Chapter 431: The Setup

Castle scoffed dismissively. "Of course, it's related to Senator William Bracken. Who else could it be? He's the only one I've crossed recently. Or are you telling me one of those cars tailing us is from the FBI?"

The kid on the other end of the call sounded genuinely surprised. "Uncle Rick, how did you know? One of the cars following you is indeed from the FBI. I just checked—it's the GMC SUV, which belongs to the New York branch of the Bureau. But I have no idea why they're tailing you…"

This revelation left Castle and Beckett staring at each other in shock. Castle had never imagined that one of the cars following them was from the FBI. While Beckett was still trying to make sense of it, Castle quickly pieced together what was happening. It had to be the work of Peter Burke. The FBI had likely picked up on his interactions with Neal and were now trying to gather information from him. Neal's solo trip to Rhode Island must have triggered this, prompting Peter Burke's FBI partner to keep tabs on Castle, hoping to extract some intel.

Castle, remaining calm, asked, "What about the other car? The black Ford? It can't be FBI too, can it? Who's behind that one?"

They could hear the kid typing furiously on his keyboard, likely while stuffing his face with snacks. He answered, his mouth full, "The other car isn't FBI. It's registered to someone named Vulcan Simmons…"

At the mention of Vulcan Simmons, Castle and Beckett exchanged knowing glances. This confirmed their suspicion—the people in the black Ford were definitely the hitmen sent by Senator William Bracken to assassinate Beckett. The FBI's involvement was an unexpected twist, but the situation with the hitmen was clear.

Now, things had taken an interesting turn. The hitmen sent by Bracken were on a collision course with the FBI agents, who were probably clueless about the senator's sinister intentions. Castle could hardly contain his amusement at Bracken's streak of bad luck. He didn't consider the possibility that the FBI agents might be working for Bracken because he knew they were likely interested in Neal and the missing treasure from the submarine. Even if they were working for Bracken, Castle didn't care. He found this whole game quite entertaining and wasn't worried about being ambushed as long as he had a gun.

Beckett, puzzled by Castle's continued driving toward the restaurant, finally asked, "Castle, why are you still heading to the restaurant? Shouldn't we be finding a place to make them move first?"

Castle, unbothered, replied while driving, "It's still broad daylight. Do you really think these guys will attack us on a busy Manhattan street? They'll wait until it's dark. We might as well enjoy our meal first."

Castle's flippant response nearly drove the already tense Beckett crazy. She glared at him, exasperated. "Are you out of your mind? What if they attack us while we're in the restaurant? What about the innocent people around us? How can you think about eating at a time like this? I'm calling Esposito right now. We'll catch these guys while they still think we haven't noticed them. And what's with the FBI? Are you telling me Bracken has enough power to manipulate the FBI too?"

Reluctantly, Castle changed direction as Beckett instructed, while explaining, "It's not Bracken's people. They're after me. I've been in close contact with Neal Caffrey recently, and the FBI must be hoping to get some intel on him through me."

Beckett, familiar with the infamous forger and art thief Neal Caffrey, was curious. "The FBI wants to investigate him? I thought he was working as a consultant with them to catch criminals. Why are they tracking you?"

Castle, not wanting to delve into Neal's situation, deflected. "That's not our main concern right now, is it? We should focus on finding a safe place to set a trap and catch Bracken's hitmen before worrying about anything else."

He added, "Since the FBI is tailing us, we might as well let them witness how powerful Bracken really is. When they see his hitmen trying to assassinate an NYPD precinct director, they'll start to question Bracken's squeaky-clean image. Don't you think?"

Beckett hadn't expected Castle to think so far ahead. After considering it for a moment, she agreed to Castle's idea of letting the FBI agents observe the takedown. She then called Esposito and Ryan at the precinct.

After briefing them on the situation—how she and Castle were being tailed by hitmen sent by Bracken and instructing them to bring weapons and gear to the designated location without alerting anyone else—Beckett turned to Castle. "Let's head to the abandoned warehouse on 147th Street. It's not far from the precinct, and there's no pedestrian traffic there. Even if they open fire, no bystanders will get hurt. Plus, that warehouse only has one road in and out. Once they follow us in, Esposito and Ryan can block the exit, and they won't be able to escape."

Without hesitation, Castle turned the car around and headed for 147th Street. He then casually mentioned, "You should grab the bulletproof vest in the trunk and put it on. Also, there's an FN SCAR in the trunk. I've got it fully equipped with tactical attachments, and there are three magazines too. We'll have plenty of firepower."

Beckett stared at Castle as if he were a stranger. "How is it that I never knew you had this much firepower in your car? What else have you been hiding from me?"

Castle, grinning mischievously, tried to appease her. "I told you I was trained by a world-class assassin, remember? And I've got a concealed carry permit signed by the NYPD commissioner himself. Did you think I was joking? I'm telling you, my shooting skills are top-notch. Even my trainer said so."

Beckett sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "Castle, training and real combat are two different things. Just because you're a good shot on the range doesn't mean you'll perform well in a real fight. Listen to me—don't do anything reckless. Stay close to me, got it?"

Beckett's words reflected her continued disbelief in Castle's claims of being a highly skilled fighter. Castle understood why. After all, he'd always appeared weak in front of her. Suddenly claiming to be a formidable fighter would naturally be hard for her to accept. So, he didn't argue. He just smiled and focused on driving to 147th Street. He figured that Bracken wouldn't have sent just one hitman, so there would be plenty of opportunities to demonstrate his skills later. There was no need to argue about it now—everything would become clear soon enough.

What Castle and Beckett didn't know was that the FBI agents following them in the GMC SUV were Peter Burke's trusted subordinates, Jones and Diana. They were tailing Castle today, hoping to glean some information about Neal from the writer who had become close to him. But as they followed what they thought was an unsuspecting Castle, they were surprised to discover that another mysterious car was also tailing him. It didn't take long for them to find out that the other car belonged to someone working for New York State Senator William Bracken. Suddenly, the situation had gotten a lot more interesting...

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