Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Missing

His thighs burned and an aching tightness hinted at an impending cramp.  His shoulders and the muscles in his neck were screaming at him to put down his burden, but he staggered on.  Gasps of air pushed past his dry chapped lips and down his equally parched throat.  The bullet graze was a line of fire along his rib, aggravated by his salty sweat.  He stumbled, fearing he would go down this time, but his right leg managed to hold up and compensate for the awkward lurch.  One foot in front of the other.  It repeated in his head like a loop, keeping him moving, helping him ignore the trembling muscles trying to tell him that he'd gone far enough.  That he was at the end of his endurance.  That he'd done his best.

But he knew that was bullshit.  He wasn't finished yet.  Now that the clouds had cleared out and the sun beat down through the trees, he could finally clearly see where he was going.  Two days of wandering in circles were over.  He had direction, sheer stubbornness and an incentive to get his ass out of these woods.  The man he carried on his shoulders wouldn't last another night.

A tree root grabbed his foot and he stumbled once again, but his balance couldn't compensate this time.  He went down on his left knee and toppled to the side, rolling as best he could to protect his partner.  Sweat dripped down into his eyes, stinging and making him blink.  He swallowed convulsively, his throat so dry it felt like the sides literally stuck together before reluctantly separating.  He wanted nothing more than to sob in anger and despair, but that wouldn't do anybody any good.  He tightened his grip on the wrist clasped in his sweaty right hand, braced his foot and his spirit, and heaved himself once upright.

The words of an old song from The Hollies drifted into his head.  He let out a half sob, half laugh and began to sing in a raspy voice. 

The road is long,
With many a winding turn,
That leads us to who knows where,
Who knows where…

But I'm strong,
Strong enough to carry him.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother...

                                                     **************************

Six days ago…

Whistling a jaunty tune as he exited the elevator, Richard Castle walked quickly down the hall into the 12^th precinct’s Homicide bullpen.  A boyish smile lit up his face at the sight of three figures standing in front of a white board, bouncing ideas off one another.  Castle joined them at the murder board, causing a pause in the discussion.  Detective Kate Beckett turned to him with a smile, brushing her wavy chestnut hair behind her left ear.  “Hey, Castle.  Where's my coffee?”

“I have something even better.”  He handed her a novel, covered in a green and black dust jacket.  “Heat Lightening.”

Beckett took the novel and smirked.  “You realize I already read the advance copy the publisher had given you, right?”

Castle shrugged.  “It never hurts to read it more than once.  Besides, this is autographed.”  He handed the second copy to Detective Kevin Ryan.  “Here, Ryan.  I autographed it for Jenny.”

The younger man smiled widely, taking the book and opening the flap to read the insert.  “Thanks, Castle.  I'll let Jenny read it first.  She likes teasing me about knowing what happened before I do.”

Turning to the last member of their team, Castle shrugged at Detective Esposito.  “I would've brought you one, Espo, but you refuse to read them.”

The Hispanic detective folded his muscular arms and frowned at the writer.  “I told you before, Castle.  I'm not reading a book that has a character based on Beckett sleeping with a character based on you.  I'd have to gouge out my eyes.”  Esposito shuddered in revulsion, causing Ryan to laugh at his expression.

“You know, Javi, you could just skip those parts.  It's what I do.”

Looking slightly disappointed, Castle frowned.  “You don't read the whole book?”

“Dude, it'd be like reading about my sister's sex life.  Ew.” This time it was Ryan who shuddered.

“If you boys are done, we still need to solve Mr. Blake's murder.”  Beckett's hazel eyes wandered the board once more, but nothing useful popped out at her.  With a sigh, she turned back to her teammates.  “Ryan, expand the security video search out a few blocks.  Maybe we'll get lucky.  Espo, dig once more into Blake's financials.  It's possible that we missed something.”

“You got it.”  The boys, as usual, responded in unison.

Castle watched the two detectives as they headed to their desks, then turned to lean closely to Kate.  “Is Ryan okay?”

Eyes never leaving the murder board, Beckett frowned in puzzlement.  “What do you mean?”

“I don't know.  He looks...tired.”

“Oh, it's Jenny.  She's having a real problem with nausea with this pregnancy and I think he's up several times a night with her.”  Beckett turned away from the board to give Castle a wry grin.  “I guess it'll be good practice for him.  He'll be up with feedings once Baby Ryan II arrives.”

Groaning softly in sympathy, Castle settled on the edge of Beckett's desk to focus on the case at hand.    “I remember those days.”

The two sat in companionable silence, staring at the murder board for nearly half an hour with nothing jumping out at either as a solution to their crime.  Castle had just about decided to take a break to use the little boys' room when Ryan and Esposito hurried over, jackets in hand.  Kevin handed over a post-it note with a hastily scribbled address.  “We have another one.”

“Great, as if we needed another complication right now.”  Beckett took the piece of paper and mentally charted a map to their destination.  She looked up at her junior detectives in disbelief.  Esposito shot her a crooked grin.

“Yep. That's where Blake lived.”

“This might be the break we were looking for, though I wish we could have had that breakthrough without another dead body.  Let's roll, boys.”

The four made their way down to the city-issued Chargers parked in front of the precinct, splitting into their natural pairs.  Ryan didn't even bother trying to push Espo into letting him drive.  He was exhausted, and didn't have the concentration needed to navigate the busy New York traffic.  He knew Jenny's pregnancy sickness would, hopefully, eventually ease as they neared the end of the trimester.  Until then, though, they both had long and miserable nights.

Once buckled in, Espo started up the Charger and waited for Beckett to pull around to take the lead.  He eased the car out into traffic behind her and spared a glance at his partner.  “You okay, bro?”

Ryan shot him a look of seemingly genuine puzzlement.  “What do you mean?”

“I don't know.  You just seem kinda pale.”  Taking his eyes off the road long enough to smile broadly at his partner, Espo shrugged.  “You know, paler than usual.”

“Ha-ha.”  Kevin slouch in his seat and sighed tiredly.  “It's Jenny.  She's up two or three times a night, puking.  I've never had a problem with it before, but now just the sound of her retching triggers my gag reflex and I'm in the other bathroom throwing up everything I ate that day.  I'm just tired from lack of sleep.  And probably a little vitamin-deficient.  I drink water all day to combat dehydration, so at least I don't seem to have that issue.”

“You need to take some time off?”

“Nah, I'm okay.  Just tired.  I need to save my time off for after the birth.”

“Think you'll be okay at the crime scene?”

“I'll be fine, as long as nobody stars to hurl.”  Kevin laughed and shook his head ruefully.  “If I puke at a crime scene, I'll never live it down.  If you see me turning green around the gills, just distract me somehow.”

“You got it, bro.”

The rest of the drive to the crime scene was quiet as Esposito concentrated on navigating their way to the scene, and Kevin took the opportunity to grab a power nap.  As Espo pulled the Charger to the curb in front of a four-story red brick apartment building, Kevin blinked his eyes open and stretched his arms.  He felt much better than before.  The two detectives climbed from the car and joined Castle and Beckett on the sidewalk.  All four took a moment to look around and take in the surroundings then ducked under the yellow crime scene tape stretched across the alley between Baker's apartment building and the one next to it.  Beckett and Castle entered first, Ryan and Esposito trailing behind.

As soon as the boys entered the alleyway, the sound of retching hit their ears as the rookie who'd discovered the body lost his fight with nausea.  Esposito glanced over at his partner and immediately realized that Kevin was about ten seconds from joining the rookie.  Ryan's face had paled even more, if that was even possible, and Kevin had started to swallow convulsively.  Taking his partner's request to heart, Javier did the first thing he could think of to distract Kevin from his gag reflex.  He reached up and slapped his partner across the back of the head.  Hard.

“Ow!  What the hell, Espo?”  Ryan reached up to rub at the stinging spot on his head and glared at his partner.  “What was that for?”

“You told me to distract you.”  Esposito looked completely unrepentant.  “Well, you're not thinking of throwing up right now, are you?”

Still rubbing his head, Kevin let the glare of anger ease from his face.  “Huh.  Well, while painful, I have to say that your method certainly worked.”

Smiling smugly, Javier led the way towards the body next to the large dumpster under the fire escape.  “Glad to be of service, partner.”

“Do me a favor, though?”

“Name it.”

“Find some other way, next time?  With three more weeks until the end of the trimester, I'm likely to be brain damaged by the time her nausea goes away.”

“I'm sure I'll think of something.”

They shuffled to a stop next to the victim and began visually inspecting the body and immediate area around it.  Lanie had apparently been quite scathing with the rookie who had dared to contaminate her crime scene with his weak stomach and driven the poor young man back to the street for crowd control.  She looked up from her clip board to greet the two junior detectives.  “Javi.  Kevin.  Nice of you boys to join us.”  She took a second look at Ryan and frowned.  “You okay, Kevin?”

“Yeah.  Sympathy morning sickness.”  Ryan shrugged dismissively.  It wasn't as if he was going to suddenly drop dead from it, so it wasn't a big deal.  Just unpleasant.

Lanie clucked her tongue in sympathy and stood so she could get a better look at the detective's pale face.  “Let me know if you need anything for nausea.”

“I will.  Thanks, Lanie.”

Recognizing that Kevin was uncomfortable with everyone focused on him, Lanie smiled knowingly and knelt down once more by the body on the grimy concrete of the alley.  The M.E. pointed to the wound in the man's chest with her pen and filled them in on what she knew so far.  “Our victim took a single shot to the chest.  Looks like a 9mm and it went clean through.”  Jerking the pen over her shoulder, Lanie continued.  “CSU is over there, looking for the missing bullet.  Our rookie with the weak stomach found a wallet with ID.  His name is Aaron Switzer, thirty-two years old.  Lives in this building.  Best guess, until I get him on the slab, is that he's been dead approximately eight to ten hours.”

“So, somewhere around midnight.”  Beckett braced her hands on her hips and unconsciously looked up to the third floor.  “Switzer was Paul Blake's roommate.”

Frowning, following Beckett's upward gaze, Castle shifted closer to her almost without thought.  “Why now?  I mean, if the two were connected, why did the killer wait two days to take out Switzer?  Why not just kill them at the same time?”

Following Castle's train of thought, Ryan nodded in understanding and pulled out the small notebook he habitually carried in his jacket pocket.  He not only jotted down facts pertaining to their cases, but ideas and speculation.  You never knew when it would come in handy later.  “Blake was killed inside the apartment.  If the killer wanted them both dead the other day, all he or she had to do was wait two hours for Switzer to return home.”

“Maybe they didn't know Switzer was due back so soon.”

Glancing over at his partner, Ryan shrugged and scribbled “schedule knowledge?” in his notebook.  Maybe the killer didn't have intimate knowledge of the victims' schedules.  That would indicate that it wasn't someone close to the two men.  Beckett seemed to be considering the same possibilities.

“If that's the case, then it wasn't someone who was close to both of them or they would have known when Switzer got off work.”  She turned and crossed her arms, frowning thoughtfully at the body on the ground.  “Or, killing Switzer wasn't something our murderer thought needed to be done until yesterday.  Something changed that triggered this event.”

“Maybe Switzer found something that Blake left behind that would lead us to his killer?”

Smiling at Castle, Beckett nodded in agreement.  “That's actually a good theory, Castle.  Ryan, you and Espo search the apartment again.  Maybe we missed something.  Castle and I will head over to their office and see if we can shake something loose there.”

The four split up, Castle and Beckett climbing back into their Charger to head uptown, while Ryan and Esposito went inside and up to the third floor to check their victims' apartment once again.  Their case had suddenly become much more complicated.

                                                     *************************

Opening the door and ducking under the crime scene tape, Kevin entered the apartment and pulled on a pair of latex-free gloves.  He stopped in the middle of the living area, letting his eyes roam the room as his partner entered behind him and shut the door. 

Joining his partner, Javier raised his brows and asked, “Where do you want to start?”

Kevin shrugged and pointed toward the short hallway leading away from the living area.  “I'll start with   Blake's room.  I'm guessing we're probably looking for something really small.  Flash drive, memory card or something along those lines.”

“Sounds logical.  I'll check Switzer's room.”  Pulling on his own gloves, Esposito stepped into the room opposite Blake's and looked around for less obvious hiding places.

Having searched the bedding, mattresses, pillows and under the bed, Javier had moved on to the nightstand.  He checked under and behind the piece of antique furniture, then pulled out each of the two drawers and felt around the now empty space inside.  Nothing.  He had the same result with the chest, small sitting chair, closet, waste basket, clothes hamper, guitar, TV, behind pictures...every nook and cranny he searched.  Zilch.

By the time Esposito stepped back into the short hallway, he could hear Ryan rooting around in the bathroom.  He poked his head through the door and shook his head at his partner.  “Seriously?”

Looking down from his perch on the closed toilet lid, the globe from the overhead light in his hands, Kevin shrugged his shoulders.  “What?  I've found stuff in light fixtures before, you know.”

Espo smiled and pointed at Ryan's make-shift step stool.  “You check the cistern?”

Making a grossed-out face, Kevin reached up to screw the globe back over the light bulb.  “Yes.  Nothing there.”

“Alright, I'm going to go check out the kitchen.  I found bupkis in Switzer's room.”

“Yeah, same here.  Blake seems to have been a neat freak, that didn’t seem to feel the need to have a lot of personal possessions.  I'll be finished in here shortly.”

Leaving his partner to his search, Javier wandered into the kitchen and sighed.  There were so many places a guy could hide something small.  He had no doubt that Ryan was right in thinking it was something along the lines of a flash drive.  It was the quickest, easiest way to store information.

Esposito was fishing around inside a canister of rice when his partner finally joined him.  Ryan eyed the open containers and food boxes spilling over the counter tops.  “You find anything,Javi?”

“Nope.  I have a feeling we're not going to find anything here.  If the killer thought what he or she was looking for was here, they would've ransacked this place already.  Crime scene tape wouldn't keep them out.”

“You're probably right, but we have to at least look or Beckett will have our asses.”

“Why do you think I'm elbow deep in brown rice?”

Laughing, Kevin wandered back into the living room to continue their most-likely-fruitless search.  Neither detective was willing to risk the wrath of Kate Beckett.

                                            **************************

The next morning having come up empty-handed the day before, the boys split up to try to find a breakthrough another way.  Esposito dug once more into Blake's financials while he waited on Switzer's, looking for any anomaly they might have missed the first time.  Ryan pulled every kind of security or traffic camera footage he could find for a six block radius around the building in which their two victims had resided.

By late afternoon, they were both cross-eyed from staring at computer screens.  Ryan was about to call it quits, when his desk phone rang.  Glancing at the time on the bottom of his computer screen, Ryan sighed and picked up the receiver.  “Detective Ryan.”

“Oh, hello Detective Ryan.”  A breathy female voice came over the line, with a nervous undertone to the words.  “I live in the building over on 88^th and 2^nd.  Where you found Mr. Switzer?”

His fatigue forgotten, Ryan sat up a little straighter in his chair and reached quickly for a pen.  He cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear, pulling his notebook from a jacket pocket and flipping to the last page of notes on the Switzer/Blake case.  “Yes, ma'am.  Do you have any information on Mr. Switzer.”

“Yes, detective.  I've been house-sitting for my parents, so I wasn't there when...when the murder happened.”  Again Detective Ryan sensed nervousness in the woman's voice and he frowned as he jotted little side notes after writing down her words.  “Anyway, I heard about what happened and I just wanted to talk to you about the fighting I had been hearing over the last few weeks.  In his apartment, I mean.”

“What kind of fighting?”  Ryan wondered if they were missing a girlfriend or boyfriend who might be a suspect.

“I'm on my way to my parents' loft, Detective, and my cell phone is about to die.  Can you meet me there?  It's kind of a long story.”

With another regretful look at the time, Kevin smothered a sigh, glanced at his partner behind him and decided to agree to the meeting.  They had spun their wheels for days on this case and they were all eager to catch a break.  “Sure, Miss...?”

“Tallis, Detective.”

“Okay, Ms. Tallis.  My partner and I will meet you shortly.  What is the address?”

Kevin scribbled down the address and disconnected.  He slipped the notebook into his pocket, stood and grabbed his jacket.  He nudged his partner's chair with his foot.  “Got a possible lead, Espo.”

Turning his chair, Detective Esposito raised an eyebrow in surprise.  “Seriously, bro?”

“Yep.  Got a witness from our victims' building, says Switzer's been fighting with someone.  Wants us to meet her over on 67^th and Park.”

Javier whistled as he stood and grabbed his own jacket.  “Must have money.”

“Well her parents do, at least.  She said she's house-sitting for them.”  Kevin slipped his cell phone from his pocket and sent a quick text to Jenny.

Have to go see a witness.  Might be late.  Sorry, sweetie.

Her response buzzed as they rode the elevator down to the ground floor.  You sure you aren't just going to the bar with Javi?

Glancing at his partner, Kevin asked, “You got plans tonight, Javi?”

“No, why?”

“Want to join us for dinner?  I need you to alibi me for being late tonight.”

Esposito laughed as the elevator doors slid open and they stepped off, heading outside to their Charger.  “You promise you'll both wait until I leave before you start worshiping the porcelain god?”

Kevin waited for his partner to unlock the doors then slid into the passenger seat.  “I can promise we'll try.”

Starting up the engine, Javier pulled his seatbelt across and fastened it.  “Sure, why not?  It's been a while since I've seen Jenny.”

“After dinner, we can have that Call of Duty rematch.”  Kevin sent another text to Jenny, ignoring his partner's trash-talking.  Javi joining us for dinner to alibi me. OK?  It occurred to him that maybe he should have cleared it with Jenny first, but her positive reply let him off the hook.

Made pasta.  Plenty for three.  Call me when on your way home.  Love you.

Smiling, Kevin texted that he loved her too and slipped his phone back into his pocket.  He was a lucky, lucky man.

The drive over to the witness's building was frustratingly long due to the rush hour traffic, but they finally managed to find a free spot not far from the building.  They flashed their badges at the doorman and made their way to the elevator.  As the doors slid quietly shut, Esposito whistled softly.  “Man, the people in this building have money.  I bet just one painting in the lobby cost more than the two of us make in a year.  Combined.”

“I wouldn't take that bet.  You're probably right.  I'm not sure even Castle could afford this place.”

As the elevator stopped smoothly on the 7^th floor, Kevin looked at the numbers on the polished wooden doors and pointed to their left.  “This way, Javi.  723.”

Apartment 723 was tucked down a short hallway in the corner.  Esposito knocked on the door, which was shortly opened to reveal a young woman of average height, dark hair and hazel eyes that reminded Espo of Beckett's.  She smiled at the detectives and stepped back, wordlessly inviting them in.  The two men stepped into the wide vestibule and each fought the desire to raise their eyebrows in amazement.  The entryway opened up into a large living area, decorated expensively and tastefully.  It was like looking at a picture from a magazine.

The young woman introduced herself as she gestured toward the plush-looking sofas.  “I appreciate you gentlemen coming to meet me.  I know it's kind of late in the day.  Patricia Tallis, by the way.”

Reaching out to shake her offered hand, Kevin returned her smile politely while inwardly agreeing at the lateness of the day.  “Detective Ryan, Ms. Tallis.  We spoke on the phone.  This is my partner, Detective Esposito.”

Ms. Tallis returned their handshakes and motioned once again toward the sofas.  “Have a seat, detectives. Would you like something to drink?  Coffee, tea, bottled water?”

The two detectives glanced at each other and Esposito nodded politely.  “Sure, bottled water would be good.” 

While they waited for their witness to return, the two detectives settled onto one of the expensive sofas.    Ryan pulled his notebook from his pocket and slipped the small pen from its loop, ready to take notes.  Hopefully they could wrap the interview up quickly and head home.  It had been a long day, and he was looking forward to a home cooked meal.

Ms. Tallis returned and handed them each a cold bottle of water.  Kevin twisted off the cap, satisfied at the clicking that signaled the bottle hadn't been previously opened.  He took a swallow then set the bottle on the glass top of the coffee table and subtly wiped his hand on his pants leg.  The bottle had been sweating after being in a refrigerator.

“You said you had heard fighting.”  Kevin gave her his full attention, pen poised to take down her responses.  “Do you remember when this was?”

Letting Kevin take point on the interview, as he'd been the one to take the initial call from the witness and had a certain rapport with her, Javier took another swallow of water.  It was uncomfortably hot in the large apartment, and Esposito wished the interview would wrap up.  They were going to be late for dinner.  It really was stifling in the apartment, so he took a few more gulps of the cold water.  Kevin paused to take another gulp from his own bottle, so the Hispanic detective assumed his partner was feeling the heat as well.  It wasn't long before Esposito felt everything give a sort of sideways lurch.  His partner's voice had trailed off and Kevin rubbed at his eyes.

Brown eyes shifted over to the woman smiling disconcertingly, and Esposito's sluggish mind supplied the realization as a man suddenly appeared next to Ms. Tallis.  “You f'k'n drugged us.”

The newcomer, a tall broad-shouldered man with blonde hair, smirked and agreed.  “Just because the cap hasn't been tampered with, doesn't mean the bottle wasn't.  Be grateful I need you alive.  At least, for now.”

Ryan staggered to his feet, swayed and toppled back onto the sofa.  Things grew fuzzy around the edges and muffled voices swam to Javier's ears from a long distance.  Hands grabbed at his arms and his feet were suddenly tripping over themselves.  Hard tile turned to soft carpet.  The world dropped alarmingly for a long moment, then more soft carpet.  Echoes and concrete.  He tumbled onto a hard metal surface, his face pressed against the coldness.  A soft warmth fell against him.  The scent of his partner's aftershave.  A sliding thunk, then darkness.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Having managed to duck out of work on time for once, dinner had already been consumed and the dishes put away at a decent hour. Kate smiled from her position, draped over Rick on the sofa. “So, got any ideas for tonight's entertainment?”

Smirking, Rick waggled an eyebrow suggestively. “I'm sure I can think of something to keep us...entertained.”

“Mmm.” Kate pulled back from their passionate kiss with a sigh at the sound of her cell phone. She stretched out to grab it off the coffee table and frowned at the caller ID. “God, Kevin's passed his cock-blocking talent on to Jenny.”

As Rick chuckled and took the opportunity to land a wet, sucking kiss on her neck, Kate slid the green bar to answer the phone. “Beckett.”

He stopped his teasing kisses and paid more attention when Kate suddenly sat up and frowned. “No, Jenny, they were just going to interview a witness when I left the precinct. Kevin isn't home, yet?”

Rick slid out from under Kate and settled in next to her, leaning so his ear was closer to the phone. Kate obligingly hit the speaker phone so that he could hear. Both could discern the slight tremble of fear in Jenny Ryan's voice.

“No, and Javi was supposed to come with him to join us for dinner. I tried calling both of their cell phones, but they just go to voice mail. He hasn't returned my texts, either.” There was a slight sniffle as Jenny paused to regain her composure. “I was hoping they were with you.”

“No, but I'll see what I can do to track them down and have Kevin call you. Okay?”

Another sniffle and a relieved sigh. “Thanks, Kate. You'll let me know if...if something-.”

“I promise, Jenny.”

“Thank you.”

The call disconnected and Kate shared a worried frown with Castle. “They should have finished up by now. And it's not like Kevin to ignore a call or text from Jenny.”

“No, it's not,” Rick agreed. “Especially since the pregnancy. He's OCD about his phone, again.”

“Change of plans, Rick.” Kate stood and smiled in apology. “I'm heading over to the 12th to see what I can do to track the boys down.”

Pushing himself to his feet, Rick pulled her in for a quick hug. “No apologies necessary. I'm just as worried as you are, now.”

If the boys were just off tying one on before dinner, Kate was going to rip their balls off.

**************

While Beckett drove them to the precinct, Castle alternated dialing each missing detective's cell phone with no result. He left voice mail messages for both and sent texts, then finally slid the phone into his jacket pocket with a frustrated sigh. This reminded him too much of the time the boys had been taken by Lockwood. They'd been so close to losing Ryan and Esposito that night. Just moments from having to watch Ryan take a bullet to the knee.

Once Beckett parked the car in front of the 12th, the two made their way quickly up to the homicide floor. Kate took Espo's desk, while Rick checked Ryan's, but neither found any information on the witness the two had gone to see.

With a growl of frustration, Kate went to sit at her own desk and grabbed the phone. As she dialed a number, she frowned at Castle as he sat in his customary chair. “New rule. Any time one of us goes somewhere on a case, we mark it on the board.”

“Agreed.”

Anything else Rick might have said was forestalled by the hand Kate held up. “Yes, this is Detective Katherine Beckett, badge number 41319 at the 12th precinct. I need you to try to raise William-16 on the radio. If you don't get a response, trace their car. Detectives Ryan, badge number 42344 and Esposito, badge number 47049 haven't checked in and aren't answering their cells. Call me back at the 12th, extension 26035 when you know something.”

Hanging up, Becket clicked her mouse a few times as she looked something up on her computer. With a determined expression, she dialed another number and tapped her pen on her desk impatiently as she waited for an answer. “Yes, this is Detective Beckett, badge number 41319 with the NYPD 12th precinct. I need to ping a couple of numbers to get a location. I'll fax you the form, just give me the number.”

Scribbling down the number on her desk calendar, Kate nodded unconsciously then gave the operator the numbers for her missing detectives. “Yes, I'll hold. I'm faxing them now, yes.” She placed the phone on speaker and they listened to the most boring hold music ever recorded, while Kate filled out a form on her computer and faxed it to the phone company as proof of an emergency trace. When the operator came back on, Beckett snatched up the receiver and quickly wrote down the location. “Thank you.”

Pulling off the top sheet from her body outline sticky pad, Kate frowned at the location. “This doesn't look right.”

Leaning over to read the sticky note, Castle matched her confused frown. “Hackensack?”

Meeting his look of concern, Beckett shook her head. “There's no way that Kevin would have agreed to meet a witness in Hackensack that late, knowing Jenny had dinner ready. He would have told the witness to meet early tomorrow morning if it was even remotely important.”

Her desk phone rang and Beckett grabbed the receiver eagerly. “Beckett. No luck on the radio? I see. Wait, repeat that location. You're sure? Okay, thanks.”

Raising his eyebrows as she ripped off another sticky note, Rick reached for it. “Well?”

“Their car is at 67th and Park.”

Meeting her hazel eyes, Rick felt a sick sensation in his stomach. “Kate, if their car is one place and their phones are another-”

“I know.” Shutting off her computer monitor, Kate grabbed her keys. “Let's check out the car, first, since it's closer.”

It was a nerve-wracking drive from the 12th as Beckett tried to make record time through the busy streets and Castle held on for dear life. Both had a horrible sense of foreboding. When they reached their destination, Kate double-parked her Charger next to the boys'. Climbing out to inspect the vehicle, Kate didn't find anything amiss. Esposito had obviously not been in any hurry, as it was perfectly parked next to the curb. Using the spare key from her own keychain, Beckett unlocked the doors and leaned inside to check out the interior. Again, nothing seemed off.

After searching for anything that would give her a clue as to their witness, Kate came up empty. Slamming the door shut, she once more locked it and swore. Where were her detectives? She tried their cells once more, but again they went to voice mail. “Okay, that's it. Time to pull the alarm.”

With a fortifying breath, Beckett pulled up her contact list and pressed the button for Captain Gates. She shared a brief look with Castle then cleared her throat when her boss answered the line. “Captain, sorry for disturbing you at home. Yes, sir, we have a situation. Ryan and Esposito are missing. I had a phone call from Jenny Ryan. Kevin had told her that they were going to see a witness and might be late, and Javi was going to join them for dinner afterward. Only the boys never came home. Their car is here at 67th and Park, but their phones ping to a location somewhere in Hackensack. I don't have any information on their witness.”

Eyes seeking out Castle's once more, Kate chewed on her lip anxiously for a moment. “Yes, sir. We'll wait for the unies, and I'll have dispatch call Hackensack to check out the ping location. I will, sir. Thank you.”

Disconnecting the call, Beckett once more called dispatch and requested that they contact Hackensack PD to do a welfare check in the area of the phone ping. She knew they'd be thorough, since they were looking for a couple of missing brothers in blue. The detective in her knew she wouldn't find her boys here, that they were more likely to be found with or near the phones, but she had to search anyway. If they could find the witness, they would at least have a starting point.

Once the uniformed officers arrived, Beckett explained the situation. The doorman for the building closest to the missing detectives’ car had confirmed that Ryan and Esposito had entered the building, but he hadn’t seen them leave. Beckett sent the unies to canvass the building and stressed the importance of knocking on every single door. If an apartment didn't get a response, they were to keep going back until someone was home to answer their questions. Leaving Sgt. Duhon from the 23rd in charge, Beckett had the boys' car towed back to the 12th. She wanted any evidence intact, and she hated even having to entertain that thought. She and Castle drove back to the 12th precinct’s bullpen.

Captain Gates was already in her office when Beckett and Castle stepped off the elevator to the bullpen, which left Kate mildly surprised. Detectives Karpowski and Mitchell were setting up a small board next to the Blake/Switzer murder board. The new one bore pictures of her missing detectives, and the information Beckett had given Gates about the phones and car.

Crossing over to stare at the smiling faces of her missing partners, Kate worried her lower lip with her teeth. “Mitchell, see if you can get any security footage from that building on Park. The boys didn’t leave out the front door, but there are other exits. Ros, run the boys' phone records. See if they, or anyone else, made any calls from their cell phones since they left his evening.”

As she turned to do as requested, Karpowski paused. “Want me to pull financials to see if anyone made any charges on their cards?”

Though her heart wanted to say yes, Kate shook her head reluctantly. “No. I don't want to invade their privacy like that. Not yet. Let's see what the cell phone records and canvass turn up, first.”

“Okay, boss.” Karpowski hurried over to her own desk and settled in to make the appropriate phone calls. She looked up and smiled as two of the older detectives at the 12th wandered in and slid out of their jackets. Word was spreading fast. Roselyn figured the bullpen would look like an average workday again within the hour.

Peripherally aware of the newcomers, Kate continued to stare at the board as she had so many cases before. She had pretty much convinced herself by now that Ryan and Espo weren't laughing it up in a bar somewhere, as much as she wished that were the case. The phones pinging in Hackensack had nipped that thought in the bud. Her eyes slid over to the filled in murder board for Switzer and Blake, and had to wonder if the detectives' disappearance had something to do with the case. It was the only thing that made any sense.

Turning around to face the bullpen, Beckett's gaze settled on her two most experienced detectives. “Pender, you and Lee take the Blake/Switzer case. Dig into their places of business. See if there are company secrets that could have been stolen by one of our victims. Talk to their bosses, their co-workers. If we solve that case, we may find who took Esposito and Ryan.”

“On it.” Pender stood and jerked his head for his partner to join him, the two shuffling next to her in front of the murder board to familiarize themselves with the case.

Running a hand over his graying, close-cropped hair, Lee sighed at the sheer amount of data covering the once-white surface. “Can you make us a copy of your murder book notes?”

Fishing her black notebook from her jacket pocket, Kate handed it to Castle. “Rick, can you make a few copies of this for me?”

Taking the notebook, Rick nodded without a word and hurried off to do as she'd asked. Watching him go, Beckett wished she also had the notes from Ryan's and Esposito's murder books. As soon as she had the thought, Kate's mood brightened briefly. She actually could access Ryan's. She crossed over to Kevin's desk and sat in the roller chair. Turning on the monitor, she logged into his desktop and pulled open a file titled Murder Book. She scrolled through the pages, but was disappointed that Kevin's last entry was about their search of the apartment earlier.

“Lee, I emailed you Kevin's murder book.”

The two men shared a puzzled look then Lee wandered over to his own desk to check the email. “How did you manage that?”

With a bittersweet smile, Beckett logged out of Kevin's computer. “After Kevin got shoved into the pond in the Park last Spring, he started backing up his notes on the computer. His murder book was mostly illegible after his dip and he kept bitching about losing all his notes. Didn't want it to happen again.”

“Huh.” Pender pulled out his own notebook and flipped a few pages. “That's actually a pretty damn good idea.”

“Well, unfortunately, his partner didn't have the same paranoia,” Kate lamented. “So we won't have Javi's book.”

“Beggers can't be choosers.” Lee went to grab the pages she'd emailed him from the printer and shuffled through them as he returned to the murder board. “Another bonus is that we can actually read these notes. I swear Ryan could pass as a doctor, with his handwriting.”

Hearing a ringing, Kate sat at her own desk to snatch the handset from her phone in the hopes that it was good news. Her hopes were quickly dashed and she looked up to catch Castle's gaze, her forehead wrinkled with worry.

“Detective Beckett, this is Sgt. Scudder, Hackensack PD. We found your missing detectives' phones. I had every available officer in the area of the last ping, calling the numbers and kicking at every nook and cranny. Found their cell phones in a brushy area off 80, just across the river. No sign of Detectives Ryan and Esposito. My guess is the phones were tossed out of a car. I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful, Detective.”

With a sigh, Beckett braced her elbow on the desk and rubbed a finger over her brow. “Sergeant, did you print the phones?”

“Being done as we speak.”

Maybe there was a glimmer of hope on that front, after all. “Thank you, Sgt. Scudder. I appreciate your assistance.”

As she let the handset fall back into the cradle, Castle shot her an inquiring look. “Well?”

Meeting his hopeful gaze, Kate shook her head and bit her lip to gather her thoughts. “He found the phones on the side of 80. Looks like they were tossed from a car. The boys aren't in the city, Castle.”

“Dammit.” Rick scrubbed his hands over his face, feeling the rough scrape of his five o'clock shadow. “What did he say about fingerprints?”

“They're checking the phones for prints. It'll probably be a few hours before he calls back with results.” Kate didn't want to burst Castle's bubble, but she didn't want him to have false hope, either. She gave him a serious look, leaning close to keep their conversation private. “Castle, if someone was smart enough to take two detectives and disappear out of the city with them, they're smart enough to make sure they didn't leave their prints on the phones. Don't pin your hopes on fingerprints.”

Looking into her hazel eyes, Castle could see the worry for her partners and the weight of responsibility she felt for them. He knew what she was trying to say, but felt the need to...as always...be the voice of optimism. “Kate, I understand what you're getting at. But don't write them off just yet. Ryan and Esposito have survived tough times before. They're smart, and they will do whatever it takes to look out for each other. If there's a way for them to come back to us, they'll find it.”

Her eyes watered and she gave him a wavering, grateful smile. “Thanks, Rick.”

“No charge.” He covered one of her smaller hands with his and squeezed her thin fingers in support, happy to see her straighten her shoulders with resolve. “What's our next step?”

Slipping her hand out from under Castle's, Kate pulled her cell from her pocket. She hesitated briefly then took a fortifying breath. “Now I call Jenny and tell her I think her husband was taken, and that all we know is that he's probably no longer in the city.”

Even hearing only Kate's side of the conversation was heartbreaking to Castle. He remembered the agony of not knowing where Alexis was, when she'd been kidnapped and taken out of the country. At least he'd had the benefit of having sources to help him, outside of the law. He'd had more clues to go on than they had now. And he hadn't been a pregnant woman dealing with sickness and hormones, home alone with a toddler who would soon be asking for her daddy.

Disconnecting the call with Jenny, Kate cleared her throat and choked back her own reaction to the emotional phone call. She blew out a calming breath and dropped the phone onto her desk calendar. “We need to expand our possibilities.”

“Meaning?”

Turning to hold Castle's blue-eyed gaze, Kate pushed back from her desk. “We can't just assume they were taken because of this case. The phone call Kevin received could have been a decoy to draw them out. We need to check their case history to see who has a grudge against them.”

“What about that phone call? Is there any way to trace it?”

“No. It was routed through the non-emergency number to the 12th, then to Kevin's desk phone.” Beckett had already traveled that avenue of investigation. “Those calls don't get recorded.”

“It was worth a shot.” Rick hated how much time everything was costing. Time that could be taking their partners further and further from the city, to parts unknown. To a fate also unknown.

Going through the boys' cases was going to take a lot of time. Seeing two more detectives shuffling into the bullpen, Kate waved them over and set them the task of weeding through past files to look for possible suspects that might have a vendetta against the missing pair. Watching the two wander over to their desks to boot up their computers, Kate returned to her own.

Pulling up a satellite map on her computer, Beckett let her eyes follow I-80 out of the city in the direction of Hackensack. The two likely directions from there would've been either continuing on west on 80, or swinging north up the Garden State Parkway. Once more picking up her desk phone and calling dispatch, she had them send out a BOLO for Ryan and Esposito. Either way, it was likely the vehicle they were in would stay on a highway for a while. It was a long shot, but she would take it.

As Kate hung up the phone, Karpowski walked over to hand the senior detective a stapled sheaf of papers. “I got the boys' phone records. Nothing out of the ordinary. The last activity on either phone, except for our calls to them, was from Ryan's. Just the texts to Jenny that you already knew about.”

The disappointment was obvious in the other woman's voice, and Beckett was reminded of how many people were worried about the missing men. With a grateful smile, she thanked Karpowski and asked her to pull the missing detectives’ financial records. Privacy was no longer a concern. Kate went to go stand in front of the white board, and the faces of her missing partners. As she stared at the frustratingly empty time-line, she felt Castle's shoulder bump against hers as he joined her. Silently offering his support. Intuitively knowing when she needed him to be still, as she worked the puzzle in her head.

By 2am, they had a stack of possibles from the old case files that would need chasing down later that morning. Hackensack had called to advise they had several different prints from the phones, but the only ones in the system were from Esposito and Ryan. Sgt. Scudder assured her that he'd have the phone sent to the 12th to rule out family as the other contributors.

Exhausted, knowing they would have to stay fresh if they were going to be any good to their missing comrades, Beckett called a halt for the night. A couple of uniforms from the night shift sweet-talked their Sarge into letting them hang in the bullpen to man the phones. Just in case. The others reluctantly headed home for some sleep. Kate and Rick went back to the loft to spend what was sure to be a restless morning trying to get enough rest to re-charge.

The two were quiet on the drive back to the loft in SoHo, let themselves silently inside and went just as quietly to bed. As Rick slid his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his body, Beckett let out a shuddering exhale and let herself relax against his warmth. “Promise me that we'll find them.”

His answer rumbled through his chest under her ear. “We'll find them, Kate. I promise.”

What he didn't promise, couldn't promise, was that they'd find them alive.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

The first thing he was aware of was the pounding in his head, quickly followed by the queasy feeling low in his belly.  With a groan, he turned his head and felt the scrape of concrete beneath his cheek.  It was dark, cool and definitely not his bedroom.  How much did he drink last night?  The taste in his mouth certainly indicated a hangover.  It seemed to take a supreme effort just to push himself into a graceless flop onto his back.  Smacking his lips with a grimace, Javier blinked into the darkness until his eyes adjusted to the lack of light.

Rolling his head to his left, the detective could make out a dark lump that resembled human shape.  “Ryan?”

The lump didn't move, which made Esposito wrinkle his brow with the beginnings of worry.  Where in the hell were they?  Bringing a clumsy hand up to rub at his pounding skull, Espo tried to remember what had happened before waking up in darkness.  He remembered flashes of the day: working on the case, teasing Kevin about his gaming skills, a woman handing him a sealed bottle of water...

“Bitch doctored the bottle.”  Twisting his upper body to the side, Javier pushed himself to a sitting position and swallowed back the desire to empty his stomach.  “Gonna kick her ass when I find her.”

As he scooted himself along the concrete floor to cover the short distance between himself and who he was assuming was his partner, his thigh knocked over something plastic.  His probing hands quickly realized it was a battery powered camping lantern.  Twisting the knob on the top, Javier blinked at the muted glow of LED light.  He took a quick look around the room to seek out dangers, but realized they were the only occupants.  The detective set the lantern back on the floor and leaned on one hand to reach over and shove gently at his partner's shoulder.

“Kevin, wake up.  You need to wake up and help me figure out how to get out of here.”  He pushed harder until he heard a pain-filled groan from his partner.  “That's it, bro.  Time to wake up.”

Javier watched as his partner came out of the drug-induced sleep, shifting his limbs restlessly.  Kevin's eyes blinked at him in confusion as the younger man rolled onto his side, arms sliding around to brace his upset stomach.  “The fuck, Javi?”

“Your witness tampered with the water bottles.  Drugged us.”  While his partner struggled against his nausea, Esposito picked up the lantern and tried to get a better look of their surroundings.  As he shifted his left leg, Javier bit back a growl of anger.  His own handcuffs were cinched around his ankle on one end, attached to a length of sturdy chain on the other.  The chain was padlocked around a metal pole between and slightly behind himself and his partner.  He lifted the light higher and followed the pole up to where it braced the ceiling above.  Or, rather, the floor.  They were chained to a pole in a basement, in parts unknown.  Shit.

Within reach of the chains were a couple of gallon jugs of water, a plastic bucket half filled with water and a plastic bag.  Sliding the bag toward him, Javier sorted through the contents with a sense of dread.  The scraping of concrete signaled that his partner had finally managed to sit up and scoot closer.  He looked up and met Ryan's confused gaze.  “Bread, processed cheese and packets of tuna.  I don't think they plan to let us out any time soon.”

Pulling on the edge of the plastic bag to look for himself, Kevin shook his head.  “But why the hell did they take us in the first place?”

“No idea, bro.”

Shifting to rest his shoulder against the pole, Kevin groaned softly.  “Jenny's probably going out of her mind with worry by now.”

Maneuvering so that his own shoulder braced against Ryan's, Esposito reached down to rub at his leg beneath the handcuff.  If they were down there very long, that was going to chafe like a bitch.  “You know Beckett and Castle will find us.  Just like last time.”

At his partner's sudden indrawn breath, Javier instantly regretted bringing that up.  “Listen, bro, you can bet your ass I'm not letting anyone dunk you in water like that again.  You know that, right?”

With a humorless chuckle, Kevin wrapped his arms around his knees.  “You may not have a choice in the matter, Javi.  Same as last time.”

Not wanting to argue, Esposito stretched out to nudge the plastic bag with his toe.  “The food and water indicates they plan to just leave us alone.  I only wish I knew how long.  And why?”

“Let's work on figuring that out later, when my head doesn't ache like we had a few too many beers after a night of gaming.”  Kevin picked up the lantern and contemplated it for a moment, then twisted the knob to turn off the light.  “We should probably conserve the battery.”

As Kevin laid his pounding head on his folded arms, Javier's jaw clenched with anger.  He remembered seeing the man and woman before passing out, but knew someone else had to have helped get two grown men to a car.  Even if those grown men were dazed and compliant with drugs.  Whatever their unknown kidnappers had in mind, there wouldn't be a repeat of the Lockwood incident.  No fucking way.

It was hard to find any kind of comfortable position, but Esposito finally managed to doze off and on enough to shake the lingering headache and nausea.  When he woke from his last such catnap, the detective sensed that his partner was awake as well.  Esposito pushed himself up to sit, his shoulder bumping Ryan's against the cold metal pole.

“Feel any better, Kevin?”

His partner's shoulder shook as Ryan gave him an ironic chuckle. “Well, I'm chained to a pole in a basement somewhere, for an unknown reason, but yeah.  At least my pounding headache is gone, and I don't feel like I'm going to lose my lunch.”

“Pissed off?” Javier was ready to burst with anger, himself.

“If I had enough energy, I would be.” 

Leaning over, Esposito swept his hand along the dusty concrete floor in a careful search for the lantern.  When his questing fingers brushed against hard plastic he smiled to himself and pulled the lamp into his lap.  Both detectives blinked at the burst of light when Javier turned it on.  Letting the lantern rest on the floor, Esposito opened the plastic grocery bag. 

“Might as well eat something.  I don't know what time it is, but my stomach says it's way past dinner.”

Watching skeptically as his partner made a sandwich out of bread and cheese, Kevin frowned.  “What if they drugged the food, too?”

Javier paused a moment, then shook his head.  “Nah, bro.  If they'd planned to keep us drugged, we wouldn't be chained up.”  Just to prove his confidence, he took a big bite.  He was halfway through the sandwich when Ryan finally decided to take a chance.

“No pain, no gain.”  Ryan made his own cheese sandwich and smirked around his first bite.  “You haven't dropped dead yet, so I guess I can risk it.”

“Thanks, bro.”

“No problem.”  Sobering quickly, Kevin shifted and glared at the handcuff around his right ankle.  “Any theories on why we're in this fix?”

“Theories are what you and Castle do.”  Esposito dragged the nearest water jug closer and peeled off the safety ring.  Ignoring the little voice in his head that reminded him that the safety tabs had been intact on their drugged water bottles, he upended the container and took a few swallows.  He put the water jug back on the floor and recapped it, wanting to preserve their supply. 

“Okay, so let’s look at facts.”  Ryan took a few swallows of water as well, frowning when he spilled a little down the front of his vest.  “She knew about the murder.”

“True.”  Esposito pulled his ankle closer and bent to inspect the cuffs.  Maybe there was a way to wriggle out of them.  “This had to have taken some planning.”

Taking a cue from his partner, Kevin began an inspection of his own restraint.  “Not necessarily, Javi. Roofies are pretty easy to get if you're in the club scene.   All they would've needed was access to a building with a garage, to make it less likely they would have witnesses to moving us.  Also, this place.   There were at least two of them, so between them...they had what they needed.”

Rubbing his ankle where the cuff dug in during his inspection, Javier frowned.  “But why grab us?”

“Maybe they thought we found whatever it was we were looking for in that apartment.”

“Then why haven't they asked us for it?”

Ryan shrugged and glanced around their prison.  “Maybe that's what this is.  Making us sweat it out before the interrogation.”

Esposito used the pole for help as he stood and stretched tense muscles.  He eyed the bucket half full of water with distaste then shrugged.  You had to deal with what you had.  He quickly relieved himself then rejoined his partner on the floor.  “What makes you so sure this is about our current case?”

“I'm not sure,” Kevin admitted.  “But if it isn't, it'll make it that much harder for Beckett and Castle to find us before...whatever the end game is happens.”

“Aren't you a ray of sunshine?”  Still, Javier knew his partner was right.

Ryan once more turned off the lantern to conserve batteries, and sighed.  “Sorry bro.  Just being honest.  Cracking jokes and trying to buy time isn't going to cut it in this case.  Not like...last time.”

Javier let it go, knowing what Kevin feared.  The ex-soldier lied back on the gritty floor and cupped his hands behind his head, listening to the sounds of his partner working with the handcuff.  Javier carried his own baggage from that night, and dreaded a repeat as well.

The night seemed to crawl and claw its way toward dawn, with only the sounds of Ryan’s frustrated mumbles and the metallic clink of the chain and handcuff.  By the time Esposito could detect a faint bluish light from what he assumed was a narrow basement window, his partner had finally given up with a final expletive.

“No go, huh?”

Pulling the water jug toward him, Kevin shook his head in disgust.  “No.  The damn thing is on too tight.  All I got for my trouble was a sore ankle.”

“They’ll find us, bro.  Trust me.”

Esposito would be the first to admit he was a lapsed Catholic.  He went to mass twice a year: at Christmas and Easter.  But he quickly sent up a silent prayer that he wasn’t telling Ryan a lie.  That Beckett and Castle would figure out what happened and came to free them.  Soon.

                                                  **********************

When Beckett and Castle returned later that morning, Beckett was not surprised to see that several detectives had never left the night before. As she approached her desk, Gates leaned out from her office and gestured her towards the door. Following her captain into the office, Beckett shut the door and stood uncertainly. Capt. Gates sat in her chair and gave Detective Beckett a sympathetic smile. “The fingerprints taken by Hackensack PD came back. Unfortunately, they all belong to Ryan, Esposito and Jenny. Obviously, whoever took detectives Ryan and Esposito wore gloves. Have you discovered anything new?”

Detective Beckett shook her head and crossed her arms in an unconsciously defensive gesture. “I had detectives go through old case files to see if anything popped up. Maybe someone from their pasts is out for revenge. Also, I have detectives covering our current case in the event this is in relation to the Switzer/Blake murders. Karpowski is going through the boys’ financial records. We can only hope that someone has used one of their credit cards and we can trace them that way.  Mitchell is trying to get security footage from the building where the boys went missing.”

Pursing her lips, Gates shook her head. “Whatever you need Detective, you let me know.”

Nodding, Beckett quietly thanked her and headed back into the bullpen. As she settled at her desk, Karpowski wandered over with a file. Handing it over to Beckett the curly-haired detective shrugged dejectedly.  “Nothing in their financial records since they were last seen. We’ll keep checking, just in case something does pop.”

Laying the file aside, Beckett thanked her detective. Finding her missing boys seemed to be like groping around in the dark; there were no landmarks to guide them. She had no idea why they were taken, where they were taken, or by whom. Every hour that passed took Ryan and Esposito further and further away from them, because with every hour they lost, their chances of finding the missing detectives dwindled. Beckett could only pray that her partners were okay.

The canvassing had so far produced no results, but there were still a few apartments they would check throughout the day whose residents had so far not been home.  The security footage had finally arrived and Mitchell was sequestered in the media room, going through each disk at a speed just a bit faster than real time.  He didn’t want to miss anything.  Nobody wanted to miss anything in this particular case.

Another body dropped in their district, taking Karpowski and the newbie Webber off of the missing detectives’ case.  Ros wasn’t very happy to have been handed the new murder, but someone had to do it.  The city didn’t stop for them, just because their friends were missing.  Beckett wasn’t exactly thrilled to be losing another seasoned investigator, but she was senior detective and had to make the tough choices.

As day two of her partners’ disappearances crept toward evening, the security video had shown shadowy footage of three figures half-carrying their missing detectives through the parking garage to a waiting van.  The image quality was poor, and the three suspects had all worn hats and had obviously known where the cameras were.  Each was careful to keep their faces averted.  All they could tell was that one figure appeared to be female.  The van was parked in such a way that the plate wasn’t visible in any of the garage cameras.

Detective Beckett had Mitchell request traffic camera footage of the area around the site of the abduction, hoping the plate would be captured elsewhere.  Kate added the vehicle description to the BOLO and had NCIC send it out again with the new information.  It wasn’t much to go on, but at least they knew two things now.  Ryan and Esposito were definitely taken against their will, and they were taken alive.

The surge of energy that spread through the bullpen was almost palpable.  They at least had a chance, now, of finding their missing brothers alive.  Castle followed Beckett as she went into a conference room and shut the door behind them for privacy.  When she pulled out her phone, Rick raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

“I’m calling Jenny.  Now that we know for sure that Kevin and Javier were taken, she deserves to know.  Maybe at least knowing he was alive when they were last seen will bring her a little comfort.”  Shifting closer, leaning his hip against the conference table, Castle slid his arm around her narrow shoulders.  Offering silent support and comfort during a difficult conversation.

                                                     ******************

The morning had slowly dragged its way closer to afternoon, hours more of boredom and fearful anticipation loomed ahead.  Kevin wondered if they had been left their watches just so they’d feel the slow passing of time more acutely.  If so, it was certainly working.  The married detective felt a pang of guilt, knowing how much his wife had to be worrying by now.  He hoped Jenny had called someone to be with her while she waited for news of her missing husband.  He fervently prayed that Beckett and Castle had found something, anything to go on in their search for the missing men.  He and Javi had found those two before.  Several times.  But then, Kevin knew, they’d had a little more to go on.

He hoped Castle found what he’d left behind in that apartment.  Not that it would help the detectives searching for them, if the traitorous “witness” had given him a false name.  But it was a spark of hope, enough maybe to fan the flames of faith.  With a sigh, Kevin braced his back against the metal pole and pushed his way to his feet.  He paced within the space allowed by his shackled ankle then nudged his bored partner with his foot.

“C’mon, Javi.  We might as well try to use the time.  Any thoughts on the case?”

Tilting his head back to narrow his eyes in annoyance at his ever optimistic partner, Esposito chuckled humorously.  “What, the case of the kidnapped detectives?”

“Well, if we had anything concrete to go on, I’d say yes.  But I’m talking about the Blake/Switzer murders.”  Kevin stretched his arms over his head and leaned from side to side in an effort to work out the kinks in his back.  “My question is this: Were they working together on some sort of deal, or was Switzer just a ‘wrong place, wrong time’ kind of thing?”

With a sigh, Javier brought his legs up to rest his folded arms on his knees.  “Fine, I’ll play along.  I don’t think it was wrong place, wrong time.  If that was it, why was he killed in the alley?  I think he was running from someone.  Either trying to get home, or trying to leave.”

Kevin slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned against the pole, frowning in thought.  “You make a valid point.  So, Switzer must have known what the motive was behind Blake’s murder.  Why not tell us when we questioned him?”

Looking up into his partner’s face, Esposito knew that Ryan already had a theory.  Sometimes, his smarter-than-the-average-bear partner liked to lead him to the answer, instead of just coughing up his ideas.  Normally, Javier would play along.  But, not this time.  He was tired, royally pissed off, and was maybe still feeling a little residual nausea from their doctored water the night before.

“Look, don’t lead me to the trough.  Just tell me.”

Breathing his own sigh, Ryan sat down so that his partner didn’t have to keep craning his neck back to look up at him.  “I think that Switzer knew damn well why his roommate was killed.  I think he didn’t tell us, because he would be implicating himself in whatever deal they were into.  Or whatever Blake had, that someone is dead set on finding, is worth money.  And Switzer was stupid enough to try to use it to his advantage.  Which of course left him just as dead as his friend.”

Rubbing a hand over his face, his palms scraping across the stubble on his cheeks, Javier shook his head.  “None of it matters, does it?  Unless it has something to do with our sudden vacation to creepy land.”

Sliding his feet to stretch his legs out, Kevin leaned back and braced his hands on the dirty concrete floor.  “Well, maybe it does.  Maybe…maybe they think we found what they were looking for.”

“Then why are we sitting here, alone, and not being interrogated about what we supposedly found?”  Javier immediately winced, regretting even bringing that up.  But apparently some sleep and losing the pounding headache had helped steady his partner.

“Good question.”  Kevin rolled his neck and pondered the welcomed lack of torture.  “They obviously would’ve searched us before dumping us here.”

“Yeah, thanks for the creepy image of some strange dude pawing through my clothes while I was out, Kev.”

“Sorry.”  Shuddering a little at that thought as well, Kevin pushed it to the back of his mind.  “No, this is something else.”

“Maybe it has nothing to do with our current case.  Maybe it’s payback from an old one.  One of our other cases, or even from something before the 12^th.”

“I don’t know, Javi.”  Kevin’s brow wrinkled in doubt at that theory.  “We’ve been partners for ten years now.  If it was from a case before the 12^th, it’d have to be a pretty damn old one.  And the woman specifically mentioned speaking about the Switzer murder.  It almost has to be about the current case.”

“Maybe.”  Esposito rolled his ankle, hating the metal cuff that rubbed no matter what he did.  “I wonder if she asked for you specifically, or if she was transferred to your desk just because any of the three of us would do.  If it was the latter, then it probably was to do with the current case.”

There was a long contemplative silence as both detectives pondered their predicament.  Ryan sat up and braced his elbows on his knees, turning to his partner thoughtfully.  The light, what there was of is, was quickly waning and he could barely make out Esposito’s profile.  “Suppose they didn’t take us because they thought we had something.  Keeping us here like this indicates that they need time.  Time for what?”

Javier let his head lean back to thump against the support pole.  “Time to keep looking for whatever those two guys died for.”

“Exactly.”  Ryan used the pole to help him climb once more to his feet.  He was starting to lose feeling in his ass.  “Plus, now half the 12^th is probably busy looking for us and not focusing on the case.  It’s a win-win for them.”

“Fuckers.”

“No arguments there.”  Kevin stopped his pacing and braced his hand on the metal pole, looking up.  He could just make out the plate at the top, bolted to the ceiling, in the fading light.  “I wonder if we could knock this pole loose.”

Craning his head back to contemplate that, Esposito squinted at the solid-looking bolts.  “I don’t know, Kevin.”  He climbed to his feet with a groan and smiled grimly.  “But, it isn’t like we have anything better to do.”

The two partners grinned at each other and, with a silent nod for Javier to go first, took turns throwing their weight against the only thing keeping them trapped in that dark and dusty basement.

Chapter Text

It was day three of her partners’ disappearances and Beckett was ready to snap at anyone who even looked at her funny.  She and Castle, along with most of the detectives in homicide, were now running on caffeine from the espresso machine in the break room.  Heaven help any suspect they found, because Beckett would be out for blood in the interrogation room.

Traffic camera footage had managed to get a shot of the license plate of the van, but running the plate indicated the vehicle had been stolen the morning of the abduction.  Officers were on the lookout for the stolen van, but the detectives at the 12^th didn't hold out much hope for any fingerprints. 

The perpetrators had been smart enough to wear gloves when handling the missing detectives' phones, chances were they wore them in the van as well.  So far, another dead end.

Just after noon a thrill of excitement seemed to work its way through the bullpen like a wave.  At the crest was LT, who pushed his way toward Beckett and Castle.  He was brandishing a familiar black notebook over his head as he approached.  “Detective, we found something.”

Lurching to a stop by Beckett's desk, the uniformed officer handed over the notebook.  As Beckett flipped open the book, quickly looking for the last page, Castle peered over her shoulder.  LT took a breath, he'd run up the stairs in his hurry to get to the bullpen, and quickly explained the breakthrough.

“I was doing one more canvass of the building, and I saw a maid coming out of one of the apartments.  She had that notebook in her hand, and I knew right away what it was.  Seems the apartment she was cleaning is for sale and is supposed to be empty.  She found that when she was cleaning the sofa.  It was wedged down between the cushions.”  When Castle turned toward him with raised eyebrows, the tall African-American officer smiled grimly.  “It's Det. Ryan's murder book.  The way she described its location, I think he put it there deliberately.  We found the crime scene, Detective Beckett.”

With a grateful smile, Kate squared her shoulders.  “Have CSU go over it inch by inch.”

“They're already on their way, Detective.  I put in the call on the way over here.”

“Thank you, LT.  Do you mind going back over there to oversee things for us?”

“It would be my pleasure.”  LT gave a quick salute and pushed his way through the huddle of detectives to make his way to the elevator.  He liked Ryan and Esposito.  The two always managed to lighten the atmosphere, in a place where death was a daily affair.  And both called him by name, never looking down on him just because LT was a uniformed officer and they each carried a gold shield.

Satisfied that LT would let her know if CSU found anything, Beckett let her gaze rest on the group of tired detectives gathered around her desk.  “Lee, check out who owns the apartment and who their realtor is.  See if they had any scheduled showings for the day the boys were abducted.  Pender, see if you can find anything on a Patricia Tallis.  It's probably an alias, but let's hope not.”

Glancing down at the scrawling, drifting handwriting at the bottom of the last page in Ryan's murder book, Castle strained to make out the words.  With a smile at the junior detective's tenacity, the writer added, “You're looking for a woman about 5'6”, brown hair and hazel eyes.”

Pender and Lee both nodded, making their way to their respective desks eager to begin.  With something solid to go on, the bullpen seemed to thrum with new energy.  Karpowski shifted from foot to foot as she stood by Castle's chair.  “Why don't I round up some unies and make another canvass of the building?  This time it will be for information on our mysterious 'witness', now that we have descriptors.”

After a moment of hesitation, Beckett sighed regretfully and shook her head.  “No, you have your own case to work on.”

“I can't do anything until the ballistics and ME reports come in.”  Karpowski was jumping at the bit to get back onto her fellow detectives' disappearance, but she knew where her priorities had to be.  “As soon as those come in, I'll jump back on my murder.  But I might as well be doing something in the mean time.”

“Okay.  See if you can get anything from the neighbors.  Thanks, Ros.”

“No problem.”  Chestnut curls bouncing along with her hurried strides, Karpowski left to try to catch up to LT.

Once she left, Beckett's eyes dropped once more to the open notebook on her desk.  She ran her fingers over the crooked, drifting handwriting and felt a small sense of relief to have a tangible piece of her junior partner there in front of her.  Beside her, Castle cleared his throat.

“If it wasn't obvious from the security video that they were drugged, Ryan's handwriting would've proved it.”

Turning to her husband with a wry smile, Beckett couldn't help trying to lighten the mood just a little.  “Well, to be fair, with Ryan's handwriting it's hard to tell the difference.”

Over the next hour, it became apparent that the woman they were looking for was not named Patricia Tallis.  Rather than wallow in that disappointment, everyone knuckled down and worked harder.  Hanging up his phone, Lee scrambled out of his chair and crossed over to Beckett’s desk with a note in his hand.  His brown eyes were red-rimmed with fatigue, but shone with excitement nonetheless. 

“Beckett, I found her.  The realtor in charge of the sale said there was only one showing that day, by a friend of hers.  She matches the description and her name is Tiffany Hodges. I have her address here.”

Snatching up the post-it, Beckett stood and reached for her jacket.  “Round ‘em up, guys.  Let’s go see what Ms. Hodges has to say for herself.”

Catching the coat Pender tossed to him, Lee slipped his arms in the sleeves with a grim smile.  Nobody fucks with the 12^th and gets away with it.  Nobody.

The foursome wasted no time getting to the correct apartment.  Against protocol, both vehicles had run their lights and sirens the whole way.  Beckett glanced at Pender and Lee, flanking each side of the door.  At their nods of readiness, she took a deep calming breath.  Castle’s presence over her right shoulder was reassuring, and she raised her hand to knock firmly on the door.

There was a sound of a deadbolt being turned then the door opened slowly.  A nervous-looking young woman with dark hair and hazel eyes peered through the narrow gap she’d left.  “Can I-can I help you?”

Wedging her foot in the door, just in case, Beckett raised her gold shield.  “NYPD, Ms. Hodges.  Detective Beckett.  I need to ask you a few questions.”

As Kate had anticipated, the woman tried to shut the door.  Lee slid over and leaned his weight against it, pushing the suspect back into the living room of the small apartment.  Tiffany Hodges back away from them as all four entered the room and shut the door behind them.  Pender stood with his back to the door, blue eyes cold and piercing, blocking the woman’s escape.

Pointing to the sofa behind her suspect, Beckett narrowed her eyes dangerously.  “Sit down, Ms. Hodges.  Now.”

Trembling with fear, knowing why they were there, Tiffany sank slowly down on the upholstered sofa cushions.  “I-I don’t understand.”

Castle looked down at the woman and smirked knowingly.  “Yes you do, Ms. Hodges.  You know exactly why we are here.”

Leaving Pender and Castle towering over their suspect to intimidate her, Beckett pushed down her fury in order to slide into “good cop” mode.  She sat in the arm chair near the nervous woman and forced a smile.  “We know you called Detective Ryan.  You lured him and his partner to that apartment.  We know they were drugged and abducted.  If you want to save yourself from life in prison, you need to tell us where they are.”

Shaking fingers clutched at her loose, floral skirt as Tiffany looked from one stern face to another.  Paul had made it sound so simple.  Harmless.  Detain the two detectives for a few days until he and his friend found what they were looking for.  Then they’d have all the money they needed to live out their dreams.  No harm, no foul.  But looking at the faces of the officers surrounding her, Tiffany knew that dream had died.  Her life would be over, unless she turned on her boyfriend.

“He-he said it was just for a few days.  That was it.  They wouldn’t be hurt.  He promised.”

Physically restraining herself from grabbing and shaking the stupid woman in front of her, Beckett curled her fingers into a fist.  “Who promised?”

“My boyfriend, Paul.”

The young woman looked near to tears, but Beckett couldn’t bring herself to care. “Paul who?”

Taking a deep calming breath, Tiffany tried to calm her crumbling nerve. “Paul Hammond.”

Stepping forward, Castle glared. “Where can we find Paul Hammond? Where are detectives Ryan and Esposito?”

Sniffling back tears, Tiffany shook her head. “I don’t know where they are. I just helped them get the detectives into the van. I don’t know where they took them from there. Paul’s at work. At Colwell and Myers.  It’s a brokerage firm.”

Leaning forward Beckett frowned. “Them who? Who helped you and Paul?”

Tiffany wiped her eyes and shook her head once more. “I don’t know his name. He’s a friend of Paul’s. Paul said if we helped him, we would finally have the money we needed for our dream. No one was supposed to get hurt, I swear.”

Rising to her feet Beckett practically shook with anger. “For your sake Ms. Hodges, you had better hope that no harm has come to my detectives. Stand up and turn around.” Beckett removed the handcuffs from her belt and tightened them around Tiffany’s thin wrists. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have given them to you?”

At Tiffany’s nod Beckett pushed the young woman towards Pender. “Pender, you and Lee take her down to the precinct. Get a sketch artist down there to get a description of the third person involved. When you have a sketch, text it to me.”

Leaving the two detectives to deal with Hodges, Castle and Beckett returned to their Charger.  After a quick Google search for Colwell and Myers, Beckett started the car and pulled out into traffic. She handed her phone to Castle. “Call Karpowski and tell her to bring a team to meet us at Colwell and Myers. Hopefully, Hammond is still there and knows where we can find the boys.”

Once again using the sirens, not caring if she got called onto the carpet for it, Beckett made quick time uptown to the brokerage firm. She and Castle remained in the lobby after finding out from the security guard which suites housed Colwell and Myers, pacing as they waited for Karpowski and her team.  When Karpowki and Webber arrived with a uniformed officer in tow, all five took the elevator up to the seventh floor.  The uniformed officer stood by the door to the brokerage firm, just in case their suspect tried to flee.  The other four stopped at the receptionist to inquire as to where they might find Paul Hammond.  Following the receptionist down the hallway to a large room filled with cubicles, they were led to the small cube occupied by a young man with blond hair, talking on the phone to a client via a headset.  He halted mid-sentence when the four members of the NYPD surrounded his cubby.

“Uh, I’ll have to call you back Mr. Blackwood.  Something’s just come up.  Yes, sir.  Thank you.”  Disconnecting the call, their suspect removed his headset and stood nervously.  “What’s going on?”

Holding up her badge, Beckett crowded the man and gave him a dark glare.  Their suspect was about 6’1”, thin, young and nervous.  This was not the mastermind behind the kidnapping, of that she was sure. “Paul Hammond?”

Unconsciously shuffling away from the detective, Paul nervously tugged on his tie and nodded jerkily.  “Yes, I’m Paul Hammond.”

“Detective Beckett, NYPD.  You’re wanted in the questioning of the kidnapping of two of our detectives.  Turn around, Mr. Hammond.” 

For a moment, it looked as if Hammond was going to run.  But the young man seemed to think twice after glancing at the three stony faces glaring back at him.  He slowly turned, complying with Beckett’s demand.  “I-I don’t understand.  I don’t know any detectives.”

Smirking as he fell into step, Castle flanked Hammond on his left as Beckett read the suspect his rights.  “Oh, but I think you do.  We had a very interesting conversation with your girlfriend.  Tiffany Hodges.  Sound familiar?”

The ride back to the 12^th precinct was made in tense silence.  The crowd of angry detectives lining the hallway from the elevator helped to further unnerve Hammond, so by the time they got him seated in interrogation he was sweating with fear.

Not giving Hammond the chance to pull himself together, Beckett entered the room with two manila folders.  She slapped them down on the worn table top as she sat down.  Castle slid into the chair beside her, his knowing smile at Hammond more than a little intimidating.  Beckett turned the folders around and opened the front flap, revealing the two pictures secured inside the edges with paperclips.  She pointed at each photograph, her junior detectives smiling out from the glossy photographs.  Both men radiated pride, wearing their dress blues.

“Detective Kevin Ryan, and Detective Javier Esposito.  Where are they?”

Hammond bounced his leg nervously and avoided looking down at the pictures.  “I don’t know them.”

“Don’t give me that crap, Hammond.”  Beckett leaned across the desk, her thin form nevertheless menacing.  “Your girlfriend drugged them.  You, she and another man took them down to the garage, pushed them into a van and drove away.  You ditched their cellphones.  Now tell me where they are!”

Swallowing past his fear, Paul leaned back away from the detective’s anger.  “I want an attorney.  I-I won’t answer any questions without my attorney.”

Suppressing her furry, Kate slammed the two folders closed and shoved her chair back.  As she and Castle left interrogation, she slammed the door closed behind them.  Taking a deep breath to ground herself, she waved at a uniformed officer.  “Julian, make sure Hammond doesn’t leave this room.  When his attorney arrives, we’ll try again.”

The Hispanic officer nodded solemnly and Beckett stalked back to her desk, pulling Castle behind in her wake.  Dropping the folders onto her desk, Kate sat and rested her hands on them briefly as she tried to gather her thoughts.  “Webber, call and get a Public Defender for Hammond.  Let me know when he or she arrives.”

Sliding into his chair next to Beckett’s desk, Castle sighed and looked toward the white board that held the notes from the boys’ kidnappings.  “Now what?”

Drawing her shoulders back, Beckett tried to smile encouragingly.  “We do what we do best.  Solve the case.  You and I will get a warrant and go over to Hammond’s apartment to see if we can find anything that leads us to Ryan and Espo.”  She waved Karpowski over and handed the curly-haired detective a driver’s license.  “Here’s Hammond’s ID.  Run him for wants and history.  Pull his financials and phone records.  Get with Pender and Lee to see if they have the sketch yet for our third conspirator.  Run the sketch against any names that pop up frequently in his phone records.  Let me know the minute you find anything.”

“On it.”  Roselyn snatched up the ID and hurried back to her own computer to get started.

Kate pushed her chair back and stood, grabbing her keys for the Charger.  “Let’s go, Castle.  Maybe we’ll find what we need at Hammond’s place.”

Writer and detective made their way out of the bullpen with a new confidence in their strides.  They finally had something solid to go on.  They were going to find their partners, alive, and bring them home.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

Having spent most of the night taking turns throwing their shoulders against the metal pole keeping them chained in their prison, Esposito and Ryan slept until noontime.  When they finally dragged themselves out of a restless sleep, the sound of rain pelting the small basement window explained why there was less light than the previous day.

Rubbing his sore shoulder, Kevin heaved a sigh.  “I’ll try for a while.  You can take over when I get tired.”

“Sure, bro.  Eat something first, though.”  Getting out wouldn’t do any good if they didn’t keep their strength up for whatever waited for them up those stairs.

Eating another sandwich of bread and processed cheese, Ryan made a face.  Once they got out of there, it’d be a cold day in hell before he ate another slice of the disgusting cheese.  He made quick work of choking it down with a little of the bottled water then climbed once more to his feet.  He shifted around so he could use his left shoulder instead of his right.  Might as well spread the bruises equally.

Esposito made another tuna sandwich and chewed slowly as he watched his partner throw his body against the stubborn pole again and again, grunting with effort each time.  The Hispanic detective was fairly certain they wouldn’t be able to dislodge it, but it wasn’t as if they had anything better to occupy their time while in captivity.  He pondered their abduction as he ate, with the rain and his partner’s exertions acting as background white noise. 

When the pain became too much, Kevin finally gave up and bent over to brace his hands on his knees as he calmed his breathing.  He finally stood and slipped out of his suit jacket, letting it drop to the floor.  He settled down on it and gave the chain a jerk to try to make his ankle more comfortable.  “Your turn, Javi.”

With a nod, Espo stood and peered up at the bolts holding the pole in place.  He squinted a little and felt a tiny bubble of hope burst in his chest.  Two of the bolts did look a little loose.  “Holy shit, Kev.  This may actually work.”

“I sure as hell hope so.  Jenny’s gotta be going out of her mind.”  Loosening his tie, Ryan slipped it over his head and tossed it near the lantern.  He undid the top couple of buttons on his dress shirt and smirked up at his partner.  “And we both need a shower.  It’s getting a little ripe in here.”

“I won’t even argue.”  Esposito paused in his lunges at the pole and shot his partner a leer.  “Maybe I can talk Lanie into helping me with my shower.”

“Miracles have happened before.”

“Shut up, Kevin.”  Ryan’s soft laughter made him smile as Javier threw his body against the one thing keeping them in that damn basement.  They were getting out of there alive.  No other option was acceptable.

They traded off twice more before the bolts looked loose enough to try to remove.  The ceiling of the basement was about 8’ from the floor.  The problem was that at 5’8” and 5’9”, neither captive detective was tall enough.  Which is how Esposito found himself on his hands and knees, while his partner balanced on his back.

“Tell me again why I have to act as the step stool?”

“Because I’m lighter than you and my fingers are longer.  It’ll be easier for me to unscrew the bolts.”

Esposito winced as the heels of Ryan’s dress shoes dug into his back once more.  “I shoulda made you take off your shoes.  It’s a good thing you’re so damn skinny, bro.”

Ignoring his partner’s complaints, Kevin concentrated on his task.  His tongue poked out as he strained his long thin fingers against the stubborn third bolt.  With a frustrated huff, he shook his hand to work the pain out and spit on his fingers.  Rubbing the saliva on over the bolt and screw, he wrapped his hand around the bolt to try to warm it.  Heat expands metal.  Maybe it would work.  Ryan strained against the bolt and finally felt it turn.  It took a lot of physical effort, but the third bolt was eventually worked free.  The fourth was a lot easier.

As the last bolt dropped to the floor with a metallic clatter, Ryan used his badge to pound the bottom of the screws to push them clear.  PP1 wasn’t going to be thrilled at having to issue Ryan yet another new badge.  He stepped down off his make-shift stool, once finished.  “Okay, now we just have to bend the pole enough to slip the chains over the top.”

That part took much less effort.  Once satisfied, Kevin bent down to slide the two padlocked loops of chain up the pole as he once more climbed onto Esposito’s bowed back.  “Almost, Javi.”  Kevin tugged the loops up and over the top of the pole then jumped down with a whoop.  “Got it!”

Esposito took the hand offered to him and let his partner pull him to his feet.  He stretched the kinks out of his back and heaved a sigh of relief.  Step one was finished.  Now on to step two: Finding something to cut the chains or cuffs with.  The two detectives split up to search the basement for tools they could use.

While his partner searched a wooden work bench under the narrow basement window, Kevin made a beeline for a small resin storage unit on the wall opposite the stairs.  He opened the doors and found nothing useful at first glance.  What little light they had due to the storm outside was long gone, deepening the shadows of their prison.  With a frustrated growl, Kevin shuffled back over to their pile of meager supplies to grab the lantern.  The chain dragged along the cement floor, an annoyance that fueled the detective’s desire to get rid of the damn thing as soon as possible.

Twisting the knob to turn on the light, Kevin hurried back to the storage unit and searched again.  In the back corner, behind a shovel, he found what they were searching for.  With a shout of triumph, Kevin grabbed it and turned to smile at Esposito.  “Bolt cutters!”

“Jackpot, bro.  Bring ‘em over here.”

Joining his partner by the work bench, Ryan handed over the bolt cutters.  When Javier waved at the lower shelf, Ryan understood and lifted his foot to prop it on the self for better access.  Muscles bunching in his arms, Esposito cut the short length of chain between the cuffs.  Though he still had one cuff around his ankle, at least Kevin was now free.  He took the cutters from his partner and did the same for Esposito.

Now they just needed to get out of the basement.  With a slightly evil-looking grin, Espo held up the ax he’d found on the work bench.  While Javier hacked at the basement door, Kevin stuffed his pockets with packets of tuna and cheese in case they were out in the middle of nowhere.  Which he strongly suspected that they were, since they’d been left alone and free to yell their heads off if they so desired.  Obviously nobody was nearby to hear them.

Ryan went up the stairs to take over for his partner and hefted the ax.  “Grab the lantern and some water.  Just in case.”  Esposito had made a lot of progress, so it didn’t take long for Kevin to break through the old door.  He carefully reached through the jagged opening and felt around until he located a slide bolt.  It took a couple of jerking pulls to get the rusted bolt to slide free, but the door finally swung open.

Exchanging glances, Kevin waited for his partner to join him then hefted the ax as they stepped through the doorway into a small rustic kitchen.  It wasn’t much lighter inside what appeared to be a cabin, and a flick of the light switch revealed that there was no power.  A quick search of the small home assured them that they were alone.  Tossing the ax onto a threadbare sofa, Ryan reached out to take the jug of water from his partner.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Right behind you, bro.” 

They stepped off the porch and surveyed their options.  The cabin was in a small clearing, surrounded by trees.  About ten yards from the cabin was a very narrow dirt drive, cutting through the trees and disappearing around a curve.  As the two men stepped down off the porch, and were quickly soaked by the pouring rain, Esposito glared into the distance.

“When I find the fuckers who did this to us, I’m gonna kick their asses.  I don’t care if I get suspended again.”

“And leave me to do all the grunt work, alone?  Screw that, Javi.  I’ll just have to get suspended right along with you.”

The two partners shared a grin and a fist bump then started the inevitable long walk to civilization and a phone.

                                                                    *************

Cursing under his breath, pissed at how long the meeting with his client had taken, Adam Caudle opened the glass doors to Colwell and Meyers and hustled through.  It was getting late.  He and Paul still needed to find that damn flashdrive.  Adam ran a hand back and forth over his close-cropped auburn hair to shake some of the rain off and shrugged his broad shoulders to adjust his trench coat.  As he reached his friend’s cubby, he slowed to a puzzled stop.  Where the fuck was Paul?

One of the other drones in the cube farm noticed his frown and stood to peer over the divider.  “You looking for Hammond?”

“Yeah, where is he?”

The wiry little nerd smiled eagerly and glanced around before leaning over a little further to whisper conspiratorially.  “He was arrested by this really hot cop a few hours ago.  Something about kidnapping two detectives.  Can you believe that shit?”

Absolute rage and panic flashed in Caudle’s brown eyes.  The look on his face was enough to make the nosy neighbor duck back into his own cubicle.  Spinning on his heels, Adam quickly made his way back through the glass doors and down the elevator to the garage.  He knew there was no way Paul Hammond would have the courage to keep quiet.  Eventually the fucker would talk.  Those two detectives needed to disappear, and quickly.

He hurried to make his way to his Jeep, fumbling with the keys a moment before successfully opening the door.  Sliding into his seat, he slammed the door shut and jammed the key into the ignition to start the SUV.  With a squeal of tires, he pulled out of his parking space with a string of angry curses.  He’d have to haul ass to make sure he had time to kill those two detectives and dump their bodies in the woods.  Because there was no way Adam Caudle was going to prison.

                                                           ***************

The rain made the dirt road quickly turn to a muddy mess, sucking at their shoes and making each step more difficult than the last, and encroaching darkness didn’t help.  The two detectives picked their way over to the grassy verge and made better time once off of the road, keeping their heads down to watch their footing and to try to keep the rain out of their faces.  They’d only covered maybe a mile, flinching at the loud claps of thunder, when a car suddenly slid around the curve ahead of them.  Shock made both men freeze momentarily, as the mud-splattered Jeep jerked to a crooked stop and the driver’s side door was flung open.  The gun in the unknown driver’s hand was enough to spur the escapees to action.

As soon as Javier saw the gun clear the driver’s jacket and swing around in his direction, he turned and ran.  Esposito grabbed his partner's arm as he passed, pulling Kevin along with him. 

A booming shot from the gun had Esposito glancing over his shoulder; he’d remember that guy’s face so he could bash it in later, when they weren’t running for their lives.  More bangs from the gun and mud kicked up two feet in front of him, making Javier swerve away to his right.  This dude was serious.

“Kevin, head for the trees!”  If they could get to the trees about twenty yards ahead of them, they and the rain would provide enough cover to keep the detectives from getting shot.  Hopefully.

As always, his partner was in tune and Kevin had automatically followed Javier's trajectory toward the woods.  Another bang and Esposito heard a grunt of pain from his partner.  He slowed enough to look behind him and to the right, where Kevin struggled to keep pace on the muddy ground.  Ryan shook his head at the unasked question.

“Keep going, Javi.  I'm fine.”

Esposito doubted the validity of that, but didn't have a chance to question it as a searing, burning thud in his left thigh sent him stumbling into Kevin's path.  His partner reached out a deceptively strong arm, grabbed him around the waist and hoisted him back upright.  The two men kept running for the woods as more bullets kicked up mud and grass at their feet, but they were far enough away now to make hitting them difficult for someone who probably wasn't well-trained in handgun marksmanship.  They made the trees and Kevin started to slow his steps.  Esposito pulled away from his partner and kept up a loping, limping run.

“Keep going, Kevin.  We don't know if he's following.  Just get a little distance then we can stop and figure things out.”

His partner seemed reluctant but, after a couple of strides, Kevin caught up to him.  The rain really started coming down and the two men were quickly soaked to the bone, but they kept running as best they could.  Thundering echoes from a handgun spurred them on, neither sure if the sounds were getting closer or not.

Ten minutes after hearing the last gunshot, Javier finally stumbled to a stop and limped over to lean against a tree.  He shifted his weight to his right leg and bent to brace his hands on his knees, gasping in ragged breaths and trembling slightly from the flood of adrenaline.  A few steps away from him, Kevin did the same.  His partner seemed to get his breathing under control first, pulled himself away from his tree and walked over to kneel on Javier's left side.

Taking one last calming breath, Esposito looked down into concerned blue eyes as Kevin's hand hovered over the bloody patch in Javier's pants, seeking permission.  With a nod, Javier braced himself for the pain he knew was coming.  To give his partner credit, Kevin tried his best to be gentle as he widened the tear in the slacks to get a better look at the wound.  Wounds, really, since the bullet had gone straight through.  For which Javier was extremely grateful.  It meant the bullet wasn't still inside his leg, potentially doing more damage as he moved around.  It also meant that it most likely missed the bone. 

Kevin looked up in relief.  “It doesn't look too bad, Javi.  It kinda went from back to front and on the outside, so it doesn't look like it got anywhere near the artery.”

What he'd expected, but it was nice to hear it confirmed.  His partner settled on his knees and slipped out of his vest, holding it up for Javier.  “Hold this for a minute.”

“What are you doing?”

“We need to put some kind of bandage on there.  You didn't nick an artery, but it doesn't mean you're not bleeding enough for us to need to stop it.”

Javier took the vest and shook his head as Kevin slipped out of the pale blue button down, then his crew-neck undershirt.  Esposito also took the undershirt to hold when his partner thrust it in his hands, as Kevin slid once more back into the dress shirt.  Though soaking wet, it at least would offer the man protection from tree branches as they made their way back to civilization.

Once re-dressed, Kevin folded the vest so that it made a compress long enough to wrap around to cover both entry and exit wounds then ripped the t-shirt until it was long enough to tie the make-shift bandage in place.  Satisfied, Kevin climbed once more to his feet and winced as he did so.  Javier had seen the blood on his partner's shirts and knew he wasn't the only one to have taken a hit.

“Now that you're done playing nurse, let me see your side.”

“It's just a flesh wound.”

“Fine, Monty Python, but humor me.  Let me see it.”

With a huff of annoyance, his partner lifted the left side of his blood stained dress shirt high enough for Esposito to take a good look.  The wound was about four inches long, but the bleeding had slowed considerably.  He pressed his fingers against the rib under the wound and winced in sympathy as Ryan hissed and jerked away from his probing.  “Sorry, Kevin.  Looks like he caught you just right.  It sort of slid along the rib.  Looks like the rib might be cracked, though.”

Sucking a long, slow breath through his teeth Kevin lowered his shirt and nodded in agreement.  “Feels cracked.  Better than a bullet to the lung, so I'm not gonna complain.”

“Well, at least we're out of the basement.”

“And into the fire.”  Kevin ignored his partner's smirk at the joke, bent over to brace his hands on his knees and looked back the way they'd come.  He was grateful to only hear the rain and thunder of the storm.  No more gunshots, and no sounds of pursuing feet.  Standing back to his full height, wincing at the pull on the wound in his side, Kevin ran his hands through his rain-soaked hair.  “We need to get home.”

“We will.  But we need to rest a few minutes, first.”

Knowing Javier needed to recover some strength after the painful run through the trees Kevin nodded jerkily and slid to sit beside his partner.  Bumping his shoulder gently with Espo's, he smiled crookedly at his best friend.  “Maybe you can get Lanie to nurse you back to health.”

“Shut up, Honeymilk.”

Frowning at the nickname he hated, Ryan let his head thump against the tree behind them.  “Crap.  I dropped the water when he started shooting at us.”

“Well, hopefully we’ll be well on our way back to the 12^th long before we get thirsty.  ‘Sides, there’s always rain water.  And, more bad news…I dropped the lantern.”

Ryan sincerely hoped his partner was right about being back at the precinct.  But they had no idea where they were, or how far they would have to walk to find help.  Eyes tracking to the make-shift bandage on Esposito’s leg, Ryan prayed that they weren’t as far out in the middle of nowhere as he suspected they were.

Once Esposito had recovered his strength, he let Ryan pull him to his feet and tried to keep most of his weight on his good leg.  It was dark and still raining, but they needed to get moving and find help.  Squinting against the gloom, Javier tried to tell from which direction they’d come. 

“Kev, which way back to the road?”

Spinning in a slow circle, Ryan thought the trees all looked pretty much the same.  He was a city boy, born and raised.  “I don’t know, Javi.”

“Shit.”  Spotting a broken branch, Esposito took a chance.  “Let’s try that way.”

Ryan knew you were supposed to stay put when lost in the wilderness.  But he also doubted anyone knew where to look for them, his partner had been shot and that they needed help.  So, pushing down his misgivings, the detective followed closely behind his partner as they headed out in what he hoped was the right direction.

Chapter Text

Getting a warrant had taken longer than Beckett had wanted, but by the time she had it and stood outside Hammond’s apartment the text with the sketch of their third suspect had been received.  As soon as the weathered old man who acted as manager for the building let them in, Beckett and Castle split up to search the apartment.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and Beckett once again marveled how a seemingly average guy, with a good job, could end up making such a monumentally stupid decision as to take part in murder.

Kate searched through all of the drawers of the bureau in the bedroom, but found nothing of interest.  She moved on to the closet and was searching through the pockets of everything in it when she heard Castle shout for her.

“Beckett!  Found something.”

Following his voice into the small spare bedroom Hammond apparently used as an office, she found her husband seated in the high-backed computer chair.  Pointing at the photos cycling through on the computer as a screen saver, Castle grinned.

“Wait for it.”

After a minute or so, the picture that had grabbed his attention popped up.  Hammond and a man matching the sketch Karpowski had texted Beckett.  She smiled back at Castle in satisfaction.  “Got him.”

The two went back to their search, but found nothing to give them a name.  Hammond’s computer was password protected, so they couldn’t check his emails.  Beckett made a phone call to get some CSU computer techs to retrieve the desktop to see what they could come up with.  Having found nothing incriminating other than the photograph, the couple left and headed back to the station.  When Beckett discovered no attorney had yet arrived for Hammond, she quietly seethed.  They needed to speak to Hammond, but he wouldn’t talk without a lawyer.

The furious detective spent twenty minutes on the phone, trying to get them to send a PD down to represent their suspect but kept getting stonewalled due to the late hour.  Captain Gates, having heard the shouting, took the receiver from her senior detective and spoke calmly, firmly and coldly.

“We have two missing detectives.  This man knows what happened to them.  He won’t speak without representation.  You will get someone down here ASAP, or my next phone call will be to the Mayor.  Do I make myself clear?”  There was a pause as Gates listened to the response then she smiled grimly.  “I thought you might see it my way.  See that you do.”

Captain Gates let the headset rest back in its cradle on Beckett’s desk and raised her eyebrows.  “They will get someone down here pronto.  Now, tell me what you have.”

Beckett pulled up the sketch texted to her phone and showed it to her boss.  “This is the third suspect, and probably the mastermind behind the whole thing.  Castle found a picture on Hammond’s computer as part of the screensaver that shows Hammond with this man.  We didn’t find anything else in his apartment linking him to the boys.  We need to get Hammond to talk, sir.”

Pursing her lips, Gates played with the chain attached to her reading glasses.  “I want to know as soon as Mr. Hammond’s attorney arrives, Detective.

“Yes sir,” Beckett assured her.

The waiting was frustrating.  Beckett felt like they were getting closer to finding out what happened to her partners, but not fast enough.  As rain began to tap against the windows of the conference room next to the bullpen she sighed.  It was time to call and check on Jenny again.  Update her on their progress, meager though it seemed.

With a glance at her husband, seeking his silent strength, Kate dialed the familiar number.  “Jenny?  It’s Kate.”

                                                       *********************

When Esposito fell for the third time, Ryan demanded that they call it a night.  “Javi, come on.  You can barely walk.  The trees are too thick, it’s too dark and the ground is muddy and slippery.  The last thing we need is a broken ankle or something.”

Conceding with poor grace, the Hispanic detective worked to ease his breathing and nodded his acquiescence.  “Fine.  We’ll wait ‘til morning.”  Esposito braced his back against the rough bark of the nearest tree that looked big enough to hold his weight and let Ryan help him slide down to sit between the gnarled roots.

Once his partner was settled, Kevin wiped his wet bangs off his forehead and glanced around.  “I’ll be right back.”

“For cryin’ out loud, don’t get lost.”  Esposito listened to Ryan wander around within shouting distance.  He had no idea what Ryan had in mind, until he saw what his partner was dragging behind him when he returned.

“Boy scouts?”

Ryan chuckled ruefully as he took one of the long sticks he’d found and maneuvered it so that it bridged between two branches of the tree, not far above his partner’s head.  Satisfied, he leaned the others perpendicular from that one to make a sort of lean-to to give them a little protection from the elements.  Between the tree’s leaves and Ryan’s primitive construction, they at least had some respite from the relentless rain.

Crawling in to settle next to Espo, Ryan smiled though his partner couldn’t see it in the gloom.  “Nah, didn’t do Boy Scouts.  Learned it at summer camp, once.”

Leaning his shoulder against his partner’s, hoping to share a little body heat, Esposito closed his eyes and let exhaustion wrap around him.  He had learned the art of making a shelter during his training in the military, but didn’t have the energy left to do anything.  “Well, thank goodness for summer camp.”

Kevin snorted softly in amusement as he also let his body relax.  “Thank goodness for twelve-year-old hormones, you mean.  I only begged my parents to let me go to camp that summer because Molly Flannigan was going.”

Grinning tiredly, Javier jiggled his shoulder against Kevin’s.  “Cute, huh?”

“I guess so.”  Kevin shifted his hips, trying to get a tree knot to stop poking him in the back, and admitted the truth.  “Honestly, the reason I was so smitten was because she was the first girl in my class to get boobs.”

Esposito’s bark of laughter echoed through the trees.

                                                     ***************************

(Day 4)

Settling her weary body into her chair at the desk in the bullpen, Kate wrapped her long thin fingers around her traditional morning latte.  Castle settled into his chair next to her desk, clutching his own cup of energy, and they traded bleary half-smiles of encouragement.  Day four, and everyone was exhausted.  Pender and Lee shuffled in and went to the murder board, silent and weary.  Karpowski snored softly at her desk, head pillowed on a small stack of files with her chestnut curls spilled over her folded arms.

An attorney had finally arrived for Paul Hammond the previous night, but despite two hours of questioning they had nothing.  Hammond apparently feared his partner more than Beckett.  Something that did not bode well for her missing detectives.  She had finally been forced to let Hammond return to holding until his arraignment and bail hearing.  She and Castle had returned to the loft, empty-handed and discouraged.  Kate’s conversation with a tearful Jenny Ryan hadn’t helped.  The detective couldn’t imagine having a toddler, being pregnant with another child and having to worry that she’d never see her husband again. 

Kate had held Rick extra tight as they’d tried to catch as much energizing sleep as they could.

A phone slammed down onto its cradle and Detective Carl Webber shoved his chair back to stride quickly over to Beckett, a note stuck to one finger.  “The computer geeks got us a name.  Paul Hammond was exchanging emails with a guy named Adam Caudle.  I ran him and got his address.  Get this: Their emails mentioned both Blake and Switzer.”

Taking the paper, Beckett made note of the address and handed it back.  “Anything in their emails about Espo and Ryan?”

“No, but there were numerous calls between Caudle and Hammond on the phone records we pulled for Hammond.”  Webber shrugged his shoulders, his dark eyes nevertheless flashing with excitement at a hot lead.  “Maybe they only discussed it over the phone or in person.”

“Take Mitchell and a couple of uniforms over to Caudle’s address and see if he’s there.  If so, have the unies bring him in while you two search his apartment.”

“Got it, boss.”  Carl sketched a sloppy salute then put his long legs to good use as he hurried to the break room to grab Mitchell, who was busy trying to charge up with espresso.

Watching the rookie detective leave the bullpen, Castle frowned a little.  “Why aren’t you going, Kate?”

Beckett clutched a pen in her hand, grounding herself.  She forced a smile for her puzzled husband and explained.  “If I’m going to take the next step and go for Captain, I need to be able to delegate.  If I can delegate now, when everything in my being is demanding that I take action, then doing it when it doesn’t matter as much will be a walk in the park.”

Castle stood and planted a kiss on his wife’s forehead.  “You amaze me every day, Kate.  I’m going to get something to eat from the break room.  I think I saw a box of cronuts.  You want one?”

“Sure.  Caffeine and sugar.  Just what the body needs.”  Beckett reached out and gave Rick’s hand a gentle squeeze of thanks then let him go.  Waiting on news of Caudle was going to be murder.

When the phone call came in from Webber and Mitchell, it wasn’t the news Beckett was hoping for.  “He what?”

“Sorry, boss.  The place is a wreck.  Looks like he emptied his closet and took whatever was valuable.  No sign of a passport.  No laptop, smartphone or tablet.”  Regret and frustration colored Mitchell’s voice.  “He’s in the wind, Beckett.”

“Dammit!”  Beckett pressed shaky fingers to her temple and rubbed, regaining her composure.  “Keep searching his apartment.  Canvass the neighbors and see if anyone knows of any family, a girlfriend, boyfriend, anything.  We’ll run him to see what kind of vehicle he drives and get the info out on a BOLO.”

“On it.”

Mitchell disconnected and Beckett glanced around at the group of expectant detectives, and one writer, gathered at her desk.  Taking a deep breath, Kate focused and handed out their marching orders.

“Karpowski, find out what vehicle Adam Caudle is registered to and get it out to everyone.  Pender, dig deep on Caudle.  Financial records, phone records, public records…everything.  Lee, see if you can locate any family.  Find out if he owns a vacation home, timeshare, land or an empty freaking warehouse.  He stashed our guys somewhere and I want to know where.” 

Picking up the handset from her own desk phone, Beckett started the calls to have bus and train stations, subway stops and the airports looking out for their third suspect.  Hopefully they weren’t too late, and Caudle hadn’t yet skipped the country.

For the rest of the day, it felt like they were all just spinning their wheels.  Mitchell had been smart enough to have Caudle’s phone pinged, using the number they’d found in Hammond’s cell phone records.  Only to have it come up at or near the suspect’s own apartment.  LT finally found it in the dumpster in the building’s basement.  Adam had ditched it down the garbage chute.  A dead end.

Webber and Mitchell hadn’t found anything in the apartment linking Caudle to any hidey-holes where he could’ve left their missing detectives.  Credit card bills and bank statements galore, but that was all.  They had found a security card for Colwell and Meyers, so they’d left the apartment and gone to search Caudle’s office at the brokerage firm.

Noting that information on the murder board, Castle crossed his arms and leaned against Beckett’s desk.  “You know who else had ties to Colwell and Meyers?  Blake and Switzer.”

Unconsciously mimicking her husband’s pose, Beckett frowned.  “Where did you get that information?”

Shrugging, Castle uncapped the dry erase marker once more and straightened.  He leaned forward to draw a circle around Colwell and Meyers then another around the accountant firm their murder suspects had been employed with.  He drew a line between them.  “Blake and Switzer both worked for the company that audited Colwell and Meyers.  The brokerage was on the client list from the accounting firm.  I think we can definitively say the boys were taken because of our current case, and not an old one.”

Beckett smiled and reached out to pull Rick closer.  “I’m so glad I married a smart man.”

“So you married me for my brain and not because I’m ruggedly handsome?”

Laughing softly at his fake pout, Beckett wrapped her arms around Rick for a quick hug.  “Well, maybe a little of both.”

It was one lighthearted moment in an otherwise frustrating and disheartening day.  There had been nothing incriminating in Adam Caudle’s office at the brokerage.  Detective Alan Lee reported back that Caudle’s parents had both died, and there were no siblings.  He’d found an aunt in the Bronx, but she hadn’t spoken to her “uppity” nephew in four years.  Pender had found no deeds to any land, building or second home in Caudle’s name.  More dead ends.

Her frustration mounting, Beckett had Hammond brought back to interrogation.  His attorney was also present, once again.  The lawyer was young, wearing a rumpled suit and cheap tie.  He looked barely out of law school.  Chum to a shark.  Although she never raised her voice, the anger and determination were very much evident in her tone.  Despite having his lawyer next to him, Beckett could tell that her suspect was starting to sweat.

“Your buddy Adam has skipped, Mr. Hammond.”  Beckett leaned forward and smirked.  “Looks like he’s leaving you to take the fall.  If we don’t find those two detectives alive, you’ll not only go down for their kidnapping but for their murders as well.  You’ll never breathe free air again.”

Leaning back once again, Kate tapped her pen on the open folder containing Esposito’s case file.  “That’s not even taking into account the murders of Paul Blake and Aaron Switzer.”

The young public defender sat up straight and waved his left hand, as if waving off the new accusations.  “Now, wait a minute Detective.  My client hasn’t been charged with anything related to those men.”

Smiling at the lawyer’s sudden agitation, Beckett clasped her hands together and leaned forward once more.  “We’re working on getting them arranged right now.  We already have a warrant to search the work computers for your client and Mr. Caudle.  Blake and Switzer were the cases my missing detectives were investigating, and they were the pair that audited the accounts for Colwell and Meyers.  The firm your client and Adam Caudle worked for.  I don’t think that’s a coincidence, do you?”

Casting a sidelong glance at his client, the attorney cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.  “Do you mind giving us a moment, Detective Beckett?”

“Not at all.”  Flipping Espo’s file closed, she slid it off the table and tucked it under her arm.  “But don’t take too long.  My guys have been missing for four days, already.”

With that parting shot, Beckett left the room and shut the door behind her.  She paced in the hallway outside Interrogation One, her heels clicking on the worn wooden floor and echoing her agitation.  After only a few minutes the door opened and the attorney stuck his head out to search for her.  With a defeated sigh, he waved her back inside.

“My client would like to cooperate at this time.” 

Hiding her knowing smirk, Kate followed him back into the interrogation room and once more shut the door.  She took her seat and waited expectantly.  The attorney ran a hand through his dark curly hair and sighed again.

“Look, my client does not admit to anything regarding your double homicide.  But, he does have knowledge of your missing detectives.”  He looked over at his client and nodded.

Hammond cleared his throat and slouched in his seat, avoiding the piercing glare of the detective seated across from him.  “Look, I helped Adam Caudle get your guys out of the city okay?  We didn’t hurt them.  Just some roofies in their bottled water.  I helped get them down to the garage and into the van.”

“Where did you take them?”  Beckett was relieved that so far there had been no mention of her boys coming to any harm.

Shrugging helplessly, Hammond swallowed convulsively.  “I don’t know for sure.”

Beckett slammed an open palm on the table, making both men jump.  “What do you mean, you don’t know?  You were in the damn van with them, weren’t you?”

“Y-yes.  I was,” Hammond stammered nervously.  “But I was in the back with the two detectives.  You know, in case one of them woke up and tried something.  I-I didn’t really see where we were going.  We carried them into a house.  More like a cabin, really.  And-and down into a basement.  We chained them to a pole, left some food and water and that was it.  We drove away.  But it was dark!”

Making a pleading gesture, Hammond leaned forward to earnestly plead his case.  “It was in the woods somewhere.  A dirt road through the trees.”

Beckett stood and leaned across the table, planting her hands on the desk and glaring at the idiot co-conspirator.  “Where are they?”

Hammond threw up his hands as if warding her off.  “I don’t know!  I swear, detective!  Look, we were somewhere north of Monticello.  I know that much.  I remember seeing the exit.  Highway 17.”

“Shit.”  Without another word, Beckett left the room.  She gave LT instructions to take their suspect back to holding then went to pull up a map on her desktop.  Rick, who had been watching the interrogation in the observation room, joined her and settled into his chair.

“There’s a lot of forest north of Monticello, Kate.”  Castle’s voice was soft, feeling the same sense of helplessness as his wife.

“I know.”  Scrubbing her hands over her face, Beckett felt acute exhaustion.  There were so many places her partners could’ve been left.  “I’ll notify the National Park Services.  At least they can keep an eye out, but we need more to go on.  A way to narrow it down.”

“Maybe the local law enforcements can check gas stations and convenience stores along Highway 17 in their jurisdictions.  See if the van stopped for gas or something along the way.  It would at least help narrow down a direction.”

“That’s a good idea, Rick.”  Beckett passed that task onto the shift coming on duty for the night, and stood to gather her personal items.  “It’s reaching the point where I can’t think anymore.  We need to go home, get some sleep and start nice and sharp in the morning.”

Castle was glad that his wife had come to that realization on her own, so that he didn’t have to force the issue.  Though he’d like nothing more than to keep pushing and digging to try to find something that would bring Ryan and Esposito home, Rick knew they were both exhausted.  He slid into his jacket and draped a comforting arm across Kate’s narrow shoulders.

“We’ll find them, Kate.  We’re making progress.”

Nodding, trying to smile for Castle, Beckett let herself be guided toward the elevator. “I know.  Tomorrow.  We’ll find them tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

After a fitful night’s rest, Esposito finally let the pain in his thigh drag him to full consciousness.  It was still raining.  Turning to his still dozing partner, Espo winced at the angle of Kevin’s neck.  That was going to leave a crick in the muscle for sure.  He pushed on his friend’s shoulder to wake him.

“Up and at ‘em, Kev.  We need to get moving.”

Moaning softly at a dozen different points of discomfort, Ryan rolled his head and reached up to knead at the back of his neck.  His side was throbbing from the bullet burn, reminding him that his partner was much worse off.  Ryan shifted around on their bed of damp maple leaves so that he could reach Esposito’s wound.  Long deft fingers checked the make-shift bandaging, and Kevin was relieved to note very little new bleeding.  He knew that would change, though, if they tried walking out.

“Javi, I think maybe we need to sit it out and wait for help.”

Lifting his head away from the tree trunk, Esposito frowned in disagreement and waved a hand vaguely.  “It’s still raining, bro.  We’re in the middle of the woods somewhere.  If we don’t know where we are, who took us or why then how do you expect Castle and Beckett to know?  Nobody is looking for us out here, Kev.  We have no water, and only the food you stuffed in your pockets.”

Rubbing his damp sleeve over his face, Ryan considered their options.  “I don’t think you need to be trying to hike out of here, Javi.”

“I don’t really see as we have a choice.”  Esposito held out his hand and tried to smile encouragingly at his wavering partner.  “C’mon.  Help me up and let’s get moving.  I don’t know about you, but I could use a hot meal, a shower and a nice big dose of morphine.”

Ryan shook his head at his stubborn partner and stood, carefully pushing aside the branches he’d set up the night before.  He reached down, clasped Espo’s hand and pulled the heavier man to his feet.  Ryan’s rib didn’t appreciate the effort.  Hiding a wince, he turned in a slow circle as rain ran through his hair and dripped down his nose.

“We came from that direction,” Ryan noted, pointing off to their right.  “Walking out is your idea, so you pick which way to go.”

It all looked the same to Esposito, his training in navigating direction useless in the heavy rain.  The heavy dark clouds made it impossible to tell the direction of the sun.  So, he finally just picked the easiest route.  “Let’s go this way.  At least it’s downhill.”

It was as good a direction as any, as far as Ryan could tell.  And downhill would certainly be easier on both of them.  “Just make sure to let me know when you need to stop.  Being a martyr won’t help either of us and will just make things worse.  Deal?”

Letting Ryan pull his arm across his shoulders, Esposito leaned some of his weight against his smaller partner.  He figured about the time he needed a break, Kevin would need one too.  “Yeah, okay.  Same goes for you, bro.”

Ryan saved his breath for the ordeal to come.  The ground was wet and slippery wherever it wasn’t coated in a layer of fallen leaves.  Hidden roots threatened to trip them up, and walking downhill wasn’t as easy as they’d both thought it would be.  Less than an hour into their hike the detective seriously began to worry.

As if sensing his partner’s thoughts, Esposito sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly in an attempt to control his pain.  “So, if it’s a boy are you still gonna name him Javier?”

Startled out of his thoughts, Ryan glanced up from his stumbling feet.  “What?”

“The new baby.  You told Jenny to name the first one Javier if it was a boy, so I was just wondering.”

“Dude, we were stuck in a burning basement.  I thought we were going to die.”

“So?  What, you only wanted to name him after me if you died?”  Esposito splayed the fingers of his right hand against his chest in mock indignation.  “Bro, I’m hurt.”

“Come on, Javi.  A white Irish kid named Javier?  I might as well beat him up every day before school to save the bullies the trouble.”  Ryan gave a breathless chuckle at the thought.  “Jenny would kill me.  Besides, who says it’ll be a boy.  Maybe we’ll have another girl.”

“If you do, you might as well start your gun collection now.  You’ll need ‘em once they start dating.”

Gripping his partner’s hand more tightly, taking more of Esposito’s weight, Ryan scoffed at that.  “Nah, I’m leaving that up to you.  Any potential boyfriend has to make it past Uncle Javi, first.  That way I stay out of hot water with my daughter and my wife.”

“What and put me there instead?”

They had reached the bottom of the hill, apparently, and were now working their way up the next one.  Catching his breath, Ryan huffed out a laugh.  “Better you than me, Javi.”

Their conversation tapered off as it took more effort and concentration to keep their footing on the wet and slippery slope.  Once they made it onto relatively even ground, Ryan brought them both to a stop.  He was carrying more of his partner’s weight, meaning Javier was reaching the end of his reserves and needed a rest.  Kevin himself needed a breather at that point.

“Let’s take a break, Javi.”  Ryan helped his partner sit down against the trunk of a large maple tree then gingerly slid down to join him.  Despite walking in the rain, Kevin was thirsty.  Looking up at the branches moving above them, blown by the wind brought by the storm, the detective reached up to snag a leaf.  He pulled gently, lowering the branch attached until the leaf was tilted down toward him.  Opening his mouth, Ryan let the water collecting on the leaf roll off to drip on his tongue.  It seemed to take a while, but his thirst was finally satisfied and he let the branch spring back to its original position.

Esposito had copied his partner and also felt a little better.  “Well, at least we won’t dehydrate.”

“This is true.”  Ryan shivered and leaned closer to his partner.  “If you don’t tell Jenny that we cuddled, I won’t tell Lanie.”

He knew his thinner partner would lose body heat more quickly, but Esposito couldn’t help teasing Ryan a little.  “What are you willing to give me for my silence?  Lanie won’t care if we got cozy.”

“Mmm.  I dunno, Javi.”

The drowsy quality to Ryan’s voice spurred Esposito into action.  His partner needed to keep moving in order to warm up.  “We’ve rested long enough, bro.  Help me up so we can get going.”

With a muffled groan of pain, Ryan pushed himself to his feet and reached down to take his partner’s hand.  He hauled Esposito up and once more draped an arm across his shoulders.  They set out at a slow but steady pace, both hoping they would stumble across a road.  Even a trail or a stream would be helpful.

Wanting to get their minds off of darker thoughts, Esposito once again engaged Ryan in conversation.  “So, are you guys gonna find out if it’s a boy or girl or just wait to be surprised like last time?”

Ryan tightened his grip on his partner’s wrist and cast a sideways glance.  “Well, it wasn’t exactly how we planned it last time, but it was still nice to be surprised.  We decided to wait until the birth, again.  We’re still working on names.”

“Any you like so far?”

“If it’s a boy, I’d like to name him Rory.  You know, after my Dad.”

“That’s cool.”  Esposito gasped when his wounded leg buckled on the next step.  His partner managed to keep them both upright.  Ignoring the stab of pain from his exit wound, the detective took a few deep breaths.  “What if it’s a girl?”

“Jenny’s thinking Shannon or Megan.”

“And you?”

“Emily, or maybe Kalin.”

Smiling at how feminine, and Irish, all four names were Esposito teased his partner.  “So, who do you think will win the name game this time?”

Ryan chuckled softly and veered them off to their right a little to avoid a rocky outcropping.  “Well, since our near-death experience kinda won me the right to name Sarah Grace, I’m pretty sure Jenny will come out ahead on this one.”

“True, but you did name her after Jenny’s grandmother.  That’s gotta win you some points, right?”

Apparently, his efforts at hiding his pain were for nothing.  Ryan limped them over to a large tree full of thick foliage and managed to get them both sitting against the rough bark of the trunk without either falling.  “Maybe.  Let’s take five, Javi.”

Esposito blew out a long breath through clenched teeth and pushed against his thigh as if to keep the throbbing pain at bay.   Once the fiery pain banked to a dull throb, he rolled his head against the tree.  “So what boy names does Jenny have in mind?”

Eyes closed against a wave of fatigue, Kevin couldn’t help smiling a little.  Thinking of his family helped keep him motivated and he knew that was why his partner kept bringing it up.  “She likes Dylan and Niall.  I vetoed Seamus.  The kid would be spelling and pronouncing his name the rest of his life.”

“I hear that.”

Thinking of his family made Kevin wonder how his wife was handling things at home.  “This is the second time I’ve disappeared since we’ve been married.  The third since we’ve been together, if you count Lockwood.”

Knowing where his partner was going, Esposito made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat.  He’d let Kevin lead this particular conversational thread.

“How can I keep doing this to her, Javi?”  Kevin turned to meet his partner’s gaze, his brow wrinkled with worry and guilt.  “It’s selfish, isn’t it?  Doing a job we both know can kill me?”

While Esposito certainly didn’t want to lose his partner, he also knew quitting would eat at Ryan.  “Bro, she knew going in what kind of job you had.  Like you said, we got taken by Lockwood before you guys got married.  I know she saw you work through some serious shit after that night, yet she still walked down the aisle with you.”

“I don’t know if making her worry so much is right, you know?”

“Look, Kev.  She married you.  She accepted everything about you.  Your bad ties, your dorky three piece suits, your fanboy tendencies…and the fact that you’re a Homicide detective for the NYPD.”  Javier sighed and met his partner’s worried gaze.  “Do you think you’d be the same man she married if you quit the job you love?  Being a cop, or detective, isn’t something you just do.  Not for as long as we have, anyway.  It’s something you are.  As corny as it is, we believe in truth and justice.”

At Ryan’s amused snort, Esposito smirked.  “I said it was corny.  Truth, justice and the American way, bro.  Besides, it’s like Captain Montgomery always said.  We speak for the dead.  If not us, then who?”

“I get your point, Javi.”  Ryan sighed deeply and rubbed at his eyes tiredly.  “No major decisions in the heat of battle, right?”

“Right.  Just wait and see how things work out once we get back home.”

  Glancing at his partner out of the corner of his eye, Ryan worried that they wouldn’t both make it back alive.  And if Javier didn’t make it, remaining at the 12^th would be a moot point.  Kevin didn’t think he could stay a homicide detective if he lost his partner.  He closed his eyes, rain water dripping from his bangs and running down his face.  Kevin wished he hadn’t already been so worn out when they got the body drop days ago.

Although he was loathed to stand, much less start walking again, Esposito checked his watch and sighed.  It was time to get moving again.  He bumped shoulders with his partner, ignoring the irritated groan.  “We need to get moving, Kev.”

“Sure.”  Ignoring his various aches and pains, Ryan stood and reached out to grab his partner’s outstretched hand.  He pulled Espo to his feet and immediately slid up next to him to brace Javier’s arm across his shoulders.  “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”*

“Okay, Castle Jr.”

“Hey, I told you.  I’m allowed to quote The Bard, too.”

Esposito blew out a few long breaths to try to control the pain shooting up and down his leg.  “How come you know so much Shakespeare, anyway?”

Chuckling softly, Kevin shrugged his shoulders as best he could with Javier’s arm pressing him down.  “Well, there was this girl.”

“When wasn’t there a girl, Kevin?”  Esposito laughed.  “You went to summer camp for some girl, joined a coven for a girl, learned Shakespeare for a girl, and drink honeymilk for Jenny.”

The mention of Ryan’s pregnant wife, most likely worrying herself sick back home, was enough to sober them both.  They continued their struggling walk in silence, each too tired to keep up the charade.

They managed a cycle of walking and resting for the remainder of the day.  Due to the dark clouds and continuous rain, darkness crept in early.  Esposito had been keeping an eye out for suitable shelter for the last half hour or so and finally spotted an outcropping of rock that nestled against the next hill.

“Ryan, over there.  We need to stop for the night.”

Although his partner didn’t acknowledge Esposito’s words, Ryan did change their trajectory.  Espo helped lower himself down onto the loamy earth with a sigh of relief.  His leg was pounding and he wanted nothing more than a chance to stop moving.  The way his partner sprawled in a boneless heap next to him, Javier knew a difficult decision would have to be made come morning.  The ache in his joints hinted at a rising fever.  The wounded detective hoped he wasn’t picking up an infection, but knew it was likely.

With a deep sigh, Ryan shifted and scooted forward far enough to reach his cupped hands out to catch the water pouring over the lip of their shelter to slake his thirst.  He then opened a package of tuna and ate the fish with his fingers, hoping to quiet the rumbling in his stomach.  Once the packet was empty, he filled it with water only to dump it back out again.  After rinsing it a few times, he filled it once more then scooted back to lean against the “wall” of their shelter and handed it to Esposito.

“Here.  It’ll be a little tuna-flavored, but we need to keep hydrated.”

Accepting the packet, Espo drained the water with only a mild grimace.  He’d had worse.  When he finished, he handed it back to Ryan who filled it again.  After the Hispanic detective had had his fill, Ryan tucked the empty package into his pocket.  “Cheese or tuna?”

“I think I had my fill of tuna with the water.”  Espo smiled to show that he wasn’t complaining.  “How about a couple of pieces of cheese?”

Digging once more into his pockets, Kevin pulled out a couple of slightly squished slices of processed cheese and handed them to his partner.  “We’ll need to be careful with the food if we don’t find help tomorrow.”

Peeling back the clear plastic wrap from the cheese, Esposito nodded.  “We can be thankful you were smart enough to grab what you did.”

Ryan pulled his knees up to wrap his arms around his shins.  “I just wish I hadn’t dropped the water.”

“Yeah, well, I wish I hadn’t dropped the lantern.  Don’t beat yourself up over it, bro.”

Conversation petered out after that, as both men saved their energy and tried to find a position that would provide maximum protection from the rain and enough comfort to allow them to get some sleep.  They would need every bit of energy and determination they could get in order to face whatever the next day brought them.

*Shakespeare’s The Life of King Henry the Fifth, Act 3, Scene 1

Chapter Text

The fifth day into her partners’ disappearance started off on a bad note and Beckett worked hard to keep a sense of despair from overwhelming her.  Adam Caudle had been found.  Karpowski was the one who broke the news to Beckett and Castle when they walked into the bullpen, exhaustion on their faces and coffees in hand.  Roselyn had been called in early on her other case, so she had been the one to get the call.

“Beckett, I got a phone call this morning from a DPS officer.  They were working a two car MVA on I87 near Saratoga Springs.  One of the vehicles was burned pretty badly, but they finally managed to get a VIN off the engine block.  It’s registered to Adam Caudle.”

For a brief moment, Kate felt a rush of adrenaline thinking Caudle might be in custody.  But the look on Karpowski’s face quickly smothered her first instinct.  “What about our suspect?”

Brushing an errant curl behind her ear, Karpowski cleared her throat.  “They’re trying to get prints from the body, but the height and weight match.  They’re pretty sure the body they found is Caudle’s.  He’s dead, detective.”

Beckett pushed down the desire to scream out her frustration and turned on her computer.  Once it booted up, she pulled up a map of New York.  “Okay, so Hammond thinks they took the boys to a cabin somewhere north of Monticello.  Caudle was killed near Saratoga Springs.  That leaves the mostly likely places as Willowemoc Wild Forest, Big Indian Wilderness, the Catskills…dammit.  That’s a lot of wilderness to cover.”

Shoulders drooping as he looked at the map, Castle sighed in disappointment.  “We’ll need something to narrow this down.  Whose cabin is it?  If we find that out, we will know where it is.”

Nodding with renewed determination, Beckett started to scribble out names on separate pages from her body outline notepad.  “Okay, gang.  We checked for deeds in Caudle’s name here in the New York area, but we need to spread out.  I’m giving each of you at least one county to research.  Find out if there is a home or land deed for anyone with the name of Caudle.  Maybe he inherited it from a parent or grandparent.”

Once everyone retreated to their own desks to begin making phone calls, Beckett picked up the handset from her own desk phone.  She had a few counties to call as well.

Castle got her attention and waved toward Ryan’s desk.  “I’m going to see if I can get Adam’s mother’s maiden name off his birth certificate.  We should check under her last name as well, just in case.”

“Good idea, Rick.”  A rough, gravelly voice answered her call and Kate turned back to her own task.  “Yes, this is Detective Beckett with the NYPD’s 12^th precinct.  I’ve got a couple of missing detectives and I need to see if you can do a deed search for me.”

After crossing off the counties on her own list, Beckett leaned back in her chair with a deep sigh.  Nothing.  She gathered up her purse and keys, catching Rick’s eye as he nodded at someone on the other end of his phone call.  Castle borrowed her pen and notepad to write down a couple of names, thanked the person on the line and disconnected his call.

“Got his parents’ names off his birth certificate.”

“Good job, Rick.  Hopefully it pans out.  Make sure Karpowski has it so that she can pass it around to the others.”  Beckett stood and slipped into her jacket, slowly doing up the buttons as she gathered her thoughts.

“Where are you going?”  Castle also stood and pulled his own jacket from the back of his chair.  Because, of course, he was going with his wife.

“It’s been five days, Rick.  I need to check on Jenny, let her know what’s going on and where we stand.  She deserves more than just phone calls.”

With a solemn nod, Rick wrapped his arm around Beckett’s waist in a gesture of support and comfort as they made their way to the elevator.  The upcoming meeting would be emotional for all involved.  This wasn’t just family of a random victim, but someone they knew.  Someone they cared about.  Part of their family.

As Beckett drove to the Ryans’ building, Castle sent Jenny a text to let her know they were coming to update her on the status of the case.  He didn’t want the pregnant woman to answer the door, see them standing there and think the worst.  Jenny was having a hard enough time as it was.

When they stepped off the elevator onto the Ryans’ floor, Rick took Beckett’s hand and squeezed it gently.  Silently giving her strength for the difficult task ahead.  Reaching the right apartment, Beckett slipped her hand free, took a deep breath and knocked gently.  They listened as locks were disengaged then the door swung open.  Jenny Ryan offered them a weak smile as she stepped aside in a silent invitation to enter.  Rick shut the door for her and turned the deadbolt then went to give the woman a hug, mindful of the toddler she carried on one hip.  Jenny’s eyes were red and sore-looking, no doubt from a recent crying jag.  Her blonde hair was pulled back in a messy pony tail, but those were the only signs of her distress.  From what he could see, the apartment was as neat and tidy as ever.  Jenny was obviously making an effort to keep things normal for her daughter.

Sarah Grace smiled up at Castle, sliding her thumb from her mouth and holding out her arms in a silent demand to be held.  She had her father’s sapphire blue eyes and Rick swallowed back a sudden lump in his throat.  He brushed a few fair curls away from those brilliant eyes then tweaked her nose to make the little girl giggle.

“How’s my little princess behaving?”

Jenny Ryan gave him a watery smile and went to sit next to Kate on the sofa, while Rick settled into an armchair with his small burden.  “She’s doing well.  She keeps asking where her Daddy is, but so far I don’t think she realizes anything is really wrong.”

Beckett reached over to clasp one of Jenny’s small hands in hers.  “Jenny, we’re still looking for them.  We have one of the men in custody who took Ryan and Espo.  He doesn’t know exactly where they are, but we do have an idea and we’re searching very hard.  This man did say that the last time he saw the boys that they were alive.  They took Esposito and Ryan to buy some time and there was no plan to hurt them.”

Taking a gulping breath to hold back the urge to sob in relief, Jenny squeezed the hand holding hers.  “So you think they’re okay?  Are you sure?”

“I can’t promise anything, but I have faith that we’re going to find them.  That we’re going to find them alive.”  Staring into the worried blue eyes of her partner’s wife, Beckett tried to provide a little encouragement.  “You know that Kevin will do whatever it takes to make it back home to you, Sarah Grace and Baby Ryan.  He’s done it twice before.  Even when we thought they hadn’t survived that fire, he found a way.  We have to believe that Ryan and Esposito will beat the odds again.  Okay?”

Nodding, Jenny took a fortifying breath.  “You’re right.  They’ll look out for each other, and Kevin will come home to us.  Just like before.”

With a few parting words of encouragement, Beckett and Castle returned to the 12^th to continue the search for something that would lead them to their missing partners.  As soon as they exited the elevator into the floor of the bullpen, they could both feel the excitement that seemed to run around the room like an electric current. 

Spotting Karpowski, Beckett made a “what gives?” gesture with her hand.  Roselyn waved the detective and writer over to Beckett's desk and met them there.  “We found something.  Lee located a small piece of land and a cabin in Caudle's deceased mother's name.  It's still in probate.  It's up near the Willowemoc Wild Forest.  What better place to stash our guys?”

A surge of adrenaline kick-started Beckett's thoughts and her heart sped up in anticipation of chasing down a promising clue.  “Where are we?”

Pulling her runaway curls into a clip, Karpowski smiled grimly.  “We've already alerted the local law enforcement and they're on the way to check the place out.  We're getting ready to head up there as soon as we hear from them.”

Also wanting to be read they minute the call came in, Beckett made sure she had her weapon, badge and wallet.  She rattled her car keys, ready to bolt as soon as she heard go.  The whole bullpen seemed to pause in a moment of stasis as they all waited.

And waited.

Everyone jumped when Karpowski's cell phone rang.  A quick glance at the screen verified it was the call they all were waiting for, and Ros answered eagerly.  “Detective Karpowski.  Yes, thank you Lieutenant.  What did they find?  They did?  They are?  Well, did you find them?  Shit.  What are doing to find them?  What about the National Park Service?  Okay, okay.  Good.  What about helicopters?  Oh.  Well, shit.  No, no, I appreciate your help.  Some of our guys will be coming out there.  Detective Kate Beckett is in charge.  I'll give her your number.  Thanks.”

All eyes were on Roselyn as she disconnected the call and slipped her phone back into her jacket pocket.  “They found the cabin.  There were signs that two people were kept chained to a pole in the basement.”

The anticipation finally got to Castle.  “Well?  Are the boys okay?”

Karpowski waved her hand to get the writer to calm down and wait.  “Esposito and Ryan apparently got impatient and escaped the house.” 

Having joined the group of detectives, Captain Gates narrowed her eyes.  “Then where are they?”

“It's been raining for a couple of days up there, so it was hard to know for sure.  But they found what looked like fresh tire marks on the driveway leading to the house, and two pair of footprints leading into the trees.  The Lieutenant said they can only surmise that our guys ran into Caudle after leaving the house and took off into the woods.”

With a sinking sensation, Kate took a deep calming breath.  “But Caudle was killed in a car accident last night.  Where are Ryan and Espo?”

Sighing, Karpowski shrugged.  “They're either injured and unable to walk out, or lost.  They've got some of their guys out there at the cabin in case our guys make their way back there.  The National Park Service has some searchers setting up a command post at the Willowemoc Campgrounds, but the weather isn't helping.  They won't do a full-scale search until it clears up, for everyone's safety.  Once it clears, they'll get rescue searchers and volunteers onto the ground in a search grid.  Also the copters would be able to lift of f and help look.  Until then, it's a waiting game.”

Beckett wasn't willing to sit back and wait.  She turned to her captain and raised her bundle of keys.  “Sir?”

“Go, Detective.  Bring your partners home.”

“Yes sir.”  Kate gave her captain a strained smile then turned back to Karpowski.  “Text me the Lieutenant's phone number.  I'll call him on the way.  Hold down the fort, Ros.”

“You got it, Beckett.  The text is on the way.  Tell Esposito and Ryan they owe me a drink for all the hard work I've put in on this.”

With a shout that she would, Beckett headed for the elevator with Castle in tow.  They had a long drive ahead of them, but they wouldn't be coming back without Ryan and Esposito.  Not if she could help it.

                                                                ************

When Ryan blinked awake the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that it was a little quieter than it had been before.  Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the detective realized that the rain had slackened.  And although it was still overcast, it appeared to be a lighter gray than before.  Feeling movement next to him, Kevin shifted so that he could see his partner.  He looked worse than the day before.  The Hispanic detective was pale beneath his natural tan skin tone.  It was hard to tell because the bandage was wet, but it looked like the leg wound had bled more.  Ryan felt an overwhelming sense of failure that he hadn't been able to find help for his partner.

His entire left leg throbbed from toe to hip, and Javier knew he didn't have a lot left before blood loss or infection made him drop.  It was decision time, though Esposito knew damn well it would be a wasted effort.  Still, he had to try.  Using his damp sleeve, the wounded detective wiped his face and turned toward his partner.

“Kevin, you need to leave me here and go get us some help.  You'll move faster if you're not having to drag me with you.”

Predictably, Ryan pursed his lips in annoyance and shook his head.  “No way, Javi.  I get what you're saying, but even if I made it out and found someone, I'd never find my way back here.  Either we both go, or we both stay.”

Esposito sighed and tried once more.  “C'mon, bro.  You've got Jenny, Sarah Grace and a baby on the way.  Just get the hell out of here.”

“Nope.  Not gonna happen.”  Ryan, the matter closed as far as he was concerned, pulled the empty tuna packet from his pocket and began to let it fill with rainwater.

Taking the packet as it was shoved at him, Espo rolled his eyes and drank the water.  “You're gonna die from stubbornness.  You know that, right?”

Ryan took the make-shift water container and refilled it once more.  “Maybe I will.  But not today.  I didn't die in that basement, and I won't in these woods.  And if you remember, I tried to get you to leave so you didn't die with me in that fire.  You wouldn't.  And I won't, either.”

“Fair enough, Kev.  But if it gets to the point where you can't carry me any more, you go on  alone.  Promise?”

“Javi-.”

Fixing his stubborn partner with a serious glare, Esposito grabbed Ryan's arm and squeezed.  “Promise me, or I won't take another step.”

With a frustrated sigh, Kevin nevertheless bobbed his head slowly.  “Fine.  I promise.”

“Good.”

The two weary men drank their fill of rain water and had a meager breakfast of processed cheese.  Ryan helped his partner lean against a tree so Espo could relieve himself in relative privacy, relieved his own bladder then once again took some of his partner's weight for the walk ahead.  Using the direction from which they'd come the night before as a guide, they continued on the same path.

Although the rain had let up some, their weariness made walking seem more difficult than the day before.  Their breaks lasted longer, and they didn't make the same distance between stops.  Plus, Ryan was fairly certain he'd seen that particular rocky outcropping before.  He was pretty sure they had made at least one circle, but didn't want to point that out to Esposito.

In an effort to get them both to focus, Ryan tightened his grip on his partner’s waist and started talking once more.  “So, whatever happened with you and Lanie?”

“Wha-?”

Kevin didn’t like how weak his partner’s voice sounded.  “C’mon, Javi.  Work with me.  You and Lanie?”

Clearing his throat, Esposito lifted his weary head and let his gathered his wandering thoughts.  “Oh, you know.  After that pretending-to-be-engaged debacle, it made me realize that we’re great together.  But not for the long haul, you know?  Not like you and Jenny.”

“So are you seeing anyone, then?”  Ryan had suspected that the on-again, off-again couple had called it quits, but hadn’t asked before. 

“Nah.  Not seriously, anyway. “  Javier winced when he put too much weight on his left leg as the two stumbled over a tree root.  He gulped back his nausea.  “I guess I’ll find the right woman eventually.”

“Well, when you find her we’ll double date.”  Turning his head, Ryan gave his partner a tired grin.  “And I promise no M-word from Jenny this time.”

The two stumbled along in silence after that, until Ryan couldn’t go further without a break.  He helped his partner get settled against a tree, once more out of the worst of the rain.  Sitting snug against Esposito to share body heat, Kevin sighed deeply with weariness.

Keeping his stomach settled through sheer force of will, Esposito let his head rest against the moss-covered bark behind them.  He knew how much extra weight his slighter partner had to bear, but Javier also knew his stubborn Irish friend wouldn’t leave without him.  That was a loyalty he sometimes took for granted, and Espo knew it.

“I’m sorry, Kev.”

Pausing in the act of opening a packet of tuna, Kevin shot his partner a puzzled look.  “For what?”

“Giving you such shit, sometimes.  About your organization of your desk, spreading the whole Honeymilk thing around, messing with you about the way you dress, calling you out for taking Castle’s side…a bunch of stuff.”

“Javi, I know you don’t mean anything by it.  It’s okay.”  Ryan scooped out some tuna with his fingers and chewed thoughtfully.  “Though, spreading that nickname around the whole department was kinda mean.  You probably owe me a drink for that one.”

“We get out of here, bro, and I’ll gladly buy you a drink.”  Taking the half-empty packet from his partner, Javier mused that he would probably never eat tuna again after this.  If he lived beyond the next few days, anyway.  “Seriously, though.  You’re a good cop, Kevin.  Smart.  A strong sense of right and wrong.  I’m sorry I don’t give you enough credit sometimes.”

“Okay, now you gave me crap about getting sentimental in that fire.  So, I reserve the right to call you out for being maudlin.  Buck up, Espo.  Neither of us is dying out here in these woods.”

Chuckling softly, Esposito held up a loose fist for his partner to bump.  “Says you?”

“Yep.  Says I.”  Ryan prayed very hard that every word was true.  But he knew that Esposito getting touchy-feely was a bad sign.

After their meager meal and a few packets of rain water, they once more climbed slowly to their feet and began their three-legged trek to find help.  As afternoon crept toward evening, the rain slackened and finally ceased entirely.

Feeling a renewed sense of hope, Ryan craned his neck to smile at his partner.  “Now if only the clouds would clear up, we can get a definite direction to aim for.”

“Let’s hope, Kev.  I don’t know if I can keep this up another day.”

As the darkness wrapped itself around them and they were forced to quit for the night, the downside of the lack of rain made itself known.  It was horribly humid and the two were sweating profusely from it.  And without the rain, finding water was going to be more difficult.  Not for the first time, Ryan deeply regretted dropping the water bottle.

As he watched the pain etch itself into his partner’s face, listening to Esposito wheeze from illness and exertion, Ryan knew tomorrow was their deadline.  He had to find a way out of the woods by the next day, or they would both be too physically weak to continue.  Ryan felt that burden acutely and hoped he had enough strength when push came to shove, because it wasn’t enough for him to get home to his wife, daughter and unborn child.  He had to get them both home.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

The rain had let up by the time Beckett pulled her Charger next to one of the Park Services vehicles parked in the area marked off for the search operations.   While she was grateful for the clearing skies, she also cursed the encroaching darkness.  Climbing from the car, her sharp gaze moved around the organized chaos until she found the person she was looking for.

Beckett shut the car door and motioned for Castle to follow as she strode purposely toward the uniformed Ranger standing under a canvass awning going over a map and giving out orders on a radio.  Kate flashed her badge and introduced herself and her partner. 

“NYPD Detective Kate Beckett.  This is Rick Castle, one of our consultants.  I believe Detective Karpowski called ahead.”

Shaking each hand as it was offered, the Ranger smiled and bobbed his head.  Castle might call himself ruggedly handsome, but the Park Ranger embodied that saying.  He was every bit as tall as the writer, with a tanned, weather face.  His green eyes wrinkled in the corners as he smiled, his salt-and-pepper hair was cut short but still thick and wavy, and his large hand was rough from a life of hard work.

“Troy Sampson, Detective Beckett.  NY Park Ranger.  I’m guessing you’re pretty anxious about your missing men, so I’ll make this short and sweet.”  Sampson turned and waved them closer to the map.  “Now, we’re dealing with a large area of wilderness.  One good thing we have going for us, is that this area is also riddled with hiking trails.  The rain complicated things of course.  That’s cleared up, but now we’re dealing with darkness.”

The large green areas on the map seemed overwhelmingly vast.  Beckett pushed back a surge of exhaustion and sighed.  “So what are we doing tonight?”

“There’s not a whole lot we can do, Detective.  We can’t send up choppers in the dark, and I don’t want my searchers out combing the woods with no visibility.  They could walk right past your men and not know it, as well as running the risk of getting lost themselves.  I do have a few teams that are out walking some of the trails, equipped with night vision.  They’ll stick to the ones closest to the house where your men were kept.”  Sampson’s gaze was sympathetic, yet resolved.  “I won’t keep them out much longer, however.  Our main search will have to wait for tomorrow, and daylight.  The forecast looks good for tomorrow, so that at least is in our favor.”

Leaning against her husband for strength, Beckett asked the one question she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer to.  “What are the odds, Sampson?”

“Of finding them alive?”  His green eyes crinkled once more as Sampson smiled encouragingly.  “Detective Beckett, in 2012 alone we conducted 162 search missions and 101 rescue missions.**  We’re very much experienced at this kind of thing, and pretty damn successful to boot.  Unless your boys were severely injured in some way when they escaped, then I’m pretty certain we’ll find them and bring them back to you in one piece.”

“Thank you.”  Beckett felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“You’re welcome, Detective.  Now, since we knew you were coming, I had some of my volunteers set up a tent for you over there.”  Ranger Sampson pointed across the parking lot to a small orange and gray tent.  “It’s got a blow up mattress and a couple of sleeping bags.  Why don’t you guys catch some shut-eye?  You’ll need all your energy for tomorrow, because it’s likely to be a long day.  I can let you go out with one of my groups walking the trails, if you’d like.”

Grateful, Castle once more shook the Ranger’s hand in thanks.  “We’d like that, thank you.  We appreciate all your help.”

“That’s the job, Mr. Castle.  But you’re welcome.”  The radio crackled and the Ranger turned away to look at the map as he answered the transmission.

Crossing the parking lot, Beckett and Castle made their way to the tent Sampson had indicated.  Rick unzipped the front flap and let Kate precede him into the small space.  Someone had blown up the mattress and lit a small gas lantern for them.  The two sleeping bags looked thick and comfortable, still rolled up and waiting on top of the blow-up.  Two small camping pillows had also been provided.

Castle zipped up the tent door as Beckett unrolled and opened the two sleeping bags.  Once they were to her liking, Kate sat on the edge of the mattress and took off her boots.  The two slid out of their clothes, down to their undergarments, and gratefully settled into make-shift bed.  After turning down the lantern, Rick wrapped an arm around Kate’s narrow shoulders and drew her close.  He kissed her temple and sighed tiredly.

“We’ll find them tomorrow, Kate.  You heard Sampson.  They do this all the time.”

“I want to go out with them tomorrow, Rick.”

“I don’t think those boots were made for hiking in the woods, Kate.”

Poking her husband in the ribs, Kate laughed softly.  “You leave my boots alone.  I have a bag with running shoes and gym clothes in the trunk of the car.  You just worry about your own fancy footwear, mister.”

“I’ll hit Ranger Sampson up for some bandaids before we hit the trails.”

Weary after so many days of worry, the two drifted off to sleep with the very real hope that the next day would find them reunited with their missing partners.

                                                        ***************

Upon waking the next morning, sore and exhausted, Ryan realized one drawback of the lack of rain.  There would be no easy filling of the empty tuna packet for water.  Again, he cursed his clumsiness in dropping the water jug.  “Shit.”

Taking the chance to check over his partner before he woke, Ryan frowned deeply.  Esposito was covered in a layer of sweat, but Kevin couldn’t be sure if was from fever or just the oppressive humidity.  He tried to be as gentle as possible when he lifted the makeshift bandage on his partner’s leg to check the wound, but the pressure was enough to jolt Javier from sleep.

“Fuck, Kevin.  Just leave it alone.  It’s not like you’ve got a doctor in your pocket.”

His partner certainly had a point.  If the wound was infected, there was nothing Kevin could do about it.  “Sorry, Javi.  Bad news time.  If we want any water this morning, we’ll have to lick the moisture off the leaves.”

Tilting his head back to look up into the tree at the dew-heavy limbs, Esposito sighed.  “Can’t you just leave me here, bro?”

“Even if I left you, you’d still need to keep hydrated.  Suck it up, Mr. Ex-Special-Forces.  I’m sure you had to eat or drink nastier things in the military.”

“Trust me, bro.  You do not want to know.”

Letting Ryan pull him to his feet was a painful ordeal Javier didn’t look forward to repeating.  He leaned against the smaller man as they both drank leftover rain and morning dew from the large leaves within easy reach.  Much to his dismay, Javier needed help just to stay upright in order to relieve himself.  This would be his last day.  He was weak, feverish and lightheaded.  He had to try one more time.

“Please, Kevin.”  Espo stared pleadingly into his best friend’s blue eyes.  “Leave me here and go get help.  You’ll never make it lugging me around.  You have to.”

With a weary smile, Ryan tightened his grip on his partner’s wrist and started them walking.  “I would, Javi.  I know it’s the smart thing to do.  But I don’t honestly know if I could find you again even if I did locate help.  I’m not exactly Daniel Boone.  A tree is a tree is a tree.  If I can’t guarantee that I can bring help to you, then I’m sure as hell gonna take you to them.”

There was no talking the stubborn Irishman out of his decision, so Javier bit back a groan of pain and resigned himself to giving in.  He squinted up at the rising sun and pointed his shaking hand about twenty degrees to their right.  “South is that way.  Let’s head in that direction.”

“Why?”  Ryan nevertheless changed their trajectory, trying to take more of his partner’s weight.

“The most likely wooded areas those assholes would have taken us would have been north of the city.”  Chuckling weakly, Esposito turned to grin slightly at his partner.  “South is home.”

“Makes more sense than anything I could come up with.  South it is.”

As the sun continued to rise, so did the temperature.  Ryan was drenched in sweat, his partner’s wrist slick and slippery.  The salty perspiration seemed to trickle down his chest and side to seek out the fiery line along his rib, left behind by the skimming bullet.  He had to keep glancing up at the sun frequently in order to keep them in as straight a southerly line as he could.  Javier was nearing collapse, his weight constantly pulling Ryan off course. 

Every time he stopped to let them both rest, Ryan did his best to scrounge for water.  Whatever he found, he gave to Esposito.  His partner’s blood loss, Ryan knew, would make Javi even more dehydrated.

In the end, it wasn’t enough.  Not long after the sun crossed its zenith, Ryan couldn’t rouse Esposito from what he’d thought was just a quick nap.  His partner was unconscious and wouldn’t wake up.  His trembling fingers sought and found the pulse in Javier’s neck, the thrumming fast and weak beneath his touch.  At least that was something.

Ryan stood and wiped the moisture from his face.  He was so thirsty and hot.  Tired and sore and desperate.  There was nothing else to do.  Remembering the first aid training during his academy days Ryan positioned his partner, knelt on one knee, grabbed both of Javier’s wrists and pulled the unconscious man toward him and over one shoulder.  Once Kevin had maneuvered his partner into a fireman’s carry, he took a deep breath and stood.  His thigh muscles shook with the strain, but he ignored it.  Once he was standing, Kevin found his balance and checked the sun’s position once more.  Focusing on the ground, pushing aside his fatigue, Ryan trudged on.

Concentrating so hard on his feet, with occasional glances at the sun, Kevin slipped into a sort of daze.  Nothing else mattered.  Just the hope of finding help for his partner.  Distantly, he could hear the far off buzz of a helicopter.  It didn’t matter.  There was too much tree cover, even if the copter in question was out searching for them.  He’d have to find a clearing or a path.  With another glance of the sun’s position, Ryan corrected himself and kept going.

His thighs burned and an aching tightness hinted at an impending cramp.  His shoulders and the muscles in his neck were screaming at him to put down his burden, but he staggered on.  Gasps of air swept past his dry chapped lips and down his equally parched throat.  The bullet graze was a line of fire along his rib, aggravated by the rubbing of his damp shirt.  He stumbled, feared he would go down this time, but his right leg managed to hold up and compensate for the awkward lurch.  One foot in front of the other.  It repeated in his head like a loop, keeping him moving, helping him ignore the trembling muscles trying to tell him that he'd gone far enough.  That he was at the end of his endurance.  That he'd done his best.

But he knew that was bullshit.  He wasn't finished yet.  Now that the clouds had cleared out and the sun beat down through the trees, he could finally clearly see where he was going.  Two days of wandering in circles were over.  He had direction, sheer stubbornness and an incentive to get his ass out of these woods.  The man he carried on his shoulders wouldn't last another night.

A tree root grabbed his foot and he stumbled once again, but his balance couldn't compensate this time.  He went down on his left knee and toppled to the side, rolling as best he could to protect his partner.  Sweat dripped down into his eyes, stinging and making him blink.  He swallowed convulsively, his throat so dry it felt like the sides literally stuck together before reluctantly separating.  He wanted nothing more than to sob in anger and despair, but that wouldn't do anybody any good.  He tightened his grip on the wrist clasped in his sweaty right hand, braced his foot and his spirit, and heaved himself once again upright.

The words of an old song from The Hollies drifted into his head.  He let out a half sob, half laugh and began to sing in a raspy voice. 

The road is long,
With many a winding turn,
That leads us to who knows where,
Who knows where…

But I'm strong,
Strong enough to carry him.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother...

He had automatically turned and followed the trail before he even realized what it was.  Stumbling to a stop, Ryan panted for air as he tried to get his sluggish mind to comprehend what he was seeing.  He gave a breathy, broken chuckle and started walking once more.  “This is it, Javi.  We did it.  You’ll be in a hospital in no time.”

The buzzing of the helicopter again registered in the back of his mind, closer this time.  Maybe he would make it, after all.  Just a little further.  Until he couldn’t take another step.

** http://www.parkrangeredu.org/new-york/new-york-forest-ranger/

Chapter Text

********************

Car doors slamming and voices raised to give instructions roused Beckett and Castle from sleep. The two crawled from their sleeping bags and re-dressed. When Rick unzipped the tent and the two stepped out into the humid early morning, they could see that the rescue operation was about to get into full swing. As Castle went to get them both coffees from the canteen set up by some volunteers, Kate retrieved her running shoes from the trunk of her car and switched them for her high heeled boots.

She re-joined Rick by the canteen and gratefully accepted both the coffee he offered her, and the plate of hot breakfast food. Though she would love to just head right out in search of her missing partners, she knew they would need the energy the food would provide them. They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Ranger Sampson joined them as they finished their meal and led them over to the command tent. He introduced them to searchers who had agreed to let the two NYPD representatives join them. A tall, gangly looking young man in his early 20s with dark curly hair and freckles stuck out his hand with a smile, despite the seriousness of the situation.

“Charlie. My last name is too hard to pronounce, so don’t worry about it. Detective Beckett, you’ll be riding with me.”

Sharing a glance with her husband, Beckett raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Riding?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’ll be checking out the marked trails on ATVs.”

“Ah. I see.” Kate could practically feel Rick vibrating with repressed excitement beside her and she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

A petite woman who looked about Beckett’s age removed her helmet to shake her blond hair loose. She tucked the helmet under her left arm and stuck out her right to shake hands with the couple. “Sharon Lymon. Mr. Castle, you’ll ride with me. Now, you’ll both need to wear helmets and make sure you hold on tightly to your driver. We’ll have plenty of water with us, so make sure you stay hydrated. It’s going to be a hot one.”

Glancing between the writer and his wife, Sharon smirked knowingly. “I’m guessing since you’re married, I don’t have to worry about you getting frisky.”

Laughing, Rick shook his head. “No. Kate’s armed and would probably shoot me.”

Once Sampson showed them on the map the general area they would be searching, Beckett and Castle were given helmets. All four received radios, just in case something happened, were given their call signs and released to begin their search.

Once they were headed down the first trail, Beckett felt herself relax slightly. There were a lot of experienced people out there looking for her partners. The weather had cleared and she could hear the distant sound of a helicopter. For the first time in days, she felt like an end was in sight for their long ordeal. Still, she kept her ears attuned to the radio, even as her eyes stared intently at the trail ahead.

After a few hours, the radio was no more than white noise. The engine was too loud to carry on a conversation, even if she felt like chatting with Charlie. Rick and Sharon were several yards ahead of them so she and Charlie wouldn’t be covered in the mud kicked up by the ATV in front of them. There wasn’t quite enough room to ride the two small vehicles abreast of each other. The helmet trapped heat and Kate felt as if her brain was slowly broiling.

As if sensing her discomfort, Charlie used the mic clipped to his collar to let his partner know he was calling for a break. Sharon slowed to a halt and looked back as Charlie and Beckett caught up to them. “Hydration break, Lymon.”

“Sounds about right.” All four dismounted to stretch their legs, remove the uncomfortably hot helmets and down a bottle of water.

Charlie dug a few protein bars from his backpack and passed them around. “This will have to do for lunch, guys.”

Peeling the wrapper from his peanut butter bar, Castle shook his head. “Too hot to eat anything heavy, anyway.”

After eating the bars and putting away the empty wrappers and water bottles, the four once again donned their helmets and took their places on the ATVs. As he let the ATV idle while waiting for Sharon and Castle to pull ahead, Charlie looked back over his shoulder at his passenger and smiled. “We’ll find them, Detective. If not us, then someone else. We’re kinda stubborn that way.”

Smiling back, appreciating the encouragement, Kate tightened her grip. She didn’t want to spend another night not knowing where her partners were.

They continued on their search for another couple of hours and were nearing another water break, when Charlie suddenly stopped and killed the engine. “Romeo-Bravo 3. Can you repeat that transmission?”

Beckett almost burst into tears at the next transmission that crackled over their radios.

“Air Rescue thinks he spotted at least one of the missing men. They’re on your trail. What is your location?”

Checking the GPS mounted on his ATV, Charlie gave their exact latitude and longitude.

“The person they spotted is about 250 yards north of you and heading your direction.” Sampson’s voice reflected the huge smile he was probably sporting. “Go get your men, Detective Beckett. We’ll have medics waiting here for them if needed.”

Sharing a grin with his passenger, Charlie keyed his mic one last time. “That’s a 10-4. Romeo-Bravo 3 and four en route. We’ll advise. ”

“10-4.”

Sharon had already kicked her ATV into gear by the time Beckett and Charlie started rolling again. When Beckett urged her driver to go faster, Charlie turned back and yelled to be heard above the engine and wind. “We want to find them, Detective. Not run them over around a curve.”

In front, Castle felt the same sense of urgency. They were so close. Unless, of course, the person spotted was nothing more than an innocent hiker. Rick ruthlessly pushed down that thought. He was by nature a more positive person. The yang to Beckett’s more pessimistic yin. He tried not to worry about the hint from Sampson that only one man might have been spotted.

He was practically looming over his smaller escort in an effort to see as far ahead on the trail as possible. When he spotted the distant figure weaving drunkenly on the trail toward them, Castle felt a surge of panic. The person he saw was carrying a second across his shoulders. As they got closer, he could tell that the person walking was Ryan. Rick wouldn’t have thought the wiry Irishman would have had the strength to carry the heavier Esposito.

As the ATV stopped just a few feet short of the missing men, Castle practically vaulted from his seat and stumbled as his feet tried to catch up to his haste. “Ryan!”

Apparently oblivious, Ryan staggered a few more steps. Castle could just make out the breathy words coming from the younger man’s chapped and cracked lips. “He ain’t heavy. He’s my brother.”

Realizing Kevin was zoned out in an effort to keep moving, Castle waved over the newly arrived Charlie and Beckett. “Charlie, help me with Esposito. Beckett, can you take Ryan? I don’t think he’s really with us right now.”

Castle gently pried Esposito’s wrist from his partner’s grasp and, with Charlie’s help, lowered the unconscious man to the ground. Espo was a mess. He was covered in dried mud, his clothes were torn in places and he was unnaturally pale under his tan. Rick quickly found the tattered and dirty bandage wrapped around the detective’s thigh. Charlie saw it as well and slipped out of his backpack. He pulled out a rescue first aid kit that he kept well-stocked at all times. He used a pair of bandage scissors to quickly remove the makeshift bandage then tore Esposito’s pants leg to get a better look.

Exchanging glances, both men knew signs of infection when they saw it. Rolling the wounded man onto his side, Charlie repeated his actions to get a good look at the other wound. He doused both in hydrogen peroxide, covered them with sterile bandages and wrapped the thigh in Kerlix. It was the best Charlie could do until they got Esposito to the medics.

Once her husband and Charlie had Esposito in hand, Beckett and Sharon concentrated on Ryan. The Irishman still seemed disoriented and didn’t appear to understand that he had been found. His thin frame shook and Beckett wasn’t sure if it was from exhaustion or shock. Possibly both. She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and took some of his weight as she and Sharon got him settled sideways on the seat of one of the ATVs.

He was filthy and obviously dehydrated. Beckett gently slapped his dirt-streaked cheek a few times in an effort to get him to orient himself. His normally vibrant blue eyes were dull with fatigue, but they finally tracked to her and focused. “Beckett?”

“Yes, Ryan, it’s me. Are you okay?”

It took a long moment for her junior partner to process the question. Ryan suddenly grabbed her arm and tried to stand. “Javi?”

Forcing Ryan to look her in the eye again, Beckett smiled reassuringly. “He’s going to be okay, Ryan. Castle is with him right now. Can you tell me what happened?”

Knowing he had actually managed to get his partner out alive seemed to be all Ryan was waiting for. His face paled and his eyes started to roll back as his body began to relax in her grip.

“Shit, he’s going to go out on us.” Sharon grabbed Ryan under the arms and nodded at his legs. “Grab his feet. Let’s lay him down and prop his legs up. See if we can keep him from passing out.”

The two women maneuvered Ryan onto the ground, propping his feet on the running board of the ATV. Getting him flat and elevating his legs seemed to do the trick. After a few more taps on the cheek, Ryan blinked slowly and smacked his dry lips. “Beckett?”

“Are you going to stay with us this time, Ryan?”

“I guess so.”

Chuckling softly, Sharon knelt down with an opened bottle of water. Beckett slid her hand behind Ryan’s shoulders and helped him sit up. Although desperately thirsty, Ryan hesitated as the strange blond woman tried to hand him the bottle.

“What’s the matter, Kevin?”

Coughing dryly to clear his throat, Ryan grimaced. “A bottle of water is how this all started.”

Fighting down the urge to laugh, Beckett took the water and brought the bottle to her partner’s chapped lips. “I can promise this water is drug-free.”

Holding the bottle, Kate made sure her partner didn’t drink the water too fast. It wouldn’t do Ryan any good to throw it right back up. In the pauses, Beckett tried to get some details. Ryan gave a short version of their escape from the cabin, told her a man had driven up while they were hiking along the road and opened fire on them.

“His name was Adam Caudle.” Beckett let him take a few more sips of water, while she filled in a few blanks. “He must’ve been heading for the border once he couldn’t catch up to you two. He knew if you made it to safety, he was in big trouble. He ended up getting himself killed in an MVA not too far northeast of here.”

Ryan weakly fought her when she once again pulled back on the water bottle, but quickly lost. “Can’t say as I feel too badly about that. Did you find my book?”

Smiling proudly, Beckett nodded and relinquished the water. “We did. LT found it. We have the woman and her boyfriend in custody. Now that you two have been found, they’re going to see serious jail time.”

Before Ryan could respond, Castle trotted over and knelt down with a forced smile. “Hey, Ryan. You okay?”

Looking up at the writer, Ryan flapped a weary hand. “’M okay. How’s Javi?”

“Not too good, Ryan. I’m sure you knew that already.” Glancing between Beckett and Sharon, the writer explained, “We’re going to go ahead and take Javi to the nearest road. There’s not enough room to lift him out by helicopter. Two ambulances will meet us there. Charlie said you’d know where, Sharon.” The blonde woman assured him that she did, so he pushed himself to his feet.

“We’ll be a few minutes behind you, Rick.” Beckett stood and indulged herself with a tight hug from her husband. She was just so grateful to find her boys alive, even if Espo needed medical attention. “Are you going to the hospital with him?”

“If they’ll let me, yes.”

“We’ll meet you there.”

When Rick hurried back to help Charlie get their patient settled on the ATV, Beckett turned back to Ryan. Her junior partner was trying to get up, but was being held back by Sharon. Kneeling down once more, Kate forced Ryan to look at her.

“We’ll be only a few minutes behind them, Kevin. Castle will take good care of your partner, okay?” Once her partner settled, Beckett gave him her best “I’m your boss” stare and asked if he was injured anywhere. She could almost see the thoughts as they flashed through Ryan’s mind, and had to stifle the urge to smile.

In the end, Ryan sighed and pulled his tattered shirt up so both women could see the long bullet burn on his left side. “One of the bullets got a little close. But it’s no big deal. Javi got a through-and-through to the leg.”

Tutting softly at the red puffy edges of the wound, Sharon dug out her own well-stocked first aid kit. She cleaned and dressed the injury as best she could, then prodded Ryan to finish off the bottle of water. Once he was ready, she and Beckett knelt to help Ryan to his feet. They positioned Ryan between them on the ATV to make sure he didn’t fall off. It was a tight fit, but Beckett was eager to get her partner to a hospital. She guided Ryan’s hands around Sharon’s waist, smiled and leaned past him to speak to Sharon.

“If he gets a little handsy, it’s because he’s a little out of it and you look a lot like his wife.”

Chuckling, Sharon started the engine and pressed the gas to get them moving. She could hear the exhausted slurring of the rescued detective as he dropped his head to rest wearily against her shoulder.

“’S Jenny ‘kay? S’rah Grace?”

Sharon couldn’t hear Beckett’s response, but it must have reassured the detective because he relaxed completely and she was pretty sure he was out.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

When they made it to the rendezvous point that Sharon had verified by radio, one of the ambulances was just pulling away.  When Sharon brought their ATV to a stop near Charlie, he and the medics from the second ambulance moved Ryan to the bright yellow stretcher.  The medics buckled their patient in and rolled him to the back of the ambulance.  After a three count, the two men easily lifted the cot and slid it into the box, locking it in place.  When Beckett moved to climb in after them, the older medic thrust out an open palm.

“You can ride up front, Detective.  Safety regs.  I’m sure you understand.”  His tone was sympathetic, but rules were rules.

Nodding her understanding, Beckett took a moment to thank Sharon and Charlie for their help, shook their hands then went around the ambulance to climb up into the passenger seat.  Kate buckled herself in, listening through the narrow opening between the cab and the box as the two medics took Ryan’s vital signs, started an IV and got him ready for transport.  It seemed to take forever, but Beckett knew it was probably less than ten minutes, until she finally heard the slamming of the rear doors.  The older medic climbed into the driver’s seat and smiled reassuringly at her.

“He’ll be okay, Detective.  Just needs some time to recover and heal.”  Snatching up the radio mic from the dash, he radioed in their transport status then returned the mic to its mount.  He flipped on the lights, but left the sirens off to spare their patient the noise.  He wouldn’t be driving code 3 anyway.

It was a long drive to the nearest hospital, giving Beckett plenty of time to call Jenny and assure her that her husband was going to be just fine.  She let Jenny know what hospital they were going to, but asked her to wait before driving that far.  It took some convincing, but the pregnant woman finally agreed to stay in the city until they knew when Ryan would be released.  Beckett had just disconnected from filling Gates in on the recovery of their missing detectives when the ambulance made the turn into the lane leading up to the ER parking bay.

Following Ryan’s stretcher through the sliding glass doors into the ER, Beckett immediately spotted Castle’s tall figure leaning against the wall by a corner room.  After ascertaining the room number for Ryan, she sidestepped to join her husband.  “Have you heard anything?”

Pulling his hands from his pockets, Rick stood and gathered her close to him.  He was so glad the worst was over and the boys had been found.  “Not much.  Blood loss and infection seem to be the worst so far, but last I was informed they have him stabilized.  They’ll be taking him to x-ray, just to make sure that bullet didn’t do any damage to the femur, though they don’t think it did.”

Kate sighed deeply and rubbed her eyes.  The long days were beginning to catch up to her.  “Let’s find some coffee while we wait for them to get Ryan settled.  I doubt he wants me watching while they get him out of his clothes and into a hospital gown.”

Castle chuckled softly and turned them both in the direction of the waiting room.  “I don’t think he’s lucid enough to care, but I’m sure he would appreciate your discretion.”

The cafeteria wasn’t far.  After taking a little while to sit and drink a cup of surprisingly good coffee, they each got another one to-go and made their way back to the ER, Beckett flashing her badge at the charge nurse to gain entry.  They went to Ryan’s room first and Kate had to bite back a smile.  There was a thin blue paper drape covering most of the detective’s torso, a hole centered on his left side.  A doctor sat on a rolling stool, an exasperated frown on his face.  A young nurse, also fighting back a smile, reached for Ryan’s waving hand to keep it out of the doctor’s way.  This apparently wasn’t the first time.

Ryan tugged against the nurse’s grip and frowned blearily.  “Look, jus’ tell me where Javi is.”

As he leaned forward, the doctor slid the suture needle through skin still pink and puffy from irritation.  “Young man, if you don’t hold still this will take much longer than it needs to.  I’ll sedate you if I have to.”

Clearing her throat, Beckett nodded at the nurse with a smile.  “Let me.”  She exchanged places with the young lady that couldn’t have been much older than Alexis Castle.  She caught her junior partner’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze, gaining his wandering attention.

With his cleaned face a dark pink from sunburn, Ryan’s azure eyes seemed even more vivid as he frowned up at her.  He licked his lips and made a face of distaste as he encountered the cream they had rubbed on his cracked lips earlier.  “Beckett, they won’t tell me where Javi is.”

Kate squeezed his hand once more in reassurance and smiled gently.  “He’s a few doors down, Ryan.  I’m sure he’s going to be just fine after a few weeks rest.”

The doctor made a groan of irritation as Ryan tried to twist toward his boss.  Beckett sighed and pushed at her partner’s shoulder to get him to lay flat once more.  “Ryan, you need to stop moving around if you want to be awake to see your partner for yourself.  Okay?”

“I should’ve insisted we stay in one place.”  The younger detective rubbed wearily at his burning eyes.  “We got lost.  ‘S my fault.  Should’ve stayed.”

She could see that Ryan was fading fast, but Beckett made sure he heard her first.  “Listen, Ryan.  By the time we narrowed down a search area, we had to wait for the weather to break.  The first day we were able to send up a search plane, we found you.  And we found you quickly because you were on a trail.  You did right by your partner, Kevin.”

Eyes already closed as he lost the fight against his exhaustion, Kevin’s hand twitched in hers.  “Promise?”

Though the word was whispered and slurred, Beckett understood and smiled softly.  She bent down to whisper in his ear as she draped his arm across the pillow above his head.  “I promise.”

With a deep sigh, the weary detective finally relaxed and lost his fight against sleep.  The doctor snorted his amusement and kept stitching.  “Detective Ryan will be fine.  We’ll keep him overnight to make sure he gets rehydrated and give him some IV antibiotics for this wound, but we’ll discharge him tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Doctor.  Will someone let us know when they get ready to take him to a room?  My other partner is down the hall, so we’ll be checking on him as well.”

The doctor nodded and snipped the last stitch after it was knotted.  “I’ll make sure you know what room he’s in.  We’ll do what we can to put them in a room together, as I’m sure Detective Ryan will be a much better patient if he can see for himself that his partner is okay.”

Laughing quietly, Kate took her husband by the hand and the two slipped out of the room and down the hall.  Esposito had already been taken to x-ray, so they had to wait about twenty minutes to see him for themselves.  The good news was that there was no fracture.  The wounds were cleaned and stitched and Esposito was also set up for IV antibiotics. 

Beckett and Castle stepped outside the ER to make a few phone calls while they waited for the two men to be taken to a regular room.  Castle called his mother and Alexis to pass on the good news, while Kate called her boss.  Once Gates had been updated, she called Lanie then Jenny Ryan.

“Jenny, I promise that I’m being honest and truthful.  Kevin will be discharged tomorrow, barring any unforeseen complications.  Esposito will be here longer, so I don’t know if we can pry Kevin out of the room to get him home tomorrow.”  Beckett smiled at the teary response from the plucky blonde and nodded unconsciously.  “I know.  They’re both stubborn mules that way.  Listen, if you really want to come up here, Alexis told Castle that she can give you a ride.  She’s coming up here anyway to bring us some clothes and things, and to see the boys for herself.  Okay, Jenny.  We’re getting a room at a local hotel, so we’ll go ahead and book one for you as well.  It’s no problem.  We’ll see you tonight.”

Disconnecting the call, Kate leaned back to brace herself against the brick wall of the ER.  Castle’s large hand wrapped around hers and he sighed quietly.  “Does she have Alexis’ number?”

“She said she did.  She said she’ll take Sarah Grace over to the Ryans’ then head on up here.  Jenny will be sure to update Ryan’s parents on how he’s doing.”

“I’m starving.  Let’s go back to the cafeteria and find something to eat while we wait for them to take the boys upstairs to a room.”

Her stomach rumbled at just the mention of food so Beckett readily agreed.  Castle wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they made their way back inside and down the long hallway to the main part of the hospital.  After loading up their trays, the two found a table off in a corner where they could finally relax and decompress from a long and stressful week.  Castle used his phone to book three rooms for the night at a nearby hotel.  They were both looking forward to getting some much-needed sleep.

By the time they had finished their dinner, found out the boys’ room number and made their way up to the third floor both detectives were settled in and sleeping.  Esposito’s bed was closest to the door, so Beckett and Castle checked on him first.  The Hispanic detective’s leg was heavily bandaged and propped up on a pillow to keep it elevated.  A light sheet covered him from the waist down and the thin hospital gown had plastered itself to Espo’s damp chest, a testament to his fever finally breaking.  Beckett settled herself in the chair next to the bed while Castle crossed over to the other.

As he settled himself into the chair, Rick made a quick visual inventory of the sleeping Irish detective.  Ryan’s sunburned face was relaxed in sleep.  Someone had bathed the detective at some point, and washed his hair.  The slightly damp bangs hung down over Ryan’s eyebrows in a way Castle hadn’t seen since the Ben Lee case.  The writer resisted the urge to snap a quick picture this time.  A beep went off and the blood pressure cuff wrapped around Ryan’s left arm began to tighten, startling the detective out of sleep.

Bright blue eyes darted quickly around the room before finally settling on the visitor beside his bed.  Relaxing back against the pillow, Ryan blinked tiredly and managed a tired smile.  “Hey, Castle.”

Eyeing the final numbers as the cuff released the air and once again deflated, Rick was relieved to see that they were better than the last blood pressure he’d seen.  He returned Ryan’s smile and scooted forward in his chair.  “Hey, Kevin.  Feeling okay?”

“Mm.  Not so bad.  Just worn out I guess.”  Ryan shifted to get some of his weight off of his left side and yawned widely.  “Catch me up?”

Castle slid his chair closer to the bed and chuckled softly.  “It’s a long story.  When you two didn’t show up for dinner, Jenny got worried and called Beckett.”

“Is Jenny okay?” Ryan interrupted anxiously.

“She’s fine, Kevin.  Alexis is bringing her up here as we speak.”

“Okay.  Thanks for that.”

Waving away the thanks, Castle took up the story once more.  “So we eventually figured out where you two had gone to speak to the so-called witness.  There’s a new rule implemented now, just so you know.  Everyone tells someone where they’re going when they leave the building.”  Rick chuckled softly at Ryan’s rueful grimace.

“Anyway, the search was now on.  We eventually arrested Tiffany Hodges and Paul Hammond.  Hammond and his friend Adam Caudle were there at the apartment when you two were dosed by Tiffany.  Those two took you to the cabin and left you guys there to buy some time, and have an insurance policy in case things went even more wrong than they already had.  When Caudle realized his two cohorts had been arrested and at least one had talked, he bolted.  But before he could leave the country, he wanted to get rid of loose ends.”

“Us.” Ryan yawned again then frowned as he remembered what had happened.  “The asshole showed up after we’d finally got out of the damn basement and shot at us.  Shot Javi.”

Castle could see that the younger man was getting agitated so he was quick to hold out a calming hand.  “Well, he got his in the end.  I guess he gave up on finding you two and took off for Canada, but managed to wreck his car and get himself killed in his getaway.”

“Can’t say as I feel bad for that.”

“Well, nobody can blame you for that.”  With a sigh, Castle rubbed his hands together and continued.  “When we finally found the cabin, you two were gone.  We had to wait for daylight and the weather to break to start the search for you guys.  I’m glad you were out in the open on a trail, so the helicopter could finally spot you and radio in your location.”

“Thanks for looking for us, Castle.”  Ryan rolled his head to look over at the next bed.  “Is Javi going to be okay?”

Rick smiled and reached through the rails to pat the detective’s blanket covered leg to regain his attention.  “He’s going to be just fine, Kevin.  No broken bones, his fever finally broke and his blood pressure is back up.  So is yours by the way.  You were both pretty dehydrated.”

Frowning, Ryan sighed deeply and stared up at the ceiling.  “I dropped the damn water when the bullets started flying.”

With a frown of his own, Castle stood so that he was once again in Ryan’s line of sight.  “Hey.  I know you, Kevin.  So I know that you did everything you could to help your partner, and I’m sure you had more on your mind when Caudle started shooting than holding onto the water.”

Those crystal blue eyes met Rick’s gaze for a long moment then Ryan slowly nodded acceptance.  Smiling encouragingly, Castle settled once more into the bedside chair.  “I just wish we knew what started the whole mess to begin with.  Hammond hasn’t said another word, so we still don’t what he and Caudle were looking for.”

As his eyes drooped sleepily, Ryan’s lips twitched into a small smile.  “Bet I know where to find it, though.”

When Castle slid his chair closer to the bed in eager anticipation, the wooden legs scraped loudly across the floor.  Ryan startled, his eyes popping back open.  “Where is it?  And how did you find out?”

“Hmm?”  The detective fought sleep and grinned crookedly at the eager writer.  “I had a lot of time in that basement to think.  And after Javi…when I had to carry him, I did a lot of thinking to keep going.”  With a long yawn, Ryan closed his eyes and grinned crookedly.  “I remembered a gym keycard on Blake’s keychain.  Check for a locker.”

As the younger man slipped back into sleep, Castle leaned back in his chair and shook his head with a smile.  He had no doubt that, when they went back to the city and looked, they would find that Blake did have a gym locker.  And whatever they were looking for would be there.

                                                                    ****************

When Alexis and Jenny arrived at the hospital room, Ryan was gently shaken awake.  The touching reunion between husband and wife had Castle hugging his own wife more tightly to his side.  Alexis took a moment to tell Ryan how glad she was that the detectives were going to be okay then she, her father and Beckett took their leave to give the couple a little privacy.  They assured Jenny that they would be waiting for her downstairs then slipped quietly from the room.

Jenny sniffed back her tears, dropped the bedside rail and sat carefully on the bed next to Kevin’s hip.  She took a moment to compose herself then smiled, leaning down to kiss her husband.  Brushing the bangs away from his eyes, Jenny released a relieved laugh.  “You’re sunburned.”

Returning her smile, Kevin reached up to run his fingers through her soft blonde hair.  “Well, they didn’t provide us with sunscreen unfortunately.  You’re okay, Jen?  I’m so sorry, sweetheart.  I know you were probably worried sick.”

Fighting back more tears, Jenny clasped his hand in hers and took a deep breath.  “Of course I was worried, Kev.  But I knew everyone at the 12^th was doing everything they could to find you.  And I knew Javier would watch your back, if he could.  Keeping things normal for Sarah Grace helped a lot.”

“Is she okay?  Is she at your parents’?”

Jenny laughed softly and shook her head.  “No.  I asked your parents to watch her, so they had to stay in the city.  That way you didn’t have Clan Ryan crowding in here to see you.”

Chuckling, Ryan smiled and squeezed her small hand in thanks.  “I’m glad you did.  I’m sure I’ll have the whole troupe traipsing through the house as soon as we get home.”

At the mention of home, Jenny frowned.  “Kate said they’re releasing you tomorrow.  Are you going home then?”

Kevin rolled his head to look at his sleeping partner then turned back to see understanding in his wife’s soft gaze.  “I’d like to stay until Javi can leave.  Is that okay?”

“As long as you get the rest that you need, Kevin, then yes.  It’s okay with me.”  As her husband fought and lost his battle with sleep, Jenny told him about his daughter’s antics while he’d been away.  Her soft voice and lilting cadence helped lull him into a peaceful rest.  Once she was sure he was asleep, Jenny kissed her husband’s stubbled cheek and slid quietly from the bed.  She raised the rail once more and took one last long look at the man she hadn’t been sure she’d ever see again.  Brushing away a tear, Jenny squared her shoulders and took a calming breath.  Kevin and Javier were safe and would heal.  That was the most important thing.  The rest, she would just have to let go. 

There were three people waiting for her downstairs who would do anything to help her.  As she made her way down to join them, Jenny felt as if a weight had been lifted from her.  She could finally take a deep breath and relax.  Being married to a cop wasn’t easy, but having people like Beckett and the Castles helped make the frightening moments more bearable.  There were some tough days ahead as Kevin and Javier healed, but there were a lot of people waiting to do whatever was needed to make things easier.  The most important thing was that Kevin and Javier had been found.  That they would both be fine in the long run was icing on the cake.

                                                         ************

Ryan had returned to work first.  His brush with the bullet in the woods had healed.  The crushing soreness in his arms, shoulders and back had faded.  The rest was solved by sleep, lots of water and good food.  Jenny getting past her morning sickness had helped, too.

A search of Blake’s locker at his gym had yielded a small flash drive, with evidence of the embezzlement of funds perpetrated by Hammond and Caudle.  That case was finally put to bed.  One suspect was dead and the remaining two would be serving long prison terms.  Everyone involved was glad to see the murder board cleared of that case.

Still limping a little, Esposito returned to work a couple of weeks after his partner.  He’d be on desk duty for a little while, but at least he wasn’t going stir-crazy in his apartment anymore.  When he arrived in the bullpen, he was greeted enthusiastically by everyone in Homicide.  Even Castle pulled him in for a quick manly hug.  Of course, Castle being Castle, there was a huge cake waiting for them in the breakroom.  And, of course, gifts.

Shifting his weight onto his good leg, Esposito took the small square gift and narrowed his eyes at the large grin on the writer’s face.  He tore open the wrapping paper, lifted the lid of the box and snorted a laugh.  Nestled in some white tissue was a really nice compass with a leather case.  “You couldn’t have given me this a month ago?”

Castle laughed and slapped the detective on the back.  “Better late than never, Espo.”

Once the laughter died down, Castle handed the remaining package to Ryan.  Having seen what his partner had received, Ryan was curious to know what his own contained.  He set the box down on the table and ripped off the paper.  He pulled off the tape holding the lid down then finally got the box open.  With a small frown of confusion, he lifted the silky red material out of the box and shook it out.  Once it was unfolded, the cops in the room burst into laughter.

Glancing from the Superman cape to Castle, Kevin smiled.  “What’s with this?”

Nodding toward Esposito, Rick shrugged.  “I figure if you carried your partner that far, considering how much he out-weights you, you must have super strength.”

Ryan chuckled at his partner’s protest of, “Hey!  Are you calling me fat?”  Remembering the song that had kept him going there at the end, Kevin shifted over to sling his arm around his partner’s shoulders.  “Nah, Castle.  I didn’t need super strength.  He ain’t heavy.  He’s my brother.”

END