CH55
It is now 4 days later: (August 22, 2001)
Kate was feeling so much better after a couple of hours making love to Castle, including another round of them fucking each other at the same time along with Castle taking her from behind. Now she was happily snuggled in nice and close, letting her breathing return to normal.
"I don't think we can get any kinkier than this, Kate." Rick thought back to all the toys they had been using since they started making love to each other.
"Oh, I think we can get a lot kinkier Castle. You haven't seen anything yet." Kate was smiling, part teasing and part serious.
"I was wrong, you are going to be the death of me." Rick bent his head down to kiss Kate's head.
"And you're going to die so happy Castle." Kate chuckled and kissed his chest. "If I'm going to go see my mother before it gets dark, I need to get going," Kate mentioned, except she didn't move. The pull on her heart to have Castle close was just too strong, even to go see her mother.
"I'll drive, you'll only have to navigate." Rick kissed her head again and started to get up which finally got Kate moving.
They were soon dressed and driving to the cemetery. "Why are we stopping Castle?" Kate had spent her time staring out the passenger window telling Castle when to turn and had zoned out.
"I'm stopping to get flowers. I'm not going to meet your mother without having something to give her. Just who do you think I am?" He got out of the car and went into the florist shop while Kate waited outside.
"I think you are the most perfect man on the planet, that's who I think you are. And I love you with all of my heart," Kate whispered to Castle as he entered the flower shop.
A number of minutes later Rick walked back out with his arms filled with flowers. There were enough that Kate was laughing; he had so many flowers in his arms that he had trouble seeing where he was going. He filled the trunk with them before getting back in the car.
"Think you bought enough, Castle?" Kate was smiling as the love in her heart for him only grew.
"I have a lot of days to make up for, and no I don't think I bought anywhere near enough," he said as he drove away from the florist while Kate melted into a puddle of goo on the seat of the car. Kate didn't know who to thank for Castle coming into her life, she was so glad that he had.
Kate knew exactly where to go and Rick refused her help to carry his mass of flowers. "These are mine, go get your own," he countered as she started to take them out of his arms to help him place them on Johanna's grave.
She stood back and let him place the flowers where he pleased. "It is an honor to finally meet you, Johanna Beckett. Your husband has told me a number of things about you and your daughter."
"You should be proud of her, she has turned out to be an amazing woman. I'm sorry I never had a chance to actually meet you. Perhaps we will meet in another life and I'll get the chance, however fleeting in may be, to say thank you." Rick finished and walked off to hide his tears.
Kate's tears were already flowing down her face by the time she approached her mother's grave. "I'm so sorry I haven't been here in a while Mom. My only excuse is that I've been busy. That was Richard Castle, Mom. Would you believe that I actually got to meet him? I'm not sure even you would believe that we're going to be married next month."
"I love him so much mom, so very much." Kate wiped away at the tears that wouldn't stop. "Dad's better now and he'll walk me down the aisle. We have everything planned, I even have an invitation just for you." She pulled out the invitation and leaned it on the headstone.
"I hope you'll be there mom, I'm hoping it will be beautiful. Castle is amazing, Mom, I think you would like him. I think dad likes him and based on my track record that's saying something."
"I'm sorry I was such a pain, Mom, I don't really have an excuse for what I did. I'm going to give Castle the child he lost, Mom; one of these years we're going to be a family. Not soon but one of these years."
"I wish you could see him, Mom. As soon as we solve this case we are going to find out who killed you and he's going to pay. I promise." Kate wiped away more tears, kissed the stone, picked up one of Castle's flowers, and placed it on top of the stone itself. "I love you Mom."
She found Castle and fell into his arms and wiped at her tears. "I'm sorry I never got to see her Kate, I'll bet she was amazing." He held her close.
She sniffled and wiped at her tears. "I think she would have loved you. I finally found someone worth keeping and she's not here to see it." She just wanted to melt into him and become one with him at least for a little while.
"I'll bet you $100 that she is at your wedding. There isn't any mother worth her salt that wouldn't want to be at her daughter's wedding." He held her tight and let her cry while kissing her head.
She was calming down and wiping away the remaining tears and never happier to have Castle than she was now. "I hate to interrupt, but your mother has trace amounts of Nuke on her, Katherine. The amounts are really small and can likely be contributed to the mortuary service who prepared her body, if that is where she obtained the amounts," Jill spoke.
It took a few moments for what Jill has told them to sink in. "What?" Kate held onto Castle even harder.
"I find no evidence that Nuke is or ever has been in her system and her brain chemistry even after all this time shows no signs of ever having been affected by Nuke. She does, however, have trace amounts on her person at this time," Jill explained further.
"My mother was near Nuke?" Kate didn't understand how it could be possible.
"The timing does fit the known facts," Jack offered. "Not long after Johanna Beckett's death, the deaths in LA started and walked their way across the country. If we are correct, it was here that the drug maker found Bracken, gave him the other unit, and started to work on his plan," Jack proposed.
"Richard, Bracken is presently talking to the drug maker using Nero. He is informing him that the man he hired to kill Kate has not checked in at his assigned time. Also all of his money in his overseas account is gone," Jack spoke up.
"The drug maker has remained silent. Bracken is asking if he heard him... The response is yes." Jack spoke up again. Kate and Rick wait for Jack to continue.
"Bracken is being ordered to take the key to the bank and open the safety deposit box and use the money found there to hire a three man team using the contact indicated. They are to take Agent Beckett alive to bargain with Agent Castle for his release and to do it now," Jack added finally.
"They want me because of you?" She was a little confused.
"I teleport to his location and release him or they kill you, likely using Nuke. At least we know that we have the drug maker and where," Rick commented.
"My mother has Nuke on her." She was trying to wrap her mind around that.
"Where was your mother killed?" Rick questioned.
"Mom was stabbed and left to bleed out in an alley, not far from the restaurant she was supposed to meet me and my dad," Kate told Castle.
He took her hand and started walking quickly to the car. "Where are we going?"
"We are going home first to collect a lot of weapons and then we're driving to that spot in the alley and begin searching the surrounding area. Your mother was stabbed there and then taken to the morgue for an autopsy. Likely there and at the mortuary your mother would have been washed down with water. Yet the Nuke she came in contact with is still on her. For that to happen means she was surrounded by the stuff and it was all over her."
"There is only one way I can think of for that to happen." He stopped talking and got into the car followed by Kate.
"My mother found his drug making site and was killed for it." Kate was catching up to Castle.
"If he hasn't moved it, it should still be in that area somewhere even today. Or maybe moved only a short distance knowing that it have been found. Bracken has to have his Nuke delivered so that tells us he doesn't know where it is made. Or he has orders to never go there unless he is told to, which is unlikely since he had to have it delivered," he speculated.
"It could be anywhere in that area," she pointed out, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy.
"True, however this time we have an area to work with instead of all of New York City," he countered and watched as she pulled out her phone. "What are you doing?"
"I'm calling Jordan and tell her we have a lead as to the possible location of manufacture. We are going to need the help, Castle and it's going to be dark soon. Wherever its location is, he thinks the location is safe. So it's either hard to find or booby trapped. Otherwise he would be all over Bracken to protect his manufacturing site," Kate tried to reason with him.
"Fine, we'll meet the team that she sends at the site where your mother was found," he relented, remembering that he still owed Kate for the mistake that he had made by doing things rashly.
She ended the call. "Jordan said she will have half the New York Field office at the site in an hour. Jordan and the rest of our team will meet us there in a couple of hours. She is going to commandeer the jet to get them here. The BAU team will also be flying out here," she explained.
"We better be right Castle, or this is going to blow up in our face," she pointed out.
He was silent as he knew if this didn't pan out they were going to get some hard questions, not that they were likely to get them eventually. Just that if this worked out they would have time to think up what to say.
Kate stopped at the panic room to pick up extra clips and some zip ties along with some gloves. Rick went down to their closet to collect his machine pistol and his holster along with some extra clips.
He met Kate at the front door. "I have all six uses, you?" he questioned. "The same." She was pretty sure neither of them had done anything in a couple of days, not since leaving North Korea.
Rick was driving to the alley where Kate's mother had been killed. "Jack, we are likely going to need a CIA satellite including infra-red and ground penetration if you can." They were only minutes away and half an hour out in front of the FBI team that was coming, as well as Jordan and her team with the BAU team that were likely with her and only minutes behind them. They perhaps had half an hour to find what they were after.
Merely moments later Kate was standing where her mother had died. The last time she was there was only days after she was killed and Kate was a broken 19 year old girl. "A little help Jack." Rick was hoping their ace in the hole would give them an advantage.
"I can give you percentages of possibilities, that's the best I can do. This area is a little dense with abandoned stores along with some abandoned underground transit stations, including storage rooms," Jack advised.
"We split up." Kate suggested and saw the pained look on Castle's face. "Jack can give each of us an above ground possible site before we switch to underground sites."
"This is not a good idea Kate, I tend to doubt it is guarded, however, I would bet my life that it is rigged in some way. Open the wrong door, not see the infra-red light or the simple trip wire and it's either end up being taken or die." Rick's heart was starting to race. If Kate wasn't careful she would be dead or hooked on Nuke till she had a stroke.
"And if he killed my mother, I want to know. You said it yourself. We can't let any government get their hands on these units or Nuke. If they figure out how Nuke works, it won't be America anymore. We'll be worse than any enemy we ever thought was capable of this," Kate stated her case which she knew is also Castle's.
He groaned because her logic was something he couldn't combat. They were short on time with a lot of space to cover. "Fine, just remember to keep talking to me through Jill." He pointed at her to enforce his point.
"I promise." Kate kissed him and headed off for her first site.
"You keep an eye on her, Jack or I'll kill the two of you," Rick threatened, losing Kate just wasn't an option.
Her first site turned out to be an empty storage room with only one way (one way out or did you intend something else?), though it was really long. And it had access via fans to move outside air in along with a little bit of light. Even with that she was forced to use her flashlight. "One down, where to next?" She looked at her watch, they had maybe 20 minutes.
Rick's first site turned out to be a manufacturing assembly line. Lots of sunlight along with lots of dust, mud and piles of junk. "One down, where to next, Jack?"
Kate went downstairs and had to use her flashlight the entire way. Going through the door she found a hallway filled with doors on each side. "Oh, great." She could see this taking time.
There were eight doors and she waited for Jill to scan each of them, but two of them refused to open. Not locked, just refused to move. "Strike two, tell Castle and where to next." She looked at her watch. If they were on schedule the first team should be arriving any minute now. She knew she had to call them, maybe she should have called them AFTER they found the site. "Oh well, could'a, would'a, should'a." She kept going downstairs.
Jack had Rick go deep, really deep. When he opened the single door he found himself in a foyer area that had a wide set of stairs going up on his left and a large hallway to his right. It looked like there were old now broken benches for people to sit on.
It was even partially lit from down the hallway. "Now we're talking." He liked this place. He went to the stairs first and found them blocked, intentionally judging by the brick wall that was in front of him.
He moved to one of the side walls and found little rooms behind glass panels. "Ticket sales! It's an old underground station long since abandoned. I like this place! …Have Kate come this way, Jack." Rick headed for the hallway, not seeing any foot prints in the dust except his own.
He opened the door carefully while looking around and feeling the door. The dust looked undisturbed so it looked clear. He found two tunnels that went different directions. One looked darker than the other since one actually had light coming up from below. "We go right." He attached his silencer to his weapon and lifted it, ready to use it as he walked down the hallway.
"Richard wants you to join him, he likes the location where he is as a possible site," Jill spoke up. "How do I get there?" Kate asked and began walking where Jill, or actually Jack, told her to.
"I am losing you on the satellite Richard, you are getting deeper," Jack warned him. Rick heard him but kept his eyes on where he was going.
He came to a stop, looked out, and saw a depression in front of him with a wall just beyond. It opened up into a relatively wide room that went off to this left and to his right. There was an occasional column and all of the walls had tile on them. The floor was concrete, plus the entire space was relatively well lit with lights.
"It's an old underground transit station." He started smiling. "This is sooo cool." He had heard of these and always wondered why they had shut them down. It obviously looked old school and even if it wasn't well lit it looked really nice though it did need to be cleaned.
He stepped up to the platform. "Great. …left or right?" He spotted lights to his left so he walked that way until he ran out of platform and found an abandoned transit car. Looking down the tunnel. "Ok, maybe more than one car."
Rick hopped down onto the tracks and looked the end of the car over before climbing up to the door on the end. Looking inside through the glass he saw all kinds of lab equipment along with some propane tanks. "Bingo! …Jack get Kate down here right away, I think I found it!"
He checked the door for any booby traps and tested the door handle, finding that it worked perfectly. "Someone believes in WD-40." He turned the handle carefully trying to feel or hear any sudden changes. Feeling nothing he slowly opened the door and looked inside.
"Oh yeah, jack pot city." There was even something cooking under a Bunsen burner and it was orange in color. Rick looked around for any trip wires or infra-red beams and stepped inside.
He heard a click sound followed by silence. "OH FUCK!" Rick looked down. "I've been out of the Army just too damn long. Fucking contact plate." He dared not move, not even to hang his head low or even breathe out heavily.
"Okay, I don't see any wires, so that probably means it is operated by remote. Likely he has it on him in his little cave. I hope he enjoys it there… Maybe there is another keypad around here somewhere," Rick hoped. "Not that it will help me, I don't know the code." He wasn't sure just what to do.
"CASTLE?" He could hear Kate calling out. Rick didn't dare risk changing the pressure on the plate by calling back to her. He was forced to rely on Jack.
"Castle?" He thought she was right behind her by the sound and volume of her voice.
"Don't come up Kate, I'm standing on a contact plate," he warned her.
"Contact plate… You mean a bomb!? God, Castle!" She was terrified. What if it blew up Castle and killed him. Kate could heal him, six times even. Even regrow his arms and legs, but what if it wasn't enough?
"What do I do Castle?" She knew she wasn't leaving him.
"Move down the side of the train and see if you can get in another way. Try and avoid the doors in case there is another contact plate. Attempt to break a window and climb in. Just be careful of all the Nuke cooking equipment on the table," he advised.
She walked down the tunnel looking for a way in. She crossed over the connection of the cars and walked back down the other side not finding anything. "Don't move Castle." She went back to the platform to look for something to stand on.
"Don't move she says… If I do move, I'll be an astronaut." He tried humor. "Actually that won't work since I'm underground. At least there will be more of me… In itsy bitsy pieces.
I didn't die in North Korea, China, or Russia only to come home and die in an abandoned transit station," he moaned.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DIE CASTLE!" Kate's voice rang out.
"Are you ratting me out, Jack? And here I thought you liked me." He couldn't believe it.
"I have spotted the first units of the FBI arriving and according to air traffic control, Jordan and the BAU will be landing in just over an hour. Surveillance suggests that Frazier and Hammond are attempting to call the two of you. However your cell phones will not work down here," Jack provided information instead.
"Thank god for small favors, still they are going to need to be warned that there is a bomb down here," Rick pointed out.
"I'm back Castle, don't move." She meant don't even breathe, actually.
Kate dropped her large plastic trash container on the ground and worked at climbing on top of it. She looked like she was surfing while she tried to remain standing as she pulled out her weapon to pound on the glass. It didn't shatter. "DAMN IT!" She just needed a break.
"Close your ears Castle." She pointed her weapon at the glass.
"Kate you're not actually thinking of... BANG!" She shot out the glass. Rick didn't hear the glass breaking and didn't hear Kate swearing as she worked at crawling her way inside the car through her now broken window after using her weapon to clear away the remaining glass.
Kate was just about through. "OW!" She looked down at her ripped pants and could feel the blood starting to trickle down her leg. "Damn it!" She couldn't afford to fix herself, not if she was going to fix Castle.
She walked to Castle and came up short. "How are you doing, Castle? Tell me what to do."
"First things first, search the train cars for any paperwork that explains how to make Nuke and burn them," he instructed her.
That was not what she meant or even wanted to do, however, it was why they were down here, so she worked her way back down the car. "And stay away from the door on the far end." If there was one contact plate, there was probably more of them.
She used Jill when she found a filing cabinet that was locked and began burning it after Jill confirmed it was what she was looking for. Smoke started to fill the car until Kate shot out a few more windows.
Kate came near Castle. "Now what Castle? How do we get you off this thing?"
Rick wanted to sigh heavily since he knew the answer but that might kill both of them. "You don't. It's a pressure plate. Add or remove pressure and the contact is completed and, BOOM."
"That's not acceptable Castle, there has to be a way to get you off this thing. Wait here." She went back to her window and crawled back outside trying not to cut her leg open again.
She made it to the end of the car and got down on her hands and knees, not caring about how dirty it got her and started crawling under the train. "OH SHIT!" Kate saw nothing but brick after brick of C-4 along both sides of the bottom of the car.
"C-4!" Rick called out. "How many?" he asked.
She moaned, there was only one way he knew what she had found. Jill had ratted her out.
He started muttering as he did the math in his head. "200 pounds of C-4. That's enough to blow this car and this tunnel to hell and gone." It wasn't just the blast, it was the shrapnel that the car would be turned into.