It wasn't really a mistake on Castle's part. He had been in this world for quite some time now, and his life had become so eventful that small details sometimes slipped through the cracks. Steve's situation with Wo Fat, while significant, didn't hold the same weight for Castle as completing the cloaking technology that Lockheed Martin was eagerly waiting for. His focus was fully consumed by that project.
Castle knew about the shady ties between Wo Fat and Governor Jameson. He even knew that Steve's late father had installed a hidden camera in Jameson's office. But his current preoccupation with perfecting the final codes for his cloaking system left him unable to predict the chain of events his negligence might set in motion. For now, neither Castle nor Steve realized just how complicated things were about to become.
On the beautiful volcanic island of Oahu, Steve McGarrett acted swiftly after receiving assurances from Ramsey, Castle's team member, that he would have their full support. He quickly handed off his ongoing casework to his talkative partner, Danny Williams, without telling him his true intentions. Then he drove directly to the location Ramsey had sent him—where his arch-nemesis, Wo Fat, was hiding.
As Steve neared the target location, however, he noticed something unusual.
The house wasn't just any house—it was Governor Jameson's residence.
Could it be that Wo Fat was hiding in the governor's mansion?
This realization stopped Steve in his tracks. On this island, Steve had the authority to do almost anything, but that authority didn't extend to Jameson's residence. His ability to act freely on Oahu was entirely thanks to the power Jameson had granted him. But that power didn't apply here.
What now? Should he storm into the mansion, confront Wo Fat, and end it all with a bullet to the head?
Steve might be impulsive, but he wasn't reckless. If Wo Fat had come to Hawaii to meet with Jameson, storming the governor's residence would only tip them off and possibly allow Wo Fat to escape under Jameson's protection. Revenge would have to wait.
Realizing this, Steve decided his only option was to monitor Wo Fat's movements discreetly and wait for him to leave Jameson's residence. Thanks to the real-time intelligence support Ramsey had promised, Steve felt more confident about playing the long game. He turned his truck around and drove off.
Despite this initial setback, Steve wasn't discouraged. His years as a Navy SEAL and intelligence officer had taught him the value of patience. He knew he held the upper hand; his enemy was on the island, and he had access to cutting-edge surveillance tools. A hasty move now could jeopardize everything. He had been prepared for this scenario ever since Castle had first revealed the ties between Jameson and Wo Fat.
For now, Steve resolved to play the waiting game.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Castle was receiving a troubling update from Gianna.
"You already know? Well, of course, you do," Castle said into the phone. "Those guys approached me a while back, but I turned them down… What? They've gone to Dassault now? What's Dassault's position?"
After listening for a moment, Castle's tone turned icy. "Got it. Thanks, Gianna. I'll handle it. No, I don't think they'll dare to try anything in New York again after what happened last time. I'll stay cautious…"
Gianna's call confirmed what Castle had anticipated: the Indian aerospace firm Stan Aviation, unable to secure his cloaking technology on its own, had turned to Dassault Aviation for help. Their goal was clear—leverage Dassault's global clout as one of the "Big Five" defense companies to pressure Castle into compliance.
Gianna, however, had learned of this development almost instantly. Her connections in Europe, bolstered by the goodwill she'd earned from returning stolen art to a prominent French family, had proven invaluable. In her current position of power and influence, Gianna was riding high, and she wasted no time alerting Castle to the threat.
Dassault wasn't being entirely honest with Stan Aviation. While publicly entertaining India's proposal, Dassault had no intention of directly engaging Castle. Instead, they sought to open a dialogue with him, hoping to secure the technology themselves. And if Stan Aviation were to make a move, Dassault was perfectly happy to let them take the fall.
Castle sighed heavily as he slumped onto his sofa. His cloaking system wasn't even complete yet, and it was already attracting unwanted attention from all corners of the globe. He knew the technology's value, but the constant scheming and power plays were beginning to wear on him. As much as he had built up a reputation, he was still just one man facing the combined might of corporations and governments.
His immediate solution was simple: finish the cloaking technology and hand it over to Lockheed Martin. With such a powerful ally owning the rights, any attempts by rivals like Stan Aviation or even Dassault to muscle in would be futile. No one could match the resources and political backing of a company like Lockheed Martin.
Though Castle wasn't on bad terms with Northrop Grumman, there had been some disagreements recently. He expected them to come knocking once the technology was complete—they had already integrated an early version of his cloaking system into their B-2 bombers, after all.
The prospect of both Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman fighting to secure exclusive rights to his technology was one of the few bright spots in this mess. With both giants in his corner, Castle would have an unparalleled shield against any opportunistic threats.
For now, however, the only way forward was to buckle down and finish the work. With a deep sigh, Castle got up and returned to his lab.
What Castle didn't realize was that Wo Fat's presence in Hawaii wasn't a coincidence. While Castle and Steve believed they were the ones with the upper hand, Wo Fat had arrived prepared. His deep connections to Governor Jameson gave him a level of protection that neither Castle nor Steve had fully accounted for. On Oahu, Jameson's word carried more weight than even the president's.
Even more critically, Steve's power on the island was directly tied to Jameson's favor. Neither Castle nor Steve had grasped the full implications of this dynamic, setting the stage for complications they hadn't anticipated.
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