Posted 25 Feb 2011
"That. Was. So. Awesome!"
"Oh my…"
"Wow! That was fast! They took out five guys in like five seconds. They never had a chance."
"They way he… And then the way she…"
"Can you back up play it back slower?" Beckett asked. "And can you bring up the reverse angle on the other monitor?"
"Sure, just a second."
"Is there any way to get sound?"
"Sorry, no."
Esposito reset the video playback and speed. With a few more clicks the outside view switched to another view of the crime scene.
One monitor showed three men playing cards at a table. The other showed one bouncer wanna-be on a sofa playing with a cell phone while the other was pouring a drink at the bar. On both monitors a black rope dropped into view. Sliding down the rope was a tall, thin man dressed in black. He was upside down with two guns pointed towards the men at the table. As he was still descending, the three men slumped onto the table, obviously tranq'ed.
He stopped a few feet from the floor, turning his head and one arm, his face still hidden from both cameras. An instant later, the man at the bar dropped his glass before collapsing in a heap.
The final man reacted quickly. Springing from his seat, he threw his only weapon, his cell phone, which the upside down man swatted away, dropping his gun in the process. Before he could bring the second one around, the man from the sofa had charged and wrapped the infiltrator in a crushing bear hug, pinning his arm so the second gun dropped to the floor.
An instant later, a second person dropped into the picture, feet landing hard on top of the large man's shoulders. He was briefly stunned, releasing his prey. The second infiltrator, a woman with a blonde ponytail, quickly detached her harness and grabbed her partner's torso before she could hit the ground. Using him as leverage, she flung her legs up and around the large man's neck so she was suspended front down between the two men. With a quick twist, she flipped her victim on to the ground.
With the grace of a gymnast, she dropped to the floor, following her dismount with a kick to her victim's head. After retrieving one of the tranq guns, she shot him twice for good measure.
"Go ahead and return to normal speed." Beckett interrupted. They had returned to the initial point of viewing.
The blonde on the monitors surveyed the scene. While she was doing that, the first, for lack of a better term, 'ninja' was swinging slightly reaching his arms out to get her attention. He seemed to be struggling with his harness. Finally, the blonde turned and smirked at him. After a couple seconds of clear teasing with a knife posied at the rope, she gave him a quick peck on the lips. It wasn't a full Spiderman kiss, but she was grinning afterwards. She then moved to release the harness at his waist.
Suddenly, they both snapped their heads towards the entrance to the room. The woman yelled something, and the two shoved off hard, sending the man swinging towards the bar on one side of the room while the woman dived behind the table on the other. The screen that had a partial view of the door showed three men, two with machine guns.
Each gunman tracked one of the infiltrators while opening fire. The one tracking the woman hit one of his unconscious comrades at the table. Then, he suddenly reared up, spraying shots across the room and into the ceiling before collapsing in pain and dropping his weapon. His foot showed a knife sticking out of the side. The woman must have thrown it underneath the table.
The other shooter was emptying his clip into the bar, behind which the swinging man had dropped after releasing his harness mid-flight. The shooter abruptly dropped his weapon and grabbed his hand.
The third man leaned over to pick up the dropped weapon, finding a knife lodged behind the trigger. This mistake gave the 'ninjas' time to act. By the time he realized the problem and started reaching for the other weapon, he had been dispatched with a kick to the head from the woman. All three were efficiently tranq'ed by the man who had retrieved one of his pistols.
The pair shared a serious look and an affectionate grasp of hands. Following this brief pause, they separated and returned to work. The man pulled the bodies into the room, locked the door, and collected the weapons, while the woman started searching the room. Next to the sofa, she found a silver case. Pulling it to the top of the bar, she called over the man, who returned her knives. He stared at the case for a couple seconds, and then punched in a code next to the case's lock. He checked the contents quickly, and then relocked it.
They returned to the ropes and reattached their harnesses. A few seconds later, they were gone, back through the ceiling by some automatic pulley system. The whole break-in was less than three minutes, and half of that time the ninjas were flirting.
Everyone in the security room was quiet for a few seconds. Beckett was the first to speak. "Who are these guys?"
Castle replied, "Could you back it up to where they were getting ready to leave?"
"Sure." Esposito reversed the playback.
"There! Stop! Ok, can you zoom in on the man's face?"
He selected the man's head and with a couple clicks the monitor with filled with the man's face.
"We have a problem."
"What is it, Castle?"
"That's Sergeant Carmichael. He's out there right now with Lieutenant Coburn."
"Crap." Beckett pulled her phone and dialed. "Dispatch, this is Detective Beckett. How soon until back-up arrives? … What do you mean it was cancelled? … Ok, we have a situation. Send all available units to the previous address I reported. And see if you can get me Captain Montgomery. Have him call me immediately at this number." She hung up and pulled her weapon.
Esposito grabbed his shotgun from its position again the wall. "Lanie." He was clearly having trouble controlling his concern.
"Stay here, Castle." Beckett slowly opened the door, and saw an exacerbated Lanie immediately on the other side.
"They're clearing out of here."
"Lanie, get behind us, and lock the door." Esposito gently shoved Lanie into surveillance room with Castle. Weapons draw, the detectives exited into the third story landing. Hearing voices from the crime scene below, they quietly descended to the second floor. As they approached the main room, three people exited: Coburn, Carmichael and the blonde from the video.
Beckett yelled, "Freeze! Let me see your hands!"
Before she could even finish her order, Coburn and the woman had guns drawn in return. Carmichael stood nervously in the middle of the four with his hands raised.