942. Chapter 942

After A Deadly Game

Episode 2.24

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I have yet to own Castle. Rating: M Time: See above.

Chapter One.

"Are you sure there isn't something going on between Beckett and Castle?"

Ryan and Esposito both shrugged. "Why would you ask that?"

Detective Demming shrugged in return. "They just seem to be….So very in tune as partners. I just wonder why he….Or she…has never….."

"Look, Beckett's dating you now, okay? Now Ryan and I are great partners, but we don't date, so why should Castle and Beckett?"

Ryan pointed down the street. The writer waved at them from a block away. "If you're so curious, you can ask Castle now. Here he comes now." He added softly. "With one coffee again."

What happened next was so quick that none of the three detectives moved before it was almost all over. Two men wearing baggy black sweats, baseball caps and sunglasses grabbed Castle from behind and shoved him into a waiting car. As they did do, a man in a grey suit began running towards them. One of the black clad men fired two shots at the running man, knocking him down. Then he stepped forward and fired one more round into the man's head. He then jumped in the car, which sped off.

"Jesus!" Shouted Esposito. "Ryan, the car. Demming, go check the guy they shot. And call it in."

Their car being only feet away from them, they shot off in pursuit, Espo also calling in the shooting and kidnapping.

"Which way, dammit!" Espo yelled.

"Right! They turned right on Nineteenth."

But when they followed, they almost collided with a double parked cab, letting an old lady out. Esposito slammed on the brakes, then shot around the cab.

"They're two blocks ahead of us." Ryan yelled over the sound of the siren. "I think it's a Jersey plate, but I can't make out anything else."

They managed to close within a block, then the car turned into a parking garage. They saw the car exiting the other end of the car park and accelerated just in time to almost hit a pick up backing out. The driver of the pickup stopped, oblivious to the siren and the yelling detectives to check something. By the time the two detectives got by him, the car they had chased was long gone.

"Okay, partner. We chased him past a couple of street cams. We'll get his plate and maybe a look at the driver or passengers."

Detective Kate Beckett was sitting at her desk, wondering where her detectives and her shadow were when Esposito and Ryan came out of the elevator. "Beckett. We got one. A murder."

"Why didn't it come to me first, Javi?" She asked, curiously.

"It was right outside. We saw it. Castle was coming to the precinct and…"

Beckett's heart skipped a beat. "Castle? You mean….?" She grabbed onto her desk to steady herself, something both detectives noticed.

"No. But Castle was kidnapped. Two guys grabbed him and tossed him into a car. Some dude tried to stop them and got shot for his troubles. We chased the car, but it got away. Jersey plates, though. Demming's checking the guy who got shot, but I'm sure he's dead." Espo finished.

Beckett relaxed a bit. "Okay, a kidnapping will mean the FBI'll get involved after twenty four hours."

"They'll be involved a lot sooner than that." Demming said rushing out of the elevator. "When I got to the vic, he had apiece in his hand. I checked him for ID, he's an FBI agent. Name's George Calvert. Dead. A double tap to the chest and one to the head."

"We should check traffic cams." Ryan said, heading to the IT room. "We should get the plates and maybe a look at the people involved."

They had no trouble finding shots of the kidnapping. "Okay, we got the plate. I'll give it to Montgomery so he can call the Feds. "Ryan left to go to the Captain.

Kate watched the abduction of her partner from four different angles. She watched as the man she had decided to leave Tom Demming for was dragged into a car and sped away.

"See how Castle jerks, and then collapses." Espo said. "I bet they used a stun gun on him to knock him out."

Ryan came back and brought up a video feed from an electronics store several blocks away. The cameras were state of the art and gave them a clear shot of the occupants of the car, all of whom had their faces covered by hoodies, hats and sunglasses. "Hey, look." Ryan said suddenly. "There's Castle and he has a black bag over his head. That's good. They don't want to show him their faces. That way they can let him go later."

Beckett relaxed ever so slightly.

She went to see Roy Montgomery. "Sir, did the FBI say anything about when they'd show up? I thought they'd be here by now and taken over."

"Not a damned word. They took the information down like I was ordering a damned cup of coffee. Didn't even say thanks. But they'll be here, you can bet on that."

Esposito stuck his head in the door. "We got something on the APB we put out on the car. A Jersey State Trooper saw the car, but they drove into Teterboro Airport. They dragged Castle into a single engine plane and then the damned car blew up, damaging the trooper's car. He couldn't stop the plane, but he got the tail number, N 905 DM. The airport says they lost the plane on radar almost as soon as he took off, but it has a range of about 930 miles, max, probably less with a full passenger load."

Montgomery picked up the phone again. "I'll call the FBI, the FAA and the TSA. I'll make sure that every airport within a thousand miles is looking for that plane."

"Sir?" Kate said. "Someone should go tell Castle's family."

Montgomery nodded. "He's one of ours, so go tell them, Beckett. Tell them we'll do everything we can to get him back."

Kate stood at the loft's door, almost hoping Castle would answer and this would all be just some kind of a huge mistake. Martha opened the door.

"Detective Beckett. How good to see you. I'm afraid Richard isn't home yet. But, please do come in." She called over her shoulder. "Alexis, we have company."

When seated with Martha and Alexis, Beckett spoke. "I'm here about Castle. I have some bad news." She explained about the kidnapping and the shooting and tried to emphasize the reasons for hope.

"Martha, Alexis, I feel so responsible for this. I should have been there or done something. I just feel so damned helpless."

The older redhead took her hand. "Katherine, you did not kidnap Richard and I hate to say it, but my son is perfectly capable of getting himself into all sorts of trouble all by himself." Martha squeezed her hand. "Oh, dear, where are my manners? Would you like some dinner? I imagine you've been working with no food all day. Richard says you do that."

"No, thank you. I really should get back to the precinct." Kate got to her feet, and after a quick hug from Martha and Alexis, left.

As soon as she returned to the precinct, she took Demming into the break room and broke up with him as quickly as she could. Feeling slightly better, she went back to her desk.

After being shoved into the car, Castle felt a sting on his leg. As he started to pass out, he thought, I've been drugged.

He woke up later in what he at first thought might be a cheap hotel, then decided it was some kind of prison. The room was made of yellow painted cinderblocks with a greenish linoleum floor with no windows. The only furniture was a bed and a small table. There was one light in the ceiling behind a thick pane of glass. He noticed the door had no handle on his side. It could only be opened from the outside.

The door opened and two men walked in. Both were huge, several inches taller than Castle and many pounds heavier. The weight appeared to be all muscle. Both were Caucasians with almost shaved heads. One smiled at Castle and held out a large paper bag. "We got you a large chili bacon cheeseburger, garlic fries and a chocolate milk shake. They're good. You'll like the food."

Castle slowly took the bag from the man's hand. "Uh, thanks. I guess." He was not sure if he should say anything else.

"We wouldn't want you to starve to death." The man nodded and both left.

Castle opened the bag and began to eat. Regrettably, his imagination was getting the better of him. Just because they don't want me to starve to death doesn't mean they don't want me dead some other way. He imagined himself being led out into an arena to face one of the huge men in mortal combat, with an audience of sadistic billionaires cheering. He imagined Kate Beckett sitting on Demming's lap, alternating kissing him and giving a thumbs down to Castle. I can't think that way. Instead he imagined himself served up with an apple in his mouth to a group of sadistic billionaire gourmets. This time he didn't imagine Beckett there. He did idly wonder how much a best selling author would fetch per pound.

Once he was done, the light went out and he slept.

Kate arrived at the precinct at a bit after dawn, having been sent home by Captain Montgomery at ten o'clock the previous night. She went straight to the morgue.

"Hi, Sweetie. How are you?"

Beckett grimaced. "How do you think I am? What can you tell me about the vic?"

Lanie gestured to the body under a sheet. "Cause of death and time of death is as expected. Two gunshots to the chest and one more to the head."

"When can we expect something from ballistics on the slugs?"

Lanie shook her head. "We can't. Ballistics won't help."

"Why not? The slugs can't have been that damaged. What's wrong?"

Lanie took her to a microscope. "These are the 9mm slugs I pulled from the vic. Take a look."

Kate bent over the microscope. What she saw, or what she didn't see, surprised her. "Where are the striations on the bullets from the gun's rifling?"

"There aren't any, Sweetie. These bullets were fired from a smooth bore pistol. No rifling. The pistol would have been awfully inaccurate at anything but point blank range, but even if we recover the pistol used, we can't match it to these bullets."

Many thoughts ran through Beckett's mind. "That's the kind of a gun a professional would use."

Lanie nodded. "Which is a good thing, I think. Professionals won't want to hurt Castle. They want him alive for a ransom."

Kate just stood there looking down at the bullets.

"Kate, why don't you go upstairs and have a cup of coffee with Tom. You'll feel better."

Beckett shook her head. "I broke up with him last night. Castle invited me to go to the Hamptons over the Memorial Day weekend. I was going to go with him and see….Well, we'd just see."

"Kate, I'm so sorry. If there's anything…."

Kate straightened up. "I have to get upstairs. I'll bet the FBI is all over the place. Let me know if you find out anything. Anything at all."

To Beckett's surprise, there were no FBI Agents in the bullpen, not had any arrived, or even called. She went straight to Esposito's desk.