Uninvited Interlude

Chapter 1

"Damn!" Castle spits out as the black SUV comes up on his bumper. He doesn't have to recognize the driver to know that it's a Company car. When Agent Danberg called to enlist his aid, he declined politely, explaining that he and Kate were about to get married and he would be honeymooning in The Maldives for three weeks. Rick should have known they wouldn't take no for an answer.

The SUV bashes into the back bumper of Rick's Mercedes. He'll just keep going. If they kill him, they'll be defeating their purpose. If they want anything from him, he'll have to be alive and reasonably uninjured.

Another SUV comes up beside him and the front seat passenger signals for Rick to pull over. The hell he will! He has the special license he had to coax out of a judge, in his pocket - and he's going to use it to marry Kate. If the Company wants his services later, they're going to have to come up with more than trying to run him off the road.

He floors the gas pedal. The company cars are probably souped up enough to catch him, given a chance, but with multiple agents in each SUV, Rick's engine has the advantage of having to propel less weight. It's also the most powerful one Mercedes makes, and the Germans know speed.

When Rick barrels into the drive of his beach house, almost hitting the flower festooned white Rolls set to transport bride and groom, the SUV's continue down the road. Rick's sure they'll be back. The Company doesn't give up easily. He learned that when his father, despite a bullet wound that Rick and Martha amateurishly patched up, executed Gemini without hesitation.

Rick can't worry about that - or the damage to his Mercedes - now. Finally, after every obstacle thrown in their faces, he is going to marry Kate. Nothing else matters.

The guests rise to applaud as Rick and Kate embrace for their wedding kiss. We have to get out of here, now," he whispers, leading her back up the aisle. "Alexis can supervise as this crowd enjoys the food and the music, but we need to go. And no Rolls; no witness would ever forget seeing it. We'll take Mother's car. I have an extra set of keys.

"Rick, will you please talk to me," Kate pleads as Castle steers Martha's sedan up the road. "Where are we going?"

"Vinny Cardano's house. It's the last place anyone would look for us. Vinny and I made peace a few months back when we had dinner with his cousin Sal. I slipped him the recipe you gave me for your grandmother's meat sauce. We aren't buddy-buddy enough for me to have put him on the guestlist for our wedding, but he admitted that he owes us a favor. We're about to collect with a trip to the airport. There's a private field not far from here where we can get a private plane to Kennedy, to pick up our charter. Our luggage is already aboard. With any luck, we'll be out of the country before our pursuers catch on."

"Babe, what pursuers?"

"The Company, Kate. Agent Danberg called me this morning and tried to drag me back in for a mission. I told him that whatever they want would have to wait until after our honeymoon - if then. He seemed to accept that, but I'm betting some higher-ups didn't. They sent agents after me. I shudder to think what the bill for the bodywork on the Mercedes will be. I barely got away from them."

"What do they want?"

"Something to do with Sophia Turner and moles. Danberg didn't go into specifics, but if whoever the Company is after has been below ground this long, it can wait, or the company can draft someone else. Both of us nearly died on account of Sophia. I'm not anxious to give anyone else who burrowed into the organization a chance to take us out."

Kate and Rick are thrown hard against their seats when cars block the path of their charter as it picks up speed for takeoff. "Sonofabitch!" Castle exclaims. "Another minute and we would have made it."

"Sorry Castle, Detective Beckett," Danberg apologizes as he boards. "What's happening couldn't wait."

"That's Detective Beckett-Castle," Kate corrects. "And what if Rick refuses to help you?"

"When he hears everything that's happened since I talked to him this morning, I don't think that will be an issue, Detective," Danberg replies, holding out two black hoods.

Castle shakes his head. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm sorry," Danberg repeats.

"Can we at least retrieve our luggage?" Castle asks. "Kate didn't have time to change, and she shouldn't have to be dragged along in her wedding gown. Or you could leave her out of this thing entirely. She barely talked to Sophia."

"We'll bring your luggage along," Danberg agrees. "But by running with you, Detective Beckett-Castle is already involved. She'll have to be read in, as she was on our last mission together."

The flowery sundress Kate had expected to wear on her honeymoon seems out of place in the CIA's underground conference room, but nothing in her luggage was more appropriate. Castle is still in his tuxedo, but it is less unwieldy than the yards of lace she'd been wearing.

A dour man sits across from them and spreads out 8 X10 photographs on the table. Do you recognize any of these, Mr. Castle?

Rick studies them before pointing to one image. "I've seen this guy before. He knocked on Sophia's door, but when I opened it, he claimed he had the wrong apartment."

"We think that was her handler, Victor Mendeev." Dour Face explains. "Any others?"

"If this guy is who I'm remembering," Rick replies, tapping another photo, "he looked younger than this, and his hair was red, but he was a barista at a shop where Sophia and I had coffee a couple of times."

"That tracks," Danberg remarks. "His name is Yuri Deripaska. We suspected that he was passing messages back and forth between the Russians and their operatives in the U.S., but we were never able to confirm it. I believe you just did."

"I thought you were after moles," Kate protests. "Those two hardly fit the bill."

"True, Detective," Dour Face agrees, "but it would fit any of our agents, in addition to Sophia, who were spotted in their company."

"And why is that so important now?" Castle demands. "Even if I could identify moles they've been here for over a decade. Why would a few more weeks matter?"

"Because there has been a buildup of Russian activity, Mr. Castle," Danberg explains. "We believe they are supporting coordinated terrorist attacks in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom and planning to put the blame on a rogue group inside the CIA. The United States will be discredited, and our joint operations with our allies could be set back years. If our intercepts are correct, those attacks could begin at any moment. So you see why we had to bring you in now. You were shadowing Sophia quite closely when the foundation for these attacks was laid. Better than anyone, you should be able to spot those who might have seemed to be innocently interacting with her, but were part of her cell."

"We need to take down the Russian operation now, or it will be too late." Dour Face adds.

"So where do I come in?" Kate queries.

As Mr. Castle's new wife, in addition to his well-publicized muse, your presence will make any of his movements seem less remarkable. And you and Sophia had some, uh, interesting conversations while you were here," Dour Face adds. "Something that seemed unimportant at the time may come to you. If nothing else, you'll serve as a second pair of trained eyes."

"And what will be our excuse for not showing up in The Maldives?" Rick wonders.

"Oh that," Dour Face responds, "A terrorist madman sabotaged your plane. Had you not been prevented from taking off, it would have exploded. A beloved author and his new bride would have been lost to the world forever."

"Seriously?" Castle asks.

"No," Danberg confides. "But it makes a good story and gives you a reason to remain stateside until the matter is resolved. I'm sorry that the timing is so bad, but help us with this and you'll get your honeymoon. The Company may even find you a better place than the private island you chose."

"That island was recently invaded by mosquitoes carrying Dengue fever," Dour Face adds. "We probably did you a favor in keeping you away."