Previously…
"Good. You're finally awake," the female voice said.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Kate fought against her restraints as the questions fell from her lips. She was about to ask where Castle was when she suddenly remembered the scene at the loft. Unbidden tears started to cascade down her cheeks. "Oh, god. What did you do to Castle?"
Abruptly, the figure moved directly in front of her and pointed a six-shot revolver right between her eyes. Kate froze as her captor cocked the hammer and then pulled the trigger.
It took her a moment to realize that the click of the trigger wasn't accompanied by the pain of a bullet entering her body. She blinked her eyes open to see the gun still pointed at her face and her captor's eyes watching her reaction curiously.
"If you're not going to use that get it out of my face," Kate threw at the woman before her. She straightened her spine to project an image of strength that she didn't completely feel.
The gun dropped away as the masked figure laughed. "You are such a spitfire. He was right about you. And it's such a pleasure to see you again."
"What the hell are you talking about?! I'm an NYPD detective –"
"I'm well aware of who you are, Kate. No need to throw your credentials at me." The smooth confidence and levity of the woman's voice sent a slight shiver down Kate's spine, and it combined with the panic of having no idea what her kidnapper wanted or why Castle had been killed. Not killed, she tells herself; it wasn't him. It couldn't have been.
"Then tell me what you want!" she cried as she started pulling against her restraints. "Who are you? What did you do to Castle?"
All humor left the woman's eyes as she stepped forward and raised the gun again. "Do not fight the rope. It will only damage your wrists further. When you learn to obey me then we can discuss the discontinuation of its use."
Kate twisted her body from side to side in an effort to free herself. She tried kicking her feet up to test the rope around her ankles while spitting out, "Fuck you! I'll never obey you. Let me go!"
The click of the gun's trigger being pulled stopped her protests immediately. She looked directly into her captor's eyes when she realized no bullet had come out for a second time.
"Seems today is your lucky day, Kate. Every time you disobey or defy me, we take a chance. Test your luck in a little game of Russian Roulette. Is that understood?"
"You're psychotic! Let me go!" Kate yelled as the click sounded again. The sound made her freeze once more.
"Lucky again, I see. You might want to relax because your luck won't last forever. You are truly fascinating and it would be a real shame if I had to kill you. What do you say?"
Kate stayed silent and still, her eyes never moving from her captor.
"Good girl." The woman dropped the gun to her side again, shifting her weight to her left leg in a more relaxed stance and spinning the chamber of the revolver. "Now, as I was saying, it's lovely to see you again. I wish it were under better circumstances, but I don't imagine you would have come willingly had I asked."
"Who are you?" Kate asked calmly, taking care not to move her body lest her kidnapper think she was becoming hostile again. She wanted to rage and claw at her restraints but getting out of here alive had to be her first priority. Alive. She was alive but the image of Castle sitting in the chair - dead? - seared painfully. Kate felt the burn of tears again but fought against their descent, unwilling to show this psychopathic woman any more weakness. "What do you want with me?"
The woman continued to stare suspiciously, her blue eyes never wavering from Kate's gaze, as though she were weighing her options, deciding how much to reveal and when. Finally she spoke, "Kate, I'm not sure I'm ready to tell you who I am just yet. I have some things to show you and I don't want your reaction to be tainted by my identity. However, for the sake of familiarity, you may call me Alice."
Kate's brow furrowed at this revelation, her confusion only growing. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced her next words out, needing to know even if it meant her heart would be shattered for the rest of her life. "Is Castle dead? Did you do it? What does he have to do with any of this? I don't – why?"
Alice seethed, her lips stretched thin, teeth clenched together, her voice low and menacing. "He has everything to do with this. This all started because of him, because of his inability to keep his nose out of other people's business and his hands to himself. He took from me and he's been taking from you. He was never worthy of you and now you are free of him. Finally." Upon finishing the outburst, her lips spread into a pleased smile, revealing two rows of perfect white teeth.
"Not worthy of me? How can you possibly judge that? You have no idea who he is or who we are together!" Kate screamed as she felt herself losing the battle with her tears. Her heart was in pieces at the realization that it may be true, he may be gone, and agony clawed its way out of her chest. "If you've taken him from me, you will pay for it."
Alice swiftly moved to stand in front of Kate again, her eyes flashing with a deep pain, but her need to hide it was evident as an intense rage quickly covering her anguish. Before Kate could blink, she felt the sting of a slap across her right cheek. "Don't threaten me, Kate. I am in control here."
Her kidnapper abruptly turned away, moving toward a shadowed corner of the room as she spun the revolver's chamber several more times, the action seemed almost absentminded. Wordlessly, Alice disappeared into the oppressive darkness while Kate stood in the pool of light, trying to piece together what was going on. What would she be faced with next?
She took a deep breath, trying to quell the anxiety rolling in her stomach, when a scratching noise broke through the silence. Alice reappeared dragging a large, rolling corkboard along behind her. She situated the display in Kate's direct line of sight, making it impossible to look away from the images tacked across it.
Kate gasped when she realized what she was looking at. Pictures. Surveillance photos of Castle. Castle having romantic meals with some busty blonde, kissing her on the street, even making love in a hotel room; his face was the image of pure ecstasy. The dates at the bottom of each photo spanned the last two weeks. She looked back over at her captor, not able to bear seeing those photos for another moment while desperately hoping it wasn't true. "What the hell is this?"
"What does it look like? Look at what he's been doing while on his book tour. Or rather, look at who he's been doing. He's a famous man, a playboy that can get any woman he wants. Did you honestly think you'd be enough for him? That he wouldn't stray when out of your sight?"
Kate's eyes strayed back to the corkboard, roaming over each image, letting them burn into her brain. She felt twin tears roll down her cheeks as she fought against the idea, tried to continue believing in him, in all of his promises. He would never do something like this to her. He would never jeopardize what they had worked so hard to build.
When she didn't say anything, her captor sighed; a disappointed, pitying thing. "You really did, didn't you? You really did think he loved you."
Kate felt the fire flare up in her heart again. No. This wasn't true. Castle did love her more than anything except his daughter and mother. He would never do this to her. "You're lying to me. I don't know how you got these. Or what you did. But you're lying to me. Castle would never betray me like this."
Kelly watched her prisoner through the mask, almost feeling sorry for her until she remembered the pain Castle had caused over the last year. Kate's momentary grief was a necessary evil as she guided her to see future potential. Then together, they would be unstoppable.
She had been doing her research on Kate Beckett. Ever since Jerry had first mentioned her and her writer, Kelly had been absolutely fascinated with the detective. She was wounded, broken, that's for sure. Her mother's murder had wrecked her but despite that, Kate had pulled herself back up off the ground, taping the jagged edges of herself back together, drawing on a deep inner strength that Kelly was almost jealous of.
Kate had entered the police academy with the express intention of doing what the detectives before her had been unable to do, to solve her mother's murder once and for all. Ever since then, she'd been unknowingly acquiring the skills needed to replace Jerry as Kelly's ultimate partner. She knew exactly what clues to look for at a crime scene so she would know exactly what to do to avoid leaving evidence behind. All Kelly needed to do was turn that desire for justice around.
A woman like Kate, one that had dedicated her life to honor and integrity, could only be transformed by pushing her past broken, past wounded and wrecked. She needed to be completely shattered in order for her to turn away from her life of righteousness. It was no secret that Kate loved Richard Castle so Kelly had watched them, had needed to know just how deep that affection went if she was going to use it to her advantage.
Once Kate thought that Rick had been cheating on her, had never loved her the way she loved him and the way she deserved to be loved, Kelly would be there to pick up the pieces. To mold her into the perfect partner that she had the potential to be. Kate would be everything Kelly needed to move past Jerry's loss. Kate would become Kelly's future and then the possibilities for them both would be endless.
"Kate. Oh, Kate, you really believe that don't you? That Castle would never betray you." Kelly sighed again and shook her head. She moved over to the board and pointed to the picture of Sam and Rebecca in bed together. "Look at his face, Kate. You know that face."
Kate squeezed her eyes shut, fighting against the undeniable evidence laid out before her, chanting no, no, no while shaking her head. Kelly startled slightly when Kate suddenly threw her head back and screamed, "NO!"
She kicked her feet up again, violently trying to rip her wrists free from the ropes. Blood dripped down her arms faster as she thrashed her body from side to side. Kelly rushed over to her and pointed the gun at her face again, but pulling the trigger did nothing to stop Kate's movements.
Kate dropped her gaze, eyes boring into Kelly's and screamed, "Just do it, you coward!"
As the detective's outburst continued, Kelly decided they would be getting no further today. She grabbed the syringe out of her pocket and jammed in into the side of Kate's neck, depressing the plunger quickly, smiling as the younger woman stilled, dropping out of consciousness, again.
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And thanks to Kylie for every encouraging word, every red mark, and every smile you send my way.
