Under the arrangement of Robin's butler, Higgins, Castle and Beckett hosted Steve and Danny, who had been invited for a visit. To everyone's surprise, Beckett actually knew Danny Williams, the notorious chatterbox.
"Danny…"
"Katherine…"
As soon as they met, both of them were surprised and immediately called each other's names. Even Castle had not expected that his wife knew this talkative man who never seemed to stop talking.
Once they sat down, Castle and Steve learned that Danny Williams, while working as a detective in New Jersey, had once collaborated with Beckett's police station on a case, which was how they got to know each other. In fact, Beckett had even visited Danny's home in New Jersey before his divorce, and she knew his little daughter, Grace, who was only eight years old at the time.
With this shared background, the tension between Steve and Castle was broken. There was no longer any awkward silence due to unfamiliarity. Of course, Castle didn't feel this way because it was mainly Steve who wasn't familiar with him.
Castle could probably scare the two of them into a panic if he revealed just how much he knew about these two old friends.
After some small talk, Steve, a workaholic, got straight to the point. However, before diving into the main discussion, Castle used the excuse of not having taken Alexis's statement the previous night when they had rescued her, asking Beckett to take Danny—who was also a "daughter slave" and understood how to handle little girls—to help Alexis give her statement. That left only Castle and Major Steve McCready in the study.
It was obvious that Castle wanted to talk privately with Steve, which immediately caught Steve's attention. He knew that Castle was about to fulfill the promise he had made to Steve over the phone the night before and tell him the truth about his father's death. Steve figured that was the only reason why Castle would send Beckett and Danny away.
Castle and Steve spent over an hour in the study. During this time, Castle not only confirmed the accuracy of his intelligence but also detailed the Japanese plans on the Hawaiian Islands. After discussing that, he spent half an hour telling Steve that the person responsible for Steve's father's death wasn't just the one who had physically attacked him, Victor Hayes, but a man named Wu Fa. This Wu Fa was also closely connected to Steve's next target, the Yakuza leader, Hiroshi Nishimura, who was of Japanese descent.
Castle suggested that if Steve wanted to catch Wu Fa, the best way would be to use the opportunity provided by the intelligence Castle had offered to take down the Yakuza and lure Wu Fa out.
However, Castle didn't tell Steve that he knew not only this but also that Wu Fa had a deep connection to Steve's mother, Doris McCready, who had disappeared more than thirty years ago. Castle didn't want to overwhelm Steve with too much information and risk making him doubt his intentions. After all, just revealing that Wu Fa was behind Steve's father's death was already quite a significant piece of intelligence.
Since there was still time before Wu Fa and Governor Jamison's fallout, Castle didn't think it was necessary to reveal everything all at once.
Despite all of this, Steve was satisfied. He had long suspected something was off when investigating his father's death, and Castle's explanation provided answers to some of his doubts. Moreover, Steve knew that Castle's only motive for sharing this information was to thank him for rescuing his daughter so quickly the night before, which made Steve trust the intel even more.
Although Castle believed it wasn't the right time to tell Steve that Governor Jamison, the man Steve had looked up to, was actually in cahoots with Wu Fa, he still appreciated Steve's actions and, out of gratitude, made sure to offer his help if Steve ever needed assistance in the future.
Meanwhile, Detective "Danno" and Beckett, accompanied by Danny, were finishing Alexis's statement, and Beckett was once again convinced that Alexis was in no way traumatized by the kidnapping. The little girl's mental fortitude was extraordinary.
After completing the paperwork, Steve was ready to leave with Castle. He was carrying the latest intel on the rats—those Japanese spies who had scattered across the Hawaiian Islands after a sudden crackdown by local authorities. This new intel had been gathered by Jarvis since last night.
Castle even secretly gave Steve a "weakened" version of the Eye of God software for a month, allowing Steve to track these Japanese agents more effectively on the volcanic islands. Of course, after a month, the software would self-destruct. Castle didn't want Steve using it to track down Wu Fa or anyone else on such a small island, as that would be far too dangerous.
However, Steve had no idea that while Castle had indeed given him information about the Japanese Intelligence Agency's personnel, he had purposely withheld the most crucial piece of intelligence—the information about the highest-ranking mole in Hawaii, the head of the underground intelligence operation. Castle had other plans.
Castle had already set his sights on capturing this person, who was running the operation in Hawaii, and planned to deal with him violently to send a message to the Japanese. Castle had been harboring a lot of anger ever since the Rockset Organization had tried to kidnap his daughter, and he was planning to take it all out on this intelligence supervisor.
Meanwhile, Neil and his girlfriend Kate, after finishing their preparations, drove off toward the sunny beach. They were accompanied by Moz, the perennial bachelor, as Neil hoped to set him up with a fling in the tropical heat.
Little did they know, Alexis and Beckett were also enjoying their time, heading to visit the island with a security detail of ten bodyguards. Castle was confident that the Japanese wouldn't dare make another move, given the presence of the large bodyguard team. He wanted his friends and daughter to enjoy Christmas Eve, not stay locked in the mansion.
As for Castle, he and Ivan were in the study, reviewing the intel that had already pinpointed their target. The supervisor of the Japanese intelligence team on the island was already aware that the Hawaiian Task Force had started sweeping his moles, so he was frantically trying to get his agents to hide.
Beckett, meanwhile, was working with Higgins to organize the evening's dinner for the Christmas Eve celebration.
But Castle had one thing in mind—this would not be the Japanese's Christmas Eve!
(End of Chapter)
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