She felt the jolt in every bone. Shit. The jump may have saved her life. But her left leg was still trapped underneath the hunk of steel. Kate felt like she was bolted to the ground. She was slowly losing feeling below her thigh. Shit Shit Shit. Her face was pressed down into the musty carpet; her head spun. All around her, files were strewn like debris after a landslide. The walls, framed by darkness, bulged and contracted in front of her eyes. She vaguely registered a body moving past her. She only remotely heard the footsteps of the intruder petering away into the distance. A little fight still left in her, she raised her neck to try to get a better visual. She saw the flash of an NYPD issue jacket in the distance as she stared on helplessly. "Hey! No! Stop! You won't get too far! Stop!" she yelled, but to no avail.

Come on Kate! You can't just let him get away. You have to do something.

She tried to pull her leg out, grappling with the carpet for purchase. She couldn't budge. The carpet gathered in folds at her forehead every time she tried, puffing up clouds of dust. She needed something solid to grab onto. There was nothing. Wedged in thigh deep, the only thing she could use was the very metal frame that was holding her down. She tried to get in a sideways stance, twisting her torso up to the spot where her thigh disappeared underneath. She placed her right boot firmly on the metal frame and pushed, bare nails clawing at the floor. She pushed harder and harder, trying to angle her leg perpendicular to the surface. Come on Kate. Just one more try. You just need the right angle.

In one jerky motion, her left foot escaped and the rack thumped down just as noisily as before. Sensation returned to her leg, as the blood rushed down her veins to the extreme edges of her toes. The attacker still very much on her mind, she part ran, part hopped her way in his direction. But the sound of the crash had brought every present member in the precinct running to the room. With her exit blocked, her attacker could be hidden anywhere in the swarm of blue that stood in front of her. Going after him would be a waste of time.

She swore inwardly as she overtly returned the concerns of her fellow officers, mumbling whispers of I'm ok. But she didn't feel ok. Her left foot felt like it didn't belong to her. The heel of her boot had been chipped off. Her nose bridge had a deep red gash across it. There was blood on her forehead. She had no idea where it was coming from? Ashen, she jogged back to survey the wreckage that had stormed down on her. The file was gone.

"He did not just! Son of a-"

"Beckett?"

She looked up in surprise. "Espo? What are you doing here?"

"I just got back from D.C. Thought I'd catch up on the case when I heard this whole ruckus from upstairs. Will you tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"I was just doing some research…on a case."

"Uh huh. Right. Even with Castle gone, you manage to get into the weirdest of situations. Now will you sit down and tell me what's really going on?"

"I told you. I was here doing research. And there was this guy. In a cop uniform. I don't think he was supposed to be here. He must've rammed into the rack from the other side so it would come down on me. And then he took my file."

She hated lying. Well it wasn't really lying- more like obscuring details. Important details such as what case it was. But she couldn't tell Ryan and Esposito about it. Or Lanie. Because the truth was she knew she was on a solo mission. She knew she'd be dragging everybody she cared about down the rabbit hole with her. That was the way it was. She'd tell them the truth. They would chide her, try to call her off. She wouldn't back down. Eventually, they'd come around, take her side, and then they'd have to lie for her. They'd think they were protecting her but slowly, it would start to affect their careers, their relationships, and finally, their lives. Maybe she would win her war someday. But not at the cost of her friends. She couldn't have that haunt the rest of her life.

"Do you know who he was?" Espo's voice filtered in through her inhibitions.

"Never seen him before. But I think he was keeping a watch on me."

"Did you see his face?"

"No. Too dark."

"Are you ok? Do you need a medic?"

"I think I sprained my leg badly, broke- scratch that- crushed my torch. Couple of bruises- surface wounds. Bandages will suffice. My favourite pair of boots are ruined. Nothing more, thankfully."

"Kate, your head is bleeding. Do you have a concussion? Are you feeling groggy at all?"

"It looks worse than it is, Espo. It'll fix itself. Meanwhile, I want to take a look at the CCTV footage. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"About that…That thing hasn't worked here in ages. Maintenance says there's something wrong with the electrical layout of this room. That's also the cause of the ghostly lighting," he said, pointing at the flickering bulb in the corner.

"I'm too tired for this right now, Espo," she said, despite the adrenaline of the chase thumping within her. "Let's deal with it tomorrow." She added a resigned sigh for emphasis. She just wanted to get out of there.

"Sure. Let's get you home. I'll drive you. These guys can clean up in here. And tomorrow we can petition for filing racks that are bolted to the floor," he joked, gallows humor at play.

"Thanks," she said, feeling rotten inside for shrugging him off like this, giving him a hint of a gracious smile to make up for it. "That would be great. Gimme a moment to grab my things."

He lent her a hand as she hobbled up the corridor all the way to her desk.

"You hurt your leg pretty bad there Beckett. I think it calls for a day off."

"Not till I catch the son of a bitch that did this."

xxx