new york wolves } { of liars and missing detectives

[flack]

Esposito: Look at him, the smug bastard. Wonder how he'd like it being on the other end of my scope.

Flack: Don't test him. We don't want to set him off.

Esposito: I don't want to test him. Just take him for a drive. To the docks right Ryan?

Ryan: Yep. It's really scenic this time of year.

Flack: [gives them both a look] Easy.

Esposito: What, we're just talking in hypotheticals.

Derek: [chuckles under his breath]

Flack: Uh-huh.

Esposito: You know he's casing the joint, right boss?

Flack: Oh, I'm well aware. That's why I have a uniform escorting him everywhere and reporting back to me.

Derek: [growls softly] I'm not leaving my seat, otherwise I would be tempted to just tell him that if he wants me, just try something.

Flack: Yeah. Don't do that either. Just ignore him if you can.

Derek: Yeah, you guys can't hear him. He knows I can.

Flack: As I said. Ignore him.

Derek: I need to get out of here for a bit.

Flack: Good idea.

Esposito: Too early for drinks?

Flack: [glances at his watch] It's a slow day. Get out of here and go home.

Derek: [nods] Yeah, I'll do that. Let me go get my stuff at the locker.

Flack: [he nods and goes to disappear back into his office]

Derek: [and he's going to go to his locker, because Gerard won't try anything in the precinct, right?]

Gerard: [nope, not today. He's going to be back in the bullpen chatting up his girlfriend instead]

Derek: [and he's going to come back where Espo is watching Gerard from a distance] Not sure I like that.

Esposito: You and me both.

Beckett: [she looks fine though, friendly and cordial like she's talking to the friendly old man he's pretending to be]

Derek: I don't want to leave with her talking to him.

Esposito: So wait. Don't let him get into your head, alright? He's playing you.

Beckett: [more friendly banter and Gerard's hand comes out to rest on her arm]

Derek: [growls softly to himself]

Esposito: Down boy.

Beckett: [more friendly chatter and eventually he goes on his way. Gerard does glance back at Derek over his shoulder as he goes, and Beckett rolls her shoulders, almost as though she's shaking off bad juju.]

Derek: [his glare back shows Gerard that he's not scared of the old man, and waits until he's gone before going over to Beckett to check on her]

Beckett: [glances over to him with a smile] I'm fine.

Derek: Come on, Flack said we can go home.

Beckett: [nods] Okay. Let me just get my stuff.

Derek: Espo, you coming with us?

Esposito: And leave Ryan alone? Nah, I'll get a drop off when shift's over.

Beckett: [nods and turns to follow Derek out] Ready?

Derek: Yeah, ready.

Beckett: [nods as they go to head for the elevator]

Derek: So what was he talking to you about?

Beckett: Nothing important. Just making small talk.

Derek: Probably trying to make himself appear old and harmless.

Beckett: He's very good at it. If I didn't know better I might have bought it.

Derek: Obviously underestimated you. That may be an advantage for you.

Beckett: I'm used to being underestimated. I think we'll be fine.

Derek: [and there's the elevator and they are off to head to the penthouse, driving since the subway isn't safe at the moment for Derek]

Beckett: [doot doot doot. Off they go and not talking about Gerard anymore because she'd really rather let the subject drop]

Stiles: [and he's coming home as they are getting to the apartment. And he's alone.]

Derek: Why are you out on your own?

Stiles: Oh, I was with Hal. He just left me at the subway stop. [lies]

Beckett: [yeah, she's not exactly buying it, but she won't prod him, not in front of Derek] How was class?

Stiles: It was alright. Lecture was boring, so I ended up writing part of my paper due next week in it.

Beckett: Good. At least you're ahead in that respect. [she has a feeling around here hasn't been that great for academics as of late.]

Stiles: Yeah. And technically it was the stuff I was learning so it's not like I was watching porn like the guy next to me.

Beckett: [eyebrow raise] Really?

Stiles: Welcome to college. Professors are okay with laptops, and don't look for bluetooth headsets.

Beckett: [shakes her head] And I thought my college days were crazy.

Derek: Not sure it's safe for me to go there. [some of the comments that she slings makes him wonder as he opens the door for both of them]

Beckett: [just smirks at him as she makes her way inside] I'm going to take a shower. I'll be out in a bit.

Derek: Alright. I'll have coffee ready when you get out. Stiles?

Stiles: No, I got a thing I need to do. Thanks though. [starting for the stairs]

Beckett: [watches him go for a moment, before reaching for one of the notepads on the table and scribbling a message down quickly: "Something's not right." It's not her place to interrogate his family, though, and she isn't about to start]

Derek: [raises his eyebrow and looks at Stiles, then Beckett and writes 'what to do think?']

Beckett: [makes a face before writing her response: "Don't know, but something's up. Maybe you should talk to Hal."]

Derek: [nods. he had been getting the feeling, having paid attention to Stiles' heartbeat, but it never wavered] Enjoy your shower.

Beckett: [nods with a small smile before she heads off to the shower]

Derek: [and he's going to subvert to see if Malia is home to get Hal's info from]

Malia: [which she is, sitting on her bed texting Jeremy because she's bored]

Derek: Hey, got a second?

Malia: [glances up and nods] Sure. What's up?

Derek: [closes the door and goes to sit next to her on the cushion bed] I was hoping to check in with Hal and see how he was doing.

Malia: [her eyes narrow slightly at that because he's never really shown an interest in Hal before, but moving on] He's fine. He's out of town, though. He headed home for the long weekend to spend some time with his parents.

Derek: Oh, I didn't know that. Well, I'll check on him when he gets back. We've been letting Castle check on Alexis for us, but we try and make sure there's no lingering issues post-kidnappings.

Malia: [shrugs] They've both been okay from what I can tell, but Cora spends more time with them than I do.

Derek: [nods] So how have you been doing? I know the whole "come home after school, no arguments" curfew puts a dent in your social life.

Malia: [makes a face] I don't want to end up cut in half by a broadsword either. [she's a practical girl if nothing else]

Derek: Yeah, none of us really want to.

Malia: So I'm dealing. It's not like I can't take care of myself. [and there's a mental image Derek doesn't need]

Derek: [yup, didn't need it. Luckily he's able to talk about this mostly with Malia. Cora - not so much] And on that note, I'm going to go make some coffee.

Malia: [smirks] Have fun.

Derek: [and yup, going to make coffee, debating on interrogating Stiles more]

Beckett: [makes her way out, towel drying her hair] Hey. How's it going?

Derek: You were right, as always.

Beckett: [eyebrows go up in concern]

Derek: [motions for her to follow him to his room]

Beckett: [nods and goes with him, dropping the towel off in the bathroom as she does]

Derek: [closes the door to give them the soundproofing] I have to admit, this is the best investment Laura and Peter made with the soundproofing each room.

Beckett: [smirks] I'm sure everyone appreciates the privacy.

Derek: Yes, in so many ways. But it comes in handy too. I went to get Hal's phone number from Malia and apparently Hal's in Boston. Today.

Beckett: [nods] So Stiles lied.

Derek: But the thing is, his heart didn't jump. Stiles isn't that good of a liar.

Beckett: Maybe something happened, while he was being held?

Derek: What do you mean?

Beckett: Maybe Gerard didn't just take him to have Laura's beta.

Derek: [thinks a moment.] You don't think Stiles is working for him, are you?

Beckett: I don't know. But your sister keeps saying that this has to be about more than you, doesn't she?

Derek: [nods] Yeah. And if something happened and he can control his heart rate now when he lies... there's no way to know if anything he's said since he came back is true.

Beckett: [she nods slowly] I'm just used to staring at liars for a living otherwise I probably wouldn't have caught it.

Derek: [sighs] I have to tell Laura. This is too important not to. [thinks] Why would he lie to us? He has just as much to lose as any of us - including Cora.

Beckett: [lets her hand rest on his arm for a minute] Let me talk to him before you tell your sister. There's too much about this that we don't know.

Derek: [nods] Well, Cora's got class until four. So if you want time, it's now otherwise they are attached at the hip, as you've witnessed.

Beckett: [she nods, before turning to go] Just ... wait until I get back, okay? He's just a kid. [and he's as new to all of this as she is]

Derek: Yeah. [he'll just stay in his room and spiral down the staircase of BAD THINGS]

Beckett: [and up the stairs she goes, knocking on the door to Stiles and Cora's room] Stiles?

Stiles: [is going to close his laptop quickly and jump up, going to the door and opening it] Oh hey, Detective Beckett. What’s up? [totally blocking the doorway from her entering]

Beckett: [and there's that completely unassuming smile. Nope, nothing's wrong, she can bluff with the best of them] Hey. Can we talk?

Stiles: Um... [looks at his laptop] I was working on finishing my paper. Can it wait?

Beckett: No, it's kind of important.

Stiles: [sighs and nods, moving to let her in] Alright. So um, what's it about?

Beckett: [she comes in and waits until the door closed before sitting on the edge of the bed] Derek and I are both worried about you. He's noticed that things have been a little off lately, and while we know you've been through a lot, we were talking to Malia and we found out that you couldn't have been with Hal today, because Hal is in Boston for the weekend. [she keeps her tone gentle, non-accusatory, the kind she usually uses with a suspect she's trying not to spook] I don't want to get you in trouble, and I'm not angry with you for lying, I just ... I want to know what's going on.

Stiles: [he's about to say something to interrupt her, but then she mentions talking to Malia and he shuts up, sucking on his lips a moment and looking away, then shrugged] So I lied. I didn't want Derek to know what I was doing. What's that matter?

Beckett: [tips her head to the side, watching him for a moment] Look, I know things are ... tense, right now. But we have to be able to trust each other, right now especially. And considering you're getting good enough at lying that he couldn't catch you by listening to your heartbeat? He's worried and frankly so am I. [she leans forward a bit] I also know I haven't been here long and you may not want to tell me everything and that's fine. But I know what it's like being on the outside of this family. And I know how much Cora means to you. I'm sure you don't want to lie to her.

Stiles: [she would see just the wall go flying up as he shut down on her and shook his head] Well, you're worried about nothing. I'm fine. I just didn't want to have to explain why I wasn't paired off for a stupid subway ride back from class, alright?

Beckett: [yeah, the problem is, she's not afraid to play hardball either] Yeah, see - your body language tells me it isn't. And Derek wants to tell Laura. I came up here to try and make sure it wouldn't have to come to that and we can figure this out, but Stiles, I have to tell him somethin', and you aren't giving me much.

Stiles: [and he just shuts his eyes a moment, because no, Derek telling Laura isn't good. That would mess up everything he and Marcus were working on.]

Beckett: [sighs and she's back to softening again, trying to slowly pry the information out of him] Just talk to me. I can keep a secret too, but right now you need someone to vouch for you.

Stiles: [his hand twitches a bit] They can't know. It'll mess everything up. I need the Hales to keep doing what they are, otherwise he'll know something wrong.

Beckett: He who? Gerard?

Stiles: [nods]

Beckett: What happened when he had you?

Stiles: [sighs and goes to sit next to her on the bed] I was chained to a wall and they had a heart monitor on me. He said I had to hell them certain things, and I had to make them believe me. They whipped me with a wolfsbane laced whip until I could do it without my heart skipping.

Beckett: [her face softens but she just listens, trying to understand what Gerard wanted to get out of all of this] Why?

Stiles: Because I needed them to believe he was after Derek. He needs them to be looking in that direction.

Beckett: But he's not. He's after someone else?

Stiles: He needs something from Laura. He wants her to give it to him, and he said he'd let them live. But it's not something she's going to want to do.

Beckett: From what I've experienced with this guy, he's very good at making promises he doesn't intend to keep.

Stiles: That's why I have a plan. But it's important that they don't know for it to work. [he looks at Beckett] I already know they're going to hate me for this, but I owe them my life. I'm not going to let him kill them.

Beckett: Are you sure this will work?

Stiles: [nods] But it all depends on them not knowing. Gerard knows when people are lying too. That's why we can't tell them. [we being him and Marcus. Marcus knows the Kirsanovs are going to be displeased but it protects them too]

Beckett: How much longer is this going to take?

Stiles: [bites his lip] he got the piece of information he needed today at the station. [and that is Ryan calling Beckett because his partner was on the phone with him and things happened and holy fuck you guys need to answer your phone!]

Beckett: [frowns for a moment, because he was talking to her at the station, and then her phone goes off] Hold on. [answers] Beckett.

Ryan: [out of breath] Javi called me because he was on his way to the Hales’ and was asking me something stupid about lunch ideas and then I heard shouting and I tracked his phone and it's in a drain and I think they got him. Beckett, they took him.

Beckett: [her eyes go wide for a moment and she grits her teeth] Damnit. Okay, where are you?

Ryan: [gives her the cross street] I called it in already. Kate, there's blood.

Beckett: Stay there, contain the scene. I'll be right there. Have you called Flack?

Ryan: Yeah, I called it into him directly. I didn't know if it needed to be over the radio or not, all things considered.

Beckett: No, that's smart. Let's try and keep this as contained as we can - they might be monitoring police frequencies.

Ryan: Alright. I'll be here waiting and hoping I'm not being monitored.

Beckett: I'll see you soon. [hangs up and glances back to him] Someone just grabbed Detective Esposito. Detective Ryan thinks it was the Argents.

Stiles: [nods] I know. It was going to be you or him.

Beckett: [sigh] Yeah, well, I have to get to the scene. I'll have Derek handle Laura, but I hope you know what you're doing, Stiles.

Stiles: [grabs her arm] You can't tell Derek about me. Please, I swear I know what I'm doing.

Beckett: The immediate threat should distract him. I won't say anything. But you've need to be prepared for the fall out.

Stiles: I know. Thank you.

Beckett: [nods as she goes to head downstairs to find Derek]

Derek: [is waiting, anxious a bit]

Beckett: [yep, she's going to skip talking about Stiles because they have bigger fish to fry] I just got a call from Ryan. Espo is MIA and he thinks the Argents have him.

Derek: Are you serious? [and he's up because nope, last straw]

Beckett: Yep. Ryan's holding the scene but I need you to find Laura.

Derek: I'll do it the fastest way I know. [opens his door] Laura?

Laura: [her head picks up at the sound of her name - she was managing half a nap while waiting for Espo to get home so she could actually sleep] Yeah?

Derek: Come to my room for a second.

Laura: [sighs as she manages to pull herself to her feet and make her way to the door] Yeah?

Derek: [ushers her in and closes the door] They have Espo.

Laura: [she blanches almost immediately] What?

Derek: [looks at Beckett, then walks closer to his sister] Ryan just called. He's gone MIA and he thinks that the Argents took him.

Laura: We have to find him. Now.

Derek: We're going to go to the scene and I'll see what we can do. I need you to stay here.

Laura: Like hell.

Derek: Damnit, Laura. You know what this is. He's trying to draw you out, and you do that without us at your side you know how that ends.

Laura: I can't just sit here, either!

Derek: Then I'll drop you off at the station and work with Flack.

Laura: [she doesn't necessarily look happy with that either]

Derek: I'm the trained homicide detective. Kate is even better than me. If there's something to find, we will find it. I'm not putting my sister and alpha in danger until we know where to jump. Don't make me call Nik to babysit you because I will and don't give me that alpha glare.

Laura: [she will absolutely give you that alpha glare, but she'll give in] Fine.

Derek: [squeezes her hand] Cora and Peter aren't home. That'll give you something to focus on.

Laura: Just find him.

Derek: [nods, and looks at Beckett. He's still in his work clothes] Let's go?

Beckett: [she nods] Just let me grab my coat.

Derek: [will wait for her and then they will head off to the scene where Ryan is waiting with Lanie already running DNA on the blood to verify that it's Espo]

Beckett: [takes a couple steps forward] Anything?

Derek: [he's going to wander a few steps away, his eyes trying to look for things, but he's really sniffing the air, trying to get scents.]

Ryan: Flack is trying to pull street cam to see if it's the same SUV that took Stiles, or the van that took Alexis. But I don't see any cameras pointed at this spot.

Lanie: [is working her mobile lab, then bites her lips] It's his... it matches the DNA markers... [softly, because while they have moved on, she still cares, you know]

Beckett: [sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose] What about witnesses - is there anyone who might have seen anything?

Ryan: You're not going to believe who. [motions over his shoulder to where West Side Wally is sitting on a brownstone stoop]

Beckett: [turns and follows his eyes and she can't help but smile slightly. Of course it is. She turns and makes her way over, crouching down so that she's eye level with him] Hey, Wally.

West Side Wally: West Side. Name's West Side. [gives her a grin] I remember you.

Beckett: My mistake. [she grins back] Can you tell me what you saw?

West Side Wally: I already told the other guy, West Side was just minding his own business having lunch here. You know people on this street throw away perfectly good food all the time?

Beckett: People just don't appreciate what they have. I know what you mean.

West Side Wally: It should be a crime! You should be arresting all these people. Orphans in Chinatown would be happy to take this of their hands.

Beckett: I'll bring it up to my captain. See what he thinks.

West Side Wally: Good, you do that. Of course that whole kidnapping is probably more important for him to be thinking about.

Beckett: Just a little. Anything you know that could help us get it done faster?

West Side Wally: Well, first off, it was totally werewolf hunters. But why werewolf hunters would be going after a blue blood I don't know.

Beckett: [... okay. So he knows about wolves] He's with one of the alphas in the city. We think he was made a target because of it.

West Side Wally: I didn't know Kirsanov played for the other team. Wow, wait till I tell the guys...

Derek: [walking over] West Side? That you?

West Side Wally: Blue! You hear that Kirsanov was into guys? When'd that happen?

Beckett: [chuckles softly] No, not Kirsanov. Laura Hale.

West Side Wally: Oh, her? Yeah... no yeah that makes more sense. Poor girl, hunter's probably cut him in half by now.

Beckett: Do you know which way they took him?

West Side Wally: Yeah, the van went that way. [points down the street in the direction that the one way street goes] And hung a left. Jersey plates. People in Jersey can't drive worth a damn.

Beckett: Think you can remember what the plate was?

West Side Wally: They all blur together. But it was black SUV.

Beckett: Black SUV, Jersey plates, went that way - [points in the direction he indicated] Is there anything else we should know? Anything you remember could be helpful.

West Side Wally: Yeah. If hunters are in town, Blue needs to keep his head down. Hunters ain't fond of blue eyes, even if he's a blue blood too.

Derek: Yeah, I know this one already. [hands Wally a $20] Go get yourself a real meal, alright. You're not a stray dog.

Beckett: Thank you, West Side.

West Side Wally: [ooo, a $20! He's going to own that dollar menu tonight!] Yeah, no problem.

Derek: Well, we can confirm it's Argents. And the vehicle matches the one that took Stiles.

Beckett: Which means we already have the plates, right?

Derek: Yeah. Time to play track the plates through the city, isn't it?