Castle was quietly waiting for nightfall in the small building behind Gianna's estate that the chubby little Harry had recently converted into an operations command center. He had also declined John Wick's offer to accompany him to the warehouse that Vincent Adler had rented outside New York Harbor, even if John just wanted to stay outside as backup.
Castle had no reasonable explanation for how he alone could dismantle the high explosives on the submarine's hatch and inside, explosives that had troubled even Vincent Adler's well-equipped men. Nor could he explain how he would manage to empty the submarine without anyone noticing.
The only reason no one questioned him was that they trusted him, but bringing John Wick along would raise too many unanswerable questions.
Mozzie and Neal were genuinely concerned about whether Castle could indeed pull off what he claimed—sneak into the heavily guarded warehouse without being detected and then clear out the entire submarine under the noses of Vincent's men. However, out of respect for Castle, they kept their worries to themselves.
John Wick and Gianna had a different perspective. Gianna knew about Castle's ambiguous relationship with a high-ranking Elder at the High Table, whose personal guard had once helped Castle destroy her idiot brother's nightclub in Paris. Because of this, both Gianna and John assumed that Castle was trying to keep his connection with the Elder hidden, which is why he insisted on going alone. After all, the couple had personally verified Castle's skills, which were on par with, or even surpassed, John's. They weren't particularly worried about Castle's safety. If Vincent's men discovered him, Castle could easily fight his way out.
John and Gianna had seen firsthand, at the shooting range on the estate, that Castle's marksmanship was terrifyingly accurate, much like John Wick's. Gianna knew about the human traffickers in Paris, whom Castle had eliminated, so the couple wasn't concerned for his safety. If Vincent's men discovered Castle, it would simply shift from a stealth operation to an open battle. And given Castle's skills, Gianna and John had no reason to worry that he couldn't handle any enemies he encountered. John's offer to accompany him was merely a gesture of friendship.
Gianna, for her part, viewed this entire operation as a sort of game. Castle's plan, full of flaws, was child's play to someone like her, trained to inherit the vast power of the D'Antonio family. She didn't step in to correct the plan because she saw it as a way to pass the time while on maternity leave.
Vincent Adler might be formidable, but he was nothing compared to the D'Antonio family, one of the twelve High Table leaders that had dominated the underworld for centuries. When Vincent tried to post a bounty on Castle at the New York Continental, his membership was immediately revoked. How could someone like that concern Gianna?
Neal and Mozzie perceived Vincent as unbeatable only because they lacked the kind of overwhelming power and resources he possessed. Law enforcement, like Peter, struggled to capture Vincent due to bureaucratic red tape and the interference of vested interests. But for Gianna, this was a joke. If Vincent had irritated her, one phone call would have been enough to end him. John had even considered going to Argentina to kill Vincent when he first posted the bounty on Castle, and it was only Castle's insistence on keeping Vincent alive that stopped him.
Unlike Neal and Mozzie, who were thinkers rather than fighters, and unlike law enforcement, which needed to follow procedures, Gianna had no such constraints. If Vincent tried to interfere with Castle's plan, Gianna would not hesitate to order her men to eliminate him.
With this confidence, Gianna wasn't fazed when Castle declined John's offer to accompany him.
Meanwhile, Neal and Alex were staying in touch via video calls from home. Due to the ankle monitor, Neal couldn't personally visit the Long Island estate, but modern technology allowed him to stay updated. After Castle turned down John's offer, John and Gianna returned to the main house, leaving Castle, Mozzie, and Harry in the small building, waiting for nightfall when Castle would execute his risky plan alone.
Harry and Mozzie's job was to keep the drone hovering over the congressman's estate, less than five kilometers away, to monitor Vincent. Harry also had the crucial task of eavesdropping on Vincent's phone calls, ensuring that Castle wasn't caught off guard if Vincent's men discovered him.
John had previously installed some surveillance cameras in the warehouse Vincent rented, but none were positioned to capture the submarine fully, only part of its tail. This meant Castle wasn't too worried about revealing anything extraordinary to Mozzie and Harry, as long as he could avoid Vincent's men. He could act freely.
Thanks to John's cameras, Castle knew that Vincent hadn't placed many men inside the warehouse. There were only four, and they weren't guarding the submarine directly but were in a room next door. Vincent's real forces were stationed outside the warehouse. Vincent, aware that his presence would attract attention, didn't stay in the warehouse, but he also couldn't fully trust his men to guard the treasure-laden submarine. The real threat was outside, not inside. The four men inside were just caretakers, while the outer perimeter was heavily guarded.
Vincent believed that by surrounding the warehouse, he could secure the submarine and prevent any attempts to steal its contents. He never imagined that someone like Castle could not only sneak in alone but also empty the submarine using abilities far beyond anything Vincent could comprehend. Vincent assumed that even if someone knew about the submarine, they would need transportation to steal it, and his men would surely intercept them.
But Vincent hadn't accounted for someone like Castle, who could single-handedly empty the submarine and possessed a host of extraordinary abilities. Castle was about to do what would typically take several people—and he was going to do it without anyone knowing.
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