Even though Castle had a retired hitman like John Wick on his friend list, he absolutely detested the profession, especially the brainless assassins of the Brotherhood of Assassins who took orders from a loom. It was a joke that such an oddity could still exist in today's highly advanced information society.
After repeatedly confirming with his system that these seemingly invincible movie characters were not as formidable as they appeared, Castle realized that their impressive skills were due to unique traditions. The so-called curved bullets were a result of special shooting techniques, and "bullet time" was a skill akin to martial arts that required special training. This meant that the world's will had capped their combat abilities within a certain range. Essentially, aside from Cross, who could use a telescope and special jet-propelled bullets to snipe someone from eight hundred kilometers away, the other assassins like the Gunsmith and Fox were formidable but still within human limits.
With this assurance, Castle felt relieved. He recalled that these assassins didn't indiscriminately kill people. The upcoming battle between Fox and Cross to protect Wesley in a supermarket and on the streets would pose minimal threat to bystanders. There was no need for Castle to worry excessively.
If not for Beckett taking over the case, Castle wouldn't have bothered with the internal strife of these assassins. Both the Brotherhood and Cross had blood on their hands. Despite Cross uncovering the Brotherhood leader Sloan's conspiracy, he too had innocent blood on his hands.
Castle's only reason for rushing to the Metropolitan Building's rooftop was to prevent Beckett from investing too much time in this case. The six corpses on the ground were all guilty, including the first victim, the Indian woman, who was an informant for X. There was no point in investigating further. Soon, Wesley, who was currently being ridiculed by his boss and cheated on by his girlfriend, would make the Brotherhood pay dearly.
Lost in these thoughts, Castle quickly made his way from the Long Island estate to Manhattan. He was cautious because he didn't know if the crazy Cross was still watching the scene with his telescope from his nearby hideout.
When Castle arrived at the rooftop, he saw Lanie examining the five bodies. He didn't rush to find Beckett but crouched down, intrigued, to inspect the body of X, the suited man with the slicked-back hair.
Lanie, focused on her examination, lit up when she saw Castle. She was eager to know the gossip between Castle and Beckett, especially after Beckett mentioned they almost had a romantic moment interrupted by a kick. Lanie had been trying to pry details out of Beckett ever since.
"Hey, Castle, long time no see! Want to talk about you and Beckett? I've got plenty of time," Lanie said in a sweet voice Castle hadn't heard before.
"Lanie, can you stop gossiping? We're at a crime scene," Beckett's voice interrupted. She had just arrived and overheard Lanie's question. Worried about what Castle might say in front of their colleagues, Beckett intervened.
Castle immediately stood up but signaled to Lanie that he would fill her in later. Then, he grabbed Beckett's arm and led her away from the bodies and the black spray-painted cross on the ground.
"What? You're saying the suited corpse out there killed the four men in work clothes and was sniped by a distant rifle? And he jumped over thirty meters from the opposite office building? Are you joking?" Beckett exclaimed, finding it hard to believe Castle's explanation about the Brotherhood of Assassins and the events of the case.
Castle had to reassure her. "No, Beckett, this isn't a joke. This is real, and it's more complicated than you think. The Brotherhood of Assassins is involved. The suited corpse is one of them, and the sniper was a former member named Cross. This is an internal conflict among assassins."
Castle explained the situation in detail to Beckett, emphasizing the complexity and danger. He urged her not to invest too much effort into the case and simply handle the scene before reporting it to Captain Montgomery.
Beckett, though shocked, trusted Castle. She suppressed her curiosity, decided to wrap up the scene, and report to Montgomery back at the precinct.
Seeing nothing more to do at the scene, Castle descended to the lobby, where he met Esposito and Ryan, who had finished interviewing witnesses in the office building across the street. They excitedly approached Castle, eager to share what they had learned.
"Castle, you won't believe what the witnesses said. They saw some crazy stuff," Esposito said.
Castle led them to a secluded spot and recounted the story of the Brotherhood of Assassins and the day's events. Esposito, with his Navy SEAL background, immediately grasped the seriousness and agreed to drop the case.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Esposito and Ryan supported Castle's decision to leave the case to the higher-ups. Castle had successfully averted a potential disaster by ensuring the NYPD wouldn't get entangled in the deadly world of the Brotherhood of Assassins.
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