American TV Writer

Who was Sean? He was an old hand, a legendary "R.E.D." agent with top-secret files in the CIA. Even the infamous, formidable Frank Moses once worked under him!

When Sloan heard Sean's name and blurted out in shock, Sean's tone didn't change in the slightest. He maintained the same angry, deep voice as before. Though Sean didn't fully understand Sloan's panicked outburst, he knew from years of experience, combined with Winston's earlier information that his son had taken a large amount of C4 from the Continental Hotel, that Rick had already made his move.

As a father feeling guilty for his estranged son, Sean didn't hesitate for a moment to take credit for his son's actions. Using the same cold, angry tone, he addressed Sloan, who was now drenched in cold sweat. "I don't know who gave you the audacity to send your assassins after my son, but this is your warning, Sloan. If any of your Brotherhood members come near my son or his girlfriend again, I'll show you that in my eyes, your Assassin Brotherhood is nothing. 

This is your final warning—don't test the limits of my patience."

Without waiting for Sloan's response, the domineering Sean hung up the phone, leaving Sloan standing dumbstruck in the trembling third-floor conference room of the collapsing textile factory. For a moment, he even forgot to run for his life.

It wasn't until some of the other assassins snapped him out of his stupor that Sloan finally realized the danger. Following his comrades, he hurried out of the building. Once they reached the lawn, Sloan finally came back to his senses.

Damn it! As the realization hit him that the seemingly insignificant Castle was actually Sean's son—the mastermind behind the High Table—Sloan couldn't help but curse Senator William Bracken in his heart. Wasn't this a trap? How could Bracken lead him into such a dangerous situation?

Not only had Bracken dragged Sloan into this mess, but he also hadn't provided full intelligence. Sloan had unknowingly kicked an iron wall.

Staring at the now-ruined textile factory, his organization's headquarters, and recalling the direct threat from Sean, Sloan was furious yet helpless. He was enraged that Sean had blown up his headquarters without any negotiation, but he was also resigned to the fact that he had no way to retaliate.

Even without the Cross's betrayal and assassination spree against his former colleagues, Sloan knew there was no way the Assassin Brotherhood could survive a direct confrontation with the powerful High Table. While the Brotherhood's assassins were skilled, they had a significant weakness: their limited number of elite fighters. Even before the Cross's betrayal, the Brotherhood had fewer than 20 notable assassins. With the Cross's defection and his subsequent killing of three members, and Castle's recent elimination of the Gunsmith, the Brotherhood had already lost a quarter of its top-tier fighters. How could they hope to stand against the High Table, whose influence spanned the globe, with Continental Hotels in every corner?

This was one of the reasons Sloan had been so shocked. He knew the High Table had long been eyeing the Brotherhood, but due to the Brotherhood's peculiar philosophies, the High Table had mostly ignored them. But now, with the Brotherhood weakened by the Cross, and due to his own negligence—combined with Bracken's hidden agenda—Sloan had unwittingly provoked Sean, the real power behind the High Table.

The realization left Sloan trembling. Could this all be a setup by Bracken and the High Table to weaken the Brotherhood and eventually absorb it?

While Sloan stood there, lost in thought, the rest of the Brotherhood was in an uproar. A few hot-tempered members were already preparing to re-enter the collapsing building to grab their weapons and seek revenge. Meanwhile, the Cross's naive son Wesley, summoned by Fox, rushed out of his room and delivered a critical reminder that stunned everyone.

"What are you doing standing out in the open? Don't you know the Cross is a master of long-range sniping? You're all just standing here like targets!"

Everyone immediately realized the truth of his words. Even though they had no idea who had been on Sloan's phone earlier, the Cross was still out there, waiting for any opportunity to pick them off. Wesley's warning was spot on.

Quickly, the assassins dragged a dazed Sloan back inside, despite the building's damaged state. No one wanted to become an easy target for the Cross.

By now, Sloan had fully come to terms with his situation. He knew he had no way to stand up to Sean and had no choice but to halt all assassination attempts against Castle and his police officer girlfriend. With both internal strife and external threats, the Brotherhood simply couldn't handle any more trouble.

For now, Sloan had no choice but to surrender.

As Sloan dealt with his mixture of anger and resignation, Castle, on the other hand, was getting a lecture from his father.

"Rick, I don't even know what to say. Your talent for stirring up trouble is beyond belief. If Winston hadn't contacted me, I wouldn't have known you've been getting into such huge messes! Stopping Simon from robbing the Federal Reserve is one thing—your girlfriend's a cop, so that's understandable—but how on earth did you end up tangled with a con artist like Vincent Adler? And as if that wasn't enough, now you've picked a fight with Senator William Bracken too? What have you been doing all day?"

Castle wasn't intimidated by his father. Leaning comfortably in the driver's seat of the Dodge he had "borrowed" from the police station, he glanced at the pile of mice in the backseat, who had just completed their heroic mission. Castle then calmly explained his history with Vincent Adler, even hinting at how he had secured the treasure Adler had been searching for his whole life. Of course, he spoke vaguely, knowing their conversation could be monitored.

But Sean wasn't a fool. He easily picked up on his son's hints. When he realized that Castle had not only outsmarted Adler but also obtained the treasure the con artist had sought for decades, even Sean's calculating nature couldn't stop him from laughing out loud. In such a good mood, he barely cared anymore about why Castle had crossed paths with Bracken.

After all, Senator Bracken was now neck-deep in an investigation for his illegal activities. To Sean, a senator on the decline wasn't worth worrying about.

Busy overseeing the consolidation of High Table forces in North Africa, Sean hung up the phone feeling satisfied. He had realized that his mischievous son was a master of deception, capable of "playing dumb" while being highly competent behind the scenes. Rick also had impressive skills and access to valuable information. What reassured Sean the most, though, was learning that Castle had connections with Northrop Grumman and had even acquired 1% of the company's shares. This was no small feat, and it meant Sean no longer had to worry about political forces attacking his son.

In the U.S., the most powerful entities were the corporations and arms manufacturers. With Castle now connected to Northrop Grumman, the third-largest arms dealer in the country, political threats posed little danger. Northrop Grumman was eagerly awaiting Castle's designs for drones, which would compete in the military's next-generation unmanned aircraft competition in March. Any threat to Castle would be seen as a challenge to Northrop Grumman itself, and that was something the company wouldn't tolerate.

This meant Sean could rest easy, knowing his son was safe from political retribution. As long as Castle wasn't directly targeted for assassination, his troublemaking tendencies wouldn't pose any real danger.

After reminding his son to use the coin he had given him—an insignia bearing a double-sided lion—if he ever needed to call on the High Table's resources, Sean happily informed Castle that he had just spoken with Sloan. He reassured Castle that he had taken responsibility for tonight's attack on the Assassin Brotherhood's headquarters, meaning Castle didn't need to worry about any retaliation. Sean encouraged him to keep up the good work and press forward without hesitation.

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