After hearing what Castle said, Beckett immediately tensed up. If she were alone, she might not have been so nervous, as she was a well-trained officer. However, now that she was with Castle, whom she considered "as weak as a kitten," she made a quick decision: "Castle, turn around right now, we're going back to the precinct."
Castle was visibly displeased with Beckett treating him like a helpless child. "Why? Even if we go back to the precinct now, what good would it do? If William Bracken has sent people after us, it's because he wants to solve the problem at its source, just like he always does. Going back to the precinct won't change that. Senator William won't give up, especially now when the Donkey faction hasn't made their move against him. Do you really think he'll just sit and wait for us to team up with the Donkey faction to take him down?"
Castle's voice turned sarcastic. "Assassination seems to be William Bracken's go-to solution for everything. I swear, that guy must have some serious mental issues—every problem he faces, his first instinct is to have someone assassinated."
But Beckett wasn't distracted by Castle's rant. "Castle, I'm telling you to turn around and head back to the precinct now. We're not equipped to face off with Bracken's hitmen."
Beckett's concern irritated Castle. He continued driving toward the restaurant they had planned to visit, ignoring her command. "I know you're worried about me, afraid that if we run into Bracken's goons, you won't be able to protect both yourself and me. Isn't that it?"
Beckett, almost in tears from frustration, snapped at him, "If you know that, why aren't you turning around and heading back to the precinct?"
Having become Beckett's boyfriend, Castle had been planning to gradually reveal some things about himself. The assassins following them today provided the perfect opportunity for him to demonstrate to Beckett that he wasn't the weakling she thought, but rather a formidable fighter, practically a prehistoric beast. This way, in the future, Beckett wouldn't view him as a helpless bystander if something went wrong.
Castle, still calmly driving, organized his thoughts before speaking seriously to Beckett in the passenger seat. "Actually, I'm not as defenseless as you think. First, I have a concealed carry permit issued by the NYPD. Second, I've been trained in shooting and combat by a former world-class assassin. To be honest, I've just never had the chance to show you these skills. I'm pretty strong!"
He continued, "Also, I think William Bracken sending people to assassinate us today presents us with a great opportunity. Now that we're aware of their supposedly covert operation, the situation isn't as dangerous as it seems. We could set a trap for them and capture the hitmen Bracken sent. This way, we'd have a significant advantage. Given that Bracken has no idea about our combat capabilities, sending hitmen to take us out might just be the beginning of his downfall."
Castle's reasoning was so sound that Beckett couldn't find any counterarguments. Instead, she found herself silently agreeing with him.
After hesitating for a moment, Beckett asked cautiously, "Do you have a weapon on you?"
Castle smiled, sensing that he had convinced her. "Open the glove compartment in front of you. There's a Glock 17 in there, just like your service weapon, along with two extra magazines. That's fifty-one rounds, more than enough for an ambush. And if we call Esposito and Ryan for backup, I bet none of the guys in those two cars following us will get away."
Beckett was quick to make decisions. Realizing that Castle wouldn't listen to her and turn back to the precinct, and that his plan actually made sense, she resolved to go along with it. She was about to call in her officers when Castle stopped her again.
Puzzled, she looked at Castle, who was still driving, as he explained, "We can't be sure there aren't any moles for Senator Bracken in the 12th Precinct. So, I don't think it's a good idea to mobilize a bunch of officers for this. At most, we should only involve Esposito and Ryan."
Beckett couldn't believe her ears. "You're crazy! We have two cars full of hitmen tailing us. Even if there are just two per car, that's four assassins. We're already outnumbered, and you think we can take them down with just the four of us? What if there are more than four? How can we guarantee we'll catch them all?"
Castle knew Beckett's police instincts were kicking in—cops are trained to overwhelm the opposition, not engage in evenly matched firefights. But Castle didn't trust anyone in the precinct besides Esposito and Ryan. To avoid alerting the enemy and ruining the plan, Castle was willing to take a little risk. Besides, with his current skills, he was confident that he could take down everyone in those two cars by himself if necessary. After all, he was as deadly as John Wick at his peak, if not more so, thanks to his enhanced abilities and the extra skills he'd acquired, like Jason Bourne's operative techniques. He only suggested involving Esposito and Ryan to avoid revealing his full capabilities to Beckett and scaring her off with his near-superhuman skills.
After considering it carefully, Beckett reluctantly agreed to Castle's plan but insisted that if things got out of hand, she would call for backup immediately.
Castle was thrilled with her agreement. He called the "little fat kid," who was still hanging out at Gianna's estate in Long Island, and put the call on speakerphone. "Hey, kid, I'm driving on 112th Street in Manhattan, and I've noticed two cars tailing me. One's a black Ford SUV, and the other is a GMC SUV. If you're not too busy, could you help me identify who they belong to?"
The kid responded lazily, "Uncle Rick, have you pissed someone off? Hold on, 112th Street in Manhattan, got it. I've hacked into the traffic camera network. I can see your car... Hmm... You're right, those two cars are definitely following you. Give me a sec, I'll check their plates..."
Beckett, sitting in the passenger seat, shot Castle a piercing glare. These two jokers were casually hacking into New York's traffic camera network right in front of her, the precinct's director! The kid didn't know she was in the car, so he was being reckless—first hacking the camera network, then planning to hack the DMV system to get the license plate info? This was blatant disregard for her authority!
Castle realized too late that Beckett was in the car and hadn't considered the implications when he asked the kid for help. Now, he was feeling the heat from Beckett's stern gaze. He tried to brush it off with a sheepish grin, "Harry didn't mean any harm. He's just helping me gather intel, you know? He's a bit of a shut-in and doesn't really get normal social boundaries..."
As Castle babbled excuses, the kid's voice came through the speaker again, "Hey, Uncle Rick, who are you talking to? Anyway, I found the registration info for those two cars. You won't believe whose names they're under!"
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