At that moment, Beckett, who had just arrived at the NYPD headquarters with Esposito and Ryan, was discussing her thoughts with the head of Internal Affairs. Suddenly, Esposito rushed in, visibly shaken after taking a phone call. "Beckett, those two guys we arrested last night and then got bailed out by their lawyer—they're back! They were lying in wait outside the precinct, planning to harm you and Castle!"
He continued, "But today, for some reason, Castle was in a terrible mood. He pulled out a gun right at the precinct entrance and shot those two assassins dead. The precinct officers are investigating the scene now..."
Upon hearing this, Beckett immediately stood up. After apologizing to the Internal Affairs officer, she quickly left the office and began questioning Esposito in detail about what had happened.
Esposito, already briefed on the full sequence of events from the precinct's call, didn't hold back and explained everything.
After listening to Esposito's account, Beckett was stunned, murmuring to herself, "I knew this guy wouldn't be able to resist causing trouble. I should have realized it last night. Who keeps a loaded handgun in their car, along with a bulletproof vest and an automatic rifle, all ready to go? This guy had it all planned out. He's been itching to go up against William Bracken."
Esposito didn't quite catch what Beckett was mumbling. As a close friend who often shared Castle's mischievous tendencies, he was genuinely concerned for his buddy's safety. He couldn't help but remind his boss, "Beckett, Castle shooting those two guys at the precinct entrance might cause some trouble, especially since he's not a cop and didn't have the right to shoot first. Maybe we should head back to the precinct, just in case anything happens?"
Beckett glared at her subordinate, who was clearly trying to mask his worry, "Don't think I don't know you're worried about Castle. But why do you think he chose to shoot those killers right outside the precinct? Especially at our Twelfth Precinct?"
She continued, "This guy knows the precinct so well that he was sure the cops wouldn't give him too much grief for taking out those two killers right at the entrance. He's practically one of us at the Twelfth. What are you so worried about?"
Esposito, his concern now exposed, chuckled sheepishly, "Still, he's not really a cop, and technically, he didn't have the right to shoot first before a deadly threat materialized. If the DA catches wind of this, it could be a problem. Plus, you can't submit the evidence you wanted to right now. Maybe we should head back to the precinct and see how things play out first. At least then we'd be on hand to handle any issues as they arise, right?"
Beckett knew Esposito was right. There was no point in staying here, especially since the evidence that could incriminate the four corrupt cops and William Bracken was still in Castle's possession. She really should head back to her precinct immediately.
Having made up her mind, Beckett went back to the office to explain the situation to the Internal Affairs officer before leaving with Esposito and Ryan to drive back to the Twelfth Precinct from NYPD headquarters.
Meanwhile, Senator William Bracken had just learned that the two hitmen he had sent to "clean up" the situation had been shot dead by the very author they were targeting, right at the entrance of the Twelfth Precinct. The news infuriated him! He had never imagined that this "weakling" of an author would dare to confront him so openly. This idiot should have been easy pickings, waiting to be taken out like a chicken! How had he suddenly turned the tables and killed his men?
As his rage subsided, Bracken began to remember something he had almost forgotten—that Vincent Adler had also once sent a hitman to kill this author, only for the author to turn the tables and force Adler to flee to Argentina in disgrace. Both times, this author, Castle, had been involved.
Bracken felt like he had stumbled upon something significant. Could it be that Castle was connected to the treasure rumored to be aboard Adler's submarine?
As he dug deeper into the conflict between Vincent Adler and Castle, Bracken discovered that the key to finding the submarine—the music box—had been handed over to Adler by Castle as part of a truce. This suggested that Castle might have known the secrets of the music box and the submarine long before Adler did. So, could it be that the submarine wasn't empty when Adler found it, but rather, Castle or his allies had gotten there first?
Bracken, who was already struggling to fend off attacks from his political rivals, suddenly saw an opportunity. If he could spread the word that Castle was the mastermind behind the events involving Adler's submarine, he might be able to deflect some of the pressure and even turn his enemies' attention toward Castle. After all, if they believed Castle was connected to the treasure, their greed might lead them to shift focus away from Bracken, at least temporarily.
Whether Castle was truly the mastermind didn't matter. Who cared?
To Bracken's credit, he had pieced together a part of the truth, and he did have a good grasp of his enemies' greed. But would his plan really be that simple? Could it actually work?
Castle, meanwhile, had no idea that his actions had forced Senator Bracken to take him seriously, leading to a shift in Bracken's plans. When Beckett and Esposito rushed back to the Twelfth Precinct, they found Castle, cool as a cucumber, directing Beckett's officers as they set up a perimeter around the crime scene and searched the killers' SUV.
Beckett, her face like thunder, stormed over to Castle, "Are you out of your mind? You shot and killed two men right at the precinct entrance, and they weren't even posing a lethal threat! Castle, you're not a cop. Even if you were, you wouldn't have the right to shoot first!"
Castle knew Beckett was going to be mad, but he wasn't worried. He calmly led her to a secluded spot before carefully explaining, "I just wanted to draw some of William Bracken's attention away from you and onto me. We're already at war with him after what we did today. Your visit to Internal Affairs won't stay a secret. Since it's bound to come out anyway, and since I'm already on Bracken's hit list, why not step up and draw some of his fire so you can have a little breathing room? Don't forget, I'm your boyfriend. It's my job to take some of the heat for you."
Castle's sudden declaration of love left Beckett momentarily speechless. She finally understood how deeply Castle cared for her—so much that he was willing to go head-to-head with a U.S. senator for her sake.
Behind Beckett, Esposito and Ryan exchanged knowing looks, their discomfort obvious as they were overwhelmed by the unexpected outpouring of affection. They quickly left the scene, eager to escape the sickly sweet atmosphere and instead focused on managing the crime scene Castle had created.
Luckily, Beckett wasn't completely swayed by Castle's sweet words. She didn't say much more but instead led him into the precinct. No matter what, Castle had just shot and killed two men on the street. Regardless of the circumstances, the first priority was to get his statement down perfectly. As for whether or not to press charges against him? Well, was she not the captain of the Twelfth Precinct?
Jones and Diana, having witnessed the whole scene, were struck by how Castle, this "honorary officer" of the Twelfth Precinct, seemed to have everything under control. It turned out that Castle was indeed a part of the precinct. From the start of his collaboration with Beckett, he had been officially hired as a "consultant" by the NYPD. So technically, Castle really was a member of the NYPD, and as such, even though he shot two "criminals" armed with automatic rifles right outside the precinct, there wouldn't be any serious consequences.
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