Presumptions

Chapter 14 - The Plan

Castle's Loft

Kate wakes up to an empty bed. Her finance has been missing now for weeks and there are no leads as to his where-abouts, not even a ransom demand. Kate misses Rick, she longed for him to be with her. They were engaged now and Rick was the father of their daughter. She needed him back. Kate never realized how much she took for granted Rick's always being there for her. His kidnapping showed her that Rick was the one, her one, and she wanted him back; back in her arms, back in her bed, and back in her life. She avoided thinking about raising Lily without him, that would not do, she prayed constantly now to the universe for a good ending to her current situation.

She hears her new born daughter waking up and knows that she will be hungry. She picks up her daughter and offers the child a bottle for a morning meal. Lily takes it and eagerly starts to suck on the bottle nipple.

"Oh, Lily, you are so hunger this morning. I wish your father was here to see how much you are thriving and growing. I miss him, but we will get him back, it will happen!"

She hears the burner phone she had purchased ring and she answers it.

"Agent Turner, please have good news on Rick."

"We have found him Detective. He is being held in one of the many buildings owned by the Columbia cartel here in Bogota. We are planning his recovery."

This is great news for Kate and she asks, "What should I do? How can I help?"

"The drug mob will send you a ransom demand, Dr. Davidson for Rick. They will want to know the doctor's new location and new identity in exchange for Rick."

"But I do not have that info, the CIA knows it. You have this info and I do not. But why has it taken the Cartel this long to ask and to send out their demands?"

"We are dealing with a very sinister and patient cartel here. They know they have the advantage and are in no rush. They normally only make a move when they are prepared to take action. Nothing they do is ever rushed. It is always well thought out and planned. We have the doctor's info, but when you get the demand, you should answer like you have just done. Claim no knowledge of the doctor's current situation. That will be truthful as you do not have that info."

"Will that not antagonize the Drug mob and possibly get Rick killed?"

"You will give them my name and number and tell them I am CIA and can help them."

"Ok, yes, I can do that, but will they not think this a delaying tactic? Will my response put Rick again in further danger?"

"No, they have been trying to find out who is behind protecting your former boyfriend and that has taken time, which they know is on their side. Just give them my info and let me take it from there. I will make sure you are kept up to date on what we are doing, You need to do this detective if you want Rick back in your arms."

"I will do it, but what of the FBI?"

"They are in on this and Agent Sorenson has been given direction on where to take this. He will also be expecting the ransom notice. I will get back to you on developments."

With that Turner ends their conversation.

FBI OFFICE, NYC

Wil Sorenson had just been contacted by the CIA and told what to do on his current case involving Rick Castle. With this call, Sorenson came to know that Castle was not just wealthy but influential. He had people in the CIA, people who were now working to recover him. How had this happened? Castle had enough influence with the CIA that they were planning to rescue him!

So despite always disparaging Castle by calling him Writer Monkey, it turns out that Castle was a far more complex and capable person than even Wil knew about. Or perhaps the fact that Wil's ex was now Castle's fiancee made Wil more jealous than he had initially been with the Writer. Wil had underestimated Castle and now realized why Kate was with Castle. Kate had seen the depth of the man, she saw beyond the image of the playboy man-child. A man-child who was into superhero's and Star Wars. Castle had fooled all of them, except for Kate, who saw there was far more to Castle than what was shown in his public persona.

Years back they had worked a kidnapping and that is when Sorenson first came to know of the author Richard Castle. He was following his ex around in the name of 'research'. That's what Castle had called it, but Wil knew, he just knew, that Kate was now sleeping with the Writer. That had started Sorenson on a quest to get Kate back into his bed, to show the Author that Kate still had feelings for him, her ex, and to take Castle down a notch. Sorenson wanted to mark his territory with Kate, despite them having broken up some time back. It was just an ego trip for Sorenson, one man trying to one up the other.

Kate had seen this during that case and called both men out on this.

Wil recalls that event from the case: "Oh, for Pete's sake, why don't you two just drop your pants and get it over with", she had told them.

"I'm game", had been Castle's response.

So, after solving that case, Wil did manage to get Kate back in his bed if just for a one night stand. It had happened after they had solve the kidnapping case successfully, which to Wil's chagrin, Castle had provided the clue that broke it wide open. It was shortly after that case that Kate had asked for help on their current case. In coming to her aid, Wil was targetted for revenge by the mob for his part in the case and wound up in the hospital from an attempted mob hit on himself. Kate was in anguish, blaming herself for the attempt on Wil. Sorenson used her angst and empathy to get her in bed for a one nite stand.

He then left her high and dry, after that night, not letting that session become something more. Not using it as a means to get back Kate into his life. That action sent a statement to the Writer and Kate that he was the better predator. It had been an ego thing for the FBI agent. He'd show Castle who was the better playboy. Wil knew of Rick's reputation and was not about to concede that Castle was indeed the better womanizer. Ego thy named be Wil Sorenson.

Now Sorenson was working with Kate Beckett again and she is engaged to the Writer Monkey. How fate does send surprises! Even if Wil wanted her again, he had no chance with her. That thought was a blow to his ego, but Sorenson had burned his bridges that last time. Kate was not about to fall for his exploitive charms for yet a third liaison.

So Wil Sorenson knew that he may have won a battle, but lost the war for Kate. Should Wil care? He had proven to her writer and Kate from that one night that he still had sway with her. Or had he done so? What Wil did show in reality, was that he was every bit the heartless predator, shallow, and calculating. That he was skirt chaser not worthy of Kate. Wil was only after that thing that most predators like him wanted from all woman, physical intimacy without any commitment. What Wil had only achieved was to convince Kate that Castle is the better person worthy of her trust and one deserving of her heart.

Despite, Wil had kept current on Kate's life. The FBI agent knew of two failed relationships Kate had been in with two other men, before her engagement to the Writer Monkey. He took pleasure in knowing this info, it reinforced his delusion that Kate should have stayed with him. Wil knew of the circumstances of those two failed unions. There had been a fellow NYPD Detective and a heart doctor before Rick. That doctor now apparently the reason for the Castle kidnapping. If Wil had been in Rick's place, he would have dumped Kate long ago, like he had shortly after they worked their last abduction case together. Rick had chosen to remain with her, always there for her, and that persistence had won Kate's affections. That outcome just dug deeper into Wil's ego and increased his disdain for Castle.

Sorenson had been with Kate for six months and came to know some of her tells. When Wil had met Castle for the first time, he came to realize that there was something between the two. Still, Kate was not seeing this, that Castle was definitely in love with her, even as Rick continued to hide those feelings for Kate. Wil had made it his goal then to drive a wedge between the two. Sorenson thought he had done so, only to be surprised when he learned that Kate and the Writer were now engaged. Kate even had a daughter with Castle.

So working this current case where Wil could be instrumental in getting the Author back to Kate, is an emotionally draining event for Sorenson. As callous as he had been in his feelings for Kate, it seems she was more under his skin than even Wil had known. Kate had been the only woman to do this to him. This reaction was totally unexpected by the FBI agent. Despite all the numerous conquests that Sorenson had in his past, he still remembers that six months he had with Kate. He subconsciously was regretting that he had lost her, even if in his active mind, Kate was just another past conquest.

Now Sorenson would play a part in reuniting Kate with the Writer. Fate truly was a capricious and ironic master of outcomes. Wil never dreamt he would be in such a situation and was now pondering how things had turned out.

The instructions Wil had gotten from the CIA was there was to be a strike on the local cartel, before a strike on the Headquarters in Columbia. Wil was to head this strike augmented by DEA and NYPD elements, boosting the manpower for the strike. The local strike was to be done so as to bring about an emergency meeting at the Bogota HQ to determine a response for the raid. The fact the raid involved numerous agencies of the USA was meant to send a signal to the cartel with the purpose of drawing them into a trap. At that meeting would be the Cartel leader and his officers. That is when a hit on the main body of the Cartel in Bogota would happen.

Once it was known that the leadership of the Cartel was at the meeting, the Columbian Anti-Drug Enforcement Force, aided by the CIA, would ponce to take out the Cartel's leadership. This main strike would also create a diversion for yet a secondary purpose for the raid, a planned recovery of Rick Castle by a specialize strike team of the raiding party.

It is a plan that is brilliant in its reach and its impact to the Cartel. One that could work if executed with precision. What had started out as a kidnapping for Sorenson had morphed into a global drug strike with crippling effects to a very powerful cartel. Just what Wil needed on his Resume to ensure the next promotion. Wil being ambitious was always looking for a case that would move him up the advancement scale of the FBI. He had lucked into this one!

Bogota Captivity

Rick had managed to work the metal window bar loose from its place and now had a make shift weapon for use in his escape. It was now hidden in plain view! There in its place on the window sill to his cell, seemingly providing an impediment to Rick's escape. Castle knew that Sophia, an old flame and CIA operative, is working to free him. He was preparing for such an event. He also had the nail he took from his bed frame as a back up weapon to puncture any attacker. He would use it like brass knuckles, held between his fingers, to punch at an attacker and do some damage.

These two DIY weapons seemed almost useless against a gun, but when used wisely and properly could overcome the person brandishing that gun. Rick had undergone some CIA training when he had followed Sophia for 'research'. Part of which had been to 'research' her bed. They had indeed been carnal, but it lasted for just a brief moment in time, and then they were done. The itch for both of them had been scratched, and after that, there was nothing left between them. It had been more the idea of the dance, then the dance itself, and when that dance was done, so were they.

Known only to a very few, was the fact that at one time, Castle had been a contract analyst for the CIA. It had happened in his college years. As an English Lit major, Castle had taken some criminology courses to provide him background for crime novels he had planned to write and get published. His professor in one of these courses was a retired CIA analyst, who also still consulted part time as a contractor to the CIA.

The course this professor taught was on case studies on various CIA known operations and the background on how the Analysis for these cases had been done. These analysis providing the direction for the op itself and vital to planning the execution. The final test for this course was an analysis of a real world current situation. Rick got an A for his analysis, and was the top of the class. So when the professor won a contract from the CIA, he had asked Rick to join his small team providing the analysis. This was repeated for two other such contracts. His significant contributions to all these analysis had been noticed and Rick had develped a reputation within the CIA as a solid consultant.

So when it came time to write the Storm novel and develop the character Clara Strike, Rick asked permission to research with a female agent. He was gvien approval for this. In so doing, Rick had to qualify on the pistol at the CIA range, took hand to hand combat courses, and even completed the 'escape and evasion' course taught by Navy SEALs. This last course was intended for CIA agents who became compromised and needed to take action to escape and evade their captors.

Rick was now using all his training to effect his escape from his captivity by the Columbian Cartel. He was now doing morning exercises and keeping in top physical shape for his planned break out. Rick Castle is himself a man of complexity and capabilities known to very few. Even Kate was unaware of this in him. Only Martha and his CIA collegues were truly aware of this part of Castle's life.