With the sniper rifle aimed at Vincent Adler, Castle listened intently through his earpiece as Mozzie relayed the drone's surveillance data. It seemed the FBI had underestimated the threat level, as their perimeter around the warehouse was only about three hundred meters. From Castle's position, more than a thousand meters away, he could easily shoot Vincent and then calmly make his escape.
The drone's reconnaissance showed no sign of federal agents within a five-hundred-meter radius of where Castle and John were positioned. This was a golden opportunity.
After a brief discussion with John over their tactical radios, Castle decided to take advantage of the FBI's delay in interrogating Vincent. He would shoot Vincent outside the warehouse, before he could be transported back to the FBI's New York office, where he might reveal something that could compromise Castle and his team.
Castle and John agreed to fire simultaneously, ensuring Vincent's death. With the distance exceeding a thousand meters, there was a chance that one shot might not do the job, so a double shot provided insurance.
Inside the warehouse, Peter was reporting to his furious boss, Hughes, about how he and Neal had been kidnapped, drugged, and brought to the warehouse. Meanwhile, the enthusiastic representative from the Department of Justice, who had no more interest in the situation without the treasure, was preparing to leave. With nothing left to find, he saw no reason to stay.
Hughes, after listening carefully to Peter's account, gave him a meaningful look. "Do you think Neal had a hand in this?"
Peter hesitated, recalling Neal's behavior since the previous morning. Though he couldn't be sure, something felt off. Just as he was about to voice his doubts, chaos erupted outside the warehouse. The two stopped talking and noticed that the FBI agents were rushing out of the building. Peter immediately left his boss's side to see what was happening.
As Peter and Hughes pondered Neal's involvement on the submarine's deck, the two federal agents escorting Vincent Adler had just reached a Suburban SUV, ready to load him into the vehicle. Suddenly, Vincent's head exploded, followed by a large caliber bullet ripping through his chest. The agents heard the gunshots only after seeing Vincent's gruesome demise.
"Sniper!" the agents instinctively sought cover, shouting the alert. Unbeknownst to them, Castle and John had already packed up their rifles and were preparing to leave. The FBI agents were in no real danger.
Vincent Adler, a once formidable crime boss, now lay lifeless like a broken doll near the SUV. Half his skull was blown away by a high-caliber sniper bullet, splattering brain matter onto the car door. His chest was also blown open by another shot, almost tearing him in half. Both shots were fired by Castle and John, who had opted for the McMillan TAC-50, a powerful anti-materiel rifle designed to destroy armored vehicles, not human targets. The result was catastrophic.
The nearby FBI agents quickly took cover after the sniper warning, while some special task force members aimed their rifles in the directions of the shots. However, with the snipers firing from over a thousand meters away, and the FBI's security perimeter limited to three hundred meters, none dared charge into the kill zone of a .50 caliber sniper rifle.
Castle and John, calmly packing up and retreating from their positions, had achieved their objective without any further resistance.
By the time Peter and Hughes arrived at the scene, John was already in Castle's car, leaving the area. Meanwhile, Mozzie, observing from a drone, chuckled as he instructed the little guy to fly the drones back, knowing their involvement was no longer needed.
Hughes, furious and frustrated, stormed out of the warehouse, staring in disbelief at Vincent Adler's corpse. The FBI director had hoped to both capture the long-sought criminal and seize the treasure from the submarine. But after discovering the submarine was empty, he consoled himself with the fact that at least Vincent Adler was in custody—until he was brutally executed by snipers moments before being loaded into the SUV.
"Dammit," Hughes muttered to himself, realizing the level of hatred against Vincent. Whoever planned this had not only wanted Vincent dead but had ensured success by deploying two snipers armed with .50 caliber anti-materiel rifles. It was clearly a planned execution.
As Hughes stood there in shock, Peter was listening intently to one of his subordinates, who held several small surveillance cameras in his hand.
Just as Hughes was about to order his men to search for the snipers' firing positions, Peter quickly approached him and reported their latest discovery.
"What did you say? You found several hidden surveillance cameras in the warehouse? Can we trace where they were transmitting to?" Hughes asked, sensing that this might lead them to whoever orchestrated Vincent's murder.
Peter confirmed, "Yes, we can. With our tech experts, we should be able to trace the signal back to its source within half an hour."
Determined to uncover the conspiracy, Hughes ordered, "Get on it, now. And bring Neal and Alex back to the office for questioning. I have a feeling Neal is hiding something."
Peter shared Hughes' suspicion but hesitated, remembering that Neal was no longer a convict but a free man with a pardon from the Justice Department. He explained the situation to Hughes, who was momentarily stunned by the realization.
"Damn it," Hughes cursed. Thanks to his own efforts, Neal was now a free man. They couldn't treat him like a suspect or risk legal repercussions by being too aggressive during questioning.
"Be careful how you question him. Focus on finding out who might have been working with Vincent. And make sure you grill Alex—she's more likely to know something," Hughes instructed before heading off to supervise the search for the snipers. Peter, receiving his orders, gathered the tech experts to trace the camera signals, hoping to uncover the identity of those who had been watching Vincent.
Meanwhile, Castle drove calmly with John toward the Long Island estate, where Mozzie had already sent an anonymous tip to the FBI, pointing them toward a congressman's estate as Vincent's previous hideout. Castle was ready to sit back and watch the chaos unfold when they got back.
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