When it came to making money—especially an absurd amount of it—everyone in the room was immediately filled with energy and motivation. Once each person finalized their responsibilities, they wasted no time and went full throttle in assembling the team that would accompany Castle to Sri Lanka.
Admiral Cole, in particular, was in a rush to return and immediately reroute the fleet currently patrolling the Indian Ocean. The new course would take them near India's waters. This fleet, composed of a Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser and two Arleigh Burke-class missile destroyers, would promptly move to the designated area. They would remain on standby to provide the closest possible security cover once Castle and the team—made up of personnel from the three aircraft manufacturing companies—arrived in Sri Lanka, scouted the Kerala temple, and started excavating and transporting the treasure.
After all, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser had helicopters on board. If Castle's excavation team ran into any trouble, they could deploy quickly for assistance.
And as for the Indian Air Force?
Ha! Against the Aegis-equipped missile cruiser and destroyers with their anti-air and cruise missiles, they were nothing but sitting ducks.
The CEO of Boeing wasted no time, immediately assigning a luxury aircraft to fly to Long Island to pick up Castle and his family, along with Gianna and John's family. This plane would transport them all the way to Jaffna, Sri Lanka—half a world away from the U.S.—where they would be positioned just across the sea from their target.
Though this location was still quite far from Kerala, it was the closest they could safely get. Meanwhile, the three naval ships would hold position in the Nine Degree Channel, west of Kochi, getting as close as possible to India's coastline to provide cover for Castle's operation.
At times like this, nothing showcased human greed and ambition better than the power of money—especially an obscene amount of money.
Strangely, despite how far-fetched Castle's proposal might seem, neither the seasoned politicians, the battle-hardened generals, nor the war-profiteering arms dealers had any doubts or hesitation. They all took Castle's words at face value.
This left Castle a bit puzzled after he saw them off to make their respective preparations.
It was Gianna who bluntly explained the reason:
"Rick, do you even have any reason to lie to them?
And about something like this, no less?
You might not have realized it yet, but you've already climbed to their level. You're one of them now. In the circles of power, who would be stupid enough to pull a fake stunt like this?
You just said it yourself—the people who were just here represent the very top of this country's elite. You think they would be easily fooled?
They don't necessarily believe in the treasure itself. They believe in you. And they know that even if there's only a 70-80% chance this is real, they'll still make an absolute fortune."
She was right.
Castle wasn't just a renowned writer anymore. Over the past two years, he had developed several pieces of cutting-edge technology, bringing him into close collaboration with some of America's top defense contractors.
More than that, he and his girlfriend had personally brought down William Bracken, the GOP's rising star and a New York senator, along with another New York senator, Pratt. He had even become one of the key financial backers behind the current U.S. president.
Gone were the days when Castle's influence was limited to just New York—where he had to rely on his loyal fan and mayor friend for support. He wasn't just a famous writer anymore.
He now had a seat at the table among America's real power players.
With that in mind, it made perfect sense why nobody doubted him.
This outcome greatly satisfied Gianna. This collaborative approach was far safer than their original plan of secretly retrieving the treasure just between the two of them.
More importantly, the true value wasn't just the money from the treasure—it was the connections. The network of powerful allies they were solidifying through this operation would be far more valuable in the long run.
For Gianna, who was determined to establish her roots in the U.S. as a member of an Italian crime family, and for Castle, who had political ambitions for Beckett, this was a far greater prize than money.
Sure, they might have kept more of the treasure if they had done this alone, but at the cost of several major risks:
1. Security risks – They couldn't guarantee their safety with just their personal networks.
2. Selling the treasure – Offloading that much gold and treasure without attracting attention would be a nightmare.
3. Retaliation from India – If the Indian government found out, Castle and Gianna would be facing an entire sovereign nation, not just some small-time gang. Even with Castle's father Sean's resources, that wouldn't be enough.
Now, all of those worries were gone.
Yes, they would be splitting the treasure, but in exchange, the people involved would also share the responsibilities.
Security? Taken care of.
Political retaliation? These power players would handle it.
India's response? Even if they got mad, they couldn't do a damn thing against a coalition of politicians, the military, and defense contractors.
What was India going to do? Declare war on the U.S. over some treasure?
Absolutely not.
This also meant that Castle could carry out his ultimate plan—leaking the truth to India once everything was over.
He wanted them to know exactly what had happened.
He wanted them to regret messing with him.
He wanted them to feel the pain of losing their own treasure—knowing they could do nothing about it.
---
Meanwhile, everyone involved wasted no time pushing the operation forward.
Not just Castle and Beckett, who were busy packing for their "vacation", but also:
- The three aircraft manufacturers, who were mobilizing resources.
- The two high-ranking military officers, who were handling security logistics.
- The Speaker of the House, who had just met with the White House to discuss how to leverage the captured foreign agents.
Their strategy?
Use the Turkish spies they had captured to launch a diplomatic offensive against Turkey at the U.N., while using it as a distraction to cover Castle's treasure-hunting operation in Sri Lanka.
The real goal, however, was much bigger.
The U.S. had already been planning to intervene in Turkey's internal conflicts—especially against the Kurdish militant groups trying to establish an independent state.
Turkey had humiliated the U.S. by quitting NATO and slapping them in the face.
Now, the U.S. was actively escalating its plans from sowing chaos in Turkey to potentially using military force.
Even though India and Japan were also caught with spies in the U.S., the government wasn't planning to go after them as aggressively.
Instead, they would blackmail India and Japan for strategic gains.
The real target was Turkey.
With its geostrategic position, control over the Bosporus Strait, proximity to the Mediterranean, Syria, and Iraq, and complicated political landscape, Turkey had always been on America's radar.
Now that they had an excuse, they were going all in.
---
Castle, however, didn't care about any of that.
He was busy packing.
To him, this trip wasn't just about treasure hunting.
It was about taking a vacation with Beckett and their child.
Treasure? Politics? Strategy?
Those were just side quests.
After all, he had already achieved financial freedom.
Why would he care about some extra gold?
Besides, digging up treasure had too many booby traps.
Maybe he'd just leave it for Ben Gates to deal with.
After all, that guy was probably going to need a way to clear his name for Lincoln's assassination someday.
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