After hanging up the phone with John, who was eager to return to New York, Castle decided not to contact Bryan as per John's advice. Castle had been honest, telling John about his plan to use Vincent Adler as a tool by monitoring him through the chubby friend. John bluntly told Castle that the fewer people knew about this, the better. Castle agreed with John's assessment. Besides, with John and Gianna back in New York, Castle was confident that no one could harm the chubby friend under John's watch. Therefore, Castle abandoned the idea of hiring Bryan Mills and his team as bodyguards.
With the chubby friend's safety secured, the remaining task was to connect with Northrop Grumman, the manufacturer of the F-14 Tomcat, which Castle had always admired. This was a simple task for Castle. He just needed to find the contact information for Northrop Grumman's technical department and send a portion of the flight control system code for his drone. As experienced drone designers, Northrop Grumman would be eager to cooperate, much like a wolf pouncing on prey. Castle even suspected that General Atomics' attempted kidnapping tonight might have already alerted their old rival, Northrop Grumman. All he needed was to send an email to spark their interest.
Nevertheless, Castle was cautious. These defense companies might appear righteous on the surface, but they were all the same underneath. Castle needed to be prepared for any potential pitfalls.
After figuring out how to approach Northrop Grumman, Castle used the chubby friend's computer to write an email. He sent it to Northrop Grumman's technical director, attaching part of the drone's flight control system code, hoping to pique their interest.
With these tasks completed, Castle headed to the bathroom to freshen up, intending to rest. Little did he know that a heated argument was unfolding in the NYPD headquarters' conference room because of his ruthless takedown of Simon's gang.
John McClane, being shrewd, feigned severe injury and was taken to the hospital when the NYPD chief arrived at the scene in the afternoon. Upon examination, the hospital found that the decorated officer had no serious injuries. The CIA and FBI, eager to question John about the mysterious sniper who helped eliminate Simon's gang, planned to interrogate him at the hospital. However, John, citing severe trauma, had the doctors kick them out of his room.
Unable to get the details from John, the CIA and FBI agents returned to NYPD headquarters, hoping to gather the information they needed. But the NYPD chief was in no mood to comply. These two agencies often clashed with the NYPD, and now they wanted to take away the key figures—John McClane, Beckett, and Captain Roy Montgomery—who had brought glory to the NYPD. The CIA chief agent was severely rebuked. The NYPD chief had no intention of handing over his top officers, who had performed heroically, especially not to agencies that constantly antagonized them.
The CIA agent's primary goal was to understand why the NYPD decisively eliminated Simon's entire team. Deep down, he knew that if Simon had been handed over alive, he might eventually resurface, posing a future threat. Thus, the NYPD's actions, while disruptive to the CIA's plans, were understandable.
The FBI was in an even more frustrating position. The NYPD's success had thrown the FBI into a PR nightmare, with the public and officials alike criticizing them. The FBI hoped to strike a deal with the NYPD to save face, unlike the CIA, which was still searching for a scapegoat.
While the NYPD, CIA, and FBI were embroiled in a conflict at the NYPD headquarters, on the West Coast, in the General Atomics conference room, shareholders anxiously awaited news from their team. They had learned that the kidnapping operation failed, and their people were neutralized at the private airport in the Bronx.
"What did you say? Not only were the operatives tranquilized, but even the team leader and technical experts were sent to the NYPD? What kind of operation is this? A whole team couldn't handle a nerdy chubby guy?" The CEO, sitting at the head of the table, was furious.
The shareholders, having received the news, began to argue among themselves. The reporting secretary, feeling aggrieved, explained, "CEO, we underestimated Castle. According to the descriptions from the operatives who were bailed out, Castle, whom we thought was just a writer, possesses military skills on par with trained soldiers. We suspect that he was the one who tranquilized our men who were bringing Harry to the airport."
The CEO, still fuming, glared at his secretary. "I don't want excuses. I want to know if we still have a chance to obtain those drones and their flight control systems?"
The secretary, unsure how to answer, thought, 'You guys were too greedy to pay up and decided to kidnap the guy. Now you want to negotiate after screwing things up?'
A board member spoke up to divert the CEO's anger. "We need to figure out how to handle this situation and then find a way to reconnect with Harry or Castle."
The CEO, frustrated, thought, 'I initially suggested approaching them with a generous offer to buy the flight control system, but you guys insisted on kidnapping. Now that it's blown up in our faces, you want to play nice?'
Another board member suggested, "Why don't we have our New York office contact Castle after dawn and see if he's willing to negotiate? If he's open to discussions, we can proceed. If he's hostile because of tonight's events, we can offer compensation first and then go from there. What do you all think?"
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