Fic: Shattered (3/?)
Title: Shattered (3/?)
Pairing: Caskett
Characters: Castle, Beckett, Esposito, Alexis, Martha, Ryan
Warnings: some violence
Spoilers: most of season two
Summary: While worrying over her reaction to the new cover art, a call from Esposito shatters his world, tilting it off it's axis.
Shattered
Catch me as I fall
Say you're here and it's all over now
Speaking to the atmosphere
No one's here and I fall into myself
This truth drives me
Into madness
I know I can stop the pain
If I will it all away
-Whisper, Evanescence
By the time that Richard Castle arrived at the precinct, Detective Ryan was already there. The younger man looked up as he and Alexis entered. Castle would have been there sooner, but Alexis had been in the backseat. He wasn't going to speed, not with her there.
He felt lost without her there - as if he didn't really belong and had no true place to be. He'd nearly expected for her to be there, sitting behind her desk, but Beckett's desk was empty. It wasn't only empty, it was vacant, not really a desk without her.
"What do we have so far?" He asked of Ryan, who appeared to be going through several stacks of files.
"Esposito is getting the security footage from the front, back, and the halls of the building. CSU is dusting for fingerprints. I'm going through complaints against her. Most of these are nothing, but we've got to go through them anyway. It could lead to something." He tried not to sound doubtful.
Castle nodded. Every lead was worth checking. Leave no leaf unturned. He'd learned that much. "Weren't there any witnesses?"
Ryan shook his head. "None. She was taken early morning, sometime before dawn. Apparently there's a couple living next door to her that fight constantly, so the crashing didn't raise any alarms."
"Can I help?" Alexis asked, blue eyes going from her father to Detective Kevin Ryan. "I know I can't do much, but it can't hurt to have another set of eyes on those files."
Ryan looked towards her father, asking his permission. With acceptance from him, he handed several of the files and pulled out a chair for her. "Anything unusual, out of the ordinary, you tell me. Any particularly violent, vicious, or angry comment."
Alexis nodded, already at work.
"Criminals she convicted?" Castle asked Ryan. "What about them? If they're out on parole, they could have come after her. Vengeance." He kept his words short, nothing elaborate like he'd usually comment on. This wasn't one of his novels. This was Beckett. She was alone, probably hurt, and they needed to save her. Even though he knew that she was a strong, capable woman, this particular train of thought didn't include that fact.
"That's where I'm headed now." Ryan indicated the other stack of files on his desk. "I've got to find out how many are still in jail."
Castle rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. "Did he drop anything inside the house when he was taking her?" He hated saying those words.
"Nothing that the CSU team or myself or Esposito saw." He shook his head, clearly frustrated. "How are those files coming along, Alexis?" He turned to the younger Castle.
She bit her lip, shaking her head. "Ordinary. Someone didn't like the way that she talked to them during an investigation. Someone else says they didn't handle the case quickly enough. That one was resolved, though."
"Alright, keep going."
Alexis nodded, delving back into the files.
"What about families? Husbands of convicted woman. A son or a daughter."
"If there are any connected to these files, I'll see them." He answered, but paused before picking up the first file. The next question wasn't one he particularly wanted to entertain, but he asked it never the less. "Castle, what about fans?"
"Nikki Heat fans." He quickly distanced himself from that, not wanting to think about the fact that it could be someone reading his book that had taken Beckett earlier this morning. He turned to her empty desk, swallowing once before saying, "Can I use her computer? I'll check the website and see if there are any comments suggesting … something like that."
"Go ahead." Ryan said, holding out a hand to it.
She felt weak. Kate struggled to remember exactly what had happened. She remembered getting into bed. Her head throbbed as she attmpted to remember further. There'd been a crash, later on ... but things got fuzzy after that. There'd been someone in her apartment and she'd fought him. She couldn't remember the details. She couldn't remember his face.
She twisted her left wrist, reaching upwards with her fingers to try and loosen the knot. No such luck. Pulled back so tightly, her right shoulder was making her dizzy with pain.
"Damn." She muttered, letting her eyes adjust. The lighting was dim here, but she was able to see slightly after blinking several times.
Kate Beckett was in a basement.
It wasn't a finished one. The walls were of cement and the floor was cold and hard. She couldn't figure out where the only source of light in the room was coming from. Kate managed to turn her head slightly to the left and saw the smallest slit of light, coming from underneath what she could only figure to be a door. Stairs led away from it, down into the basement.
Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she struggled with the ropes, feeling them dig into her wrists. Eventually she had to give up the act, leaning her head back against the wall. She couldn't allow herself to close her eyes, in case she happened to be concussed. Not that she wanted to sleep in the first place, even though she kept feeling the draw towards it.
And then she thought of Castle.
The man was likely to do something stupid. Something idiotic. Like showing up here without backup and trying to be some sort of hero. She could only hope Ryan and Esposito kept a careful eye on him.
There was nothing else she could do.
Pairing: Caskett
Characters: Castle, Beckett, Esposito, Alexis, Martha, Ryan
Warnings: some violence
Spoilers: most of season two
Summary: While worrying over her reaction to the new cover art, a call from Esposito shatters his world, tilting it off it's axis.
Shattered
Catch me as I fall
Say you're here and it's all over now
Speaking to the atmosphere
No one's here and I fall into myself
This truth drives me
Into madness
I know I can stop the pain
If I will it all away
-Whisper, Evanescence
By the time that Richard Castle arrived at the precinct, Detective Ryan was already there. The younger man looked up as he and Alexis entered. Castle would have been there sooner, but Alexis had been in the backseat. He wasn't going to speed, not with her there.
He felt lost without her there - as if he didn't really belong and had no true place to be. He'd nearly expected for her to be there, sitting behind her desk, but Beckett's desk was empty. It wasn't only empty, it was vacant, not really a desk without her.
"What do we have so far?" He asked of Ryan, who appeared to be going through several stacks of files.
"Esposito is getting the security footage from the front, back, and the halls of the building. CSU is dusting for fingerprints. I'm going through complaints against her. Most of these are nothing, but we've got to go through them anyway. It could lead to something." He tried not to sound doubtful.
Castle nodded. Every lead was worth checking. Leave no leaf unturned. He'd learned that much. "Weren't there any witnesses?"
Ryan shook his head. "None. She was taken early morning, sometime before dawn. Apparently there's a couple living next door to her that fight constantly, so the crashing didn't raise any alarms."
"Can I help?" Alexis asked, blue eyes going from her father to Detective Kevin Ryan. "I know I can't do much, but it can't hurt to have another set of eyes on those files."
Ryan looked towards her father, asking his permission. With acceptance from him, he handed several of the files and pulled out a chair for her. "Anything unusual, out of the ordinary, you tell me. Any particularly violent, vicious, or angry comment."
Alexis nodded, already at work.
"Criminals she convicted?" Castle asked Ryan. "What about them? If they're out on parole, they could have come after her. Vengeance." He kept his words short, nothing elaborate like he'd usually comment on. This wasn't one of his novels. This was Beckett. She was alone, probably hurt, and they needed to save her. Even though he knew that she was a strong, capable woman, this particular train of thought didn't include that fact.
"That's where I'm headed now." Ryan indicated the other stack of files on his desk. "I've got to find out how many are still in jail."
Castle rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. "Did he drop anything inside the house when he was taking her?" He hated saying those words.
"Nothing that the CSU team or myself or Esposito saw." He shook his head, clearly frustrated. "How are those files coming along, Alexis?" He turned to the younger Castle.
She bit her lip, shaking her head. "Ordinary. Someone didn't like the way that she talked to them during an investigation. Someone else says they didn't handle the case quickly enough. That one was resolved, though."
"Alright, keep going."
Alexis nodded, delving back into the files.
"What about families? Husbands of convicted woman. A son or a daughter."
"If there are any connected to these files, I'll see them." He answered, but paused before picking up the first file. The next question wasn't one he particularly wanted to entertain, but he asked it never the less. "Castle, what about fans?"
"Nikki Heat fans." He quickly distanced himself from that, not wanting to think about the fact that it could be someone reading his book that had taken Beckett earlier this morning. He turned to her empty desk, swallowing once before saying, "Can I use her computer? I'll check the website and see if there are any comments suggesting … something like that."
"Go ahead." Ryan said, holding out a hand to it.
She felt weak. Kate struggled to remember exactly what had happened. She remembered getting into bed. Her head throbbed as she attmpted to remember further. There'd been a crash, later on ... but things got fuzzy after that. There'd been someone in her apartment and she'd fought him. She couldn't remember the details. She couldn't remember his face.
She twisted her left wrist, reaching upwards with her fingers to try and loosen the knot. No such luck. Pulled back so tightly, her right shoulder was making her dizzy with pain.
"Damn." She muttered, letting her eyes adjust. The lighting was dim here, but she was able to see slightly after blinking several times.
Kate Beckett was in a basement.
It wasn't a finished one. The walls were of cement and the floor was cold and hard. She couldn't figure out where the only source of light in the room was coming from. Kate managed to turn her head slightly to the left and saw the smallest slit of light, coming from underneath what she could only figure to be a door. Stairs led away from it, down into the basement.
Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she struggled with the ropes, feeling them dig into her wrists. Eventually she had to give up the act, leaning her head back against the wall. She couldn't allow herself to close her eyes, in case she happened to be concussed. Not that she wanted to sleep in the first place, even though she kept feeling the draw towards it.
And then she thought of Castle.
The man was likely to do something stupid. Something idiotic. Like showing up here without backup and trying to be some sort of hero. She could only hope Ryan and Esposito kept a careful eye on him.
There was nothing else she could do.