Hello all Castle fans! This will primarily be a Esposito and Ryan friendship story, but will also feature Rick/Kate, Javier/Lanie, and Kevin/Jenny. There may be spoilers up to the current season, so you have been warned. I do not live in New York nor have I ever been (sadly). So the street names and locations are entirely made up. Please enjoy!
Chapter One
The flashing of red and blue lights danced across cracked bricks of a rundown apartment building on Fifty Sixth Street. Sirens roared complementing the usual night sounds of shouting, barking, and car alarms, as two NYPD vehicles screeched to a halt outside the building. Two men jumped out of the second car, each wearing bullet proof vests, and armed themselves. The driver of the car immediately went to the trunk and pulled out a tactical shotgun and extra shells as his pale partner walked over to the others in their group, his Glock held tightly. From the first car a woman with long brown hair signaled the group, obviously in charge, and swiftly strode to the front doors with the other three men following.
Unbeknownst to the group of detectives a man with grey eyes watched the group from a large black SUV parked across the street. The man smirked, and rubbed at a jagged scar that adorned one side of his neck. His eyes narrowed as the detectives emerged from the building with a suspect, successful in their bust. The man's hand reached into his glove compartment and moved a hidden 45 over to grip a half empty pack of cigarettes. Placing a cigarette in his mouth the man's attention turned back to the smiling detectives, keeping his eyes trained on his target. "Took me a few years, but I finally found you, Traitor."
The 12th Precinct was unusually quiet. Most all the detectives had gone home for the evening and the nightshift had just began for the rest. Detective Kate Beckett and her team had just finished up a case and were getting ready to head home for the evening. Kate turned the corner from booking their murder and saw Ryan, Esposito, and Castle clearing the murder board, laughing. With a smile Kate moved to join them.
"Oh come on, Castle. Won't it be nice to get home early for once?" Javier Esposito asked the vexed writer.
Castle pulled the murder's picture off the board and looked at it for a moment sullen. "Well I guess, but you can't tell me you're not the least bit disappointed in the way this case turned out!"
Ryan and Esposito shared a knowing look, but it was Beckett who answered. "What's wrong Castle? I thought you'd be happy it was the maid."
"No that's just it! The maid! Really?! It's like a story where the butler did it. No intrigue or excitement. I should have just stayed home and watched clue or something."
"You know, Castle. When Clue was originally released, each theater had a different ending of who the murder was. So it's not always the butler who did it in that movie." Kevin teased, grinning widely.
Castle was at a loss for words, prompting Beckett and Esposito to raise an eyebrow at the writer, awaiting his response, and Ryan to look quite pleased with himself. "Yeah well….all I'm saying is that if I wrote the maid as a murder I wouldn't be writing books for very long after. It's just not exciting."
Detective Beckett leaned in close to the writer and lowered her voice. "Don't worry, Rick. I have something very exciting planned for you when we get home."
Esposito and Ryan made faces of disgust and stepped away from the couple. "Eww!" The two said together and began quickly gathering their things.
Kate gawked at her two detectives' behavior. "What? Nobody says anything when you're making goo goo eyes at Lanie, Espo."
Ryan laughed but tried to act like he was clearing his throat at Javier's glare. "I don't know what you're talking about, Beckett."
Kate rolled her eyes. "Right."
Castle rose from his seat on the edge of Beckett's desk. "So it wasn't you that Lanie was hiding at her apartment last weekend when Kate and I stopped by?"
Kevin slapped a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Come on Bro. You don't have to take this unwarranted line of questioning."
"You are absolutely right, Kev."
Ryan winked at Beckett and Castle before turning away and walking towards the elevator shoulder to shoulder with his best friend.
"When is he just going to admit he's in a relationship with Lanie?"
Kate slung her purse over her shoulder and smiled. "I don't know, Rick. How long did it take us?"
Castle hummed, "Fair point."
The elevator dinged and opened its doors to the parking garage. "So you wanna meet for coffee tomorrow?" Ryan asked, trying to find his keys in his bag.
Esposito smiled and carefully pulled his distracted partner to the side before he could walk into a pillar. Ryan looked confused for a second but quickly realized what he almost did. "Thanks."
"Anytime, Bro. Coffee works for me. Francine's Caffeine at seven?"
"Yup!" Kevin's voice carried across the quiet garage as they finally reached his car, Esposito's parked right next to it.
"Alright I'll call you later, Bro." The Hispanic detective said in farewell as he fluidly entered his car and started the engine. Like a protective older brother, Esposito waited for Ryan to leave the garage first, as he always did, and followed him out.
Neither detective noticing the driver of a black SUV watching their entire interaction with a critical eye. Slowly the SUV pulled out of the parking garage following one of the vehicles with practiced ease.
Early morning light streamed across the light green sheets of full size bed. Two people were asleep under the covers when a sound of buzzing against wood made the sleepers stir. A caramel colored hand reached for the IPhone vibrating on the nightstand, missing it three times in his groggy state. Blinking his brown eyes and squinting at the screen Javier noticed the time and swore under his breath. Leaping from the bed the detective swiftly ran around his messy room in search of his clothes, unaware that his outburst had awakened his companion.
"What in the Hell are you doing, Javier Esposito?!" Lanie's sassy voice questioned.
Esposito jumped at the unexpected noise and turned to find Lanie sitting up in bed holding the covers over her body an expectant look upon her face. Javier gave her a smirk and started to button his shirt. "I'm supposed to meet Kevin for coffee and I'm already running late."
Lanie raised an eyebrow and hummed disapprovingly. "You're about to walk out on this, for coffee with Kevin Ryan?" The medical examiner said seductively.
Javier looked Lanie over and started walking back to the bed. "I'm sure Ryan will be fine."
"He is a big boy." Lanie agreed, watching Javier's every step.
When the detective reached the bed he leaned in close to the beautiful woman and kissed her deeply, pulling away Esposito spoke in a rush. "I'll be right back."
"I might be here when you get back." With Lanie's words Javier jumped back off the bed ran to his phone he left on the dresser and sent his partner a text telling him he couldn't make and he'd see him at work. Moments later Javier's phone buzzed with a response. 'Say hi to Lanie for me. ;)' Esposito chuckled before placing his phone down and diving back into bed with a laughing Lanie.
Detective Ryan grinned smugly as he placed his phone back in his pocket and entered the crowded coffee shop. Despite the large amount of people in the café Kevin quickly reached the front of the line. "Good morning, Francine." The young Irishman said brightly.
An older woman with warm brown eyes and slightly greying brown hair looked up at the familiar voice. "Detective! Good morning. What can I get ya?"
Ryan's smile widened farther with the sincerity of Francine's kind tone. "I'll just have a large coffee, black with three sugars."
"You got it! Hey, no Esposito today?" The woman asked as she began making Ryan's order.
"Nah he had better things to do this morning."
"Oh you mean he's with a girl. That's the only reason he'd stand you up."
"Not that he'll admit."
Francine's light laughter filled the room as she handed Kevin his coffee. "You have a good day Detective Ryan, and stay safe out there."
The pale detective took the cup carefully. "Thanks; I will. Have a nice day."
Ryan made his way through the crowd easily and out the café, holding the door open for an elderly couple. The detective turned around to head for his car when a tall muscular man slammed into him, knocking his newly bought cup of coffee to the pavement.
"Geez I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" The man asked in a rush. A slight southern accent to his voice.
Ryan looked up about to assure the person he was fine, but his words halted in his throat. Kevin's vivid blue eyes landed on the stranger's face, bringing a cold and uneasy feeling to his gut. A cruel looking scar was etched across one side of man's neck, he had unnerving hard eyes that completely contrasted with the man's concerned soft voice. Obviously he was someone that had seen horrors in his life. Shaky himself free from silly suspicion Kevin found his voice. "No I'm fine. Don't worry about; it was an accident."
The man stepped back a bit and let go of Ryan's arm and it was only then that Kevin realized the stranger had been holding him at all. "I can be such a klutz sometimes. I really am embarrassed. Can I please buy you another coffee?"
Ryan smiled at the gesture and silently berated himself for judging the guy on his appearance. The man seemed completely friendly and undeserving of unfair distrust. "No…no please it's fine. I need to get going to work or I'll be late."
The man took a step closer and Ryan sidestepped instinctively. "Are you sure? Can I at least reimburse you for your ruined coffee?"
"It really isn't a problem. You don't have to worry about it."
The man wearing all black stepped even closer. "Please. I'll feel just awful if I can't make this up to you in some way."
Ryan looked at his watch and realized he was already late for work. Sighing, "Sure. If it will make you feel better you can reimburse me."
The guy smiled. "Great! Just give me a second."
Ryan's eyes followed the stranger's hands as he pulled out his wallet and rifled through the many bills stuffed securely into the folds of the tough leather. While watching Kevin noticed an interesting looking tattoo of a military knife, which started on the man's forearm with the tip of the knife reaching all the way to the back of his hand. Around the dark shaded blade was a deep green snake with small red eyes, its fangs dripping with blood. Upon closer inspection the detective could see little tally marks along the hilt of the blade.
Kevin Ryan was startled when a ten dollar bill was suddenly thrust into his line of sight. Clearing his throat Ryan accepted the offering with a forced smiled. "Thanks."
"Of course. I really am sorry about this, Detective Ryan."
A feeling of cold seeped through Kevin's body. The feeling so similar to his torturous ordeal with the ice water and Hal Lockwood that the detective had to remind himself to breathe. Something was wrong. How could this stranger know his name? The detective silently replayed their conversation in his head confirming he never introduced himself. Without drawing attention to himself Ryan carefully placed the money in his pocket and began dialing Esposito's number.
"It really is no problem, but I should get going. I'm already late for work and my coworkers will be wondering where I am." Ryan said in smooth but rushed voice, trying to push past the man to his car.
Just as Detective Ryan moved away he felt the stranger clutch his arm in a painfully tight hold and the barrel of a 45 jabbed into his side.
"I'm sorry but I can't let you leave just yet, Detective. I've been following you around for weeks trying to get you alone for a talk." The man said never losing his pleasant tone or drawing attention to the situation.
Detective Ryan tried to pull away, but the man's strong grip did not relent. "Who are you and what do you want?" The young man ground out through his clenched teeth.
"First off-" Unexpectedly the stranger released his hold on the detective, keeping his gun firmly against his captive's side, and plunged his now free hand into Ryan's coat pocket. Kevin began to struggle as his phone was forcefully yanked from his hand, but the hard metal digging into his ribcage was a harsh reminder to the detective that he was not the one in control at the moment.
Once his phone was taken Ryan stilled and closed his eyes briefly in defeat. When he opened them again his captor had a cruel grin on his face as he held Kevin's phone up, Javier's contact page displayed. "I'm impressed, Detective Ryan. You got all the way to your favorites page without even looking at your phone. If you had just hit this last button. Anyways, as I was saying." Calloused hands clicked the lock on Kevin's phone and slipped the device in his pocket. "My name is Damon Calder and what I want you to do right now, Detective Ryan is look around at all the innocent people that surround us. While you look I want you to know that I have killed numerous people in my life, and have no reservations what-so-ever about killing more."
Kevin's heartbeat increased with every word Damon said as well as the conviction behind them. He felt a heavy weight of anxiety crash over him, knowing one wrong move could mean someone's death. He had to be smart, and wait until they were alone before trying to disarm Calder.
"Now if you bring any unwanted attention to us as we make our way to my car I will start killing people. I need you to understand that. I think I'll start with that mother and her baby boy. He looks so young, only a few months old I'd guess. Probably no older than little Sarah Grace."
At the mention of his daughter's name Kevin Ryan turn to glare at Damon, a slight panic held behind his icy blue gaze. "How do you know about my daughter?!"
Damon titled his head to the side, making a few strands of dirty blond hair fall near his slightly wrinkled eye. "You're not paying attention. I said I have been following you for weeks. Don't you think I would find out about your family during that time?" For the first time his pleasant tone slipping.
"If you hurt them?" Kevin tried to threaten, but was cutoff.
"I have no reason to hurt your family. They have no bearing on my plan."
Kevin swallowed. "And what is your plan?"
"I like you Kevin Ryan, but this is hardly the place to discuss such matters." Damon said as he led Detective Ryan towards an alleyway and his black SUV parked a safe distance away.
There you have the first chapter! Please review and let me know if you think I should continue this story. I would love feedback! I thank you for reading! Hopefully you enjoyed the beginning. Until next time...