Still on a roll….

Chapter 114

Castle had devised a plan to get Vong to spill to the cops. It had occurred to him in the early hours of the morning, while half asleep. It was because of a minor oversight Detective Beckett had the previous day. He shared his strategy with Beckett over their breakfast at a diner a few blocks from the loft. While he talked, she keenly consumed a toasted bagel with cream cheese, avocado and poached eggs like she hadn't eaten for a week. He was pleased about that because it told him, she was content, and he had pleasured her enough to stimulate her appetite. She always ate well after good sex.

As he took a bite of his matching bagel, he watched Beckett process his idea. She used a napkin to wipe her mouth then took a very lady like sip of her flat white coffee, no sugar free vanilla. After a few months he had finally weaned her off the vanilla, taking away the artificial sweetener from her diet. The only time she'd said something was a day she'd ordered her own coffee and then stated how bad it tasted and how had he done it without her noticing.

"That's a great plan, Castle. Clearly sex with me makes you smarter."

He spontaneously laughed, food muffling him. He dropped his utensils and reached for a napkin trying his hardest not to choke or lose food. He heard her laughter and looked up to see how vivacious she was. Her eyes glistened and he saw the laughter lines over her face. She was such a beautiful woman it caused him to swallow his food and pause, briefly overcome by his own emotions.

When she saw him give pause she sobered, gazed over his face seemingly to figure out what had just happened in his mind.

"Castle?"

"Mm?"

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing."

"It's something." She looked about them as always to ensure they were alone, then reached for his hand that rested on the table. She closed hers over it and he glanced down to her long fingers, absent of any jewellery. He had bought her rings, beautiful pieces of jewellery, but she wouldn't wear them on the job. To his joy though, she did wear them when she was off duty. "Castle?"

He sat up, brushed his free hand through his hair suddenly self-conscious, but then he decided to be honest and he looked her in the eyes. She glowed. "I'm just looking at how gorgeous and vivacious you are. How lucky I am to have you as my girlfriend. And yes, before you say it, you are making me smarter."

She squeezed his hand again. "I'm honoured to be your girlfriend. Now eat your breakfast. It's usually you hounding me to eat."

"Well, I did thoroughly work you over. You have to regain your energy." He grinned as she frowned. He continued to eat and in between bites he stated. "I do love you, Kate."

"I love you this much." She held up her left hand and in particular her thumb and index finger were half an inch apart and she squinted her eyes simply to add some impact.

He raised his eyebrows. "Humph. Just a little bit, huh? Not what I was hearing from you earlier this morning." His eyes lowered momentarily in the direction of her groin.

Kate blushed. "I was under duress."

*. *. *. *. *

Castle was still thinking about their moments in the diner a half hour later as he followed Beckett to the cells where Mr Vong had spent the night. Vong was awake, somewhat jittery and untidily attired in his suit minus belt and shoes.

As Beckett stopped at the barred door, she cleared her throat to gain Vong's attention then said, "I owe you an apology, Mr Vong." She glanced at Castle who remained neutral. "Apparently in my haste I forgot to read you your Miranda rights. You're free to go and we can't find a valid reason to hold or protect you any longer." She nodded at the uniform granting him permission to release Mr Vong.

They all saw Vong's anxiety suddenly go on the rise and he stood, rushing to the door where Beckett was. His hands gripped the bars.

"No, I remember distinctly you read them to me." He stressed, "And I waived them all. You did." He looked at Castle. "She did, you remember right?"

Castle shrugged, "Sorry, man, it's a rookie mistake."

"No no. I need to protection."

"Not anymore. You won't give us a name. Let him out." Beckett told the uniform and stepped back to allow the NYPD officer in to unlock the door.

"What? no, wait you can't, you can't do this." Vong pleaded in a panic. "If I walk out of here now, he'll think I'm co-operating with the cops. I'll be dead by tomorrow morning."

Beckett held up her hand to hold off the officer, "Yes, you will be. Or you could choose to tell me who you're working for and I will make arrangements to protect you long term."

Vong's hands gripped the bars tightly. The fear in his eyes was extreme. "Dick Coonan," he blurted out, "I work for Dick Coonan."

Surprised Beckett and Castle met eyes, mirrored raised eyebrows. "You're telling me Jack Coonan's brother is the drug trafficker?"

"Yes. He's a big time trafficker."

"I didn't see that coming in my plan," Castle stated.

"Me either." Beckett replied. "We need to talk more."

They moved the conversation to the interrogation room where Vong could talk without being overheard by anyone else. He sat opposite the detective and writer, jittery, even with an untouched can of soft drink on the desk before him. There was a sprinkle of perspiration over his top lip that he repeatedly swiped at.

"He comes off like Jimmy Carter," Vong explained, "But it was a scam to funnel money to the warlords with the poppy fields. Sure, he'd build a few schools, so he had pictures for his donors, but most of the money funded his cartel."

"So, he had access to all the dope he wanted, and he just needed a way of getting it into the country?" Beckett asked.

"You couldn't get an aspirin from Kabul to New York without somebody knowing about it, since 911. All I had to let him do was package the drugs at my factory in Hong Kong and he would arrange pick up of the dirty shipments once they'd cleared customs." Vong explained.

"And he had the Latin Kings put it on the street." Castle added.

"Perfect system. Well, it was perfect until Trucho caught a case of the stupid and started selling it in the Westies' territory," Vong said.

Beckett said, "And then that's what brought Jack Coonan sniffing around. Jack threatened to give Trucho to the feds unless he quit."

"So, Dick killed his own brother?" Castle asked.

Vong looked at Castle and shook his head. "No. Jack had been with the Westies a long time, so he'd grown eyes in the back of his head. Dick hired a professional."

Beckett said, "What's his name?"

"He called him Rathborne."

Beckett wrote the name on her notebook as she asked, "How do I find Rathborne?"

"You will have to ask Dick Coonan."

They did. They immediately had Dick Coonan picked up by uniforms and brought into the Precinct for a talk before he got wind they were onto him. Vong was placed in a hotel room to sit it out while the detectives resolved the case.

While they waited for the administration of Coonan's visit, the team briefed in the breakout room. Beckett was confident she would be able to crush Coonan based on the material Vong had supplied. The fact Vong was so scared of Coonan validated his story. Whether he was more involved in the drug importation than he let on was yet to be determined.

Coonan came to the Precinct friendly, expecting an update on the progress of the investigation of who murdered his brother. To begin with Beckett led him along, alleged that Jack was killed after Rourke asked him to hunt down a drug dealer.

They had it neatly planned. Beckett started nice and easy and Castle finished up with telling Dick Coonan that the Westies had done a good job with the war on drugs, a zero tolerance. The punishment for dealing drugs in their neighbourhood was death. It settled Coonan, made him feel quite comfortable and then Beckett went for the jugular. She told Coonan the homicide team knew it was him who had hired an assassin named Rathborne to kill Jack Coonan before he went to the feds about Dick's drug dealing business.

Dick Coonan laughed with a ridiculing tone and demanded the detective to prove it. He also lawyered up.

Castle stayed with Beckett in the breakout room while she processed the discussion with Coonan and thought about how they could prove their claims without revealing their informant. He'd noticed she wasn't keeping a distance from the case, that she was letting it get under her skin. As he handed her a coffee he asked, "Are you okay, Kate?"

She wrapped her fingers around the mug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Kate sipped the coffee, then said with low tones, "It's ten years since we came home and found that detective waiting for us, Castle. Ten years since we crossed that yellow tape and went into that alley, and every time I cross the tape at a crime scene, I think of that night."

Castle glanced through the glass to Esposito and Ryan who were trying to find evidence, to the Captain who was on a phone call, to Beckett who looked defeated. Quiet and calm he responded. "That's what makes you such a good cop, Kate."

"What if I let her down, Rick?"

"You can't let her down," he replied with patience, and sat opposite her. There were times she allowed him to see her vulnerable, to seek his strength and guidance. It showed him she trusted him and to bring her back, he leaned in closer and spoke quietly. "Honey? Look at me." He waited until her eyes lifted to his. "Do you know why I chose you as my inspiration for Nikki Heat?"

"No. Why?"

"Because you're tall."

"Tall." She repeated. "And all this time I thought it was my gorgeous eyes."

A smile broke, "Yeah, that's true too, and I so want to touch you right now."

"You can't. Esposito is on his way."

"Ok. Look, I want you to go in with Coonan and do your fucking job. You're brilliant at it. You've got this, Kate."

The door swung open. "Beckett?"

They looked to the door and saw Esposito poke his head in. "We're ready. Captain wants you in his office now."

Castle put his hand on her knee. "You have this. Go get him."

*. *. *

After a brief meeting with the team and Montgomery, Beckett returned to the interrogation room to continue questioning Coonan.

Seated opposite Coonan, Castle was to her left, an order made by Montgomery. Beckett said, "I have forensic accountants digging through your organisation, Mr Coonan. If there's evidence of heroin trafficking, they will find it. But that's not your biggest problem right now. Hiring an assassin like Rathborne shows premeditation and that makes this a special circumstance case, which qualifies you for the needle." She paused to allow that news to sink into Coonan. She was following instructions from the DA and knew she had people in the viewing room observing everything she said. "Now- I am willing to take the special circumstance allegations off the table if you give me Rathborne."

"The only special circumstance here detective is your complete lack of evidence against me." Coonan responded.

Beckett sat back, gazed at him then stated, "I have Johnny Vong."

Coonan laughed out loud, "The guy with the phoney accent, and the real estate scam? Is that the best you can do?"

Beckett leaned closer, "Are you really willing to bet your life that Vong can't hold his mud Mr Coonan? Give me the killer and I will put the DA in the mood for a second degree plea."

"You seem so eager to get your hands on this mysterious assassin, Detective. If I had to guess, I'd say that someone close to you was murdered and you think Rathborne had something to do with it. But I don't have to guess do I? Because it's all over your face," he smugly said.

Beckett kept calm, didn't move or flinch a muscle as she replied, "That still doesn't change the fact that you're guilty of murder."

"Maybe not, but for the low, low price of transactional immunity I can give you the closure you've been seeking. You get Rathborne and I walk. And that, Detective, is my final offer."

Beckett looked at Castle. They stood up.

"Give us a few minutes." Beckett said and saw Coonan gesture that he had plenty of time.

*. *. *. *

Montgomery's office was crowded when the team gathered to discuss how they would proceed with bargaining with Coonan. District Attorney Paul Bennett had been called in to the Precinct at short notice and had consented to the Captain's proposal to give Coonan immunity in return for Rathborne. The DA had agreed to grant transactional immunity, but put it back on the detectives, warning them he hoped they knew what the hell they were doing.

Before she returned to the interrogation room, Beckett spent a few minutes in the Captain's office with him alone. He intensively groomed her in the short time he had. She then transferred to the ladies' room where she used the toilet and waited around wondering whether she was going to bring up the last thing she had eaten. She was anxious and rightfully so. It was Castle who called her out of the cubicle and he entered the ladies restroom aware she was in there alone.

Inches from her face he saw how pale she had become. He put his hand to the left side of her face.

"You've got this, Kate."

"How, Castle? He's running rings around us. Something doesn't feel right."

"What did Montgomery say?"

"Details. That we need details."

Castle nodded. Get the story, get Coonan to describe Rathborne, how he knew him, history, how he come about hiring him as his hitman. How he works."

Beckett slipped her fingers around Rick's wrist, processed what he suggested. It made sense. You have this." He stepped back when they heard a woman's voice in the hallway. "Keep calm and do you job, Detective."

Castle backed up to the doorway, then slipped out of the restroom and Beckett followed,

Beckett went in alone to speak with Coonan while the men, including Montgomery watched from the other side of the mirrored glass. Beckett adhered to Castle's coaching, mostly because it made sense to get a background story of who Rathborne was and how he worked.

"Coonan is keeping it general. No specifics." Castle said to the men. "About Coonan's height, average looks and appearance."

"Rathborne is invisible." Esposito said.

Beckett got it out of Coonan that he and Rathborne had served in the army together. Coonan believed that Rathborne had been killed in a training exercise in 1995, but then about a year ago he was sitting at a bar and he happened to glance across the bar and he was looking at Rathborne who had been hired by some secret service to carry out top secret assignments.

"Do we believe this?" Castle asked the room and in response everyone shifted. He kept jotting down notes as Coonan spoke.

Esposito replied, "I know a guy who disappeared to work in the secret service. He could be telling the truth."

"Could also be making up the plot for a new crime adventure series."

Montgomery's gaze shifted to Castle. "You always say you need to base your novels on fact or the readers see right through it."

"True."

They listened as Coonan told Beckett, "He'd given me the number to his answering service in the Caymans and they provided me with a single-use email address, numbered account. Emailed him the name of his target, wired him the money, and waited."

Beckett sat up and leaned forward, "Okay, here's the deal. You're going to contact Rathborne with a contract on Vong." She paused to let the direction sink in. "You are going to tell him that the police are taking him to the DA's office for a deposition and that he can't make it there alive."

Coonan smirked, tapped his fingers on the table top. "Lady, it doesn't work like that."

"Then how does it work?"

"He wants his money up front. It's a hundred grand, non-negotiable."

Beckett didn't flinch, "A hundred grand. The city is never going to agree to that."

"Look, you want to catch her killer. the price is a hundred grand."

"I can't just shoot that kind of money out into space without a hope of getting it back." Beckett replied.

Castle replied from the viewing box, "You can't, but I can." He looked at Montgomery, "This one's on me, Roy. I'll pay the hundred grand."

The three men looked at Castle, all surprised.

"Are you sure, Rick?" Montgomery asked.

"Anything to have a shot at finding her mother's killer. Yes."

Montgomery stepped forward and tapped the viewing glass three times catching Beckett's attention before she said anything further. Coonan looked too.

"Seems your boss wants you," Coonan commented and sat back on his seat indicating he was happy to wait.

"Excuse me a minute." Beckett said then got up and left the room closing the door behind her. Ryan met her in the corridor and ushered her into the viewing room.

"Castle has a plan," he said as he virtually pushed her into the room.

"What is it?" Beckett asked as the men gathered around her.

Castle said, "Take the deal."

Confused, Beckett glanced between her partner and boss, "Castle?"

"Detective. Go tell him we have a deal. The fee will be paid." Montgomery stated and Castle nodded his confirmation.

"Castle, you can't."

"I can and I will. Get back in there and finalise it."

She paused a moment or two processing the information and finally connected with Esposito who encouraged her with a smile and nod.

"Do it," he said.

Beckett returned to the interrogation room and without looking to the window, she sat down with a notebook in front of her. For several seconds she stared at the notebook then raised her gaze and firmly said, "We have a deal."

"We do. But my immunity kicks in the moment Rathborne accepts the contract. Once the wire transfer is complete."

Beckett replied, "As soon as Rathborne takes the job your part is done."

"And I walk."

"And you walk," she confirmed and looked to the window as she asked, "You got that?"

There was a tap on the glass. She returned her attention to Coonan. "I will go make arrangements with my team. You wait here. If you want anything, tap on the door and ask the Uniform officer that will be waiting there, okay?" She said as she turned off the recording equipment.

"Sure."

*. *. *

The team met in a conference room a few hours later to finalise their plan to trap Rathborne and they brought back the DA to oversee the assignment. With Coonan's assistance they had sent an email and transferred funds to the nominated off shore account. Then they set about organising the team.

Beckett said, "We've found Officer Clayton Lee who will step in for the role of Johnny Vong.

Clayton Lee raised his hand to greet the room full of strangers and said, "We who are about to die salute you."

Beckett continued, "Ryan and Esposito will escort Lee to the DA's office via a prearranged route. We'll have plain clothes in place on every corner and mid-block and there will also be air support, for what it's worth."

"Not a whole lot." Castle commented, "No one even knows what Rathborne looks like. Average. That's not much to go on."

"Well, he shouldn't be too hard to spot." Clayton replied.

Ryan smirked, "Yeah, he'll be the one who's trying to kill you, Dude."

Beckett checked the time, "All right, let's go, everybody. We have a trap to set."