She doesn't realize she's been holding her breath, until she finally pushes it out, between her lips. Lanie reaches over to take her hand, squeezes and releases it. Montgomery watches her, waiting for her next question, but she's silent. Ryan and Esposito, glancing at each other, are waiting too. No one is quite sure what to say to each other and especially to her.
Kate is too stunned to say anything. She barely feels the squeeze from Lanie's hand. She finally looks up at the captain, a faint sheen in her eyes, "How?"
Montgomery takes a deep breath, "At the loft. Whomever took him, didn't shut the door all the way. The alarm system he had installed, went off, they alerted the 8th precinct. When they got there, the evidence showed there had been a struggle. Knowing that it was Castle, they called the Mayor, he called me. I've already sent our CSU team down there, going thru his study and the rest of the loft. It appears, from what they have reported so far, the struggle was concentrated in his study."
She can tell he's holding back, leaving something out. "And?", sitting back in the chair, waiting for him to continue.
He takes another breath, looks over at Lanie and turns his gaze back to Kate, "They found blood."
He watches her, as she slowly closes her eyes, "How much?"
"Not a lot," he answers slowly, "They also located a knife."
Without opening her eyes, she nods. She takes a deep breath and opens her eyes, "We need to head down there and start processing the scene ourselves."
"That's why I called Ryan and Esposito in early. I called Lanie, because even though she's our ME, I wanted her to head up the processing team. Plus," he hesitates, "I wanted to make sure that you had your team there with you." They all are waiting for it, the denial, but she says nothing; just nods her head. The captain looks at the others, "Why don't you three head down to Castle's, we'll meet you down there shortly."
As they walk out, Lanie brushes her hand across Kate's shoulder, causing Kate to look up at her. "I'll see you there," Lanie whispers. Kate nods her head and watches her friends walk out the door, Ryan closing it.
Kate gets up slowly, walking over to the window, resting her head against the pane, looking out the window, at nothing.
"We'll find him Kate. It's only been an hour, CSU is processing the loft and the FBI has been called in."
When he mentions the FBI, she turns back around, arms still crossed, "Who did they send?"
He looks away from her as he answers, "Sorenson,"
She blows out her breath, dropping her arms, "Great. As if my day wasn't already at rock bottom." Montgomery opens his mouth to answer, but Kate puts up her hand, "Yes, I know. He's one of the best in his field. I would just prefer not to have to deal with Castle's disappearance and Will's ego all in one day."
Montgomery grins at her as he answers, "I have a feeling you'll have no problem putting Sorenson in his place. Especially when it comes to Castle"
She nods and starts to make her way to the door, suddenly stopping, she turns to him and whispers, "Alexis. Martha."
He stands up and walks around the desk to face her. "The Mayor's already contacted Martha. She's en-route, via the Mayor's helicopter, to collect Alexis."
He checks his watch, "They should already be landing at Pier 6. The Mayor's car will bring them to the loft. I suggested it would be easier to have the FBI question them both at the loft." She nods slowly.
Alexis and Martha …..
She takes a deep breath, looks at the captain, "I need to be there when they arrive; it's what Castle would want me to do. He would want me to look after them."
The captain nods, "I know that. We will bring him home Kate."
She looks down at her shoes, "You don't know that," she whispers.
The captain takes a deep breath, "I've been doing this job a long time. I've seen a lot of detectives come and go. You stand out among them. You won't stop until you bring him home, safely. The person or persons who did this have no idea what they are up against. Or how you will move heaven and earth to find him."
She smiles faintly, touching his arm, as she walks out the door.
She picks up her phone, purse and keys from her desk and turning, walks to the elevator. She steps into the elevator, hits the button for the underground garage.
" You don't let go. You don't back down. It's what makes you extraordinary."
As the doors close, she takes a deep, cleansing breathe. She works hard to get them all right, but this one, is the most important to her. She needs to get this one right for Alexis and Martha. She needs to get this one right for yourself; because she's afraid of this one; afraid she won't recover this time if she gets this one wrong.
"Hey Dad! Dad, wake up" Alexis is standing over him. He's fallen asleep in his study again. "We need you, Dad."
"Richard! Wake up kiddo." Martha is standing over him. He's fallen asleep on the couch again. "We need you, Richard"
"Castle! Rick, wake up …." Kate is straddling him. He's fallen asleep in his bed again and she's bending down to whisper in his ear. "I need you, Rick."
"Kate," a faint whisper escaping his lips. He lets out a groan, thinking that she's real, until he tries to move his hands to pull her towards his mouth. When his arms won't move, he slowly starts to wake up. He groans again, but this is from the pain he feels as he lifts his head and tries to open his eyes. It takes him a moment or two to focus, as he looks around the room.
He can tell he's in one of the old abandoned warehouses that cover the city; dozens and dozens that sprinkle across the 5 boroughs. He's been duct taped to an old chair; feet, thighs, wrists and across his mouth. He feels something trickling down his face and then drop off. He looks down and on his jeans, he finds a decent size blood stain. He feels something sticky on the left side of his neck. Pulling his bound wrists up to touch his neck, he pulls them back; blood! He cranes his neck back to see blood on his upper chest. Well, this is definitely not a good sign!
He continues to focus his gaze around the abandoned room, noticing a door at the far end. From the looks of it, the door is very old, but the many locks on the door, appear to be new. The only window, is also at the far end, opposite of the door. Small panes that have been freshly painted black. He looks up at the ceiling and notices several sky lights, the window propped open not too far from him. At least it's still daylight; early morning by the angle of the sun and it's sure to be a hot one. Great! This day is just getting better and better. Well, Castle, you certainly got yourself into trouble here.
"Can't write your way out of this one, huh Castle."
He looks over to the door as he hears the locks all being opened, one at a time. Two figures, both dressed in black and wearing masks, walk into the room. The larger of the two walks over to a small table and pulls it next to Castle's chair. He then walks back and returns to dump a bag and a water bottle on the table. The smaller of the two walks over and stands in front of Castle and rips off the duct tape.
"I guess I didn't hit you hard enough if you are awake already. I know these aren't your usual accommodations, but you won't be here for long," the captors states.
Castle clears his throat, "Look, if you want money, I can get you money. Just let me go."
The smaller of the two looks back at the larger captor and they both laugh, "This isn't about money. This is about you and your detective friend. She'll eventually figure out where you are, and when she comes to rescue you … Well, lets just say neither of you will be walking out of the building."
Castle struggles against the duct tape binding him, "No, leave her alone. I'll kill you if you harm her."
The captors both laugh, the smaller one says to Castle, "I think it's time for another nap." Gun in hand, the captor hits Castle across his right jaw, knocking him unconscious.