Castle had always followed a simple rule when it came to force escalation: always bring a bigger weapon than your enemy.
If the enemy was unarmed, he brought a knife.
If they had knives, he brought a gun.
If they had guns, he brought bigger guns.
Now, the balance of power in New York had been disrupted by the sudden arrival of two former Fraternity assassins.
Before, the situation was completely in their favor.
Suzuki Mitsuhiro's three-man team—plus a handful of Indian operatives—was nothing compared to the overwhelming firepower at Beckett, Gianna, and Joe's disposal.
But these two assassins?
Their abilities were unknown.
And that was what made them dangerous.
Castle's Russian bodyguards were highly trained, but they had never faced someone capable of bending bullets.
This was a wild card that needed to be eliminated immediately.
—
Castle had already contacted Seeley Booth and Bob Lee Swagger for backup.
But he also needed to tell his father, Sean Connolly, the truth—so that Sean could provide additional protection for Beckett, Alexis, and their newborn son.
As always, Sean was reliable.
After hearing that Castle was stuck in Hawaii acting as bait, and that even John was with him, Sean immediately assured him:
"Don't worry. I'll handle it."
Sean promised to personally confront Sloan about these rogue assassins.
At the same time, he would send reinforcements to Castle's estate.
—
Castle barely had time to process this before he received another call—from John Wick.
John had some good news.
Thanks to his connections and a personal favor from Sean, Winston had agreed to dispatch a Continental Hotel security team to Long Island.
They would establish a defensive perimeter outside Castle's estate.
Not only were these men highly skilled, but they were familiar with the Fraternity's assassins.
With them in place, even if the two rogue assassins tried anything before Sean's reinforcements arrived, they would not get far.
—
While Castle was busy scrambling to reinforce his estate, Sean had already tracked down Sloan.
And what he learned completely changed the game.
Those two assassins—Pigeon and Trigger—were no longer part of the Fraternity.
In fact, the Fraternity itself was dead.
After Castle bombed Sloan's textile factory, and after Cross wiped out most of their top assassins, the organization had collapsed.
Sloan himself had fled to South America, living as a retired millionaire.
There was no Fraternity anymore.
Those two assassins?
They were freelancers.
Rogue mercenaries working for anyone with enough money.
Sean immediately relayed this to Castle.
And now, for the first time, Castle relaxed.
No more Fraternity. No more secret assassin society. Just two overconfident mercenaries.
Castle exhaled, then smirked.
"So what if they can bend bullets? Can they bend their way out of an automatic rifle?"
—
Sean wasted no time.
Even though these assassins were freelancers, they were still dangerous.
So, he immediately ordered more men to New York, reinforcing the protection around:
BeckettAlexisMartha RodgersCastle's newborn son
Meanwhile, Castle had already confirmed everything through Jarvis.
His AI had scanned every piece of information available, confirming that the Fraternity was truly gone—and that Sloan had been hiding the truth from the world.
Even the High Table and the Continental Hotel hadn't known about it.
And the reason these two assassins had joined the Japanese team?
Money.
Plain and simple.
—
Japan had always been good at finding the right people for the job.
Whether it was Amir Barkawi, or these former Fraternity assassins, they always managed to recruit people with deep hatred for America.
Pigeon and Trigger didn't know that Castle had personally orchestrated the Fraternity's downfall.
But they did know that Japan was offering a massive paycheck.
And their mission?
Not to kill Castle.
But to protect Suzuki Mitsuhiro—the hacker tasked with infiltrating Castle's estate.
—
From the very beginning, the Japanese had planned to betray their allies.
They had invited Turkey into this operation only to have a scapegoat.
But when India—blinded by greed—decided to join in, Japan saw an even better opportunity.
Two scapegoats were better than one.
Japan had never intended to share any stolen data.
They only needed Turkey and India to act as cannon fodder.
Why else would Japan's New York team consist of only one hacker—while Turkey and India had sent field operatives?
They wanted Suzuki to be the only one capable of handling the stolen data.
And to ensure his safety, they hired assassins instead of relying on their "allies."
—
With everything now crystal clear, Castle refocused on New York's defense.
Seeley Booth and Bob Lee Swagger were already en route.
But just in case, Castle doubled down on his preparations in Hawaii.
If there were unexpected variables in New York, then Hawaii could have them too.
John fully supported this decision.
After all, his wife and daughter were at Castle's estate too.
If Castle was reinforcing security, that meant John could focus on fighting the enemy without distractions.
—
But while Castle, John, and Sean were treating this as a major crisis…
Beckett and Gianna couldn't care less.
—
"So they're ex-Fraternity assassins?" Beckett asked.
Castle nodded.
"And they can bend bullets?"
"Yeah."
Beckett raised an eyebrow.
"Okay… but are they bulletproof?"
Castle froze.
Gianna laughed.
Beckett continued:
"Jarvis has drones in the sky. If those two even breathe in the wrong direction, we can launch a missile up their asses."
Gianna smirked.
"Let's be real, Rick. Your AI is already tracking them. If they even think about approaching your estate, we can turn them into a fine mist."
Joe Martinez, who had been silent until now, nodded.
"Exactly. We have Russians, FBI agents, and drones. What are two assassins going to do—shoot the drones out of the sky?"
Castle rubbed his temples.
He had spent the last hour panicking.
But these three women?
They weren't even slightly worried.
—
For Beckett, Gianna, and Joe, this was just another job.
They had already neutralized the biggest threats.
And even if those assassins made a move…
Beckett had state-of-the-art body armor.
Gianna had a fully armed private security team.
Joe had the entire FBI command center at her disposal.
And Castle?
He had a private AI-controlled drone fleet that could eliminate targets instantly.
—
Castle had spent his life chronicling fictional badass heroines.
Now, he was married to one, friends with another, and protected by a third.
And together?
They were laughing at the so-called "threat" of two assassins.
For the first time in this entire mission…
Castle finally relaxed.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.
Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.