You people know how to shame a guy! A bunch of you asked both publicly and privately for me to NOT
end this.
So for now here is another chapter and it is not the last one
More to come
Detective Katherine Beckett has never finished a file review so fast in her entire career.
She did verify the dates and names of the person involved in the case. Quickly reviews the notes on the case and after being satisfied on the accuracy with only one minor change relating to an address of a witness. She signs off on the file, jumps up from her desk, and rushes off to Captain Gate's office to deliver the completed files to her boss
"You comin' Castle?" Kate exclaims as she is already putting her coat on and she is already fast walking to the elevator.
She is so impatient that she just keeps pushing the call button for the elevator knowing full well it will not come any faster if the button is pressed once or a dozen times.
Kate is almost out the front doors of the station before the elevator doors have even fully opened and Castle has to almost run to keep up with her long legs. She seems to be able to make twenty feet with each stride
Once the pair near the front of the coffee shop they stop just short of being seen by anyone who might be inside.
Glancing around the corner looking into the glass Beckett surveys the shop. What she doesn't see is the man that Castle was referring to, Andy Franks
After thinking that he is either not there or on break, Kate takes Rick's hand and she pulls Castle into the door with her.
When the pair step up to the counter they come face to face with Val "Hey Kate!"
"Hi Val" and Beckett looks around the coffee shop again and still does not see the man in question "Say Val, where is Andy? I wanted to thank him for taking care of that book that Roger left for Castle" with that comment Kate holds up her and Rick's entwined fingers
"OH! You just missed him. He said he was feeling ill and asked to take the rest of the day off, but I am sure he will be back tomorrow. You could come in then"
"Actually we will not be available then. Could you give me his address? I promise I will not use it for anything that the police would not use it for"
"Not a problem Kate. Let me go get that for you" and the manager steps out of sight into the small manager's desk area
Beckett leans into Castle's ear and whispers "It sounds like he left immediately after you were here. Like he knew we would be coming back looking for him"
"Yeah! It does"
"Val re appears with a post-it note in her hand "Here you go Kate" then she looks at the couple's linked hands "and if you get bored with him, I will be glad to take him off your hands"
"That's OK Val. I plan to keep him for a long time" Kate pulls Rick back out the door and he hears her whisper "I am not going to be bored and neither is he. And the only place hands are going to be put…"
"What's that Kate?"
"UH! Nothing" she looks at the address on the note "This is across town. We need my cruiser" And she again pulls Castle behind her towards the precinct
In her Crown Vis Castle starts his theory "Kate! What if this guy is involved? What if he IS part of this group. They have had enough time to scrub his place just like they did Roger's and we can't just force our way or break in or ask the super to open the door if he is not home. We will need a warrant"
Beckett looks straight out the front windshield "I know. But Castle I need to know. Maybe he just looks like the guy. I mean we thought that Roger and your dad were similar in appearance"
"Kate, I don't know anything for sure anymore but I know that I need answers and just like Smith said. We keep running into dead ends or the leads just dry up" He looks to his wife "I want answers and I know you. You do too"
"Yeah I do" Beckett reaches over the console to take Castle's hand
They are sitting at a light when Castle's cell phone rings. He pulls the device from his pocket and looks at the screen. Kate can tell he is not pleased with whoever is calling him
Without turning her head from the front she asks "Who is it?"
The tone of Castle's voice tells her that he is not interested in taking the call "My Ex!"
Kate tries to add a little levity "Which one?"
"Gina. I am sure she is still trying to enforce her dangerous activity clause" he finally slides his finger across the screen to answer "Gina! I am busy right now and we are not having this conversation again…"
When he stops his suddenly, Beckett can tell there is something very wrong
"Gina! Slow down. What is happening? Who is there? We are on the way"
Castle turns in Kate's direction "Beckett there is something happening at Gina's place and she begged me to come over"
"OH Really? Begged?"
"Actually she said can 'you and your wife' come? It is an emergency"
Since Gina's loft is across town and it takes the pair almost 45 minutes before that can get close to her residence
As they turn the last corner toward the address of Gina's loft they are faced with a long barricade of police cars and fire department equipment. Kate turns on her own emergency lights so any officer manning the blockade will see her and allow them to pass. As she approaches the first uniform he waves her to stop
She pulls out her ID and gold shield. She holds it up to the window of the car.
As she opens her window to id herself the officer motions for her to stop "Sorry detective, but we have a barricaded suspect in the next block. We think he has clear line of site to the street and he is able to fire on anyone in that line. We cannot let you go in this way right now"
"Fine. Where is the command post?" she asks
The uniformed officer motions her in the direction where the Command Van has been positioned out of the path of any direct attack. She drives the block to the location of the command post and parks her cruiser The pair exits her vehicle leaving the emergency light bar turned on to indicate to any other vehicle that this was in fact a police unit.
Beckett and Castle walk up to the entry door and Beckett climbs the steps and opens the door where inside she finds a familiar face.
"Detective Beckett what are you doing here?" Captain Peterson asks, when he sees her face enter his command van as she had done once before during the bank robbery where Castle was held hostage
"Captain, we were following up on a lead on one of my cases when we got a call to come here to the apartment building at 16 and Lex. That's when we were stopped and told that there is a situation and that you were in charge"
"Detective, THAT address is the building where we have a barricaded suspect. We think he is holding a woman hostage"
"Who is the hostage?" Castle asks
Captain Peterson looks at his notes "The woman is a Gina Crowell"
"Captain. Gina is Castles publisher" Beckett points at her husband "She is the one we were coming to see
Her statement obviously brings out more questions on the part of the commander "What else can you tell me about this situation, detective?"
"Gina called Castle about forty five-minutes ago and told him she had an emergency and we came. How long has this standoff been going on?"
"About that long. So she called you just before this all started?"
"Evidently. Do you have communication inside?" Beckett asks
"No one is answering her landline or cell phone" Peterson comments
Beckett looks at Rick "She may answer Castle if he calls"
The incident commander thinks before responding "Try that. Call her. Tell her you're here and the police will not let you in and try to find out what is happening inside. Mr. Castle we need your phone before you make the call"
Castle takes his phone out of his pocket. The police tech officer takes the phone and quickly clones it into the system so they can all listen in and at the same time record the call. After the phone has been duplicated he dials his ex-wife's phone. It rings several times before she answers
"Rick! Where are you? I need you in here NOW!"
"Gina I am in the police van and they said there is a man in your building with a gun and I can't come in there until they capture him"
"Rick, Karl is here and he…" there is a sudden crash followed by a scream then a man's voice can be heard yelling in the background
"Shut up. Tell him if he and that cop wife of his don't get in here I will start killing people. Beginning with your neighbors" the phone goes dead
Everyone in the van look over at Castle and Beckett when Peterson asks
"Wife?"
"Yes sir. Castle and I are married. It is not a secret. But it's not exactly advertised. The department knows all about it and it is approved for us to keep working together"
"Good to know" Peterson comments
"So what's our next move?" Beckett asks
"We wait"
"Wait? He said he wants me and Kate to get in there or he is going to start shooting people starting with her neighbors" Castle firmly comments
"Listen you two. There is no way I am letting anyone in that building and anyway who is the Karl guy?"
"Sir, its Gina boyfriend and a man involved in the recent kidnapping of my step daughter?"
Castle turns his face toward Kate in reacting to her calling Alexis her step daughter. He wants so bad to kiss Kate at this moment but he has promised her that he will refrain from his animal desires when they are work
"He was the man I heard about that somehow was connected to Senator Bracken and the murder of your mother" looking at Beckett "and…"
His last sentence is interrupted by the sound of a loud boom followed of screams from people rushing out of the building and the officers all yelling 'Don't shoot! Those are the hostages"
Castle, Beckett and Captain Peterson all exit out of the van and rush toward the building. As they approach they see Gina exit. She is screaming and crying as she sees Castle and makes a mad run in his direction. Once close enough, she grabs Rick around the neck and starts crying onto his shoulder.
Katherine Beckett-Castle feels a very odd standing by as she watches her husband being used as a crying towel by his ex wife