Deputy Chief Montgomery sat in the police car driven by Beckett, heading toward the 12th Precinct. Along the way, this old boss of Beckett, who had now gained a basic understanding of the assassination case, took the opportunity to carefully review the details with her. Upon learning that his subordinate had already been aware of the case's general situation three days ago—and that she had planned the operation together with Castle, the sly fox—Montgomery immediately cast aside his earlier worries.
He knew that even though Beckett might not be the most politically savvy and could occasionally act rashly, Castle, the cunning one, would never let his girlfriend fall into a trap. Now that Castle had secretly brought back to the station a crucial witness in the case, the sniper who was likely meant to be the scapegoat by the masterminds behind the conspiracy, Montgomery couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Feeling more at ease, he finally had the chance to discuss Senator William Bracken's situation with Beckett. "Beckett, you know, I've always been aware of what was going on with Senator William, but back then, my influence was too weak. I could only protect you from the shadows without telling you the whole truth…"
Beckett, still driving, cut him off. After all, this man had truly protected her for the past ten years, promoting her from a patrol officer to a detective and eventually helping her become the youngest precinct captain in NYPD history. "Sir, you don't need to feel guilty. Castle has already told me everything about what happened back then. If anything, I should be grateful to you.
Without your protection, I would've been silenced by William's lackeys long ago!
And besides, isn't Senator William already in prison?
He's received the punishment he deserves!
This case today also happened because of him. If it weren't for Charles Hawn, the Montana senator from the same Republican faction as William, this incident wouldn't have occurred at all!
What we need to focus on now is how to present ourselves when we hand this case over to the Secret Service and the FBI, who are desperate to save face."
Having fully grasped the situation, Montgomery didn't hesitate to respond. "That sniper, the one who was misled, must remain in the custody of the NYPD. There's no room for negotiation. If we hand him over to the FBI, who knows what kind of mess will ensue?
As for the five men you captured at the scene, they don't really matter. When we get back to the precinct, we'll put on a show of interrogating them. Whether they talk or not is irrelevant. We'll hand them over. By now, I'm sure the media is already reporting on the case, and they must know that the NYPD apprehended the culprits right after the incident. My only concern is that the people behind this might have also caught wind of the news. Before they can make a move, we should toss this hot potato to the FBI, who are desperate to prove themselves.
We all know the FBI and CIA are old rivals!"
"Ha ha ha…" Their car filled with laughter.
Montgomery and Beckett's assessment was spot on. At this moment, Colonel Johnson was far from the calm, composed figure he had been in front of Bob Lee Swagger and Senator Hawn. He had just learned from the New York media that his men had been apprehended by the NYPD less than five minutes after they fired the shot.
As he cursed the NYPD for being so competent, Johnson frantically dialed the number of his co-conspirator, Senator Charles Hawn of Montana. Panic was setting in because, according to the news reports, there wasn't even a mention of Bob Lee Swagger—the man Johnson had planned to frame as the fall guy. Instead, headlines were ablaze with stories like "CIA Agents Plot to Assassinate Vice President Andrew." Johnson immediately sensed something had gone terribly wrong, and he needed to quickly coordinate with Senator Hawn to devise a response.
Caught off guard by these unexpected developments, Johnson realized that he hadn't prepared any contingency plans. Worse still, the five men arrested by the NYPD were his most trusted confidants—men who knew all his dirty secrets and scandals.
Johnson was baffled, unable to understand how everything had spiraled out of control so quickly. His original plan had been foolproof. After luring Bob Lee Swagger out under the pretext of helping him find the best sniper position, he'd exposed the unsuspecting Bob to New York's ubiquitous surveillance cameras. He'd then used the targeting system connected to Bob's sniper rifle scope to fire from a different height in the same building. Afterward, FBI agents he had bribed were supposed to "arrive just in time" and "accidentally discover" the sniper's presence.
But somehow, before his men could even clean up and retreat after the shot, the NYPD had swooped in and arrested them. Not even his well-paid FBI agents managed to enter the building.
Even worse, from his recent phone conversation with his FBI contact, Johnson had learned that Bob Lee Swagger had never even shown up!
Did this mean that Bob had somehow figured out his plan all along?
If so, how did things end up like this?
Unable to make sense of the situation, Johnson had no choice but to call Senator Charles Hawn for help.
Senator Hawn, however, was fuming when he received Johnson's call. He knew far more than Johnson did at this point. He had already learned that Johnson's men had successfully assassinated the African dignitary, sending a clear message to Vice President Andrew. But those idiots had been caught by a female NYPD captain named Beckett while they were trying to escape, with the sniper rifle that killed the African guest still intact.
To make matters worse, Johnson's men had been carrying their CIA credentials with them.
Now, the entire nation was engulfed in a media frenzy, with headlines blaring that the assassination attempt on Vice President Andrew had been orchestrated by the CIA!
Vice President Andrew had also caught wind of the news, and the Democrats in Congress had already begun targeting the CIA headquarters in Langley. At this point, Senator Hawn had no time to deal with Johnson's mess.
All he could do was hope that Johnson's other plan—using retired CIA operatives from R.E.D. to go after Vice President Andrew—would work.
Right now, Hawn's main priority was distancing himself from the entire affair.
So, after offering Johnson a few terse words of advice, Hawn hung up the phone. Given the current situation, Senator Hawn already knew that Vice President Andrew had likely figured out the real identity of the assassins at the same time as himself. There was no way the Democrats would let the Republicans undermine their candidate for the upcoming presidential race. Retribution from the Democratic Party was inevitable, and even someone as daring as Hawn wasn't about to expose himself as the mastermind behind the incident.
But neither Senator Charles Hawn nor Vice President Andrew knew that someone with a god-like perspective had been silently monitoring the entire situation from the shadows.
Castle, after quietly bringing Bob Lee Swagger back to the precinct and getting his statement alongside Ryan, stood up to greet Beckett and Hughes, the FBI director, who had arrived at the precinct with the officers transporting the five suspects.
The Secret Service head did not follow, having gone to report to Vice President Andrew, who was now in a secure location. It was almost certain that the investigation would soon be handed over to the FBI.
Castle, however, wasn't concerned about any of this. His only worry was whether Bob, the unlucky soul currently sipping coffee in the break room, would also be handed over to the FBI. To be honest, Castle didn't trust the FBI, which, in his opinion, had just as little integrity as the CIA.
As soon as Beckett and Deputy Chief Montgomery entered the room, Castle ignored Hughes trailing behind them and pulled Beckett aside to express his concerns.
After learning that the NYPD had no intention of handing Bob over, Castle finally relaxed. He decided to sit back and watch the show, curious to see how Beckett and Montgomery would handle the cunning Hughes.
------------------
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