661. Chapter 661

After Heartbreak Hotel

Episode 4.08

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Have I told you lately that I don't own Castle, well, darlin' I'm telling you now. Rating: K Time: See above.

The round convex mirrors in many stores allow the staff to keep an eye on the aisles. However, in this case, the mirror allowed Kate Castle to see that the cashier was being robbed by two armed men. She quickly headed to the back of the store, pulling out her Glock and her phone. As she approached the door in the back, a tall, white haired man in jeans, a tee shirt and sunglasses walked out with a broom.

"Get back inside." She whispered. "Two men are robbing the place. I'm a cop, Captain Kate Castle, 12th Precinct."

The man just nodded, then turned around and walked back through the door.

Kate held the door open a little so she could see and called Esposito. "Espo, there's a robbery in progress at Armand's House of Gourmet Coffee, Seventeenth and Lex. Two Caucasian males, both armed, one with a handgun, one with a sawed off. I'm in the back with…" She looked at the old man.

"Jerry." He said, nodding to her.

"With the janitor, Jerry. Get some uniforms here ASAP, and stay on the line in case I need anything." Something occurred to her. "Where's Castle?"

"I'm right here, Kate." He said over the phone.

"Well, you just stay where you are. Don't you dare come here."

"Castle?" She heard Espo say, then, "He just left. I'm sure he's headed for you."

"You think?" She turned to Jerry. "Is there a back door?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but a delivery truck backed into it and it's jammed closed."

Kate looked around for another way out, but there wasn't one.

"Captain Castle?" Jerry said. "One of 'em's sticking his head around the corner."

"Jerry, you old redneck, come out of there. If I have to go in and get your ass, I'll blow you all over the wall." The gunman screamed.

"Why does he want back here?"

Jerry nodded vaguely backwards. "The cashbox is back here. I seen that one before. I recognize the LA Dodgers tee shirt."

"How much is in the cashbox?"

"Nothing. The manager took the cash to the bank a half an hour ago."

"Jerry!" The gunman screamed. "I told you to come out, you worthless piece of white trash. Now get out here"

"Go to hell." Jerry yelled back. "I got my .357 Magnum and a cop with me."

"You ain't got shit."

Before Kate could say a word, Jerry pulled a revolver from his lunch bucket and fired two rounds. She heard the boom of a shotgun blast, then another. She heard some screaming and then sharper sound of a pistol.

They dove out of the way and behind a pallet of coffee beans.

"Why did you shoot at him?" Kate snapped.

"Cause I didn't want him coming back here and shooting me!" Jerry said calmly.

"Do you have a permit for that thing?"

Jerry looked down at the revolver. "I kinda forgot to remember to get one."

Kate looked at the weapon. It was a Smith and Wesson Model 19 with a two inch barrel. It was also a lot fancier than Kate would have imagined an elderly janitor would have. It was inlaid with both gold and silver decorations and had carved ivory grips. She snorted. "That looks like Elvis's gun."

Jerry turned away from her quickly.

Kate reached over and pulled his sunglasses off. "Oh my god. It's you….You're…"

"Jerry Perkins, ma'am. Jerry Perkins."

"Names from half the Million Dollar Quartet? Don't kid me. You're Elvis. Elvis Presley."

Jerry nodded slowly. "You got me ma'am. Please don't tell no one."

Before Kate could say another word, they heard the sound of sirens as the first of the uniforms arrived. There was one shotgun blast and a couple of handgun shots, but Kate was sure that there was no return fire from the officers outside.

"Captain Castle? Are you there?" It was Espo on her phone.

"What do you have Espo?"

"Good news and bad. The good news is the clerk made a run for it when the gunfire started and made it outside. She's fine."

"The bad news?"

"Kate?"

Kate looked up to see Castle peering down through a skylight that he had opened.

"Stay out of this, Rick. Stay up there. Better yet, go home."

Instead, Castle tossed a rope down and shinnied down it. He ran to Kate and hugged her. "You okay?"

She glared at him. "Just once, just one time, could you…."

"No. I couldn't. Not while you're in danger. I love you, Kate. I love you."

Kate shook her head and then smiled at her husband. "Jerry, this is my husband, Rick. Rick this is Jerry. He has a .357 Magnum and he's not afraid to use it."

Castle looked at the .357 and then at Jerry. "No. It can't be. But it is. You're Elvis. You're alive. How cool is this."

"Could you just keep this between us, Mr. Castle?" Jerry asked. "I just reached a point where I couldn't be old Elvis, the has-been King of Rock and Roll anymore. Oh, everyone said I helped start rock and roll, but none of the kids liked my music and they made fun of my movies. I just wanted to be myself."

"You've been in New York all this time?" Castle asked.

"No. I went to Oregon first to a cabin a friend of mine owned out in the middle of the woods. After a couple of years, I moved on. I got older and greyer and after a while if someone thought I looked like an old Elvis, everyone thought it was funny. I got to telling people I had been an Elvis impersonator when I was younger. They got a laugh at that. I actually did some gigs impersonating me."

"You ever been at the Sapphire Coast Casino in Atlantic City?' Castle suddenly asked.

"Yeah. Some idiot stole my best costume there a couple of years ago, the bum."

Castle looked pleadingly at Kate, who just smiled at him.

"Captain Castle?" It was Espo again. "I'm right outside, but I haven't spotted your husband yet."

"He's right here with me."

"Is he okay? Are you both okay?"

"He'll be a lot worse when I get him home." But she was smiling when she said it.

"Naked punishment?" Castle whispered.

"I have more bad news. "Espo went on. "The gunmen are holed up inside the office in front. They're the O'Brien brothers, Mike and Patrick. They're in their fifties and have been in prison for most of their lives. They haven't been on the outside more than five years total since they were teenagers. We talked to them on the phone, they say they won't surrender. They say we'll have to kill them. They won't go back to prison. I think they mean it."

"When can a negotiator get here?" Kate asked.

"Not for hours."

"What?" Kate raised her voice a bit. "Don't they realize what we have here?"

"They know, but there's a guy in Brooklyn who's barricaded in his house with his wife and kids who says he's going to kill all of them. Another guy has hostages at a school. There's a woman with a gun who says…"

"Okay. Okay." Kate cut him off. "I get the picture. Look, keep them talking. After a while they'll get hungry and thirsty. Maybe they'll be more reasonable then."

"Ma'am?" Jerry said. "The manager has his own food stash in his office. Got a refrigerator, microwave and everything. Sandwiches, drinks, microwave popcorn, buffalo wings, the works. They could live for a couple of weeks on what he's got stashed in there."

"I heard that." Espo said. "We'll keep trying."

"This is so cool." Castle said. "I never thought I'd meet Elvis."

Kate gave him a first class glare.

Castle's smile faded. "I mean a siege and all is terrible, of course, and things could get worse if they try something."

Kate rolled her eyes. "How much ammo do you have for the .357?"

Jerry pulled two small cardboard boxes out of his lunch box. "Fifty cartridges in this one and forty four left in this one. Plus four rounds in the cylinder." Jerry opened the cylinder, ejected the spent rounds and replaced them with two fresh rounds. "Ready to go."

"Me, too." Castle said, showing Kate a Glock in a shoulder holster.

"Castle! Where did you get that?" She demanded.

"I bought it." He said, defensively.

"You don't have permit of any sort, and certainly not a concealed carry permit. You're not a PI anymore."

"I know a guy. I have a concealed carry permit. I told him I loved my wife very much and wanted to be able to protect her."

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew you'd be mad at me."

"And do you also know that I'm madder at you when you hide something from me?"

Castle got no chance to respond. Gunfire erupted from the front of the store. Kate stood, ready to go out and then stopped. Castle and Jerry will go with me if I move. She knelt back down. "We'll stay here."

"Captain?" That was Ryan on her phone. "They came out shooting. They're both still alive, but one is in bad shape. I've told everyone you'll be coming out, but be careful."

"This is amazing." Castle said with a huge smile. "I've been in a gun battle with Elvis Presley. This is so incredibly cool."

"You were in here with me and Jerry Perkins, Castle. Jerry Perkins."

Castle recognized the look his wife was giving him. "Jerry Perkins it is, then."

She turned to Jerry. "You can come in and give your statement to me tomorrow. I'm sure no one will notice anything."

"Thank you. Thank you very much."

"I'll deal with you when we get home." She said, turning back to her husband.

"I know. Punishment sex is so much fun." He said, smiling.