Currently, the bank was getting them nowhere. None of the employees knew where Venozzo was so Castle and Beckett struck out. Luckily, Ryan and Esposito came through and Beckett's phone rang.
"Beckett," she answered.
"We have a Jack Venozzo on tape getting into a white van. The shot is fuzzy, but it looks like he had company with him, possibly the goons that helped him beat on Terrance."
"You get a plate number?" she asked as she and Castle stepped outside of the bank and flipped the call on speaker so Castle could hear.
"Yup. Registered rental car, we called the rental company and they have GPS units in all of their vans and tracked it to a building at 1200 Assembly Road out in Brooklyn near the Navy Yard."
"You think he is still there?" Castle asked her.
"One way to find out," she addressed before telling Ryan and Espo to meet them at the van and hung up.
Castle and Beckett arrived first to the building the rental car company traced the van to. They noted it was an industrial building that was up for rent, meaning a couple of the floors were probably empty waiting for tenants. This whole thing felt fishy to Beckett like Castle had suggested at the precinct.
While waiting for their back-up, Castle and Beckett continued to survey the area when a window was blown out at the top floor. They both jumped into action, flying to the trunk to strap on their vests.
They were about to go in when Beckett grasped Castle's forearm, "Stay behind me, Rick," she urged.
He nodded as Kate withdrew her piece and opened the side door to the stairwell. The main floor was empty as they had suspected and Beckett cleared it quickly before making her way up the stairs. The building was about six stories and was dead silent, giving no indication of any activity.
Castle was following her up the stairs diligently as she rounded the fifth floor when muffled footsteps could be heard above them. Beckett gave Castle her best stay put stare and continued on clearing the stairwell. She had just broached the top when a shot rang out.
The shotgun round pierced the concrete doorway to the main area. Whoever this guy was, he was a terrible shot. Beckett returned fire, using the doorway as cover and Castle came up behind her, covered as well. Another slug pelted the concrete wall. Beckett heard the shell eject and moved forward into the room the second she recognized the sound of their shooter pumping another shell into the barrel.
When she stepped into the room, Beckett immediately recognized the shooter as Venozzo, taking cover behind a structural pillar. While he was focused on reloading, Beckett announced herself and demanded he drop the weapon. She was so focused on Venozzo, she never realized there was another person in the room. However, Castle certainly noticed when the mystery man began advancing on Beckett clutching a golf club in his fists. Castle moved out from his safe perch behind the doorway to approach the guy before he could strike Beckett.
The man wound the club back ready to strike just as she was slapping the cuffs on Venozzo, none the wiser. Castle stalked him from behind and yanked on his arm while he called out, gaining his attackers attention as well as Beckett's alarm. The man whipped his arm out of Castle's grasp and drew back the club to strike. Castle brought his hand up to protect himself, but his attempt was futile. The club struck the side of his head with a resounding crack.
Castle's head immediately swam. Dizziness and nausea took over. He could hear Beckett shouting at the guy and some rustling, but Castle was more concerned with staying awake and keeping his eyes open. His vision blurred at an increasing rate as he slumped to the floor clutching his head.
He was fighting unconsciousness with a vengeance. His head was pulsating. He could hear Kate asking him to stay awake, to look at her, but he couldn't see a damn thing anymore. He brought his hands up to cradle his head and felt the sticky, hot, wet liquid he was sure was his own blood. His focus was gone, he slipped his eyes shut and lost himself to unconsciousness.