Kate was thrumming with nervous energy as she followed Ryan and the Entry Team to the location they had been provided.
The Precinct had received a phone call telling them to back off of the Hannah Tyler murder.
Ryan had traced it to an abandoned warehouse, Rick had commented on the cliché of it all, and called in reinforcements. They were going in hot on Gates' orders, knowing it would be safer for Nevaeh if they could do this quickly and efficiently rather than trying to negotiate and bring everyone in alive.
Deadly force had been authorised.
"Kate, are you armed?" Rick asked quietly. He'd taken to sitting on his hands, his own nervousness, and hers, making him even more restless than usual. Kate spared him a second long glance before turning back to the road. "Kate?"
"I wasn't going in without it Rick." She murmured as if she could be overheard.
Gates had been very specific in the matter that both he and Kate were civilians in this, neither one would act any differently than a civilian, no shooting, and no take downs. They were there for Nevaeh; to comfort her and look after her once it was all over, nothing else.
Castle sighed. "Kate..."
"I'm not going to go in shooting, Castle. I feel safer with my gun at my hip, you know that. Nevaeh's safety is my priority, my only priority. But I can't do this unarmed." The determination in her voice was belied by the nervous quiver, the slight undertone where she was trying to convince him, plead with him to not take this away from her.
Castle sighed again before gently laying his hand on her thigh, flexing his fingers just enough to let her know he was there.
"I've got your back Kate." It was all he needed to say. She knew it, but it never hurt to reaffirm it for her own piece of mind.
The Entry Team lined up either side of the front door, The Captain, Esposito and Ryan behind them with Castle and Beckett taking up the rear, while detectives and uniforms alike manned the back. Hand signals were exchanged, whispered commands passed through radios, and the door was kicked in.
Then all hell broke loose.
Shots started being fired from all angles, shouts of 'NYPD' and 'Put it down' echoed even as bullets ricocheted off every flat surface. But neither Rick nor Kate could hear that. All they could hear was the screaming.
That terrified, heartbreaking scream that could only belong to the reason they were all here. Well, at least it confirmed that Nevaeh was here and alive.
Barely a minute in and the cops found themselves at a stalemate.
Three bad guys down, one uniform with a bullet graze to the shoulder, but there was still one bad guy left standing.
Hidden behind crates in a far corner, the last kidnapper had Nevaeh.
She'd stopped screaming which made everyone nervous, but Kate was pretty sure the kidnapper had knocked her unconscious. At least, she hoped that was the worst that had happened.
The Captain, Esposito, Ryan, four other detectives and a half dozen uniforms all had their weapons trained on the area but were all very aware that there was a seven year old girl in the middle of this.
Castle had his hands on Kate's waist, having to physically hold her in place in the mouth of the warehouse, to stop her doing something incredibly stupid, like run into the middle of a fire fight, unable to pull her weapon without reprimand, and save the girl.
While Kate appreciated the tether in reality, she would give anything to be able to do just that.
No one had said a word, apart from the perfunctory identification and demands, and there was a haze of nervous energy throughout the building. Kate's weren't the only hands shaking.
"Come out with your hands up!" Gates called, the most senior officer in the situation and thus the one in charge. "You are surrounded by armed police! Surrender or we will shoot you!"
Kate covered Rick's hands on her waist and squeezed, the only indication of her rising stress levels.
"Do yourself a favour and come out voluntarily before we are forced to use deadly action." Gates continued, her voice strong, low and a little scary even for the detectives around her. Castle, for one, was very glad she was on their side.
Something moved behind the crates and slowly but surely, their kidnapper rounded the corner. His hands weren't raised as he had been asked however; they were curled around Nevaeh's limp body, lying prone in his arms, a trickle of blood drying around a cut at her temple.
Kate gasped and squeezed Rick's hands tighter, even as he tightened his own grip on her hips.
"Put the girl down." Gates practically growled. The entire team now had a choice to make.
If they kept their guns trained on their target, there was a likelihood that at least one of them would hit Nevaeh if they fired, but if they dropped their weapons, they left her fate in the hands of the man who kidnapped her.
"Steady Kate." Rick whispered in his girlfriend's ear as he felt her entire body tremble. "Under control." He reminded her in a low steady voice. She didn't acknowledge him and he took that as her understanding they were supposed to remain unnoticed.
He didn't account for her next move.
In the space of a few seconds, Kate had her gun out of its holster and at shoulder height, cocked and ready to go.
"Put her down, or I'll put you down!" Kate bellowed.
None of the other officers moved, but Castle was pretty sure Gates, Ryan and Esposito just got more tense.
The man carrying Nevaeh turned to face her with a sly smile, shifted the girl more fully into one arm, and revealed the gun pressed into the base of her back.
At that angle, the bullet would puncture her liver. She would die slowly and painfully.
Kate bit back a gasp and trained her gun between his eyes. "I won't repeat myself." She growled and Castle felt his heart sink.