This chapter picks the case right back up. New day. Time for action.

Disclaimer: Characters are the property of Andrew Marlowe and the team.

Chapter 51

Kate was woken by the sound of her cell phone ringing somewhere across the room. She jerked awake, mumbling, and found herself restrained within a circle arms and legs. It took her a few seconds to establish that she was even in her own bed, and then a few more heartbeats to recognize the warm body wrapped around her.

She was lying under a sheet, wearing just her underwear, with the solid, dozing form of her partner at her back, heavy and reassuring.

She cursed under her breath at her failure to leave her phone by the bed the night before, and then she hit a mental brick wall trying to remember even going to bed at all. She eased out from under the covers and tiptoed across to her bureau, hurrying to silence the ringing phone before Castle was woken too.

The light coming in around the edges of her bedroom shutters told her it was early morning, but since she still felt heavy with sleep she guessed it must be sometime before six.

"Beckett," she whispered into the mouthpiece, her attention wandering to the neat pile of folded clothes sitting on a nearby chair. She recognized them as the clothes she'd worn the day before. Castle must have…oh my, she thought, turning to look at her sleepy partner, who was now propping himself up on an elbow, watching her with a lazy, sleepy grin on his face.

Kate sauntered back to bed, letting him enjoy the view, as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line. She yawned and stretched.

"Sorry, Espo. Hang on a minute. Yes, I'm awake," she said, a little indignantly. "I'm just going to put you on speaker so that Castle can hear this," she said, chewing her lip and wincing.

"Javi, you still there?" she asked, blushing at the astonished silence on the other end of the line.

Castle covered his face with a pillow to stifle a loud groan. Then he sat up in bed and dragged Kate back in with him, sitting her down in the space between his legs. He pulled her back against his bare chest, while he propped himself up on some pillows. When Kate resumed the call, he leaned his chin against her shoulder, toying with her bra strap, while they both listened to the information Esposito and Ryan were giving them.

"So the van was seen heading south-east, through the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel?" clarified Kate. "What time was this?"

"Eagle-eyed MTA operator got a license plate match on the Manhattan side of the tunnel just after five-thirty this morning. We've alerted Brooklyn PD. Montgomery put a call into the Captain at the 76th. Looks like he was headed for the Gowanus Expressway."

"The Canal," muttered Kate, flexing her fingers against Castle's knee. "Guys, Jemma mentioned the Gowanus Canal at the end of her interview. Said Joey O'Conner's father used to work at the derelict USPS site below the expressway. Maybe he's headed there? Did we get any feedback from the patrol unit Brooklyn PD were sending over there yesterday?"

"No," said Ryan, his voice sounding tinny and distant over the speaker.

"They saw nothing suspicious or they didn't make much of an effort. Which is it?"

"Neither. There was an Occupy march along Brooklyn Heights Promenade yesterday, all hands required, so our patrol request was denied."

"Montgomery manage to get some co-operation today?" asked Kate, running a hand through her hair.

"That's not our main problem," said Esposito, cutting Kate off. "We got a call from the doorman at Michael Dupre's building. The door to his apartment was lying wide open when a neighbor passed by on his way to the airport this morning. Guy was leaving for an early flight, in a bit of a hurry, so he didn't stop to check if anything was up, but he did mention it to the doorman."

"And? He find anything?" asked Castle, unintentionally reminding the boys he and Kate were there together, in bed.

"Eh, yeah, Castle, doorman went up to check on Mr. Dupre around 5.45am. Said the door was unlocked. No sign of Dupre."

"Anything out of the ordinary?" asked Kate, a deep uneasiness taking up residence in her chest.

"Nothing disturbed or missing, from what he could tell, but he did say that there were a couple of lights burning in the living room and the TV was on at low volume."

"Send a couple of Uniforms over. I don't like the sound of that."

"On it," said Ryan. "You think our man Dupre might have been kidnapped?"

"Ryan, let's not jump to conclusions or start talking about kidnapping. Last thing we need are the Feds muscling in on our case. We need to find Michael Dupre and we need to track down that van."

"Right, boss"

"In fact, I think you and Javi should go to Dupre's apartment. Look for any signs of forced entry, signs of a struggle, and any clues as to Dupre's whereabouts. I need you to prove he left of his own volition. And speak to the doorman. Find out if the building has security cameras."

"I'll call the sister in Queens. See if she knows where he is," said Esposito.

"Thanks, Espo. Castle and I will head over to Brooklyn, take a look around the USPS site over by the Gowanus Canal, and we can check-in with the squad at the 76th. Call me the minute you have anything. I think, maybe Joey O'Conner just made his first mistake," said Kate, hanging up the call.

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"That was brave," said Castle, running a hand down Kate's spine, fingers lightly skimming over each individual vertebrae.

"Or stupid. I'm not sure which," replied Kate, scooting over to the edge of the bed.

"I'm sticking with brave. Do we have time for a shower?"

"Yeah, you go first. I'll put the coffee on. I think today's going to be a long one."

Castle got out of bed and stretched, pulling Kate towards him for a quick hug.

"Morning," he whispered in her ear, the tickle of his breath against her skin making her tingle.

"Morning," she whispered back, kissing the soft spot at the base of his throat. "Castle, how did I…?" she paused, looking back at her clothes on the chair. "Last night, I remember…"

But she wasn't sure what she remembered exactly. There had been a dream, something half-remembered, a willow the wisp of a story drifting on the edge of her consciousness.

"Relax. You fell asleep, I carried you to bed."

"And you undressed me?"

"Yeah, sorry, I…"

"No. It's fine. Good, actually. Only, I don't usually sleep in my bra, Rick. Just for future reference," she said, kissing him lightly on the chin, a smile playing at her lips as she rasped the stubble along his jawline with her fingertips.

"I didn't want you to think I had been molesting you," he explained.

"What a missed opportunity," teased Kate. "You're losing your touch. Maybe next time then?"

"Does that mean you plan on falling asleep on me more often, Detective Beckett?"

"Not my fault your story put me to sleep," she kidded, in reply.

"Kate, you obviously weren't listening," he said patiently.

"I was…until I fell asleep."

"If you had been listening you would know that it was our story I was telling, not mine," he said sincerely.

"Mmm hmm. Am I forgiven?"

"What, for sleeping?"

"Ruining our memorable night."

"There will be others. Besides, you looked really cute when you were sleeping," he confessed.

"Oh god. You were watching me? How long, Castle?"

"A while. Not long," he lied. "An hour maybe," he admitted when Kate tweaked his side.

"An hour? Jeez. That's beyond…"

"Creepy, I know. But, like I said, you were so cute."

"That stays in this room. Understand?"

"What? Your cuteness or my creepiness?"

"Both. Now go grab a quick shower. We need to be out of here in half and hour."

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Ryan called when they were in the car headed south on West Street towards I-478.

"We got a hit on the security cameras at Dupre's building."

"Great. What you got for me, Ryan? Did you see Dupre?"

"A little after ten last night he went to the front door of his building to accept some kind of delivery. Doorman said he clocks off at 7pm."

"And, what happened then? Did he go back inside?"

"Not exactly. Delivery guy indicates towards a parked vehicle and Dupre follows him. Once they pass behind the back door of the van we lost sight of Dupre, and shortly after that the van drives off."

"Did you get a license plate? Was there a name on the side of the van? A logo? Anything? Ryan?" asked Kate, her heart rate speeding up.

"Sorry, Beckett. That's all we got. It was dark and the camera range is limited."

"So, Dupre came downstairs, expecting a delivery. But given how late…did you check the phone in his apartment? Maybe he placed an order for take-out? Can you check and phone me back?"

Ryan and Esposito went back to look into Kate's request, while she carried on driving toward the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. They were level with Rector Street, south of the World Trade Centre site, when another call came in from the precinct.

"Hey, Velasquez. What's up?" asked Kate.

"We got another sighting of your van," said the other detective.

"Where? Brooklyn?" asked Kate.

"No. Alphabet City, around 11.30pm last night. Van ran a red light on the corner of East Houston and Avenue D. Camera picked it up: full plate match. Looked like it was headed north-east on Avenue D."

"Jemma's apartment," said Kate, flashing Castle a look. "He was going back to that apartment. Look, Velasquez, we're gonna make a detour. Go over to Jemma's place. Can you have a locksmith meet us there?"

Castle was rubbing his chin when Kate hung up, trying to decide whether or not to speak up. He hated contradicting her instincts. But after a couple of anxious seconds he decided just to go with his gut and pile in.

"What about Brooklyn? We know he was on his way over there hours after he was spotted in Alphabet City."

"I'll call Brooklyn PD. If Montgomery spoke to their captain this morning, we should be able to get some help from the 76th today. We're just making a quick detour, but it might give us a clue as to where he's headed."

"I don't know, Kate. Much as I don't like Michael Dupre, if Joey O'Conner has snatched him…we're kind of running out of time. Why not get the boys to have a look at Jemma's place? We're five minutes from the tunnel. It'll take us at least fifteen or twenty to get across town to Alphabet City."

For once, Kate didn't argue. She just called Velasquez and Ryan and filled them in, nodding quietly to herself as they entered the head of the tunnel. Because that's what a partnership was for, right? She couldn't be the only one making decisions all the time. Just so happened in this instance that Castle was probably right. She was just thankful he didn't crow about it. Come to think of it, that part was kind of strange.

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The orange, sodium glare of the tunnel lighting strobed across Castle's face as they passed through the two lane, southbound section of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Kate flicked her eyes across the car to look at him. He was suspiciously quiet as he stared out of the window.

"Did you know that this is the longest underwater vehicular tunnel in the world?" he said suddenly, breaking the silence and eyeing the roof of the structure.

"I didn't. No. So, thank you. I feel enlightened," said Kate, continually amused by his knack for throwing out random facts.

He continued to look up at the structure's ceiling, a little frown worrying his brow.

"You're not afraid of a little tunnel are you, Castle?" asked Kate, catching the frown on his face.

"Do you have any idea how much water is above our heads right now?" he asked, peering through the windshield.

"Well…it's the East River," said Kate. "Hard to be precise."

"The sandhogs who built this tunnel wore metal badges on their chests so people would know which hospital to send them to if they passed out from the bends after working a shift down here."

"Fascinating," muttered Kate, maneuvering past an old lady in a Lincoln Town Car who was hugging the middle of the road, and though she vaguely wondered how he knew this, she decided it was better not to ask.

Silence returned to the car, and Kate gave her partner a worried glance.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Stephen Siller."

"The firefighter?" asked Kate, surprised at how his mind bounced about.

"Yeah. He had 75 pounds of equipment on his back when ran through here on 9/11. Now that's a hero."

"Mmm hmm. Sure is," said Kate. "Where's all this coming from? You're getting maudlin on me, Castle. You okay?"

"Sure…just. Makes you think."

"About?"

"Timing. Fate. I hope we're not too late."

"For Michael Dupre?"

"Yeah. I have a bad feeling about today, Kate."

"I wish you hadn't told me that. Worrying is my job. You're supposed to be the optimist, Castle."

"Sorry. Ever since we spoke to Ryan, I can't shake it. This feeling that we're running out of time."

"Is that why you didn't want me to detour to Jemma's place?"

"Yes, I hope…I mean, it's really your call, Kate."

"No. What you said makes sense. We're doing the right thing. Just…it'll be okay. We'll get there," she said, throwing him a weak smile.

She didn't add in time or hopefully or just hang on because she wasn't sure that was true, and she didn't want to give him false hope. Because if she was honest, she'd been feeling the same uneasiness since the call they'd taken in bed earlier that morning from the boys, telling them that Michael Dupre was missing.

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They joined the Gowanus Expressway, eventually rising up and over the Gowanus Canal. The US Postal Service site lay down below them to the left, largely obscured by the Manhattan-bound lanes of the Interstate. The sun sparkled off the surface of the Canal making it look far more appealing at this height than it was close up. At least from a distance the smell was less intense, even on a hot summer's day.

Kate took the 3rd Avenue exit, looping back around to pick up 12th Street, where the USPS site began. She made a left and slowed down, crawling towards the boundary fence, scanning for what, she wasn't exactly sure.

"You feel it?" asked Castle suddenly.

"What?" asked Kate, confused by the question.

"Destiny," he replied with such seriousness that Kate had a sudden urge to turn around and head back to Manhattan.

"Destiny? What's…Castle, what are you talking about?"

"I think he's here. I think he wants us to know that he's here. Why else would he have gone back to Jemma's apartment last night, or snatched Michael Dupre off the street in front of his own building? He's taking risks."

"Okay, you're freaking me out a little. First of all, he wasn't to know that we'd see that van…the red light. Wait. You think he ran it deliberately?"

Castle nodded slowly. "Corner of Avenue D and East Houston, 11.30 at night? What kind of a hurry would you have to be in to risk running a light at that hour? Traffic had to be non-existent. He probably saw you running after that van the other night, and he must know DRP realizes it's missing by now, so the cops are bound to be on the look out for it."

"Son of a…" said Kate.

"Wait, wasn't there a deli underneath Jemma's apartment?" asked Castle, closing his eyes to picture the street.

"Yeah, next to the Wok Shop. Why, you think he stopped for supplies?"

"No. Well, maybe. But I'm pretty sure there was an ATM in the window, you know with the little illuminated sign."

"So?" asked Kate, not following.

"So, ATM means camera. And it's right outside her front door."

"I'll call Ryan," said Kate, gratefully squeezing Castle's arm.

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They drove on down 12th Street for a block, until they reached 2nd Avenue. Kate made a right and slowly drove the car along the boundary of the old depot. The buildings were merely run down in places, and practically derelict in others, where the roof had caved in or fire had eaten away at the fabric.

"I'm going to make a left, take us down to the water at the next corner," said Kate. I feel like we're looking at this thing from the rear. It feels closed off; as if it has it's back to us. Maybe it'll make more sense from the canal-side," she suggested.

At the bottom of 10th Street they pulled over. Kate collected her portable radio from the console and they got out of the car to scope out the site on foot.

To the right was a view of the 9th Street lift bridge, where three lanes of traffic purred over the moveable steel roadway. To the left, high above them, was the Gowanus Expressway, with the ribbon of canal stretching off into the distance beneath it. The smell, up close, was pretty awful, filling nostrils and hair, clinging to clothing. Super-heated pathogens, leeching up through sediment eighty feet deep, to fill the air with an acrid stench so thick you could taste it.

"I feel like I need a shower already," moaned Castle. "How can people canoe on that stuff?"

They made their way along the side of the first building. Graffiti and bullet holes pockmarked the red brick. Kate picked at a flattened piece of copper and lead that had lodged in an ancient, crumbling piece of mortar, dislodging it into her palm.

"Someone's been using this place for target practice," she remarked, her hand drifting automatically to her holster, checking, and then drifting away again. "Hollow-point, .45," she muttered, dropping the mushroom shaped fragment of metal to the ground.

"What should we be looking for?" asked Castle. "This site must be over nine acres."

"Let's just focus on the buildings that look relatively whole. Someplace you'd want to hide out, that would make a reasonable shelter. We're looking for any signs of life or recent activity – tire tracks, trash, cigarette butts, lights, an open door or window."

"Eh, hate to point this out, Kate. But most of these windows seem to be open and have been for sometime," said Castle, pointing up at the cracked, broken, and missing panes of glass.

"Yeah, just…do your best," said Kate, trying to bury her frustration at his valid point.

They skirted the edge of a low-rise wooden structure, peering in the windows to see what was inside. Kate stood up on an old crate to get a better view, balancing a hand on Castle's shoulder.

"You see anything?" he asked.

"Nope, just…oh!" exclaimed Kate, wobbling as a flock of pigeons suddenly took flight, soaring through an opening in the roof, and circling above them before settling back down on a nearby barge.

"This place is giving me the creeps," Castle muttered, helping her down.

Kate's phone rang and they both jumped. She hurried to answer it, in case anyone was lurking nearby and could hear them.

"Hey, Espo," she whispered. "Where are you?"

"On our way to meet you. ATM cam at Jemma's showed Joey O'Conner leaving her place at five-fifteen this morning. Then he hit the tunnel at 5.30am. Brooklyn PD has him on camera at the 3rd Street off-ramp twenty minutes later. Where are you now?"

"We're by the canal, at the USPS site: 10th Street entrance. We're just having a look around. No sign so far. How far out are you?

"Fifteen," replied Esposito.

"Okay. See you soon," said Kate, shutting down the call at the precise moment she saw something move out of the corner of her eye the next building over.

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Kate grabbed Castle's elbow, dragging him back against the wall.

"Fifty yards," she whispered into his ear. "Someone's down there. I saw movement."

Kate maneuvered herself in front of him, and pressed the thumb release on her holster, slowly withdrawing her gun.

"Stay behind me. Stay close," she hissed, squeezing his wrist hard.

They flattened their bodies against the outer wall, edging down the building a few yards at a time, stopping periodically to listen for any sign of movement. Eventually, they hit a potion of the building where a brick support column jutted out, and they paused behind it before making the more risky move to clear this section. Because passing around this piece of wall would necessitate moving out into the open.

Kate closed her eyes, breathed a couple of times then nodded to herself. "Okay. Follow me," she whispered to Castle.

When they rounded the corner Kate stopped dead. Castle's hands flew to her waist, holding on to prevent himself from crashing into the back of her. Because parked in front of them was a white van with the green sycamore leaf logo of the Department of Parks and Recreation branded on the back door.

They stood quietly for a minute, hearts racing, pressed up against the wall, watching for any signs of activity, and when they were sure it was clear, Kate indicated for them to carry on.

"What about back-up?" hissed Castle, catching hold of her elbow. "Ryan and Espo will be here soon. Shouldn't we wait?" he asked, trying to be the voice of reason, but hating that he also sounded like a wimp.

"We could be running out of time if Michael Dupre is in there," said Kate. "He was snatched nearly twelve hours ago. I don't think we can wait."

Castle looked doubtful, the unease he's felt on the way over to Brooklyn settled in the pit of his stomach again.

"Here, take my off-duty piece," said Kate, reaching behind her to pull out the small, snub nose, Smith & Wesson, Model 36 revolver she was carrying at her back. She pressed it into Castle's hand. "Five rounds, .38, slight recoil," she reminded him, turning back to face their target.

"Kate," whispered Castle, drawing her back again. "We can wait. A couple of minutes won't make any difference."

"Would you say that if it was me in there?" she asked, and Castle shook his head.

"That's how it has to be for everyone. Wait here for the boys if you don't want to go in," she added, though not unkindly.

"Don't even…no! No way. I'm coming with you," he whispered, acknowledging her grateful nod.

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When they rounded the corner Kate noticed drag marks in the dirt leading away from the back of the van and heading towards the small door in the wall up ahead. She pointed silently towards them, getting a nod of understanding from Castle. She titled her head towards the door and they crept forward, listening intently all the while.

Kate closed her eyes and grasped the edge of the ancient door, praying that the hinges wouldn't squeak and give them away. She could feel Castle's breath against her cheek, and she swore she could even hear their hearts pounding together, measuring out the same elevated rhythm, beat for beat.

"On three," she whispered, counting down silently with her fingers.

They made it inside on light feet, Kate first, clearing the way with a sweep of her gun. Castle followed behind, feeling, not for the first time, like less of a man for allowing his partner to take the lead. They hugged the wall, getting a read on the layout, listening again for any sign of noise or movement.

Castle pointed to the floor – pigeon droppings, dust and feathers, all recently disturbed. The drag marks from the van carried on across the rotting surface, accompanied by a wide-set pair of shoe prints, heading backwards away from the door.

Kate set out in pursuit of the footprints, hurrying from wall to wall, staying out of sight, hoping that Castle was keeping up with her. The light got lower the further into the building they got. Small shafts of sunlight cracked through holes in the roof, glittering down through the dusty air, but for the most part it was gloomy, and they had to watch their footing.

The building was damp, set as it was so close to the water, and the internal walls were coated in a greenish-blue slime. Kate felt the floorboards give under her feet a couple of times, and she slowed her pace to step more carefully on the rotten boards, testing out the strength of each plank a meter at a time.

When they reached another corner Kate stopped, her arms raised to chest height, the Glock gripped firmly in two hands. "Follow me slowly," she whispered to Castle. "Watch where you step."

No sooner were they round the corner than Kate's foot hit something glass, startling them both as a bottle rolled with a dull rumble across the dirty wooden floor.

"Vodka," she whispered. "We might have found his lair."

Edging further round the corner they came upon the opening to a small room. The view inside had a distinctly unsettling familiarity to it. Bedding, bottles, clothing, food containers, even the stuff that was evidently garbage, had been lined up with extreme care. A set of metal cutlery, silver most likely, bearing a small cloverleaf design, had been arranged against an off-white linen dishtowel with surgical precision. A pair of expensive looking, black, leather, dress shoes were lined up against the wall, the toes scuffed and dirty, laces hastily untied.

"He's here," hissed Kate, her cold fingers curling around Castle's bare forearm, sending a shiver through his body even on this hot summer's morning. "They both are."

Any thoughts?