No Matter What

Chapter 1

Richard Castle bounded off the steps of his lawyer's office with a furrowed brow as the gentle wind caressed his face softly but with cool fingers and played lightly with his light brown hair. The slight chill in the air made a windbreaker a requirement today. He zipped the jacket up and tugged the elastic cuffs at his wrists. It was still somewhat cool for New York this late in the spring but it was definitely better than the snow of winter and the humidity of summer. Still, no matter the season, he loved New York and couldn't imagine living elsewhere. Everybody he loved and everything he wanted was right here – most of the time.

Meredith had remarried a month ago and was demanding custody of their daughter. She had told him that her husband was actually Alexis' father. He could not understand her sudden desire to be a parent or why she was lying about Alexis' paternity. He had bargained with her to have Alexis, to not abort her when she became accidently pregnant. He would care for the baby he told her and she would return to the acting world.

The papers were signed for both divorce and custody when Alexis was just 6 weeks old. She had gone so far as to terminate her parental rights totally to Alexis. Over the years, she visited her daughter in New York and when she became a teenager, Alexis had gone to California to visit her mother. He had never denied her access to their daughter and had never told their daughter about her mother's decision to never responsible for her.

Castle's attorney had directed him to go to another attorney that specialized in custody cases, Ray Trevikj. After looking at the documents provided by Castle, Trevikj recommended that a paternity test be performed on Alexis. Castle did not like that idea and told him so. "I don't care who the biological father is, she is mine now and has been since the day I found out that Meredith was pregnant with her!"

Trevikj calmly stated that if she was indeed Meredith husband's biological child that man could claim Alexis on the basis of his not knowing of her existence, but since she was 16 years old Alexis would have the choice of who to live with unless it could be proved that Castle was not a fit parent. He, also, said the DNA tests would take a few weeks to do and that a home study and background check would have to be performed on both Meredith and Castle which could take up to six months or more and then a court date would be set.

"This could take up to a year to get to family court. If we can drag this out, Alexis will be of legal age and all of their wrangling will be for naught, but hire a private detective, Mr. Castle. Help prove your ex-wife would not be a suitable parent no matter the biological father." He looked pointedly at Castle furious visage. " Anger is pointless. Use your intelligence. We can beat them." Suddenly he grinned at Castle. "Your books show that you have a perceptive and devious mind. Use it to our advantage."

Castle grinned back. "You help me keep my daughter and not only will I dedicate my next book to you but I make you one of the characters." Castle looked at the small, dark man who was, hopefully, going to save his family. "Alexis and my mother are out of country right now. They left this morning. They will be back in a few weeks. I really don't want Alexis to learn about this until she has to. How can we do the test?"

The attorney shuffled through his papers on his desk and handed him a card. "Take Alexis toothbrush or a strand of her hair to this laboratory. Make sure that a follicle is attached to the hair. They will be able to test it," a dark eye cocked at Castle. "Don't you ever watch CSI?"

Alexis and his mother were gone for the next few weeks as his mother had been offered a role in a movie filming in Ireland. Upon hearing this Alexis had turned her sky blue eyes to him, bounced slight on her toes, grasped her fingers in front of her and asked "Please, may I go, too?" His mother looked at him and smiled her agreement, while cocking an eyebrow at her son. While both women waited for his answer, flashes of a baby and little girl flooded his mind. He remembered changing her diapers, her first steps, her standing on his feet while they danced, running on the beach as her diaper fell off, merry-go-round rides and first day of school where as he hid in the bushes watching his daughter. More recently, first dates and first loves.

She was beginning to spread her wings a little and fly further from their happy nest, away from him. He had mixed feelings regarding her fledgling struggles, but with a little help from Beckett and his mother, understood. Time was not going to stand still for anyone and as much as he would like everything to remain as it was, things were changing. Alexis had grown into a stunning, intelligent young woman with flowing red hair and porcelain skin and it was time for her to express herself. He just hoped that she expressed herself a little less colorfully than he did at her age or, for that matter, now. He rarely had denied her anything and so no reason to do so now. "Go. Have fun. And call everyday!"

They took a cab to the airport. Alexi said, as she hugged her father tight, she didn't want to see him cry when she left. Besides she couldn't be sure if the tears were sadness due to her leaving or joy that her grandmother was going. He, of course, protested that he never cried because of happiness. He had not argued with her because he had an appointment with the attorney.

A desk sergeant had called moments after the cab took his family away and told him Beckett had a murder for him. First to Starbucks for coffee, a ritual he and Beckett had enjoyed between themselves since the beginning of their partnership then off to the precinct to see what was happening. It was odd that a desk sergeant had called and told him to come to the station. Usually Beckett called him to the scene or once in a while, Ryan or Esposito. He mentally shrugged and made his way to his preferred coffee shop.

Two men swung out of a white four door sedan, catching his eye. They were both muscular and tall, an inch or two more than Castle's own 6'2" with buzz cut surfer blonde hair. They looked enough alike to be brothers. They wore dark t-shirts and grey cloth jackets with the sleeves pushed up to their elbows. Barbed wire tattoos encircled their thick necks with small, dark teardrop tats on their faces just under the corner of their right eye. The man on the left sported four drops and the other, only one. Their left forearms carried a large tattoo resembling a vibrant bird of prey. The only difference between the two was that one with four tears was seemed much older. His hazel eyes were weary and worn whereas the younger off the two reminded Castle of an overactive puppy. He exuded a surplus of energy.

The two men relaxed against the front fender of their car with their arms crossed, glancing at him then casually looking around at the traffic. Foreboding rattled through him. Castle continued down the sidewalk, walking just a little faster. His gut feeling told him they were trouble and trouble was looking his way.

He had started taking some mixed martial arts classes a few weeks ago and Beckett had regularly been wiping the floor with him at the precinct gym for the last few months, attempting to show him how to defend himself in case he got into to trouble, or as she put it, "at least put up a showing so you won't die before we can save your sorry ass." He had grinned at her had told her he was a lover, not a fighter. She had rolled her eyes and tossed him to the floor again. Beckett just yesterday compared him to a big marshmallow because he was still too soft. He smiled at her and asked if she liked sweets. Moments later, he was again intimately reacquainted with the floor.

As he past the men, they fell into step behind him. Castle knew he was in danger. He began searching for an escape route. To the left of him were locked buildings and to the right a busy street. He decided he would take his chances with the busy street. He began to dart into the street to hail a passing cab when he was blocked by the two men and forced into an alley where the white sedan pulled in behind them. He shoved his hand into his pocket, pressing the button that would automatically call Beckett. He palmed his cell phone, pushing the phone into the sleeve of his jacket and turned to face his assailants.

"Get into the car, Mr. Castle." One of men ordered as the other opened the rear door for him.

He mentally counted to ten, waiting for Beckett to answer, then began speaking a little louder than he would have normally to cover her voice, "No, I don't think getting in that car would be a good idea. You two guys" he glanced into the car at the driver, "three guys were really noticeable in following me. You really should read one of my books. I have used kidnapping in a couple of them. I am sure you would be able to do it better if you studied them a bit." Castle gave a little grin while he edged away from the car and the men, towards the sidewalk. "Please be tracing this call Beckett," he prayed, as one of the men grabbed him by the neck.

"You may get in the car conscious or unconscious." He squeezed his neck and shook him for emphasis. "Makes no difference to me. He just told me to come get you." Castle allowed himself to be pushed into the car.

Castle was sandwiched between the two men in the backseat. "Hey, what's with the tats of barbed wire on your neck and the dark tears on your cheeks? That is some awesome bird on your arms. Where are we going? The only thing in this direction is the ocean." Castle paused, looking at the man driving. "So, who's 'the man?'"

The man with one tear on his cheek sneered at him. "Prison, idiot. Means we done time and killed some people in the joint. Wilson done killed four in one day. No one fucked with him after that. Not even the guards. He…"

Wilson glared at his partner and cut in off in mid sentence, "Shut up, Rodney! He don't need to hear our life stories." He looked at Castle with almost sympathy in his eyes. "He's probably not gonna be able to write anymore anyhow."

Castle swallowed back his fear. "So are you going to drown me, shoot me or beat me to death? Beckett, the detective I work with beats me up frequently and threatened to shoot me. So, I guess, it would be better if you drowned me. Or you could come up with something more original." He looked at the two in the back for a moment. "You two are brothers, aren't you? And," He nodded towards the driver, "your dad?"

"We were told not kill you. Just bring you to the man. But he didn't say we couldn't make you bleed. Now shut up." Wilson said quietly. "Shut up before I shut you up."

"Who's the man?" he asked as he turned towards Wilson. Being told to shut up had never worked for his favorite detective or his mother, so why would he actually listen to the hired help. A fist the size of a mallet and with the power of Muhammad Ali put paid to his question. The fist impacted on his left eye and temple, he groaned and fell forward, whispered "Help me, Kate" then a bright light cutoff blazed across his eyes ending all thoughts.

12th Precinct, New York City

Kate Beckett had just returned from lunch and wondered where her shadow was today. It usually didn't matter whether they had a case or not. Castle typically popped in with two cups of Starbuck's coffee and some lame excuse, and then proceeded to watch her do paperwork. She glanced over at Ryan and Esposito. They were both looking at something on the computer and speaking in soft tones. She was about to ask them what they were doing when her phone rang. Castle's picture popped up, smiling brightly, wearing a musketeer's costume complete with rapier. "Damn. He played with my phone again." She suppressed a smile and answered the phone, intending to sound annoyed at him. Before she could even say his name, she heard his voice and her stomach clinched.

She pressed the mute key on her phone and turned on the loud speaker. Esposito and Ryan's head popped up as they heard Castle's voice saying "only thing in this direction is the ocean." A split second later a second voice said "Prison, idiot. Means we done time and killed some people in the joint. Wilson done killed four in one day. No one fucked with him after that. Not even the guards. He…"

Ryan's quickly returned to his computer and began tracing the call. "Shut up, Rodney! He don't need to hear our life stories. He's probably not gonna be able to write anymore anyhow." Ryan and Esposito looked at Beckett, their faces rigid, and then glanced over her shoulder as their captain approached.

They heard Castle ask about the manner of his death and being told that they weren't going to kill him, but were to deliver him to 'the man'. Castle was told to shut up. Beckett closed her eyes for a moment, knowing that Castle only shut up if you shoved something in his mouth or if he was unconscious. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in their ears. A mere second later, a groan and then Castle whispering "Help me, Kate."

"Talk to me, Castle. Say something to let me know you are alright." Beckett begged softly, but they only heard the hum of a car engine. All eyes turned towards Ryan. "Do you have him?" Beckett whispered. Her face was calm but her voice urgent.

Ryan looked down at the computer for a moment. "They are traveling northeast, towards Meat Packing District." His face brightened. "Castle's phone is still hot plus he has a GPS on it. We can use that to track him. I'll transfer the trace to my laptop." Ryan said while he punching in numbers into the computer.

Captain Montgomery looked at her and nodded. "I will alert the SWAT team. Get going and keep me posted." He picked up the phone as the detectives charged out of his office.