Watching the footage captured by the military reconnaissance kit, graciously lent by Northrop Grumman, from a drone hovering over 3,000 meters above, Vincent Adler—who had finally achieved his childhood dream—was like a thief who had just stolen a watermelon from someone else's field, eager to escape. Standing on the deck, he frantically urged his men to clean up the scene quickly and get out of there, fearing that if the shameless U.S. Coast Guard spotted them and the U.S. government learned that he had salvaged a submarine filled with precious WWII-era artifacts just off the coast of New York, well, everyone knows how that would go. The U.S. government is notoriously greedy, and Vincent was well aware of that.
It was this understanding of the U.S. government's tendencies that made Vincent so anxious. Before he raised the submarine, he wasn't this nervous, but now that his dream was almost within reach, with just one final step remaining, the thought of someone ruining it made Vincent feel like he might explode on the spot.
As Castle watched Vincent direct his men to hide the fully-sealed submarine inside the semi-submersible salvage ship and begin to slowly turn toward New York Harbor, he knew it wouldn't be long before it was his turn to act.
Fortunately, Beckett was currently preoccupied with the various formalities of transitioning into her new role as precinct captain, and based on Vincent's previous journey from New York Harbor to the sunken submarine's location, Castle calculated that even if Vincent slowed down to ensure the submarine's safe arrival, it wouldn't take too long. The most likely scenario was that Vincent would return to the harbor in the dead of night when no one was around, just as he had done when departing. This led to the conclusion that the earliest Castle could infiltrate the warehouse would be the night after tomorrow. For now, the most important thing was to keep a close eye on Vincent, ensuring nothing unexpected happened at the last minute.
At this point, Little Fatty had already diligently pulled up the feeds from the hidden cameras John Wick had installed in Vincent's rented warehouse under Gianna's direction, displaying them on the screen in front of everyone. From these cameras, it was clear that Vincent Adler indeed planned to hide the submarine in this warehouse.
The warehouse had a feature that surprised even Castle—a dry dock. It was now obvious that Vincent had chosen this warehouse specifically because of this dry dock. With it, bringing the submarine into the warehouse wouldn't be difficult. They simply needed to flood the dry dock, push the submarine in, secure it, and then drain the water, leaving the submarine safely above the surface.
No wonder, in the original series, the submarine Vincent showcased to Neal and Peter was propped up inside the warehouse. It turned out he had found a warehouse with a dry dock.
It wasn't until now that Castle realized why Vincent had rented a warehouse near New York Harbor. Initially, Castle thought Vincent was worried about being intercepted by the Coast Guard while trying to move the submarine out of U.S. territorial waters after the salvage. Alternatively, he considered that Vincent might have rented the warehouse to bring Neal in to defuse the explosives, as Vincent's father was one of the people who had placed the explosives on the submarine, and Vincent knew he didn't have the expertise to safely remove them. It's important to remember that Nazi-era military technology was highly advanced, and those explosives, despite being underwater for decades, were still functional. Castle had believed Vincent's purpose in renting the warehouse was to have Neal Caffrey defuse the explosives for him. After all, Neal was known for his deft skills.
Seeing the dry dock, Castle now realized just how outmatched he was against someone as cunning as Vincent. If it weren't for his knowledge from watching the series, he wouldn't stand a chance against Vincent's intricate planning. Vincent's preparations and calculations were flawless, and the only hiccup in his plan was due to his lack of proper intelligence work, leading him to underestimate Castle, mistaking him for just a novelist. But this didn't mean Vincent was weak. Ten years ago, he had scammed all of Wall Street and managed to escape with $1 billion while evading a global manhunt by the FBI. Anyone who underestimated Vincent was being irresponsible.
Vincent's meticulous thinking and swift execution were evident from this salvage operation. He had quickly adjusted his methods when the initial approach proved dangerous and succeeded on his second attempt. These observations taught Castle a valuable lesson while making him reflect on whether his own plan could be executed smoothly.
Of course, reflection didn't mean hesitation. Castle was determined to carry out his plan despite any challenges that might arise. He had come too far to turn back now. The only adjustment would be to exercise extra caution during the operation.
Moreover, Castle had excellent backup in the form of Little Fatty, Harry. When the time came for the infiltration, Castle planned to take along sufficient equipment and rely on Little Fatty for technical support, like temporarily disabling the surveillance cameras Vincent had set up in the warehouse. Mozzie would also be on standby for any other electronic support. With all this in place, Castle felt confident about the success of his plan as long as Vincent stored the submarine in the warehouse.
Castle had also prepped Neal for a potential distraction. He knew that Vincent was still wanted by the FBI, and if Neal tipped off the FBI about Vincent's return to New York, Vincent would likely go to great lengths to prevent his hard-earned submarine from being discovered by the FBI. This would almost certainly lead Vincent to personally divert the FBI's attention away from the harbor, giving Castle ample time to carry out his plan.
After all, Castle possessed a unique skill set that allowed him to infiltrate the warehouse undetected. Recently, he had also received a targeted reward from the system for foiling Simon's plans: the complete skillset of a bomb expert. This was crucial for dismantling the explosives on the submarine. Combined with his massive personal space—10 meters by 10 meters by 10 meters—Castle had all he needed to transport the submarine's valuable artifacts and artwork in one go. It was like having the ultimate tool for a heist! With his skills and resources, he could do the work of at least twenty men. That portable space was truly the ultimate cheat code for a time traveler!
Naturally, once Castle managed to sneak into the warehouse, he had already decided to enter the submarine through the hatch on the bridge rather than the deck entrance Neal and Peter had used in the original series.
The reason for choosing the bridge entrance was its concealed nature. The hatch was located on the bridge floor, surrounded by structures that blocked the line of sight, reducing the chances of being spotted by Vincent's men while defusing the explosives at the entrance.
And once Castle was inside the submarine, the outcome would be inevitable. He just hoped Vincent Adler had a strong heart because when he finally brought Neal to disarm the deck entrance, only to find the submarine completely emptied of its precious contents, there was a high chance of a heart attack or stroke!
For now, Castle was biding his time, waiting for Vincent Adler to safely transport the submarine back to the warehouse. Then, Neal would report Vincent's return to the FBI, further solidifying Neal's standing as a consultant. This would also remind Vincent of Neal's existence. The ultimate goal was to provoke Vincent into kidnapping Neal and his FBI partner to force Neal to disarm the explosives. Without this sequence of events, how else would things come to a head?
Bringing Beckett in to arrest Vincent would be pointless since, in the end, she'd have to hand him over to the FBI anyway. There would be no benefit to Beckett, so why bother?
It was better to let the FBI, who had been chasing Vincent for years, catch him. Castle had already set the stage for Peter to get involved. As soon as Vincent brought the submarine back to the warehouse, Neal would inform Peter of Vincent's presence in New York. Knowing that his cover had been blown, Vincent would undoubtedly leave the warehouse, giving Castle ample time to execute his plan.
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