While a very troubled Richard Castle was racking his brains in his mansion, trying to figure out how to help his friend, Neal and Mozzie were in the attic of Joan's mansion, where Neal was temporarily staying, discussing how to bring down Senator Pratt.
Yes, after all this time, both Mozzie and Neal had grown disillusioned with the many rules and limitations of the FBI. Initially, Neal thought that obtaining evidence to prove Senator Pratt's crimes would be enough to easily topple the senator and give Peter some credit. However, he soon realized something was off. Recently, while working in the FBI, Neal had felt the presence of an unknown force obstructing the investigation he and Peter were conducting against Senator Pratt.
Worried, Neal decided to seek Mozzie's help.
"Neal, something is definitely off. Should we ask Rick, who has better connections in New York, for advice on this matter?" Mozzie suggested, sipping Neal's prized wine without any remorse while sitting at the dining table.
A rare look of hesitation crossed Neal's handsome face. "I've been thinking the same thing. For some reason, Peter said something strange to me today. It felt like he's facing resistance from the higher-ups within the FBI. I know him too well; if things weren't serious, he wouldn't have said something so cryptic to me. This guy chased me halfway across the globe to catch me, so there's only one possibility—our investigation into Pratt is being blocked by someone in the government."
Neal and Mozzie had no idea that Neal's arch-nemesis belonged to the prestigious Pratt family, which had been involved in military engine manufacturing since 1925. They still believed it was just the usual case of powerful people protecting each other. Neither of them realized how close Neal was to serious danger.
However, their time spent with Castle, who always had access to insider information, gave them confidence that the protection surrounding Pratt would be no match for Castle's vast network. So, after agreeing to visit Castle the next day for help, they happily indulged in Neal's wine, blissfully unaware that the Pratt family had already marked Neal for elimination as an example to others who dared to challenge them.
Castle had already instructed Jarvis to track Neal and Mozzie's whereabouts. When Jarvis reported that they were enjoying a drink at 87 Canal Street, Castle couldn't help but laugh. It was a classic case of blissful ignorance—here he was, stressing over Neal's predicament, while the two of them were having a drink, unaware that danger was looming.
"Damn, if these two weren't my friends, I wouldn't care about their fate."
But as much as he might gripe, Castle couldn't just sit by and do nothing. Neal was his friend, after all, and as powerful as the Pratt family might be, they couldn't just bully his friends. Even though the Pratt family was influential, taking out a senator wasn't exactly hard for Castle. If necessary, he had access to top-notch assassins, including the world's strongest sniper, who had recently moved to the Bronx with his dog Sam, and could take out Pratt effortlessly. Even if Castle took action himself, he was confident he could kill Neal's nemesis without a trace.
"If they keep pushing me, I'll send them straight to Vincent Adler!" Castle thought.
Looking at the footage Jarvis had gathered, Castle watched as Neal and Mozzie discussed their plan to seek his help the next day. He felt a mischievous urge to mess with them but restrained himself. Instead, he turned his attention back to the intel Jarvis had gathered on Senator Pratt.
In Castle's eyes, the senator was as good as dead. Thanks to Jarvis, a fully functional AI much more advanced than the semi-intelligent "God's Eye" system used by Ramsey, the senator's every move had been tracked in a matter of minutes. Castle now had all of Pratt's upcoming appointments and movements on his screen, making it laughably easy to arrange an ambush.
Still, Castle knew he had to inform Neal of the situation. While he was sure Neal would agree that bringing down the senator through legitimate means was now impossible, the feud was Neal's, not his. Castle didn't want to overstep by making the decision for him.
He was confident, though, that once Neal saw the full picture, he would agree with Castle's approach. Neal wasn't some soft-hearted idealist; he was a calculating man who knew how to eliminate threats for good. Better to wait until tomorrow when Neal and Mozzie arrived.
Castle instructed Jarvis to continue monitoring Senator Pratt and his family closely. He was determined to take action before the Pratt family could send someone to kill Neal.
As Castle sighed, he couldn't help but reflect on his unintended reputation as a "senator killer." If he took out Pratt, he would have three senators' deaths either directly or indirectly on his hands—William Bracken, Charles Hahn, and now Pratt. With only 100 senators in the country, taking out 3% was no small feat.
Castle couldn't help but laugh bitterly. All he wanted when he came to this world was a peaceful life with a wife and kids. Now, after finally winning over Beckett and trying to lay low, it seemed the world just wouldn't leave him alone. This time, he had even handed over the evidence against Pratt to Neal early on, hoping to avoid trouble. But, just like in the original series Castle had once watched, Neal was pulled right back into the same mess, trying to get Peter some credit and inadvertently catching the Pratt family's attention.
"Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I would have taken Pratt out from the start. Now they're gunning for Neal, and I'm forced to step in again. And I can't even let them know I'm involved, or the Pratt family, with their ties to the military-industrial complex, will be all over me."
Taking out the senator was no problem, but it had to be done carefully. With Jarvis, the world's only true AI, Castle could kill the senator without leaving any trace, ensuring neither he nor Neal would be implicated.
The next morning, when Neal and Mozzie arrived at Castle's estate, the first thing Castle did was lead them to his AI system.
"Is this real, Rick? Is this really an AI?" Mozzie asked, feeling like he was hallucinating. They had come seeking Castle's help, but now they were being introduced to the world's first fully functional artificial intelligence?
Neal, though not as knowledgeable about AI as Mozzie, was equally stunned. His jaw dropped, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Jarvis, equipped with an emotion module, wasted no time proving itself. It quickly pulled up footage from the night before, showing Neal and Mozzie discussing their plans in Neal's apartment. In an instant, the two were convinced.
"Damn, they've been watching us this whole time?"
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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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