Despite its unique geopolitical position spanning both Europe and Asia, Turkey was a rather peculiar country—one that seemed obsessed with its own greatness despite having no real foundation to support such self-perception.
If they had even a single peanut with their drink, perhaps they'd sober up enough to properly assess their position on the international stage.
This was a nation that constantly fantasized about restoring the glory of the Ottoman Empire. One moment, they wanted to turn the Mediterranean into their personal lake, the next, they dreamed of expanding their borders all the way to East Asia.
They frequently picked fights with their neighbors over the territorial status of islands in the Aegean Sea, yet always hesitated when it came to actual conflict, fearful that they might lose.
And then there was the "Pan-Turkic Movement", an absurd campaign where Turkey pushed its language and influence into Central Asia. They even established "language patrol squads" in various regions, attempting to forcibly spread the Turkish language—as if sheer linguistic dominance could somehow unify the Turkic-speaking world.
What a joke.
In reality, Turkey was a country completely disconnected from its own limits. Like the United States, it was heavily influenced by powerful business interests, but unlike the U.S. president—who at least had direct control over the Marine Corps and other elite military units—Turkey's president was in a far weaker position.
The intelligence agencies and military frequently acted independently, treating the president more like a figurehead than a leader.
Take the New York operation, for example—not a single person in Turkish intelligence had bothered to inform the president about it beforehand.
Instead, the operation had been conceived and executed by a handful of military leaders and corporate executives who had learned from Turkish engineers at Lockheed Martin that the U.S. defense contractor had acquired a groundbreaking stealth technology from a New York-based writer—and had no intention of sharing it with Turkey.
Upon realizing that they were excluded from this technological leap, Turkish officials—without doing any real research—immediately panicked and sent operatives to steal the technology.
Too bad they didn't even understand what they were trying to steal.
The fools didn't even know that the visual stealth technology was not yet compatible with supersonic aircraft, and they blindly assumed that Lockheed Martin was withholding it from Turkey out of malice.
And so, the Turkish intelligence community and defense sector hastily deployed agents to New York, without proper authorization from the government—let alone any strategic planning.
Now that Turkey's president had finally been informed, he was absolutely livid.
"You idiots launched a rogue operation without my approval, and now I'm the one who has to clean up your mess?! Do you even consider me the president, or just some useless bureaucrat?!"
No matter how much he wanted to wring his subordinates' necks, it was too late to dwell on blame.
The immediate priority was figuring out how to respond to the U.S. accusations.
The U.S. government hadn't even bothered to inform Turkey's ambassador in Washington before publicly exposing the scandal. It was only after the White House press conference that Turkey's diplomatic corps received official confirmation.
And what a confirmation it was.
Not only had the FBI captured one of Turkey's intelligence operatives, but this incompetent fool had also confessed to everything under interrogation.
That meant the U.S. had hard evidence that Turkey had:
Killed a British MI6 agent on American soilAttempted to steal military technology from an American defense contractorOperated an unsanctioned espionage mission in New York City
This was an absolute diplomatic disaster.
The president's rage quickly turned to panic as he processed the implications.
To make matters worse, Lockheed Martin had already issued a formal statement condemning Turkey's actions.
In an official communication to the Turkish government, Lockheed Martin demanded the immediate removal of all Turkish engineers and personnel involved in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
Turkey had spent years investing in the F-35 project, hoping to equip its air force with fifth-generation fighters that would grant it regional air superiority.
Now, because of a single botched intelligence operation, that dream was on the verge of collapse.
If Lockheed followed through on its threats, Turkey wouldn't just be temporarily expelled—it might be permanently banned from acquiring F-35s, forcing them to rely on outdated aircraft while their regional rivals continued modernizing.
Meanwhile, the White House was preparing sanctions, and Turkey had no way to negotiate.
Unlike Britain, which at least had leverage as a strategic ally, Turkey had nothing to bargain with.
They had already alienated the U.S. by cutting off water and electricity to an American airbase in Turkey.
Now they had handed Washington the perfect excuse to escalate the conflict even further.
At this moment, the Turkish president was questioning his entire career.
"Why the hell did I even want this job?!
Back in New York
While Britain and Turkey scrambled to contain the fallout, Castle was completely unbothered.
Even when British diplomats personally visited him to apologize and attempt to smooth things over, he refused to engage.
He simply told them:
"This matter has nothing to do with me. I don't care about politics, and I have no interest in getting involved. I won't interfere—but I also won't help."
With that, he politely dismissed the British officials, leaving them frustrated yet powerless.
Castle had already won.
He had weaponized the situation so effectively that neither Britain nor Turkey dared to retaliate against him.
And right now, he had only one thing on his mind—his latest "big toy."
The hardware assembly for his new multi-axis, high-load, full-motion flight simulator was finally complete.
Now, all that was left was the final software integration, which Alexis had been working tirelessly to finish.
At seven months pregnant, Beckett was still working at the NYPD, refusing to take early maternity leave. Castle knew better than to interfere—he just made sure to keep stress away from their home life.
And what better way to do that than by spending time on the beach?
As Castle sat in a lounge chair, sipping a cocktail, he watched John play with his daughter, Oona, on the sand.
Not far away, Ramsey was helping Oona build sandcastles, while Alexis sat nearby with dark circles under her eyes, furiously typing code into her laptop.
Castle chuckled.
"Kid, you should've finished that weeks ago. Now look at you—working on a beach like a desperate startup founder."
Alexis shot him a glare but kept typing.
"You're the one who finished the hardware first! I thought I had more time!"
Castle just laughed.
As far as he was concerned, life was perfect.
Let Britain and Turkey fight their political battles.
Let Washington and London bicker over diplomatic consequences.
He had more important things to do.
Like enjoying the sun, the ocean, and the knowledge that he had outmaneuvered two entire nations—without lifting a finger.
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