"With all due respect, young men, I don't believe these things will be of much use in your hands."
The elderly man, Michael Smith, sat down on the sofa, a wine glass in one hand and a thick brown paper bag in the other.
"That man's identity is beyond your imagination. Montgomery made this arrangement, giving the information to me instead of directly to you, Detective Beckett, for a reason."
"Senator Bracken, is that right? You're right, he's a tough guy to mess with, but after what happened this morning, do you think I have any room to retreat?
Besides, my mother died because of him. She was stabbed in a dark alley, left alone in a garbage dump, and bled to death. As his daughter, how could I turn a blind eye to this?"
Beckett, who had been somewhat distracted since learning the true identity of the mastermind, finally broke free. He looked at the surprised old man in front of him with a determined gaze and then changed the subject.
"But you're right. This information isn't very useful in the hands of small-time figures like us. I don't even know who Councillor Bracken's political enemies are.
So I didn't come here to ask for these scraps of paper. I simply wanted to use your connections to pass on a message to him. Please tell him I know who he is. Blood for blood, blood for blood. This is a fight to the death."
"Kate!" Castle instinctively grabbed the female detective's arm, trying to stop her.
"Young man," Mr. Smith, remained unmoved by Beckett's words. He sighed again and gently placed the brown paper bag on the table in front of her.
"People like him are untouchable to you. Even I negotiated with him anonymously."
He glanced at Jack, then stood up and opened the safe next to the bookshelf. "Since you were able to find me so easily, it proves that my methods were not reliable."
Castle and Beckett exchanged glances as he pulled out a passport and a wad of cash.
"Take all these documents away. No matter what you want to do, what happens next has nothing to do with me. I will disappear for a while, or leave the country forever."
Cassel was a little unbelievable, "You chose to escape just like that?"
Mr. Smith looked at him with a half-smile, "I owed Roy Montgomery a favor, so when he entrusted those documents to me, I did what he asked me to do, because that was what I owed him.
But I don't owe you anything, so since you refused this protection, whether you want to convey something to Robert Bracken or... "If you want to do anything else, feel free to do so. It's none of my business."
He paused, looking at Beckett with pity. "I'm sorry about your mother, but you must understand one thing. While Robert Bracken did rely on dirty money to win his seat in Congress and gradually rise to his current position,
he's not as humble a figure as he claims. His father, Sr. Bracken, was a senator many years ago.
Furthermore, Bracken served in the military, where he met some powerful men. He has someone protecting him, so this is a dead end."
"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Smith, and I wish you a safe journey." Jack stopped the two men who wanted to say more and stood to say goodbye.
On the way back, Cassel still looked indignant. "It's incomprehensible that he chose to flee without a fight."
"That's what a normal person would do."
Jack was in a state of confusion. The man was wealthy but had long since retired. Besides, for a lawyer, upholding justice was something relegated to literary and artistic pursuits.
Mr. Smith, remembering Montgomery's life-saving grace, had already done his duty by offering a helping hand. He couldn't ask for more.
"It's okay, I know a lot of reporters and media people,"
Castle babbled, trying to comfort the female detective, but Beckett interrupted him. "No, Castle, Mr. Smith is right.
This matter has nothing to do with him, and it has nothing to do with you or Jack either. I'm sorry, my mind is a bit muddled right now. Could you please take me home? I need to think it over."
Here it comes, the pretentiousness that characterizes crucial moments in American TV dramas. Jack silently rolled his eyes, pulled over to the side of the road, and turned to look intently at the two people in the back seat.
"First, could you two answer me a question? This is very important. Please think carefully and answer me. What's the current state of your relationship?"
"We're just friends," Castle blurted out, only to be silenced by Jack's stern gaze.
"We're all adults. Don't tell me you two still can't figure out your relationship. Especially you, Beckett. Don't tell me you're not in love with Castle."
Ignoring the writer's horrified, half-open mouth, as if he were about to have a heart attack, Jack stared intently into the female detective's eyes.
"When I arranged for Kevin, Esposito, Alexis, and Martha to go to Los Angeles, you didn't suggest sending Castle along because you knew he wouldn't leave you at this point, right?"
The beautiful detective opened her mouth as if to offer some defense, but ultimately, nothing came out.
"As for you," Jack pointed at Castle politely. "Don't you have anything you want to say to Beckett? Like, about Frank's identity, and your relationship?"
Twenty minutes later, the GMC Jack was driving started up again, remaining silent until it returned to the building's underground parking lot.
A confession of love between a man and a woman wouldn't happen in front of a third wheel. It was Castle who confessed to Beckett about their past in Paris and the fact that he had a new father.
Beckett then fell silent for a long time.
Although even Castle didn't know that Jack had later eliminated a high-ranking FSB official with a super-long-range sniper, the mere fact that they had slaughtered a large number of world-renowned wealthy people and rescued more than a dozen innocent girls from an underground auction house was enough to make Beckett feel that his own experience was insignificant.
"Go to bed early. I'll help Frank solve his current problem first. As for the senator, I think he'll be able to find a solution once Frank has time.
As for this information,"
Jack patted the thick manila envelope, "I think it might be of some use."
(End of chapter)