I sauntered into the bullpen with two cups of coffee just like I watched Castle do almost every day for years. "Hey, Beckett," I announced with a grin that was playfully mischievous.
Kate turned from her desk somewhat startled at the familiar voice behind her. "Castle! What are you doing here, shouldn't you be on your book tour?"
The questions were anticipated, planned for, and the response was well-rehearsed. "I had a few days open in my schedule so I thought I'd surprise you. I know how much you miss my help on cases when I'm gone." I threw in just enough teasing to sell the act as I had become well acquainted with their easy banter.
She rolled her eyes, "Well, sorry to disappoint, Castle but no bodies have dropped. Just catching up on paperwork. You know, that part of the job you seem to be allergic to."
I let the comment roll off me as though I didn't even hear, much like our dear Castle would and proceeded to the next step of the plan as I handed her the coffee. "Good, all the more reason for you to come with me."
She squinted her eyes in suspicion but I didn't fear that she was seeing through any cracks in my performance. Castle could be vague and she always seemed to be put on the air of suspicion when he got this way but inevitably she would concede to his whims and follow along with whatever hair-brained idea he concocted. It was their dance. She was never one to give into Castle easily. No, their relationship thrived because she made him work for whatever interest she decided to bestow on him. What a weak man Castle was and it was one of the things that bugged me the most about him. It was one of the things I was going to make sure she learned her lesson about and see how much she liked it when the tides were turned.
"You do realize that paperwork is… WORK, hence the name, right? I can't just up and leave." She defended.
"Yeah, but it's not like it has to get done right this second, right? I only have a short break and wanted to take you to lunch before I have to head back." I made sure to put on a somewhat petulant look as it seemed Castle's puppy-dog sad face often broke Beckett's reticence.
With a heavy sigh Beckett agrees, "Fine, Castle, but nothing fancy and it has to be quick before Gates gives me a hard time."
"Okay, well grab your coffee and drink up, I'll meet you downstairs at the car." I say with impish glee that seemed to pass for Castle as I headed for the precinct's elevator as Beckett finishes what she was working on and gets her things together. The glee turns from Castle-esque impishness to a malicious sneer as I watch her drink deeply before the doors close.
In the parking garage below the precinct I meet Beckett at the elevator doors a few minutes later and note that she is wearing her blazer to conceal her gun, badge, and cuffs. She stumbles ever so slightly as she exits the elevator and I jump forward to give her a helping hand, "You okay, Beckett? Maybe that lunch will really do you good."
"Mmmm, maybe," she replied weakly. "I'm sorry, Castle, I'm just not feeling very good right now. Maybe I should just head back up and we can do lunch when you come back after the tour."
"A little food in your stomach will do you good. If I know you at all when was the last time you had a good meal?"
She shot me a sidelong glance that was intended to be intimidating but all it did was show me how fuzzy her focus was becoming. I took her by the elbow like a gentleman would and escorted her towards my car. It was easy enough to have the building that Castle lives in let me take the car since I was a dead-ringer for him. I went to special efforts to get the car just to mess with those who would attempt to track Beckett down once they realized she was gone. There was no doubt she told Ryan and Esposito she was going to lunch with Castle so that allowed me at least an hour to gain ground before they grew suspicious. Besides, they'd be running in circles looking for both Castle and Beckett – the two people they are most protective of and it would be so sweet to watch them scratching their heads when they find out that Castle has been out of town the entire time. They'd waste so much time trying to figure out how Castle could be in two places at once especially since the famous Richard Castle had no idea I even existed.
As we neared the car her legs buckled and the grip I had on her elbow tightened to keep her upright. She started to protest that something was wrong as I put her in the passenger seat and buckled her in. Her head lulled to the side and watched as I snapped zip ties over her wrists. The split-second realization that she was in trouble was delicious to watch as her eyes closed and the drug finally completed its job. I made sure to remove her gun, extra ammo clip, badge, handcuffs, and cell phone before I closed the door on her side. Quickly I removed the battery from her phone and threw it to the far end of the parking garage before slamming the phone itself into the ground and shoving the shattered pieces under a nearby car. I didn't care if they found the phone, all it would tell them was she was kidnapped from the garage area. I got into the driver's seat and placed a small travel pillow between her head and window and draped a small blanket over her lap to cover her bound hands to give the outward appearance that we were on a long trip and she was quietly napping.
The timing was perfect, it was as though there was a divine force guiding my plan. The twilight hour allowed me enough time to drive a few blocks away where the darkening shadows began to cloak the city. The further from the heart of the city you went the less billboards and building lights there were, which only served as an aid for me to ditch the car in a darkened street near a subway. I didn't care if it was stolen or stripped of its parts but if the thieves were kind enough they'd leave some part of the car behind so the detectives could at least determine it was Castle's car. She was starting to fight back to consciousness – either her will was that strong to fight past the effects of the drugs or she hadn't ingested enough to keep her completely under. Again, I wasn't worried. Once more the guiding forces behind my plan graced me as her semi-conscious state served to assist me as I guided my "drunken" girlfriend down to the subway platform where we waited for the train, not that we'd need it. It took only a few moments of pretending to talk to her like she was drunk, saying things like 'don't worry, honey, we'll get you home soon. Try not to be sick sweetie. I told you not to drink so much on an empty stomach.' With her barely conscious grunts and groans she sold the show for me and most people, as is typical in New York, turned a blind eye.
Moments later the loud rumbling of the train blasted through the tunnels and while people jockeyed to get on and off the train and squeeze themselves into a space like sardines in a can I dragged my dear Beckett further down the platform until we disappeared. There wouldn't be another train on this subway line for 15 minutes, assuming it wasn't running behind like they usually do, but I wasn't going to risk it by counting on a few extra minutes. Nope, I had 15 minutes or less to get her off the platform and around the bend in the tracks. Once around the bend there was no line of sight from anyone on the platforms and that would give me about 10 minutes to make my way to the maintenance hatches. It was risky, but then again, kidnapping a detective from her precinct wasn't exactly a walk in the park either.
It was slow going but we managed to safely make it into the maintenance tunnel with a few minutes to spare before the next train would come blasting through the underground tunnels. The city is littered with tunnels that have long since been vacant as the system was expanded and redesigned over the years leaving me with a virtually undetectable hideout. It was, however, a vast labyrinth that one could easily become lost in but after a few years using them as my home I'd become quiet adept at navigating them and developed a map that allowed me to take the active tunnels, through old boarded up pathways, and into the vacant tunnels. While I could have easily settled into any abandoned section I opted, for poetic purposes, to bring Beckett as close to being directly beneath the 12th precinct as possible.
However, by the time I managed to get her, stumbling and gaining consciousness, into the maintenance shaft it was time to set her down. She was gaining lucidity faster than I hoped but I was not one to take chances when dealing with this tigress and I created fail safes for my fail safes. I procured some Rohypnol (roofies) as I meandered the streets of the city during my time watching Castle and Beckett and now was the time to use it. I produced two bottles of water and dropped the tablet into the one intended for Beckett. I turned to face her as she remained seated on the floor fighting to break through the last of the haze she was in and made a grand show of opening my bottle and drinking from it. I knew she wouldn't be too quick to take a drink from something I give her again unless she thought it was safe. With a quick sleight of hand I exchanged the safe bottle for the drugged bottle and presented it to her.
"You need to drink water or you will get sick," I said in the most benign voice I could muster.
Her skepticism and doubt were evident on her face and I could see her warring with herself. I knew she'd be very thirsty and she watched me drink but, as the old adage goes, 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'
"You will not do yourself or anyone else any good by going into shock or dying of dehydration." I try again. When she still makes no move I push the bottle towards her, "Take it," I add with some more authority to my voice.
Cautiously she reaches out for the bottle. She takes only a tiny sip, just enough to wet her lips, and I know it's not nearly enough. I give her a big dramatic sigh, "You can die here and now or you can do what you have to do in order to survive and possibly live." I chuckle as I hear the options. "I suppose neither of those sound overly optimistic but it does boil down to – we can do this the easy way or the hard way – but frankly, I will get my way, regardless."
She takes a heavier drink from the bottle this time and it seems that the taste of water was enough to trigger her brain into realizing just how thirsty she had become. She drinks some more, nearly half the bottle before I take it from her. "What do you want?" She asks, her voice low and husky.
"You're so predictable. Of course that would be the first thing you'd say. It's really rather simple. I want you, my dear. I've wanted you for a long time and the fates have aligned this day perfectly so that I can have you."
"Castle, have you lost your mind. Is this a sick prank? You've gone too far." She tries to push herself up to stand to her full height in an attempt to intimidate as she would do in the interrogation room but I can see the struggle and effort it takes despite her best efforts to conceal any weakness.
I merely cock an eyebrow up at her with thinly veiled amusement as she tries to catch her balance against the wall but begins to slowly slide back down into a sitting position. I take out the safe bottle of water I previous drank from and take a long, deep sip and end with an exaggerated smack of my lips. She's drifting back into unconsciousness but I can see her eyes darting frantically from the bottle in my hand to the half-empty bottle she drank from and realization dawns on her that she'd be tricked again. She fights hard to stay conscious this time, the fear wild in her eyes but there's no stopping the effects as her body slumps and her head drops forward.
I gather the few belongings I previously stashed here back into my bag and sling it over my shoulder. I lift her lithe body from the ground, place her in the wheelbarrow and push forward to continue our trek to my home. To our home, now. I'd have to move quick enough to get the wheelbarrow back to the maintenance room before anyone notices it missing – it wouldn't do to have anyone snooping around over such a simple mistake. I was leaving nothing to chance, that's for sure.
By the time we reached our destination I was tired, thirsty, and dirty after trudging through the tunnel ways. Despite Beckett being so svelte she was muscle and currently dead weight. Going several city blocks in one thing, but it was a slow and laborious trek when doing it underground through winding, narrow ways. I picked her up and laid her gently on the bed and made sure to securely attach the pre-set restraints to her wrists and ankles and covered her. Once I was sure she was settled I wet a rag with some stored water and began to quickly wipe the sweat and dirt away from myself, it wouldn't do to present myself to her all filthy. After a quick drink of water to quench my own thirst I settled into the beat up but still functional recliner I found beside a dumpster and settled in for some quick shut-eye until she woke. She'd have no memory of most of our time together thanks to the Rohypnol which was exactly why I picked it as I didn't want her to have any conscious memory of where we were.