Unexpected Appearance Chapter 32

"Hunt, we have a problem that may be connected with the object of your hometown liaison," the director announces. "The drug flow from Afghanistan is picking up, and it's interfering with our operations there."

"What's that got to do with Richard Castle?" Hunt inquires.

"It has to do with that muse of his, Beckett. That drug trade is funding the increasing power of William Bracken. She put a pro going by the name of Lockwood away for murder. He's one of Bracken's operatives. Our intelligence is that Bracken has his eyes on the presidency. He's pruning anyone who stands in the way of achieving that goal. Lockwood is part of that plan somehow, and Beckett has been leaning on him to reveal the identity of his boss."

"Why?"

"Because she thinks he ordered her mother's death 12 years ago."

"Did he?"

"It's possible. His operations were strictly domestic back then, not on our radar. But she's getting embroiled in the whole mess, and Castle is right at her heels. Bracken could have both of them taken out, which would go a long way to eliminating any obstacles to his assuming considerable control over U.S. policy. And he's working with the Russians, which puts him on the wrong side of most of what we're trying to achieve. We need to stop him."

"But given that moving against American citizens on American soil is completely beyond our mandate, it has to be a shadow operation," Hunt assumes.

"Exactly. Right now, Beckett and Castle may be at the top of Bracken's target list. Uncovering whatever he has planned for them may lead us to holes in his relationships with the Russians. So stick close. Protect them if you can and pick up as much intelligence as possible about Bracken's Russian connections."

"On it."

"How did Lockwood even get into the general population?" Rick queries. "Wasn't he supposed to be segregated?'

Kate's fingernails dig into her palms. "Esposito's running it down now. But I'm guessing it wasn't an accident."

"I'm sorry," Rick says.

"For what?' Kate asks.

"Lockwood kills Raglan, then McCallister, both of them ex-cops with connections to your mother's murder. He's cutting off all avenues of your investigation."

Kate squares her slender shoulders. "He's not cutting them off. He's giving me new ones. I've been going to that prison for the last four months, having a staring contest with the devil, and the devil just blinked. This is exactly what I've been looking for."

"Beckett, you weren't hoping for another murder, were you?"

"Of course not, Castle. But I was hoping for Lockwood's boss to show his hand. He's done that. He's getting rid of anyone who might have connected him with my mother's murder. That means he's getting nervous about something. Nervous people make mistakes."

"So do obsessed ones. And it seems to me that you'll have something else on your plate – your personal plate – very soon."

"You don't have to remind me that Josh is coming home, Castle. I'm still trying to figure out what to say – and when to say it."

"Yo, Beckett!" Esposito calls from his desk. "Department of Corrections says the signature used on the transfer order was forged."

"And the only people with access to those documents at the prison are the correctional officers and authorized clerical staff," Ryan adds.

"That would still be a pretty long list, wouldn't it?' Rick asks.

"But we should be able to pare it down by determining who's most subject to bribe or blackmail," Kate asserts. "I want a full financial workup on all the possible suspects, sworn and civilian. I want to know who's late on their mortgage and who was behind on their child support. Someone took a hell of a chance cutting Lockwood this transfer. They would have had to be pretty desperate about something."

Esposito nods. "You got it!"

With a hint of triumph on her lips, Kate turns to Castle. "See, now we have a trail."

"So while the boys are working their fingertips to the bone following it, where are we going?" Rick inquires.

"To Lockwood's arraignment. I want to see if we can rattle his cage."

"Beckett, I practically punched his face in. You would think that would rattle him a bit. Maybe he's not the rattling type."

"I'm not talking about Lockwood. I want to rattle whoever's holding his leash."

Kate glares through the metal mesh caging Lockwood in the courtroom. "First Raglan and now McCallister? What are you doing? Collecting the whole set? You're a real badass, Lockwood, shooting a man dying of cancer and slitting his partner's throat as he lay in his bunk. I don't know what you think you've accomplished, but taking them out doesn't change a thing. Whoever hired you can't hide from me."

Lockwood smirks. "No, Sweetheart. You've got it ass-backward. You can't hide from him."

"Please take a seat, Ma'am," a court officer urges Kate.

She sits on the edge of the chair next to Castle as the bailiff comes to the front of the courtroom to prepare for the presentation of the case. "All rise." The judge takes a seat at the bench. "The court's in session. Be seated. Matter 27 on the list, the People of New York vs. John Doe, aka Hal Lockwood. The matter is on for arraignment. Counselors for the record and who you represent, please."

A man in a custom-made suit stands up at the defense table. "Avery Zussman for Harold Lockwood, Your Honor."

As the bailiff drones the specifics of the charges, Kate stares at cops in a row of seats ahead of her.

"What's the matter?" Rick whispers as she tenses.

"They're wearing chrome collar pins. The NYPD's are brass."

"How do you plead?" the bailiff queries.

"Now!" Lockwood hisses.

"Castle, down!" Kate yells, throwing herself on top of Rick as canisters roll down the aisle.

Flashbangs explode in blinding light and deafening sound. Amid the shock, the faux cops rush Lockwood out of the courtroom.

Ears ringing and disoriented, Kate rises. "You OK, Castle?"

"Yeah, yeah. Go!"

Kate lurches out of the courtroom and almost trips over Lockwood's discarded shackles. The hallway is full of people still sprawled on the floor. "Where? Where?" Kate asks one woman who's come to her knees.

The woman points down the nearby staircase.

Kate runs down the stairs and reaches the outdoors just in time to see a helicopter lifting off. She fires as it flies away with Lockwood aboard.

"Sonofabitch!" Hunt exclaims at the intelligence feed on his phone. Staging an escape in a New York City courtroom takes chutzpah. He has to give them that. The execution was successful but, fortunately, not flawless. A satellite that doesn't officially exist picked up part of the helicopter's flight. It was headed to New Jersey. So Bracken wanted Lockwood out of New York City, but not very far out of New York City. Apparently, the hitter still has some work to complete there. Going after Beckett and maybe Richard, too? It's more than possible. And there could be other targets. Raglan and McCallister couldn't have been the only ones who knew what Bracken was doing as he was building his early war chest. There might even be other dirty cops. There were enough of them around during Bracken's early days. It's time to dig deeper, much deeper. The agency may not be able to go after citizens within U.S. borders – not officially. But it has bright young people who are very good at research. And Hunt's not so bad himself.