You guys rock. Seriously. After I post this I'm going to take a minute to reply to the reviews from the past few days. Sorry I haven't gotten to them sooner.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, ABC, or any of their affiliates.

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Katherine Beckett stood in the observation room, staring through the one-way mirror at her suspect. Once more, he appeared cool and collected. Totally un-phased by the fact that he was in some serious trouble with the law, and un-intimidated by the show of interrogation. Beside him sat his lawyer: a tall, thin, blonde woman by the name of Jessica Walker.

If Castle were there, he would have made a joke about the woman's obviously bored expression, and Beckett would have rolled her eyes. Who knows, she may have even chuckled.

But he wasn't.

And he couldn't be.

So, setting her feelings aside, she exited the observation room, and entered Interrogation 1, holding a photo. As she shut the door behind her, she looked down at it, "She was a pretty girl, Zach," she stated, taking her seat opposite the juvenile.

"What are you talking about?" Zach blurted, earning a disapproving stare from his lawyer.

"Your girlfriend," Beckett flicked the picture, making sure that he couldn't see whom it was of.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Zach said, but his voice wavered and he licked his lips.

"You don't have to answer her," Walker told Zach, then turned to Beckett, "Detective, what is this about? You've already decided to charge my client. Have you finally realized he's innocent?"

Beckett ignored the woman and laid the photo down on the table, rotated it to face Zach, and then slid it across the table to him, "Rebecca Davidson. But, I don't need to tell you that, do I?"

Zach's jaw clenched and he turned away, "I don't know who that is," he whispered.

Beckett leaned forward, elbows resting on top of the table, "That's a lie, Zach, and we both know it,"

"Don't answer her, she's egging you on," Walker instructed.

"She's dead, Zach," Beckett pressed on, once again acting as if the blonde didn't exist, "She's dead. And she's not coming back."

Zach said nothing.

"We found her in the girls' restroom on the south side of the school. Bloody and bruised. Someone really did a number on her," Beckett tapped the photo with her pen, "Someone told us she was into drugs but…I don't know…" she made a face, "Just doesn't feel right to me. What do you think?"

"Zachary, don't answer her," Walker intervened again, "Detective, please get to your point."

"I mean, she didn't seem like the type," Beckett continued, "Straight A's, 4.0 GPA, honors classes," she read off of a sheet in a manila folder, "Somebody would have been trying pretty hard to get this girl off track," she leaned back in her chair, "What a douche."

"It was an accident!" Zach cried out, voice raw with tears, "It was a fucking accident, okay? I just…" tears shone in his dark eyes, and he spoke softer, "I just wanted her to like me. I knew I didn't stand a chance with someone like her, so I offered her a smoke. It was just weed, but I knew she'd say no."

"That's enough, Zachary," Walker warned.

"So, when she did, I called her a chicken," tears tumbled down Zach's cheeks, "I knew a control freak like her wouldn't be able to handle it. She took it as a challenge. We spent the majority of that first night getting high."

"When did it turn to the harder stuff?" Beckett asked.

"I don't know, I don't really remember, it was kind of a progression, you know? I had gotten her hooked. But it was an accident. I swear it was an accident."

"That's enough, Zachary," Walker repeated, stressing each syllable, sounding sharp.

"Is that how you got in with the gang? Just trying to score for your girl?"

Zach nodded, lip quivering.

"What happened, Zach?" Beckett asked softly.

"I didn't mean to," Zach whispered, "I swear to God, I didn't mean to."

"What didn't you mean to do?"

"Don't answer that."

"What didn't you mean to do? What happened?"

"Don't. Answer. That."

"I killed her," Zach whispered again, "I was bringing her some stuff she wanted, we broke into the school at night all the time, and she told me she couldn't do it anymore. Said she wanted to get back on track. I told her that I would support her. We'd get off together. But she said I was in too deep. Started rambling on about murders, and how they were going to be able to tie them to me. Said that meant we had to break it off."

He gave a cold chuckle, "Can you believe that? After everything I'd done for that bitch. She was going to break up with me," his eyes looked wild and his breathing grew ragged, "And and and then, she just starts telling me about how I should go to the cops, try to strike a deal. Told me, if she didn't, I would. She tried to leave," tears strangled his voice once more, "And I grabbed her. I just, I grabbed her, and I shook her. I was so mad."

"Zachary, stop."

He took a deep breath, "She pushed me, and I hit her, and she hit her head on the wall," he put his head in his hands, "There was so much blood," he sobbed out, "So I ditched her in the bathroom, and I ran for it," he lifted his head, "I loved her, Detective."

"Then tell me what she was coming to tell me," Beckett urged.

"I can't."

"Zach, Rebecca died trying to get a message to me," Beckett locked eyes with the teen, "Don't let it have been in vain."

"Don't answer that," Walker snapped again.

"You know," Beckett began as if it were just occurring to her, "If you talk to me about this, we may be able to cut a deal."

Zach hesitated, and then said, "It's about a dude called Hero. I don't know his real name, but I started running for him a couple months ago to get a discount on what I bought. He's the one you're looking for. He's been talking a lot lately about getting rid of the traitors. He's the one that's been ordering the hits. I was just someone who went to warn them. You know, cut it out, or else."

"What did he mean by traitors?" Beckett asked.

"People who had pissed him off in some way. Gone to another dealer, gotten clean, talked to the cops, whatever. Didn't really matter. They were all traitors."

Beckett wrote something down, and then stood up, heading towards the door.

"Wait, what about my deal?" Zach called.

Beckett turned back to face him, "I said may cut a deal. Turns out, I don't really feel like it. As far as I'm concerned, you deserve all the prison time that's coming to you," She opened the door again, then turned back once more, "Oh, I should inform you that we'll be adding 2nd degree murder to your list of charges, along with 3 counts of conspiracy to commit for your 'warnings'," and with that, she left.

"Victor Callahan," Ryan read off of his computer screen, "AKA, 'Hero'. Been busted for felony assault, carrying without a permit, possession,"

"Obviously," Esposito threw in,

"Selling, and rape," Ryan finished.

"Dude don't look like any gang member I've ever seen," Esposito said, analyzing Callahan's picture over Ryan's shoulder.

"Mmm," Ryan nodded in agreement, brows furrowing, "Guy looks like an accountant."

Beckett finished writing on the Murder Board and circled around behind them, "Oh…wow."

"Right?"

"We know where he is?"

"Last seen around a little no-tell motel just outside the city," Esposito supplied, reading out of a file.

Beckett nodded once, "Call up Narco and tell them we've got a break. Let's see if we can't get a warrant for him and his room."

"You got it," Ryan said, setting to work.

Esposito rolled back to his desk, picked up a phone and punched in a number, "Yo, Jimmy? It's Espo," he locked eyes with Beckett across the bullpen, "We got him."

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