Chapter 422: Politicians

Before the chubby guy could finish his sentence, Castle suddenly jumped to his feet in excitement. He had completely forgotten that Congressman Gavin and Senator William Bracken belonged to different political parties. The chubby guy's words had suddenly made everything clear to Castle.

Just as he was about to speak, Gianna entered the room and interrupted him. "There's no need to guess anymore. I've already looked into it for you. Yes, last night, when Congressman Gavin went to the donkey party boss's house, he brought with him a confession from Nick Cunan, who has been doing William Bracken's dirty work. Apparently, Nick Cunan couldn't withstand the torture and mistakenly believed that he had been caught because Bracken was setting him up to get rid of someone who knew too much about his dark secrets. So, in his emotional breakdown, he confessed everything about the shady activities Bracken had ordered him to do."

Castle, shocked, stared at Gianna, not understanding how she knew about all this.

Gianna, with John's help, sat down on the sofa and explained to the bewildered Castle and Mozzie. "Our family still has some connections in the higher echelons of the USA. What I just told you has already spread among a few key figures in the donkey party. One of our family's allies happens to be one of them. He also told me a bit more because he knew I'm in New York right now. They plan to use Nick Cunan as a witness and secretly gather evidence based on his confession to take down William Bracken, who the elephant party has been grooming as their next presidential candidate."

Hearing this, Castle finally understood why Gianna had access to this information. Besides being an ally of a donkey party bigwig, it was clear that this bigwig hoped to enlist Gianna's help since she was in New York. Gianna's family was one of the Twelve High Table bosses who controlled the Continental Hotel, with both intelligence and operational capabilities. Given that Gianna was currently in New York for her pregnancy, the donkey party bigwig likely wanted to leverage her resources to secretly collect all the evidence needed to take down Bracken.

This also meant that Beckett might come under the radar of these donkeys determined to destroy Bracken. Beckett wasn't just any small fry; she was the youngest precinct captain in the NYPD, and her mother had been murdered by Bracken. This could indeed make Beckett an attractive candidate for the donkeys to use as a spearhead against Bracken.

The more Castle thought about it, the more he realized that Beckett might be recruited by the donkeys to lead the charge against Bracken. If Beckett were to take down Bracken, who was seen as the elephant party's future hope, it could set her on a path to political office, with the donkeys' backing.

Even though New York has been a stronghold for the elephants, Castle saw no issue with Beckett eventually switching allegiances if necessary. After all, in this country, switching political sides wasn't a big deal. The "King of Deals" from Castle's previous world had switched between the elephants and donkeys multiple times. Political allegiance in this country was more about convenience than principle, so Castle wasn't worried about Beckett having to join the donkeys. Instead, he saw the potential benefits it could bring her.

Still, after learning about this from Gianna, Castle seriously discussed his thoughts with her and Mozzie. Despite knowing his own tendencies, Castle wanted to ensure his ideas weren't just the result of his preconceptions. It was better to get input from Gianna, who had a keen political mind, and Mozzie, who was sharp and knowledgeable about US law.

To Castle's surprise, both Gianna and Mozzie agreed with his assessment, especially the idea of Beckett maneuvering between the elephants and donkeys. Gianna even remarked, "That's the mindset of a true politician—go with whoever benefits you the most!"

However, they also cautioned Castle not to get too optimistic. Real-world situations might not play out as ideally as Castle envisioned. Whether or not the donkeys approached Beckett, Castle and Beckett were already planning to move against Bracken. The risk was that the donkeys could use Beckett to make the first move against Bracken, only to betray her later by making her the scapegoat when the elephants retaliated. Gianna emphasized the need to be wary of politicians' integrity, or lack thereof, warning Castle not to rely too heavily on them. Politicians were known to sell out anyone to achieve their goals, and if Castle and Beckett were too trusting, they could end up being sacrificed by the donkeys.

To prevent this, Gianna decided to use her family's connection with the donkey bigwig to recommend Beckett. By introducing Beckett to the donkey party's inner circle, they would at least be aware of her potential and might even support her efforts against Bracken. This would give Beckett the chance to set her own terms from the beginning.

If Beckett were to take the lead, it would significantly reduce the backlash from the elephants. After all, Beckett's investigation into Bracken would be grounded in a legitimate personal vendetta. This would allow the donkeys to quietly gather evidence and strike at Bracken when he least expected it, making the entire operation much easier.

After hearing Gianna's plan, Castle couldn't help but find it ironic. He had initially planned to let Gavin and Bracken fight it out and then reap the benefits. But now it seemed that he and Beckett might end up being the ones leading the charge for the donkeys. Life sure was unpredictable.

Seeing Castle fall silent, Gianna added, "Rick, things might not be as extreme as I described, but it's still important to introduce Beckett to the donkey bigwigs before all this starts. It'll save us a lot of trouble down the road. What do you think?"

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