What don't we know about the secret lives of Detectives Ryan and Esposito? This chapter takes place during "Sucker Punch."

When Ryan and Esposito were the first to answer the call, he felt like he was walking into a nightmare. On the floor of the apartment was a man he knew very well, though he hadn't seen him in quite a few years. Still, he let Esposito id the body from his driver's license, and kept carefully silent about him until he had; given the line of work this man was in, Ryan didn't want to associate himself with him.

"Meet the late Jack Coonan," Esposito said when Beckett and Castle finally arrived.

Beckett frowned. "Why is that name familiar?"

Ryan schooled his face carefully and answered. "Because it probably crossed over all our desks a dozen times over the last few years. Aggravated assault, A.D.W. arson…"

"Coonan had a heavy rep," Esposito picked up. "Word is, he's an enforcer for the Westies."

Ryan had known it was coming, but that doesn't mean he was ready for it. He swallowed and felt sweat trickle down his neck as his heart rate increased. Hopefully everyone would just accept it and move on… But, thanks to his rotten luck, that was not to be the case, because Lanie spoke up from her position by the body.

"Okay, remind me, who are the Westies again?"

"Irish mafia out of Hell's Kitchen," Castle responded quickly.

"They deal in cargo theft, counterfeiting, extortion…" Beckett told the medical examiner.

And drug trafficking, kidnapping, loan sharking, prostitution, oh, and not to forget murder and hijacking, Ryan added silently to himself. Instead, he quipped, "And public urination of St. Patrick's Day."

Esposio smirked at him, while Beckett frowned. Ryan allowed himself a small chuckle, but inwardly he was smacking his head against a wall. This was going to be a long case.

"Ryan, Esposito." Beckett called, striding to her desk to grab her jacket and badge. She didn't need to look up to know that the two detectives would drop whatever they were doing to do whatever she needed. Sure enough, when she did glance back at them, they were both looking at her expectantly. "How would you guys like to come with us to intimidate some Westies?"

Beckett had realized that going in alone with Castle had not been the best idea. The Westies traveled in packs, and the only way she would get any respect from them at all was if she brought along her own. Esposito responded with the expected enthusiasm, quickly discarding the file he'd been holding and grabbing his jacket. Ryan, on the other hand, blanched slightly and seemed to stop short. Beckett took in the extra frown lines that sprung up on his forehead, but they disappeared soon enough when Esposito nudged the other man's shoulder.

"Everything okay, bro? You comin' or what?"

Ryan visibly had to gather himself, but he nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

Castle glanced over at the two other detectives as he followed Beckett into the pub. She had explained her pack theory on the way over, and for the most part, it made sense. As an army vet, Esposito had an intensity that could definitely be intimidating; hell, Castle himself had been scared of the man when they first met! But Ryan... well, Castle thought that even he was more frightening than the thin, easygoing detective. Still, he'd known Beckett long enough to trust her judgment, and besides, safety in numbers, right?

Finn Rourke had finished his eulogy, gotten down off the table, and moved a little ways away. Beckett moved to stand next to him, and all three of her boys followed suit. Rourke eyed them suspiciously.

"Dectective," he said, refocusing on Beckett. "Come here to honor the dead, I hope."

Beckett didn't respond to his question, simply indicating the two men behind her with nods of her head. "These are Detectives Esposito and—"

"And the littlest Ryan," Rourke finished for her, giving the youngest detective a thorough once over. His words caught the attention of the people nearest to him, and they jostled for a better viewing position. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. "Ye ungrateful little punk. Must be brave to show yer face around here. Either that, or incredibly stupid. After all I done for ye, ye think ye could just walk away?"

Although the members of his team turned to him with looks of confusion, Ryan surprisingly stood his ground. Although he swallowed convulsively, he held Rourke's gaze steadily. Without realizing it, his voice became rougher, his Irish-New York accent thicker. "You wanna get into this, Finn, fine, I'll come back later and you can talk all you want. But right now Detective Beckett has a some questions for you."

Rourke snorted. "Feh. Still being yanked around on a leash, eh?"

Beckett jumped in quickly, hoping to keep the situation under control. She didn't know what connection Kevin Ryan had to the Westies, but she was hoping to use Rourke's distraction to her advantage. "You lied to me, Mr. Rourke. You know exactly what happened to Jack Coonan. That once-over you gave Trucho was just a piece of theatre to throw them all off, just like your eulogy."

"Now ye be careful, Detective," Rourke warned, his brow furrowing.

"Or else what?" Beckett challenged, fighting down the fear that flared in her stomach. She knew the best way to handle mobsters like Finn was to meet them head on and let them know that she didn't find them intimidating in the slightest. However, that didn't mean she had to like it. "You'll kill me just like you killed Coonan after he went to the feds about you?"

"Enough. I'll not have ye slander him like this. Not tonight."

Beckett took a step further, getting in the older man's personal space. She kept her voice low and deadly. "I got it straight from the FBI. Jack reached out to them just before he died."

"He turned on you, didn't he?" Castle asked, jumping into the impromptu interrogation easily.

Rourke gave him a look of poorly veiled disgust. "Ye don't know what yer talking about, boy-o. Jacky Coonan was loyal to his last breath. He died in a state of grace. Even if what ye say is true, ye can be sure that Jacky wasn't talking to the g's about any of us."

Beckett cocked an eyebrow at him. "How can you be so sure?"

"Ye've heard of me," Finn replied gruffly, leaning in even further, and Kate could smell alcohol and smoke on his breath. "Ye've heard I'm a gangster and a thief. Surely… ye've heard I've killed men. But ye answer me this, Detective. Have ye ever heard of Finn Rourke running drugs? I won't tolerate it. Just ask yer laddie here," he gestured to Ryan with his chin.

The normally playful and easygoing detective glared at the leader of the Westies. "Focus, Finn. Someone was bringin' in drugs?"

Rourke didn't look very happy, and Beckett was sure it had been a while since anyone had bossed him around. He finally nodded. "Someone was bringing it in here, into my neighborhood, my backyard. I sent Jacky to find the bastards behind it – find them and punish them… according to our rules."

Less than half a foot away, Castle's eyes lit up. "Only they punished him instead."

"Aye, that they did," Rourke said, displaying genuine regret. However, it was gone a second later, replaced by a spark of anger. "Now… if ye have probable cause, I suggest ye arrest me. If not, I'll remind ye, this is a private party, and I'll thank ye to get the hell out of my place!"

Beckett held his gaze for a moment longer, then slowly turned and walked out. They weren't going to get anything else from Finn Rourke. The others fell into step behind her, but when Ryan moved to follow Rourke grabbed his arm.

"If ye'd like to drop by again, we can finish our, eh, discussion."

Ryan knew better than to take that as a suggestion. He knew that if he didn't show voluntarily, he'd get picked up by a couple of Rourke's men. He nodded tersely. "I'll be here."

Beckett could barely contain herself until they got out to their cars. She rounded on Ryan, giving him a look that would have sent hardened criminals cowering. "What the hell was that, Ryan?"

Both Esposito and Caste flinched at her tone of voice, but Ryan just shrugged. "Nothin'."

"Oh yeah?" Kate crossed her arms and frowned at him. "And when were you planning on telling me that you're on a first name basis with Finn Rourke?"

Ryan sighed. "Just leave it alone, Beckett. It won't interfere with our investigation."

"You know what this looks like, right? This looks like one of my detectives has a very personal relationship with the leader of the Westies!"

"Kate, please," Ryan said, his demeanor changing back to the young, somewhat vulnerable detective they knew him as. His piercing blue eyes pleaded with her. "Just leave it alone."

Kate would have responded, but at that very moment the woman who'd been crying inside the bar came hurrying out. She signaled the woman quickly, and they all piled into their cars before someone could see the rendezvous.

As they drove back to the precinct, Esposito glanced over at his partner. He'd remained silent throughout the whole exchange, but he could feel the tension rolling off of Ryan in waves. He thought back to the Ryan inside the pub, the guy who had squared his shoulders and talked back to Finn Rourke. Esposito had known is partner for a while, but he'd never seen that side of him before. What hadn't Ryan told him? Turning back to the road, he spoke quietly.

"Hey bro, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Ryan sighed, and sent a tired look his way. "I know, bro. But this one you just gotta let go."

As they watched Beckett kneel on the floor beside the bloody Dick Coonan, Ryan couldn't help but feel relief. He loved Kate like a sister and hated to see her in pain, but he had to admit he had been overjoyed when they had discovered that their murderer was the same man who killed Kate's mom. It threw everyone off, and his run in with Rourke seemed to have been forgotten. And now that Coonan was dead, Beckett had gotten some measure of justice and they could put this whole case behind them.

Dick was dead. He still found it difficult to believe. He remembered walking to school with the Coonan brothers, remembered have to stop at every corner for "little Dicky" to catch up to the older boys. All he had ever wanted to be was just like his older brother, just like Jacky, and look where that had gotten him.

While most of the precinct had crowded around the scene in the hallway, Esposito was watching his partner. Try as he might to cover it up, Ryan was obviously agitated as he threw on his jacket and started walking towards the stairwell. He might have thought that everyone had forgotten about him in their concern for Beckett, but he was wrong. Esposito could never forget about his partner, especially after what had happened with Rourke.

He followed Ryan down to the parking garage, where the man was opening the door to his car. He jogged the last few feet, hoping to keep his partner from driving off. "Hey, Ryan! Where you goin'?"

Ryan looked up, his shoulders relaxing a bit when he saw it was Esposito. "I've got something to take care of."

"You're goin' back, aren't you?" Esposito asked. When Ryan didn't answer, he shrugged and started forward. "Fine, I'm goin' with you."

Ryan held out a hand to stop him. "No, you're not."

"Bro, I'm your partner," Esposito said, making sure to look him straight in the eye. "That means I'm with you 'til the wheels fall off."

Ryan sighed. "I know, man. Look, this is just something I gotta take care of alone. I shouldn't be too long."

"Bro, I don't care if you're a friend of Rourke's or not. You're a cop, and the Westies don't tend to like cops," Esposito said, coming straight out with what was worrying him the most: letting his partner go in without someone to cover his back.

"I'll be fine," Ryan said, his gaze softening a little at his partner's concern. "Tell you what, if I don't come back in an hour, you know where to find me, yeah?"

Esposito nodded, realizing this was the best he was going to get. Kevin Ryan could be one stubborn man. "Yeah, okay. Be safe, bro."

Ryan gave him a half smile before getting in the car, starting the engine, and driving away.

Next part coming soon! All reviews are appreciated!