Papa Jack Chapter 56

Kate counts herself lucky that even with the trees bare of leaves, the shrubbery in Owl's Head Park provides enough cover to stake out the old tunnel entrance. Despite the park lighting, she still needs a night scope to watch the figures of fight fans disappearing below ground. As far as she can tell, Cedric isn't among them, but as a participant in the matches, he may have arrived earlier to prepare. Since the plan is to nail him on his way out, Spotting him now isn't vital. Yet, she'd be more comfortable if she could. Ryan and Esposito occupy an alternative vantage point and may have more luck.

"You're shivering," Castle notes. "Your coat looks pretty warm, but your neck is exposed. Want my scarf?"

"I appreciate the offer, Castle, but no thanks. I need to maintain a full range of motion. I can't afford even the restriction I'd get from a scarf."

"Copy that. But should you need a radiant heat source, feel free to lean in."

"Castle, I can't. And anyway, Ryan or Esposito might see."

"Beckett, the last place either one of them will be looking right now is at you or me. But I wish that one of them had seen some sign of Cedric."

Kate's gloved fingers tighten on her scope. "The matches should be starting any minute. Maybe we'll get lucky, and he'll take off after an early bout. Just stay alert."

Richard jams his hands in his pockets, drawing his heavy wool coat more tightly around him. "Believe me, Beckett, I'm alert."

From one of two towers near a large building at the edge of the park, Cole gazes through the long-range nightscope attached to his high-powered rifle. In Afghanistan, he picked off his share of enemy soldiers from a greater distance than this, and the mountains in that country got a lot colder than a city park. He has complete confidence that he'll take out Beckett and whatever other targets present themselves. But he's going to wait until his stalkers from the NYPD are in the midst of maximum confusion. After the matches, as fightgoers, either triumphant from a winning bet or pissed off from a losing one, pour out of the tunnel, the cops will be desperate to spot their target. Cole grins into the darkness. Too bad that their target will be spotting them.

Against the falling temperature and his increasing unease, Richard can't help fidgeting. He wonders if the feeling in his gut is what his father referred to as an early warning system. Sometimes, the spy just knew something was off. He didn't know what, but on several occasions, he escaped just ahead of a bullet or avoided an IED. Richard gazes around. The moon shines in the winter sky with faint flickers of as many stars as are visible in the light-polluted city. Two dark towers rise toward the heavens. Either one of them would make a perfect nest for a sniper with the proper training – the kind of training Cedric has. "Beckett…."

A horde of testosterone-laden humanity pushes its way out of the tunnel. "Stay sharp, Castle. Cedric could show up any second." Rising only slightly from her hiding place, Kate tries to spot her quarry in the crowd. As shots ring out, footsteps pound desperately toward the cover of the tunnel. Richard watches in horror as Kate crumples to the ground.

Sirens howl through the night as ambulances transport victims to the trauma center at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn. At first, the paramedics thought Richard had been shot – so much of Kate's blood had soaked him as he tried to staunch the flow. Even as they urged him back so they could care for her, he refused to leave her side. In the ambulance, he clings to a hand that has lost the strength to cling to his. "You're not going to die, Kate. Not now! Not when we've just…." The words catch in his throat. Just what? Slept together? No, it was much more than that, wasn't it? Gazing down at the pale body on the gurney, Richard prays that he, both of them, will have a chance to find out.

Amid a jungle of plastic tubes and the beeping of monitors, Kate slowly forces her eyes open. A nurse smiles down at her. "Welcome back, Detective Beckett."

From a chair where he'd been fitfully drowsing, Richard springs toward Kate's bed. "Beckett! You're awake! The doctors weren't sure that…. I should get your father. He was so worn out that the nurses made him take a nap in the family lounge."

Kate forces words through dry lips. "Castle, what happened? How long?"

"You were shot, Beckett. You, a couple of Brooklyn cops, and some of the spectators at the fights in the Owl Park Tunnel. They'll all live. The doctors said you were hit the worst."

"Cedric?"

"Ryan and Esposito think so. Esposito figured out where the shots came from, a tower at the edge of the park. Ryan found a little piece of moleskin there. According to Esposito, shooters use it sometimes to keep the cheekpiece of their rifles from sliding around. There was a little bit of DNA on it. The military wouldn't cough up anything it could be matched to, but the lab got a partial phenotype – you know, what the sniper would look like – off of it. It matches Cedric. The guys are still scrubbing any video in the area to try to figure out where Cedric might have come from and where he went. But I should get your father. He's been here since I called him."

"When was that, Castle?"

"Three days ago, Beckett. You were shot three days ago. I'll go get Jim."

Kate tries to stretch out a hand to the retreating Richard. "He'll be right back," the nurse assures her. "He's been here since you were shot. He had someone bring him clothes. His were full of your blood. But other than taking a couple of minutes to change, he's barely left your side. And the lounge isn't far. Water?"

"Please."

Kate just finishes sipping from the cup the nurse offers when, with Richard right behind him, Jim Beckett rushes into the room. "Katie! Thank God! Thank God! I was afraid…. But thank God!"

"Hey, Dad! I'm not going anywhere, not when there are still bad guys out there."

Richard grins. "You know how stubborn she is, Sir."

"Yes, I do," Jim Beckett agrees, "from the day she was born."

The nurse puts the water cup on the bedside table and heads for the door. "I'll leave you all to talk. If you need anything, Detective Beckett, just press the call button. It's right under your hand."

"Dad, you should go home now and sleep in a real bed," Kate declares as soon as the nurse exits. "This city needs at least one Beckett running around."

"I can get a car service to pick him up," Richard suggests.

"You should go home too, Castle," Kate advises. "You look like the before picture for one of those creams that's supposed to make eyebags disappear."

"Thanks a lot, Beckett."

"Come on, Castle. Go back to your loft. Grab a nap." Kate makes a show of sniffing the air. "A shower wouldn't hurt either. Maybe by the time you come back, the guys will have something solid on Cedric, and you can tell me all about it. Or you can just dream up one of your wild theories. Either way, I want in on what's happening."

Smiling, Richard shakes his head. "Of course you do. You wouldn't be Kate Beckett if you didn't. All right. I'll go. Anything you want me to bring you when I return?"

"A copy of the file on the park shooting."

"I'll see what I can do."