Chapter 162: Rage

Neil listened quietly to Castle's recount of the day's ambush and his subsequent opinions, nodding in strong agreement. "Yes, Rick is right. We've been basing our plans on Vincent's influence from ten years ago. However, today's encounter was a wake-up call. Compared to ten years ago, Vincent has significantly changed due to the immense treasure from that valuable submarine. If we continue to underestimate him based on old perceptions, we might not only fail but also risk our lives!"

Mozz lightly swirled the wine glass in his hand. "Rick, what do you think about this matter now?"

Castle, just finished with his act, spread his hands. "I've told you before, my job is to come up with ideas and raise questions. You two geniuses are responsible for refining plans and steps!"

Seeing Castle's cheeky expression, even in such a serious moment, Neil and Mozz couldn't help but laugh. It was so typical of Castle to just bring up issues and leave all the detailed planning to Neil and Mozz. According to him, he wasn't a match for them intellectually, but when it came to action, he was the undeniable number one!

Neil looked at the lazy Castle with mixed feelings, but now wasn't the time to argue over Castle's habit of shirking responsibility. He sighed, feeling mentally exhausted. "Alright, I'll work with Mozz to revise our initial plan and steps. We need to consider Vincent as a far greater threat now, raising his threat level by several notches. I plan to send Kate to a safer place for a while to prevent Vincent from using her against us again. What do you think of this plan?"

"Also, Mozz has already contacted Alex. I should be meeting her in the next few days. Would you like to join?"

Castle had no interest in being a third wheel. Noticing Mozz's exaggerated winks suggesting that Alex was Neil's old flame, Castle wasn't oblivious. He was curious to see if Neil could handle both Kate and Alex simultaneously and had no intention of being dragged along. Moreover, Neil's plan to use Vincent's threat as an excuse to send Kate away meant a potential rekindling with Alex. The thought of witnessing more of Neil's romantic drama made both Castle and Mozz's eyes light up with gossip.

Neil rubbed his temples, feeling exhausted by his two friends who were more interested in his love life than the serious matters at hand. He quickly changed the subject to avoid further embarrassment. "Alright, enough with the teasing. I'm not a playboy. I have something important to discuss with you. When I got Mozz's call today, I panicked and told Peter about Vincent without hiding anything. However, I refused to divulge further details because I didn't want to expose you to the FBI without your consent."

Castle looked puzzled. "Didn't Kate give a statement to the FBI? Didn't they ask who rescued her? I don't mind, and Mozz was initially hesitant but I convinced him. So, if the FBI finds out about me, let them. It's not like I can hide."

Castle's casual remark didn't ease Neil's worries. He felt obligated to explain that his partner, Peter, was a control freak. If Peter learned about Castle and Mozz, he would surely push for more details about their plan against Vincent. This would conflict with their initial strategy to use the FBI as leverage against Vincent while ultimately betraying him to the FBI.

Seeing Neil's concern, Mozz nodded in agreement with Castle's perspective. "Neil, I think Rick is right. You don't need to hide our identities, but there's no need to volunteer them either. If the FBI finds out, so be it. We just need to be prepared."

Castle grinned. "You guys are overthinking. If the FBI catches Vincent and we manage to take his treasure, do you think Vincent won't expose everything to the FBI out of spite? If the FBI knows about the treasure, they'll doggedly pursue the leads. And if Vincent is caught, he'll hate us the most!"

"That's why I said Neil should have an alibi with Peter when we rob Vincent. Unlike you, I can steal the treasure and erase the evidence. With the New York mayor as my friend, the FBI won't touch me without solid proof!"

Mozz nodded again. "Neil, Rick's right. You don't need to hide us but don't go out of your way to tell your partner either. Let's just focus on our part. And we should prepare for Vincent's retaliation if our plan works."

As the trio heatedly discussed their strategy on Neil's balcony

, Vincent, the main antagonist in Castle's and his friends' conversation, was raging in a luxurious room.

Vincent never expected his plan to eliminate the writer to fail. He had dispatched his most elite operative, Larson, to deal with Castle, but now Larson was missing, neither dead nor alive, while Castle had deliberately made a show of it, mocking Vincent. The humiliation burned deeply for someone as self-important as Vincent.

"This Castle bastard pretended to be weak to fool me? Unbelievable…"

At over fifty years old, Vincent had always been the ultimate victor in every situation, thanks to his keen mind and cautious nature. His meticulous planning had even enabled him to pull off the greatest Ponzi scheme in recent American history, netting him a cool billion dollars from Wall Street. His confidence had soared ever since.

However, the sense of invincibility was shattered today by someone he had considered insignificant. This affront was something his proud and cunning self could not accept calmly.

Vincent was in his secret mansion on Long Island, where he had been in high spirits, awaiting Larson's return. Instead, he received the dismal news of Larson's failure and disappearance. Adding salt to his wounds, Castle had not only survived the assassination attempt but also flaunted his escape, openly mocking Vincent.

Even more infuriating was that Larson was supposed to surveil Neil's upcoming meeting with Alex to keep Vincent informed about the search for the music box. Now, Castle's unexpected resilience had disrupted all his plans.

The lack of information and the failure of his operative left Vincent feeling deeply uneasy. He couldn't tolerate anyone or anything derailing his decades-long plan to retrieve the submarine's treasure. Yet, without understanding what had gone wrong, he dared not act rashly.

This loss of control was driving the scheming old fox mad. His influence in New York had waned since his big scam ten years ago, and the kingpin of Barry Street didn't cooperate with him. Thus, Vincent's biggest challenge now was his intelligence deficit, preventing him from making decisive moves against Castle.

Vincent, his frustration reaching a boiling point, couldn't fathom how Castle had detected the tail on him, survived Larson's attack, and made Larson disappear. These uncertainties gnawed at him, exacerbating his fury and anxiety. He couldn't stand the thought of someone like Castle disrupting his meticulously laid plans.

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