Title: Kidnapping Castle

Pairing: R. Castle and K. Beckett

Summary: The climax is upon us, in the last chapter I promised you a twist well I hope you ready for it. Maddox is starting to get desperate and desperation often leads to mistakes being made.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle

Words: 2 780

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Chapter Seven:

30 hours after being taken

KB POV:

I watched on as Gates interrogated one Johnson Dorian, he was one of the uniforms that had come rushing into my apartment during my confrontation. The one that had pulled his gun on his partner, since he had been taken into custody a team had been working for hours on end to unravel every single detail of his life.

They had gone through everything that we had about him and had dug up even more. We had to break him; if we did we might just manage to get Castle back alive. I had wanted to do the interrogation myself but Gates had refused.

She had given me that stern glare of hers which normally made me feel like a little child who had just been caught doing something completely unreasonable or particularly silly. It hadn't been enough to get me to agree with her, but then she had gone and asked if I could keep my emotions in check if I was to do the interrogation.

The honest answer was no, for I knew that I wouldn't be able to.

Castle's life was hanging in the balance, there wasn't time for screw ups so I had stepped aside and let Gates do what she had to. Maybe she would be able to break Dorian.

Get us some answers, some sort of lead. We were running out of time.

The boys were watching the interrogation with me, all three of us were anxious. We were functioning on little to no sleep and then add in our frantic emotions, we were all a bit high strung right now. My back was tense as I stared fixedly into the interrogation room, my eyes never leaving Dorian's face for even a moment.

Gates was getting him to open up slowly but I couldn't stand this slow pace, every second that ticked by could be the second in which Castle could die. We didn't have time to waste, Gates was trying to win his trust and get him to confide in her.

Personally I would prefer to put the fear of God into him that which would get us some immediate answers.

A gun pressed to the side of his head with a promise of pulling the trigger on three if he didn't start talking would have been my method.

Maybe Gates was right after all to have kept me away from Dorian. Shooting a cop, even a dirty one, in the middle of the interrogation room wouldn't do us any favours.

"Set up a meeting." Gates ordered sternly staring Dorian down with an icy glare.

The man nodded, eager to do what Gates wanted so that he could cut a deal, get a slap on the wrist for his involvement in all of this. It made me disgusted to my stomach, right now though wasn't the time to voice my opinion on what I thought about that piece of scum getting a deal. As far as I was concerned he should get an execution.

Once Gates stepped out of the interrogation room, the 12th became a blur of activity. Cops were rushing about, this Maddox character was dangerous. He had been identified as the sniper that had shot me; the blood spatter at my apartment had matched DNA found on the rifle he had used to shoot me.

Gates was in charge of everything, directly in charge for a change, she wasn't about to let Maddox slip through her fingers if she could help it. Normally she was that irritating back seat driver, who thought she knew better than everyone else but she was taking lead on Castle's case.

The meeting was set to happen in a rather middleclass hotel in midtown. Gates had the room on either side surrounded by cops with all sort of equipment, and the room where the meeting was to happen had been bugged with audio and video surveillance.

The records we had found on this Cole Maddox person showed that he was ruthless and well trained, with a tendency to do as he pleased. Lanie had also been burning the midnight oil on her side of things and had confirmed my previous suspicions.

Michael Smith had been murdered.

And chances were that it had been Maddox who had done it. For now though Smith could wait for justice a bit longer our immediate concern was Castle.

Gates didn't want the boys or I involved in the operation but I wouldn't be backing down this time and neither would the boys. She would have to fire me and even then I wouldn't just drop the matter, Castle meant more to me than a badge.

In the end she relented and allowed us to be a part of the operation. She probably realised that she didn't have a choice in the matter, finally.

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31 hours after being taken

RC POV:

My resolve was starting to shatter and who could honestly blame me, after the first hit from the pipe it hadn't taken long for me to pass out. Thankfully. I had been determined not to but in the end I hadn't managed to stay conscious for much more.

I had lost track of time completely after my latest bout of unconsciousness. I had awoken before he could start in on me again which meant there would be no strangling wake up call for me this time around, the blinding pain in my arm had been the reason for gaining consciousness.

He had ripped off my shirt, allowing me to have the first view of the injuries he had inflicted on me. My arm was a mess; I doubted that I would ever be able to use it again. It was a mangled version of what it used to be.

It wasn't only my forearm though it was also my hand.

As I was right handed the thought of never being able to use it again was a great impact on my mental state, I done everything with my right hand. But after having my individual fingers crushed with a hammer, I knew that function of it was going to be limited if I lived to survive this.

The blows from the pipe to my chest hurt there was no denying it, my skin was bruised after the first blow. But still I didn't give him the answers that he wanted; he had just taken aim for my right shoulder when a cell phone rang.

I was slumped in the chair, my head lolling to the side uselessly as I stared out of bleary eyes at him with my jaw clenched tightly. He pulled out a cell phone from his pocket, dropping the pipe to the ground with a metallic thud. Stepping closer to me he grabbed a hold of my jaw, squeezing painful to ensure that I kept my mouth shut.

"What?" He asked his voice hoarse from screaming and shouting at me.

All of his demands had gone unanswered; I wouldn't answer a single one of his questions even when they didn't have something to do with Kate.

I tried to pay attention to the phone call, to what he was saying but my mind was fogged over due to the pain I was in. It felt like I was in some sort of haze, like I was having one of those out of body experiences that you sometimes read about.

As his voice hardened his grip on me got tighter, I didn't even consciously think about doing it but my mouth forced itself open and bit down as hard as it could on his hand.

I held on, applying as much pressure as I possibly could while he tried to free his hand. When he finally managed to rip his hand out of my mouth, I spat out a chunk of flesh. The taste of his blood didn't make me nauseous instead it made me feel victorious and gave me some much needed strength back.

I had gotten him back, even if only slightly for what he had been putting me through. Normally I was a good person, I could just shrug off insults and deal with whatever was thrown my way with a smile but him, I wanted to kill him with my bare hands. I wanted to watch him suffer as I tortured him for hours on end while he was helpless to do anything.

I wanted our positions in this situation to be reversed, our roles to be swapped.

He was shouting again, clutching his hand to his chest but I couldn't make out the words. The haze was still firmly in place, I watched blankly as he pulled a gun out from behind his back. He pointed it at me and still I couldn't do anything but stare.

The bullet pierced my right leg easily and all I felt was more pain, more searing mind numbing piercing pain. A dry exclamation of pain left my mouth, I didn't have the ability to vocalise what I was feeling as my throat was raw.

He stowed away the gun again, with one more look at his hand he turned away getting ready to probably leave but just as quickly he turned back towards me. He bent down picking up the pipe that he seemed to favour above all his other toys, the blow this time was worse than any other as it landed on my right shoulder.

Black dots clouded my vision immediately, blotches growing bigger as they met each other before I mercifully passed out again.

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32 hours after being taken

KB POV:

We were already in place; the meeting with Maddox was scheduled to take place in ninety minutes time. He believed he was going to it to collect files that Dorian had found in Castle's loft, he had been eager to get them. He had complained that Castle hadn't given anything up so far.

I had felt my entire body sag in relief in that moment, as it meant Castle was still alive out there somewhere. We hadn't been able to get a location on Maddox's phone, Ryan had been trying but it was proving more than a bit difficult for some reason.

A frantic call was made over the secure line, informing us that Maddox had arrived early. Panic reined for a moment, the meeting wasn't schedule for at least another hour.

Maddox made his way up to the room that we had booked in Dorian's name. He went to stand by the window that offered a view of the parking lot; we were all holding our breath. This had to go successfully and without a single hitch, Castle's very life could depend on it.

The moment a car pulled up into the lot it was reported over the line, this time though it wasn't only a report on the car's presence and a description of its occupants. It was something that threw us for an even larger loop than Maddox arriving earlier than expected.

"It's Senator Bracken."

And his destination, the room that Maddox was in.

All I could do was gaze at the screen showing what was happening in the room right next door, Bracken was a powerful man. A man of note in the political world with great aspirations, what could he possibly be meeting Maddox for?

The idea that he was behind everything entered my mind and wouldn't leave.

"Do you ever regret having that Beckett woman killed, it has caused you nothing but trouble after all?" Maddox asked, turning around slightly to look at Bracken once he entered the room.

Maddox hadn't bothered locking the door behind him, Bracken didn't falter at his words for even a second. All he done was walk further in with a smirk on his face as he took a seat in one of the armchairs, his brow raised slightly as he stared at the sniper.

"Johanna Beckett didn't know when to stop digging and I wasn't about to let her ruin me then and now I'm not about to let the next generation of Beckett ruin me." Bracken stated idly, as if he was talking about the weather.

Maddox said nothing and returned to looking out the window, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the man that was seated comfortably in the next room. I stared down at the screen, his words running through my mind over and over again.

He was responsible.

He was the one that had taken my mother away.

That had placed the hit on her.

I was startled out of my mind as police officers suddenly rushed into the room, looking around me I realized that they had moved in on the two men. A quick look back at the screen showed that Bracken had drawn a gun.

I dashed out of the room, pulling my gun out even though I wouldn't be needed as there were more than enough officers in place already. I had to make sure that he didn't escape. He had to pay for what he did.

And I would be the one to ensure that he paid, with any luck he would pay with his life.

I levelled my gun at him; Maddox was already on the ground with two pairs of cuffs around his wrist knocked out from the force of the Tasers that were used on him. Gates had authorised the use of them for when he was secured in cuffs, we wanted to keep him down till he was behind bars with no chance of escaping.

Bracken though had his back against a corner, gun clasped in his hand as he stared around wildly trying to find a way out. He didn't strike me as the type that would just toss his weapon aside and come peacefully, if anything I was hoping that he didn't.

"Don't come any closer!" He shouted voice full of desperation. "I'll shoot."

And still his eyes darted around.

He was like an animal backed into a corner, literally in his case, and that was when the animal was at its most dangerous.

Gates took a step closer, she was always bold. She was wearing a vest with her gun raised right at the man; in an instant he pulled the trigger.

I did the same.

He crumpled to the ground, gun out of reach as Esposito and two others rushed at him easily forcing him into a pair of cuffs.

I watched on, my gun still raised and aimed right between his eyes. I wanted to pull the trigger; I wanted to end his life. For so long I had dreamt of this moment, hungered after it, the moment when I finally caught up with the person who was responsible for taking my mother away from me.

All it would take was one small squeeze of the trigger.

That was all and the nightmare would be over, the dragon would be slayed and my mother would have justice and I would have my revenge. Just one small squeeze of the trigger and a bullet would be lodged right between his eyes.

Just like how a bullet had been lodged right in the centre of my chest that day on his order.

My finger twitched…

Just a small squeeze was all it would take to release the bullet.

The cold metal of the trigger was against the pad of my finger, slowly sinking inwards.

Another millimetre and it would be done.

It would all be over…

Wouldn't it?

No… Castle still had to be found…

I could see his face; it felt like he was standing right next to me. He would plead with me to not do this, to not kill this man, to not rid the world of this piece of trash that was sprawled out on the floor before me with one of my bullets lodged in him.

To not give in to the temptation that I was feeling, to not kill an unarmed man no matter how vile he was. To remember what it was that I stood for, to be better than to seek nothing but petty revenge.

I blinked several times; the daze that I had been in coming to an end as I slowly lowered my gun and gained control over myself.

He would be disappointed in me if I shot Bracken now.

I let out a sigh; Castle was a part of my life and a part of me it would seem. He had gone from the annoying writer that had followed me around to being the guiding voice inside my mind.

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AN: And that's a wrap for this chapter, we nearing the end. I hoped you enjoyed it!