While Castle was deep in his lab at his estate, working on the revolutionary (or rather, plagiarized) visual stealth technology for fighter jets, the detailed whistleblower email he had sent to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) had already reached the hands of one of their diligent investigators.
In the United States, the IRS is a uniquely fearsome entity divided into two key operational branches:
The Civil Division – These are the office workers who handle the administrative side of tax collection. They generally don't deal with field operations or violent situations but take whistleblower reports very seriously, fearing no one when it comes to tax investigations.
The Enforcement Division – These are the field agents who handle violent tax evaders. They are the ones who show up at doors with armored vehicles, fully armed and ready to enforce tax compliance. No one can stop them once they're on a mission to collect unpaid taxes.
When Castle's whistleblower email landed in the inbox of a civil investigator at the IRS, its level of detail immediately triggered heightened attention within the New York branch.
Interestingly, despite being one of the most powerful enforcement agencies in the U.S., the IRS is technically a private company.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), often translated as "the U.S. Tax Authority," is not a government agency in the traditional sense. Its name, which translates literally to "Internal Revenue Department," gives the impression of a federal organization. But much like the Federal Reserve, it merely operates under the guise of a government entity. Though it is technically under the Department of the Treasury, the Treasury Secretary has little control over it and must actually take instructions from it. In reality, the IRS is a privately contracted company hired by the U.S. government to collect taxes.
Strangely enough, this "contractor" wields more personnel and firepower than even the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, or other federal enforcement agencies.
Castle's report, loaded with irrefutable evidence of tax evasion, explicitly outlined the long-standing misdeeds of the Black leaders and white liberal agitators who had been causing trouble at the NYPD headquarters. It provided details of their undeclared cash receipts, spanning over the past decade, and even connected the funds to specific protests they had been paid to organize. With an AI like Jarvis at his disposal, gathering this data was child's play for Castle.
The U.S. is a "land of taxes," where federal income tax rates range from 10% to 35%, depending on income levels, and state taxes add an additional layer of burden. Taxes are typically deducted directly from paychecks, and individuals must file their taxes by April 15 each year. Failing to pay up means continuing to send money to the government until the debt is cleared.
Castle's report, backed by meticulously compiled evidence, highlighted that these Blade Fist activists had received significant amounts of untraceable cash over the past five years but failed to report any of it to the IRS. To make it even easier for the investigators, Castle helpfully attached evidence showing how these funds had been used to stir up public unrest on behalf of their financial backers.
For the IRS, this was nothing short of a goldmine.
The investigators didn't even need to guess who these suspects were. A quick glance at their televisions, broadcasting live coverage of the protest outside NYPD headquarters, showed the very people listed in the report leading the protests.
The IRS, being no fool, recognized the calculated nature of this report—it was clearly a case of using the agency as a tool for "proxy retaliation." But did that matter to the IRS? Not in the slightest.
Their motto was clear: "Everyone pays taxes. No exceptions."
The NYPD might hesitate to confront these protestors due to political and social pressures, but the IRS had no such qualms. They weren't there to negotiate or play politics. Tax evasion was their domain, and anyone who dared to defy them would face the full force of their authority.
After verifying the evidence, the IRS immediately mobilized its field agents. Armored vehicles loaded with firepower more than capable of handling an alien invasion rolled out of their New York branch, heading straight for the NYPD headquarters.
Even knowing this might be a case of borrowed knives cutting someone else's throat, the IRS didn't care. The suspects had evaded taxes, and that was all that mattered. Violence? Let these fools try resisting tax collection.
In fact, the IRS owed its very existence to the need to enforce taxes with force. Established during the Civil War under President Lincoln, the IRS was authorized to use extreme measures to collect taxes for wartime funding. Personal income taxes weren't even a thing in the U.S. until the 1880s, but wartime necessity changed that. Lincoln himself authorized IRS employees to use force against violent tax resisters, a policy that still stands today.
And now, with nearly all the suspects conveniently gathered in one location—right outside NYPD headquarters—this was a golden opportunity for the IRS to strike. Their field agents wasted no time, organizing their heavily armed teams into action and heading straight for the scene.
At the protest site, the Blade Fist activists and white liberals had no idea what was coming. The extensive media coverage they had sought to amplify their message inadvertently broadcasted their exact location to the entire world. There they were, standing at the frontlines, blocking the NYPD headquarters while chanting slogans, confident that the police wouldn't dare touch them.
In fact, the organizers were feeling quite pleased with themselves. The addition of prominent white liberal activists, orchestrated by the Lockset organization, had amplified their credibility. At that moment, the leaders, including a dreadlocked Black organizer, were discussing their next steps. They had successfully smeared the NYPD, and now it was time to redirect the fire onto Castle, their ultimate target.
But then, a commotion erupted at the back of the protest crowd, interrupting their conversation. The noise quickly escalated, and the organizers initially assumed that the NYPD had finally snapped and decided to act. For professional agitators like these, that would have been a dream come true—escalation would only add fuel to their cause.
The dreadlocked leader even broke into a grin. If the police used force, he could claim victimhood and possibly earn a bonus from his sponsors for the extra chaos.
The police officers stationed around the protest, tasked with maintaining order despite being unable to act, also looked on in confusion. Had one of their colleagues lost their temper?
No.
The truth became clear when the crowd suddenly parted, creating a path for an incoming convoy.
A heavily armed armored vehicle, emblazoned with the large letters "IRS," rolled into view.
At that moment, everyone—protestors, reporters, and police alike—realized that the IRS had arrived.
The sight of the IRS's armored convoy caused a ripple of excitement among the media. Reporters quickly shifted their cameras to capture the scene, sensing a major story unfolding. This wasn't just a tax audit—it was something much bigger.
The protestors, previously chanting slogans with defiance, fell silent, watching the IRS field agents disembark in full tactical gear. Their equipment easily rivaled or surpassed that of the NYPD's elite ESU units. The Black protestors, naturally drawn to spectacle, whispered among themselves, speculating on what the IRS agents were there for.
Even the police were left scratching their heads, wondering what the IRS could possibly want at a protest.
The lead IRS agent, holding a file of dossiers, divided his team into several three-person groups. Addressing them in a low, firm voice, he said, "Our mission is to arrest these individuals for tax evasion. They're all here, gathered in one place. We'll have the full support of the NYPD, so don't worry about the surrounding protestors. Let's move."
With their targets identified and dossiers distributed, the teams dispersed into the crowd, heading straight for the suspects.
The protest leaders, still oblivious to the impending chaos, were about to learn a hard lesson: you can challenge the police, but you can't escape the IRS.
(End of Chapter)
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