Thanks so much for the reads and reviews, sorry about the cliffhanger, it just slipped out! It seems we have lots to celebrate today; Stana signing on to season 8 & that fab finale! :) :)
Xxxxxx
Chapter Nine
The sound of shattering glass caused Kate to look up, the glass rained down over the sidewalk as a man strapped to a chair came flying out the window. Beckett covered her mouth with her hand as the crowd around her screamed. As she turned to run towards where the chair had landed, a dark stain spread across the concrete.
Espo and Ryan grabbed Kate by the elbow.
"Don't go, don't look" Ryan begged her, worried about how much more she could take, if it was Castle, it would destroy her. Kate shook her head.
"I have to know. I have to know…" Her voice was so soft it was barely audible. She walked the short distance towards the body, each step feeling like a lead weight was pulling her down. Ryan and Espo flanked her on either side, ready to protect her from whatever she might find ahead.
The body had impacted heavily with the pavement. Where the head should have been was now just a mound of tissue, with pieces of skin and tufts of hair littering the ground. Kate dragged in a breath that half ended on a sob.
"Beckett, you don't have to do this" Ryan murmured gently in her ear.
"Yes, I do"
Kate looked down at the body before her feet, she studied the curve of his chest, the lines upon his hands and the clothes that covered his skin.
"It's not him, it's not him". Relief flooded through her body making her light headed, it was quickly followed by the crashing wave of guilt for the moment of joy she had felt.
Ryan and Espo shared a quick look.
"How can you tell?"
"It's not him. Not his body, his clothes, his hands. It's not him"
She pulled out her phone, running her hands through her hair again.
"Lanie. Lanie, I need you" the voice sounded like that of a child.
"Oh girl, are you okay?"
"Yeah… Yeah I'm keeping it together. Just"
"Oh sweetie"
"There's a body. They threw a hostage out the window…"
Lanie's moment of silence was as meaningful as the question she wanted to ask, as Kate trailed off.
"It's not him. I'm sure it's not him. But I need you to confirm it. Can you confirm it?" The last part of her sentence sounded like a plea.
"I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon as I can Kate"
"Thanks"
Espo turned to face Kate.
"I'll text it in to Gates. If she asks, I won't mention you"
Kate gave him a small smile.
"It's okay, you don't have to lie to protect me"
Espo snorted.
"Family sticks together"
Kate stood staring up at the building again. She looked at the smashed window, studying the jagged edges and wishing she could see inside. The touch of a soft hand on her arm pulled her from her thoughts, she turned round and was pulled into a hug by Lanie. She stood there, resisting for just a moment before melting into the hug. It was as though the longer she held onto Lanie the less likely she was to fall apart. When they pulled apart, Lanie squeezed her hand.
"You ready for this?"
Kate nodded. She watched as Lanie knelt next to the body, swabbing the blood and taking fingerprints from the broken hands.
"I'm going to run the blood type – quickest way to check if it's Castle."
Lanie passed the fingerprints to Espo who headed over to the FBI truck to run them. The wait felt eternal before Lanie turned to Kate with a gentle smile.
"It's not his blood type. It's not him"
Kate let out a breath that she felt she'd been holding in forever. The second the breath left her body, she heard a voice that caused her to choke in air again.
"Dad? Daddy?"
Kate turned towards the cries and saw Alexis being restrained by an officer. Her long hair flowed behind her as her body choked with sobs. Kate ran over to her.
"Alexis, no, Alexis" Kate grabbed Alexis by the shoulders.
"Is he... Is it...?"
"It's not him, okay? It's not him!" She willed Alexis to look into her eyes and see the truth. Alexis' eyes darted wildly between the body, Kate's bruises and Martha's troubled face, the pools of water that filled them overflowed and began to course down her face.
"Oh, darling" Martha pulled Alexis to her in a hug and held her as a mother would. Kate looked at the two women embracing.
"I'll give you a minute"
"No, Katherine please. What's going on?"
Kate gave them a brief outline of what had happened, leaving out the details of Skinner choking Lucas and her breakdown in the bathroom.
"I don't understand" Alexis sounded so small and lost, like the child she no longer was. "If it's about this other guy, then why do they have Dad? Why are they killing people?"
Kate took Alexis' hand in hers.
"I don't know yet. But I promise you, I'm going to get him out of there"
Martha opened her mouth to speak but the words were lost as the phone in Beckett's pocket began to ring. She glanced at it before calling out.
"Espo, Ryan! It's him."
They raced towards her as she hit speaker phone. She gestured to Martha and Alexis to remain silent.
"Hello?"
"Hi Kate. Like my present?"
"I prefer shoes"
"Funny. So you want Richard back?"
Yes. Yes, yes yes, she screamed inside her head.
"I want them all. Alive. I don't appreciate the mess you've made on my sidewalk"
"You want him back, you've got to pay"
Kate looked up at Martha who nodded quickly.
"Not without proof of life"
"Nice little family reunion you've got going on down there"
"Proof of life. For everyone"
Kate held her breath as silence came from the other end of the phone.
Xxxxxx
Castle gasped for fresh air as the bag was removed from his head, his lungs burned as he blinked quickly. He felt the push of the gun to his forehead and a phone being pressed to his ear as the tape was torn from across his mouth.
"Don't be stupid" the Texan warned. He nodded in response.
"Hello?" He called weakly into the phone.
"Rick" the voice was a flood of relief attacking his senses.
"Kate, Kate!"
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He could hear her holding back tears, he could hear the tremble she was trying to control within her voice.
"I'm okay. God, Kate, I-"
The butt of the pistol collided with his scalp causing him to sink back into the darkness. As he passed out he could have sworn he heard her voice calling him back, but the darkness was too much. It overwhelmed him and took him.