846. Chapter 846

After After the Storm

Episode 5.01

By

UCSbdad

Disclaimer: Do you understand that I don't own Castle? It's a yes or no question. Rating: K. Time: See above.

He woke up just in time to see her put her Glock in her shoulder holster. "Kate, what are you doing?"

She looked away from him. "I'm just going out. I'll be back."

He got out of her bed. "If you're carrying a gun, I'm going with you then."

"In your shorts?" She asked with a smile.

"If I have to, yes. I'll go after you in my shorts or stark naked if I have to."

"Castle, I'll be fine. Just go back to bed and…."

"No." He put his arms around her and pulled her close. "Kate, I love you. I've been in love with you for years now. Please, please don't lie to me. Don't tell me things are fine when we both know they're not. Don't say that something doesn't bother you when it does. Yes, I do know that I've done the same thing in the past, but I won't do it now. Please, Kate."

Sher rested her head on his chest. "I need to go see Bracken and try to convince him that the file is still in play. It's all I have left."

"I'll go with you." He began looking around for his clothes.

"No." She pulled him close as he tried to pull away to get to his pants. "I don't want you involved in this. I don't want you to get hurt. I just couldn't handle that."

He kissed the top of her head. "It's a little late for that. He knows I've been your partner for years now. He knows I was involved with the Coonan thing and I stood next to you at Montgomery's funeral. He must have you under surveillance and…." He stopped for a second. "Damn it! How could I be so stupid? Of course he's having us watched. I need to call a guy I know and have him sweep your place and mine for bugs and phone taps. The precinct, too."

"Castle, the precinct? Really?"

"That CIA guy got out of holding, stole a uniform and got into the computers. You think these guys can't do the same?"

"Okay, but I don't know how we'll get Gates to let your guy into the precinct."

"I don't plan on asking her. My guy is good. Very good." He reached for his phone. "Kate, give me your gun."

"Why?" She frowned. Did Castle plan on his own revenge against Bracken?

"I need to go to the bathroom and I should probably brush my teeth. I don't want you running off without me."

"Afraid I'll run out on you?" Her smile took the sting out of her words.

"I'm absolutely terrified of losing you and I know how stubborn you can be."

"Me stubborn?" Kate teased.

Castle just stared at her.

"Okay. Tell you what. I'll keep my gun, but I'll stay with you in the bathroom. I think seeing you brush your teeth will be sexy."

"Yeah, but I have to…."

"Castle, I've seen it and more."

They arrived at the Windmark Hotel to find a security line leading to a metal detector and police. Luckily, Kate spotted Officer Ann Hastings at the head of the line. She and Castle walked up to her. "Hey, Hastings."

Hastings smiled at the two. "Hey, Detective Beckett. They got you on security detail, too?"

Kate nodded. "Look, I have a problem. Castle's my partner but he isn't a cop, so technically he has no right to be here, but…he is my partner. Can you bend the rules and let us in?"

Hastings looked around and then nodded. "For you? Of course." She unhooked the velvet rope and let them in.

Once inside, Kate insisted that Castle not go with her to confront Bracken. He did manage to convince her to let him watch from somewhere in the kitchen, "Just in case. He could have one of his goons along or something."

Castle could see the two of them, but he could only hear parts of the conversation. But he saw her pistol whip him. As he started to leave, Castle stepped out into the light. "You were right about power, Bracken."

Bracken was still was dabbing the blood on his cheek. "Mr. Castle. I suspected you'd be around here someplace. You've put yourself in a dangerous position."

"So have you. Do you know how powerful ten million dollars is?"

Bracken looked confused. "I don't understand."

"It's the price I've put on your head if anything happens to Beckett, or me, or anyone we care about. I've delivered the money to a man who'll keep it in trust in case it's needed."

Bracken smiled. "You have a lot of faith in that man, to give him ten million dollars and expect him to just keep it for some future event that might never happen."

Castle smiled back. "If he ever started stealing from his clients…Well, his clients make you look like a Boy Scout. He would die very painfully and very slowly. In fact, there would be a line out the door to torture him. And I could easily find another ten million. And, as I like to remind people, I know guys. Most American assassins, or would be assassins, are loners with minimal skills. And they're always caught or they fail. But, the success rate of professionally organized assassinations is far better. Think about it."

As Bracken walked away, Beckett strode to Castle, obviously very angry. "What the hell were you thinking of? I got him to agree to the deal."

"And he broke the deal he had with Smith and he'll break the one he has with you when and if he can. Now he has to think of another possible problem."

"Castle, a bluff like that is risky. Suppose he checks."

"It's no bluff. I'm ten million dollars poorer today."

She leaned against him. "It's a good thing I'm not after you for your money."

"Come on. We have to go see my counter-surveillance guy. He's found some bugs in my place and yours."

The three of them met in a small café near Castle's loft. "I took the bugs out to see what they're using on you. Top of the line stuff. I put them back so they won't know they've been found. I'd like to check your other friend's places and phones. I suspect the people who are monitoring you are set up somewhere near you. I can have some people go after them if you want."

"Should I be hearing about this?" Kate asked.

"No. Leave them be." Castle said. "If we discourage them, they'll just send someone else and make them harder to spot. I'll want you to sweep our places at least once a week, just in case. What can you do about our phones?"

"Not much. They go out over the air. If you have the right equipment, and I'm betting they do, you can monitor standard cell phones pretty easily. But, I can get you two phones with scramblers when you want to talk without being monitored. Just remember not to do anything near a bug, okay." He glanced at his watch. "Somehow the phones in the 12th Precinct homicide squad all went wonky a while ago. I have to go fix them. Pay the usual way?"

Castle nodded.

In an office outside of Washington, D.C. two men ran over the reports they'd gotten. "You'll have to tell him we can't do anything."

"He'll be mad."

The first man shrugged. "You want to lie to him?"

"No! Of course not. Are you crazy?"

"Then we tell him the truth. Castle sent ten one million dollars payments to ten different banks in ten different countries with very strict laws regarding banking secrecy. And, almost as soon as the money got there, a guy walked in and took the money out in cash: US dollars, Euros and British pounds. We can't trace cash like we can bank deposits, there's no paper trail. Whoever took the cash knows how to move it secretly. We'll never find it."

"How about shooters? Can we do something about them?"

The first man laughed. "Do you have any idea how many shooters are out there? Professionals with years of training and lots of trigger time? What are we going to do? Offer every gun for hire ten million not to kill our guy? He'd be broke in a week."

"He's going to be mad."

"You tell him, then. That's why you get the big bucks."

The first man swore, but picked up his phone.