| abstract | - Cedric Marks, known in the show by his assumed identity as Cole Maddox, is a contract killer and operative who worked for Senator William Bracken - the man behind Johanna Beckett's murder. Though he first appeared on-screen in the season 4 finale, his assassination attempt on Kate Beckett's life in "Knockout" served as the catalyst for significant events that happened afterward. He is a former U.S. soldier. Once he finished his service, he began work at a covert military contractor called Orantis Solutions. He was employed by Senator William Bracken to eliminate all remaining evidence of the man's corrupt origins and stop Kate Beckett's investigation once and for all. Maddox first appeared after the death of Hal Lockwood, a similar operative who was killed by Roy Montgomery. Montgomery was the last living member of the trio of police officers responsible for a series of illegal kidnappings of crime family members. The cops had been blackmailed into turning over the ransom money to an assistant district attorney who'd gotten wind of the scheme, and who used the proceeds to finance his political career. Over the years, Bracken and his associates had eliminated most of the loose ends. However, they had made a deal with Montgomery to protect Beckett in exchange for his silence. Once Montgomery was dead, Bracken felt safe assassinating Kate Beckett. Maddox was the sniper, murdering her at Montgomery's funeral. ("Knockout") Beckett survived, but Maddox couldn't touch her. While she lay in the hospital, his employer was contacted by an anonymous blackmailer, armed with the same damning files that Montgomery had had, and offering to make the same deal that Montgomery had made. Bracken accepted but assigned Maddox to track down and eliminate the blackmailer so he could destroy the files and make another attempt on Beckett. ("Rise") Maddox hired a former Cazadores gang member, Orlando Costas, to steal files from the house of Roy Montgomery. He had met Costas in Germany while the two served in the army, and knew of Costas's past. The man agreed because he was desperate for money. However, he bungled the job. While he did get the files, Montgomery's wife was home and shot the burglar. The blood, the bullet, the files, all were crucial evidence that could potentially lead back to Maddox. So after Costas delivered him the files, Maddox shot and killed him, execution style. While Castle, Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito had very few leads, they were able to piece together enough to identify Maddox (by his assumed name). This, in turn, led Beckett and Javier Esposito to the apartment where he was staying. The two discovered that Maddox had been searching Montgomery's personal records and contact lists, but are interrupted by Maddox himself. He murdered the building manager and knocked Esposito unconscious, but was forced to flee from Beckett, who'd pulled a gun on him. Beckett gave chase and cornered him on the roof. Despite her best efforts, Beckett was no match for the trained killer, who almost casually disarmed and defeated her. Beckett was left hanging by her fingers from the roof. After taking a moment to issue one last taunt, he walked away and disappeared, somehow avoiding the tactical team that was arriving, led by Kevin Ryan and Captain Gates. Maddox's final line to Kate was that "We know exactly who we're dealing with." While Beckett took this as referring to her, it was a reference to his mission. Maddox used Montgomery's files and records to finally identify the mysterious Mr. Smith. Maddox visited him, demanded the blackmail documents be turned over, and declared his intention to put Kate Beckett “in the ground once and for all." ("Always") Maddox secured the files from Smith and burned them, but realized that a cagey man like this would have kept a backup copy somewhere. He tortured Smith for the location of the other copy. Smith finally gave the place of the building, but not the location in the building where the files were kept. Maddox was forced to leave him alive until he could verify that the files were destroyed, so he's gone Smith unconscious and tied up while he went to find them. Meanwhile, Ryan has gone through Montgomery's stolen contact lists and realized what Maddox's real mission was. Esposito, working separately, cashed in a favor from an old army buddy to identify Maddox's true identity; some favors from fellow cops eventually lead to Maddox's location at Smith's office building. And Castle and Beckett, having identified Smith on their own, got the clues needed to figure out exactly where the files were. They all converged on the building. Castle and Beckett arrive first and are ambushed by Maddox. Maddox gloated that instead of stopping him, their investigation saved him the effort of finding the files. He tied them up and went up to destroy the data; once he had them, he could safely kill Beckett, Castle, and Smith. Esposito arrived next and freed Castle and Beckett. The three confront Maddox again. Maddox seemed to have the upper hand, but he was distracted and grabbed the files without looking. This set off an explosive booby trap, killing him instantly and destroying the data. Gates and Ryan arrived at last to investigate the death of Maddox. Castle, Beckett, and Esposito claimed to have been walking down the street when they heard the blast and rushed in to find Maddox dead. When Gates asked how it just so happened that the victim was the sniper who shot Beckett, Castle suggested that this was just karma. Ryan claimed not to know anything, leaving the case officially unsolved. ("After the Storm")
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