CBs
Chapter 32
The sound of blasters cut through the air of the loft as Kate let herself in the door. Castle's face creased with the hard set of his jaw as he pressed the firing button, cutting a swath in the attacking enemy troopers. "Babe," Kate called. Castle didn't acknowledge her presence. Kate turned off the monitor, interrupting the game. "Castle I know you're angry."
Castle threw down his controller. "Damn right I'm angry Kate, but I'm more frustrated. And it's not because you can't make up your mind about kids. I understand that's a hard decision, especially for you. It's about the walls, Kate. The walls were supposed to be about your mother's death. But they've been about more than that. The bricks have been ambition and the mortar obsession. When you had a chance at the job in D.C. you shut me out and lied to me. You tried to push me away because of the whole LokSat thing. And now it's the captaincy and whatever else you have your eyes on. You said you wanted to be with me. God knows I couldn't bear to be without you. And the sex is mind boggling. But there's more to a marriage than that. When you have a decision to make, when you have something difficult to face, that's when we should be closest. Instead your first reaction is to put more bricks in the wall. Castle pointed to the video controller. "I wish I could just push a button and blast through like I can do on that thing, but nothing I've said or done seems to have worked. So you tell me. What am I supposed to do?"
"Castle, you don't have to do anything. I don't know what I want to do. That's not an excuse, I really don't know. I thought I wanted the job in D.C., but it wasn't what I thought it would be. Being captain is the same. I thought I'd have something resembling reasonable hours and I'd be out of the line of fire. That would have given us a chance to build a family. But I hate being chained to a desk. I hate forms, I hate budgets and I can't stand having to kiss ass at 1PP. Now that I've worked out a way to spend more time actually solving crimes again, I'm back in the line of fire. If I were pregnant, the baby would be in the line of fire too. And according to N.Y.P.D. regs, pregnant cops are supposed to be on restricted duty. I'd be right back behind my desk in any case."
"You could take a leave of absence," Castle suggested. "Or if you'd go crazy doing that, you could find another way to make a difference. You're married to me. It's not like you need money. Even if I never wrote another book, I have enough investments to keep us. And my P.I. business is a going concern now too. You could be involved in that any way you wanted to. Or there must be a million organizations you could work with to change the world - without having someone shooting at you. You just have to make a choice, Kate. Whatever you decide, I will support you, but you're the only one who can make the decision."
Kate slid beside Castle, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know Babe, I know. I will will figure it out. I know it seems like forever, but can you you be patient with me until we put Trimp away? Then I'll have a better idea where I'm going next."
Castle drew her to him. "I can promise to try."
Sergei Chekov stood in the doorway of Kate's office. "Captain Beckett, I think I have a potential case for the CBs." Kate motioned him in. "This involves Morano too and possibly Lopez. The Russians have been moving in to fill the gambling void left by the Demachis. They've set up a number of floating games in lower Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. We've gotten a line on them as fast as we can, but you know, it's playing whack-a-mole, another one always pops up. The real problem is that the players have started disappearing. Some of them have been reported missing. Morano's people have picked up those cases. With some of them it's just word on the street that they've faded out of sight. There are at least ten cases, maybe more. For the most part, other than not taking the trouble to make the drive to Atlantic City to do their gambling, they're not criminals, just card players. It makes no sense."
"It sounds intriguing," Kate agreed, "if a little disappointing that the weeds are re-sprouting so fast. I'll talk to Morano and Lopez and call a meeting as soon as I can."
Castle shifted restlessly in his chair. It was the first meeting of the CBs in a month. While the Trimp case stuttered its way through the court, Castle remembered the last one with less than fondness. Trimp had had been allowed bail, despite his ability to easily escape prosecution by leaving the country. The judge had, however, required the surrender of his passport and the attachment of an electronic anklet, limiting him to his home except for transit back and forth to court. It didn't keep him from talking to the press on a daily basis, or sometimes several times a day. It hadn't halted his mayoral campaign either. He stridently protested his innocence and accused Bob Wheldon of spearheading a conspiracy against him, with help from the N.Y.P.D.. Trimp had specified both Kate and Castle himself as soldiers in Weldon's war. Multiple talk radio hosts had thrown themselves behind Trimp and many denizens of the city believed them. A flood of hate mail had come to Richard Castle Investigations, the Twelfth Precinct, and 1PP.
D.A. Sam Waterman had taken the reins of the case with Marcus Weller and Toni Gonzalez sitting second and third chairs. The latter two were subjected to a barrage of racial epithets whenever they entered the court house. Neither was unfamiliar with that experience, but it was still chilling to watch. It didn't take much to strip away the veneer of civilization from the city's cosmopolitan population. Castle was disgusted with Trimp and with the city he considered his home.
Kate asked Sergei to begin. The veteran cop quickly outlined the situation with the games, which appeared to be undergoing daily growth. Kyle Morano picked up the narrative of the disappearances, pointing out that no connection, other than the games and the fact that they were all male, could be found between the victims. They were of differing races, ethnic backgrounds, marital statuses, and professions. They attended none of the same gyms. Other than to arrive at the games, they didn't even take the same subway trains.
Angela Lopez confirmed that the Russians were making a concerted effort to take over from the deposed Albanians. Their expansion included not only gambling, but protection. Carl Lubens added robbery to the list.
Kate asked for suggestions as to how they might proceed. "We have to place someone inside the games," Castle stated. "I volunteer. I've done it before."
Kate turned to him, blanching. "And you nearly got yourself killed, Castle. And we both have our pictures splashed across the news on a daily basis. They'd make you in a second. If anyone does it, it should be a cop."
"Kate, Captain Beckett," Castle argued, "remember I've dealt with the Russians before. They're paranoid about cops. You know that. You had to dress like a hooker and play Russian just to get me out of a game. How about someone who trained as a cop but is about as far from one now as you can get?"
"You mean Hayley?" Kate asked.
Castle nodded.