One hour later, inside the Federal Building.
Not long ago, Castle had been in this very conference room, speaking with Sara's devastated parents. Now, the roles were reversed—he and Beckett were the ones seated on the opposite side.
Jack scanned the faces before him: Castle and Beckett, Bryan and his ex-wife. Though Jack was doing his best to maintain a composed expression, in reality, he was just as unsettled as they were—if not more.
Bringing together friends from different TV shows for drinks, meals, and social gatherings had been a little guilty pleasure of his—much like how every kid once loved collecting shiny Ultraman cards.
But this kind of unexpected development? He wanted no part of it.
Jack couldn't remember if Alexis had ever been kidnapped in Castle, but just thinking about Bryan Mills' experiences in Taken sent a shiver down his spine.
Human trafficking, forced drug addiction, sex slavery… While Kim had the plot armor of a protagonist and emerged unharmed in the films, this wasn't Paris or Istanbul. No one knew how this story would unfold in this world.
"Since everyone here is a friend of Jack's, I'll skip the formalities," Jubal said, glancing at Jack before placing a file on the table. He got straight to the point.
"This is our latest update. We reviewed all surveillance footage from the Beaumont Hotel and identified a suspicious individual. Facial recognition confirmed his identity.
Roger Hansen, a mid-level drug dealer from Queens. We believe he was hired to carry out the kidnappings. He and his accomplices drugged the girls' drinks and took them through the hotel's back exit.
NYPD Commissioner Reagan has already mobilized the force to fully assist our fugitive task force in locating Hansen and his associates."
Jack picked up the photograph and handed it around. He immediately recognized Roger Hansen—he was the blurry figure captured on the traffic surveillance footage earlier.
Jubal continued, "If we catch Hansen, we may be able to resolve this case. However, as an experienced drug dealer, he has many hideouts. Tracking him down will take time. In the meantime, we need to take additional precautions."
"What kind of precautions?" Castle asked immediately.
"Phone surveillance. Every method of contact you have—cell phones, messaging apps, emails—needs to be monitored by the FBI."
As Jubal spoke, Jack observed Bryan carefully. Though officially retired, Bryan was a former CIA operative, and Jack was concerned about how he'd react to this.
"No problem. I only have this one phone. No public email accounts." Bryan, knowing exactly what Jack was thinking, handed over his device without hesitation—a classic old Nokia, the kind with a green-lit LCD screen.
In truth, if this kidnapping was about ransom, Bryan would be the least likely person to be contacted. Jack then turned his attention to Bryan's ex-wife, Lenore—a striking middle-aged woman in her forties, now a sobbing mess.
"I'm sorry," she said, fumbling through her purse for her phone. "My husband is already on a flight from Los Angeles to New York."
"Does your husband have any enemies overseas?" Jack asked. The fact that the kidnappers had taken all three girls made their motive harder to pinpoint.
New York wasn't Paris—there was no tradition of abducting beautiful tourists for human trafficking. While the U.S. did have human trafficking issues, it was usually a destination, not a source.
"I don't think so… I don't know," Lenore said, looking lost.
"Stuart does business overseas through multiple shell companies. His oil dealings have ties to the Russians, and in recent years, his financial situation has been declining. He's not as successful as he appears to be," Bryan stated matter-of-factly.
"You can't just—" Lenore stared at her ex-husband in shock, realizing she knew very little about the man she once married.
"If my daughter has to live under his roof, I had to do my research," Bryan said bluntly.
Then he leaned toward Jack, locking eyes with him, scrutinizing him as if trying to detect any falsehood. "Can you confirm that this is about money?"
"Your question is the same one I need answered," Jack replied. He tilted his head slightly, signaling Bryan to follow him. Then, after a moment of thought, he looked at Castle. "You come too."
After passing through a series of security protocols, Jack led the two men into an elevator, taking them down to a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility).
Despite the urgency of the situation, Castle—still shaken by Alexis' kidnapping—couldn't help but look around curiously. But when they entered what was clearly a secure underground room, he finally sensed that something was off.
Before he could speak, Jack cut him off. "This has nothing to do with you. I brought you along only because you're Alexis' father and my friend. If you don't want me to keep feeding you FBI-approved PR statements until we find Alexis, then shut up and listen."
Castle, thoroughly deflated, found a seat and sat down quietly.
Jack turned to Bryan, his expression serious. "Let's skip the mutual probing. I have friends in the CIA, so I know how you guys operate.
I'm not here to dig into your past roles or missions. That's up to you to disclose.
What I do need from you is this: in your career, have you made any enemies—someone capable of pulling off something like this? Is there any chance your identity has been compromised?
Think carefully. This could determine whether we successfully rescue your daughter and Alexis."
Bryan thought for a long time before shaking his head. "In theory, I shouldn't have enemies like that. My work was mostly preventative. Yes, I was a covert operative, but my focus was eliminating threats before they escalated.
Everything we did was clean. You know what I mean—physically clean. If I had enemies, they'd be national-level adversaries, not personal ones."
Jack nodded in understanding. "We just reviewed the connections between the three girls. The reason they were together is actually very simple. Alexis and Sara met online—they share an interest in climate change and scientific research.
Kim, on the other hand, knows Alexis because her stepfather, Stuart, knows Castle. Since Kim recently moved to New York, Alexis became her companion, and they planned a full week of activities together.
The talk at the Beaumont Hotel was just the first stop. Over the next few days, they were planning to visit the Natural History Museum and several other attractions."
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