Dressed in a black stealth suit, Mr. Castle moved like a seasoned cat burglar. He carefully scaled the second-floor window, pulling out a delicate tool from his personal space. With just a few deft movements, he silently unlocked the window. After stashing the tool back in his space, he slipped into the warehouse with the utmost stealth and fluidity.
Inside the warehouse, unlike the pitch-black exterior, the place was brightly lit. The submarine, which had been sitting on the seabed for over half a century, was now docked in the warehouse, its exterior battered and weathered. However, there wasn't a single guard in sight. Vincent's distrust of his subordinates had inadvertently given Castle the opportunity he needed.
Wasting no time, Castle headed straight for the submarine. The vessel had only been dragged in that morning, so Vincent's men had merely drained the dock of water and secured the submarine in place under his orders. They hadn't had time to do much else, leaving the submarine's exterior looking rather rough, covered in signs of marine life. But this didn't concern Castle. He had already planned his approach. From the second-floor corridor that he had scouted earlier, he lightly jumped onto the submarine's forward deck. Quickly and quietly, he climbed up to the bridge. Even if the four men Vincent had stationed in the warehouse came out, they wouldn't easily spot him, as the bridge's middle section was recessed, with the entry hatch located on the bridge's floor. Now lying flat on the bridge and preparing to dismantle the explosives, Castle had very little chance of being discovered.
Castle silently thanked Farris Thago, who had come all the way to New York with Simon during the previous heist. Thago's expertise in bomb-making and disarmament was proving invaluable. With a full set of tools in his personal space, Castle was now practically a master at dealing with explosives. The explosives installed on this submarine when it was scuttled were set by regular submarine crewmen, who were adept at using torpedoes or conducting wolf pack tactics against Allied ships but were only using the most basic military techniques for setting up the explosives. They weren't like the fanatics with explosive vests, nor were they like the complex traps seen in movies. The explosives were simply attached to the inside and outside of the hatch, rigged to detonate the moment the hatch was opened by anyone unaware of the trap.
But for someone who knew about the setup, especially someone like Castle with extensive bomb disposal experience, the task was almost too easy.
Using a handheld X-ray device, Castle scanned the closed hatch, revealing the rigged explosives behind it. He carefully cracked the hatch open just a sliver and pulled out another strange tool from his personal space, resembling a pair of oddly-shaped scissors. Following the X-ray's guidance, he inserted the tool into the hatch and snipped the trigger wire, rendering the simple explosive device harmless. After thoroughly checking for any other booby traps, Castle put away the X-ray device and tools, then quietly opened the hatch that had been sealed for over half a century.
Before entering the submarine, Castle pulled out a helmet-style respirator from his personal space. Given the uncertainty of what dangers might be lurking inside the submarine—like the quality of the air that hadn't circulated for decades—it was best to take precautions. With the respirator securely in place, he was ready to proceed.
After finishing his preparations, Castle applied some lubricant from a small oil can to the hatch latch, ensuring it wouldn't make a sound when opened, which might alert Vincent's bored subordinates in the adjacent room.
Once he had smoothly opened the hatch at the base of the bridge, Castle didn't rush in. Instead, he took out a handheld endoscope, the same one he had used on Paradise Street in Paris. He slowly inserted the flexible tube into the hatch, carefully checking the ladder leading into the submarine for any hidden traps or explosives. Satisfied that there were none, he retracted the endoscope and cautiously descended into the submarine.
Inside, with the hatch securely closed behind him, Castle relaxed a bit. He no longer had to worry about the bright beam of his powerful flashlight being noticed. Switching it on, he saw that he was in the submarine's command room. The precious artifacts weren't here, though. After another careful check to ensure there were no hidden traps, Castle began his treasure hunt.
The submarine had clearly been modified, as there was a cargo hold adjacent to the command room, packed with the treasure Vincent Adler had coveted for a lifetime. Castle didn't waste time examining the contents. Instead, he swiftly stored the large wooden crates, all carefully packed with the valuable artifacts, into his personal space. Everywhere he went, the place was left spotless. In less than half an hour, Castle had cleaned out everything of value or anything that resembled an artifact, using his 1,000 cubic meter personal space to sweep the submarine clean. When Vincent saw this later, he might very well pass out, and even a mouse would leave with a tear in its eye. Castle had executed the clean sweep perfectly.
In less than an hour, Castle had completed his mission. After a final, thorough inspection of the submarine to ensure he hadn't missed anything or left any traces, he retraced his steps back to the bridge. There, he used the same military techniques to rearm the explosives he had disarmed earlier. Satisfied that everything was exactly as it had been, and with no evidence left behind—even the lubricated latch was invisible from the outside—Castle finally left the submarine. He climbed up a nearby pillar to the second floor, retraced his entry route, restored the window he had snuck in through to its original state, and donned his diving gear. Silently, he slipped back into the water and swam away unnoticed.
Throughout all this, Vincent's men remained oblivious. Only Mozzie and the tech-savvy kid, watching through the drone, saw Castle enter and leave the warehouse. However, due to the camera angles, they had no idea what he had done inside.
The only thing they were sure of was that Castle had successfully completed his mission. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken his time putting on his diving gear and leisurely departing.
As the drone captured Castle sneaking back to his landing spot, putting on his diving suit, and quietly leaving by sea, Mozzie and the kid, who had been glued to the drone control station since Castle left, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had no idea how Castle managed to finish so quickly, the footage showed that Vincent's guards hadn't detected him. But this raised another question: Could Castle really have emptied the submarine in just two hours?
Mozzie, overwhelmed by these thoughts, eventually gave up trying to figure it out. Castle would return to the estate soon, and then they would know whether he had merely scouted the place or actually completed the mission using some unknown method.
By now, Castle had already surfaced at a dock not far from the warehouse. Unlike the brightly lit New York Harbor nearby, this area was much darker. After changing out of his diving suit, Castle didn't do anything flashy. He simply put on a regular jacket, found the car Gianna's subordinate had parked nearby for him, and drove off.
_________________________________________
From May 26 to June 3, I'm offering a 33% discount on all Patreon tiers.
Just use this code when you sign up: 83AA7
If you'd like to support the project and get early access to chapters, now's the perfect time to join or upgrade.
This limited-time offer lasts only for these 9 days!
Thank you for your support ❤️
[w w w . p @ t r e o n . c o m / M u t t e r]