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Time to bring in Beckett and Castle...
Detective Kate Beckett checked her watch for the tenth time in half an hour. Her foot tapped impatiently against the desk leg causing Castle to frown at her as the reverberations shook the coffee he was attempting to sip.
"You're worried."
"No." She shook her head, moving a file across her desk for the third time in one minute.
"You are. Just call them."
"I'm not worried, I'm just...concerned."
"Your spidey sense tingling?"
Kate glared at Castle, then gave up and nodded. "Something doesn't feel right. They were going for a bite to eat and then to pick up our parolee. They should be back by now." She bit her lip as she focused on the writer, he could literally see the wheels of her brain moving in perfect sync. "I'm gonna call them." She finally said.
"Good idea." He agreed as he went back to sipping his coffee.
Beckett scrolled to Epsosito's number, press call and waited. The phone immediately kicked into voicemail. She frowned. Looked at Castle and tried Ryan's number.
Same result.
"Well, either their phones are off. Or they're in trouble."
"What does your gut say?"
"My gut says we go to the warehouse to check it out."
Kate grabbed her coat and leaned into Captain Montgomery's office.
"Sir, it's probably nothing but Castle and I are going to go check on the boys."
Montgomery checked his watch and looked back up at the detective. "They're way overdue. You think something's wrong?"
"I hope not, but..."
"Let me know as soon as you find anything."
"Will do."
Kate kept a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel as she drove to the warehouse area her boys had headed to pick up their parolee. Castle kept tight lipped, knowing how worried his friend was right now. He felt the same worry, deep within his gut. They should have heard something by now. It wasn't like the two Detectives to stay out of contact for so long.
Kate glanced toward Castle.
"They probably just lost track of time." Castle attempted to reassure.
"Sure, Castle." Kate was as unconvinced as he was. As she turned the corner heading toward the warehouses her phone rang, breaking the silence in the car.
"Beckett." Answered Kate as she hit the speaker for Castle to hear.
"It's Montgomery, we've just had reports of gun fire coming from the warehouse the guys were headed to."
"I still can't get hold of them. Where'd the call come from?"
"Anonymous tip, but the call came from a pay.."
"Hello? Captain?" Kate threw a frown to Castle. The writer pulled out his own cell and dialled Captain Montgomery.
"Call won't go through. What the hell?"
"Wait." Kate threw the car into reverse, pulling back a few feet to where the call had dropped out. She winked at Castle, dialled and put the phone back on speaker.
"Beckett? What the hell just happened?"
"Captain I think someone is jamming the cell signals in this area."
Castle mouthed an Oh and raised his eyebrows.
"Beckett that sounds like the M.O. of …"
"Yep, our friends in Brooklyn South."
Castle frowned.
"They're a known gang in the area but no one has managed to pin anything on them. I was hoping our parole could provide the link we needed between that cold case murder and the gang. They block cell phones so they can conduct business without risk of getting caught." Explained Kate.
"Or being overheard." Finished Captain Montgomery. "Organised crime have tried to get them on tape in order to make a bust but so far have failed."
"At least we know what we're dealing with." Said Castle.
"You guys be careful." Warned Montgomery. "I'm sending backup. I'd ask you to wait."
"But our boys are in trouble."
"That's why I'm not asking."
Kate hung up the call. She pulled out her weapon, checking it was loaded and ready to go. She looked at Castle, debating whether to even attempt to tell him to stay in the car.
He shook his head.
"Not a chance, I'm with you."
"Then you stay behind me and keep low. We need to see what we're dealing with first before we do anything."
"Gottcha."
They both pulled on bullet proof vests. The mid afternoon sun hung low in the sky, dipping behind the sky scrapers of the Manhattan metropolis across the river. Kate walked forward, Castle behind her. Both kept close to the buildings as they made their way down the main service road toward the warehouse.
"How are they jamming the cells?" Whispered Castle.
"They'll be using a high cell phone jammer. Usually its one hell of a bulky thing so keep your eyes out for the where it is. If we can turn it off we'll be able to call the guys."
Castle looked around, hoping the jammer would be nicely located in an easy to see spot with a little arrow next to the off switch.
No such luck.
He came to an abrupt stop as Kate halted suddenly. She held her hand up, silencing any questions that were about to be thrown her way.
They were situated beneath the underpass, giving her a clear view of the warehouse. In front was Esposito and Ryan's car. It looked beat to hell and almost caved in one the passenger side, but it was the gun fire marks that littered the metal that gripped Kate's heart and squeezed.
"Oh god." She whispered, closing her eyes against the image. She felt Castle lean around her, felt his hand on her arm, giving a squeeze to not only ground her , but also himself.
"No bodies." The writer noted. "And look, that truck has bullet holes too."
"The guys fought back."
"Yeah, and they won, there's two bodies on that side."
Kate went to walk forward when Castle gripped her arm, pulling her back.
"What?" She questioned.
"There's someone in that warehouse." Castle pointed to the small door, a figure stood, a cigarette in one hand, a semi automatic in the other, keeping watch for anyone who might approach.
"Please don't let them have Ryan and Esposito." Prayed Kate.
TBC
I promise the boys will return soon, it'll be worth the wait!