Summary – Kate is at mandatory police training and Castle gets into trouble while researching a story. Can the 12th save him in time?
Author's Notes: Sorry it's been a while and thanks for being so patient. Where have the last couple of months gone, besides waiting for Mondays to roll around again? Rated T for language and violence and innuendo. Also I'm taking artistic liberties with how fast the investigation is going because, in the real world, it doesn't happen this fast. And some of the names of the towns are made up as are all of the people.
Disclaimer – Don't own Castle: Marlowe, ABC, and Disney do. Just writing for fun.
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This Is Castle We're Talking About – Chapter 21 - Showdown
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Airport security officers were waiting for them as they pulled up to the terminal 1 entrance at JFK.
"We've spotted Claire Dimont at gate 5 but haven't been able to locate Carmelita Deigo yet," said Officer Stanton as the team quickly put on their body armor and then put their coats back on. "We've got officers in place and blocked access to that area but didn't clear it because we don't want to spook them."
"Good," nodded Beckett as the officer escorted them through the security checkpoint and down the walkway towards the concourse area. "Pick Dimont up now – we'll get Deigo."
They stopped at the entrance to survey the area. "Espo, Ryan – you take that side and we'll take this side."
As Espo and Ryan split off, Beckett and Castle slowed their pace as they walked up to the first cluster of small stores.
Castle's phone rang while Beckett discretely scanned inside the first store, her hand resting on her hip in case she needed to draw her gun.
He glanced at the number and then said softly, "I need to take this," and moved off slightly to answer the phone. The conversation was short and Castle was putting the phone back in his pocket when he saw Deigo using the mirror at the front counter two stores away from them to put on red lipstick.
"Beckett," Castle said softly, standing still so he didn't draw attention to himself.
Kate picked up the urgency in his voice and turned toward him just as Deigo and Castle locked eyes in the mirror.
The hesitation lasted only a heartbeat and then Deigo knocked over a rack containing perfumes, body oils, and lotions, before fleeing towards the airport exit.
Trying not to slip in the spilt liquid was a minor hindrance, but it gave the woman enough lead time to mix in with the bustling crowd as Beckett and Castle gave chase.
"Damn," Beckett swore as she knelt to pick up the hat that Deigo had discarded in her flight and then pulled out her phone to call Espo and Ryan. "Espo, we lost her – go to the front and make sure she doesn't get out that way. She had on a black coat but may have discarded it."
Castle quickly climbed on some chairs near them, scanning the crowd to see if he could spot Deigo, when he noticed a roped-off construction area at the far end of the concourse level where the bathrooms were being remodeled to make them bigger.
He jumped down and pointed Beckett in the direction of the cordoned off area. "Over there."
They carefully approached the area that gave all appearances of being undisturbed.
"You sure about this, Castle?" Beckett asked quietly.
Castle nodded. "She wants to leave the country, not the airport," he replied in a low voice as he slowly pulled back the plastic sheeting from the opening, trying to make as little noise as possible. "She needs a place to hide."
Beckett nodded, pulling out her gun and steadying it in front of her as she quietly slipped through the opening, with Castle following.
The bathroom was maze-like with one set of sinks near the first entrance, two separate rows of double stalls behind a wall, and then another set of sinks near the second entrance/exit. That opening had not been cut yet, so if Deigo was in here, she would be in one of the stalls.
Motioning to Castle to stay where he was, Beckett slowly knelt down at the first row of stalls and peered underneath the partitions, cringing slightly as the plastic sheeting under her crackled.
Fortunately the remodeling had only been partially completed. Only the toilets in the back row had been installed, and none of the doors had been added yet, making the search easier.
Seeing no one in the front row, Beckett motioned for Castle to go towards the back row on the opposite side. She then carefully moved from one opening to the next, her gun held ready.
When she reached the last stall next to where Castle stood, Beckett let out the breath she had been holding and lowered her gun.
"Sorry," said Castle, shrugging apologetically.
"No, it was a good guess," said Beckett, starting to holster her gun as they walked to the front. Suddenly they were enveloped by a cloud of blinding, choking white dust. Beckett instinctively raised her hands to shield her eyes against further assault, only to have her gun knocked out of her hand. It clattered across the floor, coming to rest by the second row of sinks.
Coughing and fighting the urge to scrub the powder out of his tearing eyes, Castle blindly pushed Beckett back towards the last row of stalls, putting himself between Deigo and Kate.
"In here," he hissed, guiding Beckett into one of the stalls. During the search, he had noticed that the toilet bowls had water in them, hopefully from testing. He pulled a hander kerchief out of his pocket and felt around, finally dipping it into the water and then quickly wiped his eyes with it.
Now that his vision was slightly clearer, he dipped the fabric back in the water and brought it up to Kate's face, gently wiping her eyes, smearing her make-up in the process.
"Better?" he whispered.
Beckett nodded, smiling slightly and blinking slowly, wiping off the excess water. "Thanks."
"Always," he replied and then both of them went still as the plastic sheeting near the front row crackled. The hunters had now become the hunted.
"Nice piece, Detective," came the accented voice. "Thanks for providing it. It will make your deaths much more plausible – an accidental shooting and then a heart attack from the guilt."
The crackling came closer to where they were.
Beckett cocked her head, listening, and then said quietly, "She's coming down the back wall. Ready to move?"
Castle nodded, carefully peering around the corner of the stall to the front exit. They quietly started towards it when Deigo stepped out from the front row, blocking the exit, Beckett's gun in one hand and a bag of nuts and bolts in the other.
"You just won't die, will you, Ricardo," she said, pocketing the bag and then aiming the gun at Castle. "It would have been much better if you had just accepted my offer – we would have had so much fun," she continued with a deep sigh, biting her lower lip as she watched him redden under her relentless stare. "I really do hate to waste a good man but you leave me no choice. Down on the floor now – both of you – hands behind your heads," she barked at them.
"Deigo, you won't get away with this," said Beckett as she knelt and put her hands up. "People will hear the shots and they're waiting for you."
"Ah, but they are looking for a Mexican citizen trying to flee the country," said Deigo. "Not a construction worker going home for the evening. You were right, Richard – I know how the business works. And there's nothing you can do to stop me," she said, bringing the gun level with his head.
"No, I can't," said Castle seriously and then looked past her shoulder towards the front entrance, "but they can."
"You're bluffing," replied Deigo, not letting her focus waver as she pulled the trigger back.
"Sometimes, but not now," Castle said. "Hola, Pablo. About time you found us."
"Thanks for leaving your phone on, compadre," came the voice behind Deigo. "Carmelita Regina Deigo, you are under arrest for the murder of Maximillo Ortiz. Slowly take your finger off of the trigger and raise the gun up over your head. And if you so much as twitch, I will shoot you."
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As Pablo, Espo, and Ryan completed the arrests, the EMTs spent several long minutes flushing out Castle's and Beckett's eyes. They were finally satisfied with the results, advising the couple to see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible to make sure that no serious damage had been done.
As the ambulance left, Castle and Beckett walked over to the cars where the team stood, watching the squad cars drive off with Dimont and Deigo.
"You okay?" asked Espo.
"Yeah," said Beckett, nodding, looking around. "Uh, where's my gun?"
"Ah – evidence," Ryan replied innocently. "CSU is dusting it for prints – Deigo's prints. They said you can pick it up tomorrow."
"Well, since I'm going to be there," Beckett said, "I'm sure the two of you won't mind coming in tomorrow to finish up the paperwork on this."
Espo cleared his throat. "You might want to check with the detective that Gates left in charge about that. I think he has a strict policy about not working weekends," he continued as Beckett rolled her eyes at him.
Castle quickly intervened as he led over the tall Hispanic male who had collared Deigo. "Pablo, this is Kate Beckett, NYPD detective," he said excitedly, "Kate, this is Pablo Sanchez the 3rd, of Mexican Homeland Security."
"Nice to meet you," said Beckett as they shook hands. "And thanks."
"Glad I could help, Detective Beckett. We've been looking for Carmelita for several weeks," Pablo said. "Then when you called my father, he called me and since this is Castle we're talking about, we were sure that he was involved somehow and I thought I better come up here to save his trasero again."
"Well, my trasero appreciates it," said Castle.
Pablo smiled back at Castle and then looked back at Beckett. "And I can now report to the family that you do exist and aren't a product of Rick's overactive imagination." He looked at Castle again. "You would think that Thomas would be more helpful in these things."
That sparked a response from Castle. "Oh, speaking of Thomas, you might want to go rescue him from the FBI. Carmelita told them he was the head of the family business now."
"That's my next stop," grinned Pablo, glancing at the car waiting for him. "I talked to them when I landed and they put Thomas in protective custody until we got this straightened out."
"Hey, if you're still in town, come to the poker game Sunday night," said Castle.
"For the annual fleecing of the Castle?" quipped Pablo as he and Castle hugged. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Just bring you're A game," said Castle. "And your wallet," he called out. "Alexis is going to be there and you know what a card shark she is."
"She learned from the best," said Pablo, laughing and waving as he got in the car.
Castle waved back as Pablo drove off and then turned to look at Beckett, his smiling quickly fading into a worried expression as she watched him with her police gaze. "What?" he asked with faked innocence.
"So Carmelita made you an offer?" she questioned as she frowned at him. "What else happened when you were together?"
"Uh – I don't know – I don't remember," stammered Castle, coming to his own defense, blushing at the dream he had had.
"And how do I know that?" asked Beckett, stepping into his personal space, her interrogation mode in full play as she kept the smile off of her face. She knew the answer to the question already because Perlmutter had been very, very thorough.
"I'm pretty sure nothing happened – uh, the doctor said – I don't anything could have happened…" Castle trailed off, looking at Beckett hopefully.
Beckett hummed for a moment, thinking, and then lightly tugged on her lower lip with her teeth before looking up at him from under her eyelashes. "What if I made you an offer?" she breathed softly into his face.
"Then I'd definitely be a fool to refuse it," said Castle, smiling as he took her in his arms.
"Ewww, get a room," yelled Espo and Ryan as they walked to their waiting squad car.
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