The squeaking tires only added to the commotion on that lonely one-way street tucked in between old factories and abandoned warehouses.
To be perfectly honest, Beckett didn't even know a place of such decay existed, at least not in downtown.
Right now, the barren brick walls were lit up in a red and blue hue, an army of bright searchlights beginning to fan out to canvas the area, the chain link fence being forced open with bolt cutters.
After talking to Castle and calling in the cavalry, she'd requested an ambulance, fearful of what might await them back at that filthy, dark room below the warehouse.
Deep inside, she cursed Esposito for choosing the worst time possible for his male chauvinistic act of playing hero. Damn him for making her leave him behind, in the hands of some less-than-gentle security guys Steward hired to keep them quiet.
There was no telling just what went on after she fled.
As she waited for the patrols to scan the building, being ordered to stay out by an anxious and yet grateful Montgomery, Beckett was relieved to see Castle and Ryan pass by the masses of uniformed cops, their frantic pace slowing down somewhat when they saw her lean against the hood of a black and white.
"Are you okay?", came Castle's out-of-breath question when he was still several feet away, his frantic eyes scanning her top to bottom several times, looking for injuries.
"I am fine.", Beckett countered curter than intended, then nudged her chin toward the building that was now crawling with cops, "Esposito is still in there."
"What happened?", Ryan asked and followed her gesture, his jaws clenched when she couldn't meet his eyes, not until she could be sure his partner was safe.
"The longer I thought about it, the more it made sense that Steward was our guy. He had to be the perverted, authority loving man Shelley was talking about in her documents. When Esposito and I got to his house, there were a lot of men there, security guards for an upcoming fundraiser, or that much we figured."
Stopping for a second, Beckett drew in a deep breath, trying to push back the eventful roller coaster of the past few hours, images and emotions that threatened to reach the surface, making it past her crumbling wall of self-protection.
"We convinced Steward to show us his bedroom and while we looked around, I found the missing strap clasp to Shelley's stocking behind his bedframe. It must have come off during her fight for survival. Once Steward understood the implications, he had his men pull their guns on us. Espo saw a chance toescape. It turned into a violent brawl and next thing I know, I woke up in a dark room below this building."
When her voice started to break, Castle stepped forward, wrapping her into a tight embrace, watching her worriedly long after he let go again.
"I take it these guys were planning on keeping you here until after the election?"
"They did.", she explained, once again going over everything that happened after the leader brought them food, down to the two blocks she covered before finding a working payphone.
"Have they found him yet?", Ryan asked anxiously and raked a hand through his disheveled hair, his gaze drifting back and forth between her and the building.
"They just went in. I told them where the room is. They should be there now to-"
Beckett stopped when she saw a Sergeant approach them at a brusque walk, his somber eyes cutting right into her soul.
With her hands wrapped around her damaged coat, bracing for impact, she waited until he joined them and cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"The room was empty when we got there. We found blood and there are tire tracks going north, leading away from the building but no sign of your detective or anybody else. The car you talked about is missing also. I am sorry."
At the disconcerting words, Beckett froze in her tracks, her fingers digging into the ripped seams of her coat as though she was holding on for dear life. For the longest time, she couldn't hear or see anything besides the haunting image of a tied-up Esposito, yelling at her to get moving.
And just like that, she hated him just a tiny bit more for making that call.
"…and probably an APB. They couldn't have gotten very far…", she overheard Ryan say after a long time, the detective's voice filled with apprehension.
"They must think that they can still use him for bargaining…", Castle added and shook his head, "Hopefully Martha's boyfriend can get a hold of them soon and stop this nonsense."
The strange words didn't make sense, making Beckett snap out of her temporary state of shock and look over at the writer.
"Your mother has a new boyfriend that has ties to these guys?"
"It's…a lot more complicated than that, but in a nutshell, yes.", Castle stammered, then pointed at the approaching ambulance, "You should get yourself checked out. That's a nasty bruise on your cheek."
"I am fine.", Beckett hissed and shook her head, "Castle, one of our team is missing. We need to focus on finding Esposito. And the guys who held us hostage. They'll be the key to going after Steward