A/N : I hope you are all still enjoying this story. We're at the business end now and if this was a show I think I'm about to blow the budget. Ah, the freedom of not actually writing for the show.
Disclaimer : Andrew W Marlowe, ABC and those other hardworking writers own Castle. In some alternate universe I hope I'm one of them.
Night has fallen as Castle, dressed in his WRITER vest, peers around the corner of the brick building. His back is pressed against the rough surface of the wall as he tries remain invisible to any watchers. From this position he can make out the dimly lit front of the warehouse that he had seen on the video on Sam Carmody's computer. It had taken them all day but between the four of them, and the FBI, they had been able to piece enough information together to find this place. Once located Beckett had gone to Captain Gates who had coordinated with ESU and the FBI for teams to make a raid on the warehouse.
"Castle!" whispers Beckett from behind him.
Ducking back out of sight he looks at Beckett who is signalling for him to join her and the group that are all clustered around the hood of her car. He joins the group that, along with Beckett, includes, Ryan, Esposito, Agent Trent, Captain Peterson from ESU and Agent Breckenridge of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team. All are in their body armour for the raid. From the light of a torch held by Ryan they are all looking at a diagram that includes floor plans of the target warehouse and the surrounding buildings
"So this is the place," starts Beckett indicting at the diagram. "From these plans there are three obvious points of entry. The main doors here at the front, a door on the north side and a door at the back to the west. Agent Breckenridge, have you been able to use your thermal imaging equipment to see inside?"
"Yes, we can make out a large concentration of people at the back north west corner of the building. There are also individual images of sentries on the roof of the building at the front and back. We can use the cover of the surrounding buildings to get close and to cover the exits but as soon as we break cover for the assault those sentries will see. In my opinion our best option is to go in hard and fast, not giving them time to react," suggests Breckenridge looking around the group.
Captain Peterson nods in agreement, "I agree. We can use our armoured Bearcat SUV to breach the main doors while the combined ESU and HRT teams go in through the other entry points. Plus our and the FBI snipers will take overwatch positions on these buildings here and here and take out the sentries if they make any hostile moves," he says pointing at adjacent buildings on the diagram. "Detective Beckett, you and your team can follow the SUV through the main doors."
"What if they have some girls that they've kidnapped in there?" asks Castle.
"If they have anyone they're likely to be in the large group in the north-west corner. The breach of the front doors will draw attention there and the teams that go in through the other two entry points are ideally placed to pincer that group while any guards are focussed at the front," responds Agent Trent.
"OK, it will take about fifteen minutes for everyone to get in position. After that we'll go on Captain Peterson's order for his SUV to breach the front," finishes Beckett with a nod to them all as the group breaks up.
Castle stays with Beckett staring at the diagram laid out on the hood of her car. In the dim light Beckett can just make out the determined and yet sorrowful look on his face.
"I suppose there's no use in me asking you to stay here when we go in?" she asks quietly.
He looks up at her and cocks an eyebrow at her, "After all these years? Anyway, I have to do this."
"And what about what you said to Alexis about not deliberately putting yourself at risk?" she tries one last card to keep him safe.
"Kate, it's because of Alexis that I have to come with you. I have to see this through. Otherwise I wouldn't feel like I'd done all I could to protect her and all I could for Sam and Julie," he pauses and then gives his own look to Beckett. "Plus, I worry about you too. I couldn't stand it with you going in there and not being with you."
"I know, but promise me you'll stay down and behind the rest of us?" she asks this time with resignation and a little desperation.
He looks into her pleading eyes and replies solemnly yet with a quirk of his mouth giving a hint of a smile, "I promise."
At that moment Esposito and Ryan re-join them, each in their vests and with assault rifles slung across their chests.
"Ready to go?" asks Esposito.
"Yeah," responds Beckett as she gathers up the diagram from the hood of the car. She moves to the driver's door, Esposito goes to the front passenger door and Castle and Ryan move to the rear doors. As Esposito reaches his door he looks at Beckett over the roof of the car and glances at Castle and then back at her with a questioning look. She shakes her head at the unasked question and then gives her own look, indicating with her head, from Esposito to Castle. He nods in reply as the unspoken pact is made, he'll look after Castle. Once they are all seated in the car she starts the engine and moves it into position behind the two ESU vehicles readying for the assault.
Beckett looks at her father's watch on her arm resting on the steering wheel in front of her as the minutes tick by. She feels the movement of the car behind her as Ryan jiggles a leg with nervous energy. She listens to the steady, measured breathing of Esposito beside her as he does his own, almost meditation, before going into action. She looks into the rear vision mirror and reaches to adjust it so that she can look at Castle. Seeing the movement he stops his contemplation out the window to return her look in the mirror. They lock gazes until they are interrupted by the crackle of Beckett's radio.
"All units ready?" asks the voice of Captain Peterson.
Beckett waits her turn as the other teams give their affirmatives before responding, "Beckett, ready to go!"
"OK, all units. Execute! Execute! Execute!" commands Peterson.
With that the ESU vehicles in front of them, armoured SUV leading, accelerate with dust flying from their tyres. Beckett slams her car into gear and follows the ESU vehicles as they tear around the corner leading to the warehouse. Foot to the floor they take no time at all to reach the front of the building. The armoured SUV, with its large, solid bull bar specifically designed for this purpose, crashes through the roller doors at the front of the building with the screech of protesting metal and sparks flying. The ESU van in front of Beckett's car follows the SUV inside and swerves to the left and stops. The rear door opens and the black, armoured, heavily armed ESU team members start jumping out. Beckett steers her car to the right of the SUV, which is stopped in the centre of the warehouse, and stops with a jerk and squeal of breaks.
As they all open their doors and lunge out of the car yelling, "POLICE!" there are the first indications that their dramatic entrance has been noticed. Gunfire starts erupting from various points within towards the invading vehicles and their occupants. Beckett takes cover behind her open door with her Glock up and looks for targets. She spies several muzzle flashes with vague, human shapes behind them from some crates at the rear of the building and from a balcony at the top of some stairs leading to a second level. The ESU officers start returning fire as does she, aiming at the flashes. There is the chatter of Esposito's rifle from the other side of the car and she spots one of the vague human shapes on the balcony above drop. The number of flashes and shapes start reducing as the ESU team slowly advances.
Seeing her window Beckett advances herself, moving in a crouching run towards the cover of some crates ahead of her. Moments behind her Ryan crashes into the crate beside her. She takes a second to look for the rest of her team and spots Esposito and Castle making their own crouching run to a crate next to them. She and Ryan both pop up and fire to supply cover for their partners. A feeling of relief briefly makes it through the adrenalin pounding in her system as she sees Castle and Esposito make it safely to cover. Beckett then takes three quick shots at the remaining flash and shape on the balcony above, is rewarded with the sight of her target dropping limply and then ducks back.
She pauses and does a quick check of her team. Both Ryan and Esposito are returning fire over the top of their cover and Castle has his head down, next to Esposito and looking over at her. She gives him a nod, which he returns and then she turns her attention back to the business at hand. Beckett pops her head up again quickly to reassess the situation ahead of her. There is less fire coming at them now but from what she can see from her quick assessment, the positions that the remaining fire is coming from are in good cover. They will be too difficult to get at from the front.
That's when the next part of the plan takes effect as she hears shouts of "Federal Agents! Drop your weapons!" from points ahead and either side of where the gunfire is coming from. As the fire gradually stops she takes a beat before getting up from behind cover with her gun thrust out in front of her and moves forward. Ryan, his own weapon up, follows her and she sees out of the corner of her eye Esposito with Castle behind him doing the same. They pick their way through the crates as they start hearing calls of "Clear!" from ahead. Rounding the last line of crates they come across a scene of five men face down on the ground, automatic weapons next to them. Some HRT members are covering them while others are crouching over them, securing their hands behind their backs with zip ties.
Beyond this group Beckett sees a tarp hanging down, obscuring the rest of the area. She looks at her team and indicating with her head they all move towards the tarp. They find a gap in the middle and with their guns leading the way they push their way into the rest of the warehouse. Fortunately they are not greeted with more gunfire and instead find a small area with two shipping containers against the wall in front of them. Sounds of movement and what could be voices from inside the containers have them move over to them quickly. At that moment they are joined by Agent Trent and several members of his team. Beckett indicates with hand signals for Trent and his people to take the container to the right while she indicates to her team for them to move to the one on the left.
She looks at Ryan who takes the hint and moves to the slightly open door, slings his rifle and grips the door. Once she and Esposito are in position, weapons pointing at the door and Castle behind them, she gives a nod to Ryan. He pulls open the door she and Esposito start yelling, "POLICE! Don't move!" as they rush into the container. The light from the open door illuminates the interior and they are confronted with the sight of a large, tattooed man with a dark beard, in black clothes and close cropped hair standing behind a terrified and dishevelled young woman. The pistol he his holding pressing roughly to her throat. Behind them Beckett can make out a group of similarly dishevelled women huddled on their knees at the back of the container.
Looking from the terrified eyes of the young woman being held hostage to the wide desperate eyes of her captor Beckett yells, "Drop the weapon and let her go!"
"Drop it, scum bag!" adds Esposito.
"No! You drop your guns or I kill her," responds the man in a thick European accent.
"No, you drop yours. You're not going anywhere. There are a hundred cops outside. They're not going to just let you walk out of here. The only way you get out of this alive is if you drop your weapon and let her go," responds Beckett forcefully. She senses movement beside her and curses internally as she hears Castle's deep voice.
"Come on, let the girl go. It's over," Castle is speaking to him in an overly calm and reassuring voice, "Where's the profit in dying now. As she said, there are hundreds of cops out there. You won't be able to shield yourself from them all. One of them will get an opportunity to take a shot and if you kill her now my friends here will just kill you straight away."
They watch as a look of desperate frustration comes across the bearded kidnappers face. He suddenly jerks his gun from the woman's neck and points it at Castle. Everyone's guns jerk up a little more at that but are unable to fire without risking hitting the hostage. Beckett shifts her weight slightly, getting ready to shoulder Castle out of the firing line.
"So maybe I just shoot you," says the kidnapper with desperate menace.
"Do that and I guarantee that it will be the last thing you do," growls Beckett with absolute conviction.
The kidnapper looks into Beckett's eyes and sees the cold certainty of his fate written there. His eyes dart around the container, searching desperately for a way out. With a frustrated gasp he drops his gun and raises both of his hands above his head. With his grip on her released the girl crumples to the ground at his feet. Ryan and Esposito move past Beckett as she keeps her gun trained on the kidnapper. They pick up his weapon, frisk him and push him to his knees. They start reading him his rights as they handcuff him behind his back. Once he is secured Castle moves to the side of the girl collapsed in front of them. Taking a grip of her shoulders he slowly, gently pulls her up to face him.
"It's Ok. It's OK. You're safe now," he reassures her.
Beckett lowers her gun and moves to the back of the container where there are about ten other women now looking up at her hopefully.
"We're the police. You're all safe now," she adds crouching down onto her haunches to look them all in the eye.
A/N : I know that Castle shouldn't of been within a mile of this raid but I couldn't leave him waiting outside while it all went down.