I do not own any of these Castle characters. They belong to more brilliant writers then I.
Double-Dead-Identity
"You know, for a writer, your pretty good." Richard Castle looked into cold eyes. Glaring intently back. "I'm proud," The man continued. A gun pointed to Castle's head, "you found me, but as much as it pains me to, now your gonna have to pay. No one who enters this room comes out."
2 Days earlier…
"Hey Alexis? What's all the red stuff on the floor?" Richard Castle called up the stairs. A head appeared at the top of the stairs, Alexis Castle stood in the doorway with a paintbrush in one hand and a cell phone in the other.
"Hang on Ian." She muttered in the phone then yelled down to her dad, "Lit. project dad, we have to paint a poster board with colors that represent a famous poet. Sorry, I'll clean it up in a minute!" Castle raised his eyebrows as she said in the phone, "can I call you back? Ok, love you too, bye."
"And how is Ian doing?" Castle asked as Alexis scampered down the stairs.
"Good, he's in California right now, so I need to talk to him! And don't worry, I'll pay long-distance." She added.
"Naw, don't worry about it!" Castle said as he grabbed a paper towel, drenched it in water then tossed it to his daughter. She caught it and began to scrub the floor. The spots came away easily.
"Where's gram?" Alexis asked.
"Theater class!" Castle exclaimed, putting his hand on his forehead and tilting his head back. Alexis laughed and put her arm around his dad. He gave her a hug and said, "What is Ian doing in Cal-" Just then the shrill ring came from a phone on the counter. Castle jogged toward it and answered, "Castle."
….
Detective Kate Beckett of the New York police department ducked underneath the crime scene tape nodded to the officer standing in the doorway and entered the room. A catastrophe met her eyes. Paper lay scattered and torn all around the room, wastepaper baskets were tipped over, it's continents spilling over the floor, items in cupboards lay abandoned on the floor, and the most unpleasant sight was smearing of blood on the floors, windows, walls and even the ceiling. Beckett stood momentarily stunned in the entrance of the room until someone called her name,
"Yo Beckett!" She turned to see Detective Javier Esposito walking up to her. Esposito was a broad shouldered Mexican man, with slightly dark skin and a sly look about him. Behind him stood Detective Kevin Ryan. A man with brown hair and stunningly blue eyes.
"Any idea what happened here?" Beckett asked, astonished.
"Nope. The cleaning lady by the name of Mrs. Rodriguez found the room like this, and called us." Ryan said.
"Where's the body?" Beckett asked, suddenly noticing it wasn't there.
"No one knows, but Lanie's almost positive that she's dead. The amount of blood loss is to much." Esposito said.
"And how do you know our Vic is a she if…." Beckett paused "There even is a vic…" Beckett she finished.
"Well, the people at the front desk said this room was being used by a Stacy Harper." Ryan answered.
"Whoa! Someone got angry!" Castle had entered and stood next to Beckett, looking around with an awed expression. "What happened? Where's the body?"
"That's what were trying to find out." Beckett replied then jerked her head over to a nervous looking woman in the corner; "lets go talk to her,"
"Excuse me, can we ask you what happened here?" The woman nodded. She wore a white apron and a mane of long black hair. When she spoke, she sported a thick Spanish accent.
"I knocked on the door because I thought she was home, but when she didn't answer I opened it up to clean and…." She paused and gulped, "then I saw this and all the blood and I was afraid! What's happened to her?"
"Were not sure yet. Tell me, did you see anyone around her lately, coming here often, or anyone hanging around?" Castle asked.
"N-n-no. Not that I know of. There was one person who came here a couple of days ago, and I got a glimpse of him when he left, he looked angry!" Mrs. Rodriguez said.
"Do you think you can describe him to a sketch artist?" Beckett asked. The woman nodded.
"Thank you very much, you have been very helpful." Beckett strode away, Castle on her tail.
"Ohhhh! This is a good one!" Castle put on an announcers voice and said, "Blood paints the wall, the room in ruins… with no body to be found! The shocking new thriller!" Castle grinned as Beckett replied, "When you're ready to act like an adult we can go down to the precinct."
….
At the 12th Precinct police station Kate Beckett scribbled on a white board, her long brown curly hair cascading down her face. Castle came in carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one to Beckett who thanked him and took a sip of his own, looking thoughtfully at the murder board in front of them. At the top were Stacy Harper's name, where she lived, and her lifestyle. Under that were pictures of the wrecked room with notes like, 'blood spatter indicates the use of a large knife or object'. Under that was a note that said, 'no forced entry'. Next to the pictures was the sketch of the man Mrs. Rodriguez had described, a gruff-looking, surly faced man. His picture was on the side of 'suspect' wile no pictures hung on the 'in investigation' side. Underneath it all, a timeline, which currently only showed the time the maid went to clean the room, 10:30am.
"Well, we won't get anywhere without the body." Beckett stated, still looking at the board.
"She might not even be dead…" Castle added. Just then, Captain Cassidy Gates shouted to them from her office.
"Detective Beckett! Come here!" Beckett rolled her eyes at Castle then headed into her office. Castle made to follow but the Captain added, "not you Castle, actual police only." Castle stopped in his tracks then sat down at the chair next to Beckett's desk and waited.
"Yo! Where's Beckett?" Espisido asked.
"In Gate's office." Castle said.
"Ohhhh, ouch! Glad I'm not in there!" Added Ryan.
A few minutes later Beckett came out and Castle caught Gate's last words, "make sure you do!" before she closed the door. Beckett headed back to her desk and sighed deeply.
"What happened?" Castle asked.
"Oh the usual. 'What have you got on your case so far', 'you better find me a body', 'I need to tell the Mayor something good' blah blah blah." Beckett sighed again then said, "Did you guys find out anything?"
"Actually, yes. The man Mrs. Rodriguez described is a man by the name of Angelo Vellensesto. He has some priors in, beating women. And get this, he just got sent loose 2 weeks ago," Espisido said.
"Yeah, but unfortunately, he has an alibi at the bar on 12th and he claims to have just scene Stacy to talk about a break up." Ryan added.
"Great, now we have no suspect." Beckett said grimly. Just then her phone rang and she picked it up. "Yeah, be right there." She said into the phone, then to the group she said, "We may not have a suspect, but we have a body!"
….
Castle and Beckett walked up to a large warehouse, vines crawling up the side and some windows broken in. They walked over to a dark woman leaning over a body. Lanie Parish was the 12th Precinct's Corner. She had long straight hair that fell across her face and she wore bright pink gloves, examining a body.
"What you got Lanie?" Beckett asked, kneeling down next to her.
"This is your girl. By the bruising on her body I can say she was beaten by some sort of metal object, I'd say about the size of a baseball bat. But this is odd. The bruising looks old, like she's had it a wile, but this bruising is what to have had to kill her. I'll get her to the lab for more info." Lanie said.
"And how did she end up here?" Beckett pointed to the warehouse.
"You can ask him." Lanie responded, jerking her head in the direction of the entrance to the warehouse. A very disheveled man stood there. With short blonde hair and wearing a blue jumpsuit.
"Thanks." Beckett and Castle strode over to the man.
"Hello. I'm Detective Kate Beckett; this is my partner Richard Castle. What happened?"
"Hi, I'm Chuck Parson. I was sent over here to deliver this crate a couple of days ago. I was told not to ask any questions and this man didn't give me his name, he just told me to bring the crate. Not to open it…. It was weird, but I listened. So I drove over here and found this crate." He indicated a large wooden crate with words labeled Top secret. Do not open. Castle grinned with excitement at the box and said, "Oh Top Secret! Sounds dangerous!" Beckett rolled her eyes at him then added to Chuck, "What happened then Mr. Parson?"
"I slipped. Dropped the box. It burst open and she came rolling out." He shuttered at the memory.
"Do you have this man's address?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah. Let me get it for you." Chuck strode back to his delivery truck.
"This just gets better! A bloody room, Top Secret crates with bodies in them, mysterious men who wont tell their names! To bad it wasn't the Ark of the Covenant though…" Castle added as a thoughtful note.
"But with REAL addresses, thank you Mr. Parson, you have been most helpful." Beckett added to Chuck who handed her a slip of paper. "You coming Castle?" Beckett said over her shoulder as she headed to her car, Castle ran after her.
….
"What!" Said Detective Ryan's voice over the phone. Castle held the phone as Ryan talked and Beckett drove.
"Let me get this straight," Came Esposito's, voice, "You found her in a wooden crate? A Top Secret crate?"
"Yep!" answered Castle proudly.
"Where are you guys headed?" Ryan asked.
"118th and Lexington. Apartment 2B. See you there?" Beckett asked.
"Yep, be there in 10." And they hung up.
Beckett's black SUV pulled into an alley behind the apartment buildings. Ryan's car pulled in behind her. She opened the door and got out, grabbing a vest as she did. Ryan and Esposito already wore theirs. Castle got out too, strapping on his vest, but instead of the vest reading POLICE, it read WRITER.
"Ready?" Beckett called to the group. They all nodded and entered the building. Beckett showed her badge to the woman and the front desk then proceeded up the stairs. Taking two at a time. The rest followed. As they approached apartment 2B all three cops pulled out their guns, cocking them and then Beckett nodded and knocked on the door.
"POLICE! OPEN UP!" There was no response, "THIS IS THE POLICE, OPEN THE DOOR NOW!" Still no one came. Beckett took a few paces back then kicked it with all her power. The door flew open.
"HANDS WERE I CAN SEE THEM!" Esposito shouted. The man standing the dimly lit hallway raised his hands slowly. Then without warning he took off down the hall toward the window. Beckett in front, they all followed in close pursuit.
The man unlocked the window and crawled out, catlike onto the fire escape and down the steps. Only three paces behind him Beckett followed. Ryan ran in the opposite direction though the way they came in, intending to corner him. Esposito and Castle were in close pursuit behind Beckett. The man hurtled the last flight of steps and ran out of the alley. Howling in frustration, Beckett followed, with no help to her with her high heals. Esposito shouted into a walkie-talkie, "A white male, brown hair, broad shoulders wearing a gray t-shirt and jeans heading down the corner of 118th, on foot, were en route." Beckett turned the corner only to find a white male with brown hair and jeans was holding a gun to Ryan's head.
….
"Put the guns down or he dies." The man said, shoving Ryan's gun harder into his head, making him wince. Slowly, Esposito and Beckett dropped their guns on the pavement.
"Lets walk, slowly now, and you!" He added to Castle, "Pick up those guns and hand them to me, remember, he dies if you don't listen." Castle did as he was told then the man said in an oddly calm voice, "Unlock the car." And Beckett did, and when she looked back at the man she found herself facing the nozzle of her own gun. He now carried three guns. "Get in the car, woman." He spat at Beckett. Castle made a move to get in front of her, but Esposito held him back. As Beckett made to lower himself into the car Ryan made a sudden ducking motion, kicking his legs out, unbalancing the man and grabbing his gun. Esposito leapt at him twisted his gun hand and managed to release the second one from his grip. Beckett stepped on the mans hand reaching for the third gun and took it from him. The man in the gray t-shirt groaned as Beckett pulled out handcuffs.
"You alright?" Esposito asked Ryan when they were back at the precinct, staring though the one-way mirror at the man, whose name turned out to be Damian Barshock.
"Yeah." Ryan answered simply.
"You sure? You wanna take the rest of the day off?" Esposito pushed.
"Are you kidding? I want to see this man confess!" Ryan exclaimed.
"It's not gonna be that easy." Beckett said, entering the observation room. "He won't talk. Anything I ask him, he's just…." Beckett paused, "non-responsive. Nothing."
"He's trained." Castle said. They all stared at him, astonished.
"Trained?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah, he's a spy." Castle said, a note of excitement in his voice. Ryan laughed,
"Spy, huh?" Esposito said, not convinced.
"Yeah! You see it in all the movies; they were taught never to reveal any information to the enemy after they were caught. He's a trained spy. I mean did you notice how quick he was to get out that window, or to get hold of Ryan? Only professionals can do that!" Castle finished. Beckett rolled her eyes, Ryan however, looked thoughtful. Their conversation was cut short by Beckett's phone.
"What's up Lanie? Alright, we'll be right there." Beckett hung up and spoke to Ryan and Esposito. "Put him in lockup for a couple of hours alright, let him get a taste of reality. And Ryan, if you need to go home, go right ahead." Ryan waved a hand, "naw! I'm fine! We'll meet you back here later."
"What have you got for us Lanie?" Beckett asked walking up to her. Lanie stood next to the Stacy Harper's body, covered with a blanket on a cold metal table.
"Your not gonna believe this." Lanie said.
"Try me." Beckett replied.
"I was looking at the burses and contusions, when I checked her file. This woman had been dead for almost two years."
….
Beckett was staring at the white board again. Wile Castle talked beside her.
"So if that woman found in the crate was Stacy Harper and the blood on the walls wasn't then what's the deal? Whose blood is it? This person must have used Stacy as an alias. So were still looking for our woman, but this time we don't have a name to go off of. You know… we should check and see who REALLY knew her, you know… like her true identity. This woman can be in double-dead-identity!"
"Why do you sound so excited Castle, this means were back to square one." Beckett replied.
"Yo Beckett, we put him in lockup but he didn't say anything…. Nothing." Espisido.
"Alright. We need to fine more evidence, because all we got now is assaulting an officer. We need to figure this out…." Beckett sighed, running her hands though her hair. "We need to find someone who known's who she really is… lets go back to he apartment and see what other evidence we can find…." Beckett swung her coat over her shoulder and walked out of the room.
"Find anything?" Castle asked, after a few moments of careful searching.
"Yes and no, it's what I'm not finding. There are no personal items here. Lets go talk to the apartment owners…"
"Hello, I'm detective Kate Beckett, I would like to ask a few questions about Mrs. Stacy Harper." Beckett said to the Hotel manager.
"Sure," She said, "What do you need to know?"
"I need any credit card info you got on her printed. Also, do you have a picture of Mrs. Harper anywhere?" Beckett said.
"Yes actually," said the woman and printed out a picture. This was of a woman with shoulder length black hair, a slight smile, and stunningly green eyes.
"Great. Thank you for your time, come on Castle." Beckett said. Just then Ryan and Esposito walked up to them, Ryan said, "No one we talked to said they saw anyone suspicious come to her door in the last few days."
….
Back at the precinct, Beckett sat at her desk looking at credit card files. "Her credit card says Stacy Harper." Kate Beckett sat at her desk, frowning at the computer. "Come look at this." She gestured to the other three men. "It says that her credit card is traced back to a hotel on 26th and Paramount. Lets go check it out."
The doorman opened the door for the detectives to an amazing sight. The hotel was extravagant; with it's polished wood, shimmering chandeliers and sparkling tile. Everything seemed to glow. Castle and Beckett stood open-mouthed at the sight in front of them. Then recovering, they headed to the front desk; Beckett took out her badge and the picture of "Stacy Harper" and laid them on the desk in front of a woman.
"Kate Beckett, NYPD, do you know who this woman is?"
"Um… yes that's Stacy Harper, she has a room here, why?" The woman answered.
"She's missing." Castle replied. Beckett shot him a 'Don't-tell-her-anymore' look then said, "Did you notice anything strange about her in the past couple of days, anything out of the ordinary?" Beckett asked.
"Well, she only came here during the days, and always left before eight o'clock." The woman said.
"Can we see her room?" Beckett asked, when the woman printed out a key and they headed to the elevator. When that entered her room Castle's mouth fell open. Inside was not an ordinary hotel room, but shelf upon shelves of flashing and blinking gadgets, a huge map covered the wall with New York, California and Russia circled. Beckett carefully picked her way though the room, strapping on gloves and Castle followed eagerly.
"Look at this stuff!" Castle squeaked with excitement. "This is spy stuff, look!" He walked over to a bookshelf and said, "I bet if you pull one of these books the wall comes away to reveal a secret room!" Then he began to pull books out.
"No touching Castle." Beckett said, without looking around, she started ruffling through drawer's until-
"Ah-ha! Gota'ch ya!" She exclaimed, holding up a passport. "Our vic is one, Vivian Vandyke! Looks like she's Russian." At this Castle spun around and looked at Beckett with wild excitement in his eyes, "a Russian Spy, she es vorking for ze government and got killed for et." Castle said in his best Russian accent, "Her mission vent awry!"
"Alright, get it over with, what's your oh-so brilliant writers theory?" Beckett turned to face Castle, rolling her eyes.
"She went on a mission, she came from Russia, like it says on the map, she had to do something really important, so she used the alias of Stacy Harper who has been dead and couldn't be traced back to her, because her body was never found. Then when her mission when awry, she had to destroy the evidence of her true identity, so she ordered someone to get rid of Stacy's body, but before she could finish her job, she was found out, and killed." Castle's words tumbled over each other in his excitement.
"Not bad Castle." Beckett said, crossing her arms.
"Not bad?" He repeated, "It's nothing short of brilliance!"
"Sure, but, how do we prove it?" Beckett asked. Castle thought for a moment then said, "Damian Barshock, our man in Lockup! If he was friends with Vivian then he will want to help her by telling us!"
….
The next morning Castle and Beckett were back in the Interrogation.
"What can you tell us about Vivian Vandyke?" Beckett stood over the man in the interrogation room.
"I don't know." Said the man, without the slightest change in expression.
"Ok, sure, then why did you order Stacy Harpers body to your house? You were trying to cover up for her, and it almost worked, didn't it?" Beckett pushed.
"I don't know." Said the man again. Beckett sighed deeply and sat down again,
"Lets start from the beginning, since you talking now," Beckett began, pulling a cream colored folder toward her. "Do you know this woman, Damian?" She showed him the picture of Vivian.
"No."
"Alright, we'll just keep you in lockup and not come and get you for a couple of months, those guys are not very kind, even to spies." Beckett growled menacingly. Damian just shrugged, "Fine," He replied.
"And I'll tell your boss that you failed your mission." Beckett finally got to him, for the first time Damian Barshock looked scared.
"No. I haven't failed, just listen alright?" Damian said, somewhat calmly. Beckett nodded for him to continue and he began to speak, "Yeah, I know Vivian. I know that she used Stacy Harpers identity. She was my partner. I was Peter Hogan until I blew it." He took a deep breath and continued, "They found out who I really was and I had to go into hiding, but I knew that they were gonna track down Vivian so I had Stacy's body shipped to me. But it was to late. They found out, and they must have killed her because I haven't heard from her since I went into hiding and she said she would come and get me once she completed the mission. That's why I ran when I saw you guys, I thought your were gonna give away my hiding place, and that they were gonna kill me too. I had to stop that from happening."
"And so you put one of my officers at gun point even though you knew we weren't gonna kill you?" Beckett lifted her eyebrows, "likely story."
"I panicked, alright. I thought they had found me." Damian said, not looking away from Beckett.
"Who is 'they', who were you so afraid of?" Castle asked from his position by the mirror.
"If you want us to protect you your gonna have to give us names, or I could let you go and then they could find you easier." Beckett smiled slightly at Damian's panic stricken face.
"There called… The Malanos. There the group we were sent to New York to get rid of. They have been around California and Russia for over 20 years, and when we got word that they had moved in to attack New York, they sent the experts, Vivian and me. Our job was to get rid of all their supplies and kill them." Barshock said.
"And what were they planning?" Castle asked, excitement in his eyes again.
"To poison the entire city using the water main, they need to be stopped!" Damian said.
"When were they planning this event to occur?" Beckett asked, eyes wide with fear.
"November 9th."
"That's two days from now!" Castle said the excitement from his eyes was now replaced by fear.
"I can help you track them down, I know where we can take them down and end this once and for all." Damian Barshock said.
"Ok, it happens tonight. We have 6 hours to plan an attack. Lets go."
….
"Don't you see? There untouchable!" Damian finished. He stood at a new murder board filled with complicated charts and pictures. Beckett, Castle, Ryan, Espisido, and Gates sat around the table.
"What if we bring in snipers?" Gates offered.
"They would be killed before they even got near the building, there are camera's everywhere."
"What about across the building, what's there?" Ryan asked.
"More building's, but there all tightly secured."
"Then what about going undercover?" Beckett now asked.
"That was the only was we could pull this off, but there's no guarantee they take the bait." Damian said.
"Yeah! We can pull if off! It will just need careful planning." Castle added.
"Castle." Beckett turned to him and said, "You should go home, you're not a cop and you could get hurt."
"I don't know Beckett." Gates said, looking sideways at Castle, "The more we have working on this the better." Everyone stared at the Captain as though she was crazy.
"Never thought I hear you say that!" Ryan said, laughing.
"Anyway." Damian cut in, "This is gonna take some planning if we can pull if off. Vivian had planed to go undercover…." As the hours passed, the detectives planned their mission. They started to plan and didn't leave the precinct until they had calculated for every problem and compensated. They went home to change and all arrived a few blocks away from the Malanos. The group of five walked in a straight line, never breaking stride. Anyone passing them wouldn't have guessed they were spies, writers, or policemen. They did however look like someone who wouldn't like being approached, with their leather black jackets, and Beckett's high heals clicking. Faces set; Beckett whispered to Esposito who turned the corner and advanced down "Malano road" by himself, the rest went down the back alley. As Esposito reached the door, he came in sight of a man standing there, wearing a grim expression.
Esposito walked straight up to the man at front of the man at the door who said,
"What do you want?"
"Hey man. I need to talk to Ray, so how about you let me in?" Esposito deepened him voice to sound more threatening.
"Why?"
"Why?" Esposito asked, looking incredulous, "What's it to you?"
"Ray doesn't just see people, what do you want?"
"It's between me an' Ray, Isn't it?" Esposito said, getting angrier.
"Fine, but no funny business, or you will regret it." The man led Esposito inside to a room crowded with people. It was so full of smoke, it was hard to see through the dim but he caught a glimpse of Castle sitting at a table playing poker, but he could see his eyes not on the game, but the room. Then he saw Ryan and Damian leaning against the wall, not looking at each other. Finally, when he passed the back table he saw Beckett and another man, talking intently, Beckett rubbed her hands through her hair and the man smiled. On queue, Esposito coughed into his jacket sleeve. Beckett's head snapped up as she heard the cough, bid goodbye to the man she was talking to and headed to the back table, following Esposito.
"This man wants to talk to you, say's it's important." The man at the door told another man sitting on a purple couch. The man smiled and said to Esposito, "Please, sit." As he did, Esposito noticed a large scar across the mans face, obscuring his eye.
"I'm Ray. What can I do for you?" His polite air didn't hide his suspicion.
"I got some illegal transport comin' in a few days, I know you guys were looking for a way of smuggling things in an' out of the country, and I think I just might have found the answers, if I can just-"
"I hope I'm not interrupting…" Beckett came over and sat next to Ray.
"I haven't scene you here before baby? What's your name?" Ray asked.
"Gabriella, I heard you know how do give someone a good time?" Beckett asked.
"Oh yeah. I can show you a good time, come with me. I'm sorry," He added to Esposito, "were gonna have to put this on hold." And left with Beckett following. Esposito stood up and walked over to the poker table, sat down and picked up some cards.
"Ace in the hole." Esposito said only loudly enough for Castle to hear, then whispered back,
"Part one of the plan…" Then said to the table at large, "Check" tapping the table twice. Esposito grinned and picked up his cards.
….
Beckett was lead up a staircase, up to a room off the hall to the right.
"So, what do you do here? What's your new… major plan?" Beckett asked.
"I can't tell you that, it will ruin the surprise, but I can show you. You seem like a trustworthy woman Gabriella, can you keep a secret?" Ray asked, pausing at door in front of them.
"I'm great at keeping secrets." Beckett whispered. Ray smiled then pushed open the door. Inside sat a huge tank labeled CAUTION: neurotoxin, keep out, dangerous. Beckett faked a gasp and clutched at her heart.
"What are you going to do with it?" Beckett asked, squeezing Ray's arm.
"Destroy the whole city! One slow piece at a time, fill this baby in the water main."
"Ingenious!" Beckett exclaimed, "What do those do?" She indicated the gas pumps next to the tank. Ray walked forward to show her and Beckett swung her foot at Ray's head. Her heal spiked his head and knocked him to the floor, unconscious. Beckett smiled, handcuffed him and taped him mouth shut. She took out her phone and started typing.
Ryan stood in a corner, hands in his pockets, waiting for the signal. Suddenly his phone buzzed, he started and then grabbed it. Were all good here, ready when you are Ryles. Ryan nodded at his phone and walked past Damian into the crowd. He found Castle sitting at the poker table, scooping up piles of chips, and grinning. Ryan walked past him, and dropped his top hat onto Castle's head. Castle looked around and said, "Watch it bub, can't you see I'm workin' here?" Castle, who sported a thick Chicago accent, winked at Ryan.
"Sorry, sorry." Ryan said then moved to a table in the back, taking a vacant seat.
Beckett left the room and was walking down the hall when a voice came behind her. "Stop right there or your dead." Beckett whipped around to find Damian facing her, a gun pointed right at her head.
"What-" She began,
"Am I doing?" Damian finished, "Don't you see? I wasn't a spy working against the Malanos; I was a spy working for them. And" He let out a harsh laugh, "It worked, I tricked all of you into helping me. Now, no one will ever know you're here, because you will be dead. In fact, the whole City will be dead tomorrow, so it won't matter, will it?" Damian advanced on Beckett, who's hand twitched toward her gun. "I told them I would bring them Vivian, but they killed her because she knew to much, but I brought them better, I brought them you, and your stupid little cop friends." He scoffed and continued, "I got you right where I want you. And nice try handcuffing Ray, I let him loose." He grinned and let out a mirthless laugh, taking advantage of his lack of concentration Beckett managed to kick Damian in the stomach, he buckled to the ground. Beckett took Damian's gun from his slack grip and aimed it at him.
"Beckett!" Came a strangled yell from downstairs. Beckett knocked Damian unconscious and leapt down the stairs. The room she ran into was in disarray. She caught a glimpse of Ryan hitting a man in the face, knocking him cold, and then saw Esposito upholstering his gun and aiming it at the large crowd.
"HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" He yelled over the dim. Many people dropped what they were holding and put their hands up. However, at that moment Beckett saw the front door open and group of people leave.
"The door! Lets go!" Beckett scrambled to the door, flung it open and sprinted outside. A cold blast of wind hit her face as she ran and she heard Ryan and Esposito running behind her. What Beckett saw made her heart skip a beat. Three or four men were shoving and unconscious Castle into a white van, slamming the doors and starting the ignition. Beckett pointed her gun at the car's tires and fired, but the bullets missed as the car screeched down the street.
….
"You know, for a writer, your pretty good. I'm proud, you found me, but as much as it pains me to, now your gonna have to pay. No one who enters this room comes out." Ray said, holding a gun to Richard Castle's head. Castle struggled against his bonds tying his hands and feet to a chair.
"Why?" Asked Castle, trying desperately to stay calm. "Why go through all this work to kill a whole bunch of people?"
"Because greedy people don't deserve to live in the state of luxury, wile others suffer, I will make them suffer, I will make them feel pain like they never have before. Starting with you." Instead of pulling the trigger, Ray pulled out a knife. "I will make you hurt, and your blood will stand as a signal to others. Would you like to make a phone call to your little girly friend, hum? Say goodbye? So she can hear you die as well?" Ray took out Castle's cell phone and began to search for it.
"Ah, here we are!" He pressed the green phone and put it on speaker.
….
Beckett's phone rang as she pulled up to a warehouse; she paused to see the name Richard Castle on her caller ID.
"Castle, are you alright? Where are you? Where's Ray?"
"Right here Mrs. Gabriella, or shall I say, Kate."
"Kate! Leave, don't-" Castle's voice was silenced when he whimpered in pain.
"Rick? Ray, let Castle go now!" Beckett yelled into the phone.
"I don't think so, say goodbye to your boyfriend Kate." Ray answered.
"Kate, leave now, I don't want you getting hurt, there's people with guns all over here I-" Castle now cried out in pain and fell silent, a few moments later, the phone hung up.
"Lets go!" Beckett gestured to the other two who sprinted to the warehouse entrance after her.
….
Castle now lay slumped in the chair; blood oozing from his throat and dribbling down his neck. He gasped for breath as he fought to stay conscious. Ray smiled down at Castle, watching the blood pour down his front. Behind him he suddenly heard a clicking sound, he whipped around and shot his gun at the noise.
Beckett ducked and rolled behind a large crate. She peered out from behind her hiding place, her gun at the ready. She then ducked out of sight when a second bullet whizzed toward her. Sweeping the hair out of her eyes, Beckett fired her gun around the corner, only to hear a cry of pain. Edging carefully around the crate she found Ray bent double in the pain, clutching his leg. Beckett ran over to him and found Ryan and Esposito untying Castle. Beckett cuffed Ray and said to Esposito,
"I can take Castle from here, you take this scumbag downstairs." Esposito nodded then began leading a limping Ray out of the room. Beckett heard Ryan calling an Ambulance as she leaned close to Castle.
"Stay with me alright? Were gonna get you out of here, don't worry." Beckett tore a piece of fabric from her clothing and pressed it against Castle's throat. Castle winced and began to breathe faster as he choke out words,
"Thank… you… you…. didn't… have… to…risk…your…life…for…me" Every word seemed to cause him considerable pain.
"Shhhh." Beckett said, pressing her finger to his lips, "Don't try to talk, and of course I would do that, you're my partner." Beckett smiled as she heard distant sirens approaching.
….
Kate Beckett walked up to Richard Castle, who was laying on a stretcher, getting a bandage put on his throat by a nurse.
"Your gonna be just fine, but I would suggest taking the next couple of days off to rest." The nurse said. Castle thanked her and she left.
"How are you feeling?" Beckett asked anxiously.
"Fine, my throat's a bit dry but, all is good. And you?" Castle replied, smiling at Beckett.
"I'm fine, oh and look, there's someone here to see you!" Beckett pointed to two redheaded people running toward Castle, both looking extremely worried.
"DAD!" Alexis Castle cried, hugging her father, he winced as she hugged him but smiled all the same.
"Oh Richard! When we heard what happened. If it weren't for Beckett!" And to her surprise, Martha Rodgers, Castle's mother, brought Beckett in a tight embrace.
"Oh Martha, it's fine." Beckett said, blushing slightly.
"Did you get them dad?" Alexis asked.
"Yep!" He said proudly, "mostly with my help, but you know, Beckett helped out somewhat." Castle grinned at Beckett who smiled back.
"We'll… shall we go on home? If you ask me, it's been a long day. What do you say Kate. Join us for a drink?" Castle asked hopefully.
"Oh alright." Beckett laughed and called over to Ryan and Esposito.
"Come on guys, we deserve a break! Wanna come with us?" Beckett asked. They nodded enthusiastically and they all walked toward the car. Just then, Beckett's phone rang.
"Beckett… its Gates." She whispered to the others as she put her on speakerphone.
"Congratulations to ALL. I think you did a wonderful job, and I hate to admit it but, we couldn't have done it without you Castle, thank you, you could actually become a decent cop one day." Castle laughed as Gates hung up.
"She might actually like you now Castle!" Ryan chuckled.
"Yeah." Castle said, "I guess it takes being held hostage and stabbed for her to like me!"
The group of six headed toward the parking lot, laughing as they went.
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