The Time of Our Lives (Editing)

Chapter 16: Found

"So," Alexis says from the backseat. "What's the plan?" She asks. I smile and press my foot on the pedal harder, making us go faster and faster. "Get Castle," I say, and Espo nods.

Alexis rolls her eyes. "No, that can't be it. We need a plan of attack!" She says, clearly frustrated. Espo takes in a breath. "Our badges look identical to the badges at the 62nd precinct. We show up, tell them we have a warrant, and walk in." He says and I shake my head. "That can't work," I say. "They will ask to see it, and then what? We don't actually have a warrant." He sighs and I shrug. "We will go through the back. Search the entire house. It's night, they will be sleeping." I say.

"We hope," Alexis notes under her breath and I roll my eyes. "We will be fine." I say and pull into a driveway a block away from our destination. The houses around here are elegant and expensive, and I can't help but wonder if I was wrong. I decide to continue on, as my gut is telling me to do so, and I grab my gun and badge- Espo's idea might come in handy.

We make our way to the house, and through the gate. "Alexis, go right," I say, and she cocks her gun, nodding. "Espo, go up," I say and he nods as well. "And I will go left." I open the door carefully, to find an empty hallway. I count my blessings as we make our way inside, and before long, we split up. I make my way down another large, empty hallway. The walls are white, the floors granite, and the ceilings- which are at least 11 feet tall- are the same color as the walls. Pictures, vases, and other strange pieces of art line the walls and I can't help but feel like I am in a museum.

I come up to the first door in the hall and peek inside. A bedroom. At first, it seems empty, but as I look more closely, I notice a figure sleeping comfortably on the bed. I back up and quickly shut the door before the light from the hall wakes the sleeping person.

Only two more doors to go.

The next one I am even more careful about, opening the door with my shoulder and pointing my gun quietly, but this room is empty. A stand up shower stands in one corner, a double sink with a large mirror sits on the wall opposite the toilet, and straight forward sits a luxurious bathtub. I shut this door, and make my way to the next and final. On it is a sign, engraved: BASEMENT. I smile. This is where he is. I open the door, and make my way slowly down the stairs.

There is a dim light on, making it slightly easier to see my way around. In the middle of the room, a figure in a chair is hunched over. They appear to be tied up.

Castle.

I rush over to him, as quietly as possible, and look at him. It is Castle. I bend down, trying to get a good look at his face. It appears to be bloody. They must have tortured him. "Hey," I whisper, lightly touching his knee. He doesn't even stir. I try again, pushing harder. "Castle," I whisper, a little louder. Still nothing.

The door opens and I stand up, moving to a dark corner. There isn't much stuff in the basement to hide behind, but I manage to fit my swollen self underneath the steps leading down to the basement.

I watch as the man walks to Castle's limp body, and sighs with annoyance. He shakes my fiancé furiously, but nothing happens. I begin to panic. Maybe they accidentally killed him? I watch though, not wanting to get caught. He rushes furiously up the stairs and opens the door. I don't hear his footsteps anymore, and I assume he is standing at the top.

"Denise," He screams down the hallway and my suspicions are confirmed. More footsteps, fast moving ones, come to the door. "What the hell do you want? It's midnight, for God's sake." He sighs heavily. "Come and tell me if you killed him." She sighs this time, and I hear their footsteps going down the steps. I can see them clearly now, and I watch as she checks his pulse. "He's alive, dumbass. Did you check his pulse?" The man shakes his head and she purses her lips, resting her hands on her hips. "Next time, try that instead of waking me up at mid-freaking-night."

She starts toward the stairs but he grabs her arm. "Don't drug him so much, next time. I can't wake him. I need to be able to interrogate him, if you want answers. And if he has so much anesthetize in him that I can't wake him, there is a problem." She rolls her eyes and pulls away from his tight grasp. She must be very strong, because she is very small compared to him.

I hear the door shut behind her, and he makes his way back to Castle. "Enjoy your drug- induced sleep," He says in a mocking tone. "Because you ain't gonna be sleeping for a long time." He chuckles at himself, and stomps up the stairs. The door slams behind him and I carefully stand up. I make my way to my fiancé, in hopes that I can quickly wake him up, before anyone comes back. I undo the duct tape around his wrists and ankles, and he sits up with a jerk. "Kate?" He says, confused. "What are you doing here?" He asks and I smile. He is alive. He is here. I've found him.

I kiss his dry lips, and he kisses me back softly, as if this were our first kiss. "I missed you," I say and he stands up slowly. "I haven't stood in days," He says and I watch him take a few steps, getting used to the use of his legs once more. "We can't stay," I say and he nods, quickly going up the stairs. I open the door carefully, cocking my gun. We carefully make our way down the hallway of the mansion, looking for both the door and Alexis and Espo.

I turn the corner, gun poised, ready to shoot. Two figures stand quietly, and I realize it is Alexis and Espo. We rush toward them. "You found him!" Alexis whispers and I nod. "Now let's get out of here, before anyone catches us." The three of them nod, and we run to the end of the hallway, where the door out sits.

Seconds later, though, I hear Alexis' screams. I turn around, to find a woman standing, knife in hand, over Alexis' body. I hold my gun to her, and she laughs. "You won't shoot. I have a great aim, and husband is my next target." I focus on my gun, pointed at her head. "You won't shoot," She says, and I can't tell if she is mocking me, or assuring herself of this assumption. I shake my head, and she hold up her second knife. I look to Alexis, knife sticking out of her side. "Your sweet little girl is going to die, and so is your husband." She says and aims it at his head. He holds still, but I can see the look of sheer panic playing on his face. She throws, and I scream, shooting her.

I close my eyes, and I open them a few seconds later, already aware of the scene that is in front of me: Castle has a knife through his skull, Alexis is dead on the floor, and a pool of blood is around the woman's head.

I open my eyes. The woman lays on the ground in front of me, but Castle still stands. No knife in his skull. I look to see where the knife landed, and see it in the wall behind him. Alexis is not dead, but I assume she will be soon, if we don't get her help.

Castle scoops Alexis up in his arms and Espo breaks me from my trance of the slow-moving world back to reality. We run to the door, and this time, make it. We run to the rental car, where Espo sits in the passenger seat, me in the driver's seat, and Castle lays Alexis on the backseat. She winces when she is set down and I rush from our parking spot.

I push the pedal to the floor, picking up speed the further we go. I turn on the freeway toward the hospital, and pick up speed to 85 miles per hour.

I pull into the private drive, and pull up to the doors. Castle rushes Alexis in after Espo, who goes to the front desk. About 6 nurses all stand there congregating, until he makes his way up to them. "She was stabbed," He claims and Castle brings her to them. One of them presses a button, another rushes to get a gurney. She comes back, and the rest of them help put Alexis on the gurney.

We all watch as the nurses run Alexis back to a room and begin working on her. Castle lets a tear drip down his cheek and I slip my fingers through his.

"She will be fine," I say and he nods. "I hope so." He says and we stand there, the three of us, waiting for them to finish, to tell us good news.

About fifteen minutes later, a doctor in all scrubs walks out and greets us.

"She is stableized," He says. "But she lost a lot of blood. She will need to stay here for the night, and tomorrow we wil check on her progress."

I thank the doctor and he walks away. Castle lets out a breath I didn't hear him take in.

"She's going to be okay," He says and I nod.

"She's going to be fine."