Author's Note: I'd like to thank FDWojo, Guest, and Olazay for their reviews. Olazay: those parts of the story are in parts one and two of "The Shadow Fox" saga. You can find them on my page (I think). Guest: Warning, science content ahead: Kate's body would still be warm (i.e. have a body temp. that is less than five degrees cooler than normal) if it had been less than about 5 hours. A body loses 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (.83 Celsius) in temperature per hour (That number seems to vary depending on the source, but it's the one I use). A drop in about 3 degrees Fahrenheit would take about 2 hours. So in the time it took for Alex to get Kate's body into the trunk and then drive said body to Volkert's hideout in New York City (let's say all that took two hours after Kate's death), the temperature of the body would not have fallen that much in that timeframe. Her body temperature would have gone from 98.97 (37.2 Celsius) to 97.47 (36.37 Celsius). Factoring in that a trunk would be warm and that all of this is happening in New York City at the end of May (highs in the low to mid 70's) it is reasonable to think that the surface temperature of Kate's body would still be considered warm when The Gentleman touches her hand to his cheek. Sorry about all the science. I just felt the need to describe why I put that line in the last chapter. Also, toward the beginning of this "episode," Alex tells Kate why Volkert wanted her dead. FDWojo: I proofread the chapters well before I post them, so I didn't mix-up the chapters because they both started with the same phrase. It was simply me trying to be quick and not paying the appropriate amount of attention when I selected the chapter to post. This chapter starts right where the last one left off. Enjoy!

Chapter 45

Alex sat in the catwalks overlooking the street below, sniper rifle at her side, waiting. There was only about half an hour left before the two-hour deadline ran out and Volkert would start pulling Castle's teeth. Or cut off his ear. She was hoping that he would stick to her plan, but chances were he wasn't going to be that kind.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thinking of Sloan. Would he have approved of this? Probably not. He would have told her to get the hell out of town at her first chance and live out the rest of her life somewhere exotic and remote. But I can't; you don't cross me and get to live. Killing my fiancé was the ultimate betrayal. She released the breath she'd been holding and opened her eyes again.

Finally! The cops were moving down the street toward the warehouse. SWAT was leading the charge with the officers, detectives, and FBI agents in a pack behind them. They must have set up their staging area out of sight so that Volkert wouldn't kill Castle before the deadline ran out; that was smart of them. She watched as a couple groups of SWAT, Feds, and cops split off from the big pack to cover the other two exits. Things were going just the way she'd hoped they would. The Feds had figured out her coded ransom message and found their location. Now Volkert was going to go down for everything he'd done. She might not be the one to end his life, but she was the instrument of his undoing. That had to count for something.

She waited a few more seconds before raising the sniper rifle. "Cops!"

Alex shot a few bullets out the open window, close enough to the cops that they would know they were being shot at, but not nearly close enough to actually hurt anyone. They ducked instinctively, finding cover wherever there was some, then returned fire as she had predicted. What she hadn't counted on was how close some of the bullets would come to hitting her. She dropped the rifle and yelled, collapsing to the catwalk as if she'd been hit. Now Volkert had no support from above…

10 Minutes earlier…

Esposito and Ryan stood with the rest of the cops in their group to get the attack plan. Their group was going to enter the front of the building where the set of double doors were. The bay doors on the back and the side door were going to be covered by the other two teams. SWAT was going to lead the groups down the street toward the warehouse and then the other groups were going to follow them. At the intersection between warehouses, the SWAT officers would split into three groups to cover their exits.

The groups had been numbered according to the order of entry. The group at the side door would enter first, then the double doors on the front, with the group at the bay doors entering last. SWAT had radios for coordinating entries, and the captains of each SWAT group were in charge of communications. Detectives and cops would follow the command of the FBI agent in charge of their group and would only enter if he had given the say-so by entering himself. The plan was tight and if everything went right, no one on their side would get hurt.

Esposito and Ryan got into position with the second group, which was filled with cops and detectives from the twelfth, as well as FBI agents on Shaw's team. They were quickly moving down a side street that led to the warehouse where Beckett's body and, hopefully, a still alive Castle were located. As planned, SWAT was leading the charge. At the intersection, groups one and three of the SWAT officers seamlessly split off to cover the other two exits. When the plainclothes and uniformed group got there, they did the same, following the SWAT officers assigned to their entry point as closely as they could without getting in the way.

Esposito adjusted his grip on his rifle. He was pissed. Alex had come to them, saying she was trying to help, making everything she did appear like she really was there to help, and then she had literally stabbed Beckett in the back. His friend, and sometimes mentor, was dead now because of that bitch. If he had his way, she would die a very slow and painful death. Shaw was running the show though, so if she had her way, Alex would end up in handcuffs on her way to a life sentence. That was the right thing to do, but Esposito still wanted to at least hit the girl before she was behind bars.

As SWAT neared the front door, gunfire peppered the street below. A few of the bullets struck the warehouse across the way from their target and everyone scrambled for cover. Esposito poked his head out from behind the car and noticed the shots were all coming out the open window on the upstairs window. No one had been hit yet, but the shots were close enough to have cause for concern.

Esposito swung his rifle around and aimed for the window. "It's coming from up top!" He shot four shots at the window as a couple others did the same. The gunfire ceased immediately. They waited a moment for it to resume, but nothing happened.

The SWAT captain for team two turned to Esposito. "Nice shooting. I guess we lost the element of surprise. Everyone up! Move in!"

Esposito and Ryan stood up and followed the SWAT officers to the door. After a pause for a readiness check, the lead SWAT officer got the shoulder tap and they rushed into the building. The firefight was concentrated at the side door for the moment, but the focus quickly split to both the front and side. The Gentleman's men were hunkered down behind tables that had been hastily flipped and riot shields they had acquired from who knows where. Esposito ran through the doors behind the FBI captain for their group and took cover behind a support structure before he started shooting.

Bullets were traded back and forth. In the confusion of having two fronts to defend, the back, bay doors were opened and the firefight came to a quick end. The Gentleman's men surrendered as soon as they realized they were vastly outnumbered and outgunned. Esposito emerged from his cover, searching the warehouse for Beckett and Castle. After a few moments of searching, he found them. Beckett was almost completely turned onto her stomach, exposing her bloodstained back, at the end of a blood trail from the Dodge Neon to the floor next to the chair Castle was in. Castle was tied to the chair, which was on its side, and his eyes were closed. Nearby was an older man in a nice, but rumbled suit. He had collapsed in a pool of blood. The three were not moving.

Esposito looked away and choked back a sob. They had been too late. The lookout and sniper in the catwalks had been enough of a warning that The Gentleman or one of his henchmen had managed to kill Castle before they could save him. Esposito looked at Ryan. His partner wasn't holding back his tears as he stared at their fallen colleagues and friends. The Irishman's tears trickled down his cheeks and onto the front of his police vest and Esposito couldn't hold his back any longer. They looked at each other and shared a moment of grief. But they couldn't wallow in it. The Gentleman's men were being rounded up and flex-cuffed in groups along the wall until transport vans arrived. Esposito and Ryan both wiped away their tears and turned to find out where they were needed. There was work to do.

Meanwhile…

Eventually the gunshots stopped and Alex could hear the goons who were still alive being arrested. The Feds were barking orders and searching the building. She could hear a few on the stairway into the catwalks, which meant they would reach her any minute now. She moved the rifle to the side of the catwalk so it would be out of reach and then scooted back, lay down on her stomach, and laced her hands behind her head. The Feds arrived moments later and found her already complying with their orders. One agent quickly patted her down and then she was handcuffed and roughly yanked to her feet. They marched her down the stairway toward the large bay doors where several squad cars were now parked.

Esposito was standing guard with a group of SWAT boys when he saw her being escorted toward the cars and quickly detached himself from the group, bee-lining for her. "You!" He punched her square in the jaw, knocking her to the floor. "That's for what you did to Beckett!"

She shook her head to clear it. "Turn around, you moron!"

Earlier…

Beckett's first realization that she wasn't dead was sound. She still couldn't quite open her eyes yet, but she could hear gunshots echoing through a large room, most likely the warehouse where Alex had said Castle was being held. I don't believe it; her plan is working. As soon as that thought hit, she realized that she could feel the surface she was laying on, and more importantly the gun that was concealed under her body. But she couldn't seem to get her body to respond to the commands her brain was sending out. She opened her eyes and looked around. Castle's chair was tipped over, but she could hear him breathing, which meant he was still alive. He must have tipped over the chair himself.

Beckett took a deep breath and finally managed to twitch her fingers. Slowly her arms followed and then she was able to turn onto her side enough to grab the gun from under her. She tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. She moved the gun enough to hold onto it, switched off the safety, and rolled back into her original position, waiting for her strength to return. Volkert's army was running around, shouting as many orders as the SWAT team was. At least no one was paying attention to her or Castle.

Out of the corner of her eye, Beckett saw an older man wearing a disheveled three-piece suit making his way closer to her and Castle. He was dodging from one piece of cover to the next, ordering his men around like an army officer might shout orders to the men under his command. She watched him as he got closer. He hadn't seemed to notice that she was somehow still alive; it looked like he was far too preoccupied with trying to escape.

Or maybe not. He had a gun in his hand, but he wasn't firing it, and it didn't appear to be out of ammunition. Volkert broke from his current position and made it to the next available cover, again without firing a single shot. Beckett had a feeling that she knew what he was trying to do. She tried to raise her gun again, but only managed to lift it a couple centimeters off the ground before her arms gave out again.

Volkert glanced back at his troops as one of his men was hit and then returned his gaze to Castle. A look crossed through his eyes and he straightened. He pushed off the support beam he'd been hiding behind and turned toward Castle. Beckett felt as if she could hear his thoughts in this moment; he wasn't going to allow himself to be captured without making sure he'd won first. As long as Castle was alive, he still had something to lose. His eyes went cold as he started to lift the gun in his hands and took careful arm.

Beckett reacted, desperation and a thirst for revenge combining to give her the strength necessary to wrench her gun off the ground. This was the man behind her father's death, the man responsible for so many of the bodies they'd found over the past year. And Castle was the next body Volkert was trying to add to that list. Beckett wouldn't let that happen and she fired three times, every bullet finding its mark. Volkert started to collapse, but his eyes turned from Castle to Beckett, confusion and surprise written in them as he finally realized she was somehow still alive. And then the look was gone as his body hit the ground.

Beckett's arms gave out and she dropped the gun, exhausted from the effort required to support its weight. She rested for a bit as the firefight came to an end and the SWAT teams started to swarm the building in earnest. Beckett listened to the sound of Castle's breathing, overjoyed at the fact that he was still alive and appeared to be unharmed. Then she heard the sound of sobs. He was crying. He doesn't know I'm alive yet. He can't see me from where he is. Slowly, painfully slowly, she started inching her way toward his face so he would see that she was okay.

His eyes were closed, tears running sideways down his cheeks, his arms and legs still bound to the chair. Beckett continued to pull her body toward him, her progress slow, but she was getting closer. With each second that passed, her strength was returning, making her goal easier to achieve. Eventually she was close enough to reach out and touch his cheek.

"Castle, it's me. I'm here, it's okay."

His eyes remained firmly closed. "I'm dead, aren't I? That bastard killed me."

"No, he didn't. Castle, I'm alive. We're alive. Volkert is dead; everything is going to be okay now."

"No, no. I watched her kill you. I watched you die. If you're talking to me, that means I'm dead."

She started to cry, realizing once again just how much her dying would affect him. "Please Castle, open your eyes. Look at me. We're safe, I promise. Please," her voice dropped to a whisper as a lump formed in her throat, "please. Open your eyes."

Slowly, his eyelids fluttered open and he looked at her. "You're not dead?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. I'm alive."

"Alex didn't…didn't kill you?"

"No, it was all staged. She had everything planned. And it worked."

Disbelief slowly transformed into relief. "You're alive."

"Yes. I'm alive. I'm so sorry I had to deceive you. It was the only way this would work."

Agent Avery came over and undid the ropes holding Castle to the chair. "You're safe now, Mr. Castle."

Castle scooted out of the chair and wrapped his arms around Beckett. "You're alive."

Kate hugged him back, joy and relief mixing together, making her feel as if she was light as air. Castle was alive, she'd survived Alex's crazy plan, and The Gentleman was dead. If she wasn't in heaven right now, then this had to be the closest she'd get while on this Earth. Castle sat up and helped her into an upright position, holding her close. She smiled; he wasn't likely to let her go anytime soon, which was perfectly okay with her. She didn't want to let go of him, either.

Agent Shaw strode over to them. "Alex's plan actually worked. Never would have believed it."

Beckett gave a tired smile. "I told you; she doesn't go back on her word."

Shaw looked up. "It looks like they're bringing her down now."

They watched as Alex, in handcuffs, was escorted down the catwalk access by four SWAT officers. She looked resigned, as if she knew her plans had run their course and it was time to surrender to the authorities. Beckett's eyes locked with Alex's and she nodded, acknowledging her gratitude to the young woman. Alex didn't respond, though she did look down briefly as the group took their last step off the stairs and started heading for the bay doors. Nearby, a group of goons, also handcuffed, were being watched by more SWAT guys and Esposito.

Esposito glanced up as Alex came closer and he headed toward her. "You!" He punched Alex and she collapsed to the ground. "That's for what you did to Beckett!"

Alex shook her head, trying to get up again. "Turn around, you moron!"

He turned around and caught sight of Beckett in Castle's arms, looking right at him. He looked dumbfounded, as though he couldn't believe his eyes. Not only was Castle not injured, but it also appeared as though Beckett was actually okay. She was alive. He started walking toward them as if in a trance as Alex was helped off the ground and resumed her journey toward the squad cars outside. This time when Beckett and Alex's eyes met, Alex rolled her eyes at Beckett. Beckett smiled, knowing, without hearing a thing, exactly what Alex was referring to.

Esposito stopped next to them and then knelt down, still surprised. "How? How are you alive? We watched you die."

Beckett looked around, noticing that Ryan had come over too and was wearing the same dumbfounded expression his partner was. "It's a long story…"

A/N: Most of you didn't believe Beckett was dead (which might be my fault with the chapter mix-up) so here you go. You guys were right. Alex and Beckett did have a plan to fake Beckett's death and save Castle. What did you think? Was it how you thought the plan would go down? Leave a comment below and stay tuned for next week!