The heat was stifling, throwing an unwelcome additional blanket on an already overheated city of glass and concrete. Biting back an urge to complain, she forced herself to look away from the body that was quickly bloating from the heat and back towards the new detective that was briefing her. "Great, thanks Ryan. Start canvassing the area for witnesses, take Esposito with you."
Turning around, it took all of her willpower to stop herself from bolting back towards her car, heels be damned. Moderating her pace, she was soon sliding into the driver's seat of her car, twisting her key in the ignition within seconds as she leaned over to crank up the air conditioning.
Leaning back in the driver's seat as she let the AC cool both her and the car down, she sat there for a few moments trying to collect her thoughts. Right, while they were canvassing she should head back to the precinct. Thankfully the victim had his ID on him so she didn't have to wait on Lanie's findings to start pulling financials, and an added perk was that she could spend the rest of her afternoon in the relative comfort of an air conditioned building.
With a game plan in mind, Beckett reached down and shifted the vehicle into drive before pulling out to join the stream of traffic. Of course, being in New York City she found herself being stopped at a red light practically within seconds. Humming along to he radio as she waited, the ring of her phone brought her back to reality as she reached into her pocket to answer.
"Beckett… you found him?" She interrupted, a note of surprise creeping into her voice despite her best efforts. Apparently Ryan wasn't as green as she had assumed, that or the summer heat was a really good motivator to get things done. Making vague sounds of interest as she waited for the light to turn green, she was rudely interrupted by the sound of her passenger door opening and slamming, turning her head just in time to catch a glimpse of the man before he spoke.
"Drive!"
"Uh, look Ryan. I'm going to have to call you back." she stated, offering no other explanation before hanging up. Any other person and chances were that she would have pulled out her gun already, but her quick glimpse had been more than sufficient to discern who the unexpected guest in her car was. And she highly doubted that somebody like Mr. Castle was dangerous, especially given his reputation.
Unable to hide the vague expression of amusement flitting across her features, Beckett chose to move forward with the stream of traffic instead, the light just having turned green. "Right, so want to tell me what that was all about?" she finally asked, glancing at the general pandemonium that she could see in her review mirror.
"Right, well. It might have involved the attempted kidnapping of a police horse-"
"Attempted?"
"…Fine. Successful."
Arching an eyebrow as she turned her head ever so slightly so she could see him out of the corner of her eye, she felt the corners of her lips quirk up ever so slightly. "So you kidnapped a police horse, and then what? You were planning on going for a long ride on the beach?"
"Not really, was dared by-" He hesitated, stopping himself before he named any names. "Well, it doesn't matter. Thank you, by the way. My name is Ri-"
"Richard Castle, I know who you are." she interrupted, before realizing how it sounded. "My mum is a fan." she stated, the defence slipping from her mouth before she realized her mistake. "Well, was." she added after a moment's pause. Thankfully, he didn't seem to catch the last bit, with his attention focused entirely behind them.
"Well, you know my name." he stated, a playful note in his voice as he finally turned away from the chaos that he had caused behind them. "I don't think I caught yours?"
"I didn't give it." she shot back as she rounded the corner, turning the car onto East 21st Street.
His pause was audible this time, taking in what she had just said before trying to process the situation that he was in. "Well, thanks for the ride. You can let me off-" he started, his own words fading away as she pulled into a gated parking lot. "Wait, where are you going?"
Reaching into her own pocket and flashing the guard her badge, the back of her hand hiding the object she was palming from the passenger in her vehicle. The parking barrier swung upwards allowing Kate to pull her car forward and into an empty garage. Turning the ignition off as the garage door shut behind them, she dropped the keys into her pocket before reaching for the handle on her side. "Please step out of the car." she started, opening her own door before stepping out of the vehicle.
"Seriously, where are we? If it's a ransom you want I can pay it-"
"Richard Castle, you are under arrest." she stated, the seriousness of her words slightly marred by the eye roll she couldn't repress. "You have the right to remain silent-"
"Crap, you're a police officer?"
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law-"
"You didn't say anything about being a police officer!"
"Detective. And you did kind of jump into my car uninvited." she corrected him as she slapped the cuffs around his wrist, tugging both hands behind him so she could fasten them together. "You have the right to talk to a lawyer-"
"Come on, you can let this go can't you? It was innocent, really." he tried, making a valiant effort to replace the altogether laughable expression of shock with one that some might have considered flirtatious.
"One will be appointed to represent you before any questioning if you wish. Smith, can you take over from here?" she asked as she was joined out in the garage by another officer. A quick nod was all she needed before she released him into the custody of the other officer who continued to read him his rights.
Now that she wasn't responsible for booking him, she let a grin break out across her face as she found herself shaking her head at the sheer absurdity of it all. Turning back towards her car, she was about to get in when she stopped and turned back around to the two figures that were about to disappear through the door. "Oh, Castle?" she called out, unable to resist the temptation as she saw him turn his head, craning to look back at her.
"The name's Beckett. Detective Kate Beckett."
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Tumblr Prompt: "You were chased by the cops, got in my car and just yelled 'Drive!'" AU (extra points if it's Castle running from the cops and jumping into Beckett's car)