A/N: Back to school has been accomplished – hallelujah - updates should go more smoothly and be much more often now that the kids are back to regularly scheduled programming! Speaking of which – hurry the f*#k up September 24th!
Chapter Sixteen: Even if the world is burning darling, I won't let you go.
When her partners arrive at work they share a knowing glance with one another before they approach Kate Beckett, who's sitting at her desk.
It's barely seven o'clock, they themselves are both crazy early for work – and yet neither one of them is even the slightest bit surprised that Kate is already here before them. In fact they knew she would be – it's why Espo grabbed her coffee and Ryan took care of the bear-claw.
In some things they've learned to long accept her absolute predictability. And her most endearing predictable behavior is her blind, steadfast devotion to her missing lover, her missing half. Her absolute unwavering determination to keep on 'keeping on' until that day she brings him home.
Smiling briefly at each other the two guys each place their gift on the worn wooden surface of the desk in front of her. Then they pointedly wait for her, until she stops staring intently at the manuscript cradled in her hands and looks up to acknowledge both that they've come in early – and what they've brought her.
In true Beckett fashion it doesn't take long for the distinctive smell of quality coffee to have its desired effect.
Kate's head suddenly snaps up, green eyes searching for and almost instantly landing on the coffee cup, and then as she sees they've brought her breakfast, she takes a moment to just smile before she looks up at them waiting so patiently for her.
"Thanks guys." She murmurs, depositing the novel onto the desk and reaching out two handed to snag the take-out coffee cup eagerly.
Ryan grins and tells her she's welcome before he heads off for his desk, but Espo studies her shrewdly a moment longer – before he decides to sit down in the seat next to her.
"You look really tired Beckett." He says gently, before he risks asking - "How are you holding up?"
He's kind of expecting to see her tense up, or flash a look that's tinged a little helpless, but although she does indeed look wiped – which in his mind is beyond tired – instead there is a soft light in her eyes, quiet and calming; it pulls at him.
"You had a better night." He states – before she can answer his original question.
Kate nods.
"Yeah, actually I did - good dream." She confesses.
Ah. That explains it – Castle.
"But you couldn't get back to sleep again afterwards." He says. It's not really a question, not the way he's stating it - but she shakes her head at him anyways.
"No. Not at all - way too much on my mind – and too many questions preying on me demanding answers I haven't found."
Javi nods solemnly before he pushes the bagged bear-claw across the desk at her.
"Feed your brain then Beckett – breakfast of champions and tired cops right here."
She grins at that – knowing Espo's own fondness for the sugary, starchy, seriously unhealthy deep-fried things.
"You ate one yourself this morning already – didn't you?"
"Duh."
She takes an exaggerated large bite just to make the point that she's eating it, follows it with another large swallow of latte and waits for Espo to return to his desk – but he stays.
"How are we planning on attacking this thing today?" He asks.
And that's a good point – she thinks – isn't it. Captain Gates might have given them all the entire day yesterday to devote to figuring out the riddle of the novel – but they can't – shouldn't – count on her being so magnanimous about it today. It isn't their case and a body could potentially be dropped on them at any minute. She shrugs.
"I'm not sure – honestly I just want to keep reading, keep on moving through the plot and see where we get to – but this is kinda of not a work thing – as much as I personally think it should be. Gates was actually pretty great about it all yesterday – I'm not sure how far any of us are willing to push our luck?"
Espo looks quickly around the mostly deserted bullpen before leans in.
"Ryan and I already talked about it; we figured one of us could work whatever comes in while the other one carries on with the book. Ryan is the obvious choice to keep reading – being that he's the king of all media and a little 'Castillion' to boot. If he hangs out here it all looks pretty normal – you and I can technically head out together if something comes in, and that will totally throw Gates off the case."
She thinks about it – but Kate ends up shaking her head.
"I don't want trouble for Ryan – and maybe we should just talk to Gates – see what she's willing to let us do?"
Esposito shoots her glance 'who are you and what have you done with Kate Beckett'.
"Stop looking at me like that. I'm trying to do everything the right way on this – no rushing, no judgment, just working slowly through it all and letting it come to me, and doing it right has to include the Captain to because I don't want to take chances – I can't screw this up."
Javi shakes his head at her.
"You know she ain't gonna give us anymore time – she's going to make us go back to actual homicide cases – hell Beckett you should know this. Yesterday was a moment of compassion, she's going to want us to go right back to working this on our own time like we've been doing for months – and I can't shake this feeling that time is of the essence with this thing right now. Any delay – I just have a bad vibe about it."
And this is of course very much Kate's fear as well – she sighs.
"So you're feeling that too?" She asks.
Espo nods.
"It's like ice down my spine Kate. Like a sick dread weighing on me. I can't explain it – but if we're going to bring Castle home safely – the time is just right now, and there is none of it to waste."
Beckett bites her lip.
"You're right – but I can't help but feel we have to have Gates with us on this. It's the right thing to do."
Javi blows out a frustrated breath.
"We're gonna get a case – it's only a matter of time. A live Castle should take precedence over a dead anybody else."
Kate nods.
"And that's exactly what we tell her."
Espo snorts.
"Puh-lease . . . like she's gonna listen."
The two partner's stare at each other unblinking, until Ryan interrupts them.
"We might not have to go that route." He offers, and there is something about his face, about the poorly concealed smugness of his grin in an expression that's trying way to hard for 'innocence' that calls to Kate.
Her eyebrow arches and she spins in her chair until she can face him.
The young detective has his copy of 'Heat Lost' held tightly in the fingers of his right hand; the fingers of his left are . . . twitching
It's an obvious 'tell'.
"Oh my God." She says, "You've found something else – haven't you."
Busted - Ryan drops the pretense.
"Yeah." He says, and he's full on smiling now.
"Yeah I think I have – and while really what I've found is not actually a smiling matter – I think it's a pretty major clue and I've a hunch it solves our problem of wanting to work on this with Gates. In fact I'm thinking it's potentially so huge we might just be able to haul this entire case back into our purview."
Kate jumps to her feet.
"How?" She demands. "I'm telling you Castle isn't dead – this isn't a homicide."
Ryan grabs her arm, shakes his head.
"Hey – stay calm – that isn't what I'm saying. But I think his disappearance might be connected to a murder – and that would give us the leverage to work it – now wouldn't it!"
Kate nods around a silent 'oh' and Espo just frowns.
"Who's our homicide?" He asks.
"And how does it connect to Castle?" Asks Kate.
Kevin Ryan smiles, but then changes his expression to a slight grimace when he realizes how the smile is gonna look when he tells them.
"The stiff is – or was one of our own." He says. "And when I tell you who you'll immediately see the connection to Castle - our murder victim is . . . Detective Ethan Slaughter."
Both of Ryan's partners frown now.
"Slaughter?" Beckett's face is somewhat stunned – it's a name none of them has heard or thought of in half a year.
Esposito shakes his head as if Ryan has lost it.
"That SOB died in a gang shootout six months ago Ryan – caught in the crossfire. An accident, a total case of wrong place, wrong time – which for Slaughter was usually how things worked out for whichever unfortunate cop got stuck with him. His death was just karma man – pure karma."
Kevin shakes his head.
"Not according to page one forty seven it isn't."
Kate spins, grabbing for own copy.
"You're telling me Slaughter's death is in the book?" She asks, as she flips through the pages looking for the right one.
"Well he's changed the name, but the next body in the book is 'Nathan Butcher' a really nasty gang-cop whose physical description nails Slaughter to a tee. Even the name guys – I mean come on – Nathan/Ethan it's practically the same name – 'butcher' is just another word for 'slaughter'."
"Okkayyy." Espo clearly isn't buying it.
But Kate finds the passage in the book finally and once she's read it she looks up, her eyes shining with excitement.
"I get it." She says nodding at Ryan.
"I don't." Javi grumbles, "So share Beckett."
"The circumstances of the 'Butcher' character's death are exactly the same as those of Detective Slaughter – I mean it's exactly what happened to him Esposito – exactly. And it's a random occurrence at this point in the book, seemingly unrelated to the four homicides Nikki and Rook are working."
"So?" Javi asks.
Ryan and Beckett shared a frustrated look.
"When Slaughter was killed I'd been off the force for months Javi, I didn't even hear about it until after I came back."
Esposito still looks blank. "I'll say it again – so?"
Kate smiles.
"So you tell me Javier Esposito – how in the world does Castle know?"