811. Chapter 811

After Knockdown

Episode 3.13

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Well, knock me down. I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Roy Montgomery lay in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. His wife slept peacefully beside him, but he couldn't sleep.

I let Beckett stay on this case because I had to. If I had kicked her off, she'd just have gone after the sniper on her own, and then I'd have no control over her at all. No way to protect her. Can I protect her? Not if things get serious. I've told him that I'd keep her under control and that's not happening. And now I have Castle to contend with. Why the hell did he have to go and look into her mother's murder and start this up all over again? Oh, sure. He's been good for her. He makes her smile and she's enjoying life for the first time since I've known her. Why the hell aren't those two together? Are they the only ones who can't see how good they are together? Would it help if they got together? Would being with Castle change her? Make her more willing to think about her future rather than her past? He smiled. And what will I do? I can just see me calling the two of them into my office and telling them they have to get together. He chuckled to himself.

He rolled over onto his side and tried to sleep. But his mind was working overtime. I've known it could come to this. That's why I kept all of those records. I could keep her safe and give her the closure she needs. I'd be destroyed, of course. I'd either be dead or in prison. Evelyn would be devastated. Evan and the girls wouldn't have a father anymore and probably no pension once I was gone, either way. Do I owe her that much for keeping what I know about her mother to myself for all these years? Do I owe my family more than I owe Beckett?

Roy tossed and turned and night and eventually did fall asleep, but he hadn't resolved his problem.

She knew he'd come, so she had to tell him now, before she found herself unable to do it.

"Castle, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything."

Of course he'd say that, without even asking what it was. "Rick, go home. You're off the case."

As she expected, he shook his head. "No way."

"Castle, I'm a cop. I signed up for this. You didn't."

"Beckett…."

She stopped him before he could go on. She knew if he started talking, her resolve would weaken and he'd be her partner. "No. This isn't some crazy with a rifle and a grudge against the world. He's a highly trained professional, well equipped, probably part of a team and he has all the support he needs. You're not trained for this. Hell, I'm barely trained for this."

"Is that supposed to make me want to back off and leave you alone to face…Whoever this is? Forget it. I'm your partner. End of discussion."

She decided she had to take another track. In a way, this was a better idea. One that she had wanted anyway, if she was honest with herself.

"I saw the way you looked at me when you saw the blood and thought I'd been shot. For just a split second I thought you had been shot and I felt the same way you did." She took his hand in both of hers. "I broke up with Demming before you left for the Hamptons. I wanted to go with you to see….Well, to see what we might be like together. But you left with Gina and I got together with Josh. You've broken up with Gina and I realize that Josh is a nice guy and all, but he's never around and he's never going to be able to put me ahead of his job, any more than I can put him ahead of my job." She put her arms around him and put her head on his chest. "Sit this one out, Rick. When it's over, we can be together. Okay?"

"Okay? Hell no, it's not okay. When this is over, you could be dead. Not much of a together then."

She pushed herself away from him. "Okay. Then our partnership is over. I forbid you from being my partner and I'll see to it that your access to the 12th Precinct is terminated. Now, this is my place, so get out. Now."

"Kate…"

"Castle, now."

He left, but when he had gone, she cried.

The next day Castle came to the precinct with the usual two coffees. He was surprised when he was stopped by the desk sergeant. "Sorry, Castle. You're no longer allowed access to the precinct. Captain Montgomery's orders. And the captain told me to tell you that if you complain to the mayor, Detective Beckett will complain that you're harassing her. It might not keep you out of here forever, but for long enough. So why not just do it the easy way?"

Castle handed him Beckett's coffee. "See that she gets this, okay?" Then he walked out.

When Beckett left the precinct a while later, she looked around for Castle. He wasn't anywhere in sight. She smiled. Could Castle have actually given up? She shook her head. No, that isn't his style. Not at all. And in the meantime, I have work to do.

But, in an hour, she knew she had a problem. She ducked into a coffee shop and called Esposito. "Espo, I'm being followed, and they're good. There at least three of them. One is a man, late twenties, brown leather jacket and sunglasses with dark hair. The second is a woman. Fifties, very well dressed wearing a powder blue pants suit with a large dark blue bowtie. The third is a man, maybe forty, maybe six feet, but well over two hundred pounds. Looks solid. He's wearing a blue business suit. I'm at the coffee shop at Lex and 23rd. I can see the woman keeping an eye on me. Try to pick all of them up."

Twenty minutes later, Kate and Esposito were sitting across from the younger man in interrogation. Ryan and Karpowski were interrogating the woman.

"Why were you following me?"

The young man did a good job of looking confused. "I'm a tourist here. I wasn't following you. I was just looking around."

"Who do you work for?" Esposito barked.

"I work for Longbow Services."

"And what do they do?" Kate asked.

"We provide logistical and support service of all kinds to companies and governments all over the world."

"Wait!"Espo said. "Longbow Services. Beckett, we need to talk."

Once outside he took her aside and started on his computer. . "I've heard of Longbow Services. They have basically one customer, the CIA. And they provide a hell of a lot more than logistics. Here's a story some blogger posted a year ago on them. These guys are dangerous. We find who these guys work for, we find our killer."

She shook her head. "No, because I know who they work for." Kate grabbed her jacket and left.

She knocked on his door.

It opened and a smiling Richard Castle was standing there. "Why, Detective Beckett. What a surprise."

"Cut the small talk, Castle. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Doing?" He said as innocently as he could manage.

"I'm being followed by a three people. Two of them, at least, work for a company called Longbow Services. I looked them up on line. They provide a lot of services. They fly helicopters, including gunships, in Somalia, hunting for pirates and Islamic militants. Their airplanes fly all over the Middle East providing weapons for people like the Kurds in Iraq. They provide fighter pilots for countries with more money than talented pilots."

"And why did you come here to tell me about this?" Castle asked, smirking.

"Because I remember an article in the Richard Castle website. Yes, the subscription pages. You shadowed them for several of the Derrick Storm books. You hired them to watch over me, didn't you? What do they have, a strike team of ex Special Forces standing by? Counter sniper teams following my every move? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Keeping you alive. And before you get any ideas about trying to run Longbow out of town, I'm a multi-millionaire. There are a lot more companies like Longbow out there and I can afford to hire them all. You said it yourself, Beckett. You're barely trained for this. These guys are. They're good. And remember, I have friends in the CIA and elsewhere. I am going to protect you, like it or not."

Kate glared at him, then shook her head. "You just won't leave me alone, will you?"

"Never."

She rested her head on his chest. "Thank you. I don't always appreciate what you do at the time, but eventually I do."

"Partners?"

"Partners."