After receiving the call from his father, Castle finally realized why he'd been feeling something was off in the past few days. It wasn't just that the events happening around him were isolated incidents. Instead, they were a mashup of two different movies from his past life!
Damn it, no wonder the vice president had changed both the meeting place and the city for his rendezvous with the African representative. No wonder Castle had felt something was wrong all along. The root of the chaos lay with Senator Charles Hahn from Montana, who had stepped in to replace his unlucky congressman son, now taking the lead in the plot.
So, would Red 1's arms dealer, Alexander Dunning, not appear at all? Or was he just hiding in the shadows, waiting for his moment?
There was less than two hours until that idiot vice president was scheduled to meet the African envoy, and Castle had only just now pieced everything together after receiving the intel from his father. That left him with only two hours to confirm whether this whole conspiracy was only the work of Senator Charles Hahn and his lackey, Johnson.
Time was running out!
Cursing under his breath, Castle knew he couldn't vent his frustrations on his father, who had simply advised him to help out Frank Moses, a former CIA legend. Frank, now experiencing a second wind in life, was heading to New York with his bookish girlfriend and a partner who had been drugged by the CIA for over a decade. Frank wanted to make sure Vice President Andrew, who had betrayed him, paid for his treachery. Castle, however, saw the situation differently.
He now understood that he was the only one with the full picture of what was going on. Originally, he had just wanted to cause a bit of trouble for the scheming Senator Hahn. But now, with Frank Moses in the mix, things could escalate unpredictably. Frank Moses wasn't just anyone—he was a man so dangerous that even the CIA hesitated to cross him. And Castle wasn't sure if Cooper, the agent who had chased Frank and his crew in Red, had joined the fray. If all these power players ended up in New York for a showdown, Castle's carefully laid plans with Beckett might not be enough.
None of the people involved were pushovers. Cooper aside, Frank's crew of retirees—Victoria, Marvin, and Joe, along with the formidable ex-Russian operative—were not to be underestimated. If they started causing havoc in New York, Castle's girlfriend might explode from the sheer stress!
Castle suddenly remembered that Frank and his team would confront the vice president during a fundraising gala. In the original plot, the vice president had been framed, but this time, Andrew was actually guilty, knee-deep in corruption and atrocities. This meant Frank and his team would likely go head-to-head with him for real.
That would play right into the hands of the short, fat Montana senator, Charles Hahn!
Castle had to stop Frank from taking action. Thankfully, his father had a long history with Frank as both colleagues and superiors, which meant Castle would easily earn Frank's trust once they met. And once he had Frank's trust, everything else would fall into place.
There was another crucial point: with Frank Moses now in play, did that mean the events of Red 2 were just around the corner as well?
The thought of a red mercury bomb lying dormant in the Kremlin gave Castle chills. That device was supposedly as powerful as a nuclear weapon but without the radiation or fallout. And wasn't Dr. Edward Bailey locked up in the Tower of London?
Given the mischievous tendencies of his system, Castle figured there was no way it wouldn't drag him into this mess. Would he have to fly to Russia, too, to witness firsthand how his father's old comrades stole the bomb from the Kremlin?
The idea of having to trudge through the freezing Russian winter did not sit well with Castle. Sure, he'd heard that Russian women were beautiful, but what good was that if he couldn't indulge?
As he thought about the cold Russian weather and his unlikely journey there, Castle felt his mood sour even further.
"Ugh, damn it all!"
Castle, his forehead throbbing with veins of frustration, stormed into his study. He booted up his video link to Mozzie, Neal, and the chubby guy, who were already set up at his Long Island estate. Without delay, Castle relayed the news he'd just received, which left Moz and Neal thoroughly shocked.
"Rick, are you saying there's a group of retired CIA operatives heading to New York, and they're all after the vice president?" Mozzie asked, perplexed.
"How do you know that these retirees are connected to the Montana senator and his assassination plot?" Moz added, skeptical of Castle's deduction.
Castle couldn't exactly explain how his memories from a past life were the source of his conclusions, so he kept things vague. "Trust me, Moz. This is definitely part of Senator Hahn's plan. He's setting up a two-pronged attack. First, he's using Bob Lee Swagger to cause chaos. If that fails, he'll rely on these retirees—who are still terrifyingly capable despite their age—to stir up trouble for the vice president. I've got intelligence that this vice president was quite a troublemaker in his younger years."
"And with all his dirty laundry, it's no surprise things are going downhill for him now."
Castle's tone grew serious. "I'm telling you this because these retirees aren't your average people. If they clash with the vice president's party, it could blow up into something massive. And the vice president? I don't think he'll last much longer…"
Neal, calmer than Mozzie, asked the important question: "Rick, what do you want us to do?"
Without hesitation, Castle replied, "I need the chubby guy to get the drones up in the air and locate these retirees immediately. I'll send you the files on their leader, Frank Moses. Once you find them, notify me right away—I need to talk to Frank face-to-face before things spiral out of control."
The chubby guy, having already set up his drones at Castle's estate the day before, nodded and rushed off to get them ready. Castle then gave Moz and Neal a quick rundown of who the CIA's R.E.D operatives were.
Hearing about these top-secret, off-the-record agents for the first time, Moz and Neal were visibly stunned. They finally understood why Castle had contacted them with such urgency. These retirees were no joke.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the pair didn't waste any more time. They quickly began coordinating with the chubby guy to locate Frank and his team.
Meanwhile, Castle regained his composure. He knew that things needed to be handled one step at a time. Frank and his team wouldn't be involved in the operation happening in less than two hours, so Castle's immediate priority was ensuring Bob Lee Swagger's safety and making sure he could escape after the shot was fired, with help from both Castle and Beckett.
At the same time, Castle needed to make sure Johnson's men were caught in the building after the shot, ensuring that he and Beckett—representing the NYPD—gained the upper hand in the aftermath of the assassination attempt.
On a highway hundreds of kilometers from New York, Frank Moses had just hung up the phone with Castle's father, Sean. He turned to the elegant older woman sitting beside Sarah in the backseat, former MI6 agent Victoria.
"Well, my old boss pulled some strings and has set up a safe house and weapons for us when we get to New York. What surprised me is that he has a son—a best-selling novelist, no less—who's currently dating the youngest NYPD captain in history. We'll contact his son once we arrive. He'll help us out."
Frank paused for a moment, then added with a wry smile, "Also, I just found out that it might not have been Vice President Andrew behind my assassination attempt, but rather one of his political rivals, a senator from the elephant party."
"Damn it, these people have no idea who they're messing with. Disturbing my peaceful retirement? I don't care if it's the president himself—I'm not letting this slide!"
Frank's girlfriend, Sarah, always curious due to her love of books, perked up. "Wait, your old boss's son is a best-selling author? Have we read any of his books? Could he be a secret agent posing as a writer?"
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