Chapter Fourteen: Revenge

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Who owns Castle you ask? Not me. Rating: M Time: Before 47 Seconds.

"Castle!" Kate screamed.

All that she could see was that Catalina had collapsed on top of Castle and that there was blood everywhere.

"Yeah?" Castle said weakly.

She quickly checked Catalina. The 9mm bullet had hit her just above the ear. She was dead. "Are you okay? Are you bleeding?"

Castle shifted around under Catalina's body. "She missed me. But I'm going to need a new pillow and case. The scalpel is stuck in it." He took a deep breath. "And I'll have to change my boxers."

Kate could hear the sound of sirens heading to the loft. "I should go out and let everyone know that everything's okay. I don't want a uniform coming in here thinking there's a dangerous killer and opening fire. "

"Kate? She said that her brother was on his way. Be careful. He may be just outside or something."

Kate reached down and pulled her back-up piece from her ankle holster. "Here. You keep this just in case."

"Gates will go ballistic if she finds out about this." He said, taking the pistol.

"Then we won't tell anyone, will we?"

Kate opened the front door slowly and peeked out into the hallway. It was clear. She heard the elevator coming up. When the elevator door opened she yelled, "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. Identify yourself."

"Beckett! It's me. Officer Ann Hastings. I'm alone. Are you okay? What happened?"

"Come on out."

Hastings came out and the elevator door closed behind her. "You okay?" She asked again, "I thought I heard a shot."

Kate nodded. "It was his nurse. She was going to kill him."

Hastings was confused. "His nurse? Why would she want to kill Castle?"

"To get back at me for something I did to her and her brother, but I don't know what it was. It just makes no damned sense." Kate suddenly thought of something. "She said her brother was coming here. They were going to kill Castle together, I guess. Stay here and…"

Both women froze as the heard the elevator coming up again. They took what cover they could in the hall and waited.

"Beckett?" Espo called quietly as the door opened. "You there? I see there's a blue and white outside. Who's here?"

"Espo! It's me and Officer Hastings. Is Ryan with you?"

"Where else would I be?" Ryan replied.

Both detectives stepped out of the elevator. "What happened?"

"Come on in. His nurse tried to kill him with a scalpel. Her brother is on the way, so be careful. And I still don't know why they hated me so much."

"Beckett? Who's there?" Castle called.

"Ryan and Espo and Ann Hastings. And there'll be more on the way."

"Okay, but could someone please get her off of me?"

Espo stayed to man the door while the three other police officers went into Castle's bedroom.

"Castle, we should try to leave her where she is, as much as we can. CSU and the shooting team will want the crime scene as close as possible to the way it was. But we should get you out of there."

She went to pull the bedclothes off of Castle, but he pulled them back over him. "Problem?" She asked.

"I normally have no problem showing off my buff, toned body to the opposite sex, "He nodded towards Hastings, "but I'm afraid you might get jealous."

Hastings laughed and left Ryan and Kate with Castle.

"Um, once you get me up, I need to go to the bathroom." He whispered.

"You need to…Oh." She managed not to smile. "I'll take you in and help you."

"I can do it myself." He insisted.

"Maybe and maybe you'd hurt yourself. Now, where's your clean underwear?"

"Ryan, can you help me?" He pleaded.

One look at Kate decided Ryan that he had no desire to get involved in this. "Sorry, Castle."

"Kate, it's kind of embarrassing."

"Castle, come on. We don't have time for this."

Castle leaned on her shoulder and she helped him into the bathroom. Kate helped him clean up and helped him into a pair of clean boxers.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" She whispered.

"There are parts of it that I could get used to."

She giggled. "There are parts of it we will get used to. Now come on. I'm going to help you get dressed."

"Get dressed? Why?"

"Because I'm not letting you out of my sight until Hernando Cruz is in jail, or dead. I'm taking you with me to the precinct. Do you have some sweats? That should be the easiest to dress you in."

"You expect me to go out and see everyone, and have everyone see me, in sweats?"

"Rick! I'm trying to keep you safe from a killer!" Kate said testily.

Rick ignored her. "The blue suit, I think. And…Yes, the dark blue silk shirt and the maroon tie. Luckily, I shaved and showered this morning. And I'll need some cologne."

"Don't push your luck." Kate said, but with a smile.

Rick was nearly dressed as the CSU team arrived. Kate got his crutches and maneuvered him into the living room to finish the job, while the CSU team went over the bedroom.

Lanie showed up next. "You two are all right?" She asked.

"Don't we look all right?" Castle asked, smiling at her.

"I said, are the two of you all right?"

"Oh! The two of us? Me and the lovely Detective Beckett. We're fine. Better than fine. We're perfect. Couldn't be better."

Lanie nodded. "Just checking. It's so damned hard to tell with you two."

Kate blushed slightly. "We're going to be fine from now on."

Ryan, Esposito and Kate got Castle down to her Crown Vic and took him back to the precinct. He was soon sitting in his accustomed chair, looking over the records they had on Hernando and Catalina Cruz.

"This doesn't make sense." Kate said, after reviewing the two thin files." She has a parking ticket, a speeding ticket in New Jersey and a public intoxication when she was a teenager. He's got a drunk and disorderly and a speeding ticket. I wasn't involved in any of them. Why the hell would these two hate me that badly?"

Espo shrugged. "The uniforms that we sent after him are going over his place right now. Maybe they'll find something."

"Maybe it's another thing like that Scott Dunn." Ryan said. "Maybe he can't tell the difference between you and Nikki Heat."

Castle shook his head firmly. "One of them could be that delusional, but both of them having the same delusion? Not going to happen."

The team spent the rest of the day trying to find some connection between the Cruz's and Beckett or anyone in the NYPD. However, nothing popped.

"Castle, let's go home." Beckett finally said.

"And I should go with you two." Espo said. "We have uniforms sitting on your loft now in case Cruz starts something, but it'll be better if I sleep on your couch tonight."

"I'll take tomorrow night." Ryan volunteered.

"Jenny'll love that." Espo said under his breath.

"Hey! Jenny knows what being a cop's wife means. I'll be there tomorrow night."

Once at the loft, Castle order Chinese take-out and then Espo and Alexis settled down for a serious Call of Duty tournament. This allowed Rick and Kate to sneak into his bedroom.

Rick eased himself down onto the bed and Kate quickly joined him.

Rick looked at her and decided he had had to tell her about the man who was keeping her safe.

"Kate, I have something to tell you and you won't like it."

Kate felt fear grip her heart. "Is it about us?"

He kissed her softly. "I love you. That is never going to change."

Kate relaxed. "So what is it?"

"Before Montgomery got shot, he sent a package of papers to a friend. Records that could destroy the man who ordered your mom's murder. He did this to keep you safe."

"Castle, how do you know this?"

"Montgomery told me. In order for this to work, someone had to keep you from investigating your mom's murder."

"You?"

He nodded.

"How could you do that? You cut a deal for my life like I was some kind of child."

"No I didn't. Montgomery cut the deal. What was I supposed to say? "Sorry, Roy. It's a shame you have to die and leave behind a widow and three children, but I just can't help you out here and help save Kate's life. She'd be mad at me and that could be a problem since I love her. So have a good day."

Kate shook her head in disbelief. "Why? Why would you do this to me?"

"Because I love you, Kate. Because I think you're the most remarkable... maddening... challenging... frustrating person I've ever met."

"Who is this man who's supposedly protecting me?"

Castle shrugged. "He's a voice on the phone, a shadowy figure in a garage."

"How do you know he's not behind my mom's murder?"

"Because Montgomery picked him. He knew who was behind her murder. He wasn't stupid, Kate."

"And all this time you've had this evidence and you never told me?"

"Why? So you could go get yourself killed?" He said bitterly. "This isn't' a murder investigation any more, Kate, it's a war. And they're coming for you."

"Let them come. They sent Coonan and he's dead. And they sent Lockwood and he's dead."

Castle nodded. "And they went after your mom and she's dead along with three other people. And they went after Raglan and they went after McAllister and they're dead. And they went after Roy Montgomery and he's dead. Montgomery knew who you were up against and he didn't think you'd win. And he was right. They only have to be good or lucky once to kill you, Kate. They can hire hundreds of people like Coonan and Lockwood. You have to be good and lucky every time, Kate. I think Montgomery was right and he died because he believed that. And I protected you because I believed Montgomery was right. And because I love you. "

Kate rolled over on the bed, away from Castle. "Are you still going to try to stop me?"

"Now that you know the truth, there's no point in that. And, since we know we love each other, all I can do is stand with you. Always."

"Always?" She asked.

"Always." He said sincerely.

She rolled over and kissed him. "Good."

The next morning Kate came out of Castle's bedroom to make breakfast to find Alexis, Martha and Esposito already busy in the kitchen.

"Will Richard be out soon?" Martha asked.

Kate nodded. "He insisted on tying his own shoelaces. He should be out in a minute." She carefully looked at Esposito who remained perfectly poker faced. He must know Castle and I are together, but he won't say anything. That's one less worry I have. If Gates ever found out about us…Well, Gates will never find out about us.

Kate decided that it would be easier to have all of the Castles come to the precinct rather than have uniforms stay with Martha. They were met at the elevator door by a tall slender African-American woman who Kate knew vaguely from Vice. "Hi. I'm Detective Cromwell. We may have something. Captain Gates wants everyone in the conference room."

If Gates was surprised or upset that all three Castles were present, she didn't show it. Once everyone was seated, she began.

"We talked to one of the neighbors who knew the Cruz's parents. He was able to point us in the right direction. I think the records we have explain the Cruz's actions."

Gates opened a file before her, one of several. "This begins in 1983 with Oswaldo Cruz, Hernando and Catalina's father. He fled from El Salvador to escape the civil war there. He got to Texas, got a fake social security card and a fake driver's license and got a job in the construction industry. "

"Texas? 1983?" Beckett said. "How can this involve me?"

"Be patient, Detective." Gates said, and went on. "The problem came when Cruz's boss asked him to take a pick up and get a few things for a job. Cruz had a driver's license, but had never driven. He didn't want to give himself away, so he went. He had an accident and killed two people. He was sent to prison in Texas for vehicular manslaughter. Somehow, he managed to offend a Hispanic prison gang. As a Hispanic with no gang to protect him, he was easy prey to both white and African American prison gangs, as well as the Hispanics. He was apparently repeatedly beaten up. Possibly raped as well."

Gates picked up another file. "After two years he was given parole. Because he had entered this country illegally, he was deported back to El Salvador and a condition of his parole was that he could never come back to the US. If he did, Texas would put him back in jail for the remainder of his sentence."

Gates opened another file. "He did come back, of course. The civil war in El Salvador was still raging. This time he went to New York. Once here, he met a US citizen and married her, got a job, settled down and began raising a family."

"Everything was good until 2000. He got into a fight in a bar and was arrested. As it happened, he wasn't at fault. He was attacked by some belligerent drunk. But he had been brought in and processed. When they ran his prints, they found he was here illegally and, eventually, that Texas wanted him to complete his sentence. He had been released, so he was re-arrested by Officers Royce and Beckett."

"What happened to him?" Kate asked.

"After you two arrested him, he told his family that he'd never go back to Texas. He was turned over to Immigration who took him to a hearing. He tried to escape. When the immigration agents got him out of their car, he broke away from them and ran. He ran right into the path of a bus. He was killed."

"And his family blamed Royce and me?"

"You appear to have been the only two cops that the Cruz family ever saw."

Gates picked up the final file. "According to some neighbors. Mrs. Cruz never recovered from her husband's death. She began drinking a lot. Eventually, she froze to death outside of a bar while drunk."

"Why did the two children wait so long to go after me?" Kate asked.

Gates shrugged. "We have no idea. You and Mr. Castle have made the papers a few times, as did Royce's murder. Or maybe they just saw you walking down the street and recognized you."

Gates stood up. "Okay, people. We have a BOLO on Hernando Cruz. Let's go find him before someone else gets hurt, okay?"

Once back at Kate's desk, Castle asked "What are we going to do now?"

"We're going to go over all the records we can find on Hernando Cruz to try to find him."

"We should be out on the street, looking for him." Castle said.

Beckett shook her head determinedly. "Not a chance. You are not leaving this precinct until it's time to go home."

"I am not going to sit here and do nothing."

Kate glared at Castle, "You are staying here. Even if I have to handcuff you to that chair."

Castle turned to Ryan and Esposito. "Come on, guys. Some help here? You know I can help you out there."

Espo shook his head. "You stay. Even if we have to handcuff you to that chair."

"And if we have to sit on you as well." Martha added, Alexis nodded in support of her grandmother.

"Well, at least everyone's agreed on something for a change." Castle grumped.

From the precinct, Kate coordinated the search for Hernando Cruz. Officers were sent to the various schools where he worked, and to the hospital where his sister had worked. Other officers canvassed his neighborhood. No one seemed to have any idea where Cruz could be.

Shortly before one o'clock, the elevator door opened and Castle stood up, although slowly. "Hey! Someone ordered pizza."

A pizza delivery man had entered the bullpen with an armload of pizzas in his hands. As Castle started to move to the man, Kate froze. "Castle! Get down!"

As soon as she screamed, the pizza boxes went flying and Cruz's gun came out of his jacket. Kate pushed Castle to the floor and grabbed for her gun. She heard the loud report of a shot and felt the bullet whiz past her. She fired and put a bullet through Cruz's jacket, but didn't hit him. Cruz aimed carefully at Castle with a maniacal smile on his face. Kate was trying to get a sight picture when another weapon behind her fired. Cruz whirled to his right, bleeding from the hip.

"Give it up or the next round will be through your head." Captain Gates screamed.

Kate carefully aimed at his right arm and fired. Cruz screamed again and fell to the ground. Two uniforms jumped on Cruz and wrestled the weapon away from him.

"Castle? Are you okay?" Kate screamed.

Castle sat up, looking himself over. "I think so, but I hurt all over from landing on the floor so hard. Couldn't we get a nice carpet in here?"

Kate went to the man she loved. "Are you sure you're okay?" She began to check Castle out.

"Why Detective Beckett! Are you getting fresh with me?"

"That'll be later." She whispered.

"Promises, promises." He whispered back.

"Are you all right, Mr. Castle?" Gates was suddenly standing in front of them.

"I didn't find any bullet wounds, sir." Beckett said, quickly removing her hands from him. "And thank you for shooting Cruz, sir. I don't think I could have fired in time."

"You shot Cruz?" Castle asked, the question tinged with disbelief.

"Detective Beckett got in the second hit, but I was first." Gates replied.

"Uh, thanks then. I, um…I know I'm not…Thanks, anyway." He managed to finish.

"Really, Mr. Castle! Do you think that I'd allow my precinct to he turned into a shooting gallery?" She turned to Beckett. "You might want to take Mr. Castle home, Detective. He's had a very bad day. You can both come in tomorrow and do the paperwork on this incident."

Castle began hobbling to the elevator as soon as the words were out of Gates' mouth with Beckett not far behind. "Thanks, sir." She called out over her shoulder.

The next day they came to work together. As soon as they arrived, they were called into Gates' office.

"Please, sit." Gates said. "Mr. Cruz wanted to talk to some detectives last night, so I sent some people over. Detective Beckett, Mr. Cruz hates you so much, he was far more interested in telling everyone how much he hates you and why than he was in not incriminating himself. We got quite a confession. What we thought was true. This was about revenge for his father and mother. I suppose on some level they understood you and Royce were hardly responsible for what happened, but their hatred of law enforcement in general overwhelmed them. And, about a year ago, they saw a news article about you and Mr. Castle. They recognized you and that set off this plot."

"That just doesn't make any sense." Castle said.

"Revenge rarely does, Mr. Castle." Gates took two sheaves of paper off of her desk and handed one each to Castle and Beckett. "And now there's some forms for you two to fill out for the investigation and the shooting team. I trust you'll have them done by the end of the day?"

Castle sat next to Beckett at her desk, looking over the forms he needed to complete. "I get tortured and shot at and my reward is doing paperwork?"

"Now you know how I feel." Beckett said softly. "But I'm sure a reward can be arranged later."

Much later.

Kate stretched, smiling and feeling the hot sun on her skin. A shadow passed over her and the man she loved bent over her.

"Another pina colada?" Rick asked.

Kate sat up, taking the drink and then looking out over the veranda of their rented house to the Caribbean Sea gently lapping the Bahamian beach their house sat near. "Thank you. Thanks for everything."

Castle smiled. "I told you once you deserved to be happy. Now I can spend the rest of my life making sure you're happy."

"Speaking of making me happy, I think I need more sun screen."

"More?" He raised an eyebrow.

"If I'm going to get an overall tan, I'll need lots of sunscreen where I've never been tanned." She handed him a bottle of sunscreen.

"You're a hard task mistress, Detective Beckett."

"Speaking of hard…"