What Castle hadn't expected was that, as he ate the barely edible breakfast made by Jason and his men (since Kumar, who usually handled the cooking, had left the estate with Higgins the previous day), his phone rang again.
This time, however, it wasn't another aircraft manufacturer calling. It was a high-ranking officer from NORAD—someone Castle had known for a while.
And so, under the dumbfounded stares of John and Jason, the three of them received news so absurd that they thought it was a joke even after Castle hung up.
"They… they really sent two A-10 Warthogs to Hickam Air Force Base to provide us with aerial fire support?"
Jason's mind short-circuited.
What the hell?
Back when he and his men risked their lives for the country in actual war zones, they practically had to beg for close air support. The Air Force would always take its sweet time before showing up.
But now?
Now, just because this damn writer was facing a bunch of idiots with small arms trying to kidnap him, they were deploying two A-10 Warthogs—the ultimate ground-attack aircraft?
And not just any A-10s, but the latest stealth-modified models?
Son of a—had anyone even considered how he or his men felt about this?!
While Jason fumed silently, Castle and John stared at each other in disbelief.
Castle had never expected NORAD to personally call him. On the phone, the officer explained that since the stealth upgrade tests in the Nevada desert had gone flawlessly, and now that Castle was being targeted by "hostile nations," the Air Force wanted to ensure that "the world's most powerful air force" would be ready to support him at a moment's notice.
And it wasn't just the two A-10s coming from Boeing's factory in Chicago.
The aircraft were accompanied by an entire ground maintenance team, a Boeing technical support team, and—surprisingly—engineers from General Electric.
Why GE?
Because these A-10s had received not only Boeing's stealth modifications but also upgraded TF-34-GE-100 engines from General Electric.
But that wasn't the craziest part.
What truly blew Castle's mind was that the deployment also included a full CCT team—a Combat Control Team from the Air Force.
CCTs were some of the most elite personnel in the U.S. military. Originally created during World War II as Army pathfinders, they later became part of the Air Force, tasked with coordinating airstrikes and preventing friendly fire incidents.
These guys weren't just airstrike coordinators; they were operators. They were experts in parachuting, including HALO and LALO jumps, and they had top-tier combat skills—on par with Navy SEALs like Jason's team.
The fact that an entire CCT team was being sent meant one thing:
If the Tri-Nation Alliance actually attacked, the CCT operators would immediately call in the A-10s from Hickam Air Force Base to obliterate them.
Alternatively, once the attack was confirmed, the A-10s could take off, engage their stealth capabilities, and loiter invisibly above the battlefield—waiting to annihilate the enemy's vehicles and cut off their escape.
Castle was completely dumbfounded.
How the hell had things escalated to this point?
When Northrop Grumman had used its influence to get Special Operations Command and the Navy to assign Jason's SEAL team as his bodyguards, Castle had been pleased. Sure, it was technically an abuse of power, but it significantly strengthened his security.
But this?
This insanity from Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and now the Air Force itself? This was out of control!
One look at Jason's expression said it all.
The moment he heard that Boeing had actually deployed two A-10s—plus a full CCT team—he looked like he was questioning reality itself.
Jason had been in the military for decades. He had seen plenty.
But even he had never had the privilege of working with a dedicated CCT team.
And yet, here was Castle—a civilian—getting this kind of high-priority support?
"Rick, are Boeing and the Air Force out of their minds?" John was just as stunned. "They're sending A-10s to Hawaii? Do they even understand how bad this looks?"
John was still processing the absurdity of it all.
Just a few minutes ago, they were joking about Lockheed Martin's CEO drunkenly offering to send an AC-130 Ghostrider.
But now?
Reality had one-upped the joke.
Boeing and the Air Force had already done it.
And the worst part? There wasn't even much of a difference between an AC-130 and an A-10 at this point. Both were complete overkill for the situation.
They had officially reached the point where military contractors were competing to outdo each other in absurdity.
John sat back, feeling like today had opened his eyes to a whole new level of bureaucratic madness.
Castle, meanwhile, could only sigh before grabbing his phone.
He called Moz in Washington.
He needed answers.
—
"Ahahaha! You already found out? Man, I wish I could've seen your face when you got the call!"
Moz was laughing his ass off.
Castle, however, wasn't amused.
"What the hell is going on? You mean to tell me Lockheed Martin almost got involved too? What kind of circus is this?!"
Still chuckling, Moz finally answered, "Relax, buddy. This actually isn't as bad as it looks…"
"Not as bad as it looks?!" Castle snapped. "They sent two stealth A-10s here for a mission involving twenty guys with AKs! You think that's normal?!"
Moz sighed. "Alright, listen. This is the Air Force trying to win you over."
"What?"
"Think about it, Rick. Almost all the technology you've developed has been for the Air Force. But up until now, they haven't given you the recognition you deserve. They were worried that if they didn't step up, you might start prioritizing other branches in your future projects. So someone in the Air Force proposed this 'support package' as a goodwill gesture."
Castle was still baffled. "But why now?"
Moz chuckled again. "You really don't understand how important you are, do you? Look, everyone in the military knows that thanks to your contributions, the Air Force's combat capabilities have improved significantly over the past two years. But because you've always dealt with private contractors instead of the military itself, they never really valued you."
"But then this whole Tri-Nation Alliance mess happened. Suddenly, top brass realized just how valuable you are. If three foreign intelligence agencies are willing to team up just to kidnap you, how do you think that makes the U.S. military look? They have to protect you. If anything happened to you, they'd never hear the end of it."
Castle frowned. "So what, the SEAL team wasn't enough?"
Moz snorted. "Rick, you just said it yourself—Jason's SEALs are from Naval Special Warfare. They answer to the Navy, not the Air Force. And you expect the Air Force to just sit back and let the Navy get all the credit for protecting you?"
Castle finally understood.
This wasn't just about him.
It was about inter-service rivalry.
The Air Force wasn't about to let the Navy hog all the influence over Castle's future tech development.
So instead of just letting the SEALs handle things, they had one-upped them by deploying their own elite unit—a CCT team—plus two stealth A-10s.
Castle rubbed his temples.
He should've seen this coming.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.
Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.