Congressman Gavin, with his corpulent figure and wealthy connections, was no pushover. To have risen from a small-town councilman to a national congressman, he was certainly not without powerful backers. In this country, one doesn't climb to Gavin's position without the support of financial conglomerates, influential families, or other significant power structures.
After angrily slamming down the phone, Gavin didn't lose his cool despite Castle's clumsy attempt to sow discord. Castle hadn't expected to incite a full-blown war between Gavin and Senator William Bracken with a single phone call. His aim was merely to make Gavin aware that Bracken was planning to eliminate him, prompting Gavin to at least send someone to check out the location Castle provided. If Gavin sent his men and they cornered Nick Coonan in his safehouse, Castle would consider his plan a success.
As anticipated, things unfolded just as Castle had predicted. Although Gavin was indeed furious after the call, he was no fool. A man who had reached his current position wouldn't be easily manipulated. It took him only a moment to realize that the call was meant to provoke a conflict between him and Senator Bracken, likely orchestrated by someone who stood to benefit from the chaos.
While Gavin didn't want to admit it, he knew he had no choice. His first priority was to dispatch trusted subordinates to the location provided by the mysterious caller to see if they could capture Bracken's hitman. If they succeeded, Gavin would gain the upper hand.
At this point, Gavin also realized that any hope of peace between him and Bracken was gone. They had always been in opposing parties, but Gavin had initially thought Bracken might pull some strings for him. After all, Bracken was about to launch a presidential campaign. However, Bracken's smooth words had turned into betrayal, with an assassin sent to Peanston to eliminate Gavin. There was no way Gavin could simply brush this off. As a politician, he couldn't allow himself to be trampled on—he had to fight back.
Without hesitation, Gavin ordered his most loyal subordinates to head to the location mentioned in the call, instructing them to capture the assassin alive if possible. Only with a live captive could Gavin use this situation as leverage against Bracken.
After his men left, Gavin began contemplating his next move. Should he retaliate against Bracken publicly, or should he use the assassin's testimony to pressure Bracken privately? Given Bracken's upcoming presidential campaign, a scandal involving the attempted assassination of a congressman would be politically fatal. The media would destroy Bracken, and his political career would be over.
Gavin's mind raced. He knew the FBI was closing in on him because of Vincent Adler's exposure and subsequent death. Unlike Bracken, who as a senator could potentially influence the FBI and the Department of Justice, Gavin didn't have such power. He had to decide whether to use the assassin as a bargaining chip to make Bracken help him escape the FBI's investigation, or to go down in a blaze of glory, taking Bracken with him.
Ultimately, Gavin decided that self-preservation was his priority. If his men captured the assassin, he would have a powerful card to play. Bracken would have to realize that only by protecting Gavin could he keep his presidential bid on track. If the story of Bracken hiring an assassin to kill a congressman made headlines, Bracken's political ambitions would be crushed.
The only uncertainty was how much evidence the FBI had on Gavin's dealings with Vincent Adler. If Bracken couldn't cover it up, and Gavin still faced investigation, he could always hand over the assassin and drag Bracken down with him. Such a move might even earn Gavin some favor from the higher-ups in his own party, possibly saving his skin.
Thus, Gavin's top priority was capturing Bracken's hitman in Peanston. With the assassin in his hands, Gavin would be in a position to either attack or defend as the situation demanded—exactly the mindset of a shrewd politician.
By now, Gavin's anger had subsided, replaced by a sense of gratitude toward the anonymous caller who had turned what seemed like a hopeless situation into one filled with new possibilities.
Castle, meanwhile, had no idea that his attempt to stir the pot had been perceived by Gavin as a lifeline. But even if he knew how things had turned out, Castle would still have made the call. Whether Gavin immediately went to war with Bracken or held onto Coonan as a trump card, Castle's goal of driving a wedge between the two was partially achieved. At the very least, Gavin and Bracken were now far from peaceful co-existence.
There was, however, one more task at hand: Castle needed to give the FBI a nudge to continue their investigation into Congressman Gavin. He had to convince them that the treasure on the submarine wasn't missing but had been stolen by Gavin and a powerful accomplice—none other than Senator William Bracken. The story would be that they had Vincent Adler killed to prevent their scheme from being exposed.
But how could Castle get this information to the FBI without arousing suspicion?
Castle mulled over various possibilities but couldn't come up with a foolproof way to anonymously tip off the FBI again. Using the same method twice—an anonymous phone call—was risky. Castle knew he couldn't push the investigation too quickly; otherwise, the FBI might suspect someone was manipulating them into going after Gavin and Bracken, potentially derailing Castle's plan.
In the end, Castle decided to hold off on contacting the FBI for now. He would wait to see if Gavin's men could capture Nick Coonan. Coonan, after all, had a military background, having served in the Desert Storm operation in the '90s as part of a special forces unit. Castle was curious to see if this once-elite soldier, now a middle-aged man softened by years of civilian life, could evade Gavin's men.
Castle's instincts were correct. Although Coonan had stayed holed up in his safehouse in Peanston, he had grown increasingly suspicious of Bracken's motives. Vulcan Simmons had subtly hinted to him that this mission might be a setup. Thus, after arriving in Peanston, Coonan cut off all contact with New York and bunkered down in an old safehouse he had prepared years ago. He was beginning to suspect that Bracken might be planning to use this mission to eliminate him.
Unfortunately for Coonan, the team Gavin sent after him were elite veterans from various branches of the military. These men were even more skilled than Coonan and, armed with precise intelligence, they had no trouble breaching Coonan's safehouse in Peanston. Despite Coonan's attempts to fight back, he was quickly subdued by Gavin's men armed with tranquilizer guns. Within moments, Coonan was unconscious and captured.
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