Forget about whether it's right or wrong; as Castle's daughter, Alexis' stance was unwavering from the moment she learned about this situation. She was firmly on her father's side. The idea of returning these items to their original owners was laughable—why should her dad give up something he obtained through his own skills?
Moreover, as Castle's daughter, upon learning that her dad had brought back such a massive treasure trove, which was essentially unclaimed, who in their right mind would advise him to give it all away?
Although Alexis had been raised in wealth and never worried about money, that didn't mean she could turn a blind eye to such a fortune.
It must be said, the young girl's quick thinking proved useful. While Castle sat on the couch, frowning and pondering how to handle the treasure after revealing his big secret to his daughter, Alexis had already come up with a relatively feasible solution.
"Dad, you said your group has seven people, including my godfather and Gianna, right? Why not gather everyone and discuss it? Let everyone pick out what they like first, and then figure out what to do with the rest. If you can't reach a consensus, why not establish a fund with all the items, and everyone gets a share?"
Castle had actually considered something similar to his daughter's idea before. The only person he was sure wouldn't raise objections was Harry. Of course, John and Gianna might agree as well, but he couldn't be certain about Mozzie and Neil, especially when it came to Alex, whom he wasn't familiar with.
It's crucial to remember that dealing with people's motives is the trickiest part. Alex's grandfather was a member of the crew on that submarine. Like Vincent, she grew up hearing stories about it and was deeply attached to it. While she might not be as ruthless as Vincent in pursuing the submarine, that didn't mean she wasn't interested in its contents. Castle felt it was unnecessary to test the darker sides of human nature and decided it might be better to solve the problem using the flash of inspiration he'd just had.
Alexis' casual suggestion sparked a different thought in Castle's mind—maybe this could work?
Ultimately, not wanting this matter to continue bothering him or his daughter, Castle sent Alexis upstairs to rest early, promising to take her to Gianna's estate over the weekend to see the treasure for herself.
While Castle was finding a suitable way to deal with the treasure at home, Alex was being escorted by Vincent's men to Vincent Adler. Due to Neil's caution, Alex still didn't know that the submarine in front of her had already been emptied by Castle, exploiting Vincent's only mistake. When the hood was removed from her head, she didn't pay attention to the smug Vincent standing before her. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the U-boat beside him with fervent excitement.
This submarine was the very U-845 her grandfather had always talked about. He had been a radio operator on this submarine, and he and Vincent's father had been comrades-in-arms. Growing up hearing her grandfather's legendary tales about this submarine, Alex had to admit she was impressed by Vincent.
Vincent Adler, noticing Alex's expression, felt immensely proud. He just wanted to show off in front of someone like Alex, who understood the significance of the submarine. After all, after all these years of effort, wouldn't it be a waste if he didn't boast a little? Since Alex was just bait to lure Neil Caffrey, Vincent had no qualms about showing her his achievement. Once Neil arrived and disarmed the explosives on the submarine and opened the hatch, all these people would be silenced anyway.
But before Alex could properly admire the submarine, Vincent ordered his men to take her to a windowless room for safekeeping. They hadn't exchanged a single word. Vincent didn't realize that if he had interrogated her, things might have turned out differently. Unfortunately, his arrogance blinded him to the fact that a few daring individuals had been watching him closely from the start.
After securing Alex, Vincent turned to his trusted lieutenant and said, "I've already informed Neil Caffrey. He knows Alex is in our hands. He's currently tied up at the FBI but will show up tomorrow afternoon. When he does, bring him here, but make sure no one tails you!"
The subordinate respectfully agreed, vowing to complete the task perfectly. After giving these instructions, Vincent turned his attention back to the submarine in front of him. As long as Neil, the safe-cracking expert, was brought in tomorrow, Vincent would finally achieve his lifelong dream.
Early the next morning, Castle was already up. There were many things to do today. For instance, Neil, with Mozzie's help, would finalize his pardon agreement with the FBI and the Department of Justice, ensuring his freedom. After signing this document, Neil would play the role of a kidnapped undercover agent. Knowing that Vincent was growing impatient, Castle and Mozzie agreed that Peter should stay with Neil as much as possible. Since Vincent planned to eliminate Neil after using him, he probably wouldn't mind taking an extra FBI agent hostage, as long as the FBI didn't catch on.
So, after Neil signed his pardon, Castle needed to keep him under surveillance at all times. When Neil opened the submarine, it would be empty, and to prevent Vincent from killing Neil and Peter out of rage, Castle had to be on standby today, ready to intervene if things spiraled out of control.
John was also on standby at the estate in Long Island, eagerly waiting for action. Damn it, ever since Castle dragged him into the mess with Gianna in France, he had almost forgotten what it felt like to fire a gun and kill someone. Now, he finally had a chance to stretch his muscles, and he couldn't wait.
Harry's two drones were already in the air—one was hovering over the warehouse Vincent had rented near New York Harbor, while the other was surveilling the FBI's New York office in Manhattan, ready to monitor Neil and Peter when they left the building.
After making breakfast for his daughter and generously giving Alexis a large sum of pocket money, Richard "Rich-Guy-With-Millions-In-Cash-Just-Sitting-Around" Castle sent her off to school. Then, he leisurely packed up his things and headed straight for Long Island.
Later that morning, Neil, accompanied by Mozzie, would finalize his pardon agreement with the FBI and the DOJ, after which he would share the intel he and Castle had worked out with them. This would allow the FBI to set up surveillance at the warehouse Vincent had rented near the harbor. In the afternoon, Neil, with Peter by his side, would pretend to leave the FBI office, giving Vincent's men a chance to kidnap him. Since Castle had no pressing tasks in the morning, he headed to Gianna's estate to discuss the treasure distribution plan he had come up with last night.
Upon arriving at the estate, Castle declined John and Harry's enthusiastic breakfast invitation and went straight to the garden with Gianna to share his thoughts from the previous night.
Gianna looked at Castle in astonishment. "Rick, are you crazy? You trust me that much?"
Castle wasn't surprised by Gianna's reaction. If the roles were reversed and Gianna suddenly came to him with a plan to hand over treasures worth billions of dollars, he'd react the same way. But to Castle, the treasure was more of a burden than a fortune. In this group of seven, Gianna was the only one capable of handling such a treasure properly.
Moreover, Gianna's relationship with John and her connections with the High Table, along with his father's ties, made Castle believe this was the best approach. He also trusted that Gianna wouldn't be short-sighted. Plus, this solution would relieve Castle of the headache of managing the treasure—truly a win-win situation.
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