A Murder Takes Manhattan part 3

A Murder Takes Manhattan part 3
A Doctor Who / Castle Crossover
 
     Beckett stormed into the precinct and immediately began barking out orders. "Ryan, I need you to go through Karrow's financials with a fine-tooth comb. If he's got a dollar out of place I want to know about it. Espo, go through medical history. Everything and anything. Give me something I can work with."
 
     The two detectives looked at her in surprise. "You think Karrow was into drugs?" Esposito asked.
 
     "More like genetic experimentation," Castle informed him.
 
     This only made the partners look more baffled, but Beckett just ordered, "Get to work." Her stony expression offered no argument.
 
     Ryan and Esposito turned hurriedly to their computers. After a moment however, Ryan turned back to Beckett. "Oh, we just got back from talking to Mindy, Karrow's hired help at the book store. She said she hasn't seen Karrow since three days ago."
 
     This got Beckett's attention. "Three days?" she asked sharply. When Ryan nodded she frowned worriedly. "Tanya said she'd seen him yesterday morning. So either he's been going somewhere other than work the last three days..."
 
     "... or Tanya lied about seeing him," Castle finished. A pang of sadness hit him at the thought of Tanya being part of her father's murder, but so far all the evidence pointed at her.
 
     Beckett frowned thoughtfully. "I'll need to contact that aunt. In the meantime, Ryan, I'll need you to talk to neighbors, teachers, someone. Tanya's involved somehow, but I need a motive. Espo, take over financials from him.”
 
     As Ryan scurried off to do her bidding, Castle turned to his partner, concerned. Gently he asked, “Are you alright?” She was being unusually closed-off about something case-related.
 
     Beckett was quiet for a few moments. “How is it possible, Castle?” she finally asked.
 
     Castle knew better than to bring up wild theories right now. His partner needed him to be serious, so he shrugged and suggested, “There are scientific ways to change your DNA. We’re not facing something impossible here.”
 
     “Yeah, but to change it enough to no longer register as human?” She turned to him, biting her lip. There was an unusual air of uncertainty around her. “I’ve never heard of anything that can do that, Castle,” she admitted in a soft, low voice.
 
     The writer reached out his hand, which Beckett clasped gratefully. “We’ll find an explanation, Beckett. We always do. We’ve faced weirder before, and there’s always an explanation.” He smiled at her warmly until she finally returned it, a small, grateful smile.
 
     They just stayed like that for a minute, taking comfort in each other, until Beckett finally pulled her hand back. “Right now, it looks like there’s only one person who can answer my questions, and I don’t care how much red tape I have to go through.” She snatched up her phone and punched in some numbers as Castle watched in bemusement. She listened for a few seconds before saying, “Detective Kate Beckett, badge number 0334, I’m calling about one of your detectives, a Melody Cage, and one of the suspects she brought in.”
 
     A few more seconds passed, then Beckett’s expression froze, the color fading from her face. “Say that again,” she said slowly. The detective snatched up a pad and paper and scrambled to write something as she continued to listen to the other end. “What about a suspect, a John Smith?” A few more seconds, then she shook her head bitterly. “No, of course not. Thank you.”
 
     She slammed the phone down with a curse. "Son of a bitch." The detective looked grimly up at her partner. "They don't have any record of a Detective Melody Cage. She's a fake, and she's got our suspect."
 
     Castle wasted no time. He grabbed his coat and followed Beckett hurriedly towards the elevator. "So she used a fake badge?" he asked.
 
     "Must have," Beckett said in a clipped tone as they stepped inside. "It was a good one too."
 
     "So if they worked this hard to break out, that means they're mixed up in Karrow's murder somehow," Castle reasoned.
 
     "We need to find out," Beckett agreed. "And I know just where to find them."
 
SCENEBREAK
 
     It was getting dark by the time they reached the scene of Karrow's murder. When they arrived at the parking garage, it was still closed off, but no one was around. Beckett frowned. "Where is everyone?"
 
     Castle shrugged. "Out for a drink?"
 
     Beckett rolled her eyes, then pulled out her phone. "Alright, I'm calling it in, we need to get a surveillance team in to wire up the area."
 
     A familiar voice purred, “Well, that’s going to be a problem.”
 
     Beckett and Castle whirled around to face Cage, only to find themselves at the barrel end of a very strange gun. Cage was grinning at them with a mixture of cockiness and ferocity. The mock politeness from before was gone. Now her smile was two steps away from feral. “Well now, this is a fun turn-up,” she remarked calmly, a tone at odds with the gun she was pointing at them. “I wasn’t expecting to see you two again.”
 
     Castle shared a quick glance with Beckett before asking, “Where’s Smith?”
 
     “Oh, he’s out shopping, the dear,” Cage said with a smirk. “Don’t think you’ll be around long enough to see him.”
 
     Beckett hand inched towards her holster, but Cage switched the gun to focus on her. “No, let’s keep your gun out of this, shall we, I’d hate for things to get messy. Oh, and be a dear and drop the phone.”
 
     The detective put up her hands, letting her cell phone land with a clatter. “Then why don’t you just put your gun down and come with me?” She asked wryly.
 
     Cage laughed, a cold, biting chuckle. “Oh, but where’s the fun in that?” she asked, voice smooth as a purr. The laughter died from her eyes and her tone became noticeably serious. “Listen you two, you’re not equipped to get mixed up in all this. So why don’t you two just pop off to your little precinct and forget about this case, hmm?”
 
     Castle raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to scare us off the case?”
 
     “Yes.” Cage said simply. There was something more sincere in her tone now, almost sad. “This case is way over the heads of the NYPD. We don’t need cops screwing up the job.”
 
     Beckett stiffened. “I don’t let cases go,” she warned in a low voice. She took a few slow steps towards Cage, which the gun-holder strangely allowed. “I’m giving you this one warning, Cage. You’re not scaring me off this case. I’m here for the victim’s family. To get justice for someone who was murdered. I don’t back down. I don’t let cases grow cold. And I don’t scare easily. So if we leave here today, don’t think you’ve won, because I’ll keep coming after this case until it’s solved. Understood?”
 
     Cage looked over Beckett like she had at the precinct, only now there was nothing condescending in her gaze. There was respect, and admiration, and even sympathy. “You could die,” she warned.
 
     Beckett paused, her gaze drawn to Cage’s gun. “Is that a threat?” she asked coolly.
 
     “No, it’s a warning.” She looked from Castle to Beckett with a knowing gleam. “I’ve seen things you two wouldn’t believe. I’ve faced dangers far beyond your wildest dreams.” She took a shaky breath. “And I have seen so many good people die in the name of stopping the bad. From what I hear, you two are good at your job. Your city needs you. Don’t put yourself in the line of fire for this one. Please.”
 
     Castle felt a chill at her words. He and Beckett shared a quizzical glance. Cage’s words called to mind gangs, the mafia, grand conspiracies, but somehow none of these explanations seemed grand enough for all Cage was implying. Something else was going on here, far beyond one murder, but what it could be Castle didn’t know.
 
     After looking at Castle for confirmation, Beckett turned to Cage and told her, “I don’t care what you’re mixed up in. I will do what I have to to bring closure to Karrow’s family.”
 
     Sadness flashed in Cage’s eyes. She opened her mouth to reply, but a new noise interrupted her. It was a strange, almost extraterrestrial sound, a reverberating vworpp, vworpp, vworpp. Something seemed to shimmer in front of them, but after a moment it was gone. Then it came back, and faded, and grew clearer, and faded again. Each time it grew clearer, and each time Castle wondered just what he’d been dosed with. He was hallucinating, right? There definitely wasn’t a blue police box from the 50’s materializing in front of him with a cheerful vworpp, vworpp.
 
     Finally, it became totally solid, and the noise stopped. Beckett gaped incredulously at the box, blinking repeatedly, but Cage just looked annoyed. “That man and his sense of timing,” she grumbled.
 
     Beckett seemed to finally regain her command of speech. “What man?” she whispered, wide eyes still focused on the police box. She seemed to have quite forgotten about the gun Cage was pointing at her. Castle gave it a wary glance, but Cage just rolled her eyes and put in away in her holster.
 
     Cage nodded towards the box. “That man,” she said simply.
 
     As if things couldn’t get any weirder, the door to the police box opened, and the suspect from earlier poked his head out. “See, I am perfectly capable of… oh.” He trailed off as he noticed Castle and Beckett. Unlike Cage, however, his gaze was not hostile, merely curious.
 
     Cage just rolled her eyes. “Honey, what did I tell you about parking the car when we have guests?”

     “How was I supposed to know we had guests?” The Doctor protested.

     Cage raised an eyebrow. “You could have used the life form scanners.”

     “It doesn't have life form scanners,” the man said with a sudden scowl in her direction.

     She gave an amused smirk. “The red dials by the screen.”

     The Doctor glanced back inside his box for a moment before turning to Cage with a pout. “I thought they were for decoration,” he stated lamely.

     Cage let out a sigh. “Honestly, you're hopeless. I don't know why she puts up with you.” There was an easy familiarity in their banter. The writer in Castle could sense a good many shared stories between the two of them.

     The rest of Castle was trying to put the pieces of his brain back together as he gaped idiotically at the blue police box. “What... how did that happen?” He finally asked. Shock was slowly giving way to excitement. This was real. There was an actual disapearing police box. There were so many words the writer could think of to describe the situation, but the one he finally settled on was awesome.

     The Doctor's expression sobered as he looked from Castle to Beckett. He stepped slowly out of the police box, his eyes taking on a mournful look. “Look at you two,” he said softly. “You two together, facing off the world, ready to face the darkness 'cauuse you don't know what's really there.” He let out a painful breath. “So like Amy and Rory.” He threw Cage an uncertain glance.

     Her expression grew warm and sympathetic. “Amy and Rory chose to travel with you, dear. Remember that. It was their choice. And they're fine! They're safe and sound with their own place.”

     The Doctor sighed. “No thanks to me.”

     Cage narrowed her eyes. “Don't blame yourself, okay? Not everything that goes wrong in the universe is your fault.” She nodded towards Castle and Beckett. “These two work with the police, Doctor. They can handle it. Tell them.”

     The Doctor looked from Castle to Beckett, his eyes looking far older than they had a right to be. Then he brightened, the solemn mood slippig away with alarming ease. “Oh, what the hell, I love a good introduction.”

     He grinned brightly at Castle and Beckett. “Hello! I'm the Doctor. I'm an alien from another world, and this,” he paused, snapped his fingers, and the doors of the police box opened inward, “Is my TARDIS.”

     Castle and Beckett stared in wonder and shock at the box before them. Without a word they each held out a hand for the other, grasping hands tightly. Still holding hands, they stepped mutely into the police box.

     If there was shock before, that was nothing compared to what was felt now. The inside of the police box was completely massive. A wide dome roof overlooked what looked like a futuristic console room, only more homey in colors. Castle backed up a bit so he was outside. The box was scarcely large enough to hold three people. Back inside. He blinked. Massive.

     Shock subsided to wonder. Castle grinned gleefully, childlike excitement bubbling up inside him. He turned to his partner, only to see her looking around with a mix of fear and hope. She looked fearfully at Castle. “Is this real?” She asked quietly. Her hand grasped his tightly. Castle realized that she was trusting him with confirmation of this fantastic sight. She trusted him to tell her what was dream and what was real. To tell her she wasn't going insane. Warmth flooded his chest as he realized just how much she trusted him.

     He gave her hand a tight squeeze. “It's real. I see it too.” The fear faded from Beckett's eyes. They shared a smile of wonder and excitement before turning back to stare at the console room once more.

     There was silence for a few moments as they took in the sight of it. After a while, Castle became concious of Beckett still holding his hand in that tight grip. She was still trying to take it all in, he realized. The serious atemosphere was becoming uncomfortable, so he turned to Beckett with the most childish grin he could muster. “It's bigger on the inside!” he gushed with excitement.

     The serious atmosphere was broken. Beckett cracked a grin, her grip on his hand loosening slightly. “Yeah, I got that Castle.”

     “Oh, I love that bit.” Castle and Beckett whirled around to see the Doctor and Cage standing behind them. The Doctor was grinning brilliantly, a knowing gleam in his eyes. “Every time, it gets better, but I just love the 'bigger on the inside' bit. It's just classic.”

     Beckett's grin faded at the sight of the Doctor, to be replaced by the cool professionalism of a detective. “Who are you? Why are you interested in Karrow's murder?”

     The Doctor folded his hands behind his back and bounced up on his toes before going back on his heels. “I'm the Doctor.”

     Beckett narrowed her eyes. “Just the Doctor?” She asked, drawing back from the conversation on the way to the precinct.

     He nodded, amusement gleaming in his eyes. “Just the Doctor,” he confirmed. “I'm a time traveler and an alien, but I've always had a thing for Earth. It's fascinating really, how often you lot manage to make yourselves the target of alien invasions and take-over-the-world schmes.”

     “So is this your time machine?” Castle asked. His gaze was darting all around the console room, trying to take in everything he possibly could.

     “Yes!” The Doctor bounced excitedly over to the console and began fiddling with some knobs and buttons. “The TARDIS, stands for 'Time and Relative Dimmensions in Space.' She can travel anywhere in time and space.” He turned to Cage. “River, could you hold down that switch for me?”

     Castle's brow furrowed. “Who's River?”

     Cage laughed, real, warm laughter, not the cold chuckle from before. “I am.” She held out a hand for Beckett, who shook it bemusedly. “Doctor River Song, Archaelogist. Sorry for the confusion, I just couldn't leave this idiot rotting in a cell in New York. Worlds to save and all that.”

     Castle raised an eyebrow as River turned to him with an outstretched hand. As he shook it he asked, “Where did you get Melody S. Cage from? I mean John Smith I get, but Melody Cage?”

     The Doctor looked up in surprise. “Melody Cage? Why not just use Melody Pond?”

     River smirked. “Melody Pond is my birth name, which I changed after... certain events,” she explained to Castle and Beckett as she made her way to the switch the Doctor had indicated. “But that name has a few records to go with it, as does Melody Rogers. So I went with S. Cage.” She turned to the Doctor with a smirk. “S. for Storm.”

     The Doctor chuckled. “Stormcage. You named yourself after Stormcage?” He asked with amusement.

     River shrugged easily. “Well, I was breaking someone out of a prison, so I figured it fit,” she said breezily.

     Beckett turned to the Doctor. “What's Stormcage?” She asked.

     He smirked at River briefly before turning back to Beckett. “A prison in the 51st century. But we're getting off the point.”

     The Doctor pulled the screen around so they could all see it. There were a lot of strange circular designs, but in the center were what looked like line graphs. Beckett looked at it with eyes narrowed in concentration. “What is it?”

     The Doctor rocked back on his heels, brow furrowed. “It's analyzing the traces of tyron energy that I was trying to look at before. I needed the TARDIS to try to trace the source.” At the partners' confused look he explained, “I was traveling nearby when the TARDIS first picked up the traces of tyron energy. I tried to follow it, but I might have been a mite off with my calculations.”

     “He means he crashed,” River spoke up from the other side of the console. “Honestly, you should see how he flies her, always racing about throwing up random switches and banging the console with a mallet. I'm surprised he doesn't crash more often.”

     Castle turned to the Doctor. “I remember you mentioned tyron energy before. What exactly is that?”

     “Tyron energy can be used to preserve a great deal of heat,” the Doctor explained at rapid-fire pace. “The energy manipulates the heat and puts it on a loop so that every time it starts to die out it replenishes itself from the last spark of energy. Thing is, no one's supposed to discover tyron energy for another couple hundred years.”

     Beckett looked up sharply. “Could this energy keep something like metal hot enough to burn without melting it?”

     The Doctor nodded. “Easy. It would cover the metal like a second skin. Well, not like that at all. Well, sort of. Think of that if it helps.” He frowned. “Why?”

     Castle explained, “Karrow was killed by a blade that burned his thoat.”

     The Doctor grinned. “Oh, that is brilliant! Someone zapped in from the future to murder someone from the past with a blade heated by tyron energy. The question is, why?"

     Castle and Beckett shared a glance. The writer asked, "Would it help if Karrow wasn't human?"

     The Doctor looked at him in surprise, pausing from his manic dabbling with the console. "Why?"

     "Our medical examiner says that Karrow's DNA isn't human," Beckett admitted reluctantly. Castle could see she was still coming to terms with that particular bit of information.

     River spoke up again. "Maybe it was some sort of hit? Someone sent to take out alien refugees masquerading as human?"

     The Doctor looked thoughtful. "Could be." After a few moments, he turned to Beckett with a sudden grin. "Did you tell anyone that River wasn't actually a cop.

     Beckett frowned. "No. Why?"

     "Because I need to analyze that body," the Doctor explained, an excited grin on his face. "And you and River are going to get me in."