Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 25

As he and Beckett stood staring at the large screen in his office, Castle cleared his throat. "Kate, as long as Montgomery brought it up, there's something we need to talk about. I know you think wearing your ring at the precinct is unprofessional, and you like to keep your private life private, so we've only told family and a few friends we're engaged. But it's obvious everyone knows anyway. Ryan's had his celebration with Jenny. Don't you think we might have a little party or something?"

"Castle, you want to talk about this now?" Beckett asked incredulously."

"As long as we're both staring at a bunch of clues we'd both know in our sleep, yeah," Castle told her. "I'm happy you're going to be my wife. I don't wanna hide that and it's obvious I'm doing - we're doing - a lousy job anyway. Why not drop the act and let everyone have a little fun? It's not like I'm asking you to put it in The Ledger."

"Castle, I can't even think about that right now," Kate replied. "This case has got me..."

Castle stroked her hair. "All right. I understand. Let's try something easier. You want something to eat? It's been, I don't know how long it's been."

Beckett softened, moving to lean her head against his shoulder. "Yeah Castle, that would be nice."

Castle put the last chocolate chip into the smile and called Beckett to the kitchen. Beckett couldn't help smiling in response. "Castle you haven't made me pancakes since you stayed over at my old apartment during the Nikki Heat murders."

"At least I have unexpired eggs this time," Castle teased. "These are my emergency cheering up pancakes, suitable for missed goals and break-ups of boy bands."

"And being the target of a hit man?" Beckett teased.

"Fortunately I never had to try that before," Castle responded. "Teen age rivalries can be vicious, but as far as I know, no one's ever been that mad at Alexis - although I'm not sure about the girl she beat in the model United Nations last year. She had crazy eyes."

Beckett savored the fluffy sweetness.."These are great Castle, thanks."

"Never underestimate the power of chocolate," Castle declared as Beckett's cell buzzed.

"Castle," Beckett reported excitedly, "Ryan and Esposito tracked down a dealer who sold some pills they found in Lockwood's place. He never sold to Lockwood but he identified the buyer as a Jolene from Brooklyn. They have two possibilities. They're covering Jolene Anders, we can cover Jolene Grainger."

"How about our surveillance unit?" Castle asked.

"They can follow us," Beckett decided, "if they can keep up."

A dead body lay on the floor in Jolene Grainger's apartment. Castle felt his hand tremble and hid it in his pocket. "This guy doesn't just shoot his assignments, he took out his girlfriend. That's a special kind of psychopathy."

"Well, we're going to stop him before he takes out anyone else," Beckett resolved, pulling her cell out of her coat. "Esposito, we're at Jolene Grainger's apartment. She's dead."

"We're on our..." Esposito answered as an explosion loud enough for Castle to hear without a speaker, went off in the background.

"Esposito!" Beckett shouted into the phone to unanswering silence.

Castle had backed away involuntarily covering his head with his arms. "Beckett what was that?"

"Hang in there, Babe. I don't know, but I've got to call Montgomery and get some units over there, now!"

Beckett secured the scene of Jolene's murder. While Castle shakily looked around, she awaited word from Montgomery. Finally her phone buzzed. She put it on speaker. "Beckett, what you heard was a flash grenade. There's no sign of Ryan or Esposito. Lockwood must have taken them. The only thing we've recovered is their cell phones."

"Lockwood must have dumped them so we couldn't track him by GPS," Beckett concluded.

Castle jumped in. "Jolene doesn't have a cell phone either."

"He must have taken it," Beckett realized. "That cell phone is a link to him, she'd call him on it."

"I saw a bunch of bills on her desk," Castle added hopefully, running across the room. "There must be a cell phone bill." He flipped through the pile. "Not here! Maybe she pays online," he suggested, opening a laptop.

Hal Lockwood loomed over Ryan and Esposito who were tied to chairs near a tank of water. A couple of men armed with automatic weapons stood nearby. "I have to congratulate you guys. I've been doing this kind of work for a while and no one's gotten this close to me. Now my problem," he continued, dumping bags of ice into the water, "is that in order to finish my job, I need to find out exactly what you guys know. Look, I have a lot of respect for you guys."

Ryan and Esposito gave Lockwood disbelieving looks. "What? I do," Lockwood protested. "So I'm gonna make you a deal. You tell me what I want to know, one pro to another, and I'll put a bullet in your brain. You don't, you jerk me around, and before the night is over you'll be begging me to."

"I'm gonna have to go with option 'B,'" Esposito smirked.

Visions of Jenny whirled through Ryan's mind. He needed to stay alive for her, and the only way to do that was to stall for time until Beckett could find him. "Oh yeah, we're definitely going to jerk you around."

"Looks like we lucked out," Castle reported, looking at the screen of the laptop. "We don't need a password to get into her machine. I guess her boyfriend didn't get around to teaching her about cybersecurity. But," he noted, bringing up a site, "we need one to get into her cell phone account. The user name came up automatically. If we can come up with her mother's maiden name, they'll email the password." Beckett was on her phone to the precinct requesting the information before Castle could finish his sentence.

"This water is ice cold," Lockwood informed Esposito as he held Ryan by the hair. "It's going to burn like hell when it hits his lungs." Lockwood pushed Ryan's head underwater while a frustratedly helpless Esposito looked on.

When Lockwood finally pulled Ryan up again, the detective was pale and choking but defiant. "Look asshole, I was in Catholic school for twelve years. The nuns used to do this to us for talking in class."

"You're dead, Lockwood," Esposito hissed.

"Yeah, at first they always respond with bravado," Lockwood declared smugly. "Then comes the begging." He pushed Ryan's head down again.

Castle scanned the numbers on the screen. "Lockwood would have been one of the last numbers she called."

"Got it!" Beckett pointed from over his shoulder, as she talked into her phone. "Nine one seven five five five oh one seven six, need a GPS." She leaned down and kissed Castle's temple. "Thanks Babe."

Beckett parked her unit in a row of cars about half a block from the building indicated by the GPS on Lockwood's phone. She looked through a scope at the stocky armed guard at the entrance. "That guy's gonna spot a SWAT team a mile away and warn Lockwood. We call in the cavalry and they're both dead. I'm open to some of your out of the box thinking, Castle."

"We could do what I've been wanting to do all night," Castle replied to her quizzical look, "but since you can usually drink me under the table, I gotta know, how good are you at playing drunk?"

The corners of Beckett's mouth turned upward as she understood his plan. She giggled and staggered against him as they walked from the car. "He's not buying it, Castle," she sing-songed quietly as the guard came toward them.

"Phase two," Castle declared, taking her in his arms. Their lips met. As Beckett pressed herself against his body, trying hard to keep watch on the guard, her senses swam. She returned the kiss, just managing to keep some degree of concentration on her target.

The suspicion with which the guard regarded them transformed into an amused smile as he noted their bodies melting together. As he turned to return to his post, Beckett knocked him out with one kick. "That was amazing," Castle murmured, trying to regain his bearings. "The kick and the kiss."

"Glad you approve - of both," Beckett commented. "Now let's get in there. Stay behind me. God, you don't even have your vest!"

Castle jerked to a stop for a second before recalling the ruthless way Lockwood had taken out his own girlfriend. "No time, let's go!"

Beckett led the way, gun drawn. Stealthily she mounted a wooden stairway overlooking Lockwood's torture chamber, while Lockwood ordered one of his men to shoot out Ryan's kneecap. The thug aimed at Ryan, sneering at Esposito's frantic shout. Beckett squeezed her trigger. Lockwood scrambled for cover as Beckett took out a second henchman. Beckett made her way down the stairs, searching for a way to target Lockwood, as Castle looked on from above. As the gunfire flashed through the building, crushing terror descended on Castle, stealing his breath and paralyzing his limbs. Hazily, he saw Lockwood crouching behind a crate taking aim at Beckett. As Lockwood's finger tightened on the trigger, Castle forced back the smothering mantle of fear and dived downward, colliding with Lockwood and diverting the shot. Castle could see only his lover's attacker. He rammed his fist again and again into Lockwood's face until the man lay bloodied and unconscious on the floor.

Castle knelt over Lockwood panting, as Beckett hurried to his side. "You okay, Babe?"

Adrenaline receding, bolts of pain shot up Castle's arm, but the weight had lifted. He gazed self-satisfied into the concerned hazel eyes. "Never better."