Chapter 4

Tuesday, April 30

Gates' Office

3:35 pm

Captain Victoria Gates awoke with a start. Hot pain stabbed at her side and a thudding ache throbbed in her head. She felt disoriented and scared, unsure of exactly what had happened.

Something covered her face, paper and what she decided was probably some kind of insulation or sound proofing. It was light enough that she was able to clear it away, without much difficulty. Sunlight and blue sky peeked down at her from between some larger pieces of wreckage, but she could also see that the open air, which was marred by the shadow of smoke and dust, was still many feet above her.

For several dazed moments she just laid there, trying to free her hazy mind. Her memories seemed foggy, and as out of reach as the sky above her, but she wouldn't let the confusion control her. She knew she had to pull herself together, people needed her. But who?

Carefully, she continued to clear the wreckage off of herself as much as she could. Pieces of plaster, concrete, metal and wood lay strewn about in all sized lumps and jagged pieces. A heavy file cabinet pressed deep into her side, where she felt the sharpest pain. Using all her strength, she pushed the beastly piece of office furniture a few inches, finally freeing herself.

Slowly, she rolled to her knees and pushed herself up to standing. Her head swam and her body swayed. Her chest burned with even fiercer intensity, so she hugged her arms to her frame, trying to ease the fire inside. Her hand rested on her hip, but cupped a small object pinned there. When her vision cleared, she looked down and saw the leather and brass police badge. Her police badge. It all started to come back to her in a rush. She's the captain of the 12th. She was in her office.. then everything began to shake and the floor fell out from below her feet.

Frantically she looked around, trying to figure out exactly where she was in the mess. Where were her people? Were they still trapped?

As she picked her way upward toward the open air, she called out names of people she knew had been close by before the collapse; detectives, clerks, even a suspect that Det. Karpowski had been questioning. No answer.

The closer she got to escape, the louder the outside noises became. Sirens, street noise, shouts, cries and walkie-talkies. When she reached the top of the pile she'd been under, she could see part of a wall still standing to her right. There were some broken windows left but otherwise not much else. A little farther up though, almost an entire story above her head, a picture hung between two empty window frames. She knew instinctively, that it was a picture of her family. That was where her office had once been located. Slowly she turned full circle looking for the rest of the floor, the bull pen, the interrogation room, the lounge, anything that looked familiar, but it was all gone.

"Ma'am!" a firefighter yelled. He approached her with great caution. "Stay right there. I'm coming to get you."

Soon another rescue worker in a neon vest and hard hat, joined him and reached out to take her arms.

"Ma'am are you injured?" the new man asked.

"I'm Victoria Gates, Captain here at the 12th. I have to find my people."

The firefighter took her hand when she started to sway. "Captain, you're injured. You need to be checked out. I promise that my boys and I will do everything we can to get your people out. But the best way to help them now, is to be one less person in the pile. Can you walk or do you want me to call for a stretcher?"

Victoria wanted to argue. She wanted to demand that she was fit to help. But between the pain in her side and the overwhelming destruction all around her, she knew that she was only a hindrance to any further search and rescue. "I uh, think I can walk."

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Tuesday, April 30

The 12th's Former Bullpen

4:10 pm

Kevin Ryan couldn't feel, couldn't move, couldn't think. He wasn't even sure if he was alive. Numbness of an intensity he'd never known before, weighed him down like a heavy blanket.

Every once in awhile he thought he heard something or someone calling to him, but when he tried to answer, nothing came out. Two or three times, he was even sure he heard music. Maybe heaven had XM radio.

Darkness surrounded him at all times so even when he thought his eyes were open, he wasn't sure. So he just closed them again and waited for sleep or death or eternity or whatever would come next. At least it wasn't painful or frightening.

"Ryan!"

The voice was closer this time, completely startling him out of his daze.

"Espo." It wasn't much more than a whispered slur, but at least it sounded louder in his own ears.

"Kev! Hang in there bro. I'm coming for you. Call me again. I can't see much so I need to hear you."

Ryan tried to take a deep breath to call out to his partner but began coughing instead. Searing, white hot pain ripped through his body, causing him to cry out before blacking out once again.

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Tuesday, April 30

The Crowded Street Outside Remy's

4:20 pm

Jenny didn't care if she was being rude, she pushed some people out of her way, and squeezed herself between others. She knew beyond a doubt that her husband was trapped in the building and she hadto get to him. Her emotions danced between terror and determination, hope and despair, but no matter what her heart felt, she moved on.

She was getting closer to the front, with every passing minute. It was slow going, but progressive, so she didn't veer from her course. Eventually, she reached the lines of police tape and wooden barricades. She looked from left to right, searching for a way around, a way to sneak closer to the fallen building where half of her heart was waiting for her.

Police officers paced the front, talking with people, advising them to stay back. She'd never be able to talk her way past any of them.

Next she took inventory of the buildings lining the street. Maybe there would be an alternative route through one of them. To her left was a bank. Security would be high there. But to her right was Remy's Diner. She and Kevin had shared a meal there on more than one occasion, and she knew the layout fairly well. Right away she thought about the hallway where the restrooms were, there was a door that led to the alley that was occasionally left open. Perhaps if she headed that way, she could get on the site through the back alleys.

Again she began to move, this time toward her new goal. Again it was slow and frustrating, but at least this time she had a plan. Less than twenty yards out, Jenny scooted past a family, who were wedged against the barricade line. They looked familiar and she couldn't help but stare.

"Excuse me, my name is Jenny Ryan, and you seem familiar, do I know you?"

The older woman turned with curiosity. "You're Detective Ryan's wife right? I'm Martha Rogers, this is my granddaughter Alexis Castle, and my friend Jim Beckett."

"Castle and Beckett's family... Have you heard from them? Do you know if they're OK? Have you seen Kevin or Javi?"

"Not yet. But Dr. Parish is working triage and is keeping us updated. We hope they might be getting close though, because they just brought out Captain Gates and two others from Homicide. Lanie said that Gates told her that she believed that Kevin and Javier were in the bull pen and that Kate and Richard were headed toward the elevator when the explosion happened. So we are trusting that they must be near where the crews are clearing," Martha explained.

Relief, to a small degree, washed over Jenny. Knowing that Gates was near the others, and was out and talking, was a good sign. It was enough to let her breathe.

"Do they know what caused it? Was it some kind of freak accident or was the 12th targeted?"

Jim shook his head. "Haven't heard. And unless someone was to take blame, or if perhaps a utility company could detect some type of malfunction, they might not know for days. Something like this will lead to a long and in-depth investigation."

Jenny looked over at the diner and considered her options. She could try moving on and sneaking in further, or she could stay here, with friends, who happened to have an inside source, and wait with everyone else.

Alexis smiled softly at her, in a shy, yet comforting way.

"Do you guys mind if I wait here with you?"

"By all means, Darling." Martha cooed as she wrapped an arm around her frame. "No one should have to go through something like this alone."

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A/N: Well with four out of eight chapters done, we're half way there. And the tension is still building!

So many have of you been kind enough to Review , Tweet, PM, etc.. but if you're enjoying this fic, I ask you to share this with your friends. If they'd like to read it all in one go, we should be complete by Castle Monday, so they ( and you) don't have long to wait!

Thank you all for taking the time to read, and for your continuing support.

I'll see you again tomorrow!

DeBo81