CBs

Chapter 41

Just as Castle's key was clicking in the door of the loft, Kate's cell phone buzzed. "Got it, thanks."

Castle tilted his head at Kate in inquiry. "Something tells me my prize from our video game battle is on hold."

"Let's give it some time, Castle. One of Lopez's teams was watching Tomov and they called in to report that he's on the move. For all we know, he's going shopping or to a movie. But if he leads us to his missing people, I want to be there."

I have a lot invested in this case too," Castle pointed out. "If you go, so do I. But while we're waiting, I'm calling my lawyer to tell him to put a rush on the paperwork about Emily."

"Great," Kate responded. "Hey, do you want coffee? I can make some."

"No, I think I'm already going to have to pee a river from Rocko's double size drinks, so I'll pass. I don't want to be looking for a men's room while we're on stakeout."

Kate laughed. "Maybe we should have saved one of those giant cups. Alright, do your thing - or your things.

The minutes dragged as Kate waited for an update on Tomov. "You know," Castle suggested, returning from his personal business, "in our relationship there's always been a tried and true way to make the phone ring: we start making out. Your detectives have always excelled at cop blocking, much to the pain of certain parts of my anatomy."

Kate sidled close to her husband. "You do have a point." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "In the interest of justice, you want to get it on?"

"In the interests of justice," Castle murmured, "I think we have to." Their lips met for a moment before Castle pulled back and listened. "We'll have to try harder." He brought his mouth to hers with more conviction, his hands cupping her firmly rounded derriere.

With a flexibility born of regular yoga practice, Kate lifted her leg, climbing his body. She moaned as the center of her arousal met his burgeoning hardness. Castle drew her even tighter against him and right on cue, Kate's phone signaled a call. She pulled away. "Looks like our plan worked, Castle," she said, retrieving her cell from her pocket. "Beckett." Kate listened for a moment. "Alright, text me the address."

Castle grunted. "I think I could have waited a while longer for justice to triumph. Where is Tomov?"

"A building up in Washington Heights not far from where the poker games were." Kate replied. "Ready to get up there?"

Castle tugged at his pants. "Poor choice of words, but let's go. No wait, hold up just a second," He ran back to his office and returned with a satchel. "Surveillance equipment. Parabolic mike, optical fiber camera. If you guys can't see in without a warrant, I can at least do some snooping as a concerned citizen."

"We should take separate cars then," Kate decided. "If you decide to do some reconnaissance, any decent lawyer could get anything you see thrown out of court if the captain of the 12th brings you to the scene."

The street outside the building was largely deserted except for Tomov's car. Detectives Ross and Carter had parked as far away as they could and still allow their night scopes could get a clear view. Kate parked even farther away, as did Castle. "Nothing happening," Ross reported to Kate.

As Kate leaned back behind the steering wheel, she wished for the more comfortable seats of Castle's luxury sedan. It could be a long night. Hours passed and she ran the heater periodically to stave of the chill of the dropping night temperatures. Tomov was still inside. Her phone dinged with a text from Castle. "Ready for me to do something?"

"Whatever you feel is appropriate as a P.I., she texted back, knowing full well it was possible her text might one day end up in the files of Vostrov or some other defense attorney.

Castle left his car carrying his satchel, moving on bent knees toward the building Tomov had entered. Keeping to the shadows as much as he could, he made his way to a side door. He slipped the 'J" of his fiber optic camera underneath and looked at his monitor, gasping in horror. Quickly removing the camera, he ran back to Kate's car. "Kate, there are people in there in chains. They're working at steel tables pounding out some kind of metal parts with hammers. It's horrible! Some of them can barely stand up. They look like they're ready to die."

"Castle, did you see Tomov? Did you see any weapons?" Kate demanded.

"Tomov is sitting on some kind of high stool watching. He's smoking a cigarette, but he has an AR-15 in his lap. We have to get those people out!"

"Castle, I will. I'm going to call ESU, a judge, and I'll get Espo up here too. We need to do this right or we could have a stand off with him using those people as hostages. Just hold on."

Esposito arrived before ESU did and he had Castle sketch out everything he'd seen inside the building. When the captain of the ESU unit arrived, Esposito and Kate met with him to formulate a plan. Small holes were quietly drilled in walls and more cameras inserted to afford views from multiple angles. Tomov still had his gun carelessly across his lap and looked half asleep. If he could be taken quickly enough, further harm to his captives might be avoided, but the strike would have to be lightning fast and perfectly coordinated. Locks were picked and cops with armor and shields covered every door, preparing to break through and confront Tomov with overwhelming firepower.

The ESU captain gave the signal. His squad breached the doors and surrounded Tomov from every side. The Russian tried to raise his gun, but he was too slow. He had no chance. He was informed by the squad leader that if he moved, he would die. He gave up without a shot being fired.

Tables had been carried down to the basement of the Old Haunt and pushed together for the case wrap-up of the CBs. The members were all there. Ryan took a swig of beer before addressing the group. "I don't get it. The guy, Yuri Tomov, why would anyone do anything like that? Starving people and keeping them in chains to do worthless manual labor, that's nuts!"

It's exactly the sort of thing that used to go on in the Russian Gulag camps up through the nineteen fifties and some believe beyond," Castle explained. "Prisoners were kept in conditions that would make Gitmo look like a luxury hotel. They had barely enough food to keep them alive. They were dirty and infected with lice. They were given minimal tools and almost no machinery to do hard labor, usually in the most inefficient way possible. Those camps were a living nightmare and a blight on the Soviet people. But Tomov didn't think so. He studied them. He liked them as a symbol of power that was lost to his people. So he set up a mini-camp of his own. He picked gambling patrons he thought were stupid or weak and kidnapped them for his own private hellhole. To use Espo's term, he's nuts."

"What's going to happen to the people he held?" Sylvie asked.

"They're all in the hospital," Kate replied. "They were in pretty bad shape. Even after they recover they'll probably need therapy for a long time. But at least they're all alive."

"Which is more than can be said for Trimp's victims," Esposito interjected. "Captain, do you have any idea when the trial is going to wind up?"

"Well Marcus Weller says that Trimp's people are desperately flailing around to pull some kind of a rabbit out of a hat, but they're almost out of witnesses, so he expects another week or two until final statements," Kate answered. "He'll be sending me a copy of whatever the judge schedules, so I can let you all know."

Castle raised a glass. "To Karma, may it make Trimp its bitch."

Drinks around the table were lifted in agreement.