When Beckett came home that night and heard the news, she exploded. "What? The CIA is planning to kidnap Alexis to blackmail you for that God's Eye software? Unbelievable! Where are these people now? I'll take a team and arrest them all immediately! How dare they? If they can't get what they want, they resort to kidnapping? These bastards have some nerve!"
Castle worked hard to calm the furious Beckett. "Relax... relax... let me explain."
After Castle detailed his plan—including Ivan's team setting up an ambush to greet the kidnappers with a hail of bullets and his own group lying in wait at the estate to capture the second team attempting infiltration—Beckett objected.
"Castle, what are you thinking? You should let the police handle this! How can you let Ivan and his men execute the kidnappers outright? If we arrested them instead, I could use this to take down that Roxyette-linked deputy director. I can't agree to your plan; it completely sidelines the NYPD. And what about Alexis? Are you really going to send her out to face a car crash, kidnapping, and gunfight?"
Castle shrugged. "Of course, Alexis won't be going anywhere. Her car was modified when we bought it; it has tinted windows, so no one can see who's driving. Tomorrow, Ivan will drive it himself.
As for your suggestion to leave this to the police, I disagree. Before these people act, the police have no grounds to detain them. If they spot police nearby, do you think they'll still go through with it? There's a limit to how long anyone can remain on guard.
We need to wait for them to make a move, then take them all down in one swoop. But if the police handle it, how can you guarantee there won't be a leak? If they're tipped off, not only will they abort, but who knows what other tricks they might come up with? I don't have the time to play endless games with them.
If you want someone alive, fine. The second group trying to infiltrate my estate will be captured alive. And let me remind you, Ivan and his men are former Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Special Forces. They've dealt with armed criminals countless times. Compared to them, your officers are amateurs."
Beckett still wasn't convinced. "Castle, do you even realize what you're doing? This isn't self-defense; it's a premeditated ambush. If you go through with this, it could cause you serious trouble later."
Castle stood firm. "Beckett, I don't care about the consequences. You know I wouldn't react like this if I were the target. But these scum plan to kidnap Alexis? That crosses a line. I need to respond harshly to make it clear they can't get away with this.
Also, Jarvis has already gathered information on all Roxyette members embedded within the CIA. My original plan was to hand this over to Benjamin Arthur, the incoming president, so he could clean house at the CIA and owe me a favor. That plan hasn't changed. I'll leave the broader cleanup to Arthur after his inauguration.
But for now, I must retaliate fiercely. Otherwise, who knows what kind of schemes these bastards will come up with next?"
Beckett realized she couldn't dissuade Castle. Knowing how much he cherished Alexis, she reluctantly agreed. Still, she insisted on certain conditions. Castle had to wait for the kidnappers to act first before retaliating. She also decided to deploy police drones near the Long Island highway early in the morning and have her team on standby to move in as soon as Ivan's group acted. That way, they could control the scene and prevent tampering by anyone else.
After all, the CIA wasn't likely to attempt something this bold without backup plans or contingencies. Beckett worried that Castle's approach—while effective—left significant vulnerabilities. If the operation went sideways, the CIA might shamelessly deny everything and shift blame.
To prevent this, Beckett resolved to assist Castle despite her misgivings. She didn't trust the CIA any more than he did.
---
Ivan, ever the professional, had already assembled two five-man strike teams. Early the next morning, Alexis's modified Ford F-350 would be driven by Ivan himself, while the two teams would set up their ambush on the highway well before dawn. Thanks to Castle's surveillance of Nameless relaying intel to the kidnappers, Ivan's men had precise information on the planned attack site.
With such thorough preparation, the outcome of this ambush was all but guaranteed.
---
Meanwhile, Ethan Hunt discovered that another team was involved in the mission, assisting his group by creating chaos. However, their method of creating chaos—kidnapping the target's high-school-aged daughter—left him deeply uneasy.
Ethan had been reluctant about the mission from the start, and this revelation only fueled his dissatisfaction. Though he was no stranger to high-stakes operations—whether it was high-speed chases or climbing Dubai's Burj Khalifa—he preferred to operate with a sense of ethics, especially on home soil.
Ethan, who had once been betrayed by his mentor, was one of the few CIA operatives who relied on his intellect as much as his physical skills. The oddities of this mission—the dubious assignment, the unethical tactics—set off alarm bells in his mind.
Unable to pinpoint the exact problem but convinced something was wrong, Ethan summoned his long-time partners Benji and Luther to a secure safehouse.
"Ethan, what's going on? Why call us here in the middle of the night?" Benji complained as he walked in. "Weren't you the one who insisted we stay apart to avoid tipping off our target, the supposedly well-connected writer with ears in New York's underworld? Now you're calling us together?"
Once Benji and Luther arrived, Ethan, looking grim, explained. "Something doesn't feel right. I just found out that tomorrow's operation includes another team assisting us."
Benji perked up. "That's great, isn't it? Domestic missions are so much better than being alone abroad. If we have backup, what's there to worry about?"
Luther shot Benji a withering look. "Did you not hear Ethan? He said there's a problem."
"What problem?" Benji retorted.
Ethan interrupted their bickering. "Here's the issue: their role is to... I don't think this is a good idea, but I can't figure out what's wrong. My gut tells me that if we proceed with this plan, something will go horribly wrong."
When Ethan revealed the details of the other team's task, Benji was dumbfounded. "This... this sounds like something a gang would do! Why is the CIA stooping to such shady tactics? If I were the target, I wouldn't cooperate either. This is just embarrassing for us."
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I Am Zeus, KING OF GODS (Chapter 79)
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 391)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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