Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: *runs in* Hey, Everybody! I'm running in real quickly here to give you guys chapter 11 before I have to have a "fun-filled" day of homework/studying all day... oh joy. :P (Otherwise, you probably wouldn't have received an update today). I'm glad to see that you all are still enjoying the story and feel that everybody is still very in-character. This chapter starts again with Castle since you didn't see what happened to him from that evil cliffhanger at the end of chapter 9. ;) Chapter 11 is about 5 pages or so in MS Word, so it's a little shorter, but it's worth it (I hope). Please comment and tell me what you think... your reviews will give me something to look forward to whenever I manage to get a break from my homework/studying... oh the joys of being a college student. :P Anyway, here you go...

Previously in Habeas Corpses...

Agent Shaw may have told Beckett and everyone else to get some rest, but she was burning the midnight oil. The lack of evidence and leads were unnerving. She had to find some sort of connection. Jordan had gone over Charles Sullivan's case, Johanna Beckett's case, all the background they could dig up on William Johnson and Nick King… so far nothing was adding up. She let out a grunt of frustration, "What am I missing?"

She laid out Sullivan's case next to Johanna's. Thinking out loud, she muttered, "Why were you looking into her death, Sullivan?"

Looking up, struck with an epiphany, she booted up their smart board back to life to dig up all the information she could on Johanna Beckett's past, "Both lawyers, that's something, now let's see if you two were looking into the same cases."

After a few more keystrokes, Johanna Beckett's past cases and Charles Sullivan's past cases were cross-referenced and there was one relation – they were both looking into a mob group dealing in heroin trafficking, "Great, got a connection, now let's see if by some miracle, it links up with anything else."

The few seconds it was taking the computer to correlate every bit of information felt like a lifetime, "Come on."

'MATCH' lit up on the screen, "Got you, you son of a bitch."

Now in Habeas Corpses...

Chapter 11

Unknown Location

Castle woke up with a jerk and knocked his head into a wall in the process. He was no longer tied to a chair and his mouth was void of any duct tape. In fact, he wasn't in a basement anymore. He was in a regular room. He sat up as much as he could and felt the blood on his head. Lifting his hand up, he noticed that he was wearing some shackles that were bolted to the wall he just accidentally banged his head on.

"Trying to escape, Rick," Nick was back in the room, "Not a smart move. You should learn by now that I'm not a man you'd like to cross."

"Shackles? Medieval much?," Castle raised his hands up, referring to his restraints.

"How did you even think that Sullivan's case was connected to Johanna Beckett's?," King was curious.

"There were two letters on the slugs, J and B," Castle replied, "Your guy apparently decided to send a message. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots."

"I'll have to speak with Johnson about that," King said to himself.

"Why are you still keeping me here? I told you all I know," Castle demanded to know.

"That was before I knew that you were close to Johanna Beckett's daughter," Nick replied, "I've read all the papers, Mr. Castle, I know that you've been shadowing her. I just thought you'd be an annoyance. Never in a million years did I think that you actually assisted in these investigations."

"What? You didn't think that a layman could solve crimes?," Rick asked sarcastically.

Nick chose not to answer that question, but to answer his other question, "You asked why you're still being held, Rick, and it's because you're leverage."

"Leverage? For whom?," Castle asked, praying he wrong.

"For Detective Kate Beckett," King replied, "Who else? This way, I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone… actually, with one bullet."

"You leave her alone," Castle attempted to stand up, but the short length of the chains pulled him back down. Not to mention, he was also a little woozy from his head injury.

"Now, why would I want to do that?," Nick walked right up to Castle, but far enough away so Castle wouldn't be able to touch him if he tried, "I never leave loose ends. Anybody who goes poking around my business, digging up information they shouldn't even be looking at in the first place, need to be eliminated."

"So, that's why you ordered the hit," Castle was struck with an epiphany, "She was a lawyer, she was getting too close to exposing you."

"Smart man," King nodded, "And her daughter was getting dangerously close to uncovering my organization as well, until she gained some smarts and backed off of her mother's case… then last year, Coonan caught a case of stupid and murdered his brother in her district. Detective Beckett was put on the case and you two figured out he was the killer. I'm grateful he was smart enough to at least not give away my name before he died."

"You wanted to kill her then?," Castle had to know.

"Yes, but some other members of my little group convinced me that it wouldn't be too wise," King replied, "She was too connected to a famous mystery novelist and her death would cause too much publicity."

"So, now you kidnapped me," Castle didn't understand, "You don't think that my disappearance hasn't hit the news already? You've brought more attention to your organization now more than ever. What about trying to keep everything on the down-low?"

"I fired that particular member," King answered. The literal meaning to King's statement wasn't lost on Castle, "My organization will still be secret even with the death of you two… it was all the work of a disgruntled law partner of Charles Sullivan. And after realizing what he'd done, he killed himself."

"You're framing your own hired hand," Castle shook his head in disbelief.

"It needs to be done," King shrugged his shoulder, "Like I said, I don't leave any loose ends, in my business, you can't afford to. I'll be back in an hour or so, we're gonna make a little video to give your detective girlfriend a clue as to where we are so she can come and try to rescue you sooner."

"Leave her alone. She doesn't know about you or anything you've done. I'm the one that knows all of your dirty little secrets. You've told me," Castle started, "Just kill me and leave her alone."

"You must really love her," Nick shook his head, "Only a man that in love would risk his own life to try and save his woman."

"So, will you leave her alone?," Castle grew a little hopeful, gulping slightly, and raised up a little to stand on his knees.

King seemed to think about it and walked up to Castle, bent down, punched Castle square in the jaw causing him to bite his lip, making it bleed, to match his forehead, "Not on your life, sport… and that was to make sure you look pretty for the camera."

"You know you're not going to get away with any of this," Castle gritted his teeth. He knew that Kate was doing everything she could to find him, and in the process, she was walking right into a trap with him as the bait.

"I know you write for a living, Richard," Nick replied. He leaned in close to Castle, grabbing each side of Castle's head forcibly, a gun in his right hand, "But if you could avoid all the clichés, I'd appreciate it."

He let go of Castle's head with a little force, knocking Castle backward on his butt. Nick slammed the door shut, leaving Castle alone with his thoughts.

"Kate, wherever you are, I hope you're safe," Rick was fighting tears.

Castle's Loft

"Castle!," Beckett yelled for Castle down a long hallway, running, "Castle! Where are you?"

The hallway felt like it went on forever. Kate kept running, she finally reached the door and whipped it open. Once more, she ran through darkness, yelling for Castle, "Rick?"

"Kate!," Castle yelled. It echoed, sounding like his voice was coming from everywhere at once. Suddenly, the lights switched on. Beckett whipped around to see Castle. He looked like he was chained to a wall by shackles, "Kate!"

"I'm coming, Castle," Kate was breathless.

"Kate!," Castle's eyes widened, his arm stretched out, reaching for her, "NO!"

Beckett whipped around and found herself staring down a barrel of a gun. A shot rang out. Kate sat straight up in bed in a cold sweat. Her heart was pounding. She had another dream about Castle and this one felt more real than the one she had when she dozed off at the precinct.

"Kate! Are you all right?," Alexis came rushing into the room.

"What?," Beckett was still wiping away the last bits of sleep, "Yeah, I'm fine, Alexis. I was just having a nightmare."

"You were yelling Dad's name," Alexis still looked worried.

"I'm just worried about him," Beckett explained, "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"It's okay," Alexis assured her, "I just wanted to make sure you okay."

"I'm fine. How about you?," Kate rubbed Alexis' arm.

"I don't think I've gotten any sleep," Alexis replied, truthfully, "I'm too worried about my Dad. Why haven't you guys had any leads yet?"

Beckett sighed and looked at the clock. It was 4:30 in the morning. She turned back to Alexis, "We're doing everything we can, sweetie. Agent Shaw told everyone to get some rest, but I'm sure that she stayed on it all night. I'm sure she found something by now."

"Yeah?," Alexis needed some reassurance.

"Yeah," Kate nodded. A second later, Kate's phone buzzed. She put up a hand to excuse herself from Alexis and answered it, "Jordan? What is it? Did you find something?"

Every few seconds, Alexis watched as Kate nodded and answered questions. After a few minutes, she finally hung up and she could ask everything she wanted, "What did she have to say? Did she find my Dad? Are you going down to the precinct now? Can I come? Can Gram?"

"Okay, in order," Beckett put her fingers up, "She said she found a connection in our cases that might help us get a lead on Nick King and hopefully your father. Shaw didn't say anything about me coming down, but I am going to and I think you and your grandmother should stay here."

"Are you sure?," Alexis looked like she really wanted to go, "Because I wouldn't mind going down to the precinct this early."

"No way, Alexis," Beckett shook her head, "You're going to go to school today. Your dad would never forgive me if he found out that you skipped school two days in a row. I remember when he made you go back to school last year when we were investigating the murder of Hayley Blue."

Alexis let out a long sigh, "Fine. I hate being a kid. I can't wait until I grow up and I can make my own decisions without the approval of adults."

"Don't rush yourself, Alexis," Kate started scooting out of the bed, "Enjoy your youth while you can. Do me a favor and tell your grandmother where I went so she doesn't worry."

"I will and Kate?," Alexis asked from the doorway.

"Yeah?," Beckett looked up.

"Do you think he's really okay?," Alexis asked. Kate opened her mouth to respond, but Alexis felt the need to explain herself, "I mean, I know I keep asking that question and I know you keep telling me that he's okay, but I'm not naïve… I know how some of these sorts of cases turn out and I don't want anything sugar-coated for my benefit. Please, just tell me straight out if you think he's really all right."

"I think he will be all right," Beckett clarified, honestly, "I can't guarantee that he isn't hurt, but we'll find him in time."

"Thanks, Kate," Alexis appreciated it, "But, um, Detective? Before you head down to the precinct, don't you think you should change out of my Dad's clothes first?"

"I probably should, shouldn't I?," Beckett gave a sheepish smile at Alexis' nod.

TBC

See? I ended on a more humorous note... :P And King has explained some things, I hope it made sense. Things are finally moving forward with the case. What did you guys think of Kate's dream? That scene looked a little familiar, didn't it? Is that dream prophetic? You'll just have to keep reading to find out. ;) I hope this story is still keeping everyone on the edge of their seats. :P Oh, and just so you guys know, I've been trying to brainstorm for a new Castle story. I have an idea, but I'm not sure if I should write it or not - I might try to finish my new Smallville story first, or I'll work on them at the same time. It all depends on how much time I'll have time to write over my winter break. ;) In the meantime, please comment on this! I love reading all your reviews. Thanks to you guys, you've made this story the most reviewed story of ALL my stories. :D

Thanks to those of you who are just reading. I appreciate you too! :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D