The team split up. The Division Crew went straight south, and would come into the Docks via the park. The remnant of the 12th would head west and come in from the dockyard. With the ocean at their backs and nothing moving in the water, the Raiders would be trapped. At least, that was the hope.

When they approached the River, Alexis spotted something in the mist. Something she didn't expect. At first, it looked like an ordinary cargo ship, but then she saw the holes blown through it... and the faded Red Cross painted on the side.

"It's a Medical Ship." Alexis said softly. "Those F-14's we saw when this started. They weren't aiming for the bridge, they were aiming for the ship!"

Esposito nodded grimly. "Must have gotten bad. I'd hate to have been on a ship during the outbreak."

"So, how many combat runs is this for you, Rookie?" Lau asked lightly.

Alexis winced, and looked to Hayley. "You didn't tell her?"

Lau looked to Esposito. "Agent, please tell me she's been on a mission before."

"She's ready." Hayley answered before Esposito could answer. "I've trained her myself."

"Not with my crew you haven't." Lau countered. "I'm sure she's a trusted member of your team, but this is the first time you've worked with us, and we both know it' going to be a maze. I don't want my people looking over their shoulder for her, and for hostiles at the same time."

"Due respect, Lau; but that's my call." Esposito told her. "But as it happens, I agree."

"Excuse me?" Hayley barked, suddenly furious.

"She's not ready." Esposito said firmly. "Not for straight combat."

"Not her fault that she had to learn on the job. As it happens, she saved your life on the first try. Only to way to get her more ready is to toss her in the deep end and see if she drowns." Hayley said tightly.

Lau was about to add something to the conversation when her radio clicked. "Go ahead."

"Lau, tell Espo that we've got movement." Beckett's voice called. "There's a... Marauder party heading into the Docks. Do we intercept?"

Lau shook her head. "No. We're not in position yet."

"Well get there fast, because we just answered the question about civilians." Beckett reported. "They had prisoners. Two of them. Both with hands tied, both with bags over their head. Espo, the way they're handling the prisoners..."

"Experienced?"

"Yup." Beckett agreed. "Espo, if you're an entrenched thug who can get away with murder, who do you send outside?"

"The cannon fodder." Esposito said immediately. "If you've got a safe place, you stay there, and send someone expendable to do the field work."

"If the low guys on the totem pole can handle prisoners, and do it easily enough that you can see the experience, then it means they've taken prisoners before. Maybe a lot of them."

Lau rolled her eyes. "So, basically everything we've planned for just went out the window, right?"

Esposito agreed. "We need a new gameplan."

Alexis eyes bugged out when she saw the sniper rifle. "Detec- I mean, Agent Esposito, I am not ready for that. Look at it. It's taller than I am."

"I know." Esposito unhooked the huge scope and handed it to her, the lens was easily as big as the palm of her hand. "You know the plan. What we don't know is what's inside. If there are other ways out of that maze of containers, we're going to get flanked. If there are civilians, we could lose them. We've been watching the place for days, but only from ground level and-"

"And what you're seeing doesn't mean anything until the shooting starts." Alexis finished.

"You're our spotter. You know what to look for?"

"Yessir." Alexis nodded.

"Find a perch, stay there, tell us what's coming. If you have a chance to get the civilians out, take it. We'll be your diversion and backup." Esposito ordered. "And find a cap or something. That red hair is like sending up a signal flare."

Alexis nodded.

Esposito regarded her a moment, and then reached under his jacket, coming up with a .22. He held it out to her, handle first. "Just in case."

Alexis smirked and pulled out an almost identical one from under her own jacket. "Just in case."

"What do you see, Rookie?"

Alexis was on the top of a telegraph pole, chosen because she'd be harder to see with the buildings behind her. Esposito was crouched at the entrance to the dockyards. She could see the first line of guards. From the street, they were invisible. "They're staying back from the street." She reported. "Thy don't want anyone to know they've got something worth guarding in there. I can see at least twelve guards, but they're spread out. I don't think they have enough people to protect the perimeter."

"Where do their lines get tough?" Hayley asked.

"Two rows of containers in." Alexis reported. "And Hayley? I'm seeing prison uniforms. Only on the inside, but some of these guys aren't gangs. I think they're from Rikers Prison."

"Which means they've reconnected with people on the outside." Lau put in. "The Prison's probably empty by now."

"And I think they have traps set up where they're weak. Watch for tripwires." Alexis added.

Hayley glanced at Esposito. "If we can get them out to their perimeter, we can make those traps work for us."

Esposito agreed. "Beckett, you're up."

Beckett and her people from the 12th all emerged from the side streets and marched up to the front entrance of the Chelsea Docks, guns drawn. Beckett had a megaphone. "Attention to everyone holding the Dockyards right now. This is the NYPD! This area is being claimed to help with the current state of Emergency! We have the authority to do that! We know that some of the people in here are escaped from Rikers, and that many of you have outstanding warrants! We're not here for you! We just need the docks! If you're armed, you will throw down your guns and vacate immediately. We promise safe passage to anyone who wishes to leave! You have one minute to declare your intentions before we come in!"

It took fifteen seconds for the first shot to ring out. The second one came soon after it.

The NYPD took cover and started shooting back. Both sides were too tightly entrenched to get a clear shot at the other, but they were making lots of noise.

From her vantage point, Alexis saw the situation and reported in. "They're coming out of their hiding places. I count about thirty so far... But they're all over the place. I don't think they know whether to take cover or attack Beckett."

"Where are the majority coming from?"

"The Pre-Fabs. The office space, fourth row in. The Fire Evacuation plan says they're customs offices." Alexis reported. "You won't be able to fight your way in that deep. They're too many."

Esposito made the call. "We'll draw them out. Rookie, watch for the ones who won't leave their posts. If it's the Customs Offices, then that'll be where the hostages are."

Around the fenceline, some containers had been put against the inside of the fence, part to prevent anyone bashing them down with a battering ram, partly to give the Rikers somewhere they could look down at the outside street and shoot attackers.

With the NYPD distracting the guards, the crew from the Division had found a different way in, cutting their way through the fenceline efficiently. Once through the wire fence, they cut their way into the container right behind it and were suddenly concealed inside the first defensive line.

Alexis spotted for them. "Lau, you've got three stragglers fifteen feet south of where you cut your way in. They're on top of the container."

"Setting charges." Lau called back. "Next?"

Alexis looked. "It looks like most of them are heading to take on the NYPD. They're looking for a way to flank Beckett without leaving the Docks. You'll find two groups, one heading west, one heading east." Alexis knew not to call out 'left' and 'right' to people facing different directions. It would cause confusion, but she used her contacts to mark the bad guys anyway. "If you can intercept them, you'll have the Raiders completely surrounded, but watch above. The cranes have people in the cabs, and they're above you."

"Lau, engage when ready. Shipton and I will go in and get the hostages."

Lau and her people came flying out of a shipping container, guns blazing. The Raiders and the Rikers fell back, trying to handle a sudden surprise attack coming from inside the fence. The defenders at the fenceline noticed and quickly spun around, trying to take advantage of the higher ground, when the metal beneath their feet suddenly exploded from Lau's charges, sending them all scattering in panic.

Absolutely nobody noticed when Hayley and Javier jumped the fence and quietly made their way around the far side of the fortifications.

Castle and his escort arrived at the edge of the Dark Zone. He gave it a very hooded look. "I would have rather met anywhere else."

Ramirez agreed silently. They could hear howling and shooting coming from the other side of the fence. Human howling.

Castle saw a glint of shadow moving out of the corner of his eye and spun, gun-drawn. Ramirez did the same.

The shark-woman had come up from a sewer grate, gun in each hand. "Drop it!" She warned him.

Castle did so. So did Ramirez.

The woman smirked and looked up at the nearest building, giving it a nod. A moment later the front door opened, and out stepped two more guards and a man with his hair slicked back neatly. He was wearing the same warm survival gear that they all were, as well as two expensive leather holsters with a pair of twin handguns. He was the first shaved and groomed man Castle had seen in two weeks. He stepped over to Castle. "Nico Giovanni."

"Richard Castle." Rick returned the introduction.

"I know who you are, Mister Castle. Dino spoke highly of you. He always wondered which character in your books was based on him." Nico stepped forward. "Tell me: Why did you kill off Derrick Storm?" He shook his head. "No, I don't care."

Castle got to the point. "I've heard that your people are the only ones who can dance back and forth across this fence." He gestured at the Dark Zone perimeter.

"That's actually the easier part." Nico observed. "Look! It has a gate and everything." He grinned, suddenly shark-like himself. "The Crucible, Mister Castle. Something your books rarely dwell on, is how easy it is to test someone's mettle. Dino understood that." He sighed. "Put an ordinary person in something like that, and see what happens. If it doesn't swallow you, then you come out the other side a changed man. The same can be said of my family business, Rikers Island, pretty much any guerrilla war." He smirked at Castle. "In a way, I'm more at home now than I ever have been."

Castle nodded, though he didn't agree. "I see your meaning, Mister Giovanni. If I may ask, is that why we were left there? Just to see what I would be if I made it out?"

"I'm impressed you made it out of the Dark Zone at all." The man said. "You saw the people in there. Less than a week, and your Police Captain Wife actually sends you to me for help." He grinned. "People from your world, always think we fall so far into savagery so quickly. What you don't get, is that it's not that far a drop."

"At least we didn't until this week, Mister Giovanni." Castle said respectfully. Be Polite, Rick. This guy will kill you on a whim. "If I may say, Dino also understood that you don't get far in the jungle on your own. My wife did send me, but I would have come anyway: Can we be allies?"

"I admit, I've had the same thought. My organization isn't what it used to be." Nico agreed. "And you're the first one to pass the audition."

"How many others have there been?" Ramirez put in.

"Six. Two cops, one Fed; and three guys who figured the end of the world was reason enough to get fresh with my sister."

Shark-Woman snorted. "I might have given them a shot if they'd had it in them to make it back." She looked Castle over. "On the other hand, nah."

Castle reacted. "This is your sister?"

"Carla Giovanni." Nico made introductions. "So, Mister Castle. An alliance?"

"Or at the very least, a truce." Castle nodded. "If you can handle the Dark Zone, we certainly don't want you as enemies."

"The question, is who am I negotiating with?" Nico asked. "Am I talking to Dino's friend, a fellow survivor to whom the family owes a favor? Am I talking to the 12th's Team Mascot? Or am I talking to the Division's associate member?"

Castle reacted. "You know The Division?"

"Who do you think put that barricade up?" Nico waved back at the Dark Zone. "I was there when they did it. They couldn't fight their way through us, so they sealed us in, and left us to die. We walked out, and found that they had abandoned their own checkpoints."

The First Wave. Castle thought. He was about to say something aloud...

When a grenade suddenly came sailing in from somewhere and landed at his feet, right between him and Nico.

"AMBUSH!" Carla screamed.

"This is bad." Hayley commented, firing steadily. "Who the hell gave these guys motion tracking mines?"

"I don't know, but it's got them more boxed in than us."

"Right, which means they won't fall back. Lau's got a pitched fight, Beckett's completely out of position, and we're boxed in!" Hayley hissed. "We were supposed to be getting the guards away from the Customs Offices. And what happened?"

Espositio pointed at the attackers on his overlay, all of them creeping closer, trying to catch them unawares. "We got them away from the Customs Offices."

Hayley suddenly realized. "You were the one who said she wasn't ready."

"You were the one who promised she was." Esposito shot back. "Make a break left on the count of one."

Hayley nodded, slapping another clip in her gun.

"ONE!" Esposito hissed and they both bolted, running for the maze of shipping containers. Sensing victory, their attackers gave chase, not even looking back.

"Alexis, we've officially got their attention in here!" Esposito called.

The Division's newest agent took a deep breath and started climbing down from her perch. "On the way!"

The container yard was basically a maze. Hayley and Esposito were making the turns, leading with their weapons, checking the corners, but they were moving further away from their people with every turn, and the Raiders kept chasing them in deeper.

"We gotta fortify!" Hayley declared, even as the bullet grazed across her cheek.

"Love the extra second to do it!" Esposito gritted. He'd dropped a smoke grenade to cover the next turn, but their attackers were moving too fast to let the smoke build between them. "Beckett! Get your people to the West Entrance, now!"

"NYPD's on the way!"

Hayley focused her eyes just enough that her contacts put up the overlay. "Another three turns, and we're in open ground!" Her augmented sight caught something else. "She's going for the Offices!"

The two Division Agents came out of the stacks of containers into open ground, and ran hard as they could. The scattered Raiders came out after them, firing wildly...

And walked straight into an ambush. Five members of the 12th were spread out, entrenched and already shooting back. The Raiders suddenly tried to scramble back into protective cover, running into their own people. They weren't trained in how to fight as a team, and were paying for it with their lives.

Alexis had scampered her way through what was left of the guards and hid behind cover as needed to make it to the Customs offices.

The offices weren't exactly a prison. There were caged areas, but they were meant to secure packages and quarantine animals that came over on ships. If it had been meant to hold people, Alexis would never have been able to creep her way in through a window. More than a dozen people were caged up in the pre-fab office space. They were all tied to the walls and the cage doors with zip ties.

And a lot of them were wearing uniforms. Alexis made a quick scan for guards with her Contacts, found none, and came over to the cage with her knife, cutting the nearest prisoners free. "I'm Ale-" She caught herself. "I'm Division Agent Castle." She shook off the moment. It was the first time she had called herself that.

"Roy Benitez, JTF." The first man responded as soon as his hands were free.

"JTF? Your coalition has a name already?" Alexis remarked, and Benitez gave her a deathglare. "Never mind."

"Nice to know the Feds are all in this together too. It was your Agent Lau that got us to organize this little expedition. You didn't think to check and see if the damn docks were occupied first? Does the left hand actually know what the right hand is screwing up, or are we humble local teams just special that way?"

"Perhaps we can sort this out when we're somewhere else?" Alexis grit out, embarrassed by her gaffe. "Lau and the rest of our people are drawing off the guards so that I can get you out of here."

"Listen... kid." Benitez said, looking over her young face exactly once. "We aren't done yet. We have a mission here. Take the Docks, establish a beachhead; bring in reinforcements." He spat thickly, looking over his people. Some of them had been roughed up. Some of them roughed up badly. Alexis' knife was being passed along the row, getting them all free. "We ain't finished yet."

Beckett was mopping up, when Ramirez's voice came over the radio. Not the Division Frequency, the NYPD radio. "Captain! We need reinforcements! The meeting was ambushed! They already took out-LOOKOUT!"

Beckett froze as the sound of gunfire came over the line. "Ramirez?!" She called back. "Report?!"

No answer.

Beckett keyed her other radio. "Espo, were you following that?"

"Yeah, but we're sort of occupied right now, Captain." Esposito grit out. She could hear gunfire where he was too.

"Send me. I'm not needed here any more." Beckett hissed, already moving.

"There really isn't much point to me refusing, is there?" Esposito commented. "Go! But keep your head down. I'll follow as soon as I can!"

Kate was already running. "Espo, nobody tells Alexis until I find out what happened to her father!"

"We should tell her." Hayley told Esposito firmly.

"When the current Op is over, I will." Esposito promised. "It's her first Combat mission, I want her brain here where its needed." He changed frequency to include the young Agent. "Alexis, we've taken down the majority of their numbers. The ones that are left will entrench. Could make it harder for you to get out again, especially if you have civilians."

Alexis tapped her earpiece. "Interesting development on that point, sir. They aren't civilians."

"Say again?"

"Police, national guard, city works, some firemen, one or two ambulance workers and a few Precinct Captains." Alexis reported. "Almost twenty of them are here. They were trying to organize a relief drop when the Raiders hit."

Benitez leaned in close enough to use her radio. "And they aren't just street punks. There are some serious hitters outta Rikers Prison here. Those are the ones throwing their weight around, they'll be the ones to entrench. You don't get soft where they've been. They'll know to stick together."

Hayley looked at her partner. "Well, you were wondering where the others like Beckett went. Now you know."

Esposito swore. "Can you get them out?"

"I can get them out of the cages. Getting them out of the docks are a whole other matter." Alexis answered. "But I don't think I have to. Stand by."

The battle for the docks had paused. The Raiders had been routed, but the Rikers had entrenched. The containers worked as a maze of fortifications, just as Getting them out would take time and people. Alexis drew the map in her head. There would be two rows of containers, and that was where her Contacts said the majority of the surviving enemies would be.

Benitez crept out of the Offices behind her and scowled at the daylight. "You got a plan, kid?"

"This is the center of their setup." Alexis thought aloud. "So anything valuable, they'd keep here. Their prisoners, and their supplies."

Benitez got the point and started scanning around. "They'd keep the weapons on them, surely. Nobody still alive does so by putting their guns out of reach."

"Guns are heavy, and food is scarce." Alexis told him. "If they've got somewhere safe to put heavy stuff down, where would it be?"

"How long do we let them hold the stalemate?" Lau asked. "I have no angle for sniping, and they're in too far for grenades."

"Give us three minutes!" Alexis called. "We found their ammo stash! Not many guns, but plenty of gunpowder, and bottles of booze! Three minutes, and the JTF can get them running your direction!"

Lau smirked, despite herself. "The Rookie's a little bit dark and devious."

"You should meet her father." Hayley commented, sending a look at Esposito. "The longer we wait, the longer Beckett goes without backup."

"I dispatched two of my people when you sent Beckett." Lau said lightly. "She's got backup." She shrugged at Esposito. "Alexis isn't the only one who needs to keep her head in the game."

Benitez had his people armed with improvised weapons, and followed along behind Alexis as she crept through the maze. She pointed silently, using the hand signals that police used for 'enemies'. Her Contacts told her that they were on the other side of the container they crept along. She could hear them taking pot shots in the other direction, not knowing Alexis had freed and armed their prisoners.

Benitez put his face right up next to hers. "So, do we flush them out, or set up a kill-zone?"

Alexis relayed the question to Esposito. "Spare their lives if you can."

Benitez shook his head. "They're Rikers. They won't be taken alive. They've spent time Inside, kid. They'll go down swinging first. The Queen Bitch in charge of their faction is crazy enough that they're too scared to fall down when you shoot them."

Alexis shivered. She was going to have to earn her keep. She was the only Division Agent in position, and she had plenty of backup... And she was the only one armed with an actual weapon. If people were going to die...

Benitez wasn't nearly as hesitant. "Go!"

His people struck, tossing their explosives and incendiaries over the wall. Flame and shrapnel burst outward in every direction, and Alexis heard cries of pain.

The Rikers came around the turn in the maze, with a roar, some of them on fire. Alexis and Benitez were the first ones they came across. Benitez met them halfway, his time in captivity giving him plenty of time to nurse a grudge.

The rest of the JTF were quick to join their Captain, making sure not to get between Alexis' gun and the enemies. Alexis suddenly felt hyper-alert, like the world was moving into slow motion.

Esposito and Hayley came running up. "Surrender!" Esposito roared. "We told you, we don't want prisoners, or bodies. We just need the docks!"

Alexis saw them hear the call, saw them register what it meant. For a microsecond, she thought that maybe they'd take the deal...

...and then she saw their faces harden, though they were suddenly outnumbered. "DIE, PIGS!" Someone yelled like a banshee, and Alexis saw him charge at Hayley, fireman's axe raised high, ready to cleave her in half.

The gun in Alexis' hand barked, almost without her registering it. The berserker dropped like a stone. And when the man behind him saw it and lunged, swinging a shotgun around toward her, she fired again...

...and when the last of the Rikers pulled in closer to cover each other, Alexis caught a glimpse of Hayley bringing that launcher up again, a wet splat hitting the side of the container...

...Alexis grabbed Benitez by the collar and yanked him to the ground as the whole world suddenly exploded...

...and then it was suddenly over.

REPORT.

SHD Agent - Level Nine. Javier Esposito.

VERIFY.

ZZ-Alpha-Lanie-Three-Whiskey-Tango.

PASSWORD ACCEPTED. ISAC ONLINE.

Stage One Complete. Beachhead taken. Co-ordinates to follow. Operation Dark Winter is an immediate 'go'. First Wave MIA, presumed KIA.

REPORT RECEIVED. REINFORCEMENTS GATHERED AT SECONDARY FOB IN BROOKLYN. ETA: THREE HOURS.

"We're in business!" Esposito reported. "Turns out our people have been gathering in Brooklyn, waiting for us to give them a place to land."

Alexis came up and made her report. "We lost two of the JTF, three wounded. NYPD has no casualties, but I can't find Beckett anywhere..."

Lau and Hayley looked swiftly to Esposito.

Alexis saw the look and paled. "What? What happened?"

Esposito let out a sigh. "Alexis, something happened. Your father, as you know, was meeting with some people to try and get us some allies. We got a call in from Ramirez, saying that meeting was ambushed. I sent Beckett and Lau sent two of her people to investigate."

"My people were supposed to report on what they found... two minutes ago." Lau added.

Alexis was already moving.

So was Esposito. "Lau, this whole complex is going to fill up with helicopters and supply boats soon. I'm putting you in charge of logistics and base construction. My Fireteam and I are going to check on our missing people. I want communications, fortifications, and Ops up and running by the time I get back."

"Yessir." Lau glanced back at Alexis, already a block away. "You want me to send anyone to go with you?"

Esposito shook his head. "We've been behind the curve too long. With a viable beachhead, we've got a real chance to do some good now. I need this place running... more than I need Beckett." It felt bad even saying it, like the worlds turned to rot in his mouth.

Alexis wasn't bothering with the rooftop routes, half sprinting, half jogging.

Javier kept pace with her. "Kid, remember to be smart. Beckett and two experienced Agents did exactly what you're doing now, and we never heard from them again!"

Alexis slowed. "I told my dad to go meet this guy. I told him not to come with us. I told him it was too dangerous to come on the mission."

"I know." Esposito sighed sympathetically. "Don't count your dad out just yet."

Alexis glanced back. "Hayley not coming?"

"Not on the ground. You two egg each other on too much." Esposito snorted. "This story began with you and me waiting out the end of the world, Castle Jr. I think we can handle this."

"Don't worry, Rookie. I got your back." Hayley said in her ear.

They made it to the edge of the Dark Zone. The large fences were up and strengthened by parked trucks and razor wire. "First time I've ever gotten a look at this area." Esposito commented. "Look at the markings on the plastic sheeting. This was official, whoever did it."

"First Wave?"

"Sounds about right. Huge shopping districts in there... We know the virus was on the money... It would make sense if this was Ground Zero."

"I never saw who put it up." Hayley reported. "I was making my way southeast, but... One day, there it was." Her tone changed. "Javi... I can see bodies."

Alexis dove on the two bodies and turned them over. "It's not them." She said in relief. "It's not Beckett and my dad."

Esposito crouched down. "These are Division Agents. The ones Lau sent with Beckett." He looked around. "No blood spatter, no other bodies..."

"What happened here?" Alexis asked under her breath. She wanted to call for her father, but knew better. Silence was survival.

Esposito focused his eyes, just a little. Everything lit up with a new overlay. "Echo Beacon Online." ISAC reported.

"Rookie, did Hayley teach you to do this?" He asked.

Alexis nodded quickly and ran the Echo herself. The image didn't move. It was a single snapshot. "Where does the image come from?"

"Whatever radio signals that are still intact, satellite data that gets picked up in random keyword sweeps, whatever microphones that are around, even if they're not actively transmitting... All that stuff gets stored in various buffers in various databases here and there. Get to it in time, ISAC can reconstruct a few things. Partial glimpses from a hundred directions add up to a picture."

"Worth a thousand words." Alexis agreed.

The image showed Beckett flat on her back, hands clawing at her jacket. The overlay showed her Police ID just to make sure. The two men that lay dead beside them were firing at something in the distance, beyond the range of the Echo.

The Echo had audio as well. "Cover's Up. Captain, you alive?"

Beckett was grunting. "Nominated, not elected. The vest held. Cover Nico! He has to get to-"

Gunfire. "That vest should have cracked against that kind of round."

"I have a custom vest." Beckett grunted again. "Two plates instead of one. Get shot in the heart and your husband gets all protective. Where'd the shot come from?"

"Kate, just go!" A familiar voice yelled, and Alexis felt her heart pound. It was her father.

And then an eruption of gunfire rang out from every direction. Alexis jumped, spinning around, looking for the attack, but there was none. It was all just Echoes.

At the very edge of the Echo, was a single outline of an attacking Soldier. He was wearing an eyepatch.

Her eyes returned to Beckett's image, laying flat on the ground. What if this is the last time I ever see you?

"What do you make of it?" Esposito asked once the image faded.

"My dad was here... So was the Mob guy he was meeting." Alexis scanned the area. "The fight went badly." She said finally. "The guys in white uniforms had my family and the others surrounded..." She looked up at Esposito. "There are only two bodies. And the way they're laying says they were on their knees when they got headshot, lined up next to each other. They singled out the Division Agents for execution."

Esposito gave her a nod, eyes dead like a shark. "Which means?"

"That they took the others alive."

"I know that's what you're focused on right now, kid. But try and stay frosty." Esposito told her. "It means that they know how to identify Division Agents, it means they know we exist at all, and it means that whatever the Battalion is doing, they don't dare let us live long enough to find out about it."

Alexis chewed her lip. "Don't react to this, but if my dad was writing it, the bad guys would set up an ambush for more Division Agents coming to check the scene."

"They did." Hayley said over their radio. "Two guys with a sniper rifle. Good position too. I only found them because I was trying to set up in the same spot. They didn't get a call off to anyone else."

"Anything we can use?"

"No name-tags, no ID, no maps." Hayley reported. "One of these guys was outfitted with a radio, hardwired to a specific frequency. I can relay the frequency to Lau's people, and they can run a scan. Get two people with a direction, we can track wherever they were getting orders from and giving reports to."

Alexis looked to Esposito. "If they have a base, or a Keep somewhere, it's probably where they took their prisoners."

An hour later, they were back at the 12th and Lau reported in. "My people got a direction on the radio. Dead end."

Alexis fists clenched so tight that her palms hurt. "Dead end how?"

"The snipers were getting their orders over the radio. The signal tracked back to a relay wired into a cell tower. No way to know where it was relaying a signal from."

Esposito put his fist into the desk. "Dammit."

Alexis looked at Hayley and gestured for them to speak privately.

"People, can I have your attention." Esposito called to the Bullpen. "I can already hear the rumors, so here it is straight up: Captain Beckett was not killed in action at the Docks. She has, however, been taken. The circumstances were unrelated to the mission. She and Richard Castle were meeting with some people we thought might make good allies, and there was an ambush."

Numb shock. The Captain had been holding them together since the world ended.

"Now, we've examined the crime scene, and we believe she's alive. Castle as well. Obviously, we're already tracking leads. We will get them back. Now for the good news: The mission was a success. We've taken a staging area, and forward operating post. Our people are coming across the river by the hundreds, due in no small part to what you guys did. With that in mind, the 12th's job is to get the Captain back. Hit the streets. Find out everything you can about the soldiers in white uniforms. Especially where they're based. Report to me or Lau if you find anything worth chasing. Until then, we finish what we started. It's what Beckett expects of us all."

His audience started to break up, heading for the doors. The 12th would turn over every rock in the city for their captain. But then Hayley marched Alexis in and put her in front of Esposito and Lau. "Tell them what you told me."

Alexis shook her head. "It's just a-"

"A crazy theory, yes. They run in the family, it seems." Hayley pushed. "Tell them what you told me."

Alexis sighed. "The Signal Relay is maybe a bluff."

Esposito grew noticeably taller. "I'm listening."

"We've been coming at this the way we would have back in the old days. Find the bad guy, track the order, find the Boss. The same way you would take on organized crime or a Vice sting. Track the signal relay like tracking an email address. But the world isn't like that now. All we've got is what we have in our pockets. The Battalion, whoever they are, they're better equipped than anyone else out there... But so is the Division, and we don't have the kind of resources we'd need to take on people with electronic surveillance. It's because there isn't any surveillance out there. If the army guys are a Faction like any other, then they'd have to make do with what they had, and if their plan is to take over, or rob the city blind, or even just to keep their eyes on everything..."

"Then they'd need to cover the whole city." Lau thought aloud. "And why use so many electronic tricks and antennae keeping one pair of snipers informed, when you have a whole army to manage?" She almost seemed convinced for a moment, but shook her head. "No. We checked the equipment. It was a relay. They did expend the equipment."

"Right, but my point is, what if that cell tower was the source of whatever orders the Soldiers were getting, and the relay was just there in case anyone figured that out?" Alexis pressed. "You either have a hundred relays to confuse anyone tracking a hundred soldiers... Or you have one, to make anyone who got that far stop looking. Use a hundred, or just one. You're trying to organize the Division to retake the whole city. What would you do?"

Lau had to admit it. "Yeah. I could see that plan working."

Esposito was suddenly filled with a dangerous energy. "Where was that 'relay' your people found?"

AN: Next chapter will probably be the last. This is a crossover to tell an origin story, and will end at the start of gameplay. I can't guarantee that it'll never be picked up again, but at this point I have no plans for that.