Chapter 433: Analysis

Returning to the precinct with the two "assassins" sent by Senator William Bracken, Beckett was fuming as she and Castle made their way back. It was only on the way back that Castle cautiously pointed out that they had been so focused on ambushing these two obvious operatives of Senator Bracken that they overlooked the fact that these men hadn't actually done anything besides following them. In other words, Beckett really had no grounds to accuse them of attempted murder—at most, she could hold them on suspicion of stalking, but not for attempted murder.

Castle's reminder hit Beckett like a wake-up call. Indeed, after discovering the two men tailing them, she had been entirely focused on how to apprehend them, without considering that these two had simply followed them without taking any further action against her or Castle. This realization left Beckett feeling both frustrated and angry with herself, blaming her loss of composure whenever it came to anything related to William Bracken.

Back at the precinct, Beckett didn't even bother with the idea of interrogating the two men; she simply threw them into the holding cell. Back in her office, she sat down, visibly upset. Castle, who followed her in and closed the door, tried to comfort his girlfriend. "Don't be like this. Actually, this is a good thing. It shows that Senator Bracken is starting to panic; otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a clumsy move. While we can't charge those two with attempted murder, at least we know Bracken is definitely feeling the heat. And if I'm not mistaken, he already knows we can't charge them. I bet he's just as panicked as we are, if not more."

Beckett sat in her chair, still dejected. "I know, but what good does it do? What I want is to bring William Bracken down, not engage in this back-and-forth game with him."

Castle chuckled dismissively. "You're too close to the situation to see it clearly. Think about it—if Bracken is making mistakes like this, it means he's in a very precarious position. I think the main reason he sent assassins to follow you and wait for an opportunity to kill you is that he probably already knows you're planning to launch an internal investigation into those four corrupt cops in the NYPD. And now, he's likely focused on defending against an attack from Nick Coonan's side, the people who captured him. To avoid being caught between you and Coonan's group, he tried to take you out before they could make their move.

Since we've already alerted Bracken, effectively burning our bridges with him, I suggest we go all out and start a full investigation into his four remaining operatives within the NYPD. And remember, you've already spoken with the Chief Prosecutor at the District Attorney's office. Why not hand over the evidence we have against Bracken tomorrow and let them officially start investigating him? With both the NYPD and the DA's office coming at him from both sides, we don't need to wait for Coonan's group to make their move. We can launch our own pincer attack on Bracken. What do you think?"

Beckett was genuinely tempted by Castle's proposal. However, after recent experiences dealing with Bracken's power, she knew that relying solely on the evidence they had might bring Bracken down, but it would also face significant resistance. William Bracken was a rising political star groomed by the Republican Party, and if she took him down, the party might direct all its fury at her and Castle.

Although she was driven by a desire to avenge her mother, Beckett realized that pursuing this course might do more harm than good. Additionally, with the Democratic Party likely to take action against Bracken, there was no need for her to lead the charge.

After contemplating for a while, Beckett ultimately rejected Castle's proposal and instead advised him to wait a few more days to see what the Democrats would do.

Castle's proposal had been somewhat of a bluff. He was hoping Beckett would reject it because he knew the Democrats were on the verge of launching their attack on Bracken. His real intention was to play on Beckett's fears, making her realize that while she could indeed bring down Bracken, doing so would provoke the full wrath of the Republican Party. It was much smarter to let the Democrats do the heavy lifting while they stayed in the background and took advantage of the situation.

Now that Beckett had rejected his suggestion, Castle was relieved, knowing she wouldn't recklessly launch an investigation into the formidable Senator Bracken.

Meanwhile, in his office, Senator William Bracken was in a furious rage. He had just learned that the assassins he sent after Beckett had been captured by the clever policewoman. He couldn't believe his men had been caught so easily. What was happening in the world? Why had everything been going wrong for him lately?

In truth, it wasn't all that surprising. William Bracken was just an ordinary man who had used every trick in the book to climb to his current position. He wasn't from a family with deep roots or a powerful legacy. Take his supporters, for instance—Vulcan Simmons, a drug lord who trafficked in cocaine, was one of Bracken's major financial backers. This showed that Bracken was still a relatively small player. His subordinates were not the kind of loyal, elite operatives that a powerful family might have; instead, they were mostly retired Special Forces soldiers like Nick Coonan. But military experience doesn't necessarily make someone a skilled assassin. The two ex-soldiers he sent to tail Beckett had been easily apprehended by a policewoman and a writer, which was laughable.

If Bracken had been willing to lower himself and place a bounty through the Continental Hotel in New York, Beckett might have been in much greater danger. But whether out of pride or ignorance, Bracken continued to stubbornly rely on his clearly inadequate ex-soldiers for assassination missions. This alone showed that while he was a political star supported by the Republican Party, his actual status was low—he didn't even seem to know about the Continental Hotel. Even Vincent Adler, a past antagonist, had been a junior member of the Continental, only losing his membership after placing a bounty on Castle.

Regardless of whether Bracken knew about the Continental Hotel and chose to ignore it or was unaware of it entirely, he was facing a dire situation. His political enemies were preparing a deadly strike against him, and the operatives he sent to eliminate his problems had been captured by Beckett and brought to the precinct. The only piece of good news was that those two idiots had only been following Beckett and hadn't managed to make a move yet. This meant that he could quickly send a lawyer to get them out of the precinct, charged only with "stalking."

Given the current situation, Bracken needed all the manpower he could get. Nick Coonan had already been captured by the Democrats in Washington, and if he lost two more men, his resources would be even more strained. Fortunately, those two hadn't revealed their intentions, so Bracken could still send a lawyer to retrieve them. Right now, every extra person was a vital asset because he didn't know from which angle the Democrats would launch their attack. All he could do was defensively wait for the strike, which was infuriating for someone as proud as William Bracken.

Today's events in New York hadn't gone unnoticed by the Democrats, who were just as powerful as the Republicans. When they learned that Senator Bracken had made such a blunder by sending men to kill the NYPD's youngest precinct captain, they were overjoyed. Already prepared to strike against Bracken, they now saw an opportunity to collaborate with Beckett and possibly bring Bracken down for good.

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