Liam Kelly had been walking his six-block beat within the confines of the 12th precinct for the last eighteen years. He knew most of the families, people, and business owners who lived and worked on his beat. He also knew every nook and cranny there was for anyone trying to do anything illegal. And, if it ever came to it, he knew all the best places to hide if something were to go down and jeopardize his life. But what he had never planned on was saving one of his coworkers….

Esposito and Ryan were able to find additional information about Janelle. She had been cutting the drugs she was selling in order to make more money to pocket for herself. Being a drug dealer was bad in itself but the fact that she was cutting the drug she was selling told them volumes. She was in too deep, way too deep. Ryan, who had worked in narcotics a lifetime ago, called in a favor from his old C.O. The favor he asked for was if anyone in the Narcotics Division knew of anyone who was selling cut heroin or cocaine. Everyone he talked to had given him the mayor's daughter's name. It seems that she was beyond just your basic recreational use type of person. But the odd thing was that while Janelle's name had come up, no one had let the mayor or anyone in the chain of command know that she was selling drugs.

Ryan had a lead he wanted to look into and he wanted to take Espo with him. Kate, being lead detective, had flatly told him no and that he and Esposito had been working nonstop to get where they were now. They needed some time away from the case and precinct to get their heads straight. She told them that she and Castle would look into the lead and they should go home, no questions asked. They had agreed but if she needed backup, she was to call them both no matter what time it was.

Kate looks over to their empty desks and realizes that she and Rick need to get a move on if they are going to be able to interview this person and still be able to get home at a decent hour tonight.

"Castle, are you ready to go?" Kate asks Rick who is sitting at the side of her desk in his usual chair.

"I am. Do you think that after we interview this person we will have time to grab a bite to eat? Then maybe we can pick up where we left off with our relationship talk."

Kate nodded. She was finally at a point where nothing would stop her from moving forward with the person she cared about the most. She was in love and she was ready to risk her heart with him.

She got up from her chair, retrieved her weapon from her desk drawer, and holstered it. By the time she turned around Rick was holding up her coat ready for her to slip an arm into it.

They rode the elevator down to the lobby. As they passed the desk sergeant they both gave him a wave telling him to have a good night.

They were driving north toward SoHo not far from Castle's loft. By the time they were able to find a spot to park the sun was about to set. The man that they were going to see was one Clayton Renfroe. He could possibly be the last one to see Janell alive. But he also had a rap sheet with multiple pages mostly drug related charges. Kate and Rick wondered what he could tell them about his and Janelle's relationship. Kate thought she had a good idea of what they were to each other but to be sure, she had to talk to him.

"Kate I hope this guy Renfroe won't be the kind of suspect who tries to run a ruse on us."

"Rick, you know we always go into these things expecting the worst. I think that's what we will be facing here with this guy."

After walking for several blocks from where they parked the car, Rick and Kate arrive at the address in SoHo and climb up the stairway. There's no doorman at the door and the door is open so they just walk in. There is no elevator so they have to walk up to the third floor. Once they get there Kate takes up a standard entry position. Rick nods to her and then she nods back. After he gets her okay he knocks on the door.

"NYPD, open up," Kate yells.

They both hear someone moving around inside the apartment and they have a good idea about what's going to happen next. They are both surprised when the door opens to the extent of the security chain.

"Clayton Renfroe?" Kate asks And she looks at the man who looks like he just woke up. His hair is in every which direction.

"That's me. Who wants to know?"

"My name is Detective Kate Beckett and I'm with the NYPD, this is Richard Castle. I'd like to ask you a few questions about Janelle Weldon and your association with her."

The door closes the chain is slid off and then the door opens to its full extent. Rick lets Kate walk in first and her hand is never far from her weapon. Rick follows close behind and closes the door behind him as he enters. They both take in the apartment and can tell that it's an expensive one for SoHo just with the amenities alone. But what really amazes them is the furnishings that are in it. Everything looks like it was just purchased last week and only because they look brand new. Kate gives Rick a knowing look and he reads her instantly.

"Mr. Renfroe we need to know what your association with Janelle Weldon was."

"She was a friend. We would talk a lot about her college classes and the direction she was going to go in." He answered. He motions them to sit down on the leather couch. When they do he sits across from them on a loveseat.

"When was the last time you had any contact with her?" Kate asks.

Clayton gives the illusion that he's thinking about what she just asked him by looking up at the ceiling in thought even though he knows exactly when he saw her last. When he's finished looking at the ceiling he looks at Kate.

"Well, I guess it would probably be about four days ago. We had a discussion about the recent test she took in chemistry." He replies and hopes she buys his lie.

Neither Beckett nor Castle misses the smirk that Clayton gives when he uses the word chemistry. They both know something's up and he might have had a part in whatever happened to Janelle. Kate remembers from reading his rap sheet that he had a possession arrest two years ago.

"Mr. Renfroe, you do know that Janelle Weldon was murdered two days ago?"

"Oh, my god! No, I didn't know!"

"She was found in a dumpster in Chinatown." Kate supplied.

Rick watched his reaction after Kate gave him the news that Janelle had died and could tell that he already knew that the mayor's daughter was dead. Granted many people show different emotions when they're informed of someone's death but this guy was acting like it was no big deal that she was gone.

"Mr. Renfroe, were you involved in a romantic relationship with Miss Weldon?" Kate asked hoping he'd slip up.

"Define romantic Detective." Renfroe countered.

"Were you two seeing each other on a regular basis, did you have sex together, did you go to a romantic dinner for two one night, or maybe a movie together? Those types of things are what I mean by romantic."

"Well I can't recall if we actually went to dinner for two at a romantic restaurant, but we did have great, and I mean mind-blowing sex! Oh yeah, and we might have attended a movie or two together when we had the time. I guess you could call what we had romantic." Renfroe replied still keeping the smirk on his face.

After the mind-blowing sex comment, Rick took a look around the apartment like he usually does to get a read on their suspect while Kate continued to question their suspect. He is usually very observant but this time around he dropped the ball. Sitting on the kitchen island in plain view looked to be a loaded handgun. He looked over to Kate who was still talking to Renfroe. When she was finished asking her last question he did the shared mind trick that Lanie had always accused them of having. With his eyes, he motioned towards the countertop and when she looked down at his hand in his lap, he had formed the shape of a gun with his index finger and thumb. She immediately looked up at the kitchen counter and saw a nine millimeter Beretta sitting there in plain sight.

Using their shared mind gift thing, Rick got up off the couch leaving Beckett to keep Renfroe busy. That worked until Rick got halfway to the counter in the kitchen when Renfroe was quick to his feet to try to stop him knowing that he forgot he left the Beretta out in the open, but Kate had already drawn her weapon and had it trained on his back.

"Don't move Renfroe! Stop right where you are! Raise your hands above your head and interlock your fingers together behind your head." Kate ordered.

Of course, Renfroe disregarded the order and started going after Rick to get to the Beretta before he did. Renfro was all of five foot four inches and one hundred seventy-five pounds at best. Rick had over twenty-five pounds and a foot over him. Needless to say, he made it to the Beretta before Renfroe could get his hands on it, he ejected the clip and slid the slide back to eject the round that was in the chamber out of the weapon. Before Renfroe could do anything to stop Rick he was handcuffed by Kate.

"I'm going to guess you don't have a permit for that weapon do you, Mr. Renfroe? Kate asked as she pulled him back by the collar of his shirt.

All Rick could do was give a little chuckle after he saw the look on Renfroe's face. They had him for illegal weapons possession and as a possible suspect in the murder of Janelle Weldon. He was also a known felon who cannot possess a weapon at all. That alone would get him life in prison as it is his third strike.

After a complete and thorough search of the apartment, they found two AR15 automatic weapons hidden in his closet, and one more handgun. Of ammunition they found could have started a very small war. Hidden under the floorboards of his bedroom they found just under two pounds of cocaine. If they knew him as they thought they did he would turn that two pounds of cocaine into five pounds of cut cocaine to sell on the street to the unsuspecting user who would most likely die from the fentanyl he added to it.

Both Kate and Rick escorted Renfroe out of his apartment and down the stairs. By the time they got to the lobby, Kate remembered that she had left the paperwork on the counter for the chain of custody for the gun they found on the counter after she finished writing it up. Not wanting to have Rick watch their detainee she would escort him to her unit which was parked about two blocks away. While she was doing that Rick would run back upstairs and get the paperwork and meet her at her unit.

Rick, who doesn't think this should be the procedure, voices his opinion about why they should not separate. Kate explains that it will take him less than thirty seconds to get up to the third floor to grab the paperwork and be right back down. Then he can catch up to her.

When she puts it like that he can't question her logic. So he turns and heads up the stairs and she exits the building through the door they came in less than an hour ago.

Just as Rick hits the landing of the second floor he hears it. The sound of rapid automatic gunfire. The first thing on his mind is to turn and run back down the stairs and he does. Fuck the paperwork he's supposed to get! He takes the steps three by three barely making it down the stairs without breaking his neck or ankles.

When he gets to the entryway of the apartment complex he is shocked to see Clayton Renfroe lying on the ground still handcuffed bleeding profusely from bullet wounds to his upper chest, midsection, and one directly to the front of his forehead. He doesn't see Kate anywhere.

Then he sees a black sedan. Inside the car, he sees three men with AK-47s and they are about to fire at him. To the right of the doorway, there is what used to be a small alcove for people to talk on the phone way back when. It's the only cover he has and he jumps toward the alcove just as the shooting starts. He is not as quick as he thinks he is and is hit by some rounds as he tried to squeeze into the alcove that wasn't made for a man his size and can't possibly fit his large frame in this small alcove. Then he hears the rounds hit the glass of the door shattering it and splintering the wood that was where he was standing less than a second ago. All in all there had to be about forty rounds fired at the doorway completely destroying everything in their path. He lands on the floor not moving.

Liam Kelly had been walking up Crosby Street and noticed a black sedan sitting at the end of Crosby and Canal Street. He was on his way to see Mrs. O'Malley who was homebound and every Tuesday he would bring her a hot meal for dinner. As with any good beat cop he already had the car's license plate number and occupants description as he passed committed to his memory. This was his neighborhood and if they didn't belong here, he would be the first to try and stop whatever they were going to do. He continued on his way to Mrs. O'Malley's house and kept the black sedan in the back of his mind just in case. Just as he was about to walk past the furniture store he sees a detective that he knows very well. It seems she has an arrest and he is being compliant as she leads him down the stairs. He is just about to pass her when he hears the sound. It's also then when everything goes into slow motion. The black sedan that was sitting idle at the corner of the street is now accelerating quickly toward them.

Beckett and the man she has in handcuffs don't realize what's going to happen next. He has a sixth sense of this kind of thing. The black sedan has the windows down and three AK 47s are extended outward. A millisecond goes by and the triggers are pulled. The rounds leave the weapons intending to strike their target. Even with the bad aim of these minor league gang bangers, a majority of the rounds hit their target

The tray of food that Liam was carrying to Mrs. O'Malley hits the sidewalk as he jumps toward Kate.

Liam gets to Kate and tries to pull her down the stairway that leads to a tattoo parlor but he was just a second late in getting to her. Then the gunfire erupts again. But with everything happening as fast as it did, Clayton Renfroe is cut down in the process and ends up in a heap on the sidewalk. Liam lands at the bottom of the stairway and gets the wind knocked out of him when Beckett lands on top of him. It takes him less than a minute to breathe again.

He thinks that they're safe from any more threats only because he can't hear any more gunfire. Liam pulls his sidearm and gets ready to fire back at the perpetrators if they show up. The threat he thought was gone isn't. He knows now that they were only reloading their weapons. He hears automatic gunfire being fired at the suspect that Beckett had in custody and the front of the entryway. Then he looks up and sees the apartment building's front door where she just came out was being demolished by bullets. Whoever it was quickly ended their assault on the front door and the car peels out down the street and around the corner almost on two wheels. Liam is hit in the leg and he can tell it's a through and through. His right arm stings and he is grazed just below his shoulder. He'll survive.

Detective Beckett although did not come through this attack unscathed. She has multiple gunshot wounds mostly to her lower torso. He ventures a peek out from the stairwell that leads up from the tattoo parlor and he sees no threat around them. He quickly takes Beckett into a fireman's carry and brings her back up the stairway the best he can. He gently places her on the sidewalk where he can assess her injuries. He's just about to the top step when he hears someone coming up behind him. He's quick to turn and have his gun pointed at the person who might be going to attack them. When he sees who it is he relaxes.

"Rick, give me a hand with her so we can get a better idea of how she is. She's been hit badly but she still has a pulse."

Both Liam and Rick make quick work of getting Kate looked over once she is out from the bottom of the stairway. But when they go over her body their concern turns grave. She has three bullet wounds to her abdomen and her ribcage is bleeding too. But the priority is her abdomen which is bleeding heavily.

Rick takes off his jacket, then his button-down shirt, and wads it up, leaving him in a T-shirt. He presses his shirt to Kate's abdomen. He gets no response from her as he presses down harder on her abdomen to stop the blood from flowing. He has completely done this on automatic pilot. With all the training he has learned over the years he uses it to save her life.

"Liam, is there an ambulance en route?" Rick asks as he looks down at Kate's battered body. God, why did this have to happen now? They were so close to finally getting everything sorted out. He thinks to himself.

"Rick the ambulance will be here quickly. I know the crew that's coming out because I know them and they know me so they're not sparing any time getting here. When they get here we can have them look at you as well because your face is bleeding and so is your arm." Liam tells him.

All of a sudden it hit him like a ton of bricks. The excruciating pain in his shoulder is what he notices first. It isn't until he's in the second ambulance that the EMT is applying a gauze bandage to his cheekbone. When she pulls it away to replace it with a fresh one because it's covered with blood.

If there was anyone who is more pissed off at something that went wrong when it was a simple task it was Cesar Vales. Not only did the men he sent out to take out the detective and her partner fail significantly, but they also took out Clayton Renfroe in the process. He was without a doubt the number one distributor of his drugs in lower Manhattan. Now business will decline greatly due to the fact that he is no longer alive to sell for him. If it's not one thing it's another.

His initial reports from eyewitnesses that he had placed at the scene told him that while the detective was hit, she was still alive when was taken away by ambulance to the nearest hospital.

This is not good. His attempt to take out the detective will now bring a lot of heat down on him from the NYPD. It's his own fault for sending incompetent people to carry out a simple task. He doesn't have to worry about those fuck ups anymore because he had them killed and crushed in their beloved black sedan then buried in a landfill somewhere in the New Jersey Meadowlands.

For a fleeting moment, he thought about going back to San Antonio. But after reevaluating his new relationship with Simmons he decided not to. The NYPD would be unbearable toward him in the coming months but he would deal with it.

When a New York City police officer be it a detective or patrolman or really anyone in blue gets shot, word travels fast within the criminal element of the city.

Most people do the honest thing and report what they see to aid the people who are investigating the shooting. Then there are some who expect the payout by calling the cop shot hotline. Whatever your reason Simmons knows that Vales tried to have the detective and her partner eliminated. The only reason he can think he had attempted to do this was that they were getting close to his part in the mayor's daughter's murder. And now it's the one thing he regrets doing. Joining forces with him at the time sounded like a great idea. But now he knows that the man is just certifiably insane. He needs to find a way to move away and direct his resources elsewhere. It won't be easy and in the end, he might even die trying to do it, but associating himself with Vales is not going to end well. His informants on the street told him that the car accident between the truck and the taxi cab at 6th Avenue and 52nd Street was a setup by Vales. And then the explosion that took out the Crown Vic at 54th and 6th belonging to Sorensen was not a coincidence. He's starting to clean house and he wonders if he is part of the cleanup.

If anyone knew what was going on in the drug or gang cultures it was Slaughter. While he doesn't have an office per se things that happen in the city come directly to his phone as a priority. He knows that the FBI agent who was driving his FBI-issued car died at the hand of someone who is eliminating law enforcement personnel. His hunch is only confirmed when he found out earlier that detective Beckett and the writer were almost taken out. She's in critical condition and is in surgery. He's going to pay a visit to the writer and the detective in due time for one reason only. But he won't reveal just yet why he's doing what he's doing.