Neither Hobbs from Diplomatic Security nor Jo Martinez from the FBI knew that Castle, hoping to witness the "London Has Fallen" incident a few years down the line, had intervened the moment he learned from Zidan that Bakawi was hiding in New York. Without hesitation, he made an anonymous call to scare Bakawi into fleeing.
Hobbs and his biker crew chasing Bakawi wasn't a big deal, but Castle was quite wary of Jo's two FBI teams. Both the seasoned Jabo from the Joint Command Center and the Zidan-Maggie duo were renowned, and Jo Martinez herself was no less skilled than Beckett. Castle feared that under this formidable FBI hunt, Bakawi might slip up and get caught.
The FBI had recruited Jo precisely because NYPD's female leadership under Beckett had recently shown just how effective a woman's meticulous attention to detail could be in complex cases.
And Jo also had "Old Henry" on her side. After living over two hundred years, this man had seen and survived it all. A former doctor who had witnessed Jack the Ripper in London in 1888, he was once wrongfully admitted to a mental institution, fought in WWII, and weathered countless storms. The depth of his experience alone put him above 99% of the world's population. Now, having recently emerged from grieving the death of his friend Abigail, he was ready to help Jo if Bakawi's case troubled her too deeply. Who knew what hidden connections and resources this man had accumulated over the years that might expose Bakawi?
If Bakawi's cover was blown, he would be no match against the FBI in their home turf of New York. So, Castle took action to prevent that scenario, making Jarvis use a spoofed satellite number to warn Bakawi of his perilous situation.
As Castle expected, Bakawi reacted immediately. Having no concrete plans yet to avenge his family against the US, the Yemeni arms dealer wasted no time fleeing once he learned that not only was Hobbs on his trail but the FBI was also aware of his presence in New York. The rule of "live to fight another day" was universal.
While Castle secretly tipped Bakawi off, Zidan and Maggie were meeting with Hobbs and Dominic's team to discuss Bakawi. The moment Zidan and Maggie flashed their FBI badges, Hobbs knew his operation had been detected by the "local power," the FBI. However, Hobbs and Dominic were not petty, and seeing that they couldn't shut the FBI out, they readily welcomed the two agents.
Dominic felt a sense of relief. Having local FBI agents involved meant that if the NYPD intervened again, as they had in his last showdown in Central Park, he might avoid facing those over-armed, trigger-happy cops from Beckett's 12th Precinct.
But just as Hobbs, representing Diplomatic Security, struck a deal with Zidan and Maggie from the FBI, Tej, who had been monitoring his computer, suddenly exclaimed, "How is this possible?"
Everyone turned to look, and Tej, looking puzzled, explained, "I just got an email from Harry. He says they have solid evidence that Amir Bakawi just left New York. He even sent some drone footage—look!"
Everyone crowded around Tej's laptop to see the images. This was, of course, Castle's doing, as he had Jarvis send this "intel" in Harry's name. Knowing Hobbs would share the evidence with the FBI, Castle had a drone take photos of Bakawi boarding a car with his bodyguards in Queens, then caught his car on the highway out of the city. Only after confirming that Bakawi had left New York did Jarvis send the photos to Tej an hour later.
Castle also provided a perfect cover. When Dominic had reached out to Harry earlier, the kid claimed he was too busy testing Northrop Grumman's latest police drone. So, as a "friend," Harry sent out his drone on a test run across New York while Dominic and his crew were hunting for Bakawi. It was purely "luck" that his drone happened to catch clear shots of Bakawi. At least, that's what the email explained.
If questioned about why he didn't notice it immediately, Castle had Jarvis prepare a response. The drone was a prototype not yet equipped with real-time image transmission. Castle's message was clear: "You should be grateful for my help. If you're going to question my motives, this friendship is over."
Castle even had Jarvis stealthily hack into Tej's laptop to monitor their reactions. To his surprise, he saw Zidan and Maggie in the footage, watching the drone images alongside Hobbs and Dominic.
Zidan, puzzled, asked, "How did you get surveillance drone images? These photos look like they were taken from a military-grade drone. I saw similar footage when I served in the army. Is your contact with the military?"
Dominic remained silent, letting Tej explain, "No, my friend is a test pilot at Northrop Grumman. Recently, he's been flying a prototype police drone around New York. When we first arrived, we wanted him to help find Bakawi's hideout, but he was too busy. Apparently, he only found these photos in the drone's memory after the test."
Zidan looked skeptical. "He just sent you the photos? Isn't that a security risk?"
Tej chuckled, "I didn't explain fully. He's only affiliated with Northrop Grumman because his uncle, who holds significant authority in the company, designed this drone. My friend's just the assistant."
Maggie, confused, asked, "Wait, aren't military drones supposed to transmit images in real time? Why is this footage an hour old?"
Tej pointed to the email. "Harry explained that this prototype isn't equipped with real-time data links yet. Today's test was a free-flight with no live controls. So, he only found Bakawi's images after the drone landed and he checked the memory."
Hearing this, Zidan and Maggie exchanged a look, astonished to realize that the NYPD might soon have access to drones as advanced as the military's. After a silent exchange, they decided to inform their superiors of this critical information as soon as they returned.
But for now, they had another issue to deal with: Bakawi had fled—what were they supposed to do now?
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American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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