CBs

Chapter 9

ESU quickly and quietly ringed the warehouse. Hayley sketched a rough floor plan of the layout and where Ted and Martha were expected to be. Locks on two side and a back door were picked and alarms disabled. All the entrances were breached simultaneously by ESU officers, with Esposito leading the charge through the door nearest Ted and Martha's room."

Startled in a bed with perfectly coordinated linens, comforter, and pillows, Martha reached for her taser, but it was no defense against the rifles pointed at her and Ted, who remained asleep. When awakened, he was in complete disbelief, repeating over and over, "This is the perfect home. This can't happen." He was allowed to replace his top of the line silk pajamas with street clothes before he was led away. Kate and Angela Lopez took charge of Martha as she was allowed to hastily dress as well.

An hour remained before sunrise when the Castles returned to the loft, tired but too wired to sleep. Eschewing the jolt of caffeine, Castle added honey to warm milk. "You know if Ryan ever finds out we're drinking this we'll never hear the end of it." Castle quipped.

"His captain is certainly not going to tell him, so unless you let it drop, I think we're safe," Beckett declared.

Castle made a locking motion in front of his mouth. "Sealed."

Kate found a tiny drop of honey at the corner of his mouth and sucked it from her fingertip before moving in for more sweetness from his lips. "Not too sealed I hope."

"I think you have the key," Castle murmured.

With the sudden lifting of the stress of the night, the slightly sticky warmth of the kiss exploded into blazing heat. The bed and even the couch were at too great a distance to even contemplate crossing. Castle lifted Kate to the table, her legs tightly circling his hips. The wooden surface creaked as he pulled her tightly against his raging need. His hardness ground against her as she clung. They kissed deeply and intensely.

Castle needed more. He pulled back, only to grasp her even more tightly. "Hold on." Still wrapped tightly around him, he carried her through the office to the bedroom where the door was mercifully open. They collapsed against the softness of the comforter, As desperate as he, Kate pulled at the silky barrier that separated her from Castle's attentions, while he tore at his zipper.

Kate was open and ready as urgency pulled them together. Castle thrust his hands into her hair, pulling her lips hard against his. His tongued probed the depths of her mouth as the pressure of Kate's legs brought him even deeper within. Sweat soaked through their clothes as bed groaned in rhythm beneath them. Castle thrust his hands under the dampness of Kate's blouse, releasing the clasp on her bra to fill his hands with with the sensitive globes beneath. Their breath came raggedly in pants as they moved faster. Kate moaned, "Rick." He put a hand down between them, caressing her most intimate sensitivity. The final shattering cascade was released in breathless jerks, leaving them drained in each others' arms. They lay oblivious to the world until the sun was high in the sky.

Kate convened a meeting of CBs to put the Merchant case to bed. Sylvie Seacrest, who had been called in by Kate after the teens were rescued, began. "All the teens were checked at the hospital for signs of sexual abuse. None of the victims reported any and none was found."

"Thank God for that," Castle exclaimed.

"Lily Merchant was a mess, though," Sylvie continued, "as might be expected, being held prisoner by her father. Her mother was called to the hospital, but Lily asked for Mandy Lewis. Mandy sat with her through the night while they held her for observation and stayed with her when she was released to her mother the next day. All the other teens were released to their families, who were given referrals for counseling."

Manuel Ramirez came to the hospital for his brother with several members of The Fuerte," Angela Lopez reported. "It was peaceful, but if Ted Merchant encounters anyone from The Fuerte at Rikers, they will try to take him out. He will need protection."

"Now there's a waste of our tax money," Esposito commented in disgust.

"He'll get it," Kate acknowledged, even though her thoughts were similar to Esposito's.

"The upside is that now The Fuerte know for sure that no other gang was involved, there won't be any attempts at retribution against their rivals," Angela added.

"I still need to explain to all the families exactly why this happened, why their kids were taken," Morano pointed out.

"I think we'd all like to know that," Ryan asserted.

Kate glanced toward her husband. "Castle?"

"Ted Merchant is obsessed with perfection, but his family is far from perfect. Apparently he felt that a wife should make a perfect home, but Ruby was totally immersed in Lilysoft and rarely present, much less interested in homemaking. Martha is a groupie of sorts, a rabid follower of his ideas. He has his own line of cookware, that's a major source of his personal funds. He does demos at major stores. Martha met him at one of those. He enjoyed the worship and she became his mistress as well as loyal follower. Ted decided that he could create the perfect family in the perfect home. He had Martha decorate the warehouse to his exact specifications. He felt that his daughter Lily could approach perfection away from the influence of her mother and Mandy. But he thought a family should be large, so he put together The Giving Hand to attract other kids with similar personalities to Lily's: hard working, kind, generous. As well as being a reward for the kids, the hearts were his way of tracking which kids participated the most. Those were the ones he took. He used the forum to lure them to the warehouse and then Martha tased them and put the anklets on them. He was so sure everything he did was perfect, he never dreamed he'd be found out."

"And he probably wouldn't have been if Captain Beckett hadn't built this team," Bill Garrett offered. "So what happens to the CBs now?"

Kate smiled mischievously. "Somehow it seems this was all the Chief's brilliant idea and he asked me to put it together. He's holding a press conference this afternoon to discuss the new and innovative ideas being put forth by the N.Y.P.D.."

"Set your DVRs." Castle added. "Five will get you ten he never even mentions Kate's name."

Ryan held up a hand. "No bet Castle."

"So that means we're going to have more cases?" Garrett questioned.

"We are," Kate confirmed. "We're even going to have a budget, a least a small one. So does anyone have any ideas what the next case should be?"

"I have an idea, but it might be a little big, even for this team," Sergei Chekov offered hesitantly.

"Let's hear it Chekov," Kate encouraged.

"Do you all remember in 2011 when the Albanian Mafia was convicted by the International Narcotics Strike Force?"

"Some of my acquaintances in Little Italy were experiencing major schadenfreude over that one," Castle recalled as heads bobbed around the table.

"Well their operations have been growing again." Chekov reported.

"I've heard that from my friends in narcotics," Ryan confirmed.

"Not just narcotics," Chekov continued. "They've been into all of vice. They're taking over some of the China Town games from the triads, and they're making major pimps pay protection for their stables."

"Their robberies are on the uptick too," Lubens put in.

Chekov nodded. "But that's not the most disturbing thing I've heard. They are trafficking in human organs - and they don't care how they get them."

"I have heard that some of the gangs have been disposing of bodies in a profitable way," Angela Lopez related. "There could be a connection there."

"Lanie's told me about some pretty mangled bodies," Esposito added. "Working girls with organs missing."

"We have seen that," Chekov confirmed.

Kate rose from her chair. "Sounds like we have a very deadly operation going on out there. We may end up needing help to take it down, but let's see what we can do."

Castle stood, declaring," The CBs are on the case."