Spending an entire afternoon at Abe's antique shop gossiping with the almost seventy-year-old but still cheeky Abraham about Dr. Henry Morgan, who looked like Abe's son but was actually Abe's foster father, Castle still didn't manage to wait for Henry to return. According to Abe's first-hand information, Henry had been busy for the past two days investigating a very complex case with Detective Joe Martinez, coming home late every night. Thinking of making dinner for his daughter, Castle decided it wasn't worth waiting for Henry any longer and bid farewell to the reluctant Abraham in the evening and went home.
Early the next morning, while Castle was still at home, he received a call from Beckett. Apparently, the case Beckett had taken over and which Castle had urgently advised her not to get too involved in had been taken over by the FBI early that morning. The case was no longer under the jurisdiction of the NYPD but had been handed over to the FBI because the Metropolitan Building where the five bodies were found was insured by a federal insurance company, making it a federal case.
Castle was delighted to hear this news. The cross-sniper technique that defied logic had left him uneasy, so handing the case over to the FBI was a great relief.
Given the delicate relationship between the NYPD and the FBI, neither Beckett nor Montgomery shared the case's details with the FBI agents who came to take over, essentially offloading a huge burden onto them.
Receiving this good news in the morning put Castle in a great mood. He decided that unless Vincent planned to salvage the submarine within the next few days, he would use this opportunity to have Beckett arrest Nick Coonan, who was already confirmed to have committed crimes by the police. Considering Montgomery was set to be promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the NYPD next month, it was time for Beckett to get some satisfaction before taking over the 12th Precinct.
Unfortunately, this plan was quickly quashed by a call from Mozzie. Just as Castle was leaving his house to discuss this with Beckett at the precinct, Mozzie called with urgent news: "Rick, this morning Vincent's men have set up the steel cables needed to wrap around the entire submarine and are making final preparations. Gianna and I estimate that today is the day Vincent plans to salvage the submarine. You should come over immediately in case something happens."
Castle was surprised by the speed of Vincent's operation. How had he managed to get everything ready so quickly? Realizing he had once again underestimated Vincent based on memories from his past life, Castle marveled at Vincent's determination and financial power. Since he couldn't go to the precinct, Castle explained to Beckett that he had to gather some information, then hurriedly drove to Long Island.
Upon arriving at Gianna's large estate, Castle went straight to the small building behind the main house where Mozzie, the overweight drone operator, Gianna, and John Wick were gathered. Mozzie was intently studying the movements of the men on the semi-submersible salvage ship via drone footage, while Gianna, heavily pregnant, watched from the sofa accompanied by John Wick.
Seeing Castle enter, Mozzie quickly pulled him over to the screen, pointing at the drone footage. "Look, they've completely set up their lifting equipment, and the divers have already secured the steel cables around the submarine. According to the timeline, the submarine should be ready to be lifted any moment now."
Castle was surprised. "Is it really that simple? That submarine must weigh several thousand tons. Can the lifting equipment handle it?"
Among those present, only Mozzie knew a bit about marine salvage techniques. The rest, including the overweight operator, were clueless but interested.
Mozzie removed his glasses, wiped them, and explained, "It's not just the lifting equipment on the ship. Yesterday, Vincent's team placed numerous self-inflating buoyancy bags on the submarine. Combined with the relatively shallow depth of around 50-60 meters, once the buoyancy bags are activated, they will help lift the submarine to the surface. It's not as complicated as it sounds, especially since Vincent is very invested in the success of this operation."
Killing was second nature to John Wick, while Gianna was skilled in political maneuvering, and the overweight drone operator was clueless. Castle and the rest understood from Mozzie's explanation that Vincent was confident in his plan to salvage the submarine.
Castle, realizing everyone was gathered without much to do, decided to bring up yesterday's case. Given John Wick's past association with the High Table and the Continental Hotel, Gianna's position as a successor to one of the Twelve Elder families of the High Table, and Mozzie's extensive knowledge of underworld gossip, it was the perfect opportunity.
When Castle mentioned the internal conflict within the Assassin Brotherhood, John Wick, who had been lounging lazily, suddenly became serious. Gianna's eyes widened in surprise. She knew well the inner workings of the Assassin Brotherhood, a primary adversary of the High Table. These killers, who took orders from a loom, had frequently clashed with the High Table's forces in the past. Learning about their internal conflict from Castle was shocking.
"Rick, how did you find out about an internal conflict within the Assassin Brotherhood, something outsiders wouldn't know?" Gianna asked.
Castle, seeing he had everyone's attention, used his supposed secret sources as an excuse. "I have some secret channels and sources I can't reveal. Yesterday's case involved one of the victims being Mr. X from the Assassin Brotherhood, killed by the infamous sniper, Cross. Based on this, it's clear there's an irreconcilable conflict within the Brotherhood."
John Wick finally spoke, "I know them both. Mr. X liked to use an old-fashioned flintlock pistol with lead bullets that could easily penetrate level three body armor because he always used high-powered charges. Cross, on the other hand, is the best sniper I've ever seen, using specially made rifles and bullets. His jet-propelled sniper rounds have an incredible range. However, his hand-to-hand combat and handgun skills are far inferior to his sniping abilities. How did he end up in a conflict with the Brotherhood? Do you know why, Rick?"
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