Chapter 97: Castle's Exam
The main reason Castle chose to exchange for Jason Bourne's special agent skills was that he wanted to handle the situation with Santino coming to New York for revenge on his own, without relying too much on others. If he could resolve this matter without external help (excluding his father Sean), it would be a significant test for him since he arrived in this world. It would be a comprehensive evaluation of the skills he obtained from the system.
After much thought, Castle finally decided to exchange for the skills of the most formidable protagonist he had seen in all the spy movies of his previous life: Jason Bourne. He dismissed Ethan Hunt from 'Mission Impossible' who always needed his teammates, and James Bond, who relied heavily on gadgets. Unlike them, Jason Bourne fought alone, challenging the entire CIA by himself.
Although Jason Bourne in the original story was a "medicated agent," meaning his learning and cognitive abilities were enhanced by drugs, Castle didn't need those aspects. What he needed were Bourne's well-honed agent skills. The thought of compensating for his shortcomings with Bourne's skills made Castle genuinely happy.
What delighted him even more was that there was a fool named Santino D'Antonio who was perfect for him to practice on.
Castle didn't yet know that his father and Winston had decided not to interfere, except to ensure the safety of Martha and Alexis. These two old foxes were clearly ready to sit back and watch the show, curious about how many secrets Castle had been hiding.
Unaware of his elders' plans, Castle was engrossed in familiarizing himself with the knowledge and skills suddenly implanted in his mind by the system. This exercise made him realize just how crude and full of flaws his previous plans to attack the Tanasov family and the human trafficking ring in Paris had been. Without his father's help, his initial plan to kill Valentino might have ended in disaster.
Jason Bourne's skill set included countless strategies for stealthily approaching a target and taking down powerful foes, leaving Castle in awe.
"Damn, looking at Bourne's plans and then at mine, it's like comparing gold to garbage..."
While condemning his past plans, Castle felt elated to have filled this gap in his skills. Moreover, there was a guinea pig, Santino D'Antonio, just waiting for him to test on.
Santino, on the other hand, was sitting in a suite at the Continental Hotel, furious after hearing his henchman report their failure on Bleecker Street: "You mean to say, 'KING' flatly refused the friendship of the D'Antonio family?"
The henchman, equally indignant, replied, "Yes, young master. We met with that black man on behalf of the family, but when we asked for information on the writer Castle, he turned hostile. He even said that the entire underground world of New York would not provide us with any information.
Young master, could it be that our target has some unknown background or connections? The Continental and Bleecker Street both rejected us. This situation feels unusual!
You need to reconsider if we should continue waiting here or keep troubling that writer in this unfamiliar and seemingly hostile place!"
Santino's henchman was both intelligent and emotionally astute. After being rejected by both Winston and KING, he suggested that they might need to rethink their strategy and perhaps temporarily withdraw from New York.
Though Santino had rashly come to New York to seek revenge on Castle, the successive rejections by two underground kings had sobered him up. After all, he was spoiled, not stupid.
As Santino and his men were contemplating a retreat, Castle, having received Jason Bourne's skills, was not planning to let them go so easily. Sean and Winston, bored and eager to watch the drama unfold, had decided to observe Castle's handling of Santino's sudden appearance as an exam.
When Sean received the news that Santino's men had gone to KING for information and were rejected, he immediately realized that Santino might be scared off. Not wanting to miss the show, Sean quickly emailed his son about the potential retreat.
Castle, preparing to leave home, read his father's email and chuckled. As he had expected, Santino was rejected by both Winston and KING. The mention of Santino possibly fleeing aligned with Castle's own analysis.
With John Wick's firearm skills and Jason Bourne's stealth abilities, Castle was confident he could give Santino a memorable lesson. If Santino didn't back down, Castle was ready to take him out.
Decided on his course of action, Castle left for the Continental Hotel.
On his way, he unexpectedly received a call from Charon, the hotel's front desk manager and Winston's most trusted assistant. Charon informed Castle about Santino's presence at the hotel and his intention to cause trouble for Castle. He also noted that Winston's refusal had made Santino suspicious and wary.
This tip from the Continental reaffirmed Castle's plan. He couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for Santino. Coming to New York, Castle's turf, to pick a fight was asking for trouble.
Excited, Castle planned to give Santino a scare, at least to show him that he wasn't safe even at the Continental. While Castle wouldn't blatantly break the hotel's no-kill rule, there was no rule against intimidation.
If Santino admitted defeat, Castle might spare his life, given that Santino was John's brother-in-law, Gianna's brother. But if Santino didn't back down, Castle was ready to finish him off. After all, if someone came from Rome to deliver themselves to him, Castle was more than happy to accept the gift.
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