Once the elevator arrives on the sixth floor, Rick and Kate step in after the doors slide open. They both know that being on this thing is probably going to get them killed, but they will finish what they started. Kate turns and looks at the emergency phone door. She pulls it open and points to the emergency call button that could save them.

Rick kneels, and holds open the emergency call box door when Kate lets go of it and looks down. He sees the red button and pushes it. Kate is making the sign that he should pick up the phone with her thumb to her ear and her pinky to mouth and make the call. But it isn't that type of setup. He tells her that there's only a red emergency button to push that connects the phone to the police department. He signs back to her, telling her that there is no receiver to talk into.


The two cops had gone separate ways up to the sixth floor from the East and West staircases. Both of them arrive on the sixth floor and start converging on the elevator area. In no time, they're running down the hallway toward the elevator.


Rick can't hear the phone connect, and when it does, it's just a recorded message. He thinks that he's talking to a live person, so he starts telling them what he needs. If he could hear, he would hear a recorded message telling him,

"Thank you for calling Gotham security. All of our operators are busy at the moment, please hold the line." This Is repeated over and over.

"This is Detective Castle,"

Rick says after he thinks he hears a live person on the emergency phone, but it's only the recording.

"I'm in a hostage situation at the Sycamore building. I need you to listen because I can't hear you. Please contact my partner Javier Esposito at the 12th Precinct, and he will confirm that I am an NYPD Detective. We need help sent to the 6th floor as soon as possible."


"Julio, he's on the phone in the elevator. He's calling someone on the outside."

The crackle of the radio alerts Julio. He just looks to the ceiling, knowing that things just got a little more complicated now.


Rick looks at Kate and knows that he got his message out. He grabs her hand and pulls her out of the elevator before the doors close, but as they do, even though he can't hear it, a live voice comes on after the recording.

"Gotham security, how can I help you?" The voice says over the tiny speaker.

"Hello, is anyone there?" The voice asks.

Then all that is heard after that is a dial tone.

Rick leads Kate out of the elevator and down the hallway, but before he can do anything, the silhouette of a man is directly in front of him. And it's pointing a gun at him. The second they spot each other, Rick realizes now this is one of the dirty NYPD patrolmen. Then the cop fires three shots at him. Rick raises his gun and says,

"Drop your weapon."

He yells at the cop again as he moves Kate behind his body to protect her with his left arm and threatens the cop who ducks behind a vestibule. Deciding that leaving would be the better option, Rick and Kate turn and run back towards the elevator. They are met with the other dirty cop who raises his weapon attempting to fire, and Rick raises his even though it's empty making the second cop think twice.

He makes an idle threat as they come closer to the elevator doors which thankfully have not closed completely yet. They both jump in even though it's against everything they thought was right. Rick feverishly pushes the button to close the door, and by the time both cops get there, the doors are closed and they can get away. The two cops curse each other, knowing that they got away. They listen to the radio as Jim calls out what floor they are on, and they wait patiently by the stairway ready to move.

Julio, who has been listening to the radio transmissions himself, is already climbing the staircase to the upper floors.

"They're on the 7th, the 8th, still going up. He's got a gun, the son of a bitch has a gun."

Jim reports on the radio.

Julio responds with,

"The magazine is spent, there's no ammo in it so it's useless to him,"

Julio reports on the radio, putting them at ease.


As they traverse upward, Rick looks up and sees the camera with the red light flashing that is recording their every move in the elevator. He takes the butt of the gun, slams it into the camera lens, and disables it. Now the tables have turned. Rick looks at Kate, and without warning, she pushes the button for floor number nine. For the first time, he signs to her correctly,

"What are you doing?"

All she says is,

"Trust me."


Julio made it up to the 10th floor. He knows or has a good feeling that that's the floor they have selected and are going to end up at. He stands at the ready with his weapon pointed at the elevator doors to take both of them out.

Then he hears Jim tell them that the elevator stopped on the 9th floor. He still doesn't move, not believing him, hoping that they continue up.


The doors of the elevator open on the 9th floor, and Rick has his gun pointed at the wall in front of him across the hallway even though it's empty. There was nobody there, and they were relieved. They had outsmarted their pursuers once again, but for how long?


Julio reached the 10th floor, a hunch burning in his gut. He was certain this was their destination, the floor where his prey would make their stand. With weapon at the ready, he trained his sights on the elevator doors, prepared to take out both targets the moment they emerged.

A crackle came over the radio; Jim's voice broke through the silence.

"Elevator stopped on the 9th floor."

Julio remained frozen, his finger tight on the trigger. He didn't believe it, couldn't shake the feeling this was a ploy to throw him off their trail.

Julio held his position, weapon still trained on the elevator. He counted the seconds, each one ticking by like an eternity. Twenty passed before he finally lowered his gun and moved towards the stairs, a growing sense of unease propelling him to investigate.


Rick and Kate watched from within the elevator as the doors slid open on the 9th floor. Neither made a move to exit; instead, they allowed a pair of heartbeats to pass before Rick punched the button for the 10th floor.
The elevator hummed back to life, the display flashing upward. When it finally stopped on the 10th floor, Rick stood ready, his gun raised in anticipation. The doors slid open, but the hallway beyond was devoid of any sign of the enemy.


At the same moment, Julio found himself on the 9th floor, pushing open the heavy door to the stairwell. His footsteps echoed through the concrete stairway. He approached the elevator, gun at the ready, only to be met with an empty corridor.


Rick cautiously reached back into the elevator and took Kate's hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze before pressing every button from the 10th floor down to the 1st, ensuring the elevator would stop at each level. It was a gamble, but any delay would work to their advantage in evading them.


On the 9th floor, Julio heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He spun around, heart pounding in his chest. Two of the uniformed officers from the 6th floor emerged from the shadows. He tightened his grip on his weapon, his finger instinctively finding the trigger.

"What the—?" Julio breathed, trying to process how they'd managed to end up here.

"I told you there was to be no gunfire"

The officer who had spoken up previously shrugged. "You told us no gunfire. But this place is a ghost town. We figured..."

Julio clenched his jaw, struggling to rein in his rising anger.

"We don't know that yet, damn it! We will search every apartment on this floor. If they're not here, we'll move up to the next floor."


Meanwhile, Rick and Kate made their way down to Kate's floor. The familiar carpet and neutral walls of the hallway brought a strange sense of normalcy amidst their desperate situation. They arrived at her apartment door, and Kate caught Rick's arm just as he reached for the handle.

Her hands moved quickly in ASL, asking,

"What are you doing?"

Rick replied with a simple response,

"I'm looking for a phone. Mine or yours. What better place to find one than in your apartment?"

He watched her face for any sign of hesitation but found none. With caution, Rick turned the handle and pushed the door open. The living room beyond was bathed in an eerie silence. Then his eyes landed on Angel, sitting motionless on the couch. Rick's gun snapped up, his voice barking out, "Don't move one muscle, or I'll blow your brains out!"

The IV bag that Angel was holding up slid out of his hand and caught Rick's attention.

Across the room, Kate moved swiftly to search the mantle for Rick's phone. Her hands skimmed over the smooth surface, her eyes scanning frantically. When her search yielded nothing, she turned her attention to the bookshelf beside it.

Rick kept his weapon trained on Angel, his finger tight on the trigger.

"I mean it, don't move, or your brains will be splattered all over the wall behind you."

The threat hung in the air, but Angel simply stared back, a strange smirk curling at his lips.
Kate's search proved fruitless, and with growing urgency, she waved at Rick, trying to catch his attention. When that failed, she took to stomping on the floorboards, the hardwood vibrating beneath her weight.

The sound finally broke Rick's focus. He cast a glance over his shoulder to find Kate signing,

"Your phone is not here."

He processed this for a moment before responding,

"Search everywhere – it's got to be here."

Kate promptly disappeared into the spare bedroom, leaving Rick alone with Angel. The man remained unsettlingly still, his eyes never leaving Rick's face. Rick kept his weapon trained on him, his senses on high alert for any sign of movement.

In the back of the apartment, Kate tore through each room, her search growing more and more desperate. Finally, in the bathroom, her eyes scanned the entire room and found nothing.

Meanwhile, back in the living room, the air remained thick with tension. Angel's smirk seemed to grow, his gaze never wavering from the gun trained on him. Then a noise came from the hallway, growing louder with each passing second. The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor. Rick strained his ears, trying to pinpoint the exact location.

Suddenly, Angel's eyes lit up. "It's okay," he murmured, a sinister smile spreading across his face. "His gun isn't loaded."

Just then, the medic emerged from the hallway and into the living room, a gun trained on Kate's head. She had the young woman in a headlock, her grip tight and unyielding.

"Put your gun down on the floor now!" she growled, jerking her chin at Rick.

Caught off guard, Rick hesitated for just a moment before slowly lowering his weapon. His mind raced, trying to process what was happening.

"Now, kick it over to me!" the medic barked, her grip on Kate tightening.

Angel let out a strangled laugh, the sound filled with malice.

"You dumb deaf moron," he spat.

Rick remained frozen, unsure of how to react. His eyes darted between Kate and the medic, his mind racing for a way out of the situation.

The medic jerked Kate closer, her gun digging into the girl's temple. Kate's eyes were wide, her breath coming in shallow gasps. Rick strained against the urge to launch himself at the medic.

Then, in a stunning turn of events, the medic slowly lowered her weapon. She tucked it into her bag and released Kate from her hold, giving her a shove in the direction of Rick.

As Kate stumbled towards him, the medic turned back towards the door. Over her shoulder, she tossed,

"This isn't in my job description."

With that, she disappeared out into the hallway, leaving Rick, Kate, and Angel staring after her in stunned silence.


The room hung suspended in the aftermath of what had just transpired. Rick's mind spun, struggling to process what had just happened. It wasn't until Kate grabbed his arm, her eyes wide with fear, that he was snapped back into reality.

Angel sat across from them, his gaze filled with shock and betrayal. A string of curses fell from his lips, each one more vicious than the last. His hands clenched into fists, his face reddening with rage.
Rick simply stared at him, confusion warring with relief within him. He could hardly believe what had just transpired. The medic had held their lives in her hands, and yet she had walked away.

The silence stretched out until it was finally broken by Angel. A menacing laugh bubbled up from his throat, the sound sending chills down Rick's spine.

"Looks like it's just you and me now," the man sneered, a cruel smile twisting at his lips.

Rick's heart pounded in his chest. His eyes darted to the radio still lying on the table, and then to Kate, her face pale and frightened. With a sudden burst of movement, Angel launched himself at the coffee table. His hands closed around the two-way radio lying there. Rick sprang into action, but it was too late.
Angel's voice crackled over the radio, his words spilling out in a frantic rush. Julio's name was the only one Rick could make out. He lunged at Angel, but the man held the radio out of reach.

The two of them crashed to the floor, wrestling for control of the device. Rick's fingers closed around it, but Angel refused to let go. Kate watched in horror, unsure of what to do. Then, in a split second, Kate sprang into action. Her hand closed around a nearby statue. With a strength born of desperation, she brought it down on the back of Angel's head.

There was a sickening crack, and then Angel slumped hanging over the coffee table, the radio still clutched in his hand. Rick rolled away from him, his chest heaving with exertion. He sat there for a moment, simply staring at Angel's unmoving form.

Finally, he seemed to snap back into reality. With a groan, Rick pushed to his feet, his eyes scanning the floor. His gaze landed on the phone that was tucked away in the back pocket of Angel's jeans. He made his way over to it, his footsteps echoing through the silence. As he approached, Kate had the same thought, her eyes searching his face. Rick took it from Angel's pocket, his fingers closing around the familiar weight. He hit the display button, the screen lighting up in the dim room. But it was locked, the face of some unknown person staring back at him. Rick frowned, confusion wrinkling his brow. How could they unlock this phone?

Beside him, Kate was signing frantically. Her hands moved quickly, her eyes urgent. Rick watched her, his mind racing to interpret her words.

And then it hit him. "His face!" Kate was signing, her finger pointed at Angel.

Understanding washed over Rick. With a surge of determination, he moved over to where Angel lay. He grabbed the man's hair, pulling his head up. The phone was lifted, and Rick watched the lock screen return.

"His eyes! Pull his eyelids open! Rick signed to Kate. She did and they were relieved as it finally unlocked.

Rick let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding dropping Angel's head back to the coffee table with a hard thud.