There was another crucial detail that Richard Castle didn't know: the two brothers, Taro Hiroshi and Jiro Hiroshi, had a deep personal connection to the late Watanabe Taro. Both had benefited greatly from Watanabe Taro's help in the past. This was the primary reason why the impulsive and single-minded Jiro Hiroshi had willingly come to New York to contribute to avenging Watanabe Taro.
Due to the tight-knit and secretive nature of Japanese Yakuza, especially their minimal interaction with outsiders in the U.S., Castle had no way of uncovering this connection. Japanese gang members in America rarely communicated with white or other ethnic gangs, and their strict discipline meant that almost no internal information leaked to the outside world. Even with Jarvis's advanced capabilities for scouring publicly available data, Castle was unaware that not only was Watanabe preparing to strike with a team of mercenaries, but two brothers—armed with heavy weaponry—were also targeting him from the shadows.
From the U.S.-Canada border to New York, the three Yakuza teams transporting Watanabe's weapons and equipment each took different routes to reduce the chance of being caught in one fell swoop by law enforcement. This precaution was something Watanabe himself endorsed, as he was well aware of Castle's close ties with the NYPD. However, this arrangement caused a delay: while two teams successfully delivered their shipments of automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and precision rifles, Taro Hiroshi—responsible for transporting four RPG launchers and two TOW anti-tank missiles—had yet to arrive.
To ensure maximum discretion, Taro had turned off his and his partner's phones after picking up the cargo. This left Watanabe with no way to contact him. Unfortunately, Taro's route was the one unlucky path heavily scrutinized by law enforcement—not because of him, but because of an unrelated serial killer investigation. Police had locked down the area after identifying the suspect, blocking all routes.
This forced Taro, who was driving a minivan loaded with military-green crates containing the RPGs and anti-tank missiles, to take a detour of over 300 kilometers around the police roadblocks. Unsurprisingly, this caused him to miss the scheduled delivery time.
Adding to the communication gap, Taro had been explicitly instructed not to contact anyone in the organization during transport, a precaution meant to prevent law enforcement from tracing calls. His strict adherence to these orders, combined with the Yakuza's inherent rigidity and the watchful presence of his partner, led him to forgo even a single call to explain the situation.
This lack of communication created significant disruptions in both Castle's and Watanabe's plans.
Meanwhile, the mercenaries at Watanabe's temporary base were busy calibrating their weapons and preparing for the assault, completely unaware that every move they made was being recorded in crystal-clear 8K resolution by a hovering drone in "stealth mode." The drone's laser microphones picked up every word of their casual conversation, including their plan to launch an attack on Castle's estate—located just five kilometers northwest—after nightfall.
Inside Castle's study, he, Gianna, Beckett, and Joe Martinez were listening intently to the mercenaries' discussions. Every detail of the assault plan was laid bare. The four couldn't help but feel dumbfounded at the audacity of Watanabe and his hired killers.
Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, John—the former world's top assassin—was tasked with babysitting his daughter. The highly skilled marksman had been deemed "not qualified" to participate in tactical planning, as the study was dominated by strong-willed women. His only job, according to them, was to take orders, pick up a gun, and kill when the time came. Resigned to his fate, John focused on keeping his crawling, drooling daughter out of trouble while her mother was busy with strategy discussions.
The overheard conversations revealed Watanabe's desperation. He was ready to risk everything to kill Castle. The mercenaries' fee for this mission was a whopping $10 million. Of this, 30% went to the mercenary group itself, while the remaining $7 million would be split among the ten mercenaries present. To further motivate them, Watanabe promised an additional $1 million reward to whoever killed Castle personally, and $500,000 for eliminating Ivan, whom Watanabe had learned was the one who had thrown his nephew into a volcano.
These promises electrified the mercenaries, most of whom were already accustomed to lawless operations in the Middle East. The thought of such generous payouts had them howling with excitement.
Watanabe had also arranged for the Yakuza members who delivered the weapons to provide an escape route for the mercenaries after the operation. They were to smuggle the team out of New York and into Canada, where Watanabe had prepared further resources to facilitate their escape from North America entirely. With such an airtight plan, the mercenary leader decided there was no need to wait for the RPGs and anti-tank missiles to arrive.
Fearing that delays could lead to unforeseen complications, the mercenaries opted to proceed with the attack at nightfall. In their minds, Castle's estate was just a writer's residence—how much security could it possibly have? A team of Russian bodyguards? They'd fought Russians before in the Middle East. In fact, many of them had faced former Soviet soldiers turned mercenaries. Why should they be intimidated?
The top-tier equipment Watanabe had provided further boosted their confidence. While the RPGs were still en route, they had large-caliber sniper rifles and precision marksman rifles, which they considered more than sufficient for the job. They saw no reason to wait any longer for Taro's delayed delivery.
Listening to the mercenaries' brazen plans, the four people in Castle's study were stunned. The sheer audacity of these attackers, planning such an open assault in a wealthy neighborhood, showed a blatant disregard for New York's 40,000 police officers and the FBI.
Joe Martinez, unable to remain calm, immediately began reaching for her phone. As the head of the FBI's Joint Command Center in New York, she could not allow armed mercenaries to storm a residence in an affluent area without intervention. Such an event would be catastrophic for both public safety and the FBI's reputation.
Beckett, equally concerned, grew serious. Like Joe, she knew the NYPD would face severe backlash if it became known that they had prior knowledge of the attack but failed to act. She couldn't afford to stay silent.
Even Gianna was caught off guard. She hadn't expected the mercenaries to act so hastily, planning to strike on the very night they arrived in New York. From their perspective, a quick operation minimized exposure, but this development disrupted the careful plans she and Castle had laid. With both Joe and Beckett reaching for their phones, Gianna knew it was pointless to stop them from mobilizing their teams.
Castle, however, had other ideas. Before Joe and Beckett could make their calls, he calmly told them to wait.
"I have a different plan," he said, a hint of resolve in his voice.
(End of Chapter)
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