Karma
Summary: SPOILER ALERTS FOR EPISODE 15. And definitely AU (probably). Nieman had a clinic in Costa Rica. What if that was where Castle had been for part of the 2 months he was missing? No major character deaths occur in this fic; if they did, I'd warn you here. Rated T for violence and swearing, because this is Nieman and Tyson after all. Beckett is not pregnant in this fic.
Author's Note: Well, I said I wasn't going to write any more fanfic for a while, but this plot bunny jumped in my head this morning based on a comment in Returned and just will not go away and I haven't seen this done yet on fanfic. This probably won't be too long and hopefully I'll finish it before next Monday. Since when did Monday become the best day of the week?
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Chapter 1 – Revelation
An eerie silence hung over the small hallway outside of the morgue even though it was crowded as the team awaited Perlmutter's verdict.
Had the impossible happened? Had the person they had found, almost unrecognizable from the gruesome damage to her face and body, been Beckett? Or was this just a sick game that Nieman and Tyson were playing?
Castle had warned them – screamed at them – after he rushed the elevator doors as they closed and tried to pry them open physically to get to Tyson and Nieman.
Beckett would be dead by the time they found her unless they moved immediately, but TPTB wanted to take this slowly so they wouldn't spook Nieman and Tyson, making them run again.
And now this was the result.
By the time Tory had tracked down where Beckett had been taken, they had been too late.
The abandoned warehouse was empty except for a gurney sitting in the middle of the room, surgical lights at both ends of the table, bloody scalpels scattered on the floor.
They found the body strapped to a chair. The victim was cool to the touch, the front of her clothes – the same clothes that Beckett had been wearing – covered in blood. The deep cuts on her face made her look like the Joker, the sides of her mouth hanging open in deep slits. The other atrocities to her body had been too mind-numbing to really register at this point.
Whoever this was, they had died slowly and in agony, that much was apparent.
The most chilling evidence to this point was that the victim's blood type matched Beckett's and the finger prints had also matched. Now Perlmutter was running other tests to determine if this really was Beckett.
Castle closed his eyes as he ran a hand down his tear-streaked face. Waiting was never his strong suit – if he could, he would push Perlmutter aside to run the tests himself. And then he'd find Nieman and Tyson and kill them in the most gruesome way that he could imagine. What had Tyson said to him in that hotel room – how he was drawn to death – how it thrilled him. Hell, when he caught up with them, he'd show them how thrilled he was.
The phone in his pocket vibrated, and he reached for it and thumbed it on before he realized what he was doing.
The message almost made his heart stop. It was the same thing that Tyson had said on the bridge. It began simply with "I got your girl" and a video of Beckett, untouched, lying on a table in a hospital gown, trying to free herself from the restraints. "And you have what we need. Tell no one and come alone if you don't want her to end up like the woman in your morgue. You know where to go."
His racing thoughts were interrupted by Gates' voice as she walked into the hallway.
"I've talked with the DA and 1PP," the captain said softly, noting the mood. "They've put out an all-points bulletin on Tyson and Nieman—"
"And what the hell good is that going to do?!" Castle roared. "They should have done before they even left the precinct. We knew who they were! And we let them just walk out of there. Now, they're gone—" he pointed to the morgue "—and she's dead. Because they wanted to wait. I can't believe you people. Twice now, you've put Beckett in danger because you've had your collected heads up your asses." He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head as his eyes flashed dangerously. "I can't be here right now – I can't be around you."
Castle turned and stomped off, fury emanating from him, as the team looked at each other in surprise and almost guilt. Yes, they had screwed up again – they hadn't moved fast enough.
Gates took a breath and looked at the team. She started to speak when Perlmutter rushed out, holding a chart in his hands.
"It's not Beckett," he said quickly. "That woman had plastic surgery to make her look like Beckett. And the fingerprints – they were graphed on. It's very subtle – whoever did this was an expert."
The hallway became even quieter at the news. If this wasn't Beckett, that meant that Tyson and Nieman still had her.
Lanie clutched Espo's hand harder.
"Let's get a move on this now – let's bring her home safely," said Gates quickly. She looked at Ryan. "Call Castle and let him know."
Ryan paused for a moment, frowning. "I think he already does," he responded with a flash of insight. "He said 'her' before he left, not 'Beckett'. I would swear on my Nana' grave that he knew that wasn't Beckett in there."
"Find him now," growled Gates.
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The warrant for Castle's phone records was quickly granted and Tory scrubbed them, finding the last text message and the video from an unknown, untraceable number.
They then tried to locate Castle's phone, but to no avail. The battery must have been taken out.
Gates informed the DA and 1PP of the development and they quickly threw more resources on the case, giving the team whatever they needed to resolve this satisfactorily.
The only trace they could find of Castle was when he got into a taxi at the front of the precinct. The driver said he dropped him off several blocks later near a subway stop. The transit video showed him getting onto a train. They never found him again on any other video.
"He's obviously trying to avoid detection," said Tory as she watched the video. "He could be wearing some type of hat – changed jackets."
"Keep looking," said Gates, frustrated. "It's imperative that we find him."
She and Ryan walked back into the bullpen as Espo turned to them.
"I think I've found something." He pulled up the article on his screen. "Nieman had a clinic in Costa Rica. This article in the La Prensa Libre, their daily paper, was published about five months ago – during the time that Castle was missing."
They looked over his shoulder at the article and accompanying picture that showed a building in flames.
Espo pointed to the screen. "It says that Nieman's surgical clinic was destroyed by a fire that started in the kitchen earlier that week. Most of the staff and patients got out, but 1 doctor and 4 patients died." He paused as he read and then looked at them. "But the body of one patient was never found. He was identified as a white male, American, about 40 years old, who had been severely injured in a car wreck and was there seeking treatment. His name was Mr. Dirk Rectos."
"Son of a bitch," said Ryan as he wrote the name on the board. "Derrick Storm."
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