Miracle At The 12th Precinct

CHAPTER 28

A Twisted Christmas (song by, Twisted Sister)

Disclaimer: Castle characters belong to ABC. They're just on loan. The other dudes are mine. A/N: Thanks to my beta, 41319always41319, for the assist!

Castle's Loft…

With only moments before the hitman returned from his bedroom, Castle formulated a plan. As the gun grew heavy in his hand, seconds ticked away. He quickly debated his options. Sure he could shoot the guy, but he preferred to leave the killing to the characters in his books. Besides, this latest hitman could prove more useful alive than dead. He decided the best course of action would be to sneak up on him from behind, taking him by surprise. He would knock him out with the butt of his gun and then tie him up, holding him hostage until Beckett arrived. Decision made, Castle crawled his way towards the far end of the couch careful to remain hidden.

Footsteps came from the bedroom and Castle's adrenaline sky-rocketed when he realized the man was headed towards the tree where Kris, Holly, and Tommy were hiding. He'd need to make his move before they were discovered. He prepared to pounce when the gunman shouted, "Come on out from behind the tree! And no funny business!"

Still unseen, Castle dared a quick peek at the position of the hitman. The man was face to face with Kris and Holly as they slowly came out from behind the tree, their arms held up high as they confronted the gunman, but Tommy was nowhere in sight.

Holly prayed Castle was armed and somewhere close by. "We've done nothing wrong. Please don't hurt us!" Holly pleaded, trying to distract the man and stall for time so Castle could make his move. "If it's money you want I'm sure we can get it for you."

"That's real thoughtful of you sweetheart, but I ain't here for no money. I got my orders." He waved his gun back and forth carelessly as he took a headcount. "Where's the old lady?"

"Sorry? I'm not sure who you mean? What old lady?" Holly replied, innocently. "We're the only ones here."

"Don't play stupid with me. The old broad, the kid's mother…where's she at? And the guy who owns the place? The Castle guy - where is he?" The man was becoming increasingly agitated, but Holly's diversion was working and had given Castle time to rise without being seen. With his target's back fully turned, Castle slowly crept up behind him.

Holly pretended not to see Castle and kept the hitman talking. "Like I said…it's just us here." She insisted. "Castle left for work this morning and I haven't seen Mommy Dearest. Believe me, I'm all broken up about it. But if I see her I'll be sure to tell her you stopped by."

"Don't fucking lie to me." He demanded. "We've had eyes on the place since this morning. I saw her myself through the window, talking to the old man. And I ain't seen her leave." Confused, Holly looked to Kris to back her up, but he avoided her eyes and simply shrugged.

Meanwhile, Castle inched closer, gun firmly in hand and pointed at their intruder's back. He was seconds from slugging the man in the head with the butt of his gun when suddenly from nowhere Christmas music blasted through the loft at a deafening volume. Everyone instinctively covered their ears, including the gunman.

The stranger whipped around shocked to find Castle within only a few feet of him. He drew his weapon first, catching Castle off guard. "What the hell? Drop it! Or I shoot the three of you right now!" He yelled, giving Castle no choice but to toss his gun on the floor.

"Kick it over to me." He hollered, over the blaring music. "And keep your hands up!" Castle did as he was told and the man picked up Castle's gun, pocketing it. "Now someone turn the damn music off!" He screamed.

"I'm sorry, what?" Castle yelled back, biding for time. "I can't hear you. Music's really loud. Say again?" He shouted, shaking his head.

"I said turn it off!" The man screamed back at the top of his lungs, his temper flaring.

"I'm sorry...what?" Castle repeated frowning, cupping his right ear and shaking his head. "Nope, still nothing!"

Abruptly, magically, the music shut off, seemingly of its own accord and the room fell silent once more. The man scanned around the room, confused. "How the hell did you do that?"

Castle shrugged. "I have no idea." He answered, truthfully.

Suspicious, the gunman said, "Yeah? Well, try it again and I'll…"

What actually happened next would be a topic of debate between Beckett and Castle for many years to come.

From high atop the Christmas tree a flash of crimson caught Castle's eyes and he tried to act natural. Perched atop the branches, a sight to behold, was a diminutive, white-bearded elf, one who compensated for his lack of size by the regal manner in which he carried himself. Shoulders back, chest out, chin held high, jaw set; this was no ordinary elf. Although no more than half a foot high he emanated authority, the glint in his eyes speaking volumes; he'd come there today prepared for battle. Castle mentally dubbed him the Elf-King.

The gunman was getting agitated by Castle's speechlessness and began waving his gun around. "Now. I'll ask you one last time. Where's the old broad?" He demanded.

Castle shrugged again. "I have no idea who you're talking about." Rick replied, trying in vain to ignore the elf in the tree watching them - not an easy task. For, holding fast to the star from one hand, his other clutching a small golden horn, the Elf-King showed no signs of fear, the fire in his eyes penetrating the back of the man holding Castle at gunpoint.

"Son of a…we know she was here!"

This was news to almost everyone, except Kris. "She was?" Castle and Holly said in unison, genuinely confused. They looked to Kris who avoided their eyes.

Kris held up a finger, cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance." He interrupted, trying to reason with the man. "They're telling the truth, young man. You see, while it's true, Breanna was indeed here to see me earlier, these good people were unaware of her visit. Alas, she has since come and gone. I'm afraid you've missed her. And I'm sorry but I've no idea where she has up and wandered off to. When things get…messy…she has a tendency make herself scarce."

The Elf-King raised his brows and then nodded to Castle, confirming Kris' statement.

"Listen to me, old man…you got about ten seconds to tell me where she is before I start shooting. And I'm starting with the girl." He threatened, anxiously waiving his gun around and glancing backwards over his shoulder to Kris. It was supposed to have been an easy job.

Nothing could have prepared the man for what followed. He caught site of something moving in the tree. As he stepped closer to it his eyes promptly bugged out of his head. "What the hell is that?" He exclaimed, anger having been replaced by confusion and fear as he stared into the eyes of what appeared to be an elf no bigger than the size of his hand. "Who are you people?" He asked, before being overtaken by a great invisible force knocking him to the ground.

As if the fall to the ground wasn't bad enough it was nothing compared to the sharp blade of the titanium carving knife piercing through his calf. He screamed out in agony, letting out a series of profanities. Gun still in hand, he got back up on unsteady feet, prepared to shoot at the first thing that moved. He locked eyes with the Elf-King and took aim.

The Elf-King grinned and winked before lifting the horn to his lips and sounding a deafening battle-cry knocking everyone back down to the ground. Magically from within the tree limbs emerged a swarm of mini-elves, each dressed in their holiday finest complete with colorful red elfin hats and boots. From their sudden combined weight the tree began to sway from side to side. Shocked by the spectacle before him, unable to process what was happening the man remained frozen in place, his mouth hanging open. Then all hell broke loose.

"Attack!" The Elf-King shouted.

The tiny elfin army whooped and hollered as they pelted the man from head to toe over and over again with glass ornaments from the tree. Their surprise assault left him little defense and it was all he could do to shield his face with his hands to protect himself from the flying glass. Seizing an opportunity to take down their opponent, the Elf-King, doing his best Tarzan impersonation, swooped down from a flashing cord of Christmas lights and effortlessly kicked the gun from the man's hands as the elfin army cheered them on. Castle watched in awe as the man's weapon flew clear across the room before running over to retrieve it.

Despite being outnumbered the gunman managed to scramble back up on his feet, however he would not remain vertical for long. Instantly, from every angle, the determined elves swooped in on the remaining ropes of lights, and kamikaze-style began hurling themselves at the intruder's large frame, pummeling him with their bodies, latching on with all their might. A united front, they brought him back down to the ground in one fell swoop as he cried out for help and, as Castle retells it – his mommy.

While the attack-elves continued to pounce on the man, the Elf-King pulled Castle's gun from the man's pocket and tossed it across the room to Castle who caught it mid-air. Castle rushed over with the intention of helping, however as it turned out, this was completely unnecessary. The elves were doing fine on their own. Again the horn sounded and Castle stood by, amazed, as the first line of elves held the assailant down on the ground while a second line of elves appeared, swooping in on numerous strands of twinkling lights to further assist their king. The man struggled, determined to escape their clutches, but it was not to be. As he cried out for help they rolled him over and over again, the strands of lights lassoing him like a pig at a rodeo. With precision and warp speed they flipped him, securing his limbs, successfully immobilizing him. Once captured, the Elf-King stood victorious atop their prize and after stuffing a fairly large Christmas stocking into their prisoner's mouth, turned to ceremoniously address his cheering warriors.

Suddenly, Tommy became visible, growing in size before them, back to his normal self before sharing an embrace with Holly.

Kris stood proudly by the Elf-King and congratulated his faithful followers. "Splendid! Astounding!" He exclaimed. "You all outdid yourselves today. Thank you. Thank you." There were hugs and rejoicing all around.

"Shucks, it was nothing, Santa." The Elf-King replied. "Just doing our jobs."

"Nevertheless, well done one and all." Kris insisted, locking eyes with Tommy and giving him a great big smile of approval and admiration. "That was very heroic, Thomas." He praised, making him blush.

Kris tugged at Castle's arm and pulled him over for a formal introduction. "Ricky, you must come meet everyone. Everyone, this is Ricky, the one I told you all about. Of course many of you may remember him as, Ricky Rodgers. He's all grown up now...um, for the most part. Ricky, say hello to...well, everyone." He chuckled, knowing there were too many to name. They gave him a hero's welcome.

"That was amazing!" Rick said, grateful to the masses. "Thank you for saving us! Hey – and you got here just in the 'Saint Nick' of time." He laughed at his own joke, despite heavy sighs and moans from the crowd. He looked to Kris. "Tough room."

"Indeed." The Elf-King replied, impatiently clearing his throat to garner Kris' attention.

"Oh, please forgive me, Jangle. Where are my manners? Ricky, this is Jangle, my head of security... Jangle, allow me to introduce, Ricky Castle."

"It's a real honor, your majesty." Rick said, shaking Jangle's hand and then bowing.

Jangle scrunched his brows in confusion. "Why is he bowing?" He asked, Kris, who merely sighed. "Pleasure's all mine, young man. I believe I speak for everyone when I say, we appreciate you taking such good care of Santa for us."

They were interrupted by a noise in the vestibule beyond the front door. The room went silent. "Off with you now!" Kris whispered and the mini-elves scattered back into the branches, vanishing in a flash.

Castle panicked. "Do you, um, think that's a good idea? What if we need them?" He double-checked the branches to see if any of the mini-elfin soldiers were still hanging around, but only Jangle remained perched atop the tree.

"That won't be necessary, Ricky." Kris assured him.

"But how can you be so sure? What if what's his face over there brought a friend with him? Maybe it's not too late to call them back?"

Suddenly, the door burst open and Castle instinctively drew his gun, lowering it immediately when he realized who was at the other end of the barrel – it was Beckett alone, but armed and dangerous, prepared to extinguish whatever new peril lie ahead. "Castle!" She yelled, breathing a sigh of relief that he appeared to be unharmed and that they hadn't just shot each other. "Are you okay? Everyone all right?"

Rick let out the breath he'd been holding, ecstatic it wasn't another one of Mangosa's goons. "Oh, thank god it's just you." He replied, happy to see her beautiful face. "Yes, I'm fine. We're all fine." Holly, Kris and Tommy nodded, but kept quiet.

Beckett looked down at the ground and her mouth hung open at the sight of the incapacitated prisoner lying face down on the ground with a stocking stuffed in his mouth, bound and wrapped in twinkling strands of Christmas lights, struggling to get free. There was a knife sticking out of his leg. The man was looking up at her with eyes begging to be saved. "What the hell…how did you…"

She scanned the rest of the room, assessing the damages. The now disheveled Christmas tree, completely unadorned, thousands of shards of broken glass ornaments scattered everywhere, the muffled cries of the bound prisoner as he inadvertently injured himself rolling onto the glass in a futile attempt to escape, the fact that all the other occupants in the room were apparently unharmed. She noticed blood on the floor where the prisoner was lying. "Is that your kitchen knife? Oh my god, Castle what the hell happened in here? Is he shot too?"

"No. But not for lack of trying." He replied, embarrassed. "I never even touched the guy."

"Then how on earth did he…," She wasn't quite sure what to call it.

For once the writer was at a loss for words. He opened his mouth to start explaining, but it sounded ridiculous, even to him. "Long story." For the time being that was all he could muster. The prisoner cried out again and Castle stomped his foot down on his back, holding it steady to keep him in place. "Dude. Really?"

She holstered her weapon. "Back-up's on the way."

Kris wobbled over with his cane to join them. "So nice to see you again, Katie. It appears you've missed all the excitement!" He looked down on the man at their feet with disgust and poked him hard with his cane causing him to cry out. "Oh, stop carrying on so." He admonished. "Nobody likes a whiner!" Then he winked at Kate before continuing on towards the living room to find himself a comfy chair. Maybe Ryan was right; Santa is a badass.

Her curious nature would never be satisfied with "long story". "Okay, give me the short version, Castle. What went on here? Who knifed him?" Her brows furrowed. "Who…ornamented him?" Is there even a police code for that? Though she hadn't acknowledged him yet she saw Tommy Frost standing off to the side trying his best to appear invisible. She looked him right in the eye before turning back to Castle.

"All right. If you say so." Castle said, nodding to the guy under his foot. "To sum it up, twinkles here knocked out the Fed who'd been guarding the door, broke into the loft, and then held us all at gunpoint, and then…we took him out. It was a team effort." He quickly changed the subject. "Someone should probably check on the agent. He was unconscious when the guy pulled him into my bedroom."

Holly raised her hand. "I'll go!" She offered, quickly pulling Tommy along with her into the bedroom in an attempt to delay his inevitable confrontation with Detective Kate Beckett for as long as possible.

"Thanks." Castle replied, turning his attention back to Kate. "Where are Ryan and Espo?" He asked, casually changing the subject.

"Helping Jordan pick up the Mangosas. That's where I was headed when I got your message. There were some major breaks in the case this morning. Vinny Costa confessed, the Feds found Jimmy Russo and they've both agreed to testify. Costa gave us BB's hiding place which turned out to be the motherload. Inside was the gun he shot Timmy with along with a ton of other incriminating evidence against BB and the Mangosa's; names, dates of hits, loans made– and a few, very, very disturbing doodles. Also, we may finally have a solid lead on our bomber."

"Woah…seems we both had a busy morning."

"Yes. Only my morning didn't include being held at gunpoint, so you win."

"Fair enough. By the way, and not to be nitpicky, but wasn't the building supposed to be heavily guarded with agents. Where the hell is everyone and why didn't they come rushing to our rescue?"

"They couldn't get in." She replied, pausing to call in for back-up and an ambulance for the prisoner and downed agent. "But I'm sure they're downstairs now, swarming the lobby of your building." She approached the prisoner, checked him for weapons.

"I believe you're looking for these, Detective." He held up both guns like they were contaminated and handed them over for her to inspect.

She recognized Castle's own gun in the mix, and worry over what might have happened to him spread across her face. Thankfully, she confirmed it hadn't been fired.

"I'm fine, Kate. Like I said…I never used it." He assured her, when she handed his weapon back to him.

"Good. I'm glad you didn't have to." She meant it, but was now more curious than ever to hear how they managed to take down the intruder.

Castle removed his foot from the prisoner's back so Beckett could cuff the man through the wires and then helped her roll him over onto his back. She left the stocking stuffed in his mouth. He'd have plenty of time to talk later.

"What did you mean before when you said they were locked out?" Castle asked.

"The Feds were literally locked out of the building..." She explained, annoyed at the poor protection they'd provided. "The undercover agent posted in the lobby was shot at close range. He's on the way to the hospital now. I'm not sure if he'll make it. From what I can make out it looks like there are only two assailants; your guy here and his buddy downstairs. They shot the agent, blackened out the security cameras, and locked down all the entrances; including the garage level and elevators."

"Then how did you get in?" He waited for her to elaborate.

A flash of red appeared in her peripheral vision distracting her, but when she gave it a second look it was gone. "Played the damsel in distress, took out his accomplice at the door downstairs." She rattled off, like it was just another day at the office. She inched closer to the tree. "Castle, did you see that?"

He followed her line of vision. "Did I see what?" There was no sign of Jangle, who he assumed by now, was long gone. She'd never believe me unless she could see it with her own eyes.

With a keen eye she moved closer, spread the branches. "In the tree – I could swear I saw something just move."

He imagines her reaction when he tells her the truth; moments ago the tree was overflowing with Santa's minions of elves who then hurled themselves at their trespasser ultimately conquering him. He looked to Kris hoping for some sage advice on explaining it all, dismayed to find him snoring peacefully. "It was probably just your imagination working overtime." He replied.

Her eyes might be playing tricks on her, but considering the events of the day, a thorough inspection didn't seem out of order. There was a rustling in the tree. "There! Tell me you heard that!" She frantically spread the limbs apart but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Before he could answer, Holly came back into the room with Tommy at her side. "Good news, Detective. The agent's coming to. I think he'll be alright, although he'll probably need a few stitches. His head's bleeding pretty badly."

"That's a relief. Ambulance is on the way." Beckett said.

"We'll go sit with him!" Holly said, grabbing Tommy's elbow to drag him with her.

"Not so fast." Beckett said, stopping them before they could hightail it back to Castle's bedroom. She observed the short man with his arm tightly wrapped around a nervous Holly's waist and gave him the stink-eye. "Who the hell are you?" She demanded, despite having already guessed at his identity.

Castle jumped in, gesturing towards Tommy. "Allow me. Detective Kate Beckett, may I present the infamous, Tommy Frost? Tommy, this…is my Beckett." He smiled.

"At your service, Miss." Tommy grinned, with a bow and tip of his baseball cap. "So lovely to meet you…"