A Hole for Two
Chapter 25
Castle laid his oar inside the dinghy. "C'mon Kate. We should have a look."
Kate picked up an oar. "Castle, we should get the boat out of here and call in back-up."
There was no chance to argue. The door sprang open with the barrel of an AK-47 the first thing Kate saw. "Uh, uh, uh," came a surprisingly mild voice as she dropped the oar to reach for her pistol. "I'll cut you down before you can even point it. So just lay your gun gently in the bottom of the boat. And the one in your ankle holster too. Kate Beckett, this may be our first meeting, but I've studied you very carefully. And Richard Castle, I've studied you too. I figured the two of you might figure this place out eventually, so there's a fiber optic camera and IR sensors. I knew the minute you arrived. Now if you would be so kind as to join me. I don't want to kill you yet. After everything you did to me, that would not be very satisfying. But I wouldn't mind taking out a major joint or two. I've heard that the pain you'd suffer from that would be exquisite." Hammett motioned with the gun. "Now get out of the boat and come into my parlor."
"Did anyone ever tell you that you sound like a bad Bond villain?" Castle asked.
"No one who lived to tell about it," Hammett replied smiling. "Get going."
As Hammett kept his rifle trained on them, the Castles made their way carefully from the boat across the damp rock leading to the door. Behind it was an underground apartment. Castle noted a monitor for the outside camera as well as additional screens for computer equipment. There was a kitchen area, a bedroom with a roomy bed, a comfortable chair, couch, coffee table, and a desk. An open door led to what looked to be a half bath. "All the comforts of home," Castle commented.
Hammett continued smiling. "I don't expect you'll be too comfortable." He inclined his head toward the two chairs at the kitchen table. "Have a seat." He used his elbow to depress a button on the wall. After a couple of minutes, stairs folded down from a hatch above and Tara Beilstrom descended. "I think they're fit to be tied," Hammett told her.
Tara grabbed a roll of Grizzly Tape from a drawer in the kitchen. Put your arms behind you," she commanded Kate. Tara pulled Kate's shoulders back tightly and taped her wrists and then her ankles. She did the same with Castle. She turned to Hammett. "Now what, Dash?"
He pursed his lips in consideration. "We can let them sit that way for a while, let their muscles cramp. I'm actually in the mood for pasta. You? Maybe with a nice Chianti?"
"Sure you don't want fava beans with your Chianti?" Castle jibed.
"Go ahead and joke," Hammett encouraged him. "After a while you'll feel much more like screaming. But I assure you, this place is quite soundproof. No one will hear you."
Castle looked at Kate. "And you think I watch too many movies. This guy is a walking trope."
"You may think so. But at least," Hammett reminded him, "I can walk. Neither of you will ever do that again." He turned to Tara. "Dinner?"
Castle could smell the Marinara sauce and couldn't believe that even knowing that torture and death were imminent, it could still make him hungry. Just one more torture, he supposed. Of course the biggest one was knowing he'd brought Kate here. There should have been a better, safer way to do this, possibly under the eye of Esposito through a scope, but it was too late to think about that now. There had to be a way out. There was always a way out. He'd just have to wait until it presented itself.
Since the Castles were occupying the kitchen chairs, Hammett and Tara took their dinner to the couch, putting their wine glasses on the coffee table. The Castles could only watch as their captors ate and drank with obvious enjoyment. Finally Tara put the dishes in the small sink. "Time to start the show," Hammett announced. "I've always been fond of overtures." The knife Hammett grabbed from the kitchen looked to Castle like one he might use to fillet fish, but Castle was sure Hammett had much more nefarious purposes in mind. "A hint of things to come."
Castle winced as Hammett used the narrow blade to make a two inch cut in Castle's forearm."No!" he shouted as Hammett made a similar cut on Kate.
Hammett looked back to Castle. "Oh, the husband protests the treatment of his wife. How touching. Not that there's a thing you can do about it. Well that's all part of the fun. Let's see what else I can do." Hammett lifted Kate's shirt. "Well you've already got some scars here. You won't get any more. What I'm going to do to you will never have a chance to heal." Castle struggled against his bonds as Hammett carved a small piece of flesh from Beckett's side."You know, the Chinese used to do the death of a thousand cuts. They'd carve out a piece at a time until someone slowly died. It wasn't just the pain. It meant that the victim wouldn't be whole in the afterlife - the ultimate punishment. They banned the practice in 1905, but I love carrying on traditions. Might as well make you match." Hammett turned the knife back to Castle and looked satisfied with his work. "Alright, I'll give you two a little time to clot and then come back for more pieces. Castle, it looks like I could carve a lot from you. Too bad your wife is so slender." Hammett turned to Tara. "More wine?"
Hammett gouged several more chunks of flesh from each of his captives. After each time he did, Castle noticed that Tara was getting more and more aroused, running her hands over Hammett as they continued to drink wine. Finally Tara reached for Hammett's crotch. "I need to do it, Dash."
"Fine," Dash agreed. "One more perfect insult. "They can listen to what they'll never get to do again."
The open bedroom door was not in that Castle's line of sight, but the sounds of sex were foul intrusions. Castle could feel the acid rising in his throat with the moans and creaking of springs. He had expected Hammett to return after his interlude, but the moans had been replaced by two sets of snores. Castle could see two empty Chianti bottles and realized the wine had made its effects known. "Kate," Castle whispered, "this is our chance to get away from that those maniacs."
"Castle, how?" Kate whispered back. "You ever put anything on with Grizzly Tape? It never comes loose!"
"Alexis and I have done countless projects with it. It doesn't come unstuck, but it does tear pretty easily. Actually tearing it is better than using scissors, because they get gummed up. If I can just lift up a little so I can use my shoulders to put some torque on it." Castle pushed his feet hard against the floor raising himself inches in his chair. At first his shoulders were too stiff to move, but they began to loosen up. He rotated them, causing matching motion in his wrists.
Kate heard a faint tearing sound. "Castle, I think you're getting it!"
Castle could feel the pressure on his wrists loosening. Finally his bonds parted.