Hej, welcome back!
And wow, guys, thanks so much, your reviews were wonderful! Didn't think anyone would react to my comment on the lack of reaction to my story, but apparently I was wrong...
To guest reviewer PAM H: Thanks! :-)
Even though Castle had made what possibly was the main break-through in where the Ryan's were and how they would manage to get them back, it had only just been the beginning. It had been one in the morning when they had finally found a way to return Ryan and Jenny safely to their home, but that did in no way mean there was nothing left to think about. By now it was well past four o'clock and Castle as well as Beckett and Esposito were completely worn out.
They had quickly agreed that if they could offer a deliberate plan, the FBI would be more likely to hear them out and hopefully eventually grant them their help.
There had been more things to consider than they had originally thought of. After the cautious joy at having found hope had subsided, questions had come up that needed to be answered and each of them was willing to discuss them as long as necessary even if it meant a night shift.
Castle had once again gone to get them coffee. The more often he used the espresso machine the more he congratulated himself on sponsoring it back when he had been new to the team. Although, thinking of it, he hadn't been part of it then. It had taken a while for him to get fully accepted by the other three. Sometimes it overwhelmed him that he indeed had managed in the end. His entire life he had been liked and popular, but never before had he been so close to people who weren't his family. He would do anything for them when it came to it, and he knew they would for him, too. The feeling that gave him was hard to grasp but he knew he would never want to miss it. Which made his will to get Ryan back even stronger. He wouldn't accept losing one member of his chosen family to something as stupid as the Irish mob.
When he had returned with the three mugs, again using the tray he had found earlier, the others had both used the time to stretch their legs. These office chairs really weren't the most comfortable ones, no matter that the officers had to sit in them hours on end on occasion. He had placed the cups in front of each of their places and had sat down, Beckett and Esposito following his example.
"Okay, let's see. We need the death certificate for Fenton O'Connell", Beckett had stated, going straight to business. She had then taken a pen from the desk and scribbled it down on a notepad.
"We have to make sure place and cause of death sound realistic", Esposito had added. "They sure will check it out." Beckett had nodded.
"Next we need to think of a way to frame the person who identified Ryan after finding out who it was." She had written down her own statement.
"I think for that we could use the FBI's whistle-blower", Castle had suggested.
"That'd only work if he or she is somehow powerful amongst the mob", Beckett had pointed out. "Otherwise that someone wouldn't be able to do whatever is needed."
"Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem. This is the FBI we're talking about, not some small police department. Do you really think they would have someone without insight at the inside?" Castle had looked expectantly at the others but had only earned raised eyebrows, silently asking 'seriously?'.
"Oh come on, guys, that pun wasn't half bad!"
"Castle, it's the middle of the night and this is important. Maybe we could concentrate on the matter rather than joking around?"
"You're no fun", he had stated but kept silent otherwise.
Beckett had shaken her head at his boyish behaviour but returned to the matter at hand without further commenting.
In the end, Beckett's notepad was full with her writing, some things on it highlighted, others crossed out. Now, it contained their plan for what to suggest to the FBI.
Most of the time they had spent on research for the death certificate. Coming up with believable facts hadn't been a problem, but making sure they checked out had. While it had only taken ten minutes to agree that Fenton O'Connell had been killed in prison where he was sitting for criminal assault and illegal gun possession, deciding on which prison had proven to be difficult. At some point Esposito had noted that they needed to make sure no other member of the gang or a known associate had been in the same prison around that time. Otherwise, the whole bluff could easily blow up in their faces. So they had to spent the next hours creating lists of people they had to check for and then going over the lists of inmates and their connections to the outside. Eventually, Beckett had found a prison in Texas which seemed to fit their criteria but to be entirely sure, they had checked it a second time, even more thoroughly.
Now, they had finally gathered all the facts they thought they needed and neither of them had any energy left. In some ways, sitting around a desk all night trying to concentrate and figure things out was more demanding than being out investigating. The silence and darkness around them plus the lack of physical exercise had made them sleepy, no matter how much coffee they've had consumed beforehand.
Seeing it was only three hours until they needed to show up again at the precinct anyways, Castle suggested instead of going home, they could use the time better and simply crush on the couches in the adjoining rooms. At first, Beckett was a bit unsure, but after a minute of Castle's argumentation and three yawns on the part of Esposito she succumbed. If she was honest with herself, she hadn't any motivation to go out on the streets now anyways. She was simply too tired.
No matter they still worried about Ryan, although now they knew about a hundred times as much as a few hours ago, it took neither of them more than five minutes to fall asleep after they had lied down onto the different sofas.
oOo
The first rays of sunlight penetrated the twilight inside the precinct when Captain Victoria Gates arrived. She was early, as usual. Sleeping long had never been her style, so years ago she had taken to starting work before most others. She liked the silence in the morning when everybody else was still asleep. Well, as asleep as the better part of New York ever was.
She exited the elevator and entered the huge room that had become the center of her life over the past year. She half expected to see Detective Esposito already sitting behind his desk, working. The man always was a dedicated officer but since his partner had quit so suddenly, he was even more eager than usual. Since Detective Beckett had explained the situation to her the day before, Gates could understand why he was so set on doing something, why they all were, but until now she hadn't quite managed to bring herself to approve. Of course, Detective Ryan's disappearance was unusual, maybe even suspicious, but she hadn't seen enough proof to fully agree with her Detectives' assessment of the situation yet.
So when the room was empty, she was shortly confused. But then again, the Detectives Beckett and Esposito had probably worked late so they would only turn up today when they needed to. The empty mugs on Beckett's desk certainly spoke of a long night. Although Gates noticed there were three of them. That must mean Mr. Castle had come back again. She still didn't know what to make of him. He wasn't an officer so he had no business around the precinct, in her opinion, but he seemed to be an honest man and although he got on her nerves more often than not, she had to admit he had indeed helped solving some of the cases. Not that she would say that out loud if not forced to. The man's ego was big enough already, no need to boost it any further.
Gates walked along the desks towards her office. She had almost reached the door when she heard something. Fabric rustling and movement. She looked up and scanned her surroundings. All empty, no question. But to be sure, she went to check the adjoining rooms. First the one where they questioned witnesses and talked to the relatives. She peered through the window before approaching the door and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. Detective Esposito lay sprawled across one of the couches, using his leather jacket as a blanket. His shoes lay a few feet away, obviously thrown to the ground without too much care. Gates inhaled sharply. Dedication to one's work was one thing but this went too far. When she started to move again, her gaze fell on two more pairs of shoes, one neatly placed next to the other, on the foot of the second couch. Detective Beckett lay on it, in a similar manner as her colleague. And beside her, Mr. Castle.
Gates' first thought was that she hadn't known the sofa was extendable, but then she realized just what she was seeing. Her detective and the writer were lying on the same couch, only inches apart. She wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or if it meant something, but she made sure she would keep it in mind and have an eye on the two of them and their behaviour towards each other. At last, she remembered that this was a police department, not a motel. So even if she did understand the threes' determination to find out what happened to Detective Ryan, and even if those two were lying next to each other only by chance, this was a bit too much.
She took a deep breath and entered the room, placing herself at the doorframe, arms crossed.
"Detective Beckett, Detective Esposito, Mr. Castle." She didn't even need to raise her voice, instantly all three of them stirred.
Detective Beckett was the first one to fully awake. It took only a second for her to sit up, eyes open and taking in the situation.
"Captain Gates, sir", she said hastily after spotting her superior in the doorframe. "Good morning."
Gates ignored the greeting. "Would you care to explain this?", she asked icy.
By now, the two men were sitting upright, too, but were clearly sleepier than their female companion. Both looked at Gates sheepishly, wisely keeping their mouths shut.
"I'm sorry, Captain", Detective Beckett started to explain, straightening up a bit more. "I am aware that this is absolutely inappropriate", she gestured vaguely, not clarifying if she meant the whole situation or just Castle and herself.
"Is it indeed", Gates commented, unmoving.
"We had a break through regarding the whereabouts of Detective Ryan and his wife last night", the detective continued.
Gates raised an eyebrow. She wasn't sure if she was surprised or if she had expected this. But it certainly meant that her personnel would soon return to their original tasks, which definitely pleased her. "So, where are they?", she asked.
"Well, not actually the exact place", the other woman clarified. "But we figured out what happened and how we can get things back to normal."
"I'm all ears."
"Castle found the connection between the man mentioned in the note, Simon Gallagher, and Detective Ryan. Both men are Irish and both of them belong or once belonged to the Irish mob." Now, Gates definitely was surprised. But before she could say anything, Detective Beckett continued.
"Ryan was with the narcotics before he joined homicide and was undercover for fourteen months. There he found out about Gallagher's involvement with them. He's a chemist supplying them with drugs. We talked to his old boss, Captain Lark, and pieced together what must have happened. In all likelihood someone of the mob identified Ryan. But before anything could happen, a whistle-blower informed the authorities and both Ryan and his wife were put in witness protection."
Gates wasn't sure what to think of the explanation. It sounded more like one of Mr. Castle's wild theories than an actual story. And there was a mistake in the train of thought.
"If so, why weren't we informed of his division's actions by Captain Lark?"
"Because he didn't know about it. According to Ryan's neighbours we talked to, there was a man in a dark suit supervising the team of removers. We assume the FBI is involved, rather than the NYPD."
"Hm." Gates didn't know what to say to that. "And you're sure about this?", she finally asked.
"It's the only explanation that fits all the facts", Beckett nodded.
Gates quickly thought it through, remembering everything her detective had told her the day before and found that she had to agree. What wasn't clear to her though, was, how on earth the three persons in front of her wanted to reverse what had happened.
"And what exactly do you intend to do about it, assuming your guess is correct?", she asked, loosening her still rigid stance a bit.
Beckett started to explain and when she reached the end of their plan, Gates had to admit, it was quite a piece of clever thinking. Which didn't mean that she saw much hope for it to have any chance of success.
"So I take it you intend to contact the FBI today?"
"Yes, sir, we do." Gates could see Beckett eyeing her carefully. It was not lost on her how little her detectives trusted her. Still. Roy Montgomery had been quite the opposite of her and as much as they all had liked him, with as much suspicion they eyed her now, even after over a year. She wasn't one to give much about what others thought of her, she couldn't, seeing that she had worked with the Department of Internal Affairs for years. But she had made the observation that work was much easier when her colleagues and her subordinates accepted her.
"Well then, only one question remains unanswered." She saw the glance the three before her quickly shared, knowing they had interpreted her dropping the topic right – she allowed them to go as long as nothing else came up.
"Yes, sir?" Beckett re-focused on her.
"Why were you using the precinct as a motel? While working over night can't be helped sometimes, the premises are hardly meant to substitute for a home."
"That was my idea", Mr. Castle said before the detective sitting next to him could answer. "Sir", he quickly added when she turned to face him. She had to give him that. He was never a coward although he knew in how little regard she held him. He had always faced her directly, never cowering behind the detectives, when she had criticised him or his decisions. He always stood his ground, something she valued in a person.
"Until we had figured out the last details, it was four in the morning. So I suggested taking a nap here would be more sensible than returning home and only get a sole hour of sleep. Here, we could at least get three", he said with a quick glance at his watch.
She shortly considered his answer then turned back to Detective Beckett. "I'll tolerate it this once, Detective, but don't make a habit of it." And without another word she walked out of the room, finally towards her office.
oOo
"Ouf", Castle and Esposito made in unison as soon as Gates was out of ear-shot.
"I always feel like a schoolboy caught at scribbling in his exercise book when she looks at me like that", the author stated, shivering.
"I feel ya", Esposito agreed.
"I don't think she's half bad", Beckett said while she bent down to put on her shoes. "She's fair and good at her job, we could do a lot worse."
"But she hates me!", Castle protested.
Beckett straightened up again and looked at him. "Sometimes I can't blame her for it", she said at which Esposito laughed.
"Yeah, you go on, stab me in the back", Castle said to the other man. "That's what you get for saving someone's best friend." His tone wasn't too serious so Esposito didn't let himself be bothered.
"We haven't quite saved him yet", Beckett reminded him and stood up. Castle and Esposito hurried to put on their shoes as well and followed her example.
"I suggest we meet at my desk in five and go over the plan one more time before visiting the FBI. It's too early to go there directly anyways."
Both men nodded and went after her as she left the room. Castle was just about to make coffee for the umpteenth time these past two days when Beckett held him back.
"Let me do that", she told him. "I think you should call Alexis."
"Yeah, right", he smiled at her and nodded. In all honesty, he had completely forgotten about his daughter and his promise to explain it to her. So while Esposito went to his desk and Beckett walked over to the kitchen, Castle took out his mobile and dialled. He placed himself in front of the white board and looked at the pictures and the writing. Neither of them had bothered adding the newly discovered facts so it still looked the same as the afternoon before.
"Dad!", came the almost immediate answer. He hadn't even had to let it ring twice.
"Morning, Alexis", he greeted her.
"Where are you?", she asked. "And why haven't you come home last night?" There it was again, his daughter acted more like his parent than his child. Whenever he became aware of how reversed their roles were, Castle had to smile.
"How do you know I wasn't?", he asked instead of answering.
"Because I stayed here and waited", she explained.
He smiled even wider but took a pity on her. "I was at the precinct with Beckett and Esposito, working the case I mentioned."
"What about Ryan?" Typical Alexis, always the smart one. She had immediately picked up on him leaving out the third detective.
"Well, you could say he is the case."
"What?" Alexis sounded shocked and Castle realised too late how wrong that must have sounded considering he worked with the murder squad.
"No, no, Alexis, don't worry, not like that", he hurried to explain. "Two days ago he didn't show for work and wouldn't answer his phone. So we went to his flat and it was empty", he summarized. "But there was a note he had written for Espo and long story short, we figured out he was put in witness protection. We spent the whole of last night finding a way to get him back safely and when we finished it was already around four so we just stayed here. Sorry if I worried you."
There was a short silence at the other end of the line. He could practically see Alexis considering what he had just told her.
"But why? Why was he put in witness protection?", she finally asked.
"Turns out he was undercover with the Irish mob a few years back. Now someone recognized him and to keep him safe, the FBI intervened."
He heard a movement behind him and turned around. It was Beckett who had returned with the coffee and now placed it on the table. Esposito was already making his way over to them.
"How do you want to get him back?", Alexis asked.
"We'll make the mob believe their information about Ryan being a former undercover agent is wrong, it's a bit complicated." By now, Esposito had joined Beckett and sat in his chair from the day before. "Look, Alexis, I have to go. I'm sorry. I'll fully explain when this is over, okay?"
She hesitated but finally agreed.
"Thanks. See you!", he said and barely left her time to answer before he hung up and took his place at the desk.
oOo
It was already past eight when they finished going over everything they had worked out the previous night again. Over the last hour, the precinct had filled with all the people usually working here and after the loneliness of the last night and this morning, it almost felt crowded to Castle.
They had agreed no time was to be wasted in getting Ryan and Jenny back. And not just because they missed their friends but because with every passing day the risk of their efforts being in vain grew. It would take the mob a while to identify the officer that supposedly had spied on them by name and even a bit longer to find his address. But once they had the information they needed and went to the apartment, they would know two things. First, there was a mole amongst them and second, Ryan was indeed Fenton O'Connell. As soon as this point was reached, there would be no way of ever returning Ryan safely to his home again. At least not unless the mob was completely disintegrated, something neither of them dared to hope for. So they needed to get everything back to normal as soon as possible. This way, if the mob checked on their former suspect after learning of O'Connell's supposed death, they would find that Detective Ryan of the NYPD was indeed a whole different person and leave him alone. Even the mob wouldn't harm someone just for looking like a person they held a grudge against.
"Should we call there first or visit directly?", Esposito asked when Beckett had declared them ready.
"Visit directly", she answered decidedly. "They will try to send us away and over the phone it would be way harder to get them to listen."
Esposito nodded and he and Castle got up, donning their jackets while they followed Beckett out of the precinct. Captain Gates looked at them from behind her desk and made a gesture for them to simply continue their way out when Beckett moved in her direction to ask for permission.
Traffic at this time of day was a nightmare with everyone going to work, so they decided to take the subway. It would be horribly crowded as well but at least they wouldn't get stuck for an hour or more.
After being packed like sardines in a can for almost fifteen minutes, Castle, Beckett and Esposito were now squeezing their way out of the station.
"I wonder what it's like to be claustrophobic when you live in New York", Castle said as he watched the endless streams of people rushing in different directions.
"Hell on earth", Beckett answered.
"Hm, didn't know hell was so crowded", he said to himself as he followed her onto the street, Esposito directly behind him.
The walk from the station wasn't long, it took them only five more minutes to reach the right building.
When they entered, Castle couldn't help but compare the FBI HQ to the 12th. He had to admit, this looked a bit more official. Almost intimidating.
They found themselves in a huge entrance hall filled with quite a number of suit-wearing men and women. As always, Castle was surprised just how much of a cliché this really was.
At the opposite side of the hall there was a long counter with several receptionists behind it, half of them talking over phones, the other half typing away on their computers.
Without letting herself be disturbed by all the important looking people around her, Beckett headed straight for the desk. She picked the nearest woman, young, tall and brunette, and approached her. Castle and Esposito trailed behind.
"Morning", she greeted and the woman looked up. "I'm Detective Kate Beckett, these are Detective Javier Esposito and Richard Castle. We're with the NYPD."
She got a curt nod in reply. "How can I help you?"
"We need to talk to the agent responsible for the investigation against the Irish mob. Could you please point us to him and announce us if necessary?"
"Does your request regard a current case?"
"Yes", Beckett answered unflinchingly.
The woman started typing and looked at her screen again. Castle used the time to read her badge. Amanda Cole it said next to a photograph of her that didn't look too much like her anymore. Apparently she had done some drastic things to her hair in the past. He got pulled out of his observations when Ms. Cole started talking again.
"That'd be Agent Martin Evans then. He should be free at the moment. His office is in the left wing, fourth floor, room 416."
"Thanks", Beckett said before heading in the given direction without hesitation. Once again, the two men followed suit.
They shared the elevator with a few others and exited it at the same time as two women talking to each other. The hallway they were now in was dull, grey carpet, white walls and identical looking doors leading away from it every few meters.
"Well then, let's see if we can get this Agent Evans to help us", Beckett said when she reached room 416. She knocked politely and waited for the voice calling "Come in!" before she entered.
There was nothing interesting about the office they now found themselves in. An average sized room with a plant being the only decoration. Shelves stacked with folders covered the walls and a desk stood in front of a window with standard blinds on it. Behind it sat who was apparently Martin Evans. The man was ordinary-looking by all means. Apparently neither big nor small, he had short, dark hair and an unremarkable face. At their entrance he looked up from his work.
"Yes?", he said, and although not unfriendly his tone suggested he didn't have time to waste.
"Agent Evans?" He nodded at the question. "I'm Detective Kate Beckett, these are Detective Javier Esposito and Richard Castle, we're with the 12th precinct", Beckett practically repeated what she had told the receptionist.
She got an affirmative noise in response. Taking that as an invitation, she stepped a little closer, Esposito standing slightly to the left and behind her while Castle curiously examined his surroundings.
"A colleague of ours went missing two days ago," Beckett started her explanation. "His name his Kevin Ryan." Caste focused back on the agent. He noticed a small flicker of recognition in Evans' eyes at the mentioning of the name. So they had been right. Triumphantly he looked at Espo who obviously had seen it, too and tilted his head a little.
"So?" Evans asked, apparently not ready to give away anything without being forced to.
"Detective Ryan was undercover with the Irish mob a few years back and with the evidence we have gathered we have reason to believe he now was put in witness protection by your agency." Castle smiled inwardly. He had always loved this direct manner of Beckett's. She didn't beat around the bush if she could help it.
Evans leaned back in his chair, eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and caution. "And what evidence might that be?"
"A short note Detective Ryan left his partner Detective Esposito here, for example. In it he told us we should check Simon Gallagher." Again, recognition flashed in Agent Evans' eyes but otherwise the man didn't show any emotion.
"So, we did. Turns out he's a chemist providing the mafia with drugs. From there on the conclusion wasn't too difficult to draw."
"And what have you come here for?" Evans asked. "Even in case you're right, what do you want from me?"
"We'd like to get our colleague back and for that we need help from you and your agency."
At that, Evans actually started laughing. "You do realize it's called witness protection for a reason, don't you? There's no coming back, that'd defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?"
"We're not so sure about that", Beckett replied, undisturbed by his patronizing demeanour and taking his reaction as a confirmation for their theory. "In fact, we think we found a way to bring Detective Ryan and his wife back home. In safety", she added.
"Do you really?", he said, the curiosity in his expression now outweighing the caution. "And how exactly do you intend to do that?"
It was like the talk with Gates all over again, only this time they didn't just need their captain's approval for their actions but had to persuade an FBI agent of quite a complex plan.
Beckett did her best to convince the agent while Castle and Esposito both stayed silent for the most part as to not divert Evans' attention or involuntarily anger him.
In the end, the man was sitting with his elbows on the desk, leaning forward, and looked at Beckett thoughtfully. At some time during their talk he had pointed her to a seat in front of him that she had taken but since there were only two chairs, both Castle and Esposito had remained standing off to the side.
The agent's bearing had changed over the course of Beckett's explanation from defensive over interested to almost intrigued. Since Castle had been silent, he had had enough time to study the varying expressions in the man's features.
"I see", Evans finally said after he had thought about what he had just heard for a minute. "I have to admit, I'm impressed. An intricate piece of thinking and planning you did there. I can't make the final decision but I will talk to my superiors about it. I guess they'll like the 'saving money' part", he said with a glance in Castle's direction.
"Thank you", Beckett said. "We do appreciate it! And we don't want to waste any more of your time." She rose to her feet. "Could you keep us informed about the progress you've made?"
"I will. But you have to guarantee me that you won't do anything on your own, it could compromise the whole operation."
Beckett nodded. She took a business card out of her pocket and handed it to him. "My number", she simply stated. He took it and placed it next to the phone on his desk, then stood up as well. He offered her his hand and she shook it.
"Good bye, Detective Beckett." He looked at the two men waiting behind her and nodded towards them. "Detective Esposito, Mr. Castle."
They inclined their heads in response. "Agent Evans."
One after the other, they left the office and headed for the exit, their hopes at getting their friend back now a good deal higher than before. Even if Evans had to persuade his superiors first, they had done what they could for now and had succeeded in it.
Yeah, I know, a lot of filler. I'm sorry! It just happened, no idea why. It certainly wasn't planned. But it's long (for me, at least) so I hope you can forgive me. And I thought it better to upload this than letting you wait longer. I'll try to have more things happening in the next chapter, promise.
As always: If you found mistakes, please tell me about them!