Chapter 4

Time and proximity to the Hudson River had taken its toll. The once grand museum was a mass of peeling paint and boarded up windows. As Esposito observed with a sniper scope, there were no obvious signs of occupation, but he knew Tyson would not be obvious. He signaled that he was moving in closer. Beckett and Ryan followed, guns drawn, with Castle a few feet behind. Beckett pointed at the dirt that had accumulated in front of the door, where the faint outline of a footprint could be seen.

Beckett peered between the boards of a window. The inside of the museum was pitch black except for the faintest light coming from an upper floor. She pointed an index finger upwards. Quietly, Kate used lock picks on the door. Using her flashlight, Beckett led the way to the upper level. Faint early morning sun filtered through a dust covered skylight. The group moved carefully through nineteenth century tableaus. A separate room was dedicated to an old style police station, complete with figures in uniform. Beckett caught a flash of movement just before a figure fired and ran to the next gallery.

Burning metal grazed Castle's head as Beckett and Esposito pursued the fleeing figure while Ryan called for back-up. The light was too dim and there were too many places to hide. Tyson was not in sight. Expecting him to be right behind her, Beckett turned to look for Castle, eyes wide with panic when he wasn't there. Sirens screaming, blue and whites arrived to circle the building as Beckett retraced her steps. The first thing she saw was the blood seeping from Castle's blood soaked hair and spreading in an ominous stain across the floor. She ran to him, desperately feeling for a pulse. Breath whooshing out in a sigh as she felt the beat under her fingers, she grabbed for he phone to call the EMTs.

The ambulance ride to the hospital seemed endless. Beckett's pants were streaked with red where she had cradled Castle's head while awaiting help, but she didn't feel the dampness against her legs. Squeezing a hand that didn't squeeze back, she saw only the face almost as pale as the bandage above it.

Lanie arrived to sit with Kate as she awaited the results of an MRI. "You know, girlfriend," Lanie said, "you two are going to have to stop getting yourselves put in the hospital. Perlmutter is filling in and he's even grumpier than usual."

Kate smiled. "It doesn't seem possible. I'm sure he'll blame everything on Castle. He always does." Kate's smile faded as her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "Lanie, it took so much for us to be together, I can't lose him now."

"Oh honey," Lanie comforted. "I know."

A man in scrubs approached. "Detective Beckett?" he asked.

Kate sprang to her feet. "Yes."

"The MRI is clean There's no bleed. Mr. Castle is in and out of consciousness, but he knows who he is and where he is. It's a good sign. You can sit with him if you like."

"Go," Lanie told her. "I need to get back to the lab before Perlmutter explodes, but you call me if you need anything."

Kate followed the doctor down the hall, pulled a chair up next to Castle's bed, and took his hand. She rejoiced as sapphire blue was slowly revealed with lift of long lashes. "Kate, hi. What happened?"

"Tyson's bullet grazed that hard head of yours. You've got twelve stitches."

"Oh, God Kate, did they have to shave my hair?" Castle reached up and gingerly felt around the wound. "They did! Tell me you don't find me less attractive."

Kate stroked the ample strands that still remained and lightly kissed his lips. "Don't worry. battle wounds just make you sexier."

Castle gazed around the room. "You didn't call Alexis and my mother, did you?"

"No." Kate reassured him. "I knew you wouldn't want to worry them just because you got a scratch on your head."

"Good," Castle said. "They didn't need to see this. Wait, a scratch on my head? What happened to a sexy battle wound?"

Kate started to laugh as Ryan and Esposito knocked on the doorframe. "How are you doing, Castle?" Ryan asked.

"You tell me," Castle told them. "Did you get Tyson?"

Esposito shook his head. "Bro, we had uniforms search that whole building. He wasn't there."

"How could he get out?" Kate asked. "The place was surrounded by cops."

"I don't know what to tell you," Esposito said, "We couldn't find him. We have a detail watching the place in case he comes back."

"They'll never see him," Castle said grimly.

Castle had been released from the hospital with the agreement that he would be under the watchful eyes of Kate Beckett and the hotel physician. Kate had tucked him in bed with a remote control that gave him access to the world of entertainments the hotel had to offer. A wide screen movie played on the oversized flat screen television. She spoke softly into a room phone from the sitting area. "What are you doing?" Castle asked. "Just working on a surprise for you for later, Kate told him with a teasing smile."

"Hear anything from Ryan and Esposito?" Castle asked.

"Still no sign of Tyson," Beckett reported. "They found where he bought that mannequin of me, but it led nowhere. He paid in cash."

"So we're back at square one. It doesn't make sense, Kate. How did he get out of that building?"

"I don't know, Castle, but we'll figure it out. How's your head?"

"It hurts," Castle complained.

"Do you want a pill?" Beckett asked?

"No Castle said, "the last thing I want right now is to be loopy, but you could come up here and kiss it better."

Kate gave Castle a saucy look and climbed on the bed. Carefully, she touched her lips gently near the bandage, leaving a trail of featherlight kisses. Castle relaxed against soft pillows. He started to close his eyes, but caught sight of something on the screen. "Kate, stop!"

Kate pulled away. "Did I hurt you?" she asked, fingertips lightly stroking his face.

"No!," Castle answered excitedly, "look at the movie. Those pirates, they're using a sea entrance to bring treasure into their lair. The museum is right on the Hudson River. We need to find out if there's some kind of access by boat, maybe something that was used by bootleggers."

Kate was already reaching for her phone to call Ryan.

"Ryan's going to get back to us as soon as he can get the records from the archives," Kate reported.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Castle asked.

Kate snuggled into his side. "I'm sure we'll think of something."