The leak of the Dragonberry Plan this time unfolded quite differently from the original course of events, all because of Castle's interference. The CIA, which had the most at stake, didn't even have time to react before Castle's early warning to Frank tipped the scales. As a result, the situation didn't play out like in the original story, where everyone was confused. With Castle's precise and frighteningly detailed intel, the veteran operatives avoided the wild goose chase to France to find the informant "Frog" and instead, with the help of Castle and Sean, easily rescued Dr. Edward Bailey from the Tower of London before the British could react. By the time Frank and his team were quietly infiltrating the Kremlin, which had just relaxed its lockdown, the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, finally realized that their dirty secret from years ago had been exposed.
Perhaps it was the corrective force of the world's fate, but after several days of tense lockdown, Russia, having found nothing in its search of the Kremlin, strangely lifted the state of emergency. Kayla and her team had failed to intercept Frank's group in London due to Castle and Sean's help, so Russia was left in the dark, and things began to return to their original trajectory.
However, unlike the original plot, this time the team heading to Moscow consisted only of Frank, Marvin, Victoria, Sarah, and the pretending-to-be-crazy-but-everyone-knew-he-was-faking-it Edward Bailey. They traveled via private plane arranged through High Table's underground transport channels, thanks to Sean. The former Soviet operative who had a crush on Victoria in the original series did not appear.
Because Frank's team acted swiftly to rescue Bailey, Russia failed to obtain detailed information on the Dragonberry Plan. After the initial tension, they were perplexed and eventually lifted the lockdown on the Kremlin. This turn of events gave Frank and his team the perfect opportunity.
Castle, who was leisurely traveling around Italy with his daughter, kept a curious eye on the unfolding situation. When he saw that Frank's team had successfully arrived in Moscow without attracting attention from the FSB, Castle couldn't help but marvel at their luck and protagonist-like ability to dodge crises. How else could the Russians inexplicably lift their guard?
On closer thought, though, it made sense. Russia had only a small portion of the leaked information—details on the personnel involved in the mission and its origins, but not the full story. Russia likely had some intelligence on the Dragonberry Plan during the Cold War, but they couldn't indefinitely lock down the Kremlin based on incomplete online leaks, even if they were impulsive. The secret chamber where Frank and Bailey had stored the red mercury bomb decades ago was in an extremely hidden room deep in the Kremlin's underground. With no results from their search, Russia began to doubt the leak's authenticity. Additionally, Kayla's failure to intercept Frank in London left Russia with little new information, forcing them to lift the lockdown.
This development was good news for Frank and his team, but trouble was brewing elsewhere. Langley had realized the situation, and the CIA confirmed that Frank and his group had quietly traveled to London days earlier. The fact that Frank, aided by Sean, had rescued Dr. Bailey from the Tower of London without the Brits killing him spoke volumes.
What did this mean? It confirmed that Dr. Bailey had indeed placed a red mercury bomb in the Kremlin all those years ago! And worse, only Bailey knew how to make such a bomb. The thought of this uniquely powerful bomb, comparable to a nuclear weapon but without radiation, sitting in the heart of Moscow made the CIA Director's blood pressure spike.
It didn't take much imagination to understand that if Russia got their hands on the red mercury bomb, it would be nearly impossible for the U.S. to obtain it. The Director knew that extracting the bomb's secrets from the vengeful Dr. Bailey, who had been unjustly imprisoned for over 30 years, was practically impossible. The best option was to retrieve the bomb from the Kremlin, a sample from over 30 years ago, before Russia could secure it.
The CIA Director, understanding the gravity of the situation, urgently dispatched agents to Moscow. He knew he couldn't recruit Frank, not after the CIA had abandoned them during their political fallout. Winning over these retired operatives, who held deep grudges against the agency, was unlikely. The only hope was to try and steal the bomb from Frank's group or capture Bailey themselves.
Meanwhile, the British, who had also been caught off guard when Frank rescued Bailey so easily, realized the severity of the situation. Unlike in the original timeline, where they only sent agents to deal with Victoria, this time Britain was more proactive. Despite their decline, the Brits weren't about to let the world learn that they had helped the U.S. plant a massive bomb in the Kremlin during the Cold War. Britain's survival instincts kicked in hard.
The British intelligence services knew that if Frank's team got their hands on the bomb and took it out of Moscow, there was still a chance to steal it. However, if Russia recovered the bomb, Britain, already the weakest of the UN's five permanent members, wouldn't be able to withstand Russian retaliation. What they didn't know was that Bailey's true goal was to take the bomb back to the UK and set off a grand display of fireworks. If they had known, they might have sent an even larger team.
So, Britain decided to send agents to Moscow, hoping to either destroy the bomb before Russia could seize it or steal Bailey and the bomb from Frank.
In short, Moscow became a gathering ground for spies. Whether CIA operatives, British intelligence agents, or Russian FSB teams led by Frank's former lover, Kayla, all converged on the Russian capital.
While Castle was happily sightseeing and enjoying meals with his daughter in Italy, Moscow had turned into a battlefield for intelligence operatives.
Castle remained unconcerned. His interference had derailed the story from his expected path, but he had no interest in diving into this mess. His system hadn't assigned him any tasks, and if the Brits ended up being blown up by Bailey, what did that have to do with him? Whether in his past life or present one, Castle had no fondness for the pretentious British Empire. He didn't even have much affection for his new American homeland. If Britain really got unlucky and was blown to pieces by Bailey, Castle might just celebrate with fireworks of his own. He was too absorbed in his father-daughter bonding time to care about Britain's fate.
Little did Castle know that his meddling had turned a relatively safe situation into a nightmare for the Brits.
On the fourth day of Castle's trip to Rome, shocking news broke. True to his protagonist fate, Frank, with Sean's help, had successfully retrieved the red mercury bomb from the Kremlin despite the best efforts of the U.S., Britain, and Russia. But just as Castle had warned, they had underestimated the cunning Bailey.
Despite all their preparations, Frank's team had been outwitted. In a safehouse in Moscow, Bailey used a strange anesthetic to knock out Frank, Marvin, and even Victoria, before disappearing with the bomb.
Neither the CIA, MI6, nor the FSB had any clue where Bailey had gone. Now, the situation had truly spiraled out of control.
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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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