If Lockheed Martin managed to "win over" Castle by helping him "deal with problems," Boeing knew it would lose significant ground in the upcoming military retrofit contracts. With Castle's support, Lockheed would undoubtedly outpace Boeing and secure the lion's share of future contracts.
This was a scenario that Boeing's board of directors simply could not allow.
If Lockheed could help Castle with his troubles, why couldn't Boeing, the world's largest civilian aircraft manufacturer and the third-largest U.S. defense contractor?
Of course, there was no need to directly compete with Lockheed's black-ops team, which had already been dispatched to New York to eliminate the mercenaries. Instead, Boeing could turn its focus on the root of the issue: HAL's board member Rajad.
Feeling the pressure, Boeing's upper management swiftly mobilized its intelligence network and began strategizing. Their sole goal? Win Castle's goodwill before Lockheed could monopolize his favor.
Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman was also in turmoil.
Among the three companies, Northrop should have had the closest relationship with Castle. However, their short-sighted board had strained this relationship when they sided with Japan during the Alexis kidnapping incident, alienating Castle.
As a result, Northrop lost its exclusive hold on Castle's cutting-edge technologies. Worse, Lockheed swooped in to capitalize on the fallout, followed shortly by Boeing. This turn of events left Northrop's chairman furious, particularly as the board's poor decisions had jeopardized a partnership that had brought them substantial technical advantages in the past.
Now, instead of maintaining their comfortable lead in military aviation technology, Northrop found itself scrambling to keep up with its competitors.
Although Northrop had secured contracts to upgrade the B-2 stealth bomber and made progress on the X-47B unmanned stealth combat aircraft using Castle's previous contributions, it was clear that the military retrofit contracts represented a massive opportunity. Losing out would be devastating.
Their engineers could use Castle's technology proficiently, but without fully understanding it, they wouldn't be able to innovate or develop the next generation of systems. This left Northrop at a disadvantage compared to its rivals, who were aggressively pursuing Castle.
To regain the initiative, Northrop decided to play to its strengths.
They assigned two key figures to repair the relationship with Castle: Mark, the director of aerospace technology who had worked closely with Castle in the past, and a senior vice president who had facilitated the acquisition of military drone reconnaissance systems for Castle.
In a private meeting, Northrop's CEO laid out their marching orders:
"Do whatever it takes to ensure Castle doesn't align with Lockheed or Boeing. At the very least, maintain the current status quo where none of us have his exclusive cooperation. Mark, use your good relationship with Castle to stay close to him. Even if he won't come to us, you go to him. Learn as much as you can about the technical challenges he's working on, especially regarding the stealth technology. And don't forget to consult him about the issues we encountered with the semi-autonomous flight control systems and the B-2 upgrades."
Armed with this directive and full authorization to act independently, the two Northrop executives boarded a private jet bound for New York.
On the flight, the senior vice president vented his frustrations about the board's earlier blunders, while Mark silently reflected on the weight of their mission.
Northrop's strategy was clear: if they couldn't get Castle to visit their headquarters, they would bring their requests to him. Leveraging their past relationship with Castle, Mark and the vice president planned to capitalize on his aversion to conflict and refusal to turn down direct appeals for help.
As all three companies scrambled to secure Castle's favor, he remained blissfully unaware of the brewing storm.
Instead, he was relishing the cleverness of his plan to fend off Lockheed's advances while keeping them at arm's length. Although Castle hadn't fully grasped the true extent of his influence, he was proud of his ability to handle the corporate giants' overtures without committing himself.
For Castle, the details of their ultimate motives were secondary. He remembered a phrase from his past life: "Take the sugar coating, but return the bullet."
Lockheed's intervention had solved his immediate problem: convincing Beckett to back off from her principled stance. The previous night's argument had ended with Beckett angrily kicking him out of the bedroom, and Castle was determined to avoid further straining their relationship.
Back at the NYPD, Beckett was both relieved and perplexed.
When she heard that Lockheed had taken over the mercenary issue, she found herself caught between gratitude and disbelief. How had her boyfriend—an author—become such a valuable asset that multiple defense giants were vying for him?
While Beckett knew Castle was a brilliant inventor with a knack for creating groundbreaking technologies, she hadn't fully grasped their military implications. As a police officer, such matters were outside her purview, leaving her puzzled as to why companies like Lockheed, Boeing, and Northrop held him in such high regard.
Castle, on the other hand, wasn't dwelling on the technical details. His priorities were clear: ensuring his household peace and rebuilding harmony with Beckett.
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on Castle. While Lockheed, Boeing, and Northrop were busy plotting their next moves, Castle had one simple goal: to keep his personal life intact.
He wasn't wrong to prioritize Beckett, given her strong-willed nature and principled stance. Yet, Castle also knew that the corporate chessboard was shifting beneath him, and he needed to stay one step ahead.
Unbeknownst to him, Northrop's Mark and the vice president were already en route, armed with their company's plans to reestablish themselves as Castle's preferred partner. Meanwhile, Boeing, eager to counter Lockheed's advantage, was preparing its own strategy to win over the elusive "key player."
As Castle reflected on his recent successes and challenges, he couldn't shake the feeling that his life was becoming increasingly entangled in a web of corporate machinations.
"Let them come," he thought with a grin, sipping his coffee. "The bigger they are, the harder they'll work to please me."
For now, Castle was content to let the giants clash while he played his cards close to his chest. The battle for his expertise was far from over, and Castle knew that the real game had only just begun.
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