"How's Esposito?"
Roy Montgomery's voice was strained late that afternoon, the Captain nearing the end of his mental capacity after the upheaval of the previous few hours.
Still dressed in his brown suit, his face almost gray from exhaustion, he greeted them with a mixture of relief and an unsaid prayer that everything was somewhat back under control, allowing him to head home for a precious few hours, catching up on some much-needed sleep and time with his family.
"Pretty banged up but he'll be alright.", Beckett explained matter-of-factly, heading straight into her superior's office, "I was going to post a guard in front of his room but Ryan offered to stay with him. I think under the circumstances that's the best option."
"I don't doubt that one bit. How about Steward? Are we any closer on him?"
"Not yet, unfortunately. I spoke with Esposito before the EMT's carted him off but he wasn't aware of anything that the kidnappers said that would tie them directly to Steward for this…assignment. I checked the warehouse and found a fourth entrance that our guys used to get in and out. When we looked through it earlier it was covered with garbage. They must have used that as a decoy. Tire tracks sped off to the south but we lost them once the dirt wore off on the street. I am having CSU check the area anyways, as well as Esposito's and my clothes, see if there's any valuable biological evidence on there we can use."
At her words, Montgomery ran a hand across his tired features, then shook his head in frustration.
"I hate this digging in the dark. There's gotta be something on that piece of dirt we can find to nail him against the wall."
Upon his disheartened words, Beckett reached for the Captain's shoulder.
"Why don't you head home for a few hours. We've been at this for days. Castle and I can go over everything we have gathered one more time, see if we missed something. Then we can start fresh tomorrow. We have one more day to catch him and I won't mind working through the night with Castle to make that happen."
"We're gonna work through the night?", the writer countered quietly, his comment never acknowledged when Montgomery nodded.
"What about you, Beckett? You've been at this for just as long. Under the circumstances, it wouldn't hurt for you to get some rest as well."
"I will- if we don't find anything.", she answered too fast, then pointed at the murder board, "I've had plenty of time to think on this case while I was tied up. I am eager to get started digging into a few more angles. We're going to get him, Captain, one way or another."
As though her determined words had finally won him over, Montgomery smiled faintly, then cocked his head toward his cluttered desk.
"Very well. I will see you guys tomorrow morning. Do call me if anything comes up. And please, no more solo runs until this case is over."
"I promise. Get some rest, Sir."
They watched as Montgomery grabbed his belongings, darting out of the bullpen like a man on the run, undoubtedly ready to rest his weary body.
And Castle couldn't blame him one bit.
"You are serious about working through the night?", he finally asked, only to see her grin mischievously.
"Just think, it'll sound great in your next book, when you write a dedication to NYPD's Finest, those who are not afraid to put in the extra time, those whom you spent so many nights working with. Of course, if you'd rather go home and leave all the excitement to me, feel free to."
No, no, that…that won't be necessary.", Castle stammered and pointed his thumb at the espresso machine, "But if it's alright, I am gonna make some more coffee."