I really should stop this story. I don't update on any sort of regular basis. I just work on it now and again when inspiration strikes and usually only get a paragraph or two out at a time. I hate to think there are people out there waiting to see what happens. Unfortunately, I'm really enjoying writing it. It's so different, that other than personalities, which are the same, I can do just about anything I want. I mean I made Hal Lockwood not only a good guy, but a family man.

So, here is the next chapter. Please enjoy, because I don't know when there will be another one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.


The little convoy stopped three blocks from the location that Petro's people had under surveillance. Kate came on the net. "Alright. Petro and I are taking a walk. Everybody keep your eyes open. The go word is 'goldilocks'. Copy."

Hal answered. "Roger. We hear 'goldilocks' we come in shooting."

Kate turned to look at Petro. "Ready?"

"No. I would very much prefer not to be shot at today, but let's do this." Petro opened the door climbing out of the Range Rover.

Hal spoke into the comms. "Alright everyone. Stay sharp. If they give the word, we are going to have to move fast.

Petro and Kate walked along at a leisurely pace. They certainly didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

"Hold my hand." Kate whispered.

Petro reached over grabbing her hand. "Don't tell Hellen. I will never hear the end of it."

Kate tried not to laugh. "You should marry the girl. It's been over a year."

"We are engaged. That's why you can't tell her."

"It's about time." Kate took a look at the warehouse.

Kate and Petro were walking down the opposite side of the street the warehouse that they were looking at was located on. From a distance things didn't look out of the ordinary. As they got closer, that perception quickly changed. No one was standing in front of the building, but there were pairs of guards at each corner of the building. Those were the only people they could see, so they had to assume the rest were inside.

"They are heavily armed." Petro pointed out. "This will end badly."

"Will it end better if we let them move the hostages?" Kate asked as they continued walking.

"No. It will end much, much worse." Petro confessed.

Kate activated the comms. "The entire place is locked down. We can't see anything. I can tell you that the four guards standing in the shadows are heavily armed."

"Well that's amazingly bad news." Hal answered.

"At least they are still here." Javi offered.

"If we go in shooting, we are going to cost a lot of lives." Kate reasoned.

"If we don't we could lose all of the lives." Hal said.

"I'm open to suggestions." Kate offered.

"I have an idea, but no one is going to like it."

"Who the hell was that?" Kate asked.

"Oh crap! Rick! What the hell man? Where are you?" Javi yelled into the comm.

"I'm one block behind you, leaning against the building. I stole the comm unit from the equipment you set up in the hotel room. I spent several months with a thief for one of my books. I followed the group here. Took a taxi. Wasn't too hard."

"You are leaving right now Mr. Castle." Kate was fuming. "You are endangering the rescue attempt of not only your own daughter but everyone else in that building."

"Don't you want to hear my idea?"

Kate ground her teeth. She wanted him out of harm's way, but they did need an idea. "Fine."

"We get a truck and show up saying we heard about the job. Everyone gets in the back of the truck, they let us in. A Trojan Horse at its finest."

"That's your plan? Where are you going to get a truck? Hot wire one? Did you learn that for a story?" Kate deadpanned.

"Actually I did. However, I have the ransom money, I'm pretty sure we can simply purchase one of the local ones. Before we go in, you should call the authorities, friends, or anyone else you need to get here while we do this little deal."

"Who's going to drive this truck?" Javi asked.

"Learned that as well." Castel answered.

"It's too risky." Kate asked. "We could lose you, Mr. Castle."

"That doesn't matter. You just get my daughter and the others out of there. That's the job." Castle responded.

"Mr. Castle, I won't pretend to understand what you are going through, but you brought us here to do a job. We are here to get your daughter back, unharmed. As part of that we are to keep you unharmed as well. Sending you into that building is not keeping you safe."

"My safety doesn't matter. Only Alexis's does." Castle yelled.

"Yes, it does. It's my job to keep you both safe. I've had to tell parents that their children are dead, children that their parents are dead, wives their husbands. I am not doing that today. Hal, get the money from Castle and go get a truck. Javi, go get Mr. Castle and put him in the Range Rover. He is your responsibility and he doesn't leave that car. Handcuff him if you have to. Petro, can you make the call to your father? We are going to need a ton of backup when all this goes pear shaped."

Kate and Petro walked back to the vehicles in silence. As she approached the Range Rover, Kate could see Castle in the passenger seat. She walked over and opened the car door. "Don't get out of this car, Mr. Castle. I wasn't joking when I said Javi would handcuff you. This is going to be dangerous enough without having a wild card in the mix from our side."

Hal pulled up in the large cargo truck behind Kate and the rest of the team began piling in. "Just get my daughter back, Miss Beckett. That's all that matters."

"We are doing our best Mr. Castle." Kate turned to Petro who had just arrived.

Petro gave a rundown of what was happening. "They are gathering now. Out people will be here in fifteen minutes. Police forces will be in in half an hour."

Kate looked at her watch, then spoke into the comm. "Everybody get ready. We roll in five minutes."

Kate walked around to the passenger side of the truck and climbed in. "You ready Hal?"

"No. This plan is a drop kick. I hate drop kicks. That's when fumbles happen."

"You know, I wish you would speak in baseball metaphors. I like them better."

"Ok." Hal turned to look Kate in the face. "How about 'the sacrifice'?"

Kate winced. "Football metaphors it is." She started looking at her watch again. "Sixty seconds. Everyone sound off."

All twenty-two people in the back of the truck called in.

"Rolling out." Hal called.

As the truck approached the front of the warehouse the guards from the corners appeared from the shadows.

Kate could hear the two on Hal's side ask what they were doing there in Russian. He answered back that he had heard they were hiring drivers and he needed the work. They told him they would have to talk to the boss.

Kate saw a small door open in the front of the warehouse and what she assumed to be the leader come out. The first question out of his mouth was how Hal had heard about the job. Hal answered that word was on the street.

"He's not buying it." Kate whispered into her mic. "We are going to have to take them. Hal take your side. I've got this side. When they are down, ram the door. Everyone in back, brace." Kate released the safety from her silenced pistol and began her countdown. "3. 2. 1. Now." Kate shot both individuals in the head. Hal shot the leader first and then the two beside him. The final guard got a shot off, but it went high. It was too late by then though, because Hal had already hit the gas and they were crashing through the door.

As the truck cleared the shattered door, bullets began to hit the cab. Both Hal and Kate ducked down to avoid the shots coming through the window. Hal aimed the truck at the largest group of individuals and accelerated. Kate cringed as she felt the truck run over several large bumps she knew had to be people.

Hal jammed the brakes and jumped from the cab. At the same time the remainder of the team dismounted from the back of the truck, guns up at the ready. The dynamic entrance had scattered the men inside the building everywhere. Everyone got behind any cover they could find. As she raced around the other side of the truck to clear the gunfire, Kate looked around the building for any place that the hostages could be.

"Kate." Hal called to her. "Over there." Hal pointed to the far corner of the warehouse on the other side of the truck. There were two hauling containers that were padlocked shut.

"Everyone be aware. They cargo containers on the far side are most likely where the hostages are. Watch your fire and don't let anyone get near them."

"Alpha team. Pin your guys against that wall." Hal started giving orders. "Keep them behind their cars. Bravo begin moving toward the containers. We need to get eyes on the hostages."

Affirmative answers came from the two team leaders. Kate immediately heard the volume of outgoing fire pick up. She began moving toward Bravo team to join them at the containers.

"Alpha team, grenade going out."

Kate ducked out of instinct. Moments later the grenade detonated taking two cars with it.

"That took the fight out of them." Hal's voice came across the comms.

The sound of gun fire tapered off as members of the Albanian gang came out with hands raised.

"I need bolt cutters!" Kate yelled.

A member of Alpha team stepped up easily removing the lock on the doors of the container. As they pulled the doors open Kate felt relief spread over her as she saw the faces of the captives.

"Alexis Castle! Alexis Castle! Are you here?" Kate yelled.

A pale red head stood up from the back of the container. "I'm Alexis Castle."

The teams began helping people out of the container. Kate made her way inside and helped Alexis out. "My name is Kate Beckett. These men are with me. Your father hired us to get you back."

"Is he here? Are we still in Kiev?" Alexis asked.

"Yes, he is here. You are still in Kiev."

"ALEXIS!" All heads turned at the shout. Richard Castle came running full tilt across the warehouse with Javi sprinting as fast as he could after him. He barely slowed as he engulfed his daughter in his arms, picking her up and spinning her around. "Are you OK? I thought I had lost you."

"Daddy!" Alexis yelled returning her father's exuberate embrace.

Castle, still holding Alexis, turned to face Kate and Hal. "Thank you so much. Thank. I own both of you."

Petro walked up to the group. "I see we have arrived too late to join in the excitement." Petro looked over the scene. "Kate, you might want to leave before the authorities get here. It will be much easier for me to explain this without American mercenaries here."

"You won't get in trouble, will you?" Kate didn't want leave her friend in trouble for something she and her team had done.

"Trouble? I will be credited with stopping an Albanian human trafficking ring inside the Ukraine posing as Russians. Everyone and their brother is going to owe us for this. I'll be a hero." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Right." She walked up and gave him a hug. "Next time I come, it will be for pleasure."

"Of course, now get out of here."

Hal didn't need to be told twice. "Everyone back to the vans. We are out of here."

It only took minutes for everyone to get back to the vehicles and vacate the area. Castle rode in back of the Range Rover with Alexis. Kate turned around in the seat to look at them.

"Mr. Castle. Getting a commercial flight out of the Ukraine right now isn't going to be easy. It's not first class by any means, but we can take you, your daughter, agent, and publisher back on our plane. You will need to pack quickly though."

Castle was still holding Alexis in a tight embrace in the back seat. "Pack? Forget that. Let's go to the airport and get the hell out of here. I just got my daughter back from Albanian kidnappers. The sooner we leave the better."

Kate pulled out her phone. "Kevin. We have Alexis. Everyone is coming with us. Mr. Castle wants to go straight to the plane and leave. Pack the equipment, bring Miss Haas and Miss Cowel with you. We will meet you at the airport. And Kevin, shag it." Kate hung up the phone.

"We are headed for the plane Hal." Javi spoke into the comms.

"Good. We have completely worn out our welcome here and the sooner we leave the better. I would prefer to be airborne before anyone finds out we gunned down a bunch of slavers." Hal responded.


When the three vehicle convoy made the airport, Kevin was already there and the ladies were on the plane.

"What did you do Kev, threaten them at gun point?"

"Nope, I told them what happened, they grabbed their overnight bags, and said they were ready to leave. They told the hotel to mail them the bill. We've been here ten minutes."

"Well, I guess you can't blame them. This is completely out of the ordinary for them." Kate said.

"I wish it was out of the ordinary for us." Javi said approaching the group.

"At least no one got shot this time." Hal said, joining the party.

"Who threw the grenade?" Javi asked.

"Marty. He was afraid the hostages were going to get shot, so he decided to end it."

"I'm putting him in for a raise." Kate said.

"I'll hold you to that. Now, let's get the gear on the bird so we can get out of here."

Javi and Hal walked off to help get the plane loaded. The pilots already had the engines turning and had finished the preflight check list.

Kate watched as Castle helped his daughter from the Range Rover and onto the plane. She followed them on to help them get secured. She watched Castle fasten his daughter in and then sit down and fasten himself in.

"I keep forgetting you were in the military." Kate said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, I usually try to forget myself." Castle's face turned serious. "I will owe all you forever for this."

"It's what we do, Mr. Castle. I'm just glad this had a happy ending."

"Me too, Miss Beckett. Me too."