Last night at home, Castle and Beckett had agreed that today, after Beckett finished handling her other duties at the precinct, they would arrest Nick Coonan on charges of drug dealing. Beckett wasn't expecting Coonan to suddenly grow a conscience and confess voluntarily. Instead, she planned to use the evidence Castle had gathered to pressure him into identifying William Bracken, the current New York State Senator, as the one who ordered the murder of her mother ten years ago. Even if Coonan stubbornly refused to talk, Castle had promised Beckett that he would find the murder weapon that Coonan used, which would definitively tie him to the crime.
This prospect had Beckett working with high energy in her office, driven by the thought that she was close to personally bringing her mother's killer to justice.
Meanwhile, Castle, who was lounging in the precinct's lobby chatting about gossip with Esposito, was in a similarly good mood. He had enjoyed a passionate night with his long-legged girlfriend Beckett and was still feeling a bit weak in the knees. Despite the enhancements his body had undergone, it was no match for Beckett, who was tireless in her passion. Castle mentally laughed at himself, knowing that the old saying "only the bull gets tired, never the field" applied all too well here.
As he cheerfully bantered with his colleagues while mulling over the situation in his mind, Castle received a call from his tech-savvy associate, the Little Guy. "Uncle Rick, the person you asked me to monitor has made a move. I forgot to inform you last night, but this guy has left New York City. According to his phone's GPS signal, he's now in Scranton. I figured you'd find this interesting, so I'm letting you know as soon as I noticed."
Castle instantly understood why Nick Coonan, whom he had asked the Little Guy to monitor, had left New York for Scranton. Reflecting on yesterday's events and considering Senator William Bracken's typical response to trouble—eliminating those who could cause problems—Castle quickly deduced that Bracken was likely planning to silence Coonan.
Castle instructed the Little Guy to increase surveillance on Coonan to the highest level, monitoring his every move. After hanging up, Castle headed straight to Beckett's office to inform her of this unexpected development. He wanted Beckett to decide whether to immediately alert the Scranton police to prevent Bracken's attempt to eliminate Coonan or to sit back and watch as the dirty work unfolded, letting the situation between Congressman Gavin and Senator Bracken escalate into a full-blown conflict.
The idea of letting Coonan carry out an assassination attempt on Congressman Gavin was tempting. Neither Gavin nor Bracken were good people, so Castle and Beckett had nothing to lose by letting them tear each other apart. Perhaps, in the process, they could uncover more of Bracken's dirty secrets. To achieve this, they needed to discreetly warn Congressman Gavin that a hitman sent by Bracken was on his way to kill him. This would eliminate any false sense of security Gavin might have and push him to see Bracken's ruthlessness clearly, leading him to strike back. After all, Gavin was a high-ranking congressman with his own powerful backers, and no one would believe he didn't have strong allies.
If Gavin decided to go to war with Bracken, Castle planned to quietly tip off the FBI, anonymously informing them that Vincent Adler's connections extended not only to Congressman Gavin but also to the seemingly righteous New York State Senator William Bracken. This would muddy the waters even more, creating the perfect opportunity for Castle and Beckett to fish in troubled waters.
Castle intended to lay all the information he had before Beckett and let her make the final decision. However, he already knew what Beckett, as a police officer, would choose. She wouldn't be able to sit back and let someone be murdered, even if it was a shady congressman. Her sense of duty would compel her to save Gavin's life.
As expected, when Beckett lifted her head from the files on her desk and heard from Castle that Coonan had likely received orders from Bracken the previous night to head to Scranton and eliminate Congressman Gavin to prevent any leaks about Bracken's ties to Vincent Adler, she quickly decided to notify Gavin. She wanted to warn him to increase his security and cooperate with the police to catch Coonan, ideally turning him into a key witness against Bracken.
Castle found himself internally cringing at Beckett's idealistic plan. He thought, *Come on, Beckett, do you really think Gavin, a seasoned congressman, would just roll over and confess? What makes you think he'll help take down Bracken?*
If they followed Beckett's plan, the most likely outcome would be Gavin using the assassination attempt to leverage Bracken, perhaps even capturing Coonan himself to blackmail Bracken into helping him evade the FBI's investigation. After all, both Gavin and Bracken were politicians—crafty, ruthless, and willing to do whatever it took to achieve their goals.
Castle explained his reasoning to Beckett, emphasizing that Gavin's primary goal would be to save himself, even if it meant negotiating with Bracken. However, if the pressure from the FBI was strong enough and Gavin realized he couldn't escape unscathed, he might just use this opportunity to bring Bracken down with him, creating a scandal big enough to destroy Bracken's presidential ambitions. Since Gavin and Bracken belonged to opposing political parties, this scenario was entirely plausible.
Realizing the validity of Castle's point, Beckett agreed to follow his lead. She understood that Castle's strategy aimed to stir up trouble between Bracken and Gavin, making it easier for them to operate from the shadows. The idea of letting Bracken and Gavin tear each other apart was appealing, especially if it meant they could use the chaos to finally bring Bracken to justice.
With Beckett on board, Castle kissed her goodbye, left the precinct, and headed straight to Gianna's estate on Long Island to meet with the Little Guy. He was eager to stir up some more trouble.
When Castle arrived at the estate, he didn't bother informing John and his wife in the main house. Instead, he headed directly to the Little Guy's small building. Bursting through the door, Castle enthusiastically greeted him, asking him to pull up Coonan's current location. Castle wanted to see if Coonan had made any moves yet, and after that, he planned to play the role of the mysterious informant and tip off Congressman Gavin about the impending assassination attempt.
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