Chapter 429: Assassination

On the other side, Senator William had already arranged for people to eliminate Director Beckett as quickly as possible. Based on the information Senator William currently had, it seemed that this female director had recently started dating a novelist. Every night, she would spend the night at her boyfriend's mansion in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He immediately ordered the team assigned to carry out this assassination mission to act swiftly and eliminate this troublesome police director. If necessary, they could take out her boyfriend as well.

As for the potential consequences of killing an active police precinct director, Senator William no longer cared. He knew that if he didn't eliminate this hidden threat soon, he might be attacked from two different directions in the coming storm. Rather than risk that, he decided it was better to remove one threat while the Donkey faction had not yet targeted him.

In the face of a life-threatening situation, Senator William's intelligence was sharp. Moreover, in New York, his power base, it was very easy for him to get things done. It didn't take long for him to find out Beckett's exact location. He immediately dispatched his men to the vicinity of the 12th Precinct of the NYPD, where they lay in wait, ready to act as soon as they spotted Beckett and eliminate the police director causing him so much trouble.

Beckett was completely unaware that a great danger was looming over her. At that moment, she was in her office, diligently processing what seemed like an endless pile of reports from the 12th Precinct. In the back of her mind, however, she was anxiously waiting for news from Castle. He had left earlier on the pretext of gathering new intelligence, and Beckett had come to fully trust his intelligence-gathering abilities over the past six months. She was eagerly waiting for Castle to bring back some concrete information so she could prepare for the investigation into Senator William's accomplices.

Just then, Castle called, but instead of reporting new findings, he unexpectedly suggested that they have dinner at a restaurant that night. According to Castle, everyone had been too tense lately and needed a break to relax and face the upcoming battle against Senator William's cronies with a lighter attitude.

Moreover, since they had started dating, they hadn't yet gone out for dinner together.

This suggestion made Beckett smile helplessly while also feeling a bit sweet inside. Without much thought, she agreed to Castle's request. After getting Beckett's approval, Castle cheerfully told her to wait for him at the precinct; he would come to pick her up, and then they would head to the restaurant. Neither of them realized what this decision would mean, nor did the assassins waiting outside the 12th Precinct, sent by Senator William, know that the female officer they were planning to kill was about to gain an unexpected protector.

As the workday ended, Castle arrived at the 12th Precinct before 5 PM, chatting in the lobby with Esposito and the others about gossip, particularly the recent romantic entanglements between Esposito and Lanie. This kind of relationship gossip was something Castle, who was currently in a relationship with Beckett, enjoyed listening to the most.

"Ryan, are you sure Esposito and Lanie have started something?" Castle laughed heartily, completely disregarding the scowl on Esposito's face, and asked Ryan, who was Esposito's constant companion.

"Of course, I'm sure. I've seen all their so-called subtle interactions these past few days. When Jenny and I first started dating, we were just like them. Esposito and Lanie think their sneaky glances can fool me, but hey, I'm a cop..." Ryan boasted proudly, ignoring Esposito's desperate attempts to shut him up.

Castle grinned wickedly at the exasperated Esposito. "So, our lovely medical examiner is quite a sweetheart, huh? Aren't you worried she might dissect you if you ever piss her off?"

"Enough, Castle! Stop saying things like that about Lanie..." Beckett, having just finished her work, walked out of her office only to hear her boyfriend making outrageous remarks about her best friend. She quickly interrupted Castle's nonsense.

Seeing his boss and his girlfriend appear, the three men, who had been gossiping out of boredom, immediately stood up. Esposito, who had just been teased, threw a smirk at Castle, silently mocking him for being all talk but cowering in Beckett's presence.

Castle, noticing something off about Beckett's expression, quickly tried to appease her with a playful smile, but she pushed him away disdainfully. "Don't speak ill of Lanie behind her back. Remember, you'll need her help in the future. Do you want her to hate you?"

Castle, looking sheepish, bowed his head. "We were just killing time with some idle chatter. Let's go, let's go, no more talk..."

Beckett shot a fierce glare at Castle, who was acting like a scolded puppy, before leading the way to the elevator. Esposito and Ryan exchanged silent looks of disdain for Castle's obsequious behavior, feeling that he was a disgrace to men everywhere. But Castle didn't care about their opinions. He eagerly followed Beckett into the elevator.

Neither of them knew that as soon as Castle drove away from the 12th Precinct, the assassins sent by Senator William to kill Beckett reported their movements to the senator. Upon learning that Beckett had left the precinct with her novelist boyfriend, Senator William hesitated for less than ten seconds before ordering the hitmen to eliminate them both.

Senator William had already learned that Beckett's boyfriend was a highly successful novelist. He couldn't be sure if Beckett had already informed him of the situation, so having decided to eliminate the troublesome police director, he didn't mind killing one more person. After all, if he was going to face a huge backlash for having a precinct director assassinated, he might as well make sure all loose ends were tied up.

As Castle drove with Beckett toward their chosen restaurant, he began to sense something was wrong. Thanks to the System, Castle had inherited the skills of Jason Bourne, the most skilled operative in CIA history. Detecting surveillance and following was basic training for a CIA operative, and someone of Bourne's caliber had developed a terrifyingly sharp sense for such things. Although Castle hadn't reached Bourne's full level of expertise, the assassins sent by Senator William weren't top-notch either.

As a result, the killers trailing Castle's car had only followed them for two blocks before Castle, with at least 70% of Bourne's abilities, noticed their presence.

Confident in his skills, Castle instantly knew who was behind the cars following them. There was an 80% chance it was Senator William, and his motive was easy to guess. Since Senator William was notorious for directly eliminating problems when they arose, Castle could figure out that their plan to investigate the senator's accomplices had been exposed. To avoid fighting on two fronts, Senator William likely decided to take out Beckett first, seeing her as the easier target.

With a slight smile, Castle realized that those tailing them wouldn't dare to attack them on the bustling streets of Manhattan, meaning he and Beckett were safe for now. He casually mentioned his discovery as if it were a joke.

"What did you say? We're being followed? And there's a good chance it's by people sent by Senator William Bracken to silence us?" Beckett was shocked by Castle's words, finding it hard to believe that the senator had become this desperate.

Castle, calmly driving, replied, "Yes, shortly after we left the precinct, two cars started trailing us. Don't turn around; you can see them in the rearview mirror. A black Ford SUV and a GMC SUV—they've been taking turns following us. Unfortunately for them, they were too confident and didn't expect to be spotted. And right now, the only person who would do something like this, aside from Senator William Bracken, who's been pushed into a corner, is there anyone else it could be?"

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