A/N: Well, here we are again, sorry for the delay, work has been busy! I just want to say how much I appreciate all the reviews, follows, and favorites that all of you wonderful people are sending my way! I've been a longtime reader on here and it's a great pleasure of mine to be able to give back and tell stories about our favorite crime-fighting duo. This chapter is still focused on Rick, we gotta get caught up with Kate and the boys, timeline-wise, and then I'll be introducing some perspective shifts as this is going to play a bit like a cat and mouse game. Onto the sequel!

Chapter III

As he sat still with his legs dangling over the cliffside that was the meager twin-size mattress that the agency had provided in his quarters, he quickly removed his thoughts from the previous day and set his thoughts towards all that he was going to be doing today, starting with getting some food and caffeine in his system, followed by the, no doubt, a strenuous physical exam that he was going to be subjected to before he was to re-enter the field.

With a grunt and a swing of the legs, he was out of bed and made his way to the metal wardrobe, which by the way, definitely needed a healthy dose of WD-40 because that creaking was really loud when he opened it. Snagging some clothes for the day ahead, he opted for a selection that would provide the most comfort and maneuverability, which in his case, were a pair of black sweats and a white form-fitting T-shirt, and made his way into the bathroom to get out of the clothes he had fallen asleep in. As he stood in front of the mirror that stretched across the small sink vanity, he took in his appearance, hoping he didn't look too worse for wear, and to his surprise, he didn't. The only sign of any kind of a rough couple of days was the stubble that seemed to always come back with a vengeance if he didn't shave every other day, noticing that it changed his appearance a little bit, he decided to leave it be, because, after all, he was going to need to be discreet on this job, and that would help him a little bit at least.

After finishing his brief self-examination, Rick stripped the clothes off from the previous night and dressed in the outfit he had just extracted from the creaky cabinet and made sure that he looked presentable. Satisfied with his appearance, he left the bathroom and crouched down to slip his feet into his shoes, going through the final step before he opened that door and stepped back into his old life. As he tied the last loop on his left shoe, he stood up and took a sharp inhale with closed eyes as if to brace for impact from what awaited him on the other side.

With his eyes closed, all sorts of imagery flashed across his mind's eye, mostly memories from the past two and a half years, the most important years of his life, the ones that brought him out of himself and granted him the opportunity to truly help people, with the added benefit of the friends he had made for life. But that was just the beginning of the brief sequence, what awaited him at the end was what he held like the most important treasure he had ever found, the brief moments in which he had made Kate Beckett laugh and helped her to forget the pain for a brief moment, and to enjoy life. That is why he was doing this, to help lighten the burden she carried upon her shoulders. He knew that it wouldn't immediately grant her the peace she sought, but like she had told him in the past, it helps to know what previously had been unknown. And with a long exhale his eyes fluttered open, as his hand had already started subconsciously reaching for the doorknob, he was ready for whatever awaited him on the other side.

But once the door was open, there wasn't much of anything waiting for him, except for the continuous stream of sterile hallways that ran off to God knows where. At least he knew where to go, Gray had given him the directions to the cafeteria, and from the cafeteria, to the exam rooms, so he wasn't entirely lost when he stepped out of his quarters, but the daunting feeling still didn't entirely escape him though, hard to navigate a building where every hallway looks the exact same. All he had to remember was a simple code that he would've used playing video games to access their coveted cheat codes, and he was off to the races. As he trekked on through the hallways, he was very surprised to see how deserted the facility was, it was still being kept up with, but the staff was practically nonexistent, so he was going to have to attempt to pry any information about the operation from Gray, because the more he observed, the more his mind began to think that this was unsanctioned.

Before his mind could run too rampant, he had found himself in the very cafeteria that Gray had told him about, and finally found some people in the facility, so at least he wasn't completely alone with the resident agency spook. There were three women who stood on the backside of the room, separating themselves from whoever else was in the room with a booth that stretched across the length of the room, practically barricading themselves off from anyone. Rick grabbed a tray and started down the nonexistent line and attempted to make small talk with the workers, but they just brushed off anything he said and didn't respond to much of what he said, other than a few confirmatory grunts or 'mhmm'. Disappointed that he wasn't going to get to talk with much of anyone else, Rick settled for getting his breakfast "food" and made his way to the coffee pot, which he already knew was going to taste just like the coffee did back at the precinct did before he bought the fancy espresso machine, which elicited a strong shudder from him, but he still poured him a cup, the need for caffeine was too strong. He almost poured two cups instinctively but stopped just as the carafe spilled barely a spoonful into the other cup, sighing and shaking his head as he realized what he was doing, and defeatedly placed the carafe back into the coffee machine.

Satisfied with his light meal, he deposited the tray and coffee mug at the dirty dish drop-off they had at the far end of the cafeteria and left the room, heading for examination room one to get the hardest part of this job done. He never really liked the aspect of having to physically prove his ability to be able to get the job done, but in times like this, he really didn't have much of a choice. He went through the routine checkup and was promptly shoved into tests that pushed him to his limit and had him brush up on his shooting skills (that one he didn't mind so much, spending some time at the range could be downright therapeutic for him). By the end of it, his muscles were screaming in pain at all of the activities he had gotten up to, thankfully he took good care of himself at home so it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been, although it didn't mean that he wasn't ready to go to bed. Truth be told, he was ready to crash out after the shooting drills, but they insisted on also brushing him up on hand-to-hand combat, with an instructor that he hadn't seen in the facility before anywhere but he had reached the point of not caring a whole lot about that right now. But before he could peacefully go back to bed, he had to talk to Gray about what was really going on, and thankfully, he was present for his last test, the knife handling "crash course." Placing the knife back in its holster on his hip, Rick hobbled over to Gray, showcasing how taxing the day had been on him, but his face was full of conviction.

"Mr. Castle, you passed all the tests. With flying colors, I might add."

Rick's expression was anything but amused at the man's comment.

"Gray. Why is there," he looked around and raised his arms in a wide display to prove his point, "no one here?"

Before Gray could answer the question, Rick had already started rattling off his next set of questions.

"I mean, I understand the cloak-and-dagger of it all, and usually we run pretty tight ships, but this? This is next level, the only souls I've seen down here are the café ladies and the trainer you brought in!"

Gray brought up his hand to silence Rick before he went any further with his questions, with an understanding look glancing in his direction.

"Rick, I understand all of your concerns. Truth be told, this is as about as close to off-the-books as we can get. We do have full operating authority, but we don't know how deep this runs, so a skeleton crew is our safest way to tackle this."

Rick brought his hand up to his face, rubbing his forehead before dropping his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose as he took in the information.

"How… what…" Rick sighed as he tried to find the right question to ask, finally settling on one of the most important ones. "What is the execute authority on this, Gray?"

He half smiled at Rick as if to congratulate him on asking the right question. "Execute authority is entirely dependent on the operative, no one is going to hold grudges regardless of how you do this. Now you really need to get some sleep before tomorrow, the mental exam can sometimes be more taxing, Mr. Castle."

Just as Gray was turning around, Castle drew his attention in once again with a request, rather than a question, one that would be rather pertinent to the operation.

"I'll need a cosmetic package sent to my quarters; I don't need any extra attention on me while I'm doing this."

The man hadn't turned around but a smirk still graced his lips as he half turned his head over his shoulder to confirm Castle's "order."

"Of course, Rick, I'll get it to you after the exam tomorrow." And with that, the man disappeared into the sterile hallways of this unbelievably complex facility, waiting, no doubt, to reappear tomorrow after Rick had finished up with all of his tests to congratulate him, and then promptly send him on his way.

At least half-satisfied with the man's answer, Rick's shoulders slumped down, finally letting the weariness of the day fully showcase how tired he had become. He was in no mood for any kind of nourishment, he just needed a good, hot, shower, and a semi-comfortable bed to fall asleep in. His feet had already mindlessly carried him back to the room, and before he knew it, he was already stepping into the shower, wincing as the hot water made him notice some sensitive areas he had developed over the day. The hot water helped soothe it quite a lot actually, and after getting out, he all but fell into the bed face first, succumbing to the absolute state of tiredness he was in.

The next day arrived as quickly as the previous one had passed, he woke up, got dressed, ate a light breakfast with a less-than-tasty coffee, and went through all the mental tests that they had decided he needed to go through. He had been a little less than forthcoming with some of the answers to the questions that they had asked, but they didn't need to know that, after all, the answers were rather private and they hit a little too close to home in some aspects. He had finished the tests much sooner than he did the physical, which allowed him the opportunity to get some actual lunch.

The cafeteria was staffed with the same workers, no surprise there, he thought to himself. The meal of the day was cheeseburgers, the classic American staple for lunch, but all it did was remind him of Remy's and the few times that he and Kate had gone there to get a bite to eat. He mentally sighed at the thought, still, even here, however many stories underground he was, and however much his life had changed in the past 48 hours, his mind still wandered to her. It was rather torturous honestly, having thoughts of such an extraordinary woman who didn't reciprocate his feelings, especially one that he was such great friends with and grown so close to, not to mention the fact that she had a boyfriend. Before his mind could go any further, his train of thought was broken by a tray being set down in front of him, followed by the familiar sight of one, Agent Gray.

With a smile and a nod, the man addressed him, "Afternoon, Rick."

"Afternoon, Gray. How's things?" He knew the man wouldn't answer him truthfully, it was in his nature to be deceitful, it was his line of work after all.

"Well, I'd tell you, but I think some of my words might be used in that next book of yours."

That was fair, he had told Rick about the melon-baller and Rick had gone around and used it in one of the Storm books, so he had every right about his reservations. "That's fair," seemed to be the best thing to say at the time.

"That cosmetic package has been delivered to your quarters, Rick." Gray had since set down his burger and had clasped his hands together with seriousness in his eyes. "The operation starts tomorrow at 0600, Rick. Are you truly ready to step back into this?"

He knew an out when he heard one, after all, he had given Beckett plenty of them over the years, but this one, he was not going to let slip through his fingers. With the truth within his grasp, and the ability to put those behind the entire conspiracy out of business permanently was too good to be true, there was no way he was going to pass this opportunity up. "I'm ready, Gray. I'll contact you when I have the file in my possession." But not before he took a look at it himself, and depending on the format it was held in, he would be making a copy just in case this one managed to disappear. With his answer, Rick picked up the now-empty tray, discarded it with the rest of the empty trays in the room, and made his way to his quarters.

Taking note of the matte black case now on his bed, he carried it into the bathroom where he set it on the countertop of the sink as he took a shower. With a brief surge of renewed energy, Rick opened the case and itemized all the tools in the box. He knew he didn't have to do much in terms of changing his appearance, the scruff would help and a swapped color of the irises would help more than anyone would think. With that thought, he grabbed a package that contained brown contact lenses and set it on the counter, intending to place them in tomorrow before he set out. He never really cared much about changing his hair color, so that was going to be off the table, but there were other options. For example, a pair of cosmetic reading glasses that had no prescription-level lenses in them, just for looks, and that was exactly what he needed. He was more than happy with the two choices, he wasn't going into this too dedicated, it was only a simple pickup after all, what could go wrong?

After he finished planning his appearance change and laid them out on the countertop, he went back into his room, pulled out his laptop that Gray had so kindly left him, and went over the 10th-floor plan of the Ritz Tower, along with all available emergency exits that could be taken. He reviewed all nearby buildings and possible vantage points that any smart operators would take up in and planned accordingly to avoid any windows that would grant them any opportunity to take a shot. Before he had known it, it was nearing time to go to bed and prepare for the day that lay in wait for him. Shutting down the computer, Rick set it on top of the metal wardrobe and laid back down on the bed, letting his eyes drift shut, but still fighting sleep, the idea of what he could discover tomorrow was keeping him crawling up and down the walls of his mind, but eventually his mind tired from its informatory sugar rush and he eventually fell asleep.

The first noises he heard when he awoke were the harsh tones of the alarm that he had set the previous night on his phone. He still never liked waking up this early, but today, it was necessary. Throwing the covers off of him, Rick quickly got out of bed and headed to the wardrobe to put on his war clothes. Which, of course, didn't look very war-like, they were just regular black chinos, a white dress shirt, a black sports coat, and his leather jacket (because he was definitely taking his bike back out) and of course, he made sure that he didn't forget his trusty sidearm.

He quickly stepped into the bathroom and placed the contacts into his eyes, followed by the faux glasses. Satisfied with the small change in his appearance, Rick left the bathroom, and then shortly after, his quarters. He beelined it straight back to his bike in the cargo elevator, happy to see it was still there and that someone hadn't moved it, Rick quickly strapped his helmet back on and placed his hand back over the biometric scanner. The whole process seemed to be flying by because by the time the elevator was back on street level, he was already flying out of the building on his bike.

Because of how early he had woken up, traffic wasn't as bad as it good have been, but the bike made short work of it regardless, allowing him to bob and weave through it all. At 6:30, Rick had pulled into a street-side parking slot that was a block away from the tower, he was going to make sure he would have a quick exfil if this was to go south, but since the operation had gone to such great lengths to be kept under wraps, he felt safe about it as he dismounted the bike and walked through the lobby of the Ritz.

He didn't leave his helmet with the bike, opting instead to carry it in his left hand, leaving his right with full range of motion. As he cleared the busy lobby, part of the city clearly coming to life this morning, he side-stepped and avoided the concierge, making a great effort to keep his presence hidden, and the bustling crowd helped his disappearance into the stairwell on the right side of the building. Thankful for the multiple distractions, Rick headed up the stairs, peaking up as he went to make sure building security hadn't made him yet, but somehow, they hadn't, and he certainly wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

As he mindlessly carried on, he finally found himself on the 10th-floor landing, the door that he stood in front of held a singular window that he was able to peek out of, and once again, Lady Luck was on his side as the hallway was empty. Taking great care to discretely enter, Rick stuck his head through the door slowly and cleared both sides, making sure his eyes were indeed telling him the truth. They, of course, were telling the truth, so he quickly found himself standing in front of room 304, knocking a brief rap on the wooden door before a distinct lock click, followed by it opening partially, restricted by a chain on the upper side, revealing the man on the other side. There always was a code to say to let the contact know who they were, and that they were safe, and this one was no different.

"Be check'd for silence, But never tax'd for speech." Rick quickly spoke before the man could shut the door, or worse, draw a gun and dispatch him there and then.

But before anything bad could happen, the man responded. "Shakespeare huh? Never thought the CIA for aspiring literature kooks." And before he knew it, the chain had disappeared and the door opened, followed by a gesture from the man inside for Rick to come in.

After the door had shut, Castle had found himself in the living room, turning around at the sound of the chain sliding across the track and the deadbolt being turned. Not wanting this to be a social call, he quickly directed the conversation to business, wanting to avoid being here any longer than necessary so he could get the extraction team that was waiting nearby to safely get Smith out. "So, where's the file?"

Smith responded by quickly raising his hand with a quick "Ah," as he walked to the bedroom, retrieving the very file that he had been debriefed on just a few days prior, although this was only one part, a flash drive. At this revelation, Castle narrowed his eyes at the man, scrutinizing his actions. "I was told this was a dossier of sorts," he said with a stab of suspicion.

Smith nodded his head as he had stopped short of a few feet from Castle. "It… it is. This is the only part I have possession of, but this," Smith now held up the drive in front of Castle's eyes, "this is the key to the rest."

"The rest?" Castle wasn't believing what he was hearing. So much for an easy snatch-and-grab job, now it was turning out to be a treasure hunt, and as much as he loved a good treasure hunt, he was in no mood right now, given that the two of them could be in danger.

Smith was now pacing on the far side of the living room as Rick had taken a partial seat on the armrest of the couch. "We couldn't… safely move the dossier without raising some alarms."

At the mention of "we," Rick quickly stood up and clenched his fists, trying to prevent himself from charging the man and figuring out who else was involved in this, but was quickly stopped by the man's gaze, a somber look that he wore, and one that Rick knew well from being in this line of work. Not wanting to let the "we" part go, he quickly asked Smith who else was involved, opting for the more peaceful option, rather than the one that would involve a few thrown punches.

Smith took in a sharp inhale and pursed his lips as his mind warred with telling Castle who else knew about the dossier, but he knew that he had to tell him, how else were they going to put an end to this waking nightmare? As he closed his eyes for a brief moment, he reopened them and looked back at Castle staring him down, almost like he was trying to read Smith's mind, but he beat him to the punch with his confession.

"Captain Roy Montgomery of the 12th Precinct."

Smith could've sworn that at his words, Castle was now paler than the wall that was painted behind him, but he didn't know that Castle knew Roy, much less worked with him alongside the best three homicide detectives in the city. As the color returned to Castle's face, he shook his head, as if to shake the very words he had just heard out of his mind, but to no avail. They were now seared to the forefront of his mind, and he truthfully didn't know what to do with the information, all he knew was that he needed to get his hands on that drive so that he could get answers that he now needed desperately.

But as he started towards the man to retrieve the drive, he saw a red designator laser appear on Smith's chest and his heart dropped once again as he charged towards the man to tackle him out of the way.

"Smith, GET DOWN!"

But he was too late, an ear-piercing shot rang out, shattering the middle window in the living room, and tearing through the flesh of Smith's chest, the momentum of the bullet launching him into the wall he stood next to. As Castle saw the man get flung into the wall, he quickly hit the deck before a hail of bullets quickly started coming his way, tearing through every window in the living room, attempting to leave no survivors.

Determined to not leave without that flash drive, Castle army crawled across the hardwood floors to Smith's body, checking for a pulse just in case he managed to survive, but there was nothing. Castle silently thanked the man for his bravery in getting this information to him as he fished through the man's hand and retrieved the drive. As he pushed off of the man's body to get clear, a few rounds hit close overhead and dropped a piece of drywall next to him as he continued to crawl away.

Thankfully he had left his helmet on the floor next to the couch, so as he crawled past, he secured it on his head, attempting to hide his identity even further because if the barrage of lead was any indicator, their… well, his attackers were people to not be underestimated in their resources. Leaving his thoughts behind, Castle quickly secured the flash drive in the zipped inside pocket of his leather jacket as he made his way back to the front door across the floor.

He jumped up as quickly as he could and made quick work of the locks before another round hit close to him, but this one was significantly closer judging by the pain he now felt in his left arm, grunting out in pain, Castle quickly barreled out into the hallway, leaving the scene behind and cupping the fresh wound on his arm, hoping to avoid leaving any kind of evidence for the obvious hit squad to trace.

As he sprinted down the hallway, the sounds of bullets hitting all kinds of imaginable surfaces had ceased, which either meant one of two things, they were satisfied in thinking they killed everyone in the room, or they saw him get out of the room and were mounting for a search party. It didn't matter anyway, they would find out someone else was in the room and made it out because Smith's corpse wouldn't have the drive on it anymore, which, no doubt, was precisely what they were after.

As Rick charged down the stairs, he had silently hoped that Kate wouldn't catch this case, she didn't need to be in any more danger than she needed to be working her everyday job as a police officer, especially the nature of this case that would be revealed. But he knew that if she caught wind of a case that had his blood at? She would not rest until he was found, and that thought warmed his heart but scared him half to death.