Title: Ambushed Chapter 2
Author: TracyT
Rating: K
Category: Angst, Friendship maybe a little Romance
Summary: The team is ambushed
Spoilers: None
Archive: Yes, Please!
Feedback to:
Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. No profit will be made on this. It is a labor of love.
Author's Note: As for what Castle does here, I ask you, does he EVER stay in the d*mn car?
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Castle got to the car, praying Beckett had left the keys in the ignition. He pulled the door open and thank God, the keys were there. He got in, started the car, but instead of pulling out onto the road, he pulled it through the entrance to the construction yard where his friends were.
They'd come to interview the owner of a construction company who had filed a stolen property report just like their murder victim, Arthur Martinez. Several construction companies had been reporting thefts lately and after Martinez had reported his, he ended up dead in his office with a bullet in his head.
It was supposed to be a typical interview, they didn't expect much to come of it, but they had to follow any lead. Beckett hadn't even told Castle to stay in the car this time. He'd gotten a call from Paula, his agent, and told them he'd be right in. While he was talking, two things happened at once. A large van came hurtling through the gate and gun shots rang out.
Castle hung up on Paula without explanation, and grabbed the gun from the glove compartment. He was careful not to show himself too soon, and skirted the gate before entering the compound. By that time it had become eerily quiet. Later he would notice a large shed filled with the stolen items, but at the time he only saw Kate crumpled on the ground, with Ryan and Esposito lying a few feet away in the roadway. His heart leapt into his mouth. He immediately ran to Kate, who was trying to push herself up on her arms.
"No, lie still," he said, kneeling next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. He looked around and saw two men with automatic weapons lying near the entrance to the shed. He took his hand away for a moment and it came away red. Jesus, he thought to himself.
"We surprised them," Kate said with an effort. "They were loading the goods to take out of here and we surprised them."
"This is where they were storing the goods? I thought Dowling was a victim."
"That's what he wanted us to think. They didn't get it all and they think they got us." She gave him a grim smile. "I guess they're right. They'll be back, Castle, you need to go."
She was right, Castle thought to himself. He didn't have a lot of time before they came back for the rest of their stuff. He looked around him. Okay, what did he have? It was a construction yard. Not a yard where a building was going up, but the place of business and storage yard for the construction company. It was out in the middle of nowhere in Long Island. This was good, lots and lots of equipment he could play with.
First order of business, block the entrance. He looked around and saw a large road grater in the corner. He rubbed his hands together and said in his best Mr. Burns voice, "Excellent."
It took him a few minutes to twist the ignition wires to get the thing started, but eventually it rumbled to life and he figured out the gears. It finally lumbered across the entrance, completely blocking any way in or out. He killed the ignition and jumped down, running to Kate.
Step two, take care of his friends. He pulled the car up as close to Kate as he could. He got out and collapsed the front seat, making one big bed of the front and back seats. He turned the heat on in the car as far as it would go. He got out and went to Kate and gently rolled her over, hearing the caution in his head that he probably shouldn't be moving her, but knowing he had to if he was going to get her out of here.
His coat acted as a kind of sling, which made it easier to lift her. He welcomed the soft moan she made as he lifted her into his arms. "Kate," he said. "Hang in there. I'm going to get you out of here." No response.
He put her in the car as close to the heater as possible, settled his coat around her and said, "I'll be right back." He took a few steps away, and then stopped. He ran back to the car and cracked the front windows just slightly to get some ventilation.
Next, Ryan and Esposito. He got to Ryan first, and felt for a pulse in his neck. Thank God he felt it, faint but there. He looked around and saw an old blue tarp covering a dirt pile. He took it and lay it on the ground. He put his hands under Ryan's armpits, pulled him onto the tarp.
He went to Esposito and again felt for a pulse. As his hand was on his friend's neck, Esposito woke up long enough to grab Castle's wrist. "Hey, what are you doing?" Esposito said faintly.
Javi, you're hurt. I'm trying to help you," but Esposito was out again. Castle sighed. He pulled Esposito on to the tarp as well and started to try to pull it toward the waiting car. It didn't budge. Okay, Castle thought, if Mohamed won't get dragged to the mountain… He went back to the car, and had to gently arrange Kate so he could get into the driver's seat. He tried not to dwell on the thought that she hadn't moved at all since he left her and focused on the task at hand.
He pulled the car up as close as he could to the two men, noting that the heat had kicked in. He moved Esposito, the bigger and heavier of the two, off the tarp and pulled Ryan to the back seat door. He opened it and after much maneuvering, got him in to the car, just as he had with Kate. He got out and repeated the process with Esposito, but it was much more difficult and he was exhausted by the time he got him into the car.
"Dude, you might want to drop a few pounds, I'm just sayin'," He said, panting. He heard the sound of a car approaching and froze for a minute, but it passed on by.
He didn't really want to, but he ran over to the two men with the automatics and checked their pulses as well. They were both dead. He tried not to be thankful he didn't have to deal with them, too.
He relieved them of their weapons and stowed them in the car with his friends. He fished around in his coat pockets and found his gloves. "All right everyone. Hang tight and I'll be right back, okay? No messing with the switches or anything. " He ran into the shed and it took him a few minutes to find some bolt cutters.
Next on the list, the bulldozer. Not much on speed, but a great battering ram. The compound wall consisted of concrete block topped with razor wire.
He hot-wired the bulldozer and once again it was a learning process with the gears. He aimed it at the back wall. As he rammed it for about the third time he said, "I've heard when God closes one door, he opens a window." He rammed it again and a large section of wall collapsed outward just as he wanted.
As he jumped down and put his gloves on, and went out to remove the razor wire, he heard an engine at the entrance and the sound of several men yelling and cursing. The road grater was rammed a few times, but weighing several tons, it didn't budge.
He had to work fast. He quickly wiped his brow. It was snowing, he could see his breath, but he was sweating. He cut the razor wire with the bolt cutters and pulled it away with his gloved hands, just as something whizzed by his head. He looked up and a few of the men had climbed onto the road grater and had their guns aimed at him. "Uh oh, time to go," he said.
He used the bulldozer as a shield, working his way around it, then he made a run for the car, hearing bullets ping off the machinery. Something burned along his arm but he just kept running. He threw himself into the driver's seat and put the car in gear, roaring out of the new opening and out onto the road.
He could hear the sirens coming. All he had to do was get far enough to meet them on the road and they'd be home-free.
The men in the other car had circled around the compound and nearly caught him as he careened onto the blacktop. The back window shattered from gunfire, and Castle ducked down as low as he could and still see to drive.
A cloud of dust was approaching from the opposite direction, red and blue lights flashing within it. Almost there, he thought, when two of his tires were shot out. Instead of stopping he just accelerated, riding on the rims, praying it was enough.
Finally, he started to slow to meet the rescue crews, and looked into the rear view mirror to see the van fall back and turn to retreat. The police cars sped past him in pursuit.
He stopped the car and got out with his hands up. "Hey! I have wounded police officers here!" He shouted as the paramedics ran toward him. He breathed a sigh of relief.
It was over.
TBC