695. Chapter 695

After Target

Episode 5.15

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I didn't kidnap Castle. I don't own it. Rating: K. Time: See above.

"Dammit, Ray." He grumped. "This had damned well better be important. After all that I went through cleaning up the mess in Herat, I really need a couple of weeks off."

The man behind the desk pointed to a chair. "Sit down, Jack. I have some bad news. Your granddaughter has been kidnapped."

Years of training allowed the man known as Jackson Hunt to look mildly confused. "Granddaughter? You got the wrong guy. I don't have…"

"Don't BS me, Jack. For years, you've been having friends of yours surveil a writer living in New York City, and occasionally using Agency resources."

"What? You want me to pay for a couple of damned secure phone calls or something?"

"Of course not. But when our people do odd things, we like to look into it. You'd keep an eye on Richard Castle if he were someone's asset. But you'd tell us about that, wouldn't you?"

Jackson Hunt wasn't sure where this was going, so he remained noncommittal. If Alexis had been kidnapped, he'd probably need Ray's help, or at least he'd need Ray not to stand in his way.

"Of course, you could be a fanboy, just checking up on your favorite author."

Hunt snorted in derision.

"So, that means it's personal. We checked Castle and found he never knew his dad. Martha Rodgers, his mother, has said that she met him for one night and…."

"Okay, okay." Hunt broke in. "Richard Castle is my son and Alexis Castle is my granddaughter. So?"

"So, we don't like people kidnapping the relatives of our people. It sets a bad precedent."

Hunt breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Agency wouldn't try to stop him and might even help him.

Ray continued on. "We can't investigate in the US, of course. But we can do background investigations on those close to our people to make sure they aren't a threat to security."

"And we're doing a background check on them now, in the middle of a kidnapping?"

Ray nodded. "I assure you it's purely a coincidence."

Hunt laughed. "The Congressional Oversight Committees will love that line."

"Not if no one ever hears about this." Ray reached into his outbox. "We have files on everyone concerned. Castle and his family and girlfriend, the three Al-Masris, Hasim Farouk, and we've heard that an ex-con named Roger Henson is involved. We don't have a file on him, but we'll get you what we can ASAP."

Ray handed the files to Hunt. Then he frowned. "I've looked over your son's file. He doesn't look like he'll be much use in something like this. A womanizing playboy?"

"He's changed a lot since he met the woman, Ray. And he loves his daughter. He'll be fine."

Ray tapped a pen on his desk. "About the woman. She was targeted by a PMC, Orantis Solutions. We don't like our former people taking up jobs as hired guns and shooting cops. When that kind of thing comes out, it makes us look like a bunch of thugs. They claimed to be shocked and said the shooter wasn't one of theirs any more. Since we have no jurisdiction, we dropped it."

"Any connection between that and this kidnapping?"

Ray shrugged. "Not that we can see, but…"

"Any idea if Alexis is the actual target, or is it Sara al-Masri?"

"Too early to tell, Jack." He handed Jack some papers. "A cover ID and we have a plane ready to fly you to New York. Read the files on the way and we'll contact you with what we have when we have it." Ray grimaced. "I wish we could give you more help, Jack, but we can't operate like this in the US. This is strictly you and strictly unofficial."

"Like I've never done that before."

Hunt thanked Ray, took his files and left.

Jackson Hunt hid in the shadows in a run down neighborhood in New York, looking at a parked white van. Someone in NSA took a chance. Ray didn't just happen to find out about this from overhearing police radios. I'll have to remember to be nice to No Such Agency in the future.

Hunt stiffened. A cab had brought his son to the scene. He watched through binoculars as they huddled around the van. He could see the relief on his son's face. Whatever had happened was good. He checked the al-Masris and they were relieved. Both girls are safe then. Maybe this is just about money.

As people started to drift away, he saw Richard hug the woman and hold her in his arms. I need to stop calling her the woman. She's Detective Kate Beckett and she's damned important to my son, which means she's damned important to me as well. I wish I could talk to her, get some idea of what she's like. The file was good, but made her look too much like some robot super cop. I need to find out what she's like as a person after this is over. Hunt chuckled to himself. Sure, after not seeing my son since he was ten, I'll just casually call and ask the two of them to join me for a beer. He thought sarcastically. Shit. It's times like these that make me wish I'd never gotten into this damned business. Even more so if Alexis getting kidnapped has something to do with me.

Roger Henson had talked, but he didn't know much. Two things were of interest. One was the plane. Henson had no idea where it was headed for, but he could describe it. Hunt figured that it was big enough to get to Europe and then onto the Middle East if they refueled. There was a possibility they might go to Asia or South America, but Hunt didn't think so. The second thing was that no one involved in the kidnapping, known to Henson in any way, were anything other than American crooks, in it for the money. There was no one connected to the Middle East in any way. The use of a plane suggested a large, well funded operation. Something like this was beyond the capabilities of most terrorist operations, although a few, like perhaps the Iranian Quds Force might have the ability. But if someone like the Quds Force were after him, they were far more into direct action, and nothing this complex. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he and Alexis were the real targets and that Sara al-Masri was a red herring. He decided to call Ray and see what some of his old enemies might be up to.

"Paris?" Jack said when he got through to Ray. "Are you sure, Paris?"

'Absolutely. And we've found a friend of yours in Paris. Gregor Volkhov."

"Crap."

"It gets worse, Jack. Your son's headed for Paris. But we can get you on a plane there. Unofficially, of course. Part of your well earned vacation."

"Did he at least take Beckett with him?"

"She's still in New York."

"I'm going to have a talk with my boy about his girlfriend. He should have married her by now."

"Just make sure you live long enough to have that talk, Jack."