After Episode 14, I hold little hope for a season 9 renewal.
The assault team has gathered just outside the non-descript building in Brooklyn. Jake and his unit are gathered like a small army checking their weapons and the rest of their gear. This group is ready for about any possible action
Castle and Beckett, along with Detectives Ryan and Esposito have been directed to stay back inside the command van and watch the event on the monitors that line all the walls of the vehicle. They are directed to wait until the site has been secured and any and all threats have been neutralized.
The four are pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the operation is working. Several additional vehicles arrive with more armed men and women joining Jake's team.
"How did they find this place" Esposito asks not knowing how much information Castle was able to provide once his memories had been recovered.
Beckett answers "I understand they got a tip about this place…"
Castle finishes the sentence "maybe from one of the two men they captured"
"It must be like that warehouse where the drugs were taken from that cruise ship." Ryan comments"
"OH. Is it owned by the same dummy corporation?" Esposito questions
"Possibly the corporation that owns that one owns several others as well" Beckett fills in trying to distract the conversation "That is what I understand trying to avoid the obvious questions their friend are issuing."
The couple hates to lie to their friends and co workers but sometimes ignorance is the best protection and with LocSat the less you know the safer you are
They are sitting as a group just watching the story playing out in front of them on live television when Castle pulls on Beckett's arm "Come outside with me a minute" and they move out the door and far enough away that their conversation is private
"Kate. Listen, I need to tell you that there was nothing that happened while I was gone" He has real fear in his voice as if she will not accept the outcome
"Castle…I know" she looks back to the assault team "Right now I need to focus on this operation and when this is over we can discuss what took place while you and I were apart at our wedding"
His face falls with her remark. She has turned and he follows her back toward the door to the van and the other men
As they are waiting another SUV arrives and a group of men exit the vehicle. Included in this arrival is Agent Gray and another man they don't recognize. Both men are already wearing protective gear
When they enter the van, Castle makes the opening comment "Agent Gray…I didn't know you did field work anymore"
"I do what needs to be done" he points to the new arrival "This is Agent Zachery Sutton. He is currently working in the Attorney General's office investigating the deaths of your former team"
"So are you going in now?" Beckett asks
Gray looks back toward the lot where the teams are gathering "Not yet. We are waiting for one more agent"
Just as he speaks the words another van clears the corner heading toward the other parked vehicles "That must be him now" Sutton states
"Who is this?" Castle questions just as the passenger door opens and Vikram Singh steps out wearing a vest identifying himself as a 'Federal Agent" and begins moving toward the group
As soon as Vikram arrives in the van he begins "Kate, Rick…I am so sorry I had to put you two through this but we had to make sure that Mr. Castle was not a part of the LocSat hierarchy"
"What do you mean "PART OF" Beckett asks with obvious anger in her voice "You know damn good and well Rick was not any part of that group. Jake knew that" She points at Rick's protector
Jake responds quickly "Kate. I felt like he was just an unknowing pawn, but we had to be sure. Please understand. I was tasked with protecting you two from LocSat during the investigation but if it turned out that Castle was one of the leaders…" he lets the words drop off
Castle looks at the growing group of agents "Who is investigating?"
Vikram responds to the question "We are the federal government's equivalent of the police department's internal affairs except our security clearance is way above even the president. We investigate crimes on the part of any member of any government agency"
He looks at Kate "We knew that LocSat existed but were unable to make any connection and then your initial inquiry into Bracken's actions triggered the roller coaster that brought us here today"
Beckett has stood next to Castle this entire conversation "So how is Rick involved in all this or rather why is he involved?"
The team looks at one another then Jake gives the answer "We got information from Castle's debriefing for the Bangkok mission that seemed a little odd so we went digging a little deeper. It seems that a contractor's team was also in Bangkok at the same time. We think they were a hit squad sent in to take out everyone from the group"….he looks at Castle "Including you Rick"
"But I was in the rest room"
"That is the only thing that saved you. When you came out you went to ground and hid until you went to the extraction point and were picked up. Then you went back into the system and it would have been a problem to take you out. The group activated the memory wipe protocol effectively taking away any memories of what happened and released you back into the world"
At this moment the squad leader joins up to the group and directs his conversation toward Jake "Sir, we are ready to go in"
The man shakes his head and turns to Castle and Beckett "You two stay here safe until we are positive any and all threats are neutralized"
The couple acknowledges by a simple simultaneous nod of their heads
They watch the group rush towards the building that can only be seen on the monitors in the command van
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Inside the lower level of the facility there is a heated meeting happening between the man in charge and two other males sitting at a table
"For years we have been able to keep our program out of the limelight and now you have brought out the end of this and probably us as well" The tallest of the three speaks toward the leader
The second, much shorter, man chimes in "We were doing well. We had everything we wanted and then you had to let a personal vendetta come in and destroy everything we had"
The second man continues the statement "All over a petty jealously"
"The leader responds to the verbal attacks "Either one of you would have done the exact same thing I did if the tables were turned"
"I doubt that and now we have no protection. They killed all out operatives in that warehouse. So if they were to come for us now there is nothing to stop them"
All three of the members of this group are distracted by the sound of the telephone ringing.
The obvious leader picks up the phone "Dobson" he listens a moment then his face changes to resolution to the events happening
The facility has been seized by the agency's housekeeping unit. They are upstairs as we speak"
"So it is all over?" The third man asks
Dobson shakes his head in the affirmative "We all know what we need to do now"
The two other men exit the room leaving him alone.
A few minutes pass then he reaches down to his desk and removes a Glock23
He bolts the slide verifying there is a round in the chamber and slowly pulls the barrel toward his temple and places his finger inside the trigger guard. He looks over to the credenza behind his desk at a photograph of him and a younger woman.
He speaks to the image "I am so sorry I couldn't avenge you my darling"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They have listened to the communications occurring in the building. It is evident that this unit is a well-oiled machine that has practiced for these type actions
"Castle…do you think this is the building we were taken to by Sophia Turner?" Kate asks
"I don't think so. When we were taken by her team we were closer to midtown, not this far out"
As they are watching the monitors Castle seems to becoming more concerned about the current action. He finally turns toward Beckett "Kate can you and I talk for a minute?"
"Sure" she responds
Castle takes her by the hand and pull her outside the command van again "Kate…there is something I need to talk to you about. Something that happened when I was kidnapped"
"What is it Castle" Beckett is standing as close to her husband as she can
"Kate please know that I love you with all my heart. I have loved you from the moment we met and I will love you, and no one else. Always"
Before Beckett can raise the question this comment has brought up. They hear the sound of the team approaching from inside the building. Castle has been given a reprieve for the question that will have to be answered now
"Rick, do you want to tell her what happened or shall I?"
The statement from Jake catches Kate in the chest. "Why are you asking Castle that?"
"Kate, when I first entered the operational group, my control stateside was an analyst named Robert. He was an older man around my mother's age, He had been with the agency for years. I trusted him"
"OK so he was who you reported to?"
"Yes, but what I didn't know at the time was he and I had history"
"How did you and a CIA analyst have history?
"Kate, do you remember me telling you about my high school years and growing up attending Faircroft Prep?"
"Yeah. You were expelled for putting a cow on the roof"
"And that is what kept me from going to prom?"
"OK?" she is not understanding where he is headed with this "You said you had a date with Audra Dobson" and Kate remembers what he said about her and how hot she was
After college her dad had her recruited for intelligence gathering at the agency"
"So an old high school classmate works for the CIA"
"I didn't know it at the time she was embarrassed in front of all of her friends by me standing her up at prom and swore to get back at me one day"
"She really held a grudge?" Beckett comments, then under her breath "I have thought about that a few times myself"
"Yeah. I found out later her dad, was Robert Dobson, the man I was reporting to and department head at the CIA.
Jake decides to fill her in on the rest "When she figured out that Richard Castle was the former Richard Rogers, who embarrassed her earlier, she arranged his kidnapping at the wedding and found an excuse to take him to Columbia
Beckett realizes where this is going "She tried to get Rick killed" said more as a statement than a question
Castle reaches and takes Kate's hands "She actually tried to kill me herself"
"WHAT?"
"She went with us to Columbia. When the shooting started I realized I was shot by her. Then the others returned fire and she was killed"
Agent Gray fills in more information "She and her dad have been running LocStat for years and when she was killed in the operation her father blamed Rick. He has been .looking for a way to get back at him since"
Jake takes over "Knowing how Rick feels about Kate, he decided to punish Rick by killing Kate"
"But they stopped when we went public" Kate responds
"It became too public. Dobson had two partners who pulled him back…at least temporarily" Jake finished the report
Agent Gray turns to the couple "Rick, Kate…you two need to go home, Let us finish the cleanup
"You two can now have some private time without a killer hunting you down. Go home"
Castle looks at the other men "Except my memories are still here. I want to go back without seeing the carnage in my mind every time I close my eyes"
Kate takes the Ian Fleming book from her purse and opens it to the last page. She looks around the room and then finds the last line
She takes in a breath to quote "This is so appropriate" she smiles
"The bitch is dead now"
Every eye is on Rick Castle when he speaks "OK when are you going to give me the deactivate code?"