Chapter XXXV

12th Precinct, NYC

After the phone call from Sara Martinez, Beckett called Ryan right away.

She'd gotten an earful from Jenny about what time it was and how Kevin had already put in a twelve-hour day. Hadn't been asleep for more than three hours.

But here he was now, at his desk at the 12th at 4:30am, holding a massive cup of coffee in his hands and sporting shadows under his eyes that looked at lot like her own.

Gates was here too, and so were the two FBI agents heading the investigation into Castle's kidnapping. They both reminded her of her ex, Sorenson. Square-jawed and resolute. They wore almost identical crisp, dark suits. The only way to tell them apart was their hair colour – light brown and blonde - and the fact that the blonde one wore a wedding ring.

"Agents Jensen and McDonnell," Kevin introduced her. "I've been helping them the last few days."

Beckett shook their hands and gave each man a curt nod.

Captain Gates, wearing jeans and a leather jacket and looking as casual as Beckett had ever seen her, rounded out their small, early-morning crew and she was the one who spoke first. "Detective Beckett, can you recap what Detective Ryan told me over the phone? About this call from Salvador Ojeda's sister. Can you also explain to me why she is calling you in the first place?"

"Yes, Sir," Beckett was leaning against her desk, unable to sit because of all her nervous energy, because all she could think about was that didn't have the time for any of this. That Castle might be so badly hurt that every second counted. It was hard not to pace. "She called me because I went to see her a few days ago, in Houston."

Gates raised her perfectly-shaped brows. "You went to speak to a member of the Ojeda family while you were suspended?"

"It was a personal visit on my own time," Beckett said tersely. "One that's produced the only damn lead we've gotten so far!"

Gates bristled but stopped short of chastising her. "Go on."

"She told me that she was in occasional contact with her brother. That the last time she heard from him was several months ago."

"While there was a warrant out for his arrest?"

"Which she knew nothing about." Beckett added. "I told her that Salvador was the prime suspect in Richard Castle's kidnapping. That it was vital she reach out to us…"

"To you," Gates corrected her.

Beckett fisted her hands, sensing another suspension before this day was over. Not that she cared. The only thing she cared about right now was getting to Castle before it was too late. "To a member of law enforcement. Which she did, early this morning."

"What did Salvador tell her?"

"He told her that he was badly hurt and that he needed a doctor. She told him to take a taxi to the nearest ER but he insisted he couldn't because his father would find out. So he asked Sara if she could send a doctor or a nurse, to his place. Someone discreet that he could pay in cash." Beckett paused. "Sara asked him for an address, and Salvador said he'd give it to her once she'd found him a doctor."

"I assume you told her to wait until we give her further instructions before calling him back?" the married FBI agent asked.

"I did."

"And you suspect that Salvador isn't the one who's hurt. That it's Castle."

Beckett swallowed, forcing her mind not to go there. "Yes…so does Sara."

"Can we trust this woman?" Gates wanted to know. "How do we know this isn't a set up?"

"Yes, we can trust her," Beckett answered. "I've met with her and I absolutely believe we can."

"So we have her call him and tell him she's got a doc on the way to get the address. Soon as we do, we set up a team to storm the place."

"What?" Beckett stared at the unmarried FBI agent who made the remark. Noticed that Ryan's eyes had widened as well. "You've got to be kidding. We have no idea what the exact situation is or how Ojeda will react. Sending in the cavalry could get Castle killed."

"I'm inclined to agree," Gates told them.

"What do you suggest then?"

"We send in one of our own as the doctor. Someone wearing a wire to assess the situation and possibly take down Ojeda while we have a team waiting outside as back-up."

"Who?" The unmarried agent asked.

Beckett had been playing it out in her head ever since she'd ended the call with Sara.

She already had someone in mind.

"Ann Hastings," she told them. "The officer who was involved in the Tyler Farris case."

It had been one of Beckett's first cases after getting shot, one where a masked vigilante was suspected of murdering a street criminal. But the killer turned out to be someone else and the vigilante had been one of their own, a rookie officer who'd embarked on her own unconventional brand of justice after her father was killed during a robbery.

Since that case, Beckett had a soft spot for the young officer with the tragic past, as well as a grudging admiration for her street fighting skills. Even Gates had agreed to sweep Hasting's illicit activities under the rug.

"She's smart and has nerves of steel, as well as some seriously impressive hand-to-hand combat skills. Best of all, she doesn't look like a cop and it's unlikely that Ojeda's seen her before. She has exactly the kind of presence and demeanor that won't threaten Ojeda."

"I think…" Gates pondered the suggestion. "You could be right. Officer Hastings could do this. Reach out to her, Detective. She knows you."

"Captain," The unmarried agent stepped forward. "I'd like to remind you that this is an FBI operation. It should be one of our men."

"This is a time-sensitive operation that requires immediate action," Gates pointed out. "If you can provide us a better candidate in the next ten minutes, please do. In the meantime, we're going to reach out to Hastings because I think none of us would forgive ourselves if we wasted time over territorial squabbles. Time that Mr. Castle does not have to waste."

Beckett exhaled, grateful that for once Gates was firmly on their side. Ryan pointed to his computer screen where he'd already pulled up Officer Hastings number.

Beckett called it right away.

She'd obviously been asleep just before answering the call, but once Beckett explained to her that she was needed her for an immediate, high-risk assignment, Hastings was wide awake and alert.

And on board.

"I'll do it. I owe you one, Detective."

"I don't want you doing it because you think you owe me. It's dangerous and someone's life may hang in the balance."

She wasn't deterred and the lack of hesitancy in Hasting's voice only confirmed to Beckett that this was the right call.

She gave Gates a subtle nod. "She wants to do it. She can be here in twenty minutes."

Gates turned to the FBI agents. "Do you have someone better, or at least a bac-kup you can provide us?"

Agent Jensen was on his phone, forcing the other agent to answer. "Working on it."

Meanwhile, Gates took charge. "Ryan, get in touch with Special Operations 'cause we'll need an ESU back-up team. Beckett, call Sara Martinez and have her tell her brother that she found an intern for him. I want to listen in when she makes the call. Give her Hastings's description. Have her try and get some details on what the medical situation is, in addition to the address." She turned to the FBI agents. "I assume you'll get us what you can about the address once we have it."

She did it so smoothly that the agents barely noticed that Gates had taken charge of their operation.

"Yes, of course."

Beckett made the call. Gave Sara the information she needed to pass on to Salvador and instructed her to call her brother. But not before Beckett called her back on another phone and had Sara put her on speaker so they could listen in to her part of the conversation. There wasn't time for anything more high-tech.

All five of them huddled in Gates's office in absolute silence as they listened to Sara Martinez make the call.

Listened to her trying to convince her brother once again to go to a hospital. And when he refused, she him she had a friend whose niece had just started an internship at Presbyterian. That she'd already reached out to her and that Ann could swing by before her shift.

Ojeda seemed desperate. He kept asking his sister whether this doctor could be trusted and through it all Sara acted exactly as an equally exasperated and concerned big sister would. Telling him that this was the best she could do. That he was lucky she'd found anyone at all. And then she told him she needed not only the address but to know what was wrong.

Beckett's felt her heart drop when Ojeda said it was a gunshot wound. Kevin's eyes were on her when she pressed a flat palm against her stomach to tamp down her sudden nausea.

Hang on, Rick. We're coming. Please hang on.

Hastings arrived at the precinct less than five minutes after the call ended.

After that, everything moved at warp speed.

The FBI agents got the details on the address. A brick, two-storey, post-war standalone that bordered an auto body shop in Jamaica, Queens. It was owned by a Polish man who supposedly lived alone, and when they dug a little deeper, they found out he was currently out of the country. That he'd flown to Gdansk over a week ago, possibly visiting family. They had no idea what connection Ojeda had to the homeowner, but it meant there was the possibility of other people in the house. A renter, or someone housesitting.

Hastings had already been partially briefed as Beckett gave her additional details.

"You'll have to go in unarmed," Beckett told her. "Ojeda's thorough and paranoid. It might be the first thing he does, search you."

It didn't faze Hastings. "I feel comfortable without a gun. I've never used my service weapon in the line of duty." She gave Beckett a reassuring look. "I hope I never do."

"Okay. Good." Beckett knew that Hastings hadn't been afraid to roam the streets of Manhattan at night to carry out her strange brand of vigilante justice as Lone Vengeance. Knew that she'd done it without a gun as well. "'Cause there's a good chance he might be armed."

"I practice Aikido and Krav Maga," Hastings added. "He wouldn't be the first guy I've disarmed."

"Coulda used you on a rooftop fight a few days ago." Beckett gave her a lop-sided smile. "Just be careful, okay? Our top priority is getting Castle out of there quickly while keeping you unharmed."

Hastings took a deep breath, the first indication that she wasn't entirely fearless, and that reassured Beckett too. A bit of fear was healthy when it came to one's self-preservation.

The young officer was wearing a pair of jeans and cotton hoodie, her long blonde hair tied up in a bun. It was the kind of casual attire an intern might sport on the way to an early shift at the hospital.

"Is it in deep enough?" Hastings asked, pointing to the ear where she'd planted the tiny wire.

Beckett examined it. Unless Ojeda decided to nibble on her ear lobe, there was no way he'd notice the tiny metal object clinging to the inside of her ear. It looked like a dot-sized birthmark from a few feet away. "Yeah…it's good." Still, Beckett handed her two pairs of clip-on earrings. "Put these on too. They'll reduce the chance of it being seen even more."

Agent Jensen gave Hastings a thumbs up sign, letting her know he could hear every word she was saying. "Can you hear me?" he spoke softly.

"I can."

Ryan came over with a medical bag. "This is for you. We called a paramedic van to put it together for you. They'll be waiting out of view along with the surveillance van, ready to jump in as soon as we get the heads-up from you."

Hastings took another deep breath. "No pressure, huh?"

"And this…" Ryan held up something that looked vaguely like an asthma inhaler. "Is not what you think it is."

"You gonna tell me what it is?"

Ryan showed it to both Hastings and Beckett. "Pepper spray."

"Oh…"

"Just in case." He tucked it into her medical bag. "It's the only thing we can give you for your protection that won't set him off."

"No pens that turn into mini-missiles?"

Ryan's earnest blue eyes looked at Hastings.

"Kidding."

"Ready?" Beckett asked her.

"Yes."

"Special Operations is giving us two guys as back-up. Apparently, they're also not happy about not running point on an operation like this, but Gates is dealing with it."

As though she heard mention of her name, Gates came rushing out of her office. "The van's ready downstairs. The two ESU officers are already inside."

Beckett grabbed her jacket.

"There's only space for six people inside." The unmarried FBI agent turned to Beckett. "You're not on this case, Detective. Or any case, so I've heard."

At first Beckett didn't understand what he was saying. She'd completely forgotten that she was still suspended.

"You're right, Agent Jensen." Gates stepped in and Beckett suddenly wanted to punch something. She knew she'd wear a hole in the floor pacing through the bullpen, while waiting for updates from Ryan, whenever he had a moment to give them to her. She needed to be part of this.

And then she watched as her Captain got right into the agent's face.

"Detective Beckett is currently on leave. However, considering that she just wrapped up this operation in a bowtie and dropped it into your lap, I might suggest offering her a seat on that surveillance van. Unless you want me pointing that out to your regional director."

Beckett stared at her captain in disbelief. Watched as the FBI agent glared at her then turned to his partner. "Fine. O'Donnell, you sit this one out. Detective, are you ready?"

She mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Gates. "Yes. I'm ready."

Queens, NY

Hastings was dropped off half a block from where they parked the surveillance van with the fake cable-company logo. It was a near perfect spot. Next to the auto parts centre where a couple of other vans were parked and with a not-perfect, but very-decent view of the house. They were lucky that the house was in a mixed commercial and residential zone, making it easier to blend in than if it were a purely residential area.

A feed was piped into the van from the camera that was already focused on the small, brick house.

Beckett and Ryan watched as Hastings approached it and rang the front doorbell.

Someone opened the door but it was hard to confirm that it was Ojeda, as the man didn't step outside.

Hastings went in and Beckett's heart pounded.

There was no audio, except for the sound of steps that sounded like they were going downstairs.

And then Hastings exclaimed. "Oh my God…"

Beckett dug her nails into her palm. Please be okay. It took all her willpower not to race towards that house.

"I can't do this here…" Hastings's voice. "You need to take him to a hospital."

Then Ojeda's voice. "No! No hospital."

"He's too badly hurt…"

"No hospital!"

There was a long silence and then Hastings came back on.

"What the fuck…put that gun away." She sounded genuinely frightened and Beckett prayed it was an act. "I can't work with you pointing that thing in my face."

"Help him," Ojeda ordered her. "Do what you can."

A barely audible groan punctured the silence.

Castle.

Beckett felt Ryan's hand on her arm. "He's gonna be okay. We're so close."

"Help me," Hastings's voice. "I need you to hold these while I look at the wound."

There was another too-long silence.

"Are you gonna help me help your friend or what?"

The sound of a step and then a crashing noise, that of someone hitting something hard. Followed by a gunshot.

Oh God… Beckett's hand flew over her mouth to stifle a gasp.

"We goin' in?"

Agent Jensen held up a hand. "Not yet. Stand by."

There was another crashing sound and then Hasting's voice, clear as a bell. "Got him. Get in here now! Basement!"

"Now!" Jensen yelled and the two Emergency Services Unit officer leapt out of the van first, followed by Jensen, Beckett, and Ryan. "Paramedics, move in!"

Only the FBI agent manning the van stayed behind.

Armed and wearing vests, Beckett, Ryan, and Agent Jensen raced towards the house along with the two heavily armed men in front. When they got to the front door the men held them back. "Wait for the all clear."

Beckett watched them descend the stairs and heard Ojeda yelling. Heard the sound of shoving and more yelling and then nothing.

"Basement! Clear!"

The paramedics had arrived as well and parked their ambulance next to the house.

"We have to clear the rest of the house," Jensen instructed.

"Go," Ryan told Beckett. "We got this."

Beckett flew down the stairs to the basement and when she entered the poorly-lit, stale-smelling room she saw Hastings holding what was no doubt Ojeda's gun. Meanwhile, Ojeda was on the floor, cuffed and trying hard to squirm out of the restraints put on him by the ESU officers.

"My own fucking sister sold me out!" His wailing voice filled the room and Beckett took one glance at the man who'd caused so much misery in their lives for nearly a year. Wanted to tell him that he was right. Sara did betray him and Beckett would thank her every damn day for it.

But he wasn't worth her attention.

Not now.

She gave it to Castle instead, who was lying on a blood-stained bed, eyes closed, pale and motionless. Bloody towels and gauze were strewn all over the bed and on the floor. Blood. There was so much blood everywhere that it was hard to tell where he was hurt.

"Hey, babe…" Beckett squatted down next to him and slid two fingers along his neck to feel for a pulse because he was so frighteningly still. "It's over…we got you. But you gotta hang on."

The stubble of his new salt-and-pepper beard brushed against her hand and he suddenly groaned in response to her touch. It flooded her with relief. Put a giddy smile on her lips. "There you are. You can hear me. Hang on, babe…just hang on."

"Ma'am…" She hadn't noticed the paramedics standing behind her. "We gotta get in where you are if we're gonna help him."

Beckett took Castle's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze before she got out of the way. Let them put him on a stretcher, while she stepped back to where Hastings was standing, watching it all.

"He's gonna be okay."

He has to be.

Beckett saw that Hastings was still holding Ojeda's gun. "You took that from him, didn't you?"

"I did," Hastings told her. "It seemed a lot less daunting than trying to pretend to be a doctor after I saw Castle's wound."

Beckett raised her brows and took her eyes off the paramedics working on Castle to look at Hastings. "You're crazy, you know that?"

The young woman smiled. "Little bit. But you knew that."

"I heard gunshots at one point."

"Just one," Hastings told her, pointing to a bullet hole in the carpet. "Idiot almost shot himself in the foot. Literally."

Beckett exhaled. "Thanks, for what you did today. I owe you one now."

"How 'bout we just call it even?"

Hastings's actions had probably saved Rick's life, Beckett thought. So no, it wasn't close to even. But she gave her a nod as she watched the paramedics gingerly make their way up the stairs.

"I'm coming along," she told them.

Ryan was there when she got to the top. "How is he?"

"Not sure. Bullet wound in the shoulder. Blood loss. Not too sure what else."

"You goin' with them?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Call me when you get there and I'll come by after we seal this dump off and try and find the owner."

Beckett nodded and sprinted after the paramedics. Hopped into the rear of the ambulance.

Castle was wearing an oxygen mask now, unconscious again, while one of the paramedics hovered over him, seated next to her on a narrow bench.

The vehicle already had its sirens on and was going at an impressive speed when Beckett slipped out of her bullet-proof vest and pulled her phone out of her pocket to call Alexis.

She'd been hesitant to do it until she was sure that he really was at the house. Alive.

She wished she could tell Alexis that he was all right too, but holding out until she could wasn't her call to make.

A sleepy voice answered on the other end, reminding Kate just how early in the morning it still was. Time was something she'd lost track of ever since the night of the launch party.

"Hey…" She leaned forward and put her hand over Rick's, needing it to steady her voice before talking to his daughter. "It's me. I have news…"

Mount Sinai Hospital, Queens

Later

For a while he thought he was going to die. Burn alive, more precisely, because it felt as though his body was on fire and that he was lying among the flames. The painful heat emanated from somewhere in his upper back but it radiated through every limb and pulsed through every vein.

It was impossible to do anything but let it weigh him down and wait until it consumed him.

But then it slowly cooled down. Morphing from a raging heat into a bearable warmth.

That's when he opened his eyes and saw her face. Bright blue eyes surrounded by a halo of fiery red hair.

"Hey, Dad. Welcome back. I missed you."

If this was goodbye, he needed to tell her he loved her. But he couldn't muster the energy for a single word. It took so much effort just to keep his eyes open and everything was so impossibly hard and frustrating that it made him cry.

"Awww…Dad. They said the meds might make you a little loopy and emotional. But it's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay."

Then she was gone and the next time he opened his eyes his body was no longer on fire. It was sore and heavy but all the suffocating heat was gone.

He could even turn his head and take in his surroundings. The plastic railing on the bed. The soft fluorescent lighting on the ceiling. The steady whirr of something electronic.

The sight of her sleeping in a chair next to the bed, long limbs dangling uncomfortable from the arm rest.

He definitely wasn't dead.

"Kate…" He'd said it so softly that she couldn't possibly have heard.

But her eyes opened and turned to him, so she couldn't have been asleep. "Hey…" A radiant smile lit up her face. The kind he used to get when he brought her that first cup of coffee in the morning.

He closed his eyes again, because it was just too hard to keep them open for long. But his lips rose in response to hers. It was impossible not to smile back when she looked at him like that. "My bodyguard…"

"Yeah…" Her voice was so close and then he felt her lips on his forehead. He re-opened his eyes and she was standing now, looking down at him. "By choice this time."

"Kate…." There was a lot he wanted to say. To ask. But it took too much effort.

She ran a thumb along his jaw, over bristly hair he wasn't used to having there. "S'okay, don't talk," she told him softly. "It's over. We got him and you're gonna be okay."

He exhaled. Even breathing was hard. "Stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere. You can rest," she told him after dusting another kiss on his cheek. "I'll be watching you."

Her words lifted all those tiny, nagging doubts he had about them from his shoulders. Made it easier to breathe.

She was here now and she'd still be here when he woke up again. His bodyguard.

For the first time in days, he felt safe. Enough so that he could allow himself to give in to his body's stubborn insistence on sleep.

So he did.