Beckett suddenly remembered that her subordinate, Esposito, had reported to her that morning about a mysterious old man visiting Castle's estate the previous night. Esposito had mentioned that Castle acted as though he were meeting his idol when he received a call from the old man.
After the man arrived, he and Castle had gone upstairs to talk privately. Castle didn't reveal much about the conversation, only hinting that the man held an incredibly dangerous position, the kind that even the CIA would find troublesome.
With this in mind, Beckett understood why Castle was reluctant to discuss the matter over the phone. She decided not to press further, turning and walking into the FBI's New York field office, where she planned to wait for Bob to finish giving his statement before taking him out of there.
Beckett knew full well that this situation was beyond the scope of a small-town NYPD precinct captain, so she wasn't opposed to some of Castle's arrangements.
However, Beckett was unaware that her phone call to Castle, followed by her quick return to calm after hanging up, had not gone unnoticed by FBI New York Director Hughes, who had been keeping an eye on her.
Hughes had long suspected that the stunningly beautiful NYPD captain might be involved in the case. After all, who wouldn't find it suspicious that she had surrounded the building where the five suspects were holed up even before they had taken action? It suggested that Beckett had known about the assassination plot beforehand. Yet, instead of preventing it, she waited until afterward to arrest the perpetrators, effectively slapping the FBI in the face.
To make matters worse, Hughes couldn't even complain, as he had to thank the NYPD for handing the case over to the FBI. However, once Hughes understood the full extent of the situation, he realized he'd been duped—this was a mess he wanted nothing to do with.
So, when Beckett brought Bob Lee Swagger to the office to give his statement, Hughes seized the opportunity to observe her more closely. But just as he began his scrutiny, a murder occurred right across the street from the FBI's building. And the victim? None other than Colonel Johnson, the mastermind behind the previous day's assassination attempt. Coincidence, or something else entirely? Hughes wasn't sure, but what he did know was that with Johnson's death, a significant amount of pressure had been lifted from the FBI. At least now, he wouldn't have to get involved in the political tug-of-war between the two major parties.
That's when Hughes noticed Beckett making a phone call. At first, he didn't think much of it, but when he saw her go from frantic to calm in a matter of moments, he realized that she must have received some insider information. What kind of information? Most likely about the identities of the two elderly men the witnesses had seen at the crime scene. Hughes, with his nearly thirty years of experience in the FBI, immediately deduced that the person Beckett was talking to was her writer boyfriend, Castle.
Hughes knew that Castle had been on Peter Burke's radar ever since the Vincent Adler case, and they had learned that Castle was now a shareholder and chief advisor for Northrop Grumman's new drone development project. Burke had even sent Diana and Jones to the 12th Precinct under the guise of a joint investigation to secretly observe Castle. Hughes was well aware that Castle had access to a highly reliable intelligence network.
Hughes had considered collaborating with Castle, thinking that such a partnership could bring major success to the FBI's New York office. However, Castle seemed inexplicably fixated on staying with the 12th Precinct, even becoming Beckett's boyfriend. This made it difficult for Hughes to figure out how to bring Castle into the fold.
Unlike Hughes, who was feeling relieved after Johnson's death, Castle was on the phone with Frank. He wasn't chastising the old man for suddenly killing Johnson but was trying to understand how things had escalated so quickly.
Frank explained that while he was scouting the venue for Vice President Andrew's fundraiser, he had accidentally spotted Johnson. Marvin, without a word, had taken matters into his own hands and shot Johnson, fed up with him for disrupting their retirement.
Castle could only sigh and put down the phone, lamenting how unpredictable things had turned out.
Still, Castle wasn't too upset. After all, he had never planned on personally killing Johnson—he had left that up to Bob to settle the score. Now that Johnson had been shot by Marvin, Castle was okay with the outcome.
In fact, this resolution wasn't entirely unacceptable for both Senator Charles Hahn and Vice President Andrew. It gave them a bit more time to prepare for their impending showdown. For Castle, it also meant that the mission he had received from his system was halfway complete.
The part about clearing Bob's name had already been taken care of, thanks to Castle's intervention. Bob had been under Castle's protection from the start, and with Beckett's team arresting the real shooters, Bob had gone from a suspect to a witness without ever being formally charged.
Now, with Johnson dead, all that remained for Castle to do was to ensure that Senator Charles Hahn and Vice President Andrew received their comeuppance. For Castle, this was great news.
With Frank and his team likely to expose Andrew's hypocrisy at the fundraising dinner, and with Bob Lee Swagger determined to hunt down Senator Hahn, the stage was set for justice to be served. Senator Hahn had truly sealed his own fate by trying to use the world's most lethal sniper as a scapegoat.
Did Hahn really think Bob Lee Swagger, the most dangerous sniper alive, would just roll over and take it? Bob had been underestimated, and now Hahn's days were numbered. Bob wasn't the kind of man to let someone who wronged him walk away unscathed. If Hahn had any doubts, he only had to look at the fate of the officer who had abandoned Bob and his spotter during a mission in Africa. That man had mysteriously disappeared shortly after Bob returned to base.
After hanging up, Castle headed into the estate's main house to update Neal and Mozzie on the situation. As expected, when Mozzie heard that Frank had unexpectedly run into Johnson and killed him, his first thought was that Senator Hahn had dodged a bullet and escaped from the chaos.
After hearing Mozzie's theory, Castle couldn't help but laugh. "Have you forgotten about Bob? He'll be back soon. Beckett's going to bring him over once he finishes at the FBI. Do you really think Bob will just let the mastermind behind this plot, Senator Hahn, get away with it?"
Neal laughed aloud. "You're right. When I spoke with Bob last night, I could tell he's not the kind of guy to let things slide. Castle, did you plan all of this?"
Castle grinned proudly. "Ask the little guy over there. When we pulled Bob's file from the Pentagon's database, I said this man isn't someone to mess with lightly. He has a history of taking matters into his own hands."
The little guy nodded in agreement. "Castle's right. I've looked into Bob's records. Back in Africa, after he was abandoned by his commanding officer, that officer mysteriously disappeared. That's why Bob left the military."
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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