A writer and his muse

Chapter 13

Kate halted, afraid to move. The nurse slid the gun from his temple to Ellie's. Kate's heart beat erratically.

"Put the gun down." Kate strained her eyes trying to read his name tag. "Robert. Let's talk, okay?"

"No. My brother went to jail last year. You need to have him released, brought to me along with a bus. I need that now!" Robert barked.

"I can't do that, Robert." Kate calmly said. Her insides had liquefied and her knees were ready to give out. The only thing keeping her standing were Ellie's eyes. They had glossed over and we're silently pleading to Kate.

"You must!" Robert shoved the gun to Ellie's skull and Kate heard the gun cock. Her heart speed up. "Or I will put a bullet through her skull." Ellie whimpered, sending Kate's nerves into a frenzied.

"Alright, alright! How about we both just put our guns down." Kate demanded. She started to lower her gun, never breaking eye contact between her and Robert.

"Put it down!" Robert screamed. Kate dropped the gun. "Now kick it over here." Kate did as she was instructed. Robert picked it up and shoved it in his belt. Keeping his gun trained on Kate's forehead, he started to back away.

"Robert, let's talk."

"Theres nothing to talk about until you release my brother. Stay where you are and the girl lives." Robert ordered and retreated back into a trauma room with Ellie. He slammed the door shut, locking it and turning the blinds so Kate couldn't see in. She sighed and kicked the wall, leaving a small scuff mark. A nurse walked by and looked at the mark, up at Kate, and back to the mark.

"I'm sorry, I'll clean it up later." Kate signed, exasperated. She raked her fingers through her hair and leaned back against the wall, forming a plan. She called in Esposito, Ryan, and a hostage negotiation team. She needed to see her. Kate needed to see Ellie again. She needed to know she was safe and all right. Kate paced around the hall like a mad woman. Hell, she probably was half mad by now. Esposito and Ryan finally showed up, bringing a fleet of men in flak jackets with shiny gadgets and devices. Esposito rushed up to Kate, giving her a hug and thanking God she wasn't hurt. Kate caught the two men, along with the hostage team, up about Ellie, the nurse who was demanding his brother be released and the break in at Ellie's house earlier in the evening.

"Did the man say who his brother was?" The leader, whose name was later mentioned as Owen Kidd, asked.

"Um, Martin Goldwyn. I think." I said.

"No. Absolutely not. That man killed nearly a dozen innocent lives. He's about to be sentenced to death." Owen put his foot down.

"Are you joking? There is a scared little girl in that room with a gun pressed to her head! We have to get her out. I have to save her." I nearly grabbed the man by his shoulders and shook some sense into him. Nearly. "If you don't get that man down here, I will go and get him myself."

"We can't negotiate this, Detective." Owen insisted.

A half hour later Hostage Negotiator Owner Kidd was on the phone with the jail, ordering Martin Goldwyn to be released. I smiled, pleased with myself. Maybe I should become a negotiator? Apparently I was quite good at it. My phone rang on my hip. I pressed it to my ear.

"Hello?" My voice quivered more than I wanted it to.

I felt a tremor run down my spine, my fingertips buzzing in anticipation. I snagged Owen's attention and pointed to my phone. He nodded and set a pair of large headset over his ear, flipping a switch. The deep voice spoke. "Kate,"

The deep voice sounded familiar. More so than Robert's. The voice was deeper than Robert's voice. The neurons fired and I made the connection.

"Castle!" I called off Owen and his fancy equipment.

"Hey, do you want pizza or Chinese tonight?" He asked in a bubbly tone.

"Castle, I can't talk now. I need to go." I snapped my phone shut and holstered it back on my hip.

"I'm sorry about that. I thought it'd be Robert." I sheepishly said to Owen.

"Not a problem."

My phone rang again. I sighed. "Castle, I told you-"

"Detective."

The voice chilled my blood. The voice was ominous and dark. The voice belonged to Robert. I looked to Owen, my eyes as big as saucers. He picked up on my mixture of excitement and fear and put back on his headset.

"I won't say anything else unless I know she's okay." I demanded. There was a rustling sound on the other line as the phone was adjusted.

"Detective Kate?" Came Ellie's scared but very alive voice. I felt like collapsing. I could never be a hostage negotiator. I'd never survive my first case.

"Ellie? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Time's up." Robert's said. "You've had your bonding time. Now I want my brother. Tell me he's on a bus. Tell me he will be here within the next half hour or I'll shoot this beautiful little thing." My heart beat wildly in my heart, threatening to break through my ribs.

"Robert, he is being let out. It's going to take a moment or two to get him through all the check points. But you know as well as I do that a half hour isn't long enough to get from the jail to the hospital." I said, trying to keep my voice level and calm.

"That's not good enough, Detective!" He said with enough rage, I flinched away from the phone.

"Hey, your brother will be here. I just need more time. I just need an hour and you will have your brother." I growled. Owen shot me a warning glance, letting me know this could only make things worse. I didn't care. Robert was going to have his brother. Martin, a serial killer, was being released! A half an hour shouldn't have made a difference. But to Robert it did.

"Well I'm afraid your little girl just ran out of time." His voice set my nerves into over drive and my blood to lead. I dropped the phone and turned on my heel, sprinting at full speed to the door. I felt like I was trying to get through a field of molasses and peanut butter combined. Time slowed. I heard my phone hit the ground and crumple.

Then terrible crack split through the air and pierced my ears and my heart stopped.