A/N: Ready? Okay!
Kate
I was not prepared for this at all. Never in a million years did I think we were walking into any kind of danger, I never would have come here if I even had an inkling that this would happen. It all makes sense, now that I think about it. The ruined dress was his calling card, the happenstance with the venue was him getting us out of the city so he could go about this easier. It wasn't bad luck at all, it was Jerry Tyson. And now he's holding my family captive, and I've let it happen.
"Jerry, just take me. Let them go. You can torture me or kill me or whatever it is that you're wanting, I don't care. Just let them out."
"Oh, but my way is so much better," he says. "My way will kill you from the inside out."
"Right, because no other psychopath has ever thought of something like that," I scoff, recalling to mind a book about a hostage negotiator in which she was described as always sounding bored with the situation.
"So who's it going to be first, Kate? Whose screams would you like to hear?"
"My own, Tyson. That's your only option. Take me."
"Kate no!"
"Oh I can take you, but that means you'll get to listen to them scream anyway. How do you want them to suffer? It's up to you."
"No it's not Jerry. It's up to you. Clearly you're the one in control here."
I hear a whimper from Alexis and I wish I could tell her what I'm doing but I can't. She's just going to have to trust me.
"Turn on the light," I continue. "Don't hide in the dark like some coward. Prove to me that you can stand there and challenge me."
"Oh and you think you're such a worthy adversary for me?"
"You're nothing, Tyson. You're just one man. You couldn't even accomplish your last goal without your girlfriend. Where is she anyway?"
"We all have to get rid of our baggage at some point, Detective. Think of this as me helping you out."
I want to lunge for him but I can't see and I don't want to miss or hurt Alexis. Keeping him talking isn't going to do anything at all. I'm at a loss.
"You can do whatever you want to me."
"Whatever I want?"
"Anything. You let me say goodbye and you can take me."
"I think we have a deal."
I know he's not falling for it, he would never take this deal, but for my plan to work, he has to believe that I believe it. He's only going with it so he can get close enough to me to take both of us.
"You turn on the light and you let me say goodbye."
"Oh, as you wish," he laughs. There's a clicking sound and a lantern comes on, illuminating the room but barely. Castle is slumped against the wall, dried blood on his tux, one arm curled in his lap, his head lolled to the side. His left leg is twisted at a weird angle and I'm certain it's broken. As my eyes adjust I see Alexis still being held by Tyson. Her skin has gone paler than normal and tears are streaming down her face. She can't seem to speak and I'm not entirely sure she's even breathing.
"Well let's get this over with," Tyson chuckles, pushing her to me. She stumbles and I catch her, finding that her skin has grown clammy.
"Trust me, Alexis. You promised."
"No."
"It will be okay. Just don't stop. You understand? Do not stop."
"Okay, okay, that's enough," Tyson says as he approaches. I watch him out of the corner of my eye until he's just close enough, right where I need him to be.
"Trust me. Now," I whisper. She understands, gasping in a breath before her leg shoots out behind her, catching him in the knee. It doesn't take him down but it does surprise him, giving us a second before he lunges forward. It's not enough time to get my gun up or to get off a good shot and he knocks it out of my hand when he barrels into us.
We slam into the wall and Alexis yelps in pain, trying to wiggle out from behind me. I'm pushing back against Tyson and he's using his full body weight to keep us stationary, even as one hand comes up to clasp around my neck.
"I've been waiting for this," he whispers, close to my ear. "Beg me."
"No."
"Beg me, Kate. You said I could do anything to you. Beg me."
"Never."
I feel Alexis finally breaking free and she's about to run when Tyson kicks her hard to the ground. She moans and I close my eyes, mentally coaching her to get up.
"Oh this is even better than I thought. Is that fear on your face, Detective? Don't worry. I always play with my food before I eat it."
My vision is starting to blur and I can just make out her shape over his shoulder, getting slowly to her feet, my gun in her shaking hand.
"It's over, Tyson." I manage to get out, gulping for air.
"No, not until I say," he whispers, close to my ear as his other hand comes up to my throat. It's a two handed strangle now and I feel my feet leave the ground as he pulls me away from the wall. I guess that I have about three seconds left, my arms are limply at my sides and there is nothing I can do.
"Drop her."
He falters and his grip loosens but not enough. I struggle one more time for breath and that's when I hear the sound of a gunshot ripping through the air. I crash to the floor and breathe in the cool air, looking up as Tyson bellows in pain, then lunges for Alexis. She screams and fires again, catching him in the arm. He keeps advancing on her and trance-like she continues to scream and fire. She gets him every time, though her shots are scattered. He finally falls forward, blood quickly pooling around him. She's still screaming, her finger pulling the trigger over and over even though she's used the entire cartridge. I crawl my way over to where Tyson lays, ever on my guard but needing to check.
There's no pulse and he's rapidly losing blood. He's dead, or will be in a moment.
"Alexis it's okay," I assure loudly over the noise she's making. "It's okay, he's gone."
Her screams die out and she stands there, her stare falling to the gun, her hand shaking violently.
"It's okay," I repeat, finding my adrenaline is finally kicking in. She however, takes two steps toward Castle then sinks to her knees, crawling the rest of the way to him.
"Daddy? Daddy, please."
He stirs at her touch and I rush to them, taking stock of his injuries while trying to dial 911. Alexis is whimpering, her head in Castle's lap, eyes fixed on the body across the room. I can tell she's slipping into shock and I reach over for her hand.
"It's over, baby. It's all over."
"It's never over," she croaks. "It just started."
