Papa Jack Chapter 35

On returning to his loft from his supper with Martha Rodgers, Richard sheds his tie and is about to shed his shoes when he hears a knock on his door. With the caution instilled by his father, he stares through the peephole to check out his visitor. Kate Beckett's face, lovely, despite the distortion from the lens, comes into view. Richard jerks the door open. "Beckett, to what do I owe the honor?"

"Castle, I thought you should hear it from me before you come back to the precinct. There's a lid on anything having to do with Vulcan Simmons. I'm sorry, but you're not cleared for any operational information, and you can't tag along until we have him in custody."

Richard waves Kate inside. "Beckett, that's crazy! What could I find out that I don't already know? And if I were going to leak to the press or anyone else, I would have done it already."

"I agree, Castle, but the clampdown applies to everyone, other cops included. You already know what you know about when our operation will have to go down. I'll call you as soon as I can."

"Promise?" Richard asks.

Kate's fingertip strokes his cheek. "Promise."

He encircles her slim fingers with his large, warm palm. "Beckett, regardless of the plans for your upcoming operation, I suspect there's still a lot to uncover about Bracken. To tear through his criminal web, you, the DA, the feds, and whoever else is working on this will need every scrap of incriminating information you can get. I'm not about to stop looking."

"I never thought you would, Castle. Hey, after I call you, we'll see about comparing notes."

A smile slowly warms Richard's lips. "I look forward to it, Beckett. I was about to make coffee. You want some for the road?"

"Your coffee, Castle? Anytime."

The aroma of his rich brew still in his nostrils, Richard locks the door behind the departing Kate Beckett. Stretching his arms out in front of him, he flexes his fingers on his way to his office. Growing up, his father had told him that one misunderstood word can change the meaning of an entire translation. After he found out about Jack's actual background, the spy had cautioned him that one bad or missing piece of intelligence can result in disaster and death. Even when writing fiction, complete and accurate information can be essential. To bring down a puppetmaster like Bracken, it will be vital. Unwilling to waste any time sorting through website listings on Google, he immediately signs onto Lexis Nexis.

Richard quickly discovers that as almost any politician would, from the beginning of his career Bracken sought the spotlight. Articles about him go back even before his run for DA. He trumpeted his professional credentials. He went to Harvard Law and was on the Law Review. He wasn't the editor, but he never brought that up. From there, he went on to clerk for a judge in the New York Supreme Court. When Richard checks on the judge, he finds out that he was investigated for ethics violations. Bracken testified on his behalf, clearing him. "So, even as a baby lawyer, he had a judge owing him," Richard mutters as he continues his search.

Moving on to Bracken's time as an ADA, Richard finds that the young prosecutor pursued successful cases against many drug dealers. None of them, however, had ties to Vulcan Simmons or even Washington Heights. Richard shakes his head at the screen. "Protecting Simmons' territory."

Bracken's history continues, as he manages to smear cops who tried to report other cops for malfeasance. Raglan and McCallister were among the cops that Bracken declared as white as snow. Obviously to Richard, the only way that would have been true was if he was referring to their skin color. As DA, Bracken made a big deal about putting away Pulgatti, that victory helping to propel him into Congress.

Leaning back in his chair, Richard signs off his subscription search engine. He brings up the most public and often most boring of public documents – the Congressional Record. Using "Bracken" as a keyword, he begins to track remarks and legislation promoted by his quarry. He also checks out Bracken's votes. Though touting himself as a champion of the environment, Bracken actually voted for bills that advantaged polluters. It takes Richard a thorough reading of the language to ferret out those advantages, but they are there. Bracken also managed to be absent during any votes taken to tighten anti-drug laws. "Surprise! Surprise!" Richard exclaims at the screen in a spontaneous Gomer Pyle impersonation. Bracken has always been a master manipulator and rarely, if ever, to benefit his constituents. But Richard has yet to hang anything on him that comes close to proving he hired Johanna Beckett's assassin. He checks the time in the corner of his screen. Three am. He's tired but not sleepy. Still, the text displayed on his monitor is beginning to blur before his eyes. Maybe after a hot shower, he'll be able to get some rest. First thing in the morning, he needs to call Ms. Nekras about a tour of Loftview. It would help to be conscious during their conversation.

Kate arrives at her desk in the bullpen before the start of her shift. She wants to go over the scenario for raiding Vulcan Simmons' massive heroin buy – again. Her undercover reconnaissance of the auto body shop helped provide tactical information. However, as the most junior member of the team executing the operation, she doesn't have much in the way of further input. Still, if there's a problem, she may be the one best equipped to spot it. Actually, since Castle spent so much time walking back and forth surveilling the outside of the building and the surrounding area, it would be better if he could also have some input into the plans. Montgomery, unfortunately, made it very clear that it isn't going to happen. Castle can't be part of the team until Vulcan Simmons and the heroin are in custody.

Kate absently wonders if Castle is rubbing off on her as she decides to look into drugs originating in Afghanistan. Checking into a report from the DEA, she finds that in the past year or so, that flood has grown to a torrent, with Afghan opioids comprising a major segment of the illegal drug market. With some minor mental arithmetic, she realizes that the rise in deadly exports began taking place after Bracken's last junket to Afghanistan. Could the importation by Bracken's illegal enterprise be responsible for the jump? If it is, he's responsible for many more deaths than it took a killer-for-hire to commit. He deserves to pay for all of them. Still, the monster only has one life to spend behind bars. She hopes it will be one as miserable as the corrections system can deliver.

Clearing her screen of the DEA document, Kate returns to studying the plans for the assault on the auto body shop. ESU got the facility's building plans from the city. They show the side door, but not Simmons' apartment, as described by Marcus. That must have required unreported construction. If that went unreported, she wonders what else went unreported. The team will have to be alert for the unexpected. She's sure that the ESU captain knows that. Still, it can't hurt to talk to Montgomery about a little captain-to-captain communication. If Simmons gets away, they may not get another chance at him.