In Castle's mind, there was never a plan to have Steve capture Wu Fa alive and hand him over to face trial. Castle's approach was straightforward: if Wu Fa truly intended to follow through on his plan—killing his collaborator, Governor James, and framing Steve for the crime—then Castle saw this as the perfect opportunity to eliminate Wu Fa once and for all.
This would prevent Wu Fa from causing more trouble, as he had in the series Castle knew from his past life. In that storyline, Wu Fa was captured alive by Steve, but later used his insider knowledge to create endless headaches for Steve even from prison. Castle had no intention of letting that happen in real life.
Initially, Castle didn't care about the fate of Governor James. However, after hanging up the phone with Steve, he reconsidered. As a sitting state governor, her death would be no trivial matter. If Castle knew in advance about an assassination and chose to withhold the information, not only would others find it suspicious, but even Steve might begin to question him.
Moreover, if Governor James's death could somehow provide political benefits to his ally, President Benjamin, then perhaps Castle could leverage the situation. However, how could he convince both Benjamin and Moz to believe that Wu Fa—who had yet to arrive in Hawaii—would turn on and kill a powerful ally like James?
Castle knew that Benjamin and Moz trusted his uncanny ability to gather intelligence. His previous actions had demonstrated this, especially when he stationed Steve, Bob, and Booth in the White House just before the attack, allowing them to prevent disaster. Yet, despite his reputation for reliable information, Castle now faced a challenge he hadn't fully accounted for:
First, Castle had initially underestimated the significance of Governor James's position.
After further thought, he realized that the governor wasn't just a dispensable figure. Hawaii was America's only isolated state, and Governor James wielded near-sovereign authority there. Additionally, she had solid political ties in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Castle had naively assumed she could be sacrificed without consequence.
(In fact, in Castle's original world, the U.S. president at this time had been Barack Obama, a man from Hawaii. During the early 21st century, Hawaii had become a politically influential state.)
Second, after researching the political landscape, Castle discovered that Governor James was a prominent member of the Democratic Party. If she were suddenly killed under suspicious circumstances, the party's control in Hawaii could be significantly weakened.
Castle had no desire to trigger such political upheaval.
After weighing his options, Castle decided he couldn't allow Wu Fa to kill Governor James and frame Steve. However, this meant he would need to convince Steve to abandon his current investigation into the governor. Fortunately, Governor James hadn't been directly involved in Steve's father's murder. At the time, even Wu Fa had only operated from the shadows. The actual killer was Victor Hayes, who had acted under Wu Fa's orders to intimidate Steve, who was transporting Victor's brother to a U.S. military base in South Korea.
Without Castle's intervention, Steve would have had no way of uncovering the truth so early in his career with the Hawaii Special Task Force. Thus, Castle believed he could persuade Steve to focus solely on Wu Fa for now. The issues surrounding Governor James could wait until after Steve had avenged his father.
Additionally, Governor James had been a key supporter of Steve's rise in Hawaii. While Americans often claim that their system doesn't run on personal connections, Castle knew better. Favor and reciprocity were very much alive in U.S. politics. As long as both parties could benefit, such relationships were invaluable.
Castle concluded that the best course of action was to reveal everything to Steve. He needed to explain Wu Fa's true motive for coming to Hawaii: the search for Steve's hidden mother. Castle would also warn Steve about Wu Fa's likely plan to assassinate Governor James and pin the blame on him. Once Steve understood that the governor had no direct role in his father's death, he would likely redirect his focus to trapping Wu Fa.
Castle's instincts proved correct. During a video call later that night, he shared all the information with Steve, including Wu Fa's objectives and the roles each player had in the larger scheme. Castle, of course, claimed that this information came from his extensive network of intelligence sources.
Steve, initially shocked by the revelations, quickly saw reason. Since Governor James wasn't directly involved in his father's murder and was likely in danger herself, Steve agreed with Castle's plan to eliminate Wu Fa at the earliest opportunity. Once that was done, Castle would help Steve locate his long-lost mother.
Steve's decisive response was understandable. Though stunned to learn that his mother had been a retired CIA agent, he wasn't surprised by the agency's history of secrecy and treachery. Knowing that his mother was still alive and in hiding gave Steve peace of mind. For now, he prioritized avenging his father over searching for her.
Castle deliberately withheld the fact that Steve's mother was living in Japan. It had been less than ten hours since Castle received the call from Steve, and revealing such precise information so quickly would only arouse suspicion. Castle didn't want Steve questioning how he knew so much.
Better to let Steve focus on his revenge for now.
Thus, Wu Fa—who had caused Steve endless grief in the original timeline—was effectively sentenced to death by Castle and Steve.
This version of Steve wasn't bound by an exaggerated sense of law and order. The former SEAL major knew that mercy toward an enemy often meant cruelty toward oneself. He was now eagerly awaiting the opportunity to take down his nemesis.
Since successfully launching and calibrating his satellite network, Castle had embraced the role of a behind-the-scenes mastermind. His underground supercomputer lab now featured a revamped operations center modeled after the FBI's joint command hub. Although it was staffed only by Castle, his assistant, and their team of three, the setup was impressively high-tech.
In fact, Castle's command center far outclassed any official facility, lacking only manpower. With artificial intelligence, supercomputers, and three satellites providing continuous surveillance over the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific, Castle could respond to crises with unparalleled efficiency.
At this very moment, Castle was directing his assistant to reposition one of the satellites over Oahu. Wu Fa had quietly departed South Korea on a private jet bound for Hawaii. Castle and Steve planned to monitor Wu Fa the moment he set foot on Honolulu's tarmac, maintaining 24-hour surveillance to prevent him from slipping away again.
This time, there would be no mistakes. Wu Fa would have nowhere to hide.
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