Beckett was taken aback by Castle's explanation of Lockheed Martin's underhanded tactic. She had never encountered such brazen and shameless maneuvering.
"What did you just say? Lockheed Martin intentionally leaked the news of your optical cloaking technology to Northrop Grumman? Why would they do that?
Didn't they consider that it might backfire and drive you to cut ties with them entirely, especially since you've only reached a verbal agreement with them so far?"
Castle smiled at his wife, who was sharp as a detective but lacked his deeper understanding of corporate greed and the intricate games played at such levels. "That's exactly what happened," he explained. "The senior VP from Northrop called me earlier today and spilled everything.
Apparently, once the old fox over at Lockheed Martin caught wind that my optical cloaking prototype would be ready within a month, the first thing he did was rush to the Strategic Bombing Command. He told them that Lockheed Martin could deliver technology capable of making every operational B-2 bomber visually invisible within three months.
Now, tell me, Kate—how do you think the Air Force brass, who are dying to upgrade their B-2s into something so advanced it could take on aliens, would react? Wouldn't they be tempted?"
Beckett's face hardened. "Of course they would. No one in the military would pass up that kind of upgrade."
Castle nodded. "Exactly. And once the Air Force confirmed that Lockheed Martin wasn't bluffing, they immediately halted Northrop's ongoing upgrade of the fourth B-2 bomber. They want to wait a couple of months to see if Lockheed's optical cloaking tech actually works.
Now, think about it—Northrop's contract for upgrading all the B-2s, which seemed like a sure thing, suddenly hit a major roadblock. Northrop isn't stupid; they started digging to figure out what was going on. And in their search, they found out the truth: the technology Lockheed is bragging about? It's my work.
That's why Northrop is scrambling to meet with me—they're panicking.
But here's the key: Lockheed knew this would happen. That old man over there isn't just trying to steal the Air Force contract; he's trying to drive a wedge between me and Northrop. By making Northrop think I'm ditching them for Lockheed, he's hoping to provoke them into doing something rash, something that pushes me away from them for good.
If that happens, I'd have no choice but to rely entirely on Lockheed Martin. That's exactly what that sly old fox wants."
Beckett's sharp mind quickly grasped the layers of manipulation at play. "So Lockheed isn't just trying to steal the contract—they're playing the long game, trying to isolate you from Northrop entirely.
What are you going to do? Will you use this meeting to reconcile with Northrop, or will you follow Lockheed's lead and cut ties with them altogether?"
Castle chuckled, not mocking Beckett's black-and-white thinking but rather amused by how naive he himself had been before Gianna opened his eyes to the true nature of corporate politics.
"Kate," he said, "if there's one thing I learned from Northrop's board last Christmas, it's that money is the only thing that matters to these people. They don't care about loyalty, relationships, or fairness—just profits.
If I haven't figured that out by now, I might as well retire and spend the rest of my life here in the estate sipping wine and watching the sunsets.
But since I have figured it out, why would I limit myself to choosing one side or the other? Why not take both?"
Beckett raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"If I play my cards right," Castle continued, "I can teach that old fox at Lockheed Martin a lesson while also patching things up with Northrop.
I'll share the optical cloaking technology with both companies. By doing that, I not only prevent Lockheed from monopolizing the tech, but I also force them to split the market with Northrop. That alone will send a message to Lockheed's old man: don't mess with me.
At the same time, this will give me an opportunity to repair my relationship with Northrop. Sure, things between us will never go back to the way they were before, but we can at least establish a working relationship again.
And once Lockheed realizes all their scheming has only resulted in them having to share the technology they wanted to dominate, I'd love to see the look on that old man's face.
It's his own fault, really. He pushed too hard, and now I get to use his own tactics against him.
It's a win-win for me. I get to keep both companies in check while making sure neither gets too comfortable. It's also a perfect way to tell both sides that I'm not some pawn they can manipulate."
Beckett couldn't help but smile. She admired Castle's ability to turn a potentially disastrous situation into a strategic advantage.
"Well," she said, "it sounds like you've got everything under control. I'll leave you to it. Meanwhile, I've got my own work to do.
I'll have Esposito and Ryan keep tabs on Watanabe's plane when it lands at LaGuardia tomorrow. If that old man thinks he's going to hurt my husband in my city, he's in for a rude awakening."
Castle grinned. "That's why I love you, Kate. You've got my back, and I've got yours."
The next morning, Castle waited in his estate for the arrival of Northrop's senior VP and his team. Though Castle was ready to extend an olive branch, he wasn't going to make things easy for them.
During his phone call with the VP, Castle had casually mentioned that Northrop's HR department had a mole working with the Japanese. He didn't expect the information to have much impact—he was merely pointing out yet another failure on Northrop's part.
But to his surprise, the information caused a panic among Northrop's board. Desperate for a way to shift the blame for their previous mistakes, they latched onto Castle's revelation like a drowning man clutching a life preserver. Within an hour, the compromised HR manager had "disappeared."
Unbeknownst to Castle, Northrop's board interpreted his casual remark as a signal that he was willing to reconcile. Grateful for what they saw as an opportunity to save face, they ordered the senior VP to fly to New York immediately to smooth things over.
When the VP arrived at Castle's estate later that morning, he was surprised to find Castle personally waiting at the gate to greet him.
Having spent years navigating the corporate world, the VP knew all too well how companies like Northrop operated. He understood why Castle was upset—it was entirely reasonable for someone in Castle's position to feel betrayed. But as a mere employee, the VP had no power to change the company's priorities.
Still, he hadn't expected Castle to be so welcoming.
What shocked him even more was that Castle, without saying a word about the dismissed HR manager or the board's actions, led him straight to the estate's heavily fortified mechanical lab.
There, Castle unveiled the prototype of his optical cloaking technology.
For the senior VP, it was a moment of relief. The fact that Castle was willing to share the prototype suggested that he was open to reconciliation.
But one question lingered in the VP's mind: what price would Northrop have to pay for access to this revolutionary technology?
He knew one thing for certain—this time, Castle wouldn't make it easy.
(End of Chapter)
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