Let's face it, when you're dealing with seasoned players, everyone knows everyone else's game. Benjamin, as a political rival, knew exactly what kind of person the Black Vice President was. And as for the folks on Capitol Hill? Benjamin was well aware of how many of them secretly wished he had "accidentally died" during the attack. After all, as the saying goes, "the enemy is on Capitol Hill."
That's why, aside from his chief protector, Michael Banning, the people Benjamin trusted the most at this moment were Steve, Bob, and Agent Booth—all of whom had been brought in by Castle. This was also why Benjamin had decided to keep Mozzie by his side. He had wanted Mozzie, who had played a crucial role in his successful presidential campaign, to stay with him before, but Mozzie, valuing his freedom, had chosen to return to New York. This time, Benjamin was determined not to let the bald little man go. After all, Mozzie was not only highly capable but also a master of manipulation and intrigue, making him an unexpectedly useful ally.
Moreover, Mozzie was the best friend of Castle, the man who had been quietly providing invaluable assistance from behind the scenes. By keeping Mozzie close, Benjamin essentially ensured that he could continue to rely on Castle's terrifyingly effective intelligence network in the future. How could Benjamin pass up such an opportunity?
Especially after today's attack, Benjamin was more determined than ever to tie himself to the New York writer. The facts had proven that Castle's intelligence channels were even more impressive than the CIA or the dozen or so disjointed intelligence agencies under the U.S. government. Benjamin wasn't about to let such a powerful ally slip away.
While members of the LockSat organization in Washington and New York were being rounded up in Benjamin's swift and vengeful crackdown, Castle and the ever-curious little胖子 had made their way into the hangar at Andrews Air Force Base. The base was now under the command of the brigadier general who had saved face for the Air Force by shooting down the rogue aircraft. Grateful to Castle for his decisive actions, the general had no qualms about letting the technical expert, who had been specially brought in by Lockheed Martin, into the hangar.
As the brigadier general was busy coordinating with the Pentagon and Air Force headquarters, Castle and the little胖子 began examining an F-22 Raptor parked in the hangar. Castle, a red-blooded American, had no trouble gaining access to the highly classified fighter jet. His father, despite his current ties to the High Table, had once been a CIA operative, making Castle a trusted insider. Lockheed Martin was more than happy to let Castle tinker with their star aircraft, hoping he might enhance its performance. Although the F-22 production line had been shut down, for arms manufacturers, rebuilding a production line was no big deal if it meant making a profit.
Moreover, Lockheed Martin was currently leading the development of the F-35 Lightning II, with several countries contributing funds. If Castle's visual stealth technology could be successfully applied to supersonic aircraft—even if not on the F-22—it could be a game-changer for the F-35. Imagine an F-35 with both electromagnetic and visual stealth capabilities. The potential profits from selling such a cutting-edge fighter to NATO and other partner nations would be astronomical.
Even without a physical prototype, the mere concept could convince these countries to increase their investments. For Lockheed Martin, more funding from partner nations meant less financial burden on the company. Saving money was essentially making money. This was the primary reason Lockheed Martin had so readily supported Castle. If the technology proved successful, Lockheed Martin would naturally gain priority access to it, giving the company greater leverage and financial benefits in the F-35 project.
The potential market for the F-35 was enormous, with numerous countries needing a single-engine fighter like the F-35. Even without factoring in orders from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, the export potential alone was enough to make Lockheed Martin's executives giddy with excitement.
For capitalists, there's nothing more thrilling than knowing their product will be a massive success even before it hits the market. Both Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin had been burned by the U.S. military's internal procurement processes in the past. For instance, Northrop Grumman had gone all-in on developing the B-2 Spirit bomber, only for the Air Force to drastically reduce its initial order of 200 planes to just 20 due to the staggering $2.13 billion unit cost. Northrop Grumman barely recouped its R&D expenses.
The F-22 had a similar story. The Air Force had originally planned to purchase over 400 units but balked at the $100 million price tag per plane. In the end, Lockheed Martin produced fewer than 200 F-22s before shutting down the production line, leaving the company hundreds of billions of dollars in the red. To make matters worse, Congress prohibited the export of the F-22, further limiting Lockheed Martin's ability to recoup its losses.
But now, with the F-35 project underway, Castle's "visual stealth technology" had arrived at the perfect time. Lockheed Martin's CEO was over the moon, seeing this as one of the best pieces of news in years. The fact that Castle had chosen to partner with Lockheed Martin over Northrop Grumman, his usual collaborator, was the cherry on top. The CEO couldn't help but dance with joy at the thought of integrating this cutting-edge technology into the F-35, ensuring a massive payday for the company.
As Castle and the excited fatty stood before an F-22, ready to tinker with it, a storm was brewing in Washington and New York. The world had just learned from Benjamin's speech that the fierce battle outside the White House had been orchestrated by a "terrorist" named Aamir Barkawi, who held a deep grudge against the U.S., and a traitorous organization within the country that opposed the current president. Benjamin claimed that he had been incredibly lucky, as his political advisor (Mozzie) and three bodyguards had coincidentally arrived at the White House to discuss the meeting with the South Korean Prime Minister. During this visit, they had noticed something off about one of the Secret Service agents, who turned out to be a mole planted by the traitorous organization.
Benjamin insisted that he had no prior knowledge of the attack and had only acted out of caution after detaining the suspicious agent. This, he claimed, had inadvertently led to the discovery of the plot just before the unidentified militants launched their assault. This narrative had been carefully crafted by Mozzie to absolve Benjamin of any responsibility for the high casualties among the White House security personnel and the near-total annihilation of the South Korean Prime Minister's delegation. Admitting that he had known about the attack in advance but chose not to prepare adequately would have been political suicide.
The only bright spot in the attack was the successful downing of the rogue aircraft by Andrews Air Force Base, which had prevented any civilian casualties on the ground. This feat had earned the Air Force significant praise.
As Benjamin declared the LockSat organization a traitorous group in front of the cameras, the U.S. launched a nationwide crackdown on its members. The storm had begun, and no one knew where it would end.
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