Before he knew it, it was Saturday and Esposito was not in a good mood. They had spent the entire time at the mall to get Ryan what he needed. Esposito did his best not to look at the clothes he bought from stores that fathers would kill their daughter if they saw them shopping from.

It wasn't a complete mess since Ryan was able to pick up more clothes he could wear every day for work and when he was off just hanging around. Esposito tried to help out in Victoria's Secret but Beckett sent him and Castle to save spots at the food court and order their lunch.

Before now, he hadn't seen what Ryan chose to wear for this. Beckett wouldn't let him have a say in the shopping.

"Hey, Esposito," Cash said as he walked up to him. "I wanted to thank you for letting us borrow your partner for this."

"Don't let Ryan hear you thanking me like that. He'll have one of his tantrums," Esposito quipped.

"C'mon, I'm being serious," he said, even though there was a small smile on his face. "I know he's your partner and you want nothing happening to him. Trust me, neither do we. But he'll be fine. You know deep down that he'll be fine. Even if there's some trouble, he can take care of himself."

"Of course, I know that," Esposito muttered. It was just hard to send him in without him by his side.

"So it'll all be fine." Cash clapped him on the back as he walked back off to where Robinson was standing.

They were all waiting in the bullpen for Beckett and Ryan to come out of the bathroom. She was helping Ryan get into everything he needed for the getup. Castle was sitting next to him, thankfully staying quiet.

"Alright, here we come," Beckett suddenly announced as the bathroom door opened.

Esposito hated how his stomach did a quick twirl. He sat up and kept a close eye on the doorway. Beckett stepped out first and then a few seconds later, Ryan followed her out. Esposito hoped his eyes didn't bulge too wide. It made him feel a little better when he saw Castle's mouth drop open at the sight as well. But then he realized this was his partner and he slapped Castle on the arm.

Ryan made his way over to their desks slowly, taking his time in the heels he wore. The dress, if that little of cloth could still be called a dress, was tight fitting and black. It hugged his body and curves, coming to a stop just below the swell of his ass. Really if he bent over even an inch, he'd be flashing anyone behind him. The bra Beckett picked him out at Victoria's Secret must have been a special one because his breasts were pushed up and barely being held in the dress.

It didn't stop at his dress though. His long hair was combed and curled to it framed his face nicely. His face that now was covered in makeup. Not a lot, just enough to enhance his beauty even more. His lips were pinker and his lashes were darker with blue eye shadow to make the color of his eyes pop.

"Wow," Esposito couldn't help saying because he was absolutely stunning. Beckett grinned proudly and Ryan just blushed, looking down at his feet.

"Wow is definitely the right word," Castle commented, unable to take his eyes off Ryan.

"Watch yourself," Esposito warned the writer again. Not that he could blame him.

"Okay, we've established it's a good cover and it'll catch his eyes. Can we just go and get this done?" Ryan shifted on his feet, looking slightly uncomfortable being the center of attention.

"Here you go, Ryan." Robinson handed him a small purse. "Inside is a phone that has nothing in it but a GPS. We'll be tracking you using that so try to keep it on you and not draw any attention to it."

Cash started to put a locket necklace around his neck. "You're microphone is in here. You can't hear us but we can hear everything. If something goes wrong, just say, 'Do you mind if I roll down the window?'"

Ryan nodded as he fixed the necklace and held the wristlet purse in his hand. "So, I'm just going to walk around?"

"Yup. He watches ladies walking home, usually a little drunk, and offers them a ride home. So you'll be walking back from a party and he'll happen to find you."

"And how do we know he'll be there?"

"Saturdays are ladies' night at a club over on 71st. We've been keeping an eye on the street around this time for the past few weeks. We usually see his van drive by. Sometimes we find the girls he snatches and sometimes they get lost in the wind."

"But now I'll make sure we catch him," Ryan said with a nod of his head.

"Exactly." Cash smiled. "And then we capture his guys, interrogation starts and we find all the children and women they've taken."

"Then let's go before we miss him."


"You sure you're okay?" Esposito asked as Ryan got out of the van. He held his hand out for Ryan to take and step out carefully.

"I'll be okay, Javi," Ryan promised. He squeezed Esposito's hand softly with a small smile. "Don't worry about me." Ryan took a look over Esposito's shoulder and laughed. "If you're going to worry about anyone, worry about Castle. Because if he keeps looking at me like that I can promise Beckett won't be too happy."

"Don't worry, Ry, he's already sleeping on the couch," Beckett answered from inside the van, having heard the conversation from the microphone.

Ryan smiled at the van and then turned back to Esposito. "I've gotta go now," he said almost apologetically.

"Just promise me you'll be safe," Esposito whispered.

"Of course, Javi," Ryan said. "Til the wheels fall off."

Esposito nodded once to the dark street. "Go on then." He added with a smirk, "And kick some ass."

Ryan grinned and there was the troublemaker again. With one last look, he turned around and started to walk, taking a turn down a dark alley.

Esposito watched him until he disappeared and his gut told him to chase after Ryan and bring him back. There was no sense heading for danger if it could be avoided. But Esposito knew, not only being a cop but also a soldier that his safety wasn't worth hundreds of innocent lives if he could help.

When he sat back inside the van, Beckett squeezed his knee. "You did the right thing. He'll be okay."

Esposito nodded absently and stared at the screen in front of them. He could see a map of Manhattan's blocks and a small dot walking down, farther away from them. As long as they kept an eye on that dot, Ryan would be okay.

He pulled his headset up on his ears and heard the clicking of Ryan's heels on the cement on the sidewalk and his soft breathing. He was singing softly under his breath. Some country song he'd been listening to for the past few days that Esposito couldn't find the time to remember now. It was comforting because as long as Ryan kept singing, he was okay.

He was walking around for a few minutes when finally, Ryan's voice said, "I see him coming behind me." He let out a deep breath, his singing coming to a stop.

Esposito waited with bated breath as Ryan's heels stopped clicking. They could hear a man calling out, "Hey, sweetie, you out here all alone?" Esposito frowned. This voice was familiar and by the quirk of Castle's eyebrows, he thought so too.

Ryan's voice came back smooth as if he wasn't nervous at all. He giggled softly, playing the part of a tipsy young woman walking home from the bar perfectly. "I'm just looking for some fun, you know?"

"I think I could help you with that," the man answered. Esposito hated that he actually did this to women that were drunk and couldn't control what they did. It was sick.

"It's my birthday," Ryan claimed.

"I can give you a birthday you won't forget."

There was the sound of a car door opening, Ryan's heels started to click and then the door shut. "Take me some-."

"Kelly?"

Esposito's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach when he realized where he recognized the voice from. They had to get Kevin out of there.

Ryan didn't respond until a few seconds later. "Craig?"

"Oh, babe, we must be meant to be."

"Get him out," Esposito said. "I want him away from that prick."

Robinson turned to stare at him in confusion and fright. "Does he know Ryan? Is he in danger?" He was worried Ryan was already made as a cop.

"He doesn't know Ryan's undercover. He was flirting with him at a restaurant last week," Beckett informed them.

"Good. Ryan can use this to his advantage," Cash said.

Esposito wanted to scream and yell to get his partner the hell out of there but he knew that would only be worse for Ryan and everyone they were trying to save.

And of course, Ryan knew to use it to his advantage. No matter how much he didn't want to. "Can't believe you found me. Must be fate."

"Where's your little friend? Possessive Spanish guy?"

Esposito growled.

"Oh, Javi," Ryan said with another giggle. "He's not here."

Craig laughed, sounding amused by 'drunk' Ryan. "I can see that. Does he know you're out like this? Anyone could drive by and pick a hot thing like you up. Good thing I found you before some strange pervy guy could, right?"

Esposito waited to throw up. He couldn't believe he was actually letting his partner go through this.

"Maybe I wanted some pervy guy to pick me up. They're always the fun ones," Ryan whispered sultrily.

"This is so wrong," Castle muttered next to him, looking about as opposed to this idea as Esposito felt.

"I knew I liked you. How about we go celebrate your birthday somewhere alone?" Craig's came through louder like he was leaning closer to Ryan.

"I'm not your whore. We're not stopping at some skeevy motel. I have class."

Beckett laughed at that because if Ryan weren't in a dangerous situation, him pretending to be drunk was actually hilarious.

"Of course no motel. I have a nice place to show you." He paused. "I hope you don't mind I have a few friends in the back that I'm bringin' alone but I can hand them off to my friends."

"S'fine with me. The more, the merrier."

"You're so hot," Craig breathed.

Ryan answered cheerily, "I know."

"Then we better go before I take you right here in the car."

Esposito tightened his grip on the arm of his chair. They watched Ryan's dot start to move as Craig drove the van. Their driver with his own GPS map in the front started the car to follow Craig.

Ryan's breathing suddenly hitched and Esposito wished he could see what was happening. "Uh, Craig, I think you need two hands on the wheel to drive."

"I can drive just fine with one hand here and the other...here."

"Ah, A-actually, no because distracted driving is dangerous." Ryan's voice was proof of how hard he was trying to remain calm.

"I'm gonna kill him if he doesn't move his hand," Esposito promised.

"Distracted driving?" Craig scoffed. "No. If you were over here giving me this kind of attention I'd be distracted. But this," Ryan sucked in a quick breath. "Is a birthday present for you."

"I'm killing him too," Castle said, sounding angry.

"Let's just move this back to the wheel or else I won't have much to look forward to." Ryan seemed to finally get the hand off of him.

"You can't wear that short of a dress and expect me to keep my hands to myself over here. Don't be such a fucking tease." Craig was starting to sound pissed off.

Esposito gave big credit to Ryan because he was able to stay calm and hopefully transfer the tranquility to Craig.

"I'm just getting you excited for what's to come, ya know? Give you some motivation to get there faster."

The dot increased its speed as it moved along the streets. Their car went faster as well.

"We can have a little sneak peek in here. Come on, I know you want it."

"Is that what he says to all the girls: 'I know you want it.'" Esposito growled. His stomach was in a constant state of feeling nauseous ever since Ryan got into the van with that dickbag, Craig.

"Esposito was right. Is it too late to pull Ryan back?" Castle was furious now. It didn't happen a lot but when it did, it was scary.

"Calm down," Beckett said. "We have eyes on his location and ears on what's going on. We stay on their trail and then we can take out Craig."

"So this Craig works for a restaurant?" Robinson asked.

"He's a waiter at the diner on Madison," Beckett informed them.

"He probably uses his job there to pick up women too," Cash mused.

Esposito scoffed. "That mother fucker tried picking Ryan up when we went there. Thought I wouldn't know he was trying to feel him up."

"Well, if we don't get to him quick. He's gonna get that chance to more than feeling him up now without an angry possessive Spanish guy to stop him," Castle snapped.

"What are you? His fathers?" Beckett rolled her eyes at the boys.

"We care more than his father would. Trust me," Esposito muttered more to himself but Castle gave him a small frown.

Esposito cleared his throat and turned back to face the screen. He was watching the dot move just a block or two in front of them. He tried to drown out exactly what was being said in that van. It was the same: Craig continued to be absolutely disgusting and Ryan tried to change the subject the best that he could.

Suddenly the dot stopped moving.

Esposito felt his heart stop beating as he stared at the screen. The picture was frozen for a few long seconds before it crashed and the screen was black. "What the fuck?" Esposito practically roared from his seat.

Cash turned to their driver. "Is your GPS down up there, too?"

"I've got nothing."

"Shit. Shit. Shit!" Robinson yelled. "Get it back up!"

Their tech guy was already clicking away at the computer in front of him. "I'm doing my best. I don't know why the system crashed."

"Wait, shush," Castle said urgently, holding the earphones over his ears. "We can still hear him."

"So this is where the party is?" Ryan asked, presumably as the van came to a stop.

"Tons of fun waiting inside," Craig answered.

"Where was the last spot he was documented?" Beckett asked, her voice sounding frightened as well.

"I don't know. We're a few blocks behind him at least," Cash said, watching the guy work on the computer as quickly as he could.

"Why did we fucking stop then?" Esposito asked. "Keep driving!"

The driver obeyed his command and started to drive down the dark streets. Esposito kept his eyes on the window to see if he caught a glimpse of a van as he continued to listen to Ryan's feed.

They had to find Ryan quick before they lost him for good.


Thanks for reading+reviewing!

Until nex time,