The body of Hasim Farrouque, a Saudi national and student at Columbia University (where Alexis studies at), is found on a sidewalk, the victim of a hit-and-run that knocked him out of his shoes. A high-tech custom weapon belonging to Hasim is found nearby, and it seems that the victim shot at the driver before he was killed. Farrouqe is discovered to be a former Saudi forces officer monitoring Sara El-Masri, a fellow Columbia student who is the daughter of a rich Egyptian magnate. Traffic camera footage reveals that Sara was kidnapped by whoever was driving the van that killed Farrouque, and that Farrouque died trying to save her. Sara's father Anwar El-Masri reveals that he hired Farrouque to secretly protect his daughter as her bodyguard, for situations like this. Sara's roommate reveals she attended a "science thing" that night, which turns out to be a panel on global warming. But she wasn't alone, she brought a redhead friend...who turns out to be Alexis. Castle calls her to try and clear things up...and finds her phone in the lost and found, where it was put after being discovered outside the building, leading to one conclusion: Alexis was kidnapped along with Sara.
With the El-Masris being a high-profile Egyptian family, the FBI is called in to oversee the kidnapping case, overseen by Agent Harris (Dylan Walsh). His reassurances that everyone is doing everything in their power don't dissuade Castle any more than they dissuade the El-Masris. The only clue they have to go on is the man that pulled Sara back into the van, a man the FBI recognizes as a low-rank narcotics smuggler, Roger Henson. The lack of a ransom points to a revenge plot against the El-Masris, who have many enemies back in Egypt. Castle, distraught, returns home and watches Alexis' last video blog from Columbia...in which she mentions her and her friend Sara attending the panel that night. As he calls that information in, the FBI finds the van, but they don't tell Castle because it contains a lot of blood. Luckily for both Castle and the El-Masris, it's neither Alexis' nor Sara's. The theory is that after Hasim shot the driver, the kidnappers transferred Alexis and Sara to another vehicle, a black SUV that left the area shortly after the van arrived.
Meanwhile, somewhere else, Alexis and Sara wake up to a non-descript, soundproof room with a bathroom and a locked door. They try and reason their way out of the situation, and come to the conclusion that they were kidnapped for Sara's father's money. The bathroom is well-stocked, and the kidnappers are giving them food through a slot in the door.
The police locate the injured driver, Douglas Stevens, through his sister, who didn't show up at work that day in order to patch her brother's gunshot wounds. Stevens is reluctant to tell Beckett where they took the girls, then Castle wants a word alone with him. He tells Stevens that he's the redhead's father, and that he'll do whatever it takes to get her back. After Stevens balks at him, cut to Beckett's reaction to Stevens' agonizing screams. Stevens yields and reveals that the target point is a farm outside the city. Beckett later asks Castle what he did; Castle only quietly answers, "I appealed to his humanity."
The FBI finds the farm and starts the raid. At about the same time, Alexis and Sara work out their plan to escape; try and gain their captors' trust. When a captor asks for the food tray back, they try and talk to him, but he's called away by a man speaking Arabic. Sara translates the bark: "we've got company". The FBI completes the raid, but finds nothing but the body of Roger Henson, who was tortured and killed by whoever took Alexis and Sara. Meanwhile, the girls improvise Plan B: Picking the lock with one of Sara's bobby pins. It works; they're free. Alexis tells Sara to split up to increase the chances that one of them would be rescued. Alexis soon finds a room that monitored the farmhouse...and a phone. She dials 911 and fails, then Skypes her dad, whose phone has FBI tracers all over it. She manages to speak with Castle before dropping the phone and leaving once her captors notice they're gone. The FBI traces the call just as Alexis escapes out to a rooftop...in Paris, with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Her scream for help to the bystanders below is cut off by her captor grabbing her...
Tropes in this episode:
- Beware the Silly Ones: Castle proves to be scary when his daughter is in danger, going so far as to torture Douglas Stevens for her last known location. It's likely Castle recalled some torture techniques from his novel research for this occasion.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Beckett leaves Castle alone with the guy who was driving the van that kidnapped Alexis. All we hear are the man's screams.Beckett: I didn't know you had that side to you.
Castle: Well, when it comes to the people I love, I do. - Five-Second Foreshadowing: After escaping, Alexis was unable to dial 9-1-1 from a phone she found as the number was unavailable, hinting that she was no longer in the US.
- It's Personal: Alexis is kidnapped. Everyone in the twelfth, even Iron Gates pulls together to help Castle get his daughter back, no matter what.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Castle loses his cool when he realizes his daughter was also taken. So does everyone else in the twelfth.
- The driver who got shot realizes he's in deep trouble when he learns that he's facing the father of one of the girls he helped kidnap.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Beckett is disturbed when the normally jovial Castle uses torture to coerce information from a suspect.
- Papa Wolf: Mr. El-Masri will pay anything to get his daughter back. Castle will do anything to get his daughter back.
