While Castle observed the intense rivalry between Boeing and Lockheed Martin over military retrofit contracts, Neal, who had been closely monitoring Sky Aviation's stock, finally detected movement from Le Chiffre.
As Castle had foreseen, Le Chiffre began heavily shorting Sky Aviation's stock. However, Castle's earlier instructions to Neal and Gianna to buy up large quantities of the company's circulating shares on the market forced Le Chiffre to invest even more money than Castle had remembered from his previous life. This discrepancy, combined with Neal's meticulous surveillance of the stock's unusual fluctuations, quickly brought the matter to Castle's attention.
Diverting his focus from the corporate clash between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Castle immediately instructed Jarvis to locate Le Chiffre and James Bond. It turned out that Bond had already tracked Le Chiffre's subordinate, who planned to "make headlines" tomorrow night, to Miami. This confirmed that the situation was entering its most critical phase.
According to intelligence, Sky Aviation was set to showcase its latest wide-body passenger aircraft in Miami tonight. This would also mark the plane's first public flight—a milestone moment for what was touted as the world's largest aircraft.
Castle wasn't worried about the stock market, as Neal and Gianna were keeping close watch. Instead, he composed an email to Chief Howard of the Miami Police Department, warning that "terrorists" were planning to sabotage the maiden flight by destroying the prototype aircraft.
However, Castle deliberately refrained from sharing photographs or detailed descriptions of Le Chiffre's operative. His intention wasn't to have Miami PD preemptively arrest the saboteur but rather to increase security around the plane. Le Chiffre's subordinate was best left for Bond to handle, ensuring the secret agent's investigation would naturally lead to Le Chiffre, who was currently watching events unfold from Montenegro.
Meanwhile, the stock market was already reacting to the news of the aircraft's maiden flight. Investors who had previously written off Sky Aviation began to regain confidence, causing the stock price to soar when the market opened.
This sharp rise, however, created a dilemma for Le Chiffre. To cover his short positions, he was forced to pour additional funds into the market, draining his already limited resources.
Le Chiffre began noticing anomalies in the stock's behavior: despite the positive news driving up prices, the volume of shares being traded was unusually low. He realized something was amiss but had no choice but to double down.
Le Chiffre had bet over $200 million—money that belonged to one of his clients, a powerful African warlord. He planned to cash in on the stock's collapse after his operative destroyed the prototype aircraft. But if his plan failed, Le Chiffre knew the consequences would be dire.
At this point, the heavily invested Le Chiffre could only hope his operative succeeded in sabotaging the plane before it could take off.
Unbeknownst to him, Le Chiffre wasn't just being watched by Castle and his team. His involvement in laundering money for warlords and funding terrorist operations had also drawn the attention of MI6. The British intelligence agency had dispatched their rookie agent, James Bond, to apprehend him. Bond was now hot on the trail of Le Chiffre's operative in Miami.
Having analyzed Jarvis's intelligence and confirmed that Le Chiffre's plan was unlikely to succeed, Castle shifted his attention to more pressing personal matters. He left the task of monitoring Bond and Le Chiffre's operative to Neal and Gianna while contemplating how to extricate himself from the growing competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Castle knew there was no need for him to get directly involved in the clash. While he technically held shares in both companies and had an interest in their success, aligning with one would inevitably alienate the other.
Castle also recognized that both companies had the technical expertise to fully utilize the stealth technology he had provided—it was only a matter of time. His involvement would add little to the process and might even put him at risk. The safest course of action was to stay out of the fray entirely.
Thus, Castle decided to remain at home and postpone his planned visit to Northrop Grumman to check on the "Super Tomcat" project until things settled down.
This decision, however, would lead to unforeseen consequences.
Rajad's Defiance
Rajad, a 33-year-old high-caste Kshatriya from a prominent Indian family, was born into privilege. Raised in a world of entitlement, Rajad had been sent to London, the former colonial capital, for what was deemed a "gentleman's education." While his academic achievements were unremarkable, he returned to India after completing his studies to take a seat on the board of Stan Aviation, the country's only aerospace corporation capable of designing, manufacturing, and servicing aircraft.
Despite his Western education, Rajad had not become a refined businessman. Instead, the caste-based superiority instilled in him from childhood had warped his mindset. While he remained deferential in London, back home, he acted like a king, treating those of lower caste origins as mere servants.
Recently, Rajad had been humiliated in a board meeting, where the company's chairman had harshly criticized him. This public scolding only fueled his defiant and vengeful nature.
Though his initial plan to coerce Castle into handing over his technology had been rejected by the chairman, Rajad remained determined. Reading through Castle's dossier, Rajad acknowledged that his original plan was simplistic and reckless. But he was undeterred.
"Am I supposed to back down now? Ridiculous!"
Even if the chairman forbade him from using force, Rajad was confident he could find another way to obtain Castle's technology. If the previous collaboration with French partners fell through, he would simply act on his own.
Rajad's resolve to prove himself led him to ignore Castle's ongoing efforts to negotiate directly with the chairman. Castle had already approached Stan Aviation's leadership with a candid explanation: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing were all utilizing his technology. Even the US military was aware of it. Castle questioned whether Stan Aviation could realistically compete with such powerful entities.
The chairman, understanding the situation's gravity, had agreed to Castle's terms and promised to cease any hostility toward him. However, this agreement was never communicated to Rajad, either intentionally or due to oversight.
Consequently, Rajad, unaware of the truce, continued plotting. The breakdown in communication had created a dangerous misunderstanding, setting the stage for a series of unintended consequences.
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