A/N - So Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that you all had an extraordinarily wonderful holiday and that you are healthy and happy. I know you'll be happier in three more days (US) some earlier. Looks to be a terrific story as always.

Back to here and now. Thanks for all the loveball reviews and comments. Over 100 follows, 74 reviews and 36 favs. Can I just say, "Shut the front door!" You guys! You're awesome!

Welcome to the story's new followers. It's so cool that it was either recommended to you or you searched. Way to dig! (If anyone wants to recommend it to the Creaseys or Marlowes, feel free.) Heh!

hfce - you can stop shaking your head. This one's for you. ;-)

The Castle Wall

Chapter 16

Turner and Hooch

Every time the van took a corner, Castle was flung to one side of the van or the other, with no more control than a rag doll. He tried to keep his eyes on the front window, tried to see where Buchanan was taking him. With his wrists bound behind him, he had a hard time keeping his balance. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe and the ache in his side had bloomed into a full-blown inferno. Every breath was torturous. It would have been so much easier to just lie down and go to sleep. He really wanted to close his eyes. Buchanan glanced in the rearview mirror every couple of minutes. Castle defiantly met his gaze, which caused Buchanan to laugh. They turned onto a stretch of highway, a relatively smooth, straight leg of the journey. Castle saw an opportunity. He took in as deep a breath as he could through his nose and disregarded the stabbing pain where his ribs had been. He slowly got to his feet and inched his way forward.

Buchanan's mind was going over what needed to happen. Drive to his grandparents' farm. Check on the contractors completing the renovations. His grandmother had died this past summer and left the land and farmhouse to Joe. Let's see, oh, get groceries, yeah; he'll need to feed his guests. He looked in the rearview. That arrogant son of a bitch was still trying to win. He smiled and jerked the wheel to the right.

Castle crept towards the driver's seat. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if, 'when,' he thought, when he got to Buchanan. The duct tape effectively disarmed him. One part of his brain, the part he had named Beckett chastised him for making stupid puns. The other part said to remember it for later. Ryan would appreciate it. He checked his quarry. Still not looking. Or at least that's what he thought. The van swerved violently to the right, Castle lost his balance and without his arms free to break the fall, he crashed head first into the steel support frame lining the interior of the van's walls.

Buchanan looked over his shoulder. Castle was finally out cold, his head lolling as the movement of the van dictated.

Esposito shouted, "Clear" to Ryan, Karpowski, and Reynolds as he checked the last closet in Joe Buchanan's apartment. He walked back into his living room. Ryan was going through his desk. Karpowski and Reynolds were searching his bedroom. Something was off. He looked around and asked, "Where's Castle?"

Ryan looked up. "I dunno, I haven't seen him." He headed to the doorway. "Castle?" He came back in from the hall shaking his head.

Javier Esposito was not a person who normally panicked. He had a level head, was calm under fire, and could stare down a criminal without batting an eye. He ran out to the hallway, slowed long enough to look around. Damn. He ran down the steps, searching. Damn. He ran over to the alleyway where there had been a misfire. Damn. He asked the unis if they saw him. Damn. He ran back over to Ryan, who was searching the immediate area.

Ryan pursed his lips, "He wouldn't just leave and not tell anyone."

"I know." Damn.

"What do you think happened?" Ryan was formulating a theory. He didn't like it.

"I don't know." Damn.

"Do you think it's possible that Buchanan came back while we were inside?" There it was: that great big freaking elephant that was sitting on the stoop.

"Damn. Check outside for possible video and brief the uniforms. I'll call Gates." He went back into Buchanan's apartment to find Karpowski and Reynolds. He found them going through boxes of papers and manuscripts they had found in his closet. Karpowski said, kneeling by a trunk, "You're going to want to see these," offering him a sheaf of binder clipped papers. "Check out the letter on the top." He glanced at it. "Okay, but right now, we think Castle's been pinched."

"What?" Karpowski stood.

"How? When?" Reynolds stuttered.

"He's gone, man and Ryan and I know him well enough to know that he wouldn't just go off. We think Buchanan surprised him in the hall. He never came into the apartment." He instructed them to begin a perimeter search and to treat the whole block as a crime scene. He pulled out his phone.

Captain Gates headed back to her office after reviewing the video surveillance from Castle's hallway. She held a grim expression on her face as she contemplated everything she had seen. Her cell phone started to ring. "Gates."

"Cap'n? It's Esposito."

"Ah, detective, please tell me you have some good news." It was silent for a couple of beats.

"Detective Esposito?"

"Uh, well, Buchanan wasn't here when we arrived."

" And?"

"And, we think he came back when we were clearing the rooms," he continued haltingly.

"And?" She noticed that she had started to tap her toe impatiently.

"Well, Castle was waiting in the outside hall until we called it." Some more dead air.

"Oh, for heaven's sake Detective."

"We think Buchanan took Castle."

Gates was stunned. "How do we know that?" Her voice came out in a low boil, like a teapot just before it started screaming that it was hot enough. He could feel the steam over his cell.

Espo did not miss the dangerous tone. "Sir, Castle is a veteran of raids and crime scenes. He wouldn't just leave. He had to be coerced."

"I see. Treat it like any other crime scene, detective. Find me evidence so we can get both of them back."

"Yes, sir," Esposito shook his head while he put away his phone.

Ryan practically collided with him in the doorway. "We got something."

Kate was exhausted. She was trying to get a finger hold in the crack where the light was coming from. It was just out of reach. She jumped for it once more and once more slid down the wall. "Well, I'm really good at collecting the dirt from the walls under my finger nails." She sat down on the table to catch her breath. She looked around the cellar in the virtual darkness. She did not know why. She had already searched for anything else that she could use for escape. There was nothing. She climbed off the table and sat by the wall. Distractedly chewing on her lip as she thought, she closed her eyes. She was drained.

Gates sat behind her desk in her office rubbing the bridge of her nose. This case. It was frustrating and maddening. It had multi-faceted edges. The more she thought about it the more she concluded that even though some of the players were the same, the games were not. Her focus was finding and retrieving Beckett and now, it seemed, Castle. Hmm, Beckett and Castle. The surveillance video brought up a couple of questions regarding the nature of their relationship. Gates had had her suspicions previously, she had witnessed a look, a glance, a lingering touch, but any questions she had, would have to wait. She would just come across like a bully if she pried into it now. She sighed and realized that she had been tapping her toe. She had had the nervous habit since she was a little girl. It usually manifested itself when she was impatient. Gates was accustomed to being active, to do something, anything. Sitting and waiting for news was not her style. The captain of the twelfth dug around in her top left hand drawer, opened the analgesic, and popped two of the tablets into her mouth with her remaining coffee. She stood, retrieved her side arm from the bottom drawer, shrugged into her coat, and headed out.

Kate awoke when bright lights illuminated her face. She was disoriented, but moved quickly. The hatch was open. She could see blue sky beyond the opening. She climbed back onto the table. She just had her feet under her and as she stood up the face of her captor peered down at her. He grinned at her and disappeared. "Hey!" Kate called after him. Her voice was rough and croaky. She could no longer see him, but could hear him dragging something. Whatever it was, he was bringing it to the hole.

"I've seen you before. Do you know what kind of trouble you're facing? I am an NYPD cop. Look, if you release…" She didn't get to finish. He was back. He grinned into the hole again. "Buchanan!" Kate yelled, "Holy crap, Castle knows you. What the hell do you want with me?" Just then the dragging stopped. He rolled whatever he had over to the hole and pushed it in with his foot.

"Oh my God!" Kate exclaimed at the body was dumped into the hole with her. It hit the table and then momentum carried it to the floor. There was a large cloud of dust and dirt strewn into the air. You could see it catching the sunlight until Buchanan closed the hatch. It was still there, but the darkness enveloped everything. Kate coughed and shut her eyes against the floating debris. She went over to the still form, waving her hands through the fine grimy powder, while trying to keep from breathing it in. She knelt and felt for a pulse. She sighed relief. It was strong. Her eyes had not adjusted back to being cat-like for the darkness, but she felt her way to him. This was definitely a him. He was lying on his stomach. His hands were bound behind his back with tape. She quickly peeled away the tape, stood for leverage, and carefully rolled him over. She didn't know the extent of his other injuries, but could hear him wheezing with every breath. She was going to help him whatever way she could. Her eyes became acclimated to the darkness once again just as she leaned over the unconscious face of Richard Castle.

Ryan led Espo down the steps outside of the brownstone and turned to the left. They walked about a dozen feet to evidence markers on the sidewalk.

Espo leaned down to get a closer look. "Ah, shit, that's blood." He looked at Ryan.

"Yeah, but it's only drops. I figure Buchanan gets Castle to come out here, Castle does something stupid and gets himself bloodied, Buchanan recovers and puts him in a vehicle."

"Where he takes him," he shrugged his shoulders, "maybe to where Beckett is."

"Yeah, okay, but why?"

"I don't know why, man, the dude's a psycho."

Ryan chewed on his lower lip. "If Castle were here, he'd have the why."

"Yeah, well Castle isn't here and I'm getting pretty pissed off that this dude thinks he can just take cops off the street."

"I'm with ya, bro. Look what else we've got." He pointed to the street corner. High on the post was a traffic camera pointed directly down the street right where they were standing.

"Oh, we got you now you son of a bitch." Espo allowed himself a moment of optimism.

"Oh my God," Kate's hands were on either side of Castle's face. "Rick! Rick? Can you hear me?" She brushed his hair back away from his eyes. 'Calm down Kate,' she thought as she slowed her breathing. "Assess the situation." She said it aloud to help her keep focus. She removed the duct tape as gently as possible, rubbed the raw marks where the adhesive had been, and considered Castle's face. He had been so battered this weekend; she could not tell if there were any other new abrasions. His wheezing really concerned her. It didn't seem to be a blockage in his throat. She ran her hands over his torso. She groaned. She could feel the broken rib under his shirt. His ribs were still taped, so she hoped that would keep them as stable as possible. She continued evaluating his injuries. She ran her hands from his neck to his wrists. Her right hand found the slick sticky blood on his left forearm. It was a deep gash and it was still oozing blood. She tore his shirttail, made a tourniquet, and wrapped it around the wound. She returned to his head to see if she could wake him. "Rick? Oh, come on!" Frustration crept into her voice. She shook her head and finished checking him over. He didn't appear to have any other new damage. She took off her coat and put it over him. He was still wheezing. She sat down next to him in an effort to share heat. She smiled sadly. He was always so warm. Kate was cold natured. She always had been. He was like an inferno and when he snuggled up behind her it was like she was wearing the best down parka, a body sized heating pad and flannel pajamas all in one and she melted into his warmth. It was so satiating, so comforting. Tears started welling up in her eyes. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. "Enough, Kate." She said that aloud too. She refused to let them end like this. They had been through too much together. "Enough." She had to get them out.

The boys were finishing their duties with CSU at the scene. They put a rush, 'Espo barked "a freakin' rush"' on matching the blood. CSU got the message. The techs assigned, Washburn and Cobb, were familiar with Castle. They both liked him. He made the effort to get to know them, ask about their work, kidded with them about TV shows like CSI. They tried to get him to stop touching things and even presented him with his own crime scene kit complete with a whole box of gloves. He was just one of the guys now. They understood the urgency.

"Captain Gates?" She stood and turned at the sound of her name. "I'm Roger Davies. I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Gates accepted his proffered hand. "Please, come into my office." He escorted her into his office. He indicated a chair. "Can I get you something?"

"Uh, no, thank you." She waited until he sat down before she began. "Mr. Davies, I want to thank you and your staff for the cooperation that you have shown my detectives and officers these past few days."

"Happy to help. By the way, did you find anything? I know that Gina, I mean Ms. Cowell is resting at home, thank goodness that wasn't any worse."

"Mr. Davies," she interrupted and then sighed, "I'm sorry to be blunt, but I need to ask you some questions regarding one of your authors."

"Castle? He's a great guy, but you probably see him more now a days than I…"

"Mr. Davies," she began tapping her toe. "I'm not here about Mr. Castle, directly."

"Then…"

"I need to know about a Joe Buchanan."

"Joe Buchanan?" He squinted his eyes as he concentrated. "I'm not familiar, but I don't read everything, especially if they're newer. You say we publish him?" She nodded. "Hang on." He picked up his phone and dialed an extension. He spoke for a few minutes and hung up. "I've got his publisher coming up. Can you tell me a little more about what you need?"

"I'm looking for any other contact information, next of kin…"

"Oh goodness, is he hurt too?"

"No. No, Mr. Buchanan is a person of interest in our investigation." He nodded his understanding. "As I was saying, I'll need any information that you have on his personal habits, his hangouts, where he likes to write and so on. I will also need to speak with anyone on your staff who has worked directly with him. I'll also need to know what type of relationship he shared with Mr. Castle, so I will need to speak with anyone with that direct knowledge. I'll need all of this as soon as possible." She leaned forward, "Mr. Davies, two of my people are missing and I believe Mr. Buchanan holds the key to their whereabouts."

Davies eyes went wide. "Oh, of course, I'm sorry; I didn't realize it was so serious. Of course, we'll cooperate fully with you Captain. I can set you up in my private conference room if you like." He gestured to a door in between two cherry barrister bookcases on his left wall.

Gates smiled, but it was grim, "Thank you Mr. Davies. I knew I could rely on your assistance."

"Yes, sir, yes, yes, sir, yes I understand." Esposito rolled his eyes as he pocketed his cell.

Ryan cast a sidelong glance at him. "And?" He drew out the syllable longer than necessary.

"Sidelined until we get the video. She's got a team collecting statements from Black Pawn. We're this close Ryan," he said holding his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart, "this freakin' close and we're waiting." His frustration manifested itself on an unsuspecting trashcan by his desk.

Kevin followed him and reached down to right the can. "Look, I know it's frustrating, but if it's the difference between getting this guy and nailing this guy, I'm for nailing." He put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "they'll be alright."

"Where are we on the video?"

"Stuck in the red-tape dispensers. Give it a few."

He was getting tired of waking up and feeling like shit. 'No,' he thought, 'I don't feel as good as shit. I feel like the shit truck rolled over me, backed up, and had another run. Shit.' He lifted his arm and dragged a hand across his face. It took him a few minutes to remember the latest and greatest crap the 'How Much Abuse Can Rick Castle Take' club recently doled out. He tried to see. It was impossibly dark. Next up, trying to stand. There was a weight holding him down. He explored it with his hands. It was warm. His eyebrows shot up. "Beckett?"

"Mmm, hmm."

"No, Kate. Oh. My. God." He was excited to see her. Excited, relieved, incredulous. He had all the adjectives but his lungs were not letting him express the feelings. He took several shallow breaths and let out a breathy "Kate!" He shook her, "come on."

"Castle?" she asked sleepily then squealing she abruptly sat up, "oh thank God, you're awake." She helped him sit up and then threw herself into his arms. He happily accepted. She tasted like salt, dust, and grime, but he paid no mind. He could not believe he was with her, that she was alive, and that they would be okay. He knew it.

She was still kissing him when he pulled back slightly. "Castle?"

"Ribs," he panted, "can't. breathe."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry, I just, I didn't think I would ever…"

He cupped her cheek in his palm. "Kate, it's okay. We're together now." He cocked his head and grinned mischievously at her. "We make a pretty good team you know, Turner and Hooch?"

She laughed as she remembered the first time he made that analogy. She silently thanked the universe, God, and Santa Claus, grateful that he was awake and mostly all right. "Okay," she said letting her fingers caress his jawline. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Esposito pondered the sanity of a universe that made him wait to go find two of his friends. He thought the universe might just need some ass kicking so it would get in gear.

Ryan whooped out at his desk. "Hey Javi, we've got him."

Esposito reached Ryan's desk and watched the playback.

"See, there's Castle. I told you he did something stupid." He grinned. They finally caught a break. "Anyway, Buchanan forces him into that van. Ya' know, the van with the New York plates that your grandma could read."