A/N: So we have Kate. And we have Castle. And we have them...in the same place. Sorry it's so short.
DISCLAIMER: Do you really think I want this hiatus?
The food is disgusting. She can barely swallow it, and keeping it down is another matter all together. But she needs the little nutrients she imagines are in it. She cannot continue like this without food much longer. Not if she wants to have any chance of getting out alive.
She knows his pattern now. When he got back before, she was sure he was going to kill her. Instead, she was given another plate of food - like the plate she is currently attempting to devour. But she's had it for almost twenty minutes now. In another ten, he'll stop by to take the plate away.
That is when she is going to pounce. Not literally pounce, because she doesn't have that much energy yet. But she's going to attack him with questions. She needs to understand what is going on. Even if she never gets out of here to tell anyone, she needs to know. And if she somehow does make it out, and he doesn't get caught, she can use whatever she finds out to track him down and kill him. Or, you know, put him in jail.
Sure enough, Dave shows up at her door exactly thirty minutes after he dropped off the food. She hears the lock click as he turns the key on the other side. Every time he's opened the door, she's been sitting across the room, as far away as she could. Not this time. Now she is standing beside the door, holding the plate out to hand to him.
He enters the room and looks for her in her usual spot.
"Here," she steps into his view and gives him the very nearly empty plate. "You might want to work on your cooking - that was awful."
"Somebody is in a better mood today," he smirks. "Up and walking and talking. I'm impressed. What brought that on?"
She has to resist the urge to smirk, because this is exactly what she was hoping would happen. She needs him to talk. "Nothing," she shrugs. "I was hungry. What was that you made anyway?"
"Pasta," he answers shortly.
"Really?" she snorts, trying to stay calm and light, but it's hard. "I thought it was mashed potatoes. Yeah, you really need to work on your skill in the kitchen."
"You'll eat what I give you or nothing at all," he tells her.
"Yeah, okay," she nods. "How much longer am I going to be cooped up in here?"
She can see it in his eyes, the menacing glare he's holding back. "Not long," he answers. But she knows that means not long as in he's going to kill her soon, not let her go. "No more questions."
She kicks herself inwardly. A part of her had known that jumping right in would make him close up. But she knows if she hadn't started slowly, she may have never gotten anything from him.
"One more," she says. "I've noticed that you have to unlock the door when you come in, but never when you leave. Why?"
"It's an automatic lock," he shrugs and then he turns on his heel. He's out of practice, she can tell, and he hasn't had to do this in a while. He's not as good anymore. He can't block her out the same way he did the others. He's weaker than he was, and she's stronger than they were.
She watches him leave her room. He lets the door swing shut behind him. It's a quick swing, very fast, but she's faster. She whips a sheet off the bed and stuffs it in the doorframe. The door catches on it. It looks closed, and for a moment she's scared it is. But she pulls on the inner handle and it opens up for her. A sigh of relief comes out of her before she can stop it. But she is relieved, because it worked. The door looks closed, but she can get out. She can escape.
The clock on her wall says it's seven-thirty in the evening. She's still unsure if that clock is showing the right time, but she knows it is getting late, and she knows it is Thursday.
She needs to plan this perfectly. She needs to plan her escape in good timing that it will hopefully coincide with the NYPD arriving. She would be shocked if they don't show up in the next few days. They are too good to take much longer. But she also has to work on the idea that they may not show up at all. She needs a solo escape plan as well. She can't depend on the boys to help her.
The many troops are called in moments after they reach the guy's house. One look and they know they're going to need help. They know this is almost for sure the place.
The door is sturdy. It takes a few kicks for them to get it down for entry. Once they're all piled through the opening in the wall, they can see that the door was the least of their worries. The room is full of furniture and decor. Not home decorations, more like traps or barricades. There are sofas and bureaus set up in a way that makes it hard to get through the room. And as if that wasn't enough, every possible surface is covered completely by glass objects. It'll be impossible to get through quickly. And if they can't get through fast, stealth is the next option - but this is impossible to get through quietly as well.
"Good news," Castle says. "This looks like the hideout of someone who does not want the cops around. She's got to be here!"
The somewhat cheeriness of his words does nothing to hide the pain and fear his tone conveys. Even though every cop in the room - detective and officer alike - picks up on it, nobody calls him out. They give him pained looks of sympathy but he ignores them. He doesn't need sympathy. He needs Beckett.
Slowly but surely, the group of police officers (plus Castle) begin to make their way through the maze that has been set up for them. It's hard but still easier than expected.
Tip-toed echoes can be heard and the occasional shh is uttered. Other than that, Castle has never heard cops so quiet. Usually it's the bang-bang-knock-the-door-down-shout-NYPD that he witnesses. Not today. But then again, today isn't a regular kind of day.
For the most part, they're silent. Not a sound made throughout. It's not until they are almost all through that something breaks. It's Donaldson in the back that accidentally knocks the glass angel over. It falls off a desk and shatters on the ground.
The shatter starts a very loud argument at the back of the group. The loud whispers at the back cause Ryan and Esposito at the front to turn around and shush them. All in all, the room gets very loud, very fast.
If it weren't such a serious matter, Castle would be inclined to laugh. He doesn't say a word. He simply watches the men whisper shouts across the room. For once in his life, he doesn't join in. He just stands there alone.
It's his standing alone that allows him to hear what is going on upstairs. At first, he's sure he is imagining it. But the noises don't stop and he can definitely hear footsteps.
They're running at first, then they stop. There's a small creak and a loud crash.
The crash halts the fight going on. Every single person in the room freezes and turns on their heels to face the staircase behind Castle.
"That wasn't-" Donaldson starts to say but he's hushed by others.
"Castle! Stay here! Go out to the car. Do not come in." Esposito glares at the writer. He doesn't move as the other cops rush past him up the stairs to the source of the noise. Javier just stands there and waits for Castle to leave the house. "Go."
Castle turns. He leaves and he goes out to the car. And in a miraculous change of character, he stays there.
Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Please review!
So they're close. They are so close. I promise...really soon! We're getting there. And, whoever is reviewing as Stana - I love you! You make my day every time I see your reviews! Always so peppy and cheerful!
Reviews make me update quicker.
xo Sarah