Since Castle couldn't reveal the shocking secret of his personal space to others, Sean filled in the gaps with his own imagination, assuming that Castle might have access to a highly secretive transportation route. As a result, while feeling secretly proud of his "foolish" son, Sean immediately notified his trusted subordinates to head to the Dantonio family's castle. They were to move the priceless treasure as soon as Castle returned with the container truck.
Thanks to the prearranged plan, by the time Castle drove back to Gianna's family castle, Sean's people were already waiting to take over the treasure-filled container truck. After handing over the truck, Castle, carefree as usual, no longer concerned himself with the matter. Instead, he sat down with his father, Sean, who was curious to learn more about his son's recent activities, as they waited for the evening banquet. Gianna, knowing the two had much to discuss, took Alexis away, leaving just father and son alone in a small lounge within the castle.
After looking at his increasingly enigmatic son for a while, Sean finally spoke: "The reason I came to Europe this time, apart from retrieving the treasure you've secured, is that I received a request for help from Frank Moses. We didn't discuss things clearly over the phone, but I know he's in London now because of a tip from you. So tell me, what do you know about 'Project Nightshade' and Dr. Edward Bailey?
Also, how did you find out about such a classified project? Rick, you have to understand, the extent of your knowledge will determine whether you're in danger. Don't tell me you found this information through Northrop Grumman's access to the Pentagon's network. Even I, when Frank first mentioned it, had never heard of this project! And I was the head of CIA field operations back then. If it was classified beyond my knowledge, do you think Frank would believe you simply stumbled upon it by hacking into the Pentagon?"
Castle had been prepared for his father's questions. After tipping off Frank, Castle realized his original explanation was not convincing. Fortunately, Castle did possess formidable hacking skills. Back when he was developing drones in Northrop's secret lab in New York, he, along with the ever-scheming Little Fatty, had used high-level access to poke around in the Pentagon's network, planting multiple backdoors and Trojan horses.
So, when his father pressed him for answers, Castle simply showed off his abilities. He asked the Dantonio family to provide him with a laptop and, right there in the lounge, demonstrated his easy access to the Pentagon's classified database, leaving Sean speechless and amazed by Castle's technical prowess.
Watching his son casually navigate the Pentagon's top-secret database from a modest laptop in Rome, Sean couldn't help but reflect on how times had changed. Back in his day at the CIA, he didn't have the authority to access the Pentagon at this level. But here was Castle, doing it effortlessly.
Castle, seeing his father stunned, tried to soften the blow with an explanation: "Don't be fooled by how easily I got in. It's only because I planted backdoors in their system a while back when I was working at Northrop's lab. I set this up as a precaution during my drone development work. I saw some info on Project Nightshade, but I forgot about it until Frank came to New York, and you asked me to set him up in a safehouse."
Sean's immediate doubts were put to rest, but new questions arose: "Do you remember what was in the file?"
Castle, wary of spilling too much, shook his head: "No, not really. I only glanced at the file, and unfortunately, most of it was blacked out. The only things I saw were the names—'Project Nightshade,' Frank Moses, Marvin Boggs, and Dr. Edward Bailey. The rest of the document was redacted with black ink.
It wasn't an electronic file either; it looked like a photo of a physical document. I only remembered the names. If Frank hadn't come to New York, I might have completely forgotten. Is there something wrong with this operation?"
Sean didn't have a full picture yet, as he hadn't had a chance to communicate fully with Frank and the others in London. He wasn't aware that Project Nightshade and Dr. Edward Bailey were linked to a potential world war trigger. However, through his own channels, Sean had learned that the Russians had secretly gone on high alert following the unexpected online exposure of Project Nightshade. This suggested that Russia had long been aware of or heard rumors about the project.
Currently, the only information that had leaked about Project Nightshade online was that it involved hiding a highly destructive weapon within Russia. Dr. Bailey, using a stolen guard's phone, had deliberately leaked this information to the internet, but he hadn't yet revealed that the core of Project Nightshade involved placing his invention, a red mercury bomb, inside the Kremlin. Bailey still hoped to lure Frank to London to rescue him. To prevent a global catastrophe, Frank would have to take Bailey to Moscow to disarm the bomb hidden in the Kremlin's secret chamber.
Dr. Edward Bailey had long harbored a twisted desire to witness his deadly creations in action, which is why, even after helping NATO develop cutting-edge weapons like the red mercury bomb during the Cold War, the British government secretly imprisoned him. They feared his reckless intent to see his weapons cause destruction.
Years ago, Frank and Marvin had helped Bailey plant the red mercury suitcase bomb in the Kremlin, but the British, without informing their close American allies, faked Bailey's death in Moscow and secretly took him back to London, where he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for over thirty years.
Despite being a deranged mastermind in the development of WMDs, Bailey remained highly intelligent. After decades of imprisonment, he finally found an opportunity to steal a guard's phone, from which he subtly leaked part of Project Nightshade online.
Bailey believed that once Frank Moses and Marvin learned of the leak, if they were still alive, they would be hunted down by the British or the Americans—whether to silence them or to uncover the truth. With this leak, Bailey hoped to create enough chaos to orchestrate his escape. He planned to convince Frank to take him to Moscow to retrieve the bomb still hidden in the Kremlin, arguing that it couldn't fall into Russian hands. Otherwise, Russia might retaliate against the West with catastrophic consequences, which would prevent Bailey from reclaiming his precious invention.
Without retrieving the bomb, how could Bailey set off a grand explosion in London as revenge against the British government, which had imprisoned him for over thirty years?
Yes, Dr. Edward Bailey's ultimate goal wasn't just to punish the Americans for abandoning him. His deepest hatred was directed at the British, who had locked him away for decades. His entire plan was about revenge—against the British!
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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