The Castle Tourney

When Castle shows up at Homicide bright and early Monday morning, after a week away, only the guys are there. After effusive greetings, he sits down and asks, "Anything interesting, while I was away?"

Esposito begins, "Monday we had a triple homicide. The guy wasn't happy with his baby's childcare, so he took out three people with a semi-automatic shotgun; messy."

Ryan adds, "We found him later; with his baby and his brother-in-law as hostages. It took a few hours, but Beckett talked the guy out of the room. He's in a prison psych ward now."

Esposito elaborates, "Turns out; his brother-in-law set the whole thing up, 'cos he's loco for his sister, and was trying to remove the competition. He'll be in jail for a while, though not long enough." With no trace of sincerity, he adds, "Hope they don't find out he's a child molester."

Ryan recalls, "Tuesday, nothing much. Wednesday…better not mention Wednesday to Beckett. A woman left her baby with her meth-head boyfriend for the evening. When she got home later, the baby was barely breathing and couldn't be revived by paramedics. The boyfriend denied knowing anything about it. But Lanie proved that he took the kid by the ankle and swung it around, until its brain was mush. After Beckett broke him, he said it was the baby's fault, because it wouldn't stop crying."

They're both quiet for a second, before Esposito says, "Oh, and we think Beckett has a boyfriend." Looking at his watch, he adds, "Which is probably why she's running late."

Dazed by all this information, Castle asks, "How long was I away?"

Esposito says, "Hey, you snooze; you lose."

Castle hesitates before asking, "So what do we know about the boyfriend?"

Ryan says, "He's a hostage negotiator with ESU. But those guys rotate roles, so he's probably only a negotiator when it's necessary. Not much else."

Esposito, "But we do know that Beckett left here in a foul mood last Wednesday, and was humming on Thursday."

Castle echoes, "Humming? What; like humming a tune?"

Esposito nods, and says, "Humming a tune."

Ryan says, "And I think it was Your Body is a Wonderland."

Their conversation is cut short by Beckett arriving. After acknowledging the guys, she says, "Hey, Castle. Another best-seller in the works?"

"Here's hoping." He's only able to contain his curiosity for a few seconds, before asking, "Boyfriend, huh?"

Beckett glares at the guys, who are suddenly very intent on whatever paperwork they can lay their hands on, and says, "That's none of anyone's business."

"Oh, come on; I showed you mine. Now you show me yours."

He flinches, as her hand suddenly moves towards his head. But she only pushes aside the few locks he'd carefully combed over the head wound, and says, "Have you been shot again?"

Pushing his hair back over the wound he says, "No, nothing like that. Just a car accident, though you'll be happy to know that no animals were harmed in the trashing of my jeep."

"At this rate, I'll have to keep you locked inside, for your own safety."

Grinning, he says, "You know; that's almost exactly what Clair said, when she saw it." Not quite losing the grin, he says, "Though she wasn't looking at me like that, when I said that it wasn't the worst idea I'd ever heard."

The motorcycle division of the Highway Patrol is leading the motorcade, from the United Nations building. They don't all know who they're protecting. They don't need to know. It's strictly routine; just a slow, boring trip to La Guardia airport, and then back on patrol. Except that today's escort is anything but routine. When the rider on point first breaks formation, their immediate thought is sympathy for the embarrassment their colleague must feel. Then shock, when they realize that the rider is falling, sideways off his motorbike. Two officers are already with him, as he hits the ground; the Harley Davidson slowly coming to a rest on its side nearby, front wheel still spinning.

When they realize that he's been shot, a sort of ordered panic ensues. Cries of "Gun!" and "Officer down!" are shouted out loud, and into radios. Secret Service agents form a cordon around their subject, and officers cautiously head in the direction of the shot, on the other side of a vacant lot. The scene is already taped off, and the wounded officer in hospital, before they work out that the shot came from the upper levels of a parking garage, 200 yards away. So they're way too late to find the sniper.

That afternoon, Ryan gets the call that his brother has been shot. He's already heading for the door, as he explains what's happened. Beckett says, to Esposito, "Don't let him drive." After receiving permission from the captain, Beckett and Castle head to the scene, to see if they can be of any use. The Dignitary Protection branch of the Secret Service has jurisdiction. But Beckett is permitted to observe, when the USSS forensics team is finished. After checking out the scene on the roof, and on the ground, Beckett and Castle head to the hospital, to check on Connor Ryan.

Esposito is in the waiting room, comforting Jenny. So Beckett and Castle know that Ryan, and other members of his family are already with Connor. At their unspoken query, Esposito says, "He might lose a kidney, but he's going to be ok." And then asks, "Find anything?"

Beckett answers, "Looks like a solitary shooter, and he cleaned up after himself, so not much to go on." And then she asks Jenny, "How's he coping?"

Jenny replies, "I've never seen him like this. He's so upset. Connor has always been his hero. I'm worried what this is going to do to him."

Esposito already has his arm around her shoulders, but hugs her tighter, and says, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him. I always do." And she seems reassured.

They've not been waiting long when Ryan appears. Jenny goes to him and they lean on each other for a while, before Ryan recovers and asks Beckett, "So who was the target?"

Beckett looks at Castle, before telling him their theory, "I'm afraid Connor was."

Ryan is shaking his head, saying, "No. No, you're wrong." But he can see that Beckett and Castle are in earnest, and asks, "What makes you think that?"

Castle explains, "Your brother was one of the lead motorcycles; ten rows of bikes from whatever dignitary they were protecting, on a clear day with no wind. Even I can shoot better than that."

Beckett adds, "And there was only one bullet. Agents who heard the shot insist that there were no others. If shooting Connor was an accident, he had time to correct that mistake. Unless he'd already hit his intended target." After giving him time to digest this information, she asks, "He's going to be ok?"

Still confused, Ryan says, "Looks like it. They'll monitor him overnight. But the vest saved him. One good thing about being from a cop family is that you'll eventually get body armor for your birthday. If he'd been wearing department issue he'd already be dead." Beckett is wondering if she could be mistaken about the level of anger in that last word. Concerned, she looks to Esposito, who nods once, to show that he heard it too.

By the time Beckett and Castle return to the precinct for an update, the Secret Service has come to the same conclusion about the sniper's target. So they defer to the NYPD, and offer continued assistance on the case. However, even with a copy of the forensics report, Beckett is no closer to a solution. From evidence in the parking garage, they know that the sniper used a standard bipod, so it's no help in determining what rifle was used. There were no working security cameras in the structure. The only real evidence they have is the bullet, which mushroomed on contact with the body armor. Ballistics experts determine that it is most likely a 7.62 x 51mm NATO round, typical for target rifles.

With nothing much to go on, Beckett starts going through all the information they have on Connor Ryan; a respected and decorated police officer. Hours later she's found nothing to suggest that anyone would want to kill Connor, and is leaning towards the theory that the sniper may have been targeting a police officer at random. Castle persuades her to call it a night, so that they can start fresh in the morning. Before leaving, Beckett calls Esposito, "How's Connor?"

"Looks like he'll keep both kidneys, but it'll be a while before he's back on duty."

"What about Kevin?"

"Twitchy. I'll stay on him, in case he does something stupid."

"Ok. Call me if you need me. 'Night."

"Night, boss."

Ryan waits until Connor is asleep, and he's persuaded his parents to go home for some rest, before sneaking out of the hospital. It's ridiculously easy to circumvent the NYPD officers guarding the entrance to the parking garage. But it's still well after midnight before he finds his spot within sight of the sniper's vantage point and settles in to wait. He's only there for a few minutes, when he senses movement in the darkness. Quietly unclipping his sidearm, he keeps his breathing even and focuses on the sound. Somehow he's not a bit surprised to hear Esposito quietly ask, "What's up, Honey Milk?"

Resigned to the fact that there's no way he can dissuade his partner from staying, he says, equally quietly, "Thought I left you at the hospital?"

"Not even nearly. Once I realized you'd ditched me, I came straight here. And, if you're going to make the move to covert ops, you should probably stop wearing that cologne Jenny gave you." After finding a place to sit, he asks, "So, what's our thinking here?"

"You know Connor. There's just no way anyone would want to kill him. So the shooter is a wannabe cop-killer, which means they're really stupid or completely insane. Either way, I figure there's a chance they might come back here."

"Sounds good, bro. If anyone does show up, let me handle it."

Ryan almost stands up, to counter this idea, but calms himself, saying, "No way in Hell."

Esposito argues, "If I take them in, I'll get a caution for being here alone. If you have anything to do with it, the captain will have to suspend you. Then you'll be the only cop in Manhattan not working on this case. So, either you agree to keep your head down, or I'll keep it down for you."

Esposito can actually hear Ryan's teeth grinding, before, "Agreed. But you're a son-of-a-bitch."

"You're welcome."

After about ten minutes, Esposito asks, "Your Body is a Wonderland?"

"What? Jenny likes John Mayer."

"Oh, right; Jenny."

Smiling, Ryan says, "Shut up, Soldier Boy." And they're silent again.

About an hour later, Esposito nudges Ryan, but he's heard it too. Before the suspect gets any closer, they both get their side arms ready. There's not enough light to see much detail. But a figure approaches the vantage point and looks out over the vacant lot, to where Connor was shot. Esposito silently stands up, checking that Ryan will keep his word. After seeing the nod of his head, Esposito takes careful aim and moves forward, clearly saying, "NYPD! Get face down on the ground and put your hands behind your head." Shocked, the suspect is turning towards him. So Esposito shouts, "Get on the ground! Now!" The sight of the gun is enough to make the man comply. Within seconds, Esposito has cuffed him, and is dragging the guy to his feet. He gives a thumbs-up in the direction of Ryan's hiding place and walks the suspect to his car, surprising the hell out of the officers on the ground floor.

After following, to make sure Esposito gets away safely, it takes Ryan a while to calm down. Then he heads back to the hospital.

It's still dark when Beckett is jolted awake by the loud refrain of Bad Boys by Inner Circle. Matt is already grabbing for his phone, to stop it. He says only, "Yep. Ok. Twenty minutes." And then hangs up and asks, "I don't suppose you could pretend you didn't hear the ring tone?"

Beckett grins and says, "What ring tone?" And then asks, "Work?"

"Yeah; Jorje is sick, so I'll cover the rest of his shift, before starting mine." Reaching for her, he says, "I wish I'd thought to tell them it would take me an hour to get there." After kissing her, he continues, "I'll finish first today, so call me when you're done. I'll be asleep, but call me anyway." He can't resist another kiss, and growls in frustration, before getting dressed by the light of his phone.

Beckett can't help but smile at the sounds of him stumbling through her living room in the dark. Hunting for the warmest spot in the bed, she goes straight back to sleep with the smile still on her face.

Even though Beckett gets to work early, she's missed out on a lot. The suspect Esposito apprehended is Peter Krygger; a wealthy Manhattan businessman. One of his hobbies is hunting, and he legally owns several handguns and rifles. Though he was only carrying a rifle scope and no weapon, at the time of his arrest. NYPD detectives, and Secret Service agents are digging for more. He was already asking for his lawyer, as he was being processed. But they have him for criminal trespass, crime scene tampering and obstruction of justice, so he's not going anywhere in a hurry. Beckett decides to wait for more information before interrogating him.

Esposito arrives next, and Beckett greets him with, "I thought you were supposed to keep him from doing anything stupid?"

"I did."

So Beckett guesses what went down last night, and says, "Thanks."

Esposito shrugs, and says, "Is he our guy?"

"Don't know yet. But he's looking good for it."

When Castle arrives, they fill him in. He's obviously also guessed what happened, because he asks Esposito, "You left your partner at the hospital and went there alone?"

"Yep."

Clearly not believing him, Castle says, "Of course you did."

Later, Beckett gets a call from her contact with Dignitary Protection; Dot Keller. She and Castle go to the offices of the Secret Service, whilst Esposito stays at the precinct to wait for Ryan, and face the music with the captain. Once they've gone through security, Dot shares what information they've discovered, "Peter Krygger has a solid alibi for the shooting. But we got his IP address, and found that he set up a private chat room with another subject only three days ago. Unfortunately, by the time we got a subpoena he'd had time to post one message from his phone, before we contacted your precinct to have them confiscate it. Though that's how we found the room. I think they're usually way more careful than that. There are only three messages; the first from the un-sub, posted shortly after the shooting, "UN motorcade. One shot, one kill." The last two are from Krygger; "One bull-pig at walking speed? You'll have to do better than that." and the last message just says, "Busted."

Beckett says, "He's goading him." After thinking about it, she asks, "Do you think this is enough for aiding and abetting?"

Linda purses her lips, and shakes her head, saying, "Maybe not, if he has a good lawyer. But it's enough for us to comb through his life. It'll just take time."

"What about the other subject?"

"Nothing yet, but we're working on it. It's unlikely that he'll use the chat room again, and with Krygger in custody, they can't communicate anyway."

Castle asks, "So maybe he's finished?"

Dot thinks, before responding, "Hard to say. It's possible that he'll get cold feet, and we'll never hear from him again. But we'll have to proceed under the assumption that he'll keep going, until we stop him."

As they're leaving the building, Beckett says, "Time to talk to Mr. Krygger."

Peter Krygger has been waiting in the interview room long enough to be completely bored. But his lawyer is on the way, so he's unconcerned. The door opens and a plainclothes detective enters. Still, Krygger isn't worried. The detective says, "Mr. Krygger; I'm Kevin Ryan. The bull-pig is my brother." Ryan feels immense satisfaction, at the fear in Krygger's eyes. He notices the nervous glance and says, "Yeah, the camera is running. But there's no way they'll get in here quick enough to save you." Genuinely afraid now, Krygger is becoming agitated, and starts to speak. Ryan says, with obvious disgust, "Relax. I'm not going to lay a hand on you, but only because my brother wouldn't like it. He's in hospital, with a shattered kidney, bruised lung and broken ribs. Despite all that, if he was here he'd still try and keep me from hurting you. So, right now you're safer with me, than with any other cop in this city. I just wanted to introduce myself, before your lawyer gets here."

Apparently considering something for a few seconds, Ryan continues, "I'm fifth generation NYPD. There are four cops in my immediate family alone, twenty three more in my extended family, and hundreds of colleagues that owe them a favor." Giving Krygger a second to take in this information, he says, "With what we've got on you, you're going to jail for at least ten years. I don't know where you'll end up. I don't need to know. All I need to do is mention your name to any one of those cops and they'll find you. Then they'll reach out to prison guards and cons alike, to make your life a living hell. And those ten years will seem like ten thousand." With a feral grin, he concludes, "If you survive that long."

Beckett, Castle and Esposito are waiting for him, when he leaves the room. Ryan says, "He's all yours."

Castle is furiously taking notes, and says, "That was awesome!" He follows Ryan back to Homicide, saying, "Can you go over that bit about your family again? I want to get it just right."

Watching them leave, Esposito exaggerates a sigh. So Beckett says, "What?"

"I'm going to have to come up with a different nickname. I can't call him Honey Milk after this."

From this height he can easily see the biker bar, and measures the range before adjusting the scope. Not bad; 319 yards. It's not even nearing the limit of the gun's capabilities, but it might be enough to impress Krygger. He feels a twinge of regret that his opponent is out of the competition, before it really got started. But this kill will make the news, and Krygger will hear about it anyway. The only difference is that they'll never get to find out whether the PSG1 or the M24 is the better rifle.

It's a bit early yet. So he amuses himself with looking through the scope at pedestrians below. Even though it's almost dark there are still several people enjoying the High Line Elevated Park. He smiles as he imagines their surprise if the person next to them were to suddenly drop dead. He can hear the Harley's arriving, so swings the rifle back to his target and opens the legs of the bipod, to hook it on the railing. There's almost no breeze; perfect.

Taking his time, he finds the easiest target and monitors his breathing, waiting for the right time to fire. He can feel the adrenalin levels rising, but forces himself to remain calm. When the moment is right, he squeezes the trigger. A jolt of pleasure goes through him as his target is punched backwards off the motorbike. The homemade silencer works quite well, so he's confident that there's plenty of time to pick up the cartridge. If he had a complaint about the PSG, it would be the tendency to eject the cartridge with too much power. After packing up, he searches for a full minute, before cursing his luck and exiting the building by the back stairs, through the bike room.

Soon after Ryan's little speech, Krygger's lawyer arrives. He's only with his client for a few minutes, and then reluctantly informs them that Krygger wants to make a deal; whatever information he has on the un-sub, in return for the lesser charge of criminal trespass. Given that they don't have enough to charge him with aiding and abetting, the captain agrees to the deal. After bleeding Krygger dry of information, Beckett makes sure it's shared with the Secret Service. It's not long before they get a location from his IP address. From that they know they're looking for Anonio Jofre; a young entrepreneur residing in Battery Park City. ESU officers are en-route when the news arrives that a biker has been assassinated outside a bar in the Meatpacking District. On hearing the details, they know it's probably their guy. Ryan is ostensibly behaving himself, so he's permitted to accompany Esposito to the murder scene, whilst Beckett and Castle follow ESU to the suspect's apartment.

So close to their target, Ryan and Esposito are content to help with the job of canvassing the neighborhood, while CSU comb the scene outside the bar. It's Esposito who suggests that they start 200 yards from the target, and saves everyone hours of legwork. So it's only around 11pm when an officer finds the apartment building where the doorman remembers a water tower inspector arriving, but doesn't remember him leaving. CSU soon confirm that the shot came from the water tower. Any security footage is sent to the precinct, for processing. And the cartridge is discovered on the ground outside shortly after dawn. When they're finished, Esposito is able to persuade Ryan to get a few hours' sleep, before their next shift starts. Of course, Ryan goes to the hospital instead.

Having walked home, to avoid leaving a trail, Anonio is almost to his apartment when he sees the NYPD Emergency Service vehicles go by, followed by an unmarked police car. They're travelling quiet; no sirens or flashing lights. But, somehow he knows that the game is almost over. He smashes his phone and throws it away, before heading to his next target. This isn't how the game was supposed to play out. But he's determined to keep playing, for as long as he can. By the time the sun rises, he's already on top of the building on Crosby St and finds a spot to lie down that gives him a clear view of his target, whilst providing some cover. Now he just has to wait for opening hours.

By dawn, the team is back at the precinct, and no one has had much sleep. But there is an APB out on their suspect, with a detailed description, right down to the type of bag he's carrying the HK in, and there's nothing to do but wait. Ryan asks for permission to check out Jofres's apartment, saying that he wants to know the guy who shot his brother. Beckett isn't convinced that he'll find any answers, but she agrees, if Esposito goes with him.

Even though it's barely daylight, Castle finds a quiet corner, to call Clair. She was obviously asleep. After giving her a moment to wake up, he says, "I think you should forget about the bike today; looks like the sniper is targeting bikers." She doesn't reply and he says, "Clair? Did you hear me?"

"Yes, I heard you. I'm not staying off the road, Rick."

Mystified, he asks, "Why not? They'll have him soon, and then you don't have to worry anymore."

"I'm not worried now. You can't protect me from bad things happening, Rick. If that were true, we would never have met, and we wouldn't be together now."

Castle can hear the sense in that, but he's still confused, and says, "But it's probably just for one day. Every cop in Manhattan is looking for the guy. Can't you find something to do at the office for one day?"

Sighing in frustration, Clair tries to make him understand, "Of course, I could. But, you know what I've been through…more than I thought it was possible to survive. So there is nothing else to fear. If I stayed off the bike, it would be for you, not for me. And I'm not prepared to live for someone else. I've already made that mistake." This time it's Castle who is silent, and she asks, "Rick? Are you listening?"

Leaning his forehead against the wall, he says, "Yeah, I'm listening. What about a vest; could you do that much?"

So she knows that he's listening, but not hearing, and says, "I've gotta go, Rick. I'll talk to you tonight."

After she hangs up, Castle resists the urge to call her back. Gently thumping his head against the wall, he silently curses all stubborn women, and his apparent need to surround himself with them, before heading back to another one.

Seeing the look on his face, Beckett asks, "What's wrong?"

"Clair; she won't accept that she might be in danger, if she rides the bike today."

After considering for a second, Beckett says, "She's always in danger, Castle. So are you. So are all of us."

"I know that. But this is different. There's not usually a crazy, biker-hunting sniper on the loose."

"If asked, what do you think would be my biggest complaint about you?" The list is so long, he hasn't chosen one, before she continues, "You're always trying to protect me, whether or not I want it, even though I'm more qualified to protect you."

Bristling a little at such a generalization, he says, "I'd remind you that sometimes I've actually protected you, not just tried to." She nods, and is about to agree, when he continues, "And how is trying to protect the people I care about such a terrible thing?"

Sighing, she says, "It's not terrible. It's just…how do you think Clair feels, that in the couple of months since you met her, you've been involved in a raid on armed smugglers, almost died from a gunshot wound, and nearly been killed in a car crash?"

She can see the beginnings of understanding on his face, and he says, "She's never complained, but I don't imagine she's too happy about it." After thinking about it, he says, "So, what do you suggest I do? I'm not sure I can stop caring about her safety…even if I wanted to."

"I'm not nearly qualified enough to unravel the intricacies of your mind, Castle. But it sounds like you'd better try something."

Finally relaxed enough to smile, he says, "You know, this wouldn't be a problem, if I were attracted to weak-willed women."

Also smiling, Beckett says, "Well, assuming you could even find such a creature in Manhattan, after you'd bullied her into a nice, safe life she'd still die…of boredom."

"Hey, watch your mouth. Of the many reasons women have fled my presence; boredom is not one."

At 8:32am the call comes in of shots fired at the Vespa Store on Crosby St; only about a block from Castle's apartment. Castle says, "Alexis!" and is already getting out his phone, as they head to the car. He calls the driver, Mark, and asks, "Are you at the apartment yet?"

"Not yet, sir. I'm on Centre St, almost to Canal. Something wrong?"

"There's a shooter on Crosby St, south of the apartment. Can you keep Alexis inside, until I call back?"

"Of course. What should I tell her?"

"Tell her it's a good thing she didn't buy the scooter."

Beckett is also on the phone, to Esposito, "Where are you guys?"

"We were on our way back, when we heard. We're on Church St; almost at the scene. You on the way?"

"From the radio chatter, I'd say everyone is on the way. If you get there first, keep your heads down and wait for ESU, ok?"

"Ok, boss."

Ryan is driving, so Esposito checks Maps and navigates him to a safe position south of the scene, on Howard St. And it looks like they're the first responders. They take a minute to put on their vests and grab everything they might need. The sirens of emergency vehicles are audible and getting louder. On foot, and with guns drawn, they enter Crosby St and see the shooting victim on the street next to a row of Vespas. Hugging the wall for cover, first Esposito and then Ryan, approach until they're adjacent to the victim. From where they are, neither of them can tell if the victim is still alive. They can't see the shooter, but they both know where he is, and that stepping out into the street is suicide. Esposito asks, "Any ideas?"

Forcing a grin, Ryan suggests, "McSorley's is only five minutes from here. It's not too late to pretend that we didn't hear the call?" But then he continues, "How 'bout you do the stupid thing, and I'll try and keep him from killing you?"

Esposito simply nods, and then secures his sidearm, before crouching down and edging forward, behind the scooters. He starts counting, and on "Three" does the stupid thing, while Ryan breaks cover just enough to aim up at the building north of them. He sees movement and the glint of the rifle scope, so fires three times, just as a bullet smacks into the asphalt between them. Esposito grabs the first limb he finds and hauls the victim under cover. They've only had time to ascertain that the victim is alive, when paramedics reach their position and take over.

The guys need a moment to recover. Ryan replaces the expended bullets in his clip, and asks, "Enough?"

With a wide grin, Esposito says, "Hell, no. But I'll go first."

Content to be doing anything, Ryan doesn't argue, and they cautiously head north, to the food market on the corner of Grand and Crosby St. Once there, they can see a squad car and an ESU vehicle arriving on Grand St, outside the building adjacent to the shooter's position. Recalling the map information, Esposito says, "This building isn't tall enough. But there's a record store just around the corner. There's not much cover, so we'll have to tag-team our way inside the door, ok?"

Ryan says only, "Ok. Let's go."

Just then Esposito's phone rings. Beckett says, "We're on Crosby and Broome. Where are you?"

Without disclosing their plans, Esposito tells her the truth, "Crosby and Grand. ESU are here. They'll be moving into position any time now."

"How's Ryan?" Esposito looks at his partner, taking in his too-bright eyes and impatient air, and says, "He's just fine; keeping his head down." Having reassured Beckett, he switches off the phone. They both edge around the corner, concealed under the shop awning, until they're only a few yards from their objective, and Esposito says, "Say when."

Aiming up at the building, even though he can't see the shooter from this angle, Ryan says, "When!" Esposito dashes inside the record store. No gunfire answers this maneuver, so he now aims up at the building and says, "When!" Ryan runs into the store. There are civilians cowering behind the counter. Esposito asks how to get to the roof, whilst Ryan advises them to stay put, until an officer tells them it's safe to leave. There are no arguments, and the guys make their way upstairs. Once there, they find solid cover behind the stair well, and scan the building opposite, for the shooter. He's not in sight, and Ryan asks, "What now?"

"Nothing. ESU will have two men in the building, and a sniper team on the opposite roof. We don't want to get in their way, and accidentally shooting one of them wouldn't go down too well either."

"Then what the Hell are we doing here?" When Esposito just stares at him and shrugs, Ryan knows that he's been played, and says, "Oh, that was good. You made it just dangerous enough, that I'd follow you. Did they teach you dirty tricks like that in Special Forces?"

Smiling now, at his own brilliance, Esposito says, "Nope. That one I picked up from my Mom. Believe it, or not, going into the military was the least dangerous path I was heading for." He can see Ryan's jaw clenching in anger, and is suddenly serious when he says, "You know that there's nothing I wouldn't do, to get you out of trouble. But I'm just not brave enough to face Jenny if I led you in to trouble."

After a few seconds, Ryan relaxes and says, "Besides, even bedridden, Connor could snap you in half."

Relieved, Esposito says, "And there's that, too." After a second he asks, "So, we're good?"

"We're good."

From their vantage point they can see NYPD cordoning off nearby streets, and the ESU sniper team moving into place on the nearby roof. But there's still no sign of the shooter. A couple of minutes later, two ESU officers come into view, and slowly move towards the shooter's last known position. Ryan and Esposito can't hear their communications, or see the moment when they corner the suspect. But they can hear the officers yelling for the shooter to submit, and soon see the all-clear sign, indicating that the situation is under control. Not a shot has been fired. So Esposito asks, "You don't suppose it's possible, that you actually hit the guy, do you?"

Ryan shrugs, and says, "Stranger things have happened."

At the police roadblock, north of all the action, Beckett and Castle receive the news that the shooter is on his way to the prison hospital, and no law enforcement officers were injured. Castle says, "I'll catch up with you later. Right now I need to hug Alexis."

Smiling, Beckett says, "Good idea. I'll see you later."

Not wanting to add another car to the scene, Beckett walks towards the intersection of Crosby and Grand. She sees Matt, with other ESU officers. Ryan and Esposito are there too. They're all congratulating each other. Her footsteps have already slowed, before she realizes why; she has no idea how she's supposed to act around Matt right now. She decides to act professional, and hope for the best. Esposito sees her first and exclaims, "Beckett!" Putting his arm around Ryan, he slaps him affectionately on the chest, and says, "My man here shot him…busted the guy's shoulder and took out an eye, with one shot!"

Clearly embarrassed, Ryan says, "It was a ricochet; just a lucky shot."

Confused and angry, Beckett accuses Esposito, "I told you to keep your heads down and wait for ESU. Exactly how did Ryan get close enough for a lucky shot?"

Defending his friend, Ryan says, "No, it wasn't like that. It was just after we got here. There was a wounded civilian in the street. I just took a few shots to keep the shooter busy, while Esposito grabbed the victim."

Hoping to alleviate the tension, Matt says, "He made it a real easy day for us, detective. By the time we got to him, the guy could barely lift the rifle, and was wailing about not being able to see out his right eye. He didn't even put up a fight."

Realizing her error, Beckett says to Ryan, "In that case, you'd better go give Connor the good news. Esposito and I can wait here for CSU."

Beaming, Ryan receives more congratulations from all the guys, and heads back to the car, on Howard St. Just then another call comes in on the ESU radios. It's obvious Matt's team-mates know about her, when they suddenly head to their car without him. Catching on, Esposito says, "I'd better secure the scene where the victim was shot."

Beckett smiles and says, "That was subtle."

Matt then smiles and says, "I'm not sure these guys would recognize that word. But they're ok." He hesitates and says, "Just so you know; I'm not about to kiss you with them watching."

Beckett laughs, and says, "Just so you know; I'm not about to let you. It's hard enough being a female detective, without starting that trend. But I'll see you tonight?"

His mates are calling for him now, and he says, "Yeah. Uh, we kind of promised Ryan a drink at McSorley's around eight o'clock. If you join us, you can meet the guys and find out just how unsubtle they really are."

"Sounds good. I'll see you there. Thanks for not making this weird."

"No problem. I'll see you tonight." Leaning a little closer, he says, "And, you should also know, that I really would like to kiss you right now."

She can't help smiling, and says, "Then you'd better go, before I let you."

Eyes shining, he smiles at the idea and leaves without another word. Resisting the urge to wave goodbye, Beckett walks to where Esposito is speaking with uniformed officers outside the Vespa store. She motions that she'd like a quiet word with him. When they're out of earshot she says, "Look, I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, in front of other people. I was just worried about Ryan. But I should have trusted you…I do trust you."

Recognizing his one and only opportunity, Esposito says, "It's ok. I understand. You were just showing off for your boyfriend."

Beckett purses her lips in mock anger, and says, "I guess I deserved that." And then asks, "So, how did you manage to keep Ryan out of the action?"

He smiles, and says, "It was easy; I just tricked him into thinking that I was leading him into danger. It only works once, but it always works."

After hugging Alexis, and thanking Mark, Castle sees her safely off to school. After some soul-searching, he calls Clair. He voice sounds guarded, as she answers, "Yes?"

He can't hear any traffic, so guesses she's at her office, and asks, "Have you got a minute?"

"Sure. But I'm not going to change my mind, Rick."

"No. I know that. Anyway, they've got the guy. But I didn't call to tell you that. I've been thinking about what you said, and I feel like I should apologize. But I haven't quite worked out for what. Beckett says that I bully people into safety. And I'm not sure I can change that, until I understand what's so wrong about it. Can you help me out a little here? I really am trying to understand."

After a deep breath, she says, "This morning you said that I should stay off the road. When I said no to that, you asked me to wear a vest. Not once did you ask what I wanted. And you wouldn't listen, when I tried to tell you. It's like you don't trust me to make decisions about my own safety. And you've been doing this since we met…presumably since before we met." He's quiet for so long, that she asks, "Rick, you ok?"

"Yeah, I think I'm having some sort of epiphany."

"Well, don't pull a muscle."

"Hey, I do the jokes."

"So, what's your revelation?"

"This morning I was so worried that you might get hurt, that I forgot to be worried about anyone else. Then the sniper turned up a block from my apartment…"

"God, is Alexis ok?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. She's fine. But it was a reminder that it's really not up to me, is it? I mean, nothing is under my control. Obviously I know that, but I think that I forget…I've mostly had to rely on myself, since I was young…God, you must be sick of hearing "I" already."

"No, this is good. You know a lot more about me, than I do about you."

"Ok. Having to rely on myself…I think it made me…made it hard for me to trust, well, anything."

"Or anyone?"

"No. I can trust people. I trust Beckett and the guys, and I trust you and Alexis...even my mother, I guess. I just don't trust… This is embarrassing. I'm a writer, and I have no idea what to say. How do you cope, when I'm in danger?"

He can hear that she's smiling, as she says, "Maybe I don't really care about you?"

"So I'm finally serious, and you're going to do all the jokes?"

"Ok, ok. Seriously, I just believe that you'll be ok, and that if you're not, I'll be ok."

Smiling, he says, "After a suitably long mourning period, right?"

"Oh, you're back."

"Yes, I think so. Thanks. I can't promise immediate change, but I get points for effort, right?"

"A lot of points. But I'm not asking you to change."

"I know. But, if you won't let me bully you, I'll probably have to."

"I'd better go. I've got too much to do. I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tonight. Have fun."

It's much later in the day, when Clair realizes that he didn't sign off with his customary, "Stay safe."

McSorleys is usually popular with cops. But they've practically taken it over tonight. So much so, that Castle and Clair are accosted at the door, by a gently swaying giant of a man, and told, "No civilians allowed."

Thankfully, Esposito spots them and says, "Relax, Sully. He's not a civilian." Muttering apologies, Sully staggers away.

Castle says, "Thanks. For a minute there I thought that I'd have to let Clair take care of him. How's Connor?"

"He's doing fine. He'll be in hospital long enough to go partly insane. But the doctor is confident that he'll make a full recovery and be back at work in a couple of months."

Knowing how bored he'll be, Clair asks, "Can he stay away from motorbikes that long?"

Esposito laughs, and says, "Probably not. But Kev has already hidden his keys, so he'll have to."

Castle excuses himself, leaving Clair with Esposito, and heads to the bar. With so many people waiting for service, it's a while before the bartender notices the hundred dollar note. Castle adds nine more, and quietly says, "Keep one of them, the rest are for the room."

"You got it. Thanks."

"Oh, but no more for Sully."

Smiling, the bartender says, "No, sir. He's already cut off."

Castle can see that Clair and Esposito are with a small group of people, including Beckett, Ryan and Jenny. As he weaves his way through the crowd, he can hear a Guinness-fuelled Ryan recounting his adventures of the day, and wonders how many times he's done just that. On seeing him, Ryan says, "Castle! Did you hear? I shot the guy."

Smiling, Castle shakes his hand and says, "Yeah, I heard. Sorry I missed that."

Ryan continues, "And Soldier Boy is a hero too." To Esposito, he says, "Tell 'em how you did the stupid thing."

Esposito lets Ryan coax him into recounting the story, again. Beside him, Castle spies the newcomer, sitting next to Beckett, and guesses that it must be the boyfriend. They're not overtly affectionate, but sitting close enough that their legs are touching, from thigh to ankle. Not prepared to admit that the sight causes him any discomfort, Castle pushes it down, and says, "Hi. I'm Rick."

Beckett says, "Oh, hey, Castle. This is Matt."

Castle shakes his hand, and can't help but notice that their legs are no longer touching. Again refusing to acknowledge his feelings, he says, "Well, we've got dinner reservations. We only dropped by to hail the conquering heroes. Good to meet you, Matt." To Beckett, he says, "See you tomorrow."

Esposito has finished, and Castle takes the lull in conversation to say goodnight. Ryan complains, "You're not taking Clair away? You just got here." He winces, at Jenny's attack on his ribs, and kisses her before saying, "Just joking, hon." Ready to fend her off, he adds, "Though she is the sexiest process server in the city." He's not surprised, or upset, when Clair then attacks his ribs from the other side.

Castle and Clair manage to make it out the door, without encountering Sully, and both breathe a sigh of relief, at leaving the noise behind. Castle looks at his watch, and says, "That took longer than I expected. But David will have held the table for us."

Clair suggests, "How about you cancel the reservation, and we grab something on the way to my place?"

"That's the best idea I've heard in a long time."

Smiling, Clair adds, "And then you can cash in all those points."

The End