
"Maybe he just said he didn't."
"Why would he? Plus he didn't seem like he was playacting. I don't think he pretended."
"No", Castle said, "me neither. As far as I can see, our best option is to ask the ones who could know about it."
"His old team."
"Yep."
"Lark", Esposito suddenly said.
"Hm?", Castle and Beckett both looked at him, uncomprehending.
"Captain Alan Lark", he repeated. "His old boss. Ryan mentioned him a few times. He always spoke highly of him."
"Well, let's hope we'll get a hold of him at this time of night", Beckett said with a glance at her watch. It was already past nine.
"Won't know until you try", Castle said and took her telephone from the desk, handing it to her.
She pressed a speed dial and waited.
"Yes, Detective Beckett here. Could you patch me through to Captain Lark? Thanks." A few seconds passed during which a tensed silence spread between them.
"Captain Lark, sir, good evening", Beckett suddenly said. "I'm Detective Kate Beckett, murder squad. I'm a colleague of Kevin Ryan's, former detective of your team." Another moment of silence. "Yes, exactly. Do you mind if I put you on speaker?" Pause. "Thanks, sir." She lowered the phone and pressed a button.
"There are detective Esposito, Ryan's partner, and Richard Castle present", she shortly introduced.
"Good evening, sir", the ones mentioned said in unison.
"Good evening, gentlemen", came a deep, friendly voice.
"I hope we do not interrupt something important, sir?", Beckett said respectfully.
"No, no, it's quite alright. Just a late night at the office, there are some reports due in the next days. What can I help you with?"
"We have a few questions about Detective Ryan's time with your squad we hoped you have answers for. Yesterday, he hasn't shown up for work and there was a letter with his resignation. But when we tried to reach him, he didn't answer his phone. We checked his flat, there first were only a few things missing and when we went there a second time, the whole apartment was empty."
"Doesn't sound like the Ryan I know", Lark stated.
"Our thoughts exactly", Esposito piped in. He then realized what he had done and quickly added "Sorry I interrupted. Detective Esposito, sir."
"Oh, no problem, son." They heard the clearly older man chuckle. "So, what leads you to the assumption that I could be of any help?"
"We found a note Detective Ryan left for Detective Esposito", Beckett explained. "He mentioned a Simon Gallagher. And when we checked him and found out he's a chemist, we drew the conclusion they must have had to do with each other during Ryan's time with the narcotics squad."
"Good thinking", Lark complimented. "Yes, back in the day Ryan was the one who found out about Gallagher's involvement with the Irish mob. In fact, he found out a lot of useful things, he was undercover for fourteen months. One of the most successful operations an agent of ours ever managed to complete."
Castle, Beckett and Esposito exchanged surprised looks. None of them had known about that part of their friend's life, he had never mentioned it. They started to see him in a whole new light. To go undercover demanded a level of skill and dedication only few officers possessed. And neither of them had thought Ryan the adventurous type. The always three-piece suit wearing man had seemed the most inept of the three detectives, unbeatable at desk work but not the one for heavy missions. They had always thought there was a reason for Esposito being the one with the past at the special forces. Apparently, they had heavily underestimated their colleague.
Beckett managed first to pull herself out of the amazement. "Sorry, sir, that was news to us, he never mentioned he was undercover", she explained the sudden silence on their part.
"So it seems he's still as modest as he was back then", Lark mused. "But yes, he was with the Irish mob for over a year, going by the name of Fenton O'Connell. He made it up pretty high in the chain of command. I'd send you the file but naturally it's as classified as it can get, so my hands are tied."
"Not a problem. And thank you, sir", Beckett said. "But there's one thing we don't understand. How did Simon Gallagher not recognize Ryan's photograph when we showed it to him? His ignorance seemed legit."
"Yes, I do believe that. The two of them never met, as far as I know. Ryan got ordered back shortly after he found out the name, it was becoming too dangerous for him to stay with the mob. Only months later he switched to the murder squad so he didn't have to deal with dealers and the like as often. The risk of him being recognized of a gang member became too great."
For the second time that evening, something in Castle's head snapped into place.
"That's what happened", he exclaimed, not caring that he had unasked interrupted the conversation. "He got recognized and had to disappear." He proudly looked at the others who clearly thought it over. Fortunately, Beckett had the presence of mind to explain for Captain Lark.
"That was Richard Castle, sir, a consultant of our team."
"Yes, I heard about it, the author", Lark answered. "But there's a problem with your theory, Mr. Castle."
Castle looked indignantly at the telephone. "Is there?", he asked.
"If someone recognized him, Detective Ryan must have gotten to know about it somehow, otherwise he couldn't have left. And it wasn't through my department. We haven't heard a single unusual thing from the gang in months. It was quiet around them, relatively speaking."
"And what if the gang found him first and took him?", Castle thought out loud.
"They wouldn't have taken him and they certainly wouldn't have emptied the apartment", Esposito said.
"No", Lark agreed. "They would have dealt with him in a much quicker way." All three of them shuddered at the implication.
"So what happened then?", Esposito asked.
"I don't know", Lark said. "And I'm afraid I have to leave you to it for now. There is a call on the second line I have to take. Please keep me informed. Detective Ryan was an excellent member of my team, I would hate losing him years after we thought we'd gotten him out of the danger zone."
"We will, sir. Have a good evening", Beckett said.
"You too", Lark answered and hung up.
Beckett put the phone back onto its base and looked at the others. "That certainly explains a lot", she stated.
"I can't believe he never mentioned he was undercover", Esposito said. "All those times I teased him about me being from the special forces and him from narcotics and he never said a thing." He shook his head in disbelief.
"Apparently not all men are as braggy, then", Beckett said lightly and Esposito indignantly opened his mouth to defend himself but she cut him off.
"But that's not the point at the moment. We finally have an idea what happened to him, don't we?"
"Yes", Castle said. "If he didn't leave voluntarily, and we already excluded that possibility, and wasn't taken by the mob, there is only one option left."
"Witness protection program", Beckett ended his train of thought for him.
"But how?" Esposito stared off into nothingness. "How could he have known someone recognised him, if that indeed is what happened?"
"A whistle-blower", Castle guessed. "There must be someone else amongst the mob who secretly works against them. That someone heard about Ryan being recognized and informed the authorities."
"Only that Lark said he hasn't heard anything from the gang. And he's head of the department, he would know if there was something."
All three of them fell silent, thinking. The most obvious explanation was that Lark hadn't been honest with them, but neither of them even considered the possibility. The man had seemed to be too honest in his care for Ryan. And the latter had a good instinct when it came to people, so if he trusted Lark explicitly, they did, too. At least until proven wrong.
"The FBI!" This time, it was Esposito who had the idea. "The Andersons' told us there was a man in a dark suit when they saw the movers."
"And dark suit doesn't sound like NYPD but like FBI", Castle said. "Espo, I'm proud of you for thinking of them before I did."
"That is indeed unusual", Beckett said under her breath. "Alright, so the FBI has a whistle-blower who informed them of Ryan being in danger so they got him out", she summarized. "The witness protection program certainly explains the missing things from the beginning."
"Usually, you're not allowed to take any personal stuff, but they made an exception for the photograph, it's inconspicuous", Castle started to list the objects, counting them off on his fingers. "You can't take clothing with you, there could be pieces among it that get recognized on the street, but underwear is safe since no one gets to see that. The rest has to be bought freshly wherever you end up afterwards. And the toilet bags plus content are safe, too, and allow the people in question a small amount of comfort."
"Yeah, sounds logical, but if this really is what happened, why wasn't Lark informed?", Esposito asked. "I mean, yes, the FBI is behind all this but why didn't they inform the NYPD? They're working the same case!"
"As if the FBI ever shares something with anyone as long as they're not forced to do so", Castle said.
"Yeah, sounds about right", Beckett supported him.
Esposito thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, so we know what happened. But there are two questions remaining." The others looked at him.
"If Gallagher is indeed working for the mob and the police knows about it, why wasn't there anything in his files? He seemed clean, not a single mentioning of there being a connection between him and the Irish mob."
The question caught Castle and Beckett off guard. They both had been too glad to think twice about what they had found out. At least for now.
"Uhm", Castle said, thinking hard, but for once not being able to come up with a satisfying answer.
"I'd say we ask Lark once more. I'm sure there's a good explanation", Beckett said. "It's not that much later, I'll try reaching him again." She grabbed her phone once more and pressed the necessary button.
"Detective Beckett again. Is Captain Lark still available?" She waited a second. "Yes, thank you." A few moments later, she started talking again. "Good evening, sir, it's Detective Beckett again." The man at the other end of the line said something and Beckett laughed lightly. "Yes, sir. May I put you...". She didn't even get to finish the sentence. "Thank you, sir." She lowered the phone again, pressed a button and positioned it back on the table.
"We think we figured out what happened", she started to explain.
"Oh", Lark sounded honestly pleased. "So?"
"We suspect Ryan and his wife are in witness protection, put there by the FBI. You said it wasn't through your department and when we remembered that his neighbours saw a man in a dark suit, it was the logical explanation. The FBI must have a whistle-blower who told them and so they got him out."
"Uh hum", Lark said. "And of course they wouldn't tell us about it because they never do." He sounded slightly angry. "They think half of our department is corrupt and hence refuse to co-operate with us. We've had that argument at least twenty times. They just won't see how much more effective we could be if we were working together." He sounded truly annoyed and neither of them could blame him for it. They had stopped counting how often they had had to fight the FBI's arrogance before. "But now's not the time to rage about that", Lark said, calmer. "Did you just call to tell me that?"
"No, sir", Beckett answered. "We have a question, something we can't explain to ourselves."
"Then shoot."
"When we got the name from Ryan, we first checked Simon Gallagher's criminal record but there was nothing in his files. We didn't think anything of it at the time but when you told us, you knew of his involvement with the mob, well...", she trailed off.
"You want to know how that can be?" Lark sounded a tiny bit amused. "Yes, comprehendible, I have to admit, it does seem a bit suspicious. You see, only very few people know of Gallagher, even inside the mob. He's one of their best kept secrets. When Ryan learned of his role in the organisation, we decided it best to keep the fact out of the files so there was not the least chance someone could hack them and learn what we know. We kind of see Gallagher as our secret weapon. If we, at some point in time, should be able to strike against the mob on a larger scale than just arresting a few of their dealers, we hope we can use Gallagher as leverage, because no one knows we know about him."
Beckett nodded to herself, satisfied by the answer. "Thank you, sir. I hope we don't have to jeopardize your plan with our investigations."
"Yes, I do, too", Lark said, humour in his voice. "Should that be all? I was almost off to finally going home."
"Yes, sir. Of course. Good evening, once more."
"Thanks, to you, too." And he hung up.
"See, perfectly logical explanation", Beckett said. "So, Espo, you said there were two questions remaining."
The man looked at her, needing a second to understand what she was talking about and another to remember what he had meant. "Yeah. Now that we know what happened, we need a plan to get Ryan back. So, the second question is: How do we do that?"
Before Beckett could respond in any way, Castle interrupted. "Guys, before we start, please let me get us some coffee. It's almost ten already and I don't think we'll be out of here in the next few minutes. So if you want me to stay awake in the foreseeable future, let me intoxicate myself with some caffeine."
"Good idea", Beckett agreed and Esposito nodded.
"Thanks, man."
A few minutes later, Castle came back from the kitchen. In an attempt to carry three pots of coffee without burning his fingers, he had successfully looked for a tray which he now held in front of him. When he walked up to the desk he noticed the three of them were the only ones left. All others had long since gone home.
Beckett sat in her chair, eyes closed and leaning back while Esposito was walking up and down. Castle noticed how much better the younger man seemed, now that they knew what had happened to his best friend and were looking for a way to get him back.
He set his tray down, causing Beckett to open her eyes again and Esposito to come over. He handed them each a cup and earned crooked smiles at his solution for not getting his fingers burned.
He took his seat next to the desk while the younger man grabbed himself a chair and pulled it over. Beckett simply straightened up and leaned on the table in front of her.
"So, where do we start?" Castle looked at the others expectantly.
"Good question", Beckett answered. "We don't know where they are and we can't really find out. And there is the Irish mob, intent on taking revenge on Ryan for infiltrating them as soon as they lay eyes on him." Her summary of the situation didn't exactly sound bright.
"So we won't get him back until the threat's eliminated, right?" Castle asked, more for getting his thoughts in order than because he didn't know.
"Right", Esposito joined the conversation. "But how are we gonna do that? We're talking the whole of the Irish mob here. Dozens of criminals."
"Guess that means we have to find a way to take them out", Castle continued to theorize.
"Take them out? One of the biggest gangs in New York City?" Beckett sounded highly doubtful. "I can't imagine that's possible. I mean, there's a reason for institutions like the drug squad. If they can't get a hold of them, the three of us sure won't either."
"Don't be so pessimistic", Castle chided her. „I'm sure there is a way, we only need to find it."
"Don't you think that's easier said than done?", Esposito said. "I wouldn't even know where to start."
"Don't tell me you give up so early just because it's complicated", Castle said. "Where's your imagination? Your belief in the impossible?"
"I'm a cop. I don't even believe in human nature, so how do you expect me to believe in miracles?"
Castle clicked his tongue and made a dismissive gesture. "Well, lucky then I'm here, ready to think of the impossible." He fell silent, clearly thinking. The others looked at him, waiting and curious for what he'd come up with this time.
The clock neared one in the morning when Castle was finally out of ideas. He had wrecked his brain for possibilities but every single one of them had proved to be faulty when he, Beckett and Esposito had talked it through. It simply didn't seem possible, the two detectives had been right about it.
"No, it can't be. I don't accept it. I just don't accept it. No!" He ran his hand through his hair. "There has to be something we can do."
"Man, calm down", Esposito said. The younger man had slowly but surely given up. Over the course of three hours with only dead ends and no light at the other end of the tunnel in sight, he had at some point started accepting it. Started to get used to the fact that he would most likely never see his best friend again. "Maybe there really is no way."
But Castle shook his head vigorously. His imagination had never let him down, he had always found a solution. He couldn't bear the thought that this could be the first time he'd fail. Damnit, it was his job to solve everything. How often had he had to save Derek Storm from a hopeless situation? How often had he had to find a way for Nikki Heat to beat impossible odds? He would not give up! Not when it concerned his life with real people and real problems.
"Castle, we can't help him." Beckett, too, had lost her hope, at least for the moment. "Maybe we should just accept that it's better that he and Jenny are safe somewhere than in danger here. We can't beat the mob, they're too big."
Castle harrumphed, still not willing to let go. He let his head sink into his hands, eyes closed, trying to concentrate again. Beckett and Esposito looked at each other, but before either one could say anything, another, completely unexpected, sound pierced through the silence.
Castle started at the shrill ringing. It was his mobile. He grabbed it from his inner jacket pocket and looked at the screen before he answered it.
"Alexis, hey. Everything alright?"
"Dad!" His daughter sounded slightly upset. "Why didn't you answer?"
"Why..?" He was confused. "But I did, we're talking, aren't we?"
"I mean the texts", came the response.
"What texts?" It took him a moment to get what she was talking about. "Oh, texts. Sorry, I have the alarm turned down so I didn't notice. Why? Was it important? Do you need something?"
"Dad, you just ran off, not telling me why or whereto. Of course it was important, I didn't even know where you've been."
"Sorry, Alexis." And he meant it. "It's just this case we're working. I pieced together something and I had to tell the others. I'll explain later, promise. And I'll make it up to you. We just have to solve this first, okay?"
"Okay." As usually, Alexis didn't seem to be able to be upset with him or more than a few minutes. "So, I'll leave you to it, then."
"Yeah, talk to you later", he said and hung up, instantly re-focusing on the problem at hand. Beckett and Esposito had just silently watched the conversation, getting what Alexis had wanted from hearing Castle's answers.
"You didn't tell her?", Beckett asked surprised.
"Uhm, no. Didn't have the chance to", Castle said sheepishly. "When she came home she instantly told me about the raid and then I came back here."
Esposito just shook his head, wordlessly.
Suddenly, Castle had an idea. Apparently, the interruption and the need to focus on something else had cleared his head. It had been so obvious, how could it have taken him so long to come up with it?
"Guys, I think I've got it!", he exclaimed.
"Hm?" Both looked at him confused.
"How we can get Ryan and Jenny back. I know how."
To his frustration, neither Beckett nor Esposito looked too excited, they both wore an expression of scepticism.
"And?", Esposito asked. "How?"
"It's pretty easy, actually. Easier than we thought", Castle started to explain. "We have to get back to the beginning. Until now we were working on the assumption that we have to eliminate the whole of the Irish mob. But what if we don't?"
"How else do you want to hinder them from identifying Ryan as Fenton O'Connell and kill him?" Esposito asked, still not understanding where this was heading.
"By making them believe there is no one they feel the need to kill." This statement earned him even more confused looks from both the detectives. "The original threat was only posed by one person, right? The one who identified Ryan and told others about it. So we only have to discredit that one person." He looked at them, waiting for them to finally catch up on his brilliant plan. But no such luck.
"And how exactly do you want to do that?" Esposito asked. "You first needed to find out who that person was, then find something to discredit him with, then place the most likely false evidence and then make the others believe it. Oh, and when you've done all that, you have to find a way to stop them from going after Ryan the next time someone sees him."
"Don't make it sound so impossible, it's not!" Castle refused to let himself be dragged down. "We just have to make it look like that someone wanted to use Ryan as a distraction from himself. Maybe we can plant the already mentioned false evidence about that person embezzling money or something. Then we make them believe he or her saw Ryan who looked like that O'Connell guy and decided to set them on Ryan so he had time to disappear with the money."
Beckett and Esposito started to look a bit more optimistic but still skeptical.
"But even if that works, what should stop them from keeping their eyes open for Ryan anyways?" Beckett questioned. "If they got suspicious about there being an undercover agent once, they might not stop looking for him."
"Correct. But we can use that to our advantage." Castle almost grinned at her.
"How so?" Now, Esposito was curious. He allowed himself the tiniest piece of hope.
"We have to fake a death certificate for O'Connell", Castle explained. "They will look into Ryan's alter ego but if we can make them believe he's dead, they'll be satisfied."
Beckett and Esposito thought about it for a moment. The idea seemed far-fetched, unrealistic, insane even. But then again... It was an option. Probably their only option if they wanted their friend and colleague back. And it wouldn't be the first time one of Castle's impossible theories would prove to be correct. Only that this time his theory was about something that hadn't happened yet...
"Only one problem, a major one, I might add", Beckett pointed out. "Just how do you want to do that in the end? Not like you can just walk into HQ and tell them someone betrayed them."
"No, of course not", Castle answered. "We'll ask the FBI for help."
"The FBI? Really?" Esposito looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "As if they would ever even consider helping us."
"Oh, I'm not so sure they won't. Do you have any idea what it costs to put someone in witness protection? New identities, new clothing, a whole new existence... I did research once for a Derek Storm novel and I can tell you, if we offer the FBI a safe way to get two people back to their old lives, they won't complain." Castle sounded so optimistic, Beckett let herself dare to hope there might really be a chance of getting everything back to normal.
"Guess we should visit the FBI first thing next morning then", she said.
So, guess now you'll all know which episode I got my inspiration from ;-) Congrats to Dreamwriter 08 who guessed everything correctly in advance!
Okay, maybe you'll find the time to leave me at least one word in the reviews. And if it's critique, so be it. Better than nothing. After all that'd show me that someone's still interested and thinking about my work. You could for example tell me if you're content with my explanation for the mystery and my solution for the situation...
See you next chapter!