"An ambush? Hide the FBI agents and police in Gianna's estate next door, and wait until these mercenaries attack here to kill them all? Are you insane?" Richard Castle's proposal to let the mercenaries make the first move before responding was met with a barrage of scolding from Beckett.
"Are you out of your mind? These guys are already armed with enough firepower for us to arrest them right now. Why wait for them to come here and start shooting? Even if their heavy weapons like rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles haven't arrived yet, can you guarantee that the guy transporting them won't show up after dark?"
Both Beckett and Joe vehemently opposed Castle's reckless plan, seeing it as unnecessarily dangerous and outright foolish.
But Castle had his own perspective: "Joe, your tactical teams and NYPD's SWAT units aren't necessarily equipped to take down armed opponents like these without casualties. My plan might seem risky, but it's actually the safest and most effective. My security team—led by Ivan—has far more experience in defensive operations, and with the defensive measures in my estate, this approach is more practical than just blowing the whistle and sending in reinforcements to arrest them.
"Besides," Castle continued, "I don't want Watanabe to end up in police custody, only to get released later due to political reasons. I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, wondering if he'll come back to pull something like this again. You understand the concept of 'eliminating threats before they grow,' right?"
Castle was unusually candid, perhaps because everyone in the room was a trusted ally. Although he would deny having said anything incriminating if questioned later, he felt the need to be upfront to convince Joe and Beckett, who were on the verge of reporting the situation to their superiors.
Watanabe, of course, wasn't an idiot. Castle's estate sat on the northern shore of Long Island, facing the calm waters of Long Island Sound. Across the bay were Stamford, Norwalk, and Bridgeport, with White Plains to the northwest. Watanabe and the mercenaries had decided to approach Castle's estate via two speedboats, attacking from the beach instead of storming the front gates. They believed this route would minimize the chances of being spotted by Castle's wealthy neighbors.
Ironically, this plan played right into Castle's hands. The beachfront was the most heavily fortified part of his estate, with concealed heavy machine gun bunkers ready to unleash hell on anyone attempting a seaborne assault. Upon learning of the mercenaries' plan to attack from the water and escape via the same route, Castle decided to lay his trap. He even planned to let John, itching for action, personally take care of Watanabe and send him to reunite with his son and nephew.
Joe and Beckett recognized the validity of Castle's reasoning. They knew that neither the FBI's tactical teams nor NYPD's SWAT units had the combat experience necessary to go toe-to-toe with the hardened mercenaries. These men, having fought for years in the war-torn Middle East, were leagues beyond the street-level criminals or even the most well-armed domestic threats that federal agents typically dealt with.
Castle's plan to lure the mercenaries into an ambush—allowing them to be eliminated by his defensive measures and Ivan's team—seemed like the best course of action. It maximized safety for law enforcement while ensuring the mercenaries were neutralized without unnecessary complications.
Statistics didn't favor law enforcement in such scenarios. Despite their portrayal in the media as sharpshooters, U.S. police officers had a less than 30% first-shot hit rate at close range. Even FBI tactical teams or NYPD SWAT could only do slightly better, and their experience was mostly against domestic criminals or Middle Eastern extremists rather than battle-hardened mercenaries.
Castle's plan to let law enforcement teams wait in Gianna's estate until the firefight began ensured their safety. Once the mercenaries were pinned down by Castle's machine gun bunkers and Ivan's team, the FBI and NYPD units would sweep in to clean up.
With Joe and Beckett now on board, they began mobilizing their teams. Meanwhile, Castle headed out to brief Ivan on the situation and share the latest intel, including the mercenaries' plan to attack via the beach. He also asked Ivan to enhance the defenses in that direction, suggesting the addition of flashbangs and flares to disrupt the mercenaries' night-vision goggles. Once the mercenaries landed, Castle's four M2 Browning heavy machine guns—remotely controlled by Jarvis—would lock down their position, preventing both advances and retreats.
Strangely, both Beckett and Joe, when reporting to their respective units, omitted any mention of Watanabe being the mastermind behind the planned assault. Castle noticed this act of discretion and was deeply grateful. He instructed John to use the distraction of the beach assault to eliminate Watanabe and his entourage. Castle also arranged for the Continental Hotel's cleanup crew to handle Watanabe's remains discreetly, ensuring the man would disappear without a trace.
Castle was certain that by the following day, the mercenaries' identities would be uncovered by the federal government. Since they had entered the U.S. on business visas alongside Watanabe at LaGuardia Airport, it would be impossible for authorities not to connect the dots and identify Watanabe as the mastermind.
As night fell, FBI agents led by Omar Jordan and Maggie arrived, along with a NYPD E.S.U. (Emergency Service Unit) team dispatched by Deputy Chief Montgomery. Both groups gathered in the state-of-the-art shooting range behind Gianna's estate, waiting for Castle's signal. Their orders were to flank the mercenaries from the rear once the attack on Castle's estate began.
Castle was confident in his head of security, Ivan, and his team. With matching equipment and the advantage of entrenched defensive positions, they were more than capable of handling the mercenaries. And if worse came to worst, Castle had a few surprises of his own: micro-guided missiles stashed around the estate, ready to obliterate the mercenaries' escape speedboats.
As for the potential damage to his pristine beachfront? Castle shrugged it off. Unlike Bruce Wayne, Castle wasn't "filthy rich," but he wasn't exactly strapped for cash, either. Replacing the sand on his beach would hardly dent his finances.
As darkness enveloped the estate, Watanabe and the mercenaries, now impatient, decided to move forward without waiting for Taro Hiroshi's heavy weapons shipment. Taro was still over 300 kilometers away, stuck on a convoluted detour. But the mercenaries believed the .50 caliber sniper rifles Watanabe had provided would suffice as fire support, so they resolved to attack later that night.
What was Castle doing during all this? While Ivan's team prepared their ambush positions, Castle suddenly remembered a forgotten asset: a batch of "Cornflower" automated mortars he had purchased long ago. He ventured into his armory and, after some searching, found four of the powerful weapons tucked away in a hidden corner. Overjoyed, he immediately summoned Ivan to deploy them.
"Boss… isn't this overkill?" Ivan stood in front of the four automated mortars, his jaw practically on the floor.
Castle grinned. "Overkill? Nah, it's just… efficient. Let's give our uninvited guests a warm welcome they'll never forget."
(End of Chapter)
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