I wrote this some time ago actually and wasn't going to post it because it's so short, but I've been blocked something fierce lately and want to give you something so I'm sorry.
They're down to seconds. They're down to seconds and they know that.
Billy.
The code is Billy. It has to be Billy.
The entire precinct is standing behind them, waiting for Castle to tell them that the code worked. The password was Billy and she was okay.
Five seconds.
It had to be Billy.
Four.
Three.
B-i-l-l-y
Two.
One.
They're holding their breath when they heard the click on the other end, and for a brief moment they think the bomb is off. And then they hear a sharp intake of air on the other end of the line.
"CASTLE, RU-!"
There's a roar that erupts on the other side of the line, only briefly before the phone goes completely silent.
"NO!" Esposito screams, pushing against the desk, "BECKETT! CASTLE!"
There's no answer. The line is silent, the entire precinct is silent. Gates emerged from her office at the sound but the entire precinct is staring at the phone, the two detectives standing in front of it.
"CASTLE THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Esposito screams, "YOU BETTER START TALKING, MAN!"
Ryan hasn't looked away from the phone.
The rest of the phones in the precinct start ringing like crazy but no one makes a move to answer them. They all know what they're going to say.
The precinct phone finally drops the call. The red busy button goes colorless before the line instantly starts ringing again.
"DAMMIT!" Esposito screams. He grabs the ringing phone. He yanks it angrily out of its jack, throws it down on the floor before he moves back towards the desk, slamming an angry fist down on the table before he bites the inside of his lips, exhaling angrily through his nose and no one says a damn thing, not even Gates.
Ryan stares at the empty space where the phone used to be before his back bends towards the desk. His partner is fuming behind him, pacing back and forth and he can feel the rage rolling off him. The phones still haven't stopped ringing. Neither have his ears from the sound of the explosion going off on the phone before -
This can't be real. It just can't be.
Someone finally picks up a phone. Ryan's 90% sure it's Gates but his head is spinning. He can't see straight. He just heard his team, his friends –their family di –
"Is there any chance?" He hears Gates say. If he looked up he would be able to see that Gates was barely holding it together. She hums at the answer, before he hears her accept condolences from whoever was on the other end of that phone call.
"Yes, Captain. It is a tragedy. They were two of the best…"
Were.
"… I will personally inform their families… It's a great loss for us all."
Ryan hears another punch slam into the wall, knows without question that his partner just put a hole straight through the plaster. He lifts his fist weakly and lets it fall back onto the desk as his knees start to shake underneath him, his eyes start to water and he would bet his life's savings that he's not the only one.
They were wrong.
They let them down.
It wasn't Billy.