To be fair, Castle may have somewhat misjudged the current state of these panicking Japanese officials, who seemed like ants on a hot pan. It wasn't that they didn't want to use tricks or set a trap for Castle, but their most urgent priority was to ensure that he wouldn't hand over the list of covert operatives—intelligence that could cost countless lives—to the U.S. government.
Of course, both the humiliated Japanese Prime Minister and the even more distressed Chief Cabinet Secretary harbored hopes of placating Castle first. They intended to create the illusion of becoming "unlikely friends" after this dramatic conflict and, once the situation had calmed down, find a way to settle accounts with the man who had inflicted the greatest loss their Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office had ever suffered.
But to their surprise, Castle did not take the bait at all.
If they couldn't convince Castle to cooperate, they would have no choice but to prepare for the immediate evacuation of all their covert operatives stationed across the U.S. mainland. The loss would be incalculable. Many of these operatives held positions in critical institutions, and a forced withdrawal would mean that 70 years of meticulous post-World War II espionage work in the U.S. would go up in smoke.
Was this a loss the current Prime Minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary could shoulder? Absolutely not.
Castle, however, couldn't care less about the havoc this was wreaking on them. What did it have to do with him? "You were the ones who provoked me first!" he thought. "Damn it, when you couldn't get what you wanted from me, you resorted to kidnapping my daughter? You even went so far as to find an Asian girl in Hawaii, posing as someone from South Korea, to approach my child. Your malice is crystal clear!"
Now they were panicking? Too late!
Castle had no intention of reaching any sort of agreement with the Japanese. He knew that dealing with a nation steeped in schemes and intrigue carried immense risk. Agreeing to any of their proposals could easily lead to exploitation later. To play it safe, Castle wasn't about to fall for their tricks.
If this had been an ordinary American, they might have fallen into the trap. After all, most Americans viewed Japan as little more than a U.S. protectorate, exuding a misplaced confidence in the Japanese. But Castle—who in his previous life as a Chinese citizen harbored a deep mistrust and understanding of Japanese duplicity—wasn't susceptible to their usual games. The tricks that had worked so well for the Japanese against unsuspecting targets were utterly useless against Castle.
After spending a few enjoyable days relaxing on the tropical island with his daughter and girlfriend, Castle decided it was time to fulfill a promise. On December 28th, he arranged a private meeting with Major Steve McCret, who had been instrumental in rescuing Alexis and whose team had completed their sweep of Japanese operatives in Hawaii. It was time to repay the favor.
Previously, when Castle had been stuck in New York, far from Hawaii and unable to mount a rescue for Alexis himself, he had turned to Major McCret for help. At that time, Castle had promised that if the major safely rescued his daughter, Castle would assist in uncovering the truth behind the murder of Steve's father, John McCret.
Now that Castle was in Hawaii, he could finally reveal part of the truth to Steve. The delay wasn't just a matter of timing; Castle couldn't have revealed the details too quickly, as it would have seemed suspicious. Moreover, Steve had given up his Christmas holiday to help rescue Alexis, and Castle felt he owed the man some closure.
That morning, Castle called Steve, who was now resting at home after completing his mission. Castle invited him to Robin's estate, where they could discuss the matter in private. The information Castle was about to share was sensitive, involving not just Steve's father, but also the current Governor of Hawaii, Jamison, as well as Steve's long-lost mother.
Castle had spent considerable time deliberating whether to share everything. Initially, he had planned to keep certain details hidden and only intervene later when Steve inevitably fell into the trap set by Wu Fa, the man responsible for John McCret's death. However, Castle realized that constantly monitoring a situation thousands of miles away from New York would be more trouble than it was worth. If Steve didn't explicitly seek his help, Castle would be left in an awkward position. Better to lay out the facts now and let Steve decide how to handle them.
When Steve arrived at Robin's estate, Castle wasted no time. He took Steve to the beachfront, opened his laptop, and began to explain the full story.
As Castle unfolded the details, Steve, a former Navy SEAL with six years of combat experience, couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. What Castle revealed was truly shocking.
Steve learned that his mentor, Governor Jamison, had a deep connection with Wu Fa, the man who had orchestrated his father's death. Furthermore, the matter wasn't just about the governor; it also involved Steve's mother, Doris McCret. Steve had long believed his mother had died, but according to Castle's intel, she had been a CIA operative who went missing during a mission over 30 years ago and had been hiding in Japan ever since.
It was difficult for Steve to process. Could it really be true that his father, John McCret, wasn't just killed because Victor Hesse wanted the release of his brother, Anton Hesse? Instead, was it because Wu Fa had been trying to extract information about Doris McCret's whereabouts and her hidden identity?
Castle didn't just leave Steve with this shocking revelation. He also provided evidence linking Wu Fa to Yakuza leader Hiro Nishimura on Oahu, as well as his ties to Governor Jamison. It was a tangled web, one that left Steve reeling.
Castle had essentially laid out the full backstory of the Steve-Wu Fa rivalry from the TV show Castle had watched in his previous life. He wanted to see if Steve, armed with this foreknowledge, could eliminate Wu Fa early and prevent the protracted cat-and-mouse game that had spanned multiple seasons in the original storyline.
Castle even provided Steve with Wu Fa's current location, revealing that he was hiding in Kaesong, North Korea. Castle hoped this would prevent Steve from being deceived by a certain CIA agent into venturing into North Korea, where he had been captured in the original series. In that version of events, Steve's team had been forced to undertake a perilous rescue mission, using outdated equipment to retrieve him from North Korea.
As if that weren't enough, Castle gave Steve another piece of intelligence—this time concerning Steve's partner, Danny Williams.
As a fellow "daughter dad," Castle had a soft spot for Danny, whose own daughter, Grace, was about to be kidnapped. Castle had learned that Rick Peterson, Danny's former police academy instructor and a man Danny had testified against, leading to his imprisonment a decade earlier, was planning to kidnap Grace to exact revenge. Castle couldn't stand by and let another little girl be abducted, so he passed this information to Steve, instructing him to warn Danny.
"Tell Danny to be on guard," Castle said. "Peterson is already on his way to Hawaii, and his target is Grace. Don't let your guard down."
Steve, still digesting everything Castle had shared, nodded solemnly. Castle's intel had given him plenty to think about, and even more to act upon. It was now up to Steve to decide how to use the information and chart his course forward.
(End of Chapter)
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