A/N #1: I want to thank everyone for the reviews. Especially the ones who have liked the rising level of tension. I write angst better than any other genre, so I'm quite good at ratcheting up the tension and terror.
A/N #2: Again, there will be spoilers from 'Reckoning.' There are three scenes that I'm going to use because they tie into things that I'm going to add on my own. And of course, I have to use that final scene between Castle and Tyson, because how could I not? That scene was epic! Oh, and the end scene at the precinct.
A/N #3: I'm also changing something after the end of Nieman, because there was something that made no sense. Why was Kate not covered in blood?
In My Veins
Chapter 6: The Final Showdown
Castle was surprised that he made it home in one piece, since his eyes were being constantly blinded by tears. He wanted Beckett back. He needed Beckett back. And he was going to do what he had to do to make that happen.
He got off the elevator around the corner from the loft and once again wiped his eyes before walking to the door and unlocking it. He forced a smile at the sight of his mother and daughter in the living room. "Dad," Alexis rushed over and greeted him with a hug. "What's wrong?" She asked when she saw his red-rimmed eyes.
"Beckett's missing."
"Missing?" Both Martha and Alexis echoed at the same time.
"Tyson was able to leave the precinct. Beckett was at the OCME to talk to Lanie. Only she never made it inside the building. We don't know where she is. I wanted you to hear this from me. There's going to be someone coming over soon to put traps and traces on the phone."
"Like when Alexis was missing?" Martha asked.
"Yeah. I can't stay long. I need to get back and help the guys try to find Kate."
"What about that doctor? The one who was with him? Could she have taken Kate?" Martha wanted to know.
"She was with Tyson when he left the precinct. We think it was done so that they would have alibis. They're working with at least one more person. A young woman. But they may have others helping them. We don't know. I'll try to call you before the techs get here. But don't answer the door to anyone else. And both of you stay here. Okay?"
"Of course, Richard," Martha hugged her son.
"You'll find her, dad," Alexis also hugged her father.
"I hope so, sweetie," he kissed the top of her head. "I'll call if we learn anything. Alexis, set the alarm, please."
"Okay."
Castle left the loft and returned downstairs to his car. He sat behind the wheel for several minutes before he made a decision regarding his nemesis. One that held the element of surprise.
He drove to Tyson's apartment and sat across the street for several minutes, watching a police cruiser slowly drive by before he pulled on a hat and got out of his car. He quickly entered the building and went up the stairs to Tyson's unit. He wondered briefly if he should knock or kick in the door. Either way, he held the cards. He decided to be a gentleman and knock.
Tyson cracked the door and immediately tried to shut it. "No, no, no, no! I told you that I'm not—"
Castle wasn't listening. Instead, he kicked in the door and sent Tyson flying across the room. Bleeding badly from a cut near his eye, Tyson presses his hand to the cut, watching Castle calmly close the door behind him.
***CCC***
Back at the precinct, Tory got a hit on the van that was suspected in Beckett's abduction. "It's driving away from the OCME about eight minutes after Beckett was taken."
"Can you see the plate?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, the rear plate. They didn't obstruct that one. It was reported stolen in Queens three days ago."
"That's gotta be it," Espo said.
"All right, I'll run the APB," Ryan added.
"Make sure we let Castle know," Espo instructed his partner.
"Yeah, where is Castle? I know that he said that he was going to tell Martha and Alexis about Beckett, but shouldn't he be back by now?" Ryan wondered.
"Let me see if he's still at home," Espo stepped aside and called Martha. "Hey, Mrs. R. I was wondering if Castle was still there. We have a tip, and we wanted him to know about it. When did he leave? Yeah, he should be back any minute. He might have run into traffic. Thanks, Mrs. R." He hung up and looked at Ryan. "I hope that he's not doing something stupid. Martha said he left the apartment 15 minutes ago."
"Let's give him a few more minutes."
***CCC***
Back at Tyson's apartment, the serial killer decided that it would be wise to call for help. He knew the cops were nearby. He'd seen them driving by the building for the last hour or so. "Help! I need help!"
Castle's response was to grab him and throw him into a wall. "Where is she?"
"I told you; I don't know!"
"Huh? Why'd you do it, Tyson? For revenge? Because we were happy?"
"Look, you have the wrong guy."
"The hell I do! Where is she?"
Castle grabbed Tyson and once again hurled him across the room, causing the killer to crash into a bookcase. "You planned this. You and Nieman. But it ends tonight."
Tyson grabbed a loose board with a couple of nails sticking out of it, taking a swing at Castle's head. "Go to hell," Tyson snarled at him.
Castle took a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Tyson's head. "Where is she?" He repeated, cocking the hammer on the gun.
"Hey. Hey. Hey, man. No, no, no. Wait a minute."
Castle can see that he's got Tyson on the ropes. The dude is genuinely terrified. Scared is exactly where he wants him. He wants him to be as scared as he knows Kate probably is at this very moment. "Tell me where she is, Tyson, or so help me, God."
"I don't know," Tyson now has his hands out, trying to stop Castle from shooting him. "And I'm not Tyson. He just wants you to think I am."
"Where is she?" Castle asked once again.
"I didn't do this. I didn't do any of this."
"Where is she?"
"I'm not him! I – Doctor Nieman just made me look like him. But I'm not him."
"Where is she?" Castle's voice is getting more menacing each time he asks the question.
"My name is Michael Boudreau. I swear. I was – I was born in Iowa. I was raised on 11725 North Genoa Street. My parents' names are Michael and Lauren. I'm not Jerry Tyson. I'm not! I swear!"
"I don't believe you." Tyson gasped in terror as Castle took a step closer to him. "Now, last chance. Where is she?"
"No, no! Please don't! Please!"
Just as Castle started to pull the trigger, they both heard a loud crash coming from the other room. "NYPD! Freeze! Drop the gun! Now!"
After several warnings, their words seem to reach Castle's brain. Realizing what he was about to do, he slowly lowered the gun to the floor. He continued to stare at Tyson, as his hands are cuffed behind his back. At the last second, as they're about to take him from the apartment, a look of recognition crosses Tyson's face and Castle knows that this is just another piece of the twisted game he's playing. It's as if he knew that Castle was going to show up.
When the uniforms take him out to the street, Castle almost groans out loud when he sees Ryan and Esposito waiting by their unit. "We'll take him from here. Thanks."
"We'll get the victim and bring him to the Twelfth."
"Okay."
"Castle, have you lost your fucking mind?" Espo yelled at his friend. "What are you thinking?"
"I wasn't."
"You got that right," Ryan opened the back passenger door. "Gates is going to come unhinged."
They rode to the precinct in silence. As predicted, Gates wasn't happy, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she took Tyson's statement when the uniforms brought him in. Castle sat at Ryan's desk, stone-faced, surrounded by the boys and LT. "Assault with a deadly weapon? Don't you think that Ryan and I didn't want to beat the crap out of him and Nieman? That's not going to get her back."
"I'll be back," Ryan said, seeing Gates wave him over. After speaking to the captain for several minutes, he returned to Castle. "He's pressing charges, Castle. We're going to have to book you."
"Me? What about him?"
"We don't have anything to hold him on. Come on."
Tyson got to his feet and gave Castle a smug look before once again leaving the precinct.
***CCC***
Nieman was getting ready to go see Beckett when her cellphone rang. "I thought that we weren't going to talk until later."
"Castle just tried to kill me. I might have to step things up a little sooner than we had planned."
"What do you mean, Castle just tried to kill you?"
"I'm okay. How long will it take you to get what you need from her?"
"I don't know. Another five or six hours, at least."
"Start working. If Castle is as predictable as I think he is, we should have our final meeting late tomorrow afternoon."
"You're sure that he'll go and talk to Marcus Gates? And Gates will talk?"
"Gates wants his revenge. I'm why he's doing life without parole. He'll talk. I'll call you sometime tomorrow. Did you send Amy out to the house?"
"She's there."
"Good. We'll talk soon."
In the other room, Kate was trying to keep it together. She had begun working on the stitching holding the wrist cuff on her left wrist together. It was slow work, but it wasn't like she had anything better to do. While she worked, she thought about Castle. It was hard to believe that just days earlier, they had been discussing starting a family, and now this was happening. 'Rick, when I get out of here, we're not waiting. I want babies with you. More than anything in this world. I want you to experience parenting with a partner. I swear that you will never raise our babies alone.' She blinked as tears rolled down the corners of her eyes.
She stopped working when she heard the key in the lock. "Why the tears?" Nieman walked over and gently wiped Kate's eyes, causing her prisoner to flinch. "I know that you must be terrified. I would be, if I were you. I promise that everything will be over soon. And I promise that I'll make the end as painless as I can."
"Can I ask you something else?" Kate asked after Nieman had given her a bit more water.
"It's not like you're going to get out of here and tell anyone what we've talked about."
"Did you know him before he went to prison the last time?"
"I've known Jerry for a very long time. I volunteered at the prison to be near him."
"You love him?"
"Like I said, he's very special."
"Did you train him, or did he train you?"
"I guess you could see that we trained each other. I helped him with some aspects, and he helped me. I love him like you love Mr. Castle."
"Your love for Tyson is nothing like my love for Castle. How dare you even put it in the same category."
"Det. Beckett, I enjoy talking to you until you get that fiery look in your eye, and then it just gets boring. It's like listening to that teacher from 'Charlie Brown.' Now, I have things to do, and I'm tired of listening to you talk. I'll be back soon."
***CCC***
Shortly after Castle was fingerprinted, he was handed a cloth to wipe the fingerprint ink from his fingers. Instantly, a coffee cup appeared in front of his eyes. "You are never going to win going straight at him," Capt. Gates informed him. "If he thought there was any chance of that, then he wouldn't have stayed in that apartment." She unlocked his handcuffs and led him over to a nearby bench. "We'll take care of the rest of the booking details later."
"Anything on the van?" Castle asks, taking a sip of his coffee.
"No. Not yet." Castle sighs at the news. "You know, when I first got here, I couldn't figure out what Beckett saw in you. But you know what she said?" Castle shook his head. "'He sees the story. I see the evidence, where it leads, but he sees the story.' That man got inside your head, and you let him. You want to help her? You've gotta get inside his. What's his story? What's his next move going to be? Now, you figure that out, and we'll find her."
Castle returned to the bullpen and sat down at Beckett's desk, looking at the familiar objects that surrounded him. At some point, he dozed off because he jolted awake when he heard Ryan's angry voice. "What's going on?" Castle asked, rubbing at his eyes.
'Tyson. Boudreau. Whatever his fucking name is. On the way back to his apartment, he got away from the unit that was transporting him back. The unit tried to follow him, but they lost him."
"How did they lose him?"
"He bolted onto a subway platform."
"I want transit authority on full alert!" Gates ordered. "Get his picture on the wire! I want him found!"
"Sir, it gets worse," Esposito reported. "Nieman's gone, too."
"How is that possible? We've had units on her this whole time!"
"They think that she went to the roof of her building and crossed to the next building."
"Get an APB out on her! Get teams down to St. Simon's!"
Castle's phone rang. He looked at the unfamiliar number before answering. "Hello?"
"How did it feel to be that close?" Tyson's voice came over the line.
"Guys!" Castle called out. "Tyson!"
"Start a trace!" Gates ordered Ryan.
"You know what part I liked the best? The pain in your eyes. The suffering. And all that fear, knowing that I have her."
"Well, if it's about me, take me. Take me and let her go."
"No. No, if I took you, I'd only get to kill you once. You see, this way I get to kill you over and over again."
"Tyson? Tyson?" The phone call ends. "Ryan, did you get him?"
"Stand by. Okay. The number's coming through right now."
"Where's he calling from?" Gates asked.
"Oh, God. Castle, he's calling from your house."
***CCC***
After ditching the cops on his trail, Tyson went on the prowl. He knew exactly what he was looking for. He just had to find her. The cut over his eye ached, but he welcomed the ache. He knew that Castle would have some fire in his belly. But he wasn't done adding fuel to that fire. It was time to make him really suffer.
Walking down the street, he spotted her. She was his type – blonde – but he could change that. She was the right body type. "Hey," he walked up to the young woman standing on the corner, "you feel like partying?"
"What the fuck happened to your face?" The young woman asked.
"Occupational hazard," he touched the dried blood over his eye.
"What is your occupation? Bar brawler?"
"Yeah, something like that. Do you want to party or not?"
"Sure, why not. What do I call you?" She asked as they began walking toward a nearby hotel.
"You can call me Mike."
"I'm Sydney, Mike."
"Nice to meet you, Sydney."
***CCC***
Martha was in the kitchen making her some tea when the apartment door was breached by first Ryan and then Esposito, followed by at least a dozen heavily armed police officers. The sight of all the cops caused Martha to scream in fright. "What is going on?"
Upstairs, Alexis was coming out of the bathroom when her bedroom suddenly filled with the police. "What the hell, dad?" She screamed when she ran out of her room, followed by the officers.
"He isn't here," Ryan reported after the loft is searched top to bottom. "He must've spoofed your number from the outside."
"Richard, what is going on?"
"I want you girls to be safe. Get your passports and pack enough clothes for a few days. I'm going to call a friend in London. Until we find Beckett and get these two psychos, I want you two out of the country. Go. Now!"
Castle went into his office and made a phone call. He was on the phone for several minutes. When he came out, both Martha and Alexis had packed and were waiting by the door. "You're both booked on a flight that's leaving JFK in an hour. These guys are going to go and make sure that you get on the flight safely. I'll call when I can. Do you have your passports?"
"Yes," they both answered.
"Dad, please be safe," Alexis leans in for a hug.
"I will."
Martha then hugs him tightly. "Be careful, baby."
"I love you."
"Bye," Martha kisses him on the cheek.
Castle was barely holding it together when he watched them walk out the door. He couldn't believe that it had already been 24 hours since Kate had gone missing. It felt like 24 days. When was it going to end?
"They'll be okay, Castle. At least we know that they'll be safe," Ryan assured him.
"Do we really know that? We don't know how many people they're working with. They could have a network of people. Hell, there could be someone downstairs watching them leave right now. We don't know any more now than we did yesterday. All I know for a fact is that my wife is still missing, and for all I know, he could've dumped her body somewhere. Somewhere . . . where I'll . . . never find her."
"Castle, you can't start thinking like that," Espo told him. "I don't think that Beckett is dead. Do you know why I don't believe that?"
"No."
"Because they aren't done playing, yet. This is a game to them. A game that we don't know the rules to. But maybe it's time that we took the game to them."
"How?"
"I don't know, but you're a smart guy. You'll figure it out."
Going back to the precinct, Castle thought about what Espo had just said. Gates had said as much earlier. Get inside of Tyson's head. Who knew the serial killer best? Besides Kelly Nieman, there was only one other person. The person that Tyson had sent to prison. His former proxy. Marcus Gates.
"Castle, I'm sorry," Ryan spoke up from the front passenger seat.
"For what?" Castle was confused.
"That night at the motel. If I had moved just a little faster, reacted a little sooner—"
"It's not your fault. It's all on him. He's the bad guy in all this."
Ryan's cellphone rang. "Ryan. What? Where? Yeah, we're on it." He ended the call. "A uniform in Queens spotted the van from the APB. It's parked outside of an abandoned industrial property. I'll put in the address."
Ryan typed the address into the car's GPS and Esposito started for the destination. When they arrived at the scene, ESU was already there, processing the van. "It's empty," The ESU captain reported. "But there's something on the third floor of the building."
He handed Ryan his binoculars. Bringing them to his eyes, Ryan looked on in horror at a woman tied to a chair in the middle of the room. "How many others?" Ryan asked.
"We don't know. We can't get a visual."
"Castle, get behind us," Espo warns. "If he's around here and he starts shooting, he's going to gun for you first."
"Is she in there?"
"Castle, do what I said!"
Approaching the third floor, an ESU tech slid a camera under the door. Castle's heart caught in his throat when he saw a woman that appeared to be Beckett tied to a chair. The tech gestured to his colleague and the other man kicked in the door. They stormed in.
As they kicked the door in, they all heard Beckett's frantic voice warning them. "Castle, wait! Get back! It's a trap!"
The deafening sound of a shotgun blast stopped them in their tracks. They see the woman in the chair slump in a bloodied mess as the gunfire stops. Castle stares in horror before he hysterically reacts. "Beckett, no!"
He runs over to her, tears blinding him. "God," he cries to himself as he takes her hand, seeing her wedding ring. "Kate, I'm so sorry," his voice cracks as he cradles her bloodied head in his hands. That's when he realizes that it's not Beckett. He reached up and removed the dark wig from the woman's head. "It's not her! It's not her!"
A short time later, they're all standing outside as Lanie arrives to take possession of the body. "Who was she?" Castle asked as they watched the body being loaded into the back of the morgue van.
"A drug addict. Just like the others. He rigged the weapon to fire when ESU breached the door. There was a speaker under the chair. He used it to broadcast Beckett's voice," Ryan told him.
"He wanted us to watch. He wanted us to watch that poor girl die," the thought made Castle sick. "Kate's still alive."
"You're sure of that now?" Ryan wanted to know.
"Positive. Like Espo said, he isn't done fucking with me, yet."
When they returned to the precinct, Castle went to the men's room to wash his face. He glanced in the mirror and took a deep breath before leaving the room and going to Capt. Gates office. "Sir?" Castle asked after knocking on the door.
"What is it, Mr. Castle?"
"I think I might have a way to get into Tyson's head. But to do it, I need to talk to Marcus Gates. Can you arrange for me to see him later this morning?"
"I'll see what I can do. You're sure that Gates is the answer?"
"Yes, sir. He's doing life because he acted as Tyson's proxy. He'll want revenge."
"I'll call the warden. I'll have an answer soon."
"Thank you, sir."
***CCC***
"You got so angry when I compared what Jerry and I have to what you and Mr. Castle have. Why is that?"
"Because you and Jerry are sick freaks," Kate hissed. She was exhausted. Mentally and physically. She wanted this to end one way or the other. "What are you going to do to me?"
"You already know the answer to that."
"If you're going to kill me, then do it already. Did you do this to Michael Boudreau before you killed him?"
"Before he died, Michael Boudreau was begging us to kill him. To make the pain go away. Do you know how doctors extract bone marrow?"
"I've read about it. What did you do with his body?"
"I'm not going to tell you that."
"Why? It's not like I'm going to live to rat you out."
"A girl has to have some secrets. Anyway, we have work to do." She went to the countertop and came back with a light, which she used to wave over Beckett's face.
"What are you doing?" Kate attempted to shrink away from the green lines glowing across her body. She then saw a likeness of her face pop up on a computer monitor across the room.
"You really do have lovely features. I wasn't lying about that."
"You're sick."
"If you keep saying that I'm just going to gag you again. You're beginning to sound like a broken record."
Kate had been working on her bindings for hours, alternating between the nut and bolt assembly on the rail she was cuffed to and the stitching on the cuff itself. She didn't feel like she was getting anywhere. But you'll do anything when you're desperate, so she kept plugging away.
***CCC***
Espo was standing at the murder board, looking over their evidence when he saw Castle get off the elevator. "How did it go at the prison with Marcus Gates?"
"I may have something. Where's Kevin?"
"In the breakroom."
Castle walked toward the breakroom, motioning for Espo to follow him. "Gates told me that Tyson mentioned a place up the Hudson where he'd go as a kid to get away from his mother. I called the Putnam County Building Records and got a copy of the building plans." He opened his laptop and brought up the file. "Tyson has to be hiding out here."
"What about Nieman?" Ryan asked.
"I doubt that they're together. They're not that stupid. And I don't know which of them has Beckett, but if we can get to Tyson, we'll have a better shot at Nieman's location."
"Castle, if you go into that house, I want you wearing an earpiece. We'll be able to hear you, and you'll be able to hear us." Espo told him. "Keep it deep inside your ear so that he doesn't see him if you do happen to encounter him."
"We can't show up at the property when he does," Ryan warned his partner. "If we do, Tyson will kill Beckett, or order Nieman to do it if he doesn't have her."
"Keep us in the loop, Castle."
"You've got it."
"What about Capt. Gates?" Ryan looked toward their captain's closed office door.
"I'll tell her that we're working on a lead. The less she knows about this, the better."
***CCC***
Castle drove to the property that Gates told him about. It was about an hour north of the city. When he arrived, Castle double-checked his gun and texted the boys to let them know that he was on the scene. At first, he wondered if Gates had sent him on a wild goose chase. That is, until he saw the door open, and a familiar blonde step out on the front porch. "So, you were working with him all along?" Castle mumbled to himself.
Castle quietly exited his car and walked toward a nearby tree. From his vantage point, he watched Amy light a cigarette and look out over the front yard suspiciously, as if she knew that she was being watched. Castle ducked behind a second tree when Amy stepped off the porch and began walking toward him.
When she rounded a second tree, Castle came from behind his tree and pointed his gun at the back of her neck. "Don't scream, or I will shoot you," he warned. "Who else is in the house? Is Beckett in there?"
"No one's inside. I'm alone. Det. Beckett isn't here."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me. I'm just here to keep watch."
"I don't believe you. They wouldn't leave you here alone. They'd be too worried that you'd alert the police. You're not the master criminal here, Amy. Where's Tyson? He's inside, isn't he?"
"I told you, no. If you take me back to the house, I'll show you where they are."
Castle thought about this for a minute before deciding against it. He removed a zip tie from his pocket and placed it around Amy's hands. The young woman doesn't struggle. She doesn't even scream. Not even when Castle opened the trunk of his car. "What're you doing?" She asked him.
"If I go in there with a hostage, your boyfriend will kill me for sure. Because I know that he's probably watching both of us right now. Do you know what I like about this car? All the trunk space. Get in."
"What if I'm lying and they are in there? They'll kill you as soon as you walk in the door."
"Yeah, that's a chance I'm willing to take," he closed the trunk lid and began walking toward the house, gun in hand. "Espo, if you and Ryan are nearby, I'm heading inside. By the way, Amy Barrett is in the trunk of my car. Don't worry, she isn't hurt. I just wanted her out of the way."
Ryan looked at his partner's face. "What's going on?"
"He's heading inside, and he has Amy Barrett locked in the trunk of his car. I'm going to park just up ahead and find a sniper's nest. I'll give you a signal when it's safe to go inside."
"Javi, what if this doesn't work?"
"It has to work. For Beckett's sake. And for his."
***CCC***
Back in Nieman's laboratory, things begin to get stranger. Beckett became fully convinced that her captor was indeed insane. "I used to be ashamed of who I was inside. The things that I dreamt about doing. And then I met Jerry. For the first time, I met someone who got it. So, if you think that I'd ever turn on him, then you don't understand me, at all."
"What do you think is going to happen to you when you're no longer useful to him? What do you think is going to happen to Amy? Or has he already killed her? I can help you, Kelly. I might be your only chance."
"Oh, you're already helping me. More than you can possibly know. With all the media attention that this case is creating, I'm going to need a new face. Jerry will, too. I've chosen your face, Detective. Like I told you once, your features are perfect."
***CCC***
Castle crept up to the back stairs and turned the knob on the back door. It was unlocked, so he cautiously crept into the house. Seeing food on the kitchen table, he knew that someone was home. Using skills that he's learned from his wife, he begins slowly sweeping the house. There's no sign of Tyson, but he knows from the building design, that there are a lot of places where the elusive serial killer could be laying in wait.
The downstairs are clear, so he begins to climb the stairs to the second floor, trying to avoid creaking stairs. He comes to a closed door, so he turns the knob. He sees light coming from another room, but it's empty of Tyson when he opens the door. However, there are pictures and news articles about him and Kate on the wall. But even more horrifying is a monitor on a desk. Castle can see Kate strapped to a table, a gag in her mouth. "She isn't here," he whispers.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Castle turned and instantly is tased by Jerry Tyson. Castle crumples to the floor, instantly incapacitated by the electric voltage of the weapon. "I'm so glad that you could join me," Tyson taunts. "I can't believe how fucking predictable you are!" He takes out his cellphone and makes a phone call.
"Do you have him?" Nieman asks after answering on the first ring.
"Yeah. Did you get what you need from her?"
"Enough. I can do the rest after."
"Wait for my call, then."
"Okay."
Tyson pulls a chair over and helps Castle to his feet. "Have a seat."
Castle sits in the chair which is positioned right in front of the computer monitor. "Jerry, you've got me. Please let Kate go."
"'Kate.' I like watching you beg for her life. But I can't let her go. She's a huge part of all this. She's why I brought you here, don't you see?"
"You brought me?" Castle found this intriguing. Let the mind games begin.
"Human beings are so predictable. Like mice. I can get people to do anything that I want them to do just by dangling a little cheese at them."
"You're saying that you knew that I was coming? Really?"
"I knew that you were going to visit Gates and I knew what Gates was going to tell you. See, you don't have anything to do in prison but talk to your cellie. Share all your hopes and dreams, your childhood stories. Because in prison, you have nothing but time. I even told Kelly that I knew how predictable you were. What did you do to Amy?"
"What were you going to do to Amy?" Castle volleyed back.
"I like Amy. She has a lot of potential."
Castle glanced at the monitor before returning his attention to Tyson. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"I want to see your face when I make you watch her die."
"No. That's not it."
"No?" Tyson was confused.
"This isn't about me. It's about so much more than that. This is about you. Your inadequacy. All the games, all the manipulation? After I screwed up your plans, you needed to prove you were smarter than me. You needed to know you could control me."
"Well, you're here," Tyson shrugs, stating the obvious.
"I've written characters like you. Cunning psychopaths so narcissistic they believe they can't be caught. Because they're smarter than everyone and they need to prove it. Now that's your story, Jerry. Why you did everything. You needed to prove it. So I let you."
"What do you mean?" Tyson is clearly confused.
"I let you bring me her. It was the only way to find you. I needed to find you so that I could find Kate. But the truth, Jerry? The truth is, I lured you here. To watch you die. Are we clear?"
"Yeah, I've got him," Espo's voice sounded in his ear.
"Then take the shot," Castle's voice is flat, without expression.
Too late, Tyson realized what's happening. He turned to the window just as a bullet flew through the window and straight into the center of his chest. He turned and tried to raise his arm to aim a gun at Castle, but just as suddenly, he fell to the floor, lifeless.
"Ryan, he's down!" Espo calls out to Ryan.
Ryan ran into the house and upstairs where Castle is looking for Tyson's cellphone. "He placed a call a few minutes ago."
"I'll call it in!"
***CCC***
Back at the makeshift surgery, Nieman is pacing nervously and looking at her phone. "Something's wrong. He should've called by now."
Beckett wondered if the police have closed in on Tyson. She also knows that it's now or never. Nieman approached the table with a bag of surgical instruments in her hand. She opened it and removed a scalpel, bringing it closer to Beckett's face.
Kate didn't even realize that she was free until she twisted to get away from Nieman's knife, and her wrist broke free. With a strength that she didn't even know that she possessed, she grabbed onto the wrist that was holding the scalpel. The sudden move surprised Nieman, which was all that Kate needed. Fighting for the scalpel, someone Kate got it in her hand and with one swift motion, brought it across her captor's throat. She gasped when she felt the large spray of arterial blood cover her.
Ignoring the dead body at her feet, Kate made quick work freeing herself from the other restraint. Stepping over the spreading pool of blood, she was still standing there when she vaguely heard a commotion behind her. But everything else sounded like a dull roar.
"Beckett?"
She turned when she heard footsteps behind her. Still not speaking, she felt Castle take the bloody scalpel from her blood covered left hand, and gently cradle her face in his hand. Only after feeling his touch did she relax and allow him to pull her a little closer.
Only after Castle had moved Kate out of the crime scene were Ryan and Esposito able to examine Nieman's body. "She's gone," Espo said. "I'll call the coroner."
"We need to get a bus out here to check Beckett out," Ryan added.
"No," Kate shook her head. "I'm okay. I just want to change clothes."
"Beckett, with all due respect, you've been held captive for two days. And you know that Gates would insist on it, too," Ryan told her.
"I have some wipes in the car. Maybe we can get the worst of the blood off you," Castle suggested as the boys nodded in agreement.
Once Castle had removed her from the scene, Espo took out his cellphone and called Capt. Gates. "Sir, both suspects are dead. We've got Beckett."
"Is she all right?"
"Physically, she appears to be okay. We're going to have paramedics check her out."
"Good. Det. Esposito, there are a lot of people who are very relieved right now. Bring Beckett and Mr. Castle back to the precinct when you're done at the scene."
"Yes, sir," Espo ended the call and looked at his partner. "Gates wants us to bring them both back to the precinct when we're done here."
"I have a feeling that Beckett isn't going to like that. She's a wreck, Javi."
"I know, but Gates sounded firm."
Downstairs, Kate was sitting in the passenger seat of the Buick while Castle used multiple wipes to clean the blood from her hands and face where it had sprayed when she'd slashed Nieman's throat. He noticed that she was shaking. "Are you cold?"
"No," she shook her head. "Are you okay?"
He was surprised by the question. "Am I . . . Beckett, I'm perfect, now," he smiled at her. "I don't have any clean clothes on me. I can give you my jacket if you don't want to . . . look at your shirt."
"I don't know what she did with my clothes. Or my wedding ring. I didn't know that it was missing until just now. Can you look for it?"
"I'll ask the ESU guys to search for your clothes," he could see the flashing lights of the ambulance approaching. "I know that you think that you're okay, but will you humor me and let them look you over?"
"Okay."
He held his hand out to her, smiling when she took it. Sitting in the back of the ambulance, she tolerated the once over by one of the paramedics. "Your blood pressure is high, but that might be due to the stress of what you went through."
"Are you taking me in?"
"No," he shook his head. "They would just treat you with fluids and warmth. You can get both of those at home."
She looked over the paramedics' head at where Castle was standing. After several minutes, the paramedic cleared her to return to her husband's side. "Can we go home now?"
"Gates wants us to return to the precinct," he could see her beginning to protest, so he quickly continued. "There has been a whole city full of people looking for you, Kate. They just want to welcome you back. We can go home after that. I promise. The boys have to take Amy to be booked, anyway," he nodded toward Ryan and Esposito's car.
Kate saw the young woman sitting in the backseat of the car. "Where did you find her?"
"It's a long story."
"What happened to Tyson?"
"He's dead."
"For real?"
"Yeah, Kate. He's really dead this time. I'll tell you everything . . . later."
"Okay."
***CCC***
Kate found some clothes in her locker at the precinct. After she changed clothes, she got on the elevator with the boys and Amy Barrett. The boys stood at the back of the elevator with Amy sandwiched between them. Feeling that Kate was still in a profound state of shock, Castle slipped his arm around her shoulders, anchoring her to him. She finally gave him just a glimmer of a smile as they stepped off the elevator on the fourth floor. The boys passed Amy off to a pair of officers before following Castle and Beckett toward the bullpen.
Kate is taken aback when the whole room comes to their feet and begins clapping. "Are you okay?" Castle whispers to her, watching her nod. In the distance, Kate can see Gates standing in the doorway of her office, her arms crossed over her chest. But before she can say anything, Lanie appears from out of nowhere and embraces her best friend tightly. "I was so scared! Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Kate assures her.
Once Lanie releases Kate and steps aside, Capt. Gates comes forward. "That was the stupidest, most reckless, irresponsible stunt you've ever pulled, Mr. Castle."
Kate looks at her husband, wondering just what in the hell he's done this time. But instead of giving Castle a further tongue lashing, the captain holds her hand out. "Thank you." Instead of taking her hand, Castle steps forward and hugs her tightly, which makes Gates laugh. "Okay! All right, all right, all right! Okay!" This makes Kate laugh. "There's still the matter of the assault charges."
"Assault charges? Castle, what did you do?" Kate asked.
"It's . . . it's . . . a long story. But Captain . . . you can't be serious!"
"Serial killer or no, you threatened an unarmed man with a gun. The DA takes that very seriously. But in light of your outstanding work on this case, he's willing to drop the assault charges if you agree to a thousand hours of community service."
"A thousand hours?" Castle can't believe it. He managed to get one of the city's top detectives back from a serial killer alive and he's the one being punished?
"Yes. As a consultant to Detective Beckett and the Twelfth Precinct."
"I'm . . . I'm . . . being unbanned?"
"Mr. Castle, welcome back," Gates congratulates him, which earns her another exuberant hug from the novelist. "Okay. Take your wife and go home."
Castle turns to Beckett and lifts her off the floor in a giant hug. Kate hugs her arms around his neck hard. She's so glad to be free from her ordeal and to get her husband back by her side on a permanent basis. "Let's go home," he whispers, feeling her nod on his shoulder.
A/N #4: The next chapter will be the aftermath of this ordeal. But it will be all me.
A/N #5: I apologize if some of this is in the wrong tense. I don't know why I'm doing that. Hopefully I caught all of them and corrected it.
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