Author's note: People, you are killing me with your kind reviews and all your reads. Holy mowly, like for real, the stats from chapter seven are blowing me away. Thanks for your continued enthusiasm, it keeps me excited as well. Shout out to gaffling, your review made me run around the house all giddy!
Disclaimer: Can't be creative every time, so yeah, you know the drill: These characters do not belong to me, only the words and ideas are mine.
It was like he was in a movie. He stood in the middle of the bullpen, everyone and everything around him moving in slow motion. He vaguely heard Ryan and Esposito question the uniformed officers, accusing them of misconduct. Gates had appeared, phones were being rung, papers were being turned. More phone calls, more yelling, more shuffling. And he was simply standing there, in the middle of it all.
He looked up at the board, the one thing in the room that didn't seem to be moving. His eyes trailed over the evidence, but without purpose. He had examined the board too many times in the last two days. He knew about all the evidence, knew how Tyson must have done it. If only there was a way he could prove any of it. If only he had a way to get to Tyson. And then he knew. As if on autopilot, he started walking towards interrogation room four.
He heard someone vaguely yelling after him; friend or foe, he didn't care. His ears were ringing with rage. The door of the interrogation room opened without effort, the scruffy bastard sitting there with his lawyer, discussing a plea deal. He could see the fear in his eyes, he knew what was coming for him. It seemed like he was pleading for help, pleading for him not to hurt him, but Castle didn't care. His body had a mind of its own; before he knew it, he was pushing the guy against the mirrored window.
"Where's Beckett," he yelled. "Where did he take her," he pushed him again, harder against the glass. He heard the mirror crack. Another push against it, the sound of the man's whimpering drowned out by the gushing of the blood in Castle's ears. His right arm was about to swing when he was grabbed, strongly from behind. He resisted, untangling his arms, elbowing whoever had tried to stop him. More arms grabbed him, pulling him backwards. Gates in the corner of his eye, apologizing to the lawyer and their client. He kept resisting, but the force left him, as he slowly came back to his senses. He could see clearer now. He saw how he had created a big imprint of the man in the window. He saw Esposito's nose was bleeding, and then he caught himself in the mirror. Broken, out of sorts; a wounded beast.
They'd put him in holding; it was the only way to appease the lawyer to not press charges. Not much later, Gates had come in furious, accusing him of losing them an invaluable suspect to the case. That he should be lucky she didn't throw him out immediately. After that they'd left him. Esposito, who had been standing behind Gates during his sanctioning, had ignored Castle entirely, his nose still bleeding. Ryan, on the other hand had shook his head in disappointment.
"You have some visitors," Reggie announced. Castle looked up as his mother and daughter walked in.
"Daddy, what happened?" "Oh, Richard," they said simultaneously.
"Hi pumpkin," he smiled, reaching for her hand through the bars.
"They told us he's got Beckett. 3xk? Is it true, daddy?" her eyes panicked, looking for reassurance. It was only a few years ago where he could have kissed away her fear, scared away the monsters. He couldn't do that anymore. Not with this monster. With heavy heart, he replied: "I'm afraid so, sweetie."
"Why would he go after Katherine?" Martha asked, reaching for his hand too.
"To get to me. He's angry because I stood in the way of his plan to disappear. So now he's punishing me." Martha sighed dramatically.
"Now, kiddo. What can we do to help? How do we get you out of here?"
"We brought money from your safe. We could bail you out?" Alexis sniffed, drying the tears that had appeared.
"No, it's- it's ok. I deserve to be in here. I lost my temper. There is a thing you can do though."
"Anything Richard."
"Go on your Europe trip," they both started to protest, "you said anything, mother."
"But we can't leave you now, you need us."
"What I need is to know that you both are safe, that he can't get to you too," he said looking at his mother. He knew she would understand.
"We love you, dad," Alexis whispered.
"I know you do. I love you too. Now go, if I'm not mistaken your flight leaves in three hours. Take pictures, I'll be expecting to see one every day, okay?"
"I promise," she squeezed his hand.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, mother," he saw his mother struggling to keep a brave face in front of Alexis. And then he saw it happen, the Martha magic. She threw her hands in the air, winked at her son one more time before she yelled: "Paris, here we come."
She grabbed Alexis by the shoulder and pulled her with her. Alexis glanced back one last time, and the red heads disappeared. He hoped he had made the right decision.
They released him half an hour later. Castle apologized profusely to both Ryan and Esposito, who both waved away his apologies saying they understood.
"Any word on the guys that took her? Any leads where she could be? Have they started a search party?" The boys glanced at each other uncomfortably.
"What's the matter?"
"They haven't."
"What? Why not? He could be anywhere by now? We need to find h-"
"Relax, we know," Esposito interrupted. "But according to the DA, it was Beckett who escaped; and they have now branded her a fugitive."
"But she di-"
"We know," this time Ryan interrupted. "Castle, we are on your side. So is Captain Gates. We just need to continue our investigation as if this were any other case."
"On the plus side, every cop in New York is looking for her. It's not exactly the search party we'd want, but Tyson won't get far," Esposito clapped him on the back. Castle wasn't too sure about that, but he remained quiet nonetheless. Grateful that they had his back.
"So, what have you come up with when I was in holding?" Not wanting to waste any more valuable time.
"So far, our investigation into the two fake officers is a total bust. Their badge ID numbers were fake. They simply walked out of the precinct, took one of the patrol cars and left. We were able to follow their movement up town, until we lost them in an unguarded neighborhood. Officers found and reported the stolen vehicle half an hour ago in an abandoned alleyway. They must have had another getaway car waiting. Whoever these guys are, they're professionals," Ryan explained.
"Did you look into old prison buddies of Tyson?" Castle asked.
"We didn't have to. Lanie checked the fingerprints they left on the paperwork, and found no matches in the system. Plus, we ran their faces too without result. If they were prison buddies, or ever in prison for that matter, we would have found them."
"We were, however, able to find out how Tyson got his two doppelgangers. A casting call from two weeks ago," Esposito held up an article clipping.
"Looking for two brunettes, approximately between 5"5' and 5"8' for a mystery party," Castle read out loud.
"We couldn't trace the request back to Tyson since they are completely anonymous, and it was paid in cash dropped off in the magazine's mail box."
"We did find who the company sent Tyson's way. And they are coming in right about", the elevator doors opened and two brunettes walked in, looking remarkably similar to Madison and Beckett from afar, "now," Ryan said.
The three boys went into an unoccupied room where they'd usually talk to family members who weren't suspects. Up close, the women looked nothing like Beckett or Madison. When they got seated, one of the two brunettes looked up in surprise by the sight of Castle.
"Omg, you're Richard Castle. See Stacy, I told you we were going to see him," Castle being used to fans smiled at her as he said, "how'd you know you would see me, if I may ask?"
"That guy who hired us said there might be a chance we'd get to meet you. He said he worked for the agency behind the Nikki Heat series" the other brunette, who Castle guessed went by Stacy, said, clearly not as impressed with Castle as her friend was. At that response, both Ryan and Esposito leaned forward.
"The guy who hired you, did you ever get to see him?" Esposito asked.
"No, he was a very weird fellow. We do these types of things more often, but this guy was very particular about the whole thing. When we got the job, we received a message from the company who hired us to pick up a package in the park. It's in there that we found the money and the job explained in the finest detail. It's funny really, that he trusted to pay us before we had even done the job," Castle's fan said, glancing at Castle the entire time she was speaking.
"Do you still have the package?" Ryan asked hopefully.
"Uhm, normally we would. It's good business to keep evidence of previous jobs, for future clients. To show them what you are capable of, you know. But this one mentioned specifically that the package must be burned after having completed the task. So, we did. Why? Is something off with the guy?" Stacy asked, switching between Ryan and Esposito, completely ignoring Castle's presence.
"Actually…" the other one said.
"No, Nancy, tell me you didn't?"
"I did!"
"You did what?" Esposito asked, clearly losing his nerves by the minute.
"I took a picture of it. It had Castle's autograph on it. I couldn't just simply burn it," Nancy tried to justify.
"Could we see the picture?" Castle asked politely adding: "If you want, I can do you one better and write you a little dedication in person?"
Nancy screamed at that, pulling out Castle's latest Nikki Heat from her purse.
"This is the best day ever," she sighed as she passed her book to Castle, and her phone to Esposito.
"This is only a picture of the autograph," he grumbled, annoyed now.
"Oh yeah, I didn't really care for the rest of it," Nancy eyed Castle gleefully as he signed her copy.
"So this assignment, could you tell us what it was exactly?" Ryan interjected, trying to keep the peace next to Esposito who was starting to fume.
"Well that could have gone better." Ryan concluded as they walked back to the murder board after having said goodbye to both Nancy and Stacy.
"What a big waste of time; all they did was confirm what we already figured, without any physical proof…" Esposito grumbled behind them having brought in some fresh coffee.
"At least we now know we can pay people to create murder scenes for us, if we ever find ourselves without," Castle said ironically.
"Wait a second, the uniforms. Ryan, do you have a screenshot of Beckett's kidnappers on our security footage?"
"Um yeah, let me just load it up," Ryan started typing, after which an image of the two guys appeared.
"What are we looking for, Castle? Do you recognize them from somewhere?"
"No I don't, but look at the badges; the rims are bronze, not gold. They're fake. And as a matter of fact, I know where they got them."
"You've got your own pair, don't you?" Esposito said disapprovingly.
"Let's just say, the ladies dig it."
Twenty minutes later, they were in a small costume store downtown. Castle being a regular, the owner saw no problem in providing them with the two fake cops' credit card information. One call to the precinct later, and they got the address of where one of them currently resided. They lived in New Jersey. With every mile they drove farther out of Manhattan, another minute ticked away, and Castle got more and more worried. Something just didn't sit right. Even if these guys had helped Tyson to kidnap Beckett, who was to say they'd one; be home, and two; open their mouths and spill on Tyson's current location. But seeing as Tori still hadn't gotten back to them on a possible location for his operating house, this was their only option.
Forty minutes later, they finally arrived in the neighborhood of one of the kidnappers. Not wanting to alert them, they stopped one block earlier.
"Castle, you stay in th-" Esposito tried to say.
"The hell I am. They might have Beckett in there, Espo. I'm not going anywhere but in that house." Having seen Castle lash out earlier today, Esposito didn't attempt to fight back.
"Alright, but we're doing it my way. If these guys are home, they're going to run first moment they see us. It would be practical if we could get an advantage point, see if they're home."
"How about we ask the lady that's been eying us from her window for the last few minutes?" Castle offered, waving to the old lady.
"Sure, Ryan?" Ryan grumbled as he got out of the car and headed over with a little sprint. The woman came to the door and started talking animatedly, pointing at the house where the kidnapper lived. A minute later, Ryan sprinted back. Esposito lowered the car window.
"So, what she tell you?"
"Nice lady. She said she's been calling the cops for years, saying that something's off with her backdoor neighbors. She never had any proof though, so cops never bothered. She has a good view from her bedroom window, where she likes to spy on them. She said they got back about three hours ago, and haven't left since."
"Did she say anything about Beckett, was she with them?" Castle asked hopefully.
"No, she did see an older man lurking about who didn't seem familiar though. Said he went into the house, and only left an hour ago. She thought that was strange, since they never have company. She even called the cops, but again, they saw no reason in coming over for an unusual visit."
"Alright, so what's the best way of entry?" Esposito asked.
"She's been so kind to let us in via the backyard. They've got a connecting door, from the previous owners."
"Perfect. I'll take the front. Castle, you and Ryan go through the garden."
Three minutes and a house full of creepy little dolls later, Castle and Ryan were at the connecting door in the old woman's garden.
"Javi, we're in position."
"Ok, me too. I have my eyes on the house. So far no movement, so you can go."
On go, Ryan opened the door, after which Castle followed. The first thing Castle noticed was the absolute disgrace of a backyard, if even you could call it one. The second thing was the sound of a television, exiting from the open door of the house. Since Castle didn't have his vest with him, he decided to stay back a little, allowing Ryan to go first. Ryan walked up the side of the door, glanced back at Castle, nodded before he went in, right at the same time as Esposito did from the front.
"NYPD, raise your hands where I can see them," Castle heard their screams in unison.
"Hands in the- shit," Esposito said. Without any further thinking, Castle ran into the house, disgusted by the scene. The TV on the right-hand side was playing a boring sports match, the two Barcaloungers on the left, which Esposito had turned around had the two fake police officers sitting in them. Only, not much was left of them. Their faces had been severely beaten, their fingers missed all their fingernails. Castle quickly diverted his eyes.
"How long do you think they've been dead?" Castle pinched his nose, the smell getting the better of him.
"Their body temp's still warm, must have been rather recent," Esposito said, while Ryan was calling in the double homicide.
"Do you think Tyson had anything to do with this?" Ryan asked, being on hold for a second.
"I could see him killing them as dispensable pieces in his grand scheme; torturing them, however... Doesn't make much sense."
"Whoever did this, I bet that older guy their neighbor saw must have either seen something or been involved himself. Ryan, tell them to bring in a sketch artist as well."
Castle started walking away from the crime scene, into the hallway, still hoping for a sign of Beckett. He heard Esposito's phone ring in the other room.
"Tori, any news?"
Castle sharpened his ears and turned back towards the living room as he saw Esposito's face harden.
"Alright, thanks Tori."
"What happened?" Castle asked, his heart beating faster in his chest.
"They've found the place."
In his time with the NYPD, Castle had been on about a dozen house raids. He'd usually sit in the back; with his writer's vest on which he'd initially bought just to tease – or better yet annoy – Beckett. He liked the thrill of it, saw it as great material for his writing. If he wanted to describe how Nikki and Rook felt in a similar situation, he had to know firsthand what it felt like to be in the middle of the action.
While the cases were different, the raids were always the same. They would drive up to the scene, everyone would be briefed the tactical strategy and the architecture of the building with the possible location of their suspect, they would leave the vehicle, Beckett would place her hand on Castle's chest and order him to stay behind. In many of those cases, Castle would fail to abide her order and get out anyway. And in most of those cases, he would end up bumping into the criminal as they were successfully escaping. Truly, what would they have done if it weren't for Castle who just magically happened to be the obstacle in the middle of their criminal's escape route?
This time, however, there was no Beckett to order him to stay behind. Esposito had even handed Castle his spare gun. Even though Castle had done this a dozen times prior, never had he felt so unsure and quite frankly afraid before. While he was sure that this would be the place 3XK would work out of, something was telling him he wouldn't be there anymore.
Tyson was smart; he'd proven them time and time again. If he was able to correctly guess what evidence they were going to find, which suspects they were going to interrogate, he would also know they would eventually discover his lair. Nonetheless, Castle kept his mouth shut. He hoped for once that his gut feeling was wrong, that they'd find Beckett alive, and they would finally put an end to Tyson, once and for all.
"1 minute," the radio in front buzzed. The evening had fallen an hour ago. Esposito took point, repeated the strategy and the specific build of the building. The premise, an abandoned electrical company, stood on its own, which meant that once the SUVs would drive up the road, 3XK would be alerted immediately. That's why it was so important to surround the building from all sides as soon as possible, to prevent any possible escape. The A-team would enter from the front, while the B-team would secure the back. They'd agreed that Castle would go in the back, where they'd hope it would be slightly safer.
"Doors open in 3, 2, 1," in unison both teams left the SUVs surrounding the premise as Esposito's team entered by the front, while Castle, led by Ryan burst into the back. Castle's heart was pumping rapidly in his chest, his hands sweaty as he clamped the gun and a flashlight. The building used to be a combination of a warehouse with some office space. They walked through a long, darkened corridor. Boxes and papers were scattered across the floor.
Castle was expected to stay behind Ryan, let the others clear the rooms. So far everything remained quiet; the only sounds were the multiple "clear" from the various rooms. At the end of the hall, there was a staircase and a door that led to the warehouse. Ryan signaled for half of the team to head towards the warehouse, Castle and Ryan's part went up the stairs.
It was on the next floor that things started to go wrong. An explosion went off somewhere to the left of them. Ryan tackled Castle to the ground in order to protect him from the blast and the possible shards. Castle bumped his head against the wall, his shoulder crunched. With great effort, he was able to open his eyes. He saw legs passing him, screams were all around. He heard shots being fired, but if they were friendly or foe, he couldn't tell. He slowly got up, the room spinning, his shoulder slumping, his hands still clasped around Esposito's spare gun, his flashlight lost during touchdown.
He walked towards the first door on his left, and as he entered the room, all sound disappeared. Two spots in the corners of the room brightened the space. The wall in front of him was filled with newspaper clippings, pictures of him and Beckett at crime scenes, floorplans of his loft, Beckett and Madison's apartments, the precinct. Surveillance systems. In the left corner, on the table, lay scattered empty vials, an NYPD uniform, cables and wires, something that strongly resembled explosives… but the thing that caught Castle's eye straight away, was the body of Jerry Tyson, 3XK, with a shot to the head, against the wall of evidence.
Author's note: I'm guessing there will be 14/15 chapters in total. Again, I might take longer to publish because uni's calling. Thank you and take care x