Nat- your acct is private so i can't reply- but Beckett and Castle don't know yet where the other gunmen are- so you don't know either! But they've not been forgotten.
And Docnerd89- we'll have to both send a shoutout to Madsthenerdygirl for Beckett's attempt at keeping McBaddie alive. I was seriously just happy to leave him on the deck and have them walk over him too, so i asked if she thought i could get away with just leaving him there - ignored! But she reminded me that Beckett's got a few more scruples than us!
Erosion
Chapter 9 – Exploding Boats and Icy Waters
Castle tried to avoid the searching light and huddled in further under the console. Beckett, however, had no such protection.
A burst of heavy machinegun fire had them abandoning their watch and jumping back into the slim shelter of the wheelhouse. A line of bullet holes marked the deck. Beckett tried to sight someone on the other vessel to fire upon but the blinding light made it impossible to see anything beyond the white glare and the faint outline of the bow.
"Call the Coast Guard!" Beckett yelled over the sound of the splintering hull.
Castle already had the handset to his mouth and was yelling into it about being under fire. Neither of them could make out the reply over the shouts of their assailants and the chatter of the machinegun.
"You want to head back below deck?" Castle shouted.
Beckett had already considered that option. But being caught below deck if an armed party bordered the boat seemed like an even worse scenario than waiting for the Coast Guard. She eyed the lifebuoy on the side of the wheelhouse and wondered if their chances were better dodging gunfire or in the icy water.
Another trail of bullets impacted along the side of the boat and Beckett dove for cover beside Castle. A blaze of orange caught her attention and she noticed that their bow was on fire.
"The ammunition!" she yelled at Castle, "The boat's on fire! If those flames reach the ammo in the cabin..."
"Oh, shit." Castle looked around wildly, and then found his attention returning to Beckett. He stared at her, his expression one of stark desperation.
The radio behind them crackled to life again and this time they could make out part of the message; the response boat had them in sight.
Beckett grabbed the handset and yelled into it; informing them that their attacking vessel was under lights and that they were not returning fire.
The drug runners must have noticed that they were no longer alone and the next round of shots echoed across the black of the waves. The Coast Guard returned fire just as the flames at the hull of their own boat intensified.
"We need to get off the boat, Castle!" Beckett yelled, and then she shouted again into the handset about live rounds and explosions and all Castle could think was that they were insane and that he needed to convince Beckett that she'd make a great lingerie model. He could totally follow a lingerie model around for inspiration and it wouldn't involve getting shot at or tied up or bombs or explosions of any kind.
She didn't wait for a reply from their rescuers, but was rounding the forecabin and yanking the lifebuoy from the wall. She turned and yelled at Castle, and as another trail of bullets hit their boat, and the Coast Guards answered with a hail of shells, he ran to join her and grabbed the other side of the floatation device.
He didn't even want to think about how cold the water was going to be. He was already scrambling onto the hull alongside Beckett. She wrapped one arm around him and the other through the centre of the ring.
Together they jumped.
They hit the water and the breath was forced from their lungs. Castle went under and he struggled to force his body to work; to kick up and to suck air into his lungs. An arm pulled at him, and his face came clear of the icy water, gasping.
Behind them the boat exploded. Fragments of flaming hull descended around them, but with bodies paralysed from the cold they could do nothing but watch, mesmerised, as they hyperventilated; their bodies instinctively reacting to the freezing water.
They fought to suck air into their lungs and kicked together, both with strangle-holds on the other's arms. The lifebuoy bobbed just under the surface of the water. The flames above and around them, and the reflection on black water, created a confusing sense of disorientation.
Castle called out to get Beckett's attention and once they found each other's eyes neither one of them would look away. They ignored the flaming debris raining down on them and instead focused on each other.
The roar of an engine, a long angry chatter of gunfire, and then yelling voices were lost in the cacophony. But as the blinding search light was extinguished, and the voices calling for them became more desperate they realised they had survived – again – and they started yelling.
###
Having made it to the safety of the response boat Beckett's first thought was to call her colleagues. It felt as though it took forever to get out of wet pants and freezing jackets and into the coveralls and layers of blankets the coast guard insisted on.
Her hurried conversation with the lieutenant, and his relayed report back to base for additional support, kept her distracted long enough that by the time she was ushered to a seat, and given the use of his cell phone, Castle was already there. His coveralls clung tight across his chest and shoulders, and looked damp where his wet skin pressed too-tight against the borrowed clothing. Despite the silver space blanket wrapped around his back his lips were tinged blue and he shivered with the cold.
Beckett unwrapped a corner of her woollen blanket and offered it to him. He tugged at it to wrap around them both as she sat with her body pressed against his side, seeking warmth.
She forced her stiff fingers to navigate the keypad of the phone. Esposito answered on the first ring and she'd barely announced herself when he started yelling for Ryan in the background.
"You had us worried, boss. What the hell happened?"
"They were smuggling drugs and ammo like we suspected and we got caught in the middle of it," she tried to steady the chattering of her teeth as she spoke, "What happened to you two?"
"We got a text from you saying you had a suspect in custody. Your vehicle was gone when we got back to the lot so we figured you'd come back to the precinct. By the time we realised you'd never called into dispatch and we got back to the container yard there was no sign of you."
"Son of a bitch," she cursed. Castle looked at her, worried, and she rested her hand on his leg under the blanket and offered a tight smile with the shake of her head. His body was shivering as badly as hers.
"Yeah, well, Gates got a call from the Coast Guard over in Jersey. She's on a rampage in here. Where are you two?"
"On a boat heading in to Lower Bay from somewhere out in the middle of the ocean."
"You're shittin' me!"
"Nope, and that's not the half of it."
"You on your way in here?"
Beckett paused; considering. She looked over at Castle – the purple lump across the bridge of his nose and the haggard look in his eyes – he looked as exhausted as she felt. "Let me talk to Gates. We've been working this for twenty-four hours straight and we've both been in better shape. I might see if I can give a report over the phone and head home."
"You okay?"
"Nothing a hot shower and a good night's sleep won't cure," she assured him.
"I'll get Gates. You tell Castle we said hi."
"Thanks, Espo."
Beckett could hear Ryan demanding information in the background before the phone went quiet. Her Captain's voice was calm when she finally came on the line and Beckett found it reassuring.
"Detective Beckett, I was glad to get that call ten minutes ago. I'm looking forward to your report."
"About that, Sir, Castle and I are both in need of medical attention. Would it be possible for me to email you a copy of our report rather than have us come into the station?"
"How badly are you hurt, Detective?"
"Nothing too serious, Sir, and we do have leads that need to be followed up, but neither one of us is fit for duty at the moment."
"Get yourself checked out, Detective. I'll be waiting for your report as soon as you can manage it."
"Thank you, Sir."
Beckett hung up and passed the phone back to the Lieutenant sitting opposite them in the enclosed bridge of the vessel.
"Please tell me we have the rest of the night off?" Castle begged.
"Not quite, but I'll do you a deal, Castle," Beckett said, her face serious. "I'll take care of the paperwork, but I want some of that chicken casserole."
.
.
A/N- who wants to see them sit around and do paperwork for a few hours? It would be over dinner... I could include a few lingering looks... no? No one cares about the paperwork? Okay then... Let's all just assume her report was exceedingly thorough.
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