That was the truth—America's Army, Navy, and Air Force had been at each other's throats for military funding since forever. The competition was so fierce that it even gave rise to the infamous "first-class, second-class, third-class forces" ranking system.
And the Marine Corps?
They were the forgotten stepchildren of the U.S. military. The fact that the President's own Marine Corps was still using M60 Patton tanks—while even the Army had long abandoned the M1A1 Abrams—showed just how neglected they were.
The legendary Marines that the U.S. boasted about deploying worldwide? They were actually the most underfunded branch of the military. The reason? They weren't under the Pentagon's direct command but were instead directly controlled by the President.
Even though the Marines had superior combat effectiveness compared to the Army, their funding was always lacking. Why? Because the big shots in the military and Congress only saw the Army, Navy, and Air Force as their "real children," while the Marines were nothing more than the illegitimate offspring of a concubine.
Who cared if they were skilled warriors?
When it came time to divide the budget, the "concubine's child" wasn't going to get a seat at the table.
This funding imbalance had existed since World War II. Even when the Army had fully transitioned to semi-automatic M1 Garand rifles, the Marines were still stuck using bolt-action rifles, fighting the Japanese with outdated Type 38 Arisakas. Meanwhile, both the Army and the Navy were equipped with the most advanced weaponry of the time.
It wasn't until after World War II that the U.S. Air Force became an independent branch. Before that, it had been part of the Army, which is why inter-service rivalry over funding was such a deep-rooted tradition.
—
Castle had never intended to provoke a budget war within the military.
But since most of his technological advancements had been applied to Air Force fighter jets and drones, it had inadvertently led to an imbalance.
When Northrop Grumman pulled some strings and assigned a Navy SEAL team as Castle's bodyguards, it triggered a full-blown crisis within the Air Force.
According to Moz, the Air Force had felt deeply threatened when they saw a SEAL team guarding Castle.
And since Jason's team had already arrived, the Air Force had no way to insert their own personnel. So, in a moment of desperation, someone in the Air Force—probably over a few drinks—came up with an absolutely insane idea:
"Since we just tested Boeing's stealth-modified A-10 Warthogs, why not deploy a couple of them to Hawaii? That way, we can show Castle that we are just as involved in protecting him!"
It was a stupid idea.
But once it got rolling, no one wanted to be the one to say no.
And so, here they were.
—
According to Moz, these two A-10s would probably never actually be used.
After all, if things escalated to the point where air support was necessary, that would mean the entire FBI-CIA joint team and Jason's SEALs had completely failed—which was unthinkable.
As for Boeing and Lockheed Martin?
They were just bandwagon opportunists, trying to curry favor with Castle. Since the government and military had already taken control of this operation, these corporations wouldn't risk stepping on toes by interfering too much.
So, all Castle had to do was play along with the Air Force's grand gesture.
Even if he never actually needed those A-10s, he had to act like he appreciated the effort.
—
After the call, Castle and John sat in silence.
Jason, on the other hand, was still questioning his entire existence.
For the first time, he fully understood just how powerful Castle really was.
This wasn't just some celebrity writer with government connections.
This was a man who could make the U.S. Air Force scramble to impress him.
A man who could personally call the National Security Advisor at the White House for a debriefing.
A man so important that multiple defense contractors were fighting for his favor.
Jason felt like he had been living a lie.
Castle, seeing Jason's expression, decided to explain the situation to him and John.
John didn't care—all that mattered was that Castle's security had just quadrupled. Sure, the level of support was insane, but he had no complaints.
But Jason and his SEAL team?
They were shocked to their core.
When they learned that they now had two stealth A-10s providing air support—and that this was all because of some petty Air Force-Navy rivalry—they felt like they had completely wasted their military careers.
"Goddamn," one of Jason's SEALs muttered. "Why the hell don't we ever get this kind of treatment?"
—
The technical teams flying in from Chicago wouldn't arrive until tomorrow, since the A-10s couldn't be disassembled and airlifted—they had to fly to Hawaii with multiple in-flight refuels.
This meant that the General Electric engineers traveling with them would have ample time to evaluate the performance of their newly upgraded engines.
For Castle, this also meant extra time to coordinate with Jason and Heinz.
Now that they had such overwhelming air superiority, they needed to adjust their defensive strategy against the twenty Tri-Nation Alliance operatives.
—
Meanwhile, in New York…
As soon as Suzuki Mitsuhiro, Ali Baharat Deep, and Mustafaolu Mohammed stepped off their plane and into JFK Airport's arrivals hall, their every move was already being monitored.
Gianna, seated in Castle's makeshift command center at the estate's supercomputer lab, watched them closely.
At the same time, Joe Martinez received the live feed from Harry.
Joe's top assistant, Jabbor, was already briefing FBI agents Maggie and Omar Zidan on the operational plan.
—
As for Beckett?
She had temporarily stepped back from her duties at the 12th Precinct.
With her own safety now a concern, there was no point in risking exposure.
Even though her officers were well-equipped, they weren't trained to handle black ops operatives like Ali and Mustafaolu.
To minimize casualties, Gianna had persuaded Beckett to stay put and focus on overseeing the operation.
At the same time, they also increased security around Alexis, who was attending classes at Columbia University.
Even Martha had returned to the estate last night to stay with her grandson Alex and little Onora.
—
Now, everything was set.
All they needed was for the enemy to make their move.
—
Once Joe had finished setting up the FBI command center, she would be heading to Castle's estate, bringing Maggie and Omar along.
Their plan had been carefully crafted the previous night.
And since the FBI wouldn't be the ones leading the operation, Joe had temporarily transferred command of the JOC to Jabbor.
This was because the main force in this operation wouldn't be the FBI at all.
Instead, it would be Big Ivan's twenty Russian bodyguards.
Castle's estate held too many secrets to allow a full FBI presence.
Maggie and Omar were only coming along to legally document the foreign operatives' crimes.
As for the exposed Indian intelligence operatives lurking in New York?
That would be Jabbor's job.
This wasn't just about taking down three operatives.
This was about completely wiping out every foreign intelligence asset they had uncovered in New York.
And it had all been meticulously planned by three of the most dangerous women in America.
______
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