Chapter 12: "Man Of Constant Sorrow"

I don't own Castle!

New Idea Just bear with it for me XD

Castle, Esposito, and Ryan slowly ran away from the tipped over police bus on the side of the road toward a forest area. They wore orange jump suits and their ankles were chained and in turn the trio were chained together by chains on their feet. Castle was chained to Ryan who was chained to Esposito. The trio both had thick facial hair, and Castle had three scars going across the left side of his face that looked like claw marks, and one large scar over his right eye. The trio looked barely recognizable. They kept running toward the tree line as fast as they could. But they didn't get very far when Ryan tripped in a ditch, "Woah!" He fell into the high grass and took with him Esposito and Castle. The sound of chains echoed around them. Castle got up first followed by Esposito and Ryan, and they continued to make a break for the tree line.

They were close until it was Esposito's turn to trip in a ditch. As he fell he called out, "GAH!" Like dominos Ryan and Castle fell. Castle turned around and peered through the grass to the tipped over police bus and saw two police officers with shotguns crawl out. Castle continued to watch as one of them got up.

The police officer had thick sunglasses and a scar going down from the right side of his face and stopped below the jaw. He shot his shotgun in the air and yelled out toward the tree line, "You Sombitches! I'm goin' to keeeil you!" He yelled out in a thick southern accent.

Castle looked at Esposito and Ryan briefly. They didn't need to say a thing. They got up and ran into the tree line. They continued running through the trees going deeper and deeper into the forest, trying extremely hard not to trip or get caught in anything. But that was asking too much. Ryan accidently went to the right of a tree instead of following Castle on the left. Ryan got around the tree but the chain finally caught and threw both them on the ground. Esposito fell over because Ryan was towing him. Castle got up on his feet and called out to Ryan, "Geez! We have to be more coordinated!"

Ryan slowly got to his feet, "Sorry Castle."

Castle nodded, "That's okay. We need to hurry up! Those cops will be on us in no time. There should be a road on the other side of these trees. Lets go!"

Esposito shook his head, "Wait. Why are you in charge again?"

Castle shook his head, "Because you two are cops and don't have the mind of a criminal. You don't have abstract thought like me." Esposito gave him a look. Castle nodded, "Well fine. Lets put it to a vote."

Esposito nodded, "Fine." He pointed to himself, "I'm voting for yours truly."

Castle nodded, "Fine!" he pointed to himself as well, "Well, I'm voting for yours truly too!"

Ryan stood there looking at both of them. Esposito and Castle both looked at him sternly. Ryan nodded, "Okay. I'm with you guys…" All of a sudden the sound of dogs echoed through the trees. The trio both had a look of shock in their faces.

Esposito looked at Castle, "How'd they get dogs so fast!"

Castle shook his head, "You're the cop! You tell me!" He started to take off running, "Lets go!"

Esposito and Ryan began to start running. Ryan forgot that he was still wrapped with the tree so the trio both ended up face down on the ground again.

24 hours earlier: Loft

It's just another day in New York with the hustle and bustle of the big city. But it was just another quiet and calm morning in the Castle household. Kate had finished her maternity leave a few weeks earlier and now she's back at work with Castle. The luxury is that Alexis and Martha are flexible enough to take care of Kevin Esposito when Kate and Castle are away doing cases. Time just seems to fly too, the little Kevin Esposito is now five months old and he's grown tremendously.

Castle rolled over on his side and slowly opened his eyes to see a beautiful site. Kate sat up against the headboard breastfeeding their little one and she was smiling rather happily. She was wearing her robe, which allowed easy access for the baby… and for Castle who might get frisky. Kate looked slowly at Castle and smiled, "Hey." She said lovingly. She looked down at her baby, "Say hi to daddy." The baby continued to do what he was doing.

Castle smiled, "Good morning beautiful." He got up and kissed her on the lips tenderly. He joined her and leaned against the headboard next to her. Kate smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

Kate looked at her son, "Beginning with a great day. Kevin didn't cry at all during the morning."

Castle smiled, "Beautiful day." He kissed her on the cheek, "With my beautiful wife." He looked down at his son, "And a beautiful son. WITH my beautiful daughter." Kate laughed. He smiled, "He's growing so fast. Soon he'll be crawling all over the house. Then talking a whole bunch."

Kate laughed, "Knowing that he's your son, he's probably going to be a talker too."

Castle nodded understanding, "Well I mean… He is a Castle. Also probably means he will crawl into trouble." He kissed Kate cheek.

Kate giggled, "I can handle two of you." She hummed for a moment then spoke again, "You know I looked up some facts about babies. They start crawling between six to twelve months and start talking at eighteen months." Castle nodded with a smile. Then there was a knock on the door causing Kate to put her robe back on and stop her baby from feeding again. Castle looked at her, "I can go outside…"

Kate smiled and shook her head, "It's okay. I can feed him later. He looked just about done anyway."

Castle called out to the door, "Yeah?"

Alexis peaked inside to make sure she wasn't disturbing then she opened the door fully. She had the phone in her hand, "Captain Gates is on the phone."

Kate looked at her phone on the nightstand, "Why didn't they call my cell? It's on."

Alexis shrugged, "She's looking for you dad." She walked to their bed and handed him the phone.

Castle muttered to himself, "Here we go again…" Kate smiled to herself and played with the baby. She understood why he said that. Last time she called him directly was so he could talk down Emma, who took hostages in a dentist office. She wasn't the bad guy but it was still high stress, and he got shot. Castle answered the phone, "Yes this is Castle."

At the precinct Captain Gates sat at her desk while on the phone, "Mr. Castle… I need you to come to the precinct immediately."

Castle nodded, "I'll be on my way."

Gates paused for a moment before speaking again, "I need you to come alone. Detective Kate Castle can come later."

Castle nodded, "Alright…" The phone clicked signaling to him that she hung up. He looked at Kate slowly, "Captain Gates needs me… alone."

Kate looked at Alexis. They both had a worried expression on their faces. Kate nodded to Alexis, which gave her the signal to leave them alone for a moment. Kate looked at her husband with a worried look, "What did she want?"

Castle looked down at his lap, "She wants me to come in alone that's all she said"

Kate didn't take his eyes off him, "Oh…she probably wants you to do a special task. That's why she called for you directly." She didn't know what Captain Gates wanted with him. But she was worried nonetheless. They just started a family and everything was going perfectly. She needed him as much as the baby did; she was just worried about what's going on. She leaned against him, "I don't want to lose you again…"

Castle placed a hand on her cheek and made her look at him, "You won't ever lose me. I'll always be coming back. Plus I'm sure it wont be anything crazy, she has Esposito and Ryan for that." He kissed her lovingly. Kate reciprocated and even deepened it. Castle reluctantly broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, "I have to get going…I love you."

Kate smiled, "I love you too." She took Kevin Esposito's hand and waved it to Castle, "Say bye-bye to daddy." Castle smiled as he left to get changed.

Castle got changed in his usual. A blue collared dress shirt with no tie, black dress pants, dress shoes, and a black suit jacket. He walked into the kitchen to talk to Alexis, "Alexis…"

Alexis stood up worried, "Are you coming back?" She shook her head.

Castle hugged her and kissed her cheek, "Always coming back." She hugged him tightly.

She closed her eyes, "Why am I so worried… Captain Gates probably needs you to speed read or something."

He smiled, "It'll be a piece of cake." He let go and kissed her cheek again, "Don't worry. I'll see you later." He got his things together and left their loft.

Precinct

Castle walked into the precinct and then walked to the desks. He saw Ryan and Esposito sitting at their desks with thick facial hair and wearing a orange jumpsuits like they were in a prison. Castle stopped and looked at them, "Did Esposito get caught doing something bad? And in turn Ryan got busted as an accomplice."

Esposito laughed and shook his head, "Man that would be one hell of a story to tell to Lanie."

Ryan gave a shocked facial expression, "…not to mention Jenny." The trio laughed.

Castle stepped forward, "So why did Captain Gates call me…"

Gates stepped out of her office, "We need you to go undercover with Detectives Ryan and Esposito." Castle looked at the both of them, and the boys nodded. Gates continued, "Go undercover in Upstate Correctional Facility in rural New York."

Castle looked at her with a confused look, "Why us?"

Gates nodded, "As you know the governor of New York is running for his next term. What you don't know is that he got word of a plot trying to assassinate him in New York City." She gave a serious expression, "The plot is real enough to have him take action against it, and the governor chose you to look into it, he says he trusts you the most with it. Apparently he's a big fan of yours and loves the results you produce with the 12th Precinct." She looked at the detectives, "I'm sending Ryan and Esposito in with you to back you up and help out in investigating this threat."

"Why a prison?"

"The guards in the prison overheard a man named Derrick Owen talking about a plot to kill the governor. He is doing time for assault, battery, and assaulting an officer. The guards questioned him, but he didn't budge." She pointed to his picture. He had red hair, freckles, a light red beard, and had a straight and neutral face in the photo. She continued, "He looked like he had more information than he let on. He might have friends outside of prison that might assassinate the Governor so we need to know who, where, when, and why. So you, Detectives Esposito, and Ryan are going in to dig for more information. The Warden believes it's easier if you buddy up with him to get the full details of what he knows." Castle had a blank stare. Gates raised her voice, "We obviously can't torture him Mr. Castle."

Castle raised his eyebrow, "So you want us to pose as inmates, buddy up to him, and find out what he knows?"

She nodded, "Pretty much."

"How much time do we have?"

"Not a lot of time. We don't know when it's going to happen, so the faster you find out the better."

Castle smiled, "That's not a lot of time to earn someone's trust…"

Gates shrugged, "You're a talker Mr. Castle. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Esposito nodded without looking up, "that's for DAMN sure."

Gates turned around and called Tory into the room. Tory appeared from her tech room carrying a dark box. Gates looked at Castle, "Since you are well known. You need to look less like you and more like a convict. We are going to give you a lot of scars, fake facial hair, and a new identity."

Tory placed the box on Kate's desk, "The fake facial hair is going to be glued on to your face. It'll hurt if you try to remove it, but best way to remove it, is with this." She held up a white bottle, "It's a mixture that will weaken the glue and make the fake beard slide off with no pain. I'll give it to you when the job is done."

Castle nodded, "Lets get on with this."

Moments later, Castle was transformed from a big muscular loveable guy to a big muscular scary axe murderer guy. He had scars and facial hair. He looked nothing like Richard Castle. In fact Captain Gates' new identity for him is, Tony Stryker: convicted for assaulting an officer, multiple armed robberies, and vandalism. Esposito's new identity is, Jose Alvarado: convicted for assault and battery, armed robberies, and grand theft. Ryan's identity is Patrick O'Malley: convicted for organized crime, assault, and weapon smuggling. The trio looked nothing like their former selves.

Gates nodded at the look of them. The trio all wore matching orange jumpsuits and looked ruggedly terrible. She spoke up and pointed to a balding older white man in a suit leaning on the doorframe of her office, "This is the warden of the prison. Warden Hawke. He'll brief you and will get you in."

The Warden stepped forward, "My guards know who you are and wont harass you as long as you don't touch them or antagonize them. They'll look out for you." He nodded, "As this is a prison, there are dangerous individuals in there so be careful. I advise you to only speak with Owen and no one else for your own safety. On a good note, you three will be sharing a cell with each other." He nodded, "When your job is done, drop the phrase 'caged bird sings' that'll let the guards know your done with your assignment and will send you three to me so I can get you out." He looked at Gates, "Okay Captain. We're ready."

Gates nodded, "Lets go."

The warden signaled the trio to follow him. Castle stopped in front of Gates, "Are you going to tell Kate about this?"

Gates nodded, "I'll tell her. While you're in there, we will be tracking leads from here." Castle nodded and left.

Loft

Kate walked out of their bedroom fully dressed in a black business suit with a white dress shirt. She smiled at Alexis who was playing with the baby in the kitchen, "Good morning Alexis."

Alexis smiled, "Morning mom."

Kate went to the kitchen and to the coffee machine, and poured herself a cup. As she was pouring she talked to Alexis, "So is Martha taking care of Kevin Esposito or are you?"

Alexis smiled, "I got no classes today. So I got him all day. Plus Gram is busy today." She tickled her little brother.

Kate turned around took a sip then smiled at the sight, "Thanks for taking care of him while your dad and I work. It means a lot."

Alexis smiled, "Hey. It's no problem. I love taking care of this little one."

"If you ever want to hang out with you friends, just let me know so you don't have to take care of the little one, and I'll get someone to do it."

Alexis laughed as the baby giggles, "I will thanks, mom. But, it's no problem right now."

Suddenly Kate's phone rang. She quickly answered it, "Castle." She nodded, "Okay. I'll be right there."

Alexis looked up at Kate, "Dad?"

Kate shook her head, "No. I just have to investigate a conspiracy." She kissed Alexis on the cheek, "I'll see you tonight. I'll make dinner." She then kissed her son on the cheek.

Alexis smiled, "See yeah Mom." She watched Kate put on her high heels. They exchanged waves as Kate left their apartment.

Upstate Correctional Facility

After being inducted into Upstate Correctional, the trio walked into the cafeteria area of the prison. With inmates on the first floor and guards on the second floor, keeping a close watch of the inmates. Although they looked like tough guys, they were scared shitless. Even Esposito was kind of scared. Two cops and a cop helper inside a prison…if anyone would find out, they'd be dead men. The cafeteria was bustling with convicts of various types. Some small, but lots were big in the muscular variety. The trio stepped forward and tried to blend in with everyone else. Esposito nodded, "We might as well find our guy. I don't really want to stay here anymore than we need to."

Castle nodded in a deep tough voice, "I totally agree." He did his best to not break his character.

Ryan pointed to a red headed male with freckles sitting at a table across a row of large inmates. It was Derrick Owen. He was a pretty small guy and he was all alone, and was reading a pretty big book. Not exactly a good sign in a prison. Ryan called out to Esposito, "Found Owen."

Esposito nodded, "Lets go." They made their way slowly to his table, trying not to get into other peoples way, so they don't start a confrontation.

They neared the table and Castle leaned toward Esposito, "Let me handle this." Esposito gave him a weird look. Owen clearly saw them approaching and it looked like he nearly went in his pants. He was about to get up and make a break for it but Castle put his hands up. That surprised the trio because in the photo, Owen looked like a pretty tough guy but in reality he looks and acts like he's out of place and soft. Well, that's what the first impression is.

Castle smiled, "Easy there feller. I just want to talk. My name is Tony Stryker." He pointed to Esposito and Ryan, "And these are my friends."

Esposito nodded, "I'm Jose Alvarado."

Ryan smiled lightly, "Patrick…Patrick O'Malley."

Owen stuttered, "What…what do you want with me?"

Castle looked down at the table and saw the book he has. It is a Nikki Heat book specifically "Heat Wave". He looked at Esposito and smiled then spoke to Owen and pointed to that book, "Is that Heat Wave? By the outstanding author Richard Castle?" Esposito rolled his eyes.

Owen smiled and patted the book, "Yes it is. It's my favorite and he's my favorite author. I liked his Derrick Storm books but Nikki Heat is way better." His smile faded, "you came here to talk about books?"

Castle shook his head, "No. We're here for two things." He pointed at the empty seat, "May we?" Owen nodded. The trio quickly took seats with Castle and Esposito sitting across from him and Ryan sitting next to him. Castle spoke up, "First. It's clear you need friends in here since no one wants to sit with you and you look invisible to them."

Owen nodded gently, "I just want to do my time and leave. I don't want any trouble…"

Esposito nodded, "Us too."

Castle smiled and said friendlily, "Look we are getting on pretty well. I like Castle and you like Castle. Best of friends." Esposito shook his head. Castle nodded toward Esposito, "He's more of a Mary Higgins Clark."

Esposito looked at him with disgust, "Hey. Nothing is wrong with Mary Higgins Clark. That's quality reading…" He paused and looked at Castle and Ryan who had a surprise expression on their faces. Clearly not thinking that Esposito liked Mary Higgins Clark let alone liked reading.

Owen smiled, "He has no idea what he's missing."

Castle smiled, "Right? He has no idea." He shook his head, "Anyway. We heard from a little bird that there is a plan to assassinate the governor. We're curious to know the details."

Owen gave them a suspicious look, "Why do you care…"

Castle shook his head, "I don't have time to explain this story to you. In short we're curious because its some juicy stuff." He reached into his pocket, "Plus if you tell me I'll give you an autograph of Richard Castle."

Owen shook his head, "No way. There is no way you have an autograph of Richard Castle, and if you do it's probably a forgery. I know his autograph."

Castle removed his hand and showed him a piece of paper with his signature on it. Owen's jaw dropped. Castle smiled, "You want it? You better tell us." Esposito and Ryan looked at Castle with shock this time. Castle whispered to Esposito while Owen was drooling over the paper, "I'll tell you guys later."

Owen started to spill, "The assassination of the governor I heard from a couple of corrupt cops here. It's going to take place in Carnegie Hall tomorrow evening during the concert and speeches." He looked at Castle, "Can I have the autograph?" Castle nodded and gave it to him. Ryan and Esposito looked at each other with surprise.

Ryan spoke up, "How do you know they are corrupt?"

Owen was looking at his new favorite thing and said without looking at him, "Well they sure aren't good cops. I over heard them while I was in a coffee shop when I was still free. They had details, plans, and everything. Then the next thing I knew I got busted for nothing and now I'm here."

Esposito began cautiously, "do you know which cops were they?"

Owen nodded, "13th Precinct people I believe. Judging by their badge."

Castle asked, "How'd you end up here then."

Owen shook his head, "They heard me calling 9-1-1 about them. Next thing I know, those two cops were on my back…" He looked at Esposito, "Then I got accused of assault and battery, AND assaulting an officer."

Ryan shook his head too, "That's rough."

Owen nodded, "yeah…I'll be honest. I don't hate the police and I don't think they're bad and all…I'm just not happy with them right now…"

Ryan patted his shoulder, "that's a good sentiment."

Castle realized something and asked, "Did you tell the guards about this information?"

Owen nodded, "Yeah. I told them everything and then they said they'll bring it to the warden."

The trio looked at each other with shock. Castle said to Owen urgently, "Hang out with us for now on okay?" Owen nodded cautiously, surprised at the sudden change in tone from his new friends.

Precinct

Kate yelled in shock, "Sir! You did what?" Tory and Lanie looked at Kate in shock at her yelling at Captain Gates. Lanie was also worried for Esposito, naturally she was.

Captain Gates nodded understanding why she is in shock. She put her hands up, "Detective. It wasn't my choice in the first place. The governor believes he's the one for the job. He either has some serious trust issues or he is Mr. Castle's biggest fan."

Kate shook her head, "You sent my husband into jail. Disguised as a hard timer."

Gates shook her head, "He has Esposito and Ryan with him. He'll be fine, plus the guards inside know he's in there, they'll back them up."

Kate rubbed her face with a hand and sighed. She looked down, "He's the love of my life and the father of my child sir…"

Gates put her hand on her shoulder, "I know Kate." Kate looked up at her. Gates smiled, "One thing I know for sure about Mr. Castle is that he always manages to make it back to you."

Kate smiled, "Yeah." She laughed, "He's an idiot sometimes…"

"I'd day more than sometimes." Lanie and Tory nodded agreeing with Captain Gates.

Kate nodded, "Sorry. For yelling at you sir it wont happen again."

Gates smiled and patted her shoulder, "Don't worry. I understand why."

"I'll get back to work."

Upstate Correctional Facility

The trio made it into their own cell they got to share. They told the guard the phrase "caged bird sings" and the guard responded by saying that he will take them to see the Warden first thing in the morning since the Warden left for the evening. It was a conclusion to a stressful day. Esposito jumped on the top bunk, "Castle…this isn't good

Castle got on top of the other top bunk, "I know." He shook his head, "either the guards here are in on it and or the Warden is on this too."

Ryan sat on the bottom bunk under Esposito and shrugged, "I don't know. We probably should notify Captain Gates about this right now." Esposito nodded and jumped off the bunk and ran to the cell door. He started to call for a guard.

Castle continued to pick at the story, "Why would he let us go under cover here in the first place."

Ryan nodded, "The Governor chose you to dig for the answers. You're reputation for solving cases is probably so good that the Warden might've been afraid you might find out." He looked at Castle, "He probably suggested we go under cover to eliminate us…" Castle and Ryan looked at each other with shock.

Esposito looked at them, "there isn't any guards…" he turned around to look back out the door, "And the cells… all the other cells are empty…"

Ryan dawned on a realization, "We need to get out. Right now."

All of a sudden a couple canisters of gas were tossed in front of the door. Castle, Ryan, and Esposito coughed uncontrollably as the gas filled the room. Soon Esposito fell on the floor unconscious. Then Ryan fell to his back on the bed unconscious. Castle fought to stay breathing but to no avail. He too fell on the bed unconscious. The trio blacked out.

Loft

It was around 5pm in the evening when Kate arrived back home. She opened the door and saw three of the most important people in her life, Martha, Alexis, and her son. She walked in and took off her jacket and placed it on the arm of the couch and greeted her family, "Hi guys." Martha who was playing with her grandson smiled at Kate, Alexis smiled and walked to her mom.

Alexis smiled, "Hey mom" she strolled over and kissed Kate on the cheek. She smiled and yet said with concern, "How's dad?"

Kate smiled, "I don't know. I don't have the luxury to talk to him." She hugged her stepdaughter. Alexis nodded with a look of worry. Kate gave her a reassuring smile.

Martha was bottle-feeding her grandson and smiled at Kate, "Oh dear." She walked over to Kate and gave her a one handed hug. Martha gave Kate her son with a smile. Kate was soon tickling her son, which rendered a laugh from him. Martha continued in a soft tone, "I hope he's okay."

Kate smiled gently then looked at her little beautiful boy. Kevin Esposito was staring at everything and had the look of curiosity on his face. Kate sworn he was the perfect child. "I hope he's okay too." She said without looking.

Martha smiled and patted her shoulder, "Oh dear. Richard is with the other detectives. I'm sure he's fine."

Alexis did her best to cheer up Kate, "looks like mom is afraid of spending the night alone." She laughed.

Kate laughed too, "Ah. Those were the days." She had a sudden realization, "Oh! I got to make dinner." Kate smiled and handed Martha her baby. Martha didn't mind at all, besides the little one needs to know her grandma too.

Next Morning

Castle slowly woke up on a maximum security prison bus heading through rural New York. The trio was chained together like a chain gang and sitting on a single couch on the right side of the bus. The other side of the bus was another couch with two police guards with shot guns sitting across from them. The trio looked at each other with worry.

Castle looked at Esposito, "We need to get out of here."

Esposito nodded, "Well…I don't see how…"

Ryan shook his head, "Yeah…" The guards across from them smiled at their demise.

One of the police officers with thick sunglasses and a scar going down from the right side of his face and stopped below the jaw who sat behind the cage that protected the driver smiled a devilish grin and said, "Don worreh boys. You be goin' away a real long time." The trio looked at him. He continued, "You're here by charged for the murder of Derrick Owen, conspiracy to murder our beloved Governah…Oh…and assaulting an officer." He said in a thick southern accent.

Castle looked at Esposito with a shock. Ryan looked like he was about to cry. Then one of the guards stood up in front of Castle and started to gloat, "Don't worry Mr. Castle." Castle looked surprise. The guard continued, "Oh. We know who you three are. We'll just change the story how you three got arrested. Instead it'll say that all three of you died in the line of duty." He laughed, "Oh. Your fine ass wife…what's her name? Oh Detective Katherine Beckett Castle!" Everyone in the buss laughed. He got into Castle's face, "She'll need some comforting when she hears you died."

The police officer at the front of the bus picked up his cell phone, "Yes sir. Yeah they are secured at this time. We'll be at the new high security prison in a few hours." He paused and smiled at his subordinates, "I agree sir. Don't publish their deaths until they are secured in their new prison."

The gloating guard continued to get in Castle's face, "Your hot wife will soon be Detective Katherine Beckett…MILLER!" The guards laughed.

Suddenly Castle head butted the guard causing him to jolt backwards. Castle then quickly picked up the long chain that attached to their ankles and swiftly turned the disoriented guard around, and wrapped the chain around his neck choking him. He put more pressure on the chain making him turn blue. The other guards were completely surprised. The other guard across from them quickly tried to react but he was too slow for Esposito. Esposito kicked him with both feet in the crotch then dove for his now dropped shot gun. He picked it up and fired a blast toward the bus driver. Lucky shot. The bus driver got shot in the back of the head and died at the wheel; the bus was now swerving back and forth.

Castle continued to choke out the guard but suddenly there was another shot gun blast and the guard he was choking went limp. Castle let him go. The big southern cop had a mean look on his face and aimed his shot gun at the trio. He said evilly, "Looks like the head lines will be telling the truth after all." Before he could squeeze the trigger, the bus crashed and flipped onto it's back.

The trio slowly woke up from the crash all in once piece and nothing broken, thankfully. Ryan grabbed the shot gun on the ground and blasted a hole through the lock on the emergency door at the back of the bus. He crawled and opened it slowly. Esposito got up and said, "we need the keys to get out of these shackles…"

Castle nodded, "It's with the big southern guy…" After he said that, the big southern cop slowly got up from the debris toward the front of the bus, like a zombie from a horror movie. Castle turned to Esposito, "Just run!"

Present

The trio ran or quick waddle, chained together through the trees like their life depended on it for what seemed like hours. They ran so fast that the sound of dogs faded, all that could be heard now was the sound of chains. They saw a break in the trees, they saw light. Castle was in the lead and ran for the opening. He stopped at the edge of the tree line and looked across the empty road. He looked right and he looked left, the road stretched for miles and no car was in sight. Across the street was a car body shop and gas station that had been foreclosed, with trees and undergrowth growing in and around it.

Castle nodded, "come on. It might have some tools we can cut these chains." Ryan and Esposito nodded. The trio ran across the road quite comically. With a cling and a clang all the way to the other side. Once they reached the auto body shop they were able to pry open the ply wood that covered the entrance to the shop and break in. As they slowly entered the abandoned body shop it was clear to them that it hasn't been occupied for many years. Castle nodded, "Alright…We need to hurry up and find a tool box or something to get these chains off…"

Ryan spotted a cutting torch on a table on the far side of the shop. He called out to Castle and Esposito, "guys I found a way." He quickly made his way to the table catching Esposito and Castle by surprise, and nearly knocking them over. After a few minutes Ryan was able to cut the chains allowing them a free range of motion. But, he couldn't cut the shackles off without hurting the wearer. So the trio still had a little bit of chain though not enough to trip on. They were just happy they were able to move again.

Castle looked around the room, "We need to find a change of clothes and way to contact Kate or Captain Gates."

Esposito nodded, "I doubt we'll find any change of clothes here. It's pretty empty here. I'm surprised there was a tool box and a perfectly good torch here."

Ryan nodded, "Yeah."

Castle spotted a land line phone on a dusty old desk on the other side of the shop. He rushed over to the phone and picked up the phone and heard nothing. He shook his head, "Damn. It's not working."

Esposito nodded, "I don't know why you're surprised. This place is foreclosed. We're lucky is has this stuff in it still…"

Ryan shrugged, "Yeah…" He heard dogs behind him. The trio looked all at the entrance of the shop. Without saying a word the trio dropped everything and ran out of the shop following Castle. Castle lead them back into the trees behind the shop but ran parallel to the road and out of sight, in the hopes of finding a place to get clothes.

It was late afternoon and it was getting close to evening and they were still running through the trees while cars passed them every now and then. They were running out of time. Ryan stopped and panted, "It's been miles and we haven't seen anything to help us out."

Esposito turned around and put his hand on his shoulder, "cut that out bro. We'll find a way."

Castle pointed ahead, "I think I see a gas station up ahead!" He waved at them and continued to run, "Lets go!"

Esposito patted Ryan on the shoulder and took off running. Ryan sighed and followed. The rustle of bushes, the sound of chain, and the sounds of quick feet filled the forest. They finally got to the gas station but it wasn't soon enough, the sun was setting pretty fast. They hid in the trees trying to figure out a plan. They couldn't just stroll out and use a pay phone since they still were wearing orange jump suits with shackles. They scream escaped prisoners.

Esposito shook his head, "Moment we step out and get near the gas station, people are going to see us and call the police."

Ryan agreed, "Yeah there is no way we can get close without getting caught. Even if we get a call off there is no where to run…" Castle nodded but then looked left and saw a plumbers van pull up to the station, and stop on the side just in front of the trees where they were. The driver was wearing overall and stepped out to the gas stations store.

Castle looked at Esposito, "Do you know how to hot wire that?"

Esposito gave him a glare, "You asking me cause I'm brown?" Castle and Ryan returned the glare. Esposito smiled, "Yeah I can…" The trio got up and stayed low to the van. Esposito got to the passenger side while Castle and Ryan went to the back. Esposito whispered to his companions, "Careful. The van might be locked…" He heard a loud metallic click and saw the van dip a little lower then heard a loud bang of a metallic door. Castle and Ryan got into the van with no trouble. Esposito shook his head, "People these days." He opened the door and jumped in then immediately got to work on hot wiring the van. Luckily it was a very old model, so it was pretty easy, the van smelled funny and had fake grey carpet on the floors of the van.

Esposito started the van and nodded, "Got it."

Castle patted him on the shoulder, "Floor it. We have to go now."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Esposito hit the throttle and took off down the road hopefully toward the city. The original owner never knew what hit him.

Castle spotted extra pair of overalls and plain white t-shirts for them to wear, "Hey Esposito. We got a change of clothes here." Esposito nodded.

Ryan dug in the center console to find anything useful while he gave Castle space to change. He found a road map and a cell phone. He tossed the cell phone to Castle, "Castle. Cell phone." Castle caught it and nodded. Ryan opened up the map then scanned the road their on for any land marks and road signs to help them find out their present location. He patted Esposito after he caught his bearings, "Good news. We're on the right track for the city. Bad news. We're running out of time."

Esposito nodded and stepped on the gas.

Ryan laughed, "I can make do without this fake beard though….first thing when we're done is get this thing off…"

"You and me both." Esposito said agreeing with him.

Loft

Kate got back from work with no leads on the attempt to assassinate the governor, and no news from her husband and her friends undercover. She was wearing grey dress pants, a black business coat, and black high heels. She walked into the loft carrying her silver overcoat worried out of her mind, and plopped down on the couch and sighed loudly. She rubbed her eyes worried about everything. She looked around, noticing the quiet environment of her home, Alexis was probably in her room studying and her baby was probably in his crib resting. Of course that changed when she heard the cry from Kevin Esposito. She smiled slightly and got up to take care of her son.

She walked into the baby room and spotted Alexis bouncing the baby. Alexis smiled at her mom, "Oh hey mom. I didn't know you were home."

Kate smiled and approached her family. She kissed Alexis on the cheek, "I just got back." She gently took the baby from Alex, "How's Kevin Esposito?"

Alexis smiled, "I think he's hungry."

Kate kissed her son, "Is that so? Don't worry I'll take care of that." She looked at Alexis and noticed her smile fading. She asked, "Alexis?"

Alexis shook her head, "Any news from dad?" Kate gave her a worried expression in return and shook her head. Alexis slumped her shoulders in worry. Suddenly she heard Kate's phone ring.

Kate managed to get her phone out of her pocket with one hand and answered the unknown number, "Hello?" who ever was calling was breaking up and was hard to hear, but obviously who ever it was knew her.

"Kate….we… trouble…assassination….Carnegie Hall….corrupt…olice…trying….be there….Find…Warden…Upstate….Correctional…" The call dropped.

Kate looked at Alexis. She kissed her son then gave him back to Alexis, "Something's up with the case and might be about Castle. I have to go." She turned for the door then stopped and looked back at Alexis, "Sorry for…"

Alexis shook her head, "No mom. Find our dad and stop the bad guys."

Kate smiled, "I love you both." She turned to leave at the same time dialed the precinct.

It was now late evening. Their window was closing fast. But Esposito was breaking every speed traffic law on the planet and was even driving on the wrong sides of the road. Soon enough they got close to Carnegie Hall and they illegally parked around the corner, but able to see the entrance to the building.

Esposito spotted the dozens of police in front of the fancy building. He shook his head, "we're probably on every cops want list right now. No way we're getting in that way. AND dressed like this." He flicked his overalls.

Castle nodded, "We can try dressing up like performers…"

Ryan shook his head, "No performer looks like us…Carnegie Hall is for classical music concerts."

Castle shook his head, "Not this event. This is a special event hosted by the governor for his campaign. He has a variety of performers today for his love of music. From rock to country."

Esposito looked back at him, "So…we dress like country performers?" Castle nodded.

The Warden of Upstate Correctional Facility, Warden Hawke, got out of his car along side of a big police officer with a scar going down from the right side of his face and stopped below the jaw, the same police officer that nearly blasted Castle. Warden Hawke shook his head, "You made a disaster of this. How hard is it to catch a writer and two cops in chains?"

The scarred officer shrugged, "They can run. But we'll find them."

Warden Hawks stopped just before the steps to the hall, "They better not thwart this plan. Everything is set. When he goes to shake the hands of the officers in the front row, it'll be over. This plan has to go through…"

The officer nodded and said evenly, "I got it sir…"

Esposito, Ryan, and Castle walked through backstage with fake beards and mustaches made from the grey carpet from the van, which covered up most of their faces with thick carpet. Esposito shook his head, "this plan is never going to work…" He was carrying a guitar that he swiped from an unsuspecting musician who was tying his shoes in the backstage.

Castle shook his head, "You're killing me with your negativity Espo." He continued to the stage, "If we don't try, the governor will die." They approached a young blonde lady who took her job way too seriously and spoke in a high pitch preppy voice.

Ryan muttered to Castle as they approached the lady, "Castle…my beard itches…Castle?"

Castle nodded to the lady and smiled, "Hi… uh… we're…"

The lady had so much energy she didn't let him finish, "Oh you must be The Runaway Brothers." Castle turned to Esposito and Ryan with a scared expression in his eyes. The lady smiled, "You're the country group right?"

Castle looked back and smiled under his fake beard on top of his other fake beard, "Just surprised you know us right off the bat."

She smiled a wide preppy smile, "Oh. Well it's pretty obvious who you are." She pointed to the stage, "You're right on time. Go on up, you're on." The crowd was obviously energetic and enthusiastic today. Quite loud for a Carnegie Hall gig.

Kate and a squad of trusted 12th Precinct officers walked into Carnegie Hall to look for the Warden of Upstate Correctional Facility. She had on call, two teams of SWAT were waiting in armored trucks around the corner behind some old plumbers van. She signaled the officers to spread out and look for him in the energetic crowd. As the officers spread out she continued slowly down the center slowly scanning the crowd. She looked up at the stage and saw three comically dressed individuals in raggedy overalls and white t-shirts. She saw the band behind them switch instruments to banjos, upright bass, guitars, and fiddles. She shook her head and continued her work.

Castle turned to Esposito and Ryan on the stage, "best country accents boys." He leaned over and told the band behind him, "In the Jail House Now fellas…" The band nodded. Banjos, upright bass, and fiddle started to play in a slow steady beat.

Castle approached the microphone and his eyes searched for the governor to see where he is. Castle cracked a half smile and started to sing in a thick country accent, the best he could do,

I had a friend named Ramblin' Bob

Who used to steal gamble and rob

He thought he was the smartest guy in town

But I found out last Monday

That Bob got locked up last Sunday

Behind Castle Ryan and Esposito danced in a weird awkward dance a mixture of squats and turning their knees in and out. Castle stepped aside after his verse, Ryan followed his lead and started to yodel to the best of his ability. Apparently the crowd loved them, they clapped excitedly. Esposito continued to dance with his guitar. Castle approached the microphone again and continued his part.

Kate looked at the stage with a funny expression on her face. She said to herself, "People like this stuff. Man that hurts the ears…" She shook her head and continued to search the crowd for the person of interest. She was still pretty far from the front of the stage so she couldn't recognize who they were.

The governor smiled and got up and clapped along with the beat. Causing everyone in the crowd to follow suite. This made Kate's job harder. The governor made his way to the center walk way in front of the stage and dance in front of the stage happily. Warden Hawke who was on the aisle opposite of the governor saw him and shook his head ashamed. He stepped out to the walk way and smiled, "You like these guys?"

The governor smiled while dancing, "Of course. This is classic."

Hawke shook his head and looked at the group, "These guys aren't even old timey… they are just actors…"

Governor laughed, "It's entertaining to me and seems the crowd likes it."

Hawke smiled and shook his head. His smile slowly faded away as he recognized the trio on the stage. Castle, Ryan, and Esposito saw him a long time ago but didn't break their act. Castle just nodded toward the Warden. Hawke was about to go ballistic. Kate was busy searching the rest of the crowd and didn't see Hawke and the Governor.

Castle needed to distract Hawke, he finished up his song then turned around to Esposito and Ryan. "Do you know the song Man of Constant Sorrow from O Brother Where Art Thou?" Ryan and Esposito nodded. Castle smiled, "good follow my lead."

The trio started in sync,

IN CONSTANT SORROW ALL THROUGH HIS DAYS!

Esposito and Ryan took a step back. Castle stepped forward and took lead,

I am a man of constant sorrow,

I've seen trouble all my day.

I bid farewell to old Kentucky!

The place where I was born and Raised!

Esposito and Ryan approached the microphone and sang in chorus,

The place where he was born and raised!

The crowd went wild. Clearly entertained by this song and the group performing. Kate sighed as the rowdy crowd made it harder for her to do her job.

Warden Hawke just exploded. He talked to himself, "Wait a minute. Those are the convicts!" He called for a microphone, "Give me a microphone! Give me a microphone!"

The governor looked at him funny, "Just enjoy the music son…" Hawke shoved him and reached for the microphone on the stage. The crowd gasped. The governor's body guards put their hands on their weapons reflexively. The governor waved them off. Kate noticed this and slowly put her hand on her weapon and made her way slowly to them.

Hawke took the microphone from Castle. Cutting off the music. The crowd started to boo Hawke. He faced the crowd and said angrily, "This music is over!" More people booed him. He continued, "This group is not the people you think! This group is escaped convicts! Charged with assaulting an officer of the law!" He turned around and pointed to Castle, "And charged with murdering a fellow convict!" The governor gasped and looked to his assistant.

Kate slowly approached the Warden at the same time her squad of police made their way to the front.

The crowd booed him again. Hawke put up his hands, "Look. Look. All right. These boys here are convicts all right? They are evil men who need to be locked up forever!" Everyone booed him some more. Castle just raised his hands up innocently followed by Esposito and Ryan. Hawke tried to continue but Kate got to him first.

Kate raised her weapon, "NYPD! WARDEN HAWKE YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" Her team of police officers joined her with their weapons raised.

Hawke smiled a fake smile trying to play it cool, "For what! The men behind me are guilty!"

Kate shook her head, "You're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder of Governor Wilks" The governor looked at Warden Hawke with shock. His security team got up quickly pushed him away from him and surrounded him for protection against Hawke.

Hawke yelled, "On what proof? I'm a respected Warded of Upstate Correctional!"

Kate shook her head, "Your wife let us search your home. We found detailed plans on your computer and emails about the assassination of Governor Wilks."

Hawke put down the microphone and looked down. One of Kate's officers handcuffed the Warden then the squad of officers escorted him out. The crown was dead silent at the sudden change of events. Kate respectfully picked up the microphone and handed to the lead singer of the stage. As she handed the microphone to him she looked up and saw the man yanking his fake carpet beard down to show his face. Kate's jaw dropped as she saw who it was. Castle took the microphone, smiled, and winked at Kate. Kate smiled a wide smile completely surprised at what she just saw.

Castle continued the song "Man of Constant Sorrow". The crowd went wild and so did the governor. Everyone was dancing including Castle, Esposito, and Ryan while singing. Kate just stood in front of the stage with a smile and…of course shaking her head.

After the little hoedown in Carnegie Hall, the governor sure seemed like he had a lot of new rejuvenated support at the end of the event. Kate, Castle, Esposito, and Ryan made their way out of the theatre and to the busy streets of New York. Kate happy to have her husband back linked her arm with his and held it tight and kissed his cheek. She happily said, "I missed you."

Castle smiled, "Oh I missed you too." He kissed the top of her head, "I can say now that my adventuring days are done for a long, long time."

Kate smiled, "That's good babe. You got a family to come back to." She looked over he shoulder to Ryan, "And you too Ryan."

Ryan nodded happily, "I'm glad this stupid thing is done."

Esposito nodded, "First things first. Call Lanie…" He laughed, "Oh Kate…You're boy here…he's crazy strong…"

Kate tightened her grip on Castle, "I know he is. I love it."

Castle was leading them to their hijacked plumbers van, "Guess we have to give that back huh?"

Kate nodded, "Probably."

All of a sudden there was a metal click of a hammer of a gun behind them. The group turned around and saw the big southern scarred cop pointing his weapon at them. He smiled an evil grin, "The plan is busted…but I'm going to eliminate the source of the problem right here…" Kate tried to draw her weapon but the scarred cop shouted, "Don't even think about it! I'm going to finish my job right now…" Before he could do anything else… the street behind Castle became alive from SWAT teams jumping out of their armored trucks. They all pointed their automatic MP5s at the cop and demanded to put his weapon down. The corrupt officer put his gun down and put his hands up.

The SWAT teams slowly approached the corrupt officer. Castle let go of Kate and made his way to the cop not breaking eye contact with him. He stood in front of the corrupt police officer for what seemed like a long time…then he punched him square in the nose. The cop fell over on his back. Castle pointed at him, "That's for trying to kill us!" He turned around and a fist bumped a SWAT member as he walked away. Esposito and Ryan nodded with disgust.

Loft

Castle was slouched on the couch with an ice pack on his jaw and was groaning. Kate smiled and sat down next to him with two glasses of wine. She laughed, "Castle, that's what you get for rushing to take that fake beard off." She kissed his shoulder and put the glasses on the coffee table, "Tory said to take it slow."

Castle groaned, "I just wanted to go home with my beautiful wife…" Kate smiled.

Alexis came down the stairs with baby Kevin Esposito. She smiled at her parents and said to her little brother, "Look Kevin. Daddy's home" The baby just made funny noises.

Kate smiled and got up to get her son. Castle strained to see but didn't want to move his head to lose the ice pack on his face. Kate laughed as she bounced her son. Alexis strolled over and kissed her dad's forehead.

Castle smiled under his ice pack, "I love you all."

Parts from the kickass movie O Brother Where Art Thou

LOL wanted to try something new. Apologize if its not up to par with the others. But don't worry we got fluff on the way! WHAT WHAT! XD