Hello everybody! Here is your next chapter :D

disclaimer: I don't own Castle

Chapter 10 - recon mission

We just passed them. Get out!

As soon as Esposito received the message he started to hear the voices. They started off quiet, but were getting progressively louder by the second. There wouldn't be any time to go out the door now. They would see him for sure. He had two options; hide somewhere until either they left again or were asleep, or pretend he was a daredevil like Castle and somehow escape through the window and down the wall. Somehow the 2nd idea seemed less appealing. But, if he chose option one he would be staying here for at least another hour or so. And that had no appeal whatsoever. Especially considering he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast many hours prior.

His stomach rumbled loudly and he thought, oh screw it. Lets do a Castle. Maybe Lanie will see me for something other than a sabotaging jackass.

That was one of the main points that kept him going as he opened up the small bathroom window and looked out. Even though room 23 was only on the 2nd floor, it seemed a rather long way to the ground. Thank goodness that the window wasn't located at the front of the building, somehow he couldn't see Iron Gates accepting cardiovascular workouts as an excuse for being seen scrambling down a wall. But this window was neatly placed on the back of the window facing the lovely forest behind the school. Or it would have seemed lovely if Javi had been looking at them rather than down straight at the grass beneath, although under the circumstances it was probably more important to work out how to escape first, then admire the landscape.

The voices in the hallway were now almost decipherable, and he concluded that they must be almost at the door.

Taking a deep breath in he put one leg out the window onto the small ledge on the wall. Finding a fairly stable foothold, he shifted his weight and started moving his other leg out. He held on firmly to the inside of the window as he manoeuvred his body outside.

He was lying half in, half out when the door clicked open. He wriggled out slightly faster and crouched on the tiny ledge attached to the wall holding on for his life to the window as he peered over his legs.

"Yeah bro," Javi could here a clear voice, which belonged to the one and only Brad Dekker, accompanied by footsteps coming his way. "I'll just be a tick."

The footsteps definitely seemed to be coming nearer and nearer the bathroom, and Espo was still on the window sill. He took a deep breath in and mentally prepared himself to jump in case Brad came into the bathroom, as it sounded like he was.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped, he heard a knock at the door and some muffled voices.

"Brad" was called from outside the room. Then the footsteps started again, and slowly got further away.

Espo saw his chance. He wriggled around on the edge of the window, until he was positioned such that his hands were securely holding on to it, whist his legs dangled off the side. He moved his foot over to the wall, and slid it over the bricks, trying to find a foothold. Once his foot was fairly well placed, he started on the other one, slightly lower. After a short time this one as well was shoved in the wall, and he took a deep breath.

Now came the hard part. Shifting his weight to one hand, he ungripped the other and repeated the action of sliding his hand over the wall until he found an indent. He was lucky that the building was so old! When he had this hand in place he looked down briefly, before deciding that that was a very bad idea. Maybe he should have gone with plan 1. Trying to erase the image of the ground swirling beneath him, he started the long slow descent down the building.

About halfway down he heard a noise from below. Startled, he lost his grip and both his feet slipped out from under him. Holding on with one hand he scrambled wildly to regain his safe handholds. After about five seconds of nail biting tension (if only he could reach his nails) he briefly considered yelling for help, but decided against it, just before he fell.

"Hey Castle, Kevin, how'd it go?" Lanie came rushing up to the two boys just as they sent the message to Esposito. Before they could answer her question she added on, "Where's Javi?"

"It went a little off schedule." Said Castle in reply to the first question.

"And he's still inside." Offered Ryan for the second.

"What? Why?!" Lanie's eyes grew wide and she looked to the building the boys had just exited.

"We didn't find anything, but he was determined to check every inch, and stayed there." Castle shook his head as he answered.

"What if Brad comes back?" Castle and Ryan exchanged looks as Lanie pointed this out. "That idiot!"

"They're already back." Kevin said, looking down.

"You have to get back in there and distract them!" She started pulling on Ryan's arm, trying to get him to move closer to the building.

"He saw both of us coming from the direction of his room, if we go back he'll get suspicious." Said Ryan, removing Lanie's hand from his arm.

"And we sent him a message, he's not completely unprepared, and he could always jump out the window, it's not too far a fall." Castle added.

"We know it's not ideal, but we can't do anything without all three of us getting caught."

"Then I'll go in." And without another word she left the boys and stalked towards the building.

"Wait Lanie!" Said Ryan, who after a moment of shock ran after the short determined girl.

"We still don't know if he did it or not!" Castle hissed, and taking off after both of them and realising what he said he added; "For once I didn't mean that in the way it came across..."

"I have to do this! Besides, it'll be a double win, gives Espo more time to get out, or at least for me to figure out where he is, and maybe I'll find out something! Anyway, I have to talk to him sometime." She swirled around and looked up at them, before nodding her head determinedly and spinning back around to enter the building.

Castle shrugged and Ryan grimaced, before shrugging as well.

"What do we do in the meantime?"

"No idea..." Castle pondered, rubbing his chin. "Lets go find Beckett."

Lanie stood in front of the thick door which had the number 23 screwed on as brass plates. She had almost knocked a few times, but wasn't sure what she was going to say. So she stayed, pacing outside the door, guilt trickling through her mind. Esposito might be caught because you didn't have the guts to knock on a door. Beckett talked to Josh, why can't you talk to Brad?! With this incentive, without consciously choosing, she stopped her pacing back and forth and before she knew what was happening she curled her fingers into a fist and quickly rapped three times on the door.

When it opened, it wasn't who she expected. A boy who she had only seen in detention opened the door and looked at her in surprise. He clearly knew who she was, so she assumed he mist be Beau Randolf, who Javi had got on the inside.

"I need to talk to Brad." She said confidently. Only it didn't come out very confidently. More like a muffled squeak. But he seemed to understand.

"Sure thing." Then he turned and called "Brad!"

Lanie bit her lip.

Then he came into her view and she started to regret coming in. He hadn't magically changed so the sight of him made her realise how much she truly loved him, quite the opposite. When she saw him walking towards her, the only way she saw him was the last time they had properly talked to him, when she broke it off. And he had been so desperate, so confused, she couldn't see him any other way.

"Hey"

"Hey..." Lanie mentally cringed at the sound of his voice.

"I'll just give you two some space..." Said Beau awkwardly, before shuffling off to the other side of the room.

"So. What are you doing here? In my room?" Brad didn't look at all nervous, unlike Lanie, who was sure she was sweating bullets.

"I could ask you the same thing." She stammered. "But, obviously not right here here... I mean, you're not in my room... Why are you here? At this school?"

"Ah. Right." Brad nodded and motioned for her to come into the room. She warily moved in, her eager eyes searching the room for Javi.

"Do you want something to drink?" Called Beau from across the room.

"Sure mate." Replied Brad.

"I was talking to the girl."

"Oh. Lanie? Do you want a drink?"

"No thanks..." As she looked around the room she couldn't spot him. Which she supposed was a good thing. He was probably under the bed. She tried to figure out how she could get down there subtly. She considered getting that drink, then spilling it and leaning down to pick it up, but there was a high chance that one of boys would clean it up as well and see him. But looking at the state of this room they probably never try to clean anything!

"I wanted a fresh start." Brad's voice broke her reverie.

"So you just happened to come to the same school I did?" Lanie said sceptically.

"Okay... Not really." He seemed to think for a bit. As he thought, she did too, but not about what he was saying. Maybe she could trip? She was always kinda clumsy. But could she make it seem realistic? Probably not, as she wasn't moving anywhere, she would just be randomly collapsing, which even she didn't do frequently. "I wanted to apologise."

"You came all the way to a new school to say sorry?"

"I was kicked out of our old school." Lanie didn't like the way he said our. It implied a link that she would rather forget.

"Wait. I thought they dropped the charges on you."

"They dropped the charges but 'recommended' that I move to another school."

"Oh." She didn't know what to reply.

"Look, I want to say that I'm sorry."

"Then say it." She said, with a half-hearted laugh.

"I'm sorry." He said it in response to her jest, but anyone could see he meant it. He had that look in his eyes, that intensity that made it impossible for Lanie to look into them, or if she did, look away.

"Uhuh... Could I have that glass of water now? That'd be great." She decided now would be a good time to put her plan into action, Brad was getting a little too sentimental, plus, if she was right about Espo being under the bed he would be hearing all of this, she didn't like the though of that. She walked over to the small kitchen herself, and as she walked she subtly tripped, one foot over the other, tumbling down till she hit the floor with a "oof!" To her, it seemed a very faked fall, but Brad had seen Lanie trip so many times he just brushed it off as another one, and Beau wasn't even looking in her direction.

Yet, after all that planning, when Lanie took a quick glance under the bed she saw nothing save a few dusty boxes. What?! Where else could he be hiding?

"You alright Lanie?" She realised she was just lying on the floor in confusion. She pulled herself up and brushed off, nodding in response to Brad's query.

"All good..." Again her eyes searched the room for anywhere, anywhere Espo could be hiding. But there was nothing! Even the bathroom door was open, and he couldn't be hiding behind the shower curtain, because the wind coming through the open window had blown it all to one side and he wouldn't fit behind that. The open window. The open window! He could always jump out the window, it's not too far a fall. Please tell me that Castle hadn't told that to Espo as well. "May I please use your bathroom?"

"You just wanted a drink!"

"I did, but now I'm not thirsty..." She moved towards the bathroom questioningly.

"Sure" Replied Brad, with a confused glance.

Lanie walked to the small adjoining room and closed the room behind her. She quickly ran to the small open window which had drawn her attention. Kneeling on the toilet seat, she leaned over the window sill, and looked down to the ground. "

Sh**!"

Woah, another cliffhanger! I just like being mean ;) I was going to have everything in one chapter, but it was just getting too long. This is already my longest chapter! YAY! Anyway, till next time,

SF xx