C50: PTSD
"I came as fast as I could after hearing someone got murdered inside a school bus," Castle replied, handing her a coffee.
"Thanks," Kate said.
Castle continued, "Also, the school security officer insisted on checking my ID three times because apparently being a bestselling author does not outrank common sense anymore."
Esposito gave him a flat look. "It never did."
Ryan crossed the east parking lot from the direction of the maintenance building. He stepped around the yellow tape. He stopped before them.
"Arturo Medina, janitor," Ryan said. "He found Pike's body."
Kate turned toward him. "What did he see?"
"Medina was taking trash behind the maintenance building when he noticed Pike pull Bus 14 into the east lot early," Ryan replied. "Pike usually waits behind the building until dismissal, but today he parked out here around two-oh-five and stayed in the driver's seat."
Esposito glanced toward the dead driver. "Did Medina see who got on the bus?"
Ryan nodded once. "He saw someone approach from the east service gate. Dark hoodie, jeans, medium build, and a backpack slung over one shoulder. He couldn't see the face, but Pike opened the folding door himself."
Kate's eyes narrowed as she looked at the open entrance. "So Pike knew them, or at least expected them."
"That's what it sounds like," Ryan said. "Medina kept walking because he thought it was a parent or staff member at first. Then he heard an argument through the bus windows."
Castle leaned closer, coffee forgotten in his hand. "An argument about what?"
Ryan checked his notes. "Pike said, 'I already told you, I wasn't driving that day.' Then he said, 'Leave my family out of this.' Medina heard six shots less than a minute later."
The narrow bus aisle went quiet.
Lanie looked up from the driver's seat, her expression tightening behind her gloves. "That fits the wound pattern. The shooter stood close and fired quickly."
Kate looked toward Ryan again. "What happened after the shots?"
"Medina ducked behind the maintenance shed," Ryan said. "When he looked again, the hooded person was leaving through the service gate. They were moving fast, but Medina said they didn't run until they were out of the lot. He called 911 after that."
Esposito folded his arms. "Confident enough to walk away from a murder scene inside a school."
Castle stared at the six evidence markers near Pike's seat, his expression shifting into that familiar look Kate had learned to distrust on instinct.
"Oh, this isn't just murder," Castle said slowly. "This is a reenactment."
Kate gave him a flat look. "Castle."
"Six shots," Castle said quietly. "That part matters too much to be random. Whoever killed Pike wanted him sitting in that exact seat, behind that exact wheel, when it happened."
Kate folded her arms. "You think this is connected to the bus?"
"I think Pike was involved in something that happened while he was driving," Castle replied. "He told the shooter he wasn't driving that day, which means somebody believes he was. Maybe there was an accident, maybe someone died, or someone disappeared during a route, but Pike has spent years insisting he had nothing to do with it."
Esposito looked toward the bus windows. "So the shooter called him here to force a confession out of him, but ended up killing him when he refused?"
Castle nodded slowly. "Exactly. Pike opens the door because he recognizes the person or expects them. They argue, Pike denies driving that day, then the killer fires six times in rage. But why six times? Our killer was close. They could've done with a single headshot, but no. They shot him six times," He pointed toward the evidence markers. "Six shots could represent six people, six witnesses, six victims, or six years of guilt. This wasn't a quick execution. This was punishment with a script."
Before anyone could say anything...
The sound of gunfire came from inside the building.
Several shots cracked through the locked-down hallways, close enough to make everyone near the bus turn toward the school at once. Students screamed somewhere beyond the walls, followed by the sharp echo of teachers shouting instructions behind closed classroom doors.
Kate's body reacted before thought caught up.
Her hand went to her weapon as her pulse slammed against her ribs. For one terrible second, the parking lot blurred around her. She felt the intense pain in her stomach as the old memories flashed once again before her eyes.
Her heart started pounding harder.
Then Kate forced herself back into the present.
"Active shooter," she said, drawing her Glock. "Move."
Ryan was already running toward the outer side of the school, cutting around the building to cover the front entrance and stop anyone from escaping into the street. Esposito broke toward the fire escape on the opposite side, his gun out as he moved for the upper hallways.
Kate sprinted toward the back entrance, keeping low as she reached the metal door beside the maintenance wing. Castle stayed near the bus with Lanie, and neither of them tried to follow after the detectives.
"Castle, stay with the crime scene team," Kate called without slowing. "Nobody goes inside unless they're cleared."
Castle gave a fast nod, his face pale now. "Please be careful, Beckett."
Kate pushed through the back door and entered the school.
The hallway was empty.
Lockdown alarms pulsed through the building while fluorescent lights reflected across polished tile. Classroom doors lined both sides of the corridor, each one locked from the inside. Somewhere above her, students cried quietly while teachers tried to keep them calm.
Kate moved forward with her Glock raised.
"NYPD!" she called out. "Stay in your classrooms, duck down on the ground and keep the doors locked."
Another gunshot echoed from somewhere farther down the hall.
Kate flinched despite herself.
The sound twisted through her body like a memory she had tried to bury. Her hand tightened around the grip of her weapon, and her breathing became shallow for half a second before she forced it back under control.
"You're here," she whispered to herself. "You're here."
A loud crash sounded near the stairwell ahead.
Kate moved toward it, keeping close to the wall as she passed rows of classroom doors. A teacher's face appeared briefly through the narrow glass window of one room, eyes wide with fear.
Kate signed her to keep quiet with her finger.
She reached the stairwell door and listened.
Footsteps moved on the other side.
Someone was coming down.
Kate raised her gun and pushed through the door.
A masked man stood halfway down the stairs with a handgun in his right hand. He wore dark clothes, gloves, and a black mask that hid everything except his eyes. His gaze locked on Kate the instant she stepped inside.
He raised his weapon toward her.
"Get out of my way."
Kate froze for a moment.
Her hands shook around the Glock as the masked man kept his weapon aimed at her chest. The stairwell suddenly felt too narrow, too bright, and far too quiet beneath the distant pulse of the lockdown alarm.
"You don't have to do this," Kate said, forcing each word out steadily despite the pressure building inside her chest. "Just drop your gun and surrender."
The man's eyes narrowed behind the mask.
"Get out of my way, bitch."
Kate tightened her grip and raised her weapon properly. She had a clear shot. His chest was open, and his gun hand was exposed. One pull of the trigger would end it before he could fire again.
But her finger would not move.
The tunnel flashed through her mind without warning.
Gunfire cracked through the darkness. Dust covered the floor. Travis shouted her name somewhere beyond the smoke. Her stomach twisted as the feeling of wet concrete and blood returned with enough force to make the stairwell blur around her.
Kate tried to breathe.
"Please," she said, keeping her weapon raised as her voice strained around the fear. "Put it down. You can still walk away from this."
The masked man took one step lower.
His gun stayed aimed at her.
Kate saw his finger settle against the trigger.
Everything around her went black.
Three gunshots exploded through the stairwell.
Kate flinched hard, her body locking in place as the echoes slammed against the concrete walls. For one terrible second, she could not hear anything except the ringing in her ears.
Then the world slowly came back.
The masked gunman lay crumpled across the stairwell landing, blood spreading beneath him, while his handgun rested several feet from his outstretched hand.
Esposito stood near the upper landing with his weapon still raised, his chest rising hard as he stared at Kate.
"Beckett," he called, his voice sharp with panic. "Kate, are you okay?"
Kate blinked once.
Then she blinked again.
Her hands were still shaking around her Glock as she looked from the dead man to Esposito. Her throat felt tight, and her heart still pounded hard enough to hurt.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
Esposito stepped closer, his expression softening as he lowered his weapon.
Kate forced herself to breathe again.
"Yeah," she repeated, though the words sounded distant even to her. "I'm good."
--
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