Despite their dissatisfaction, the Pratt family, unable to find any solid evidence proving that their political representative had been murdered, reluctantly accepted the FBI's conclusion. The bureau determined that Senator Pratt, the sitting senator of New York State, had died from an accidental encounter with venomous marine creatures that had mysteriously appeared in the waters near New York during his swim. For the time being, the Pratt family had to accept this conclusion, though they privately planned to continue their investigation.
The video from Castle's drone clearly showed that at the time of the incident, the only people present were Senator Pratt, swimming in the ocean, and his five bodyguards on a yacht about 30 meters behind him. This fact rendered the situation an unsolvable mystery, at least for now.
But one should never underestimate a family that has endured for over a century. Despite the evidence pointing to an accident, the Pratt family, having weathered countless storms, would not easily concede. They had their suspicions.
Meanwhile, Castle displayed a daring attitude. Despite being approached by the Pratt family for the drone footage, he was bold enough to sneak down to his private beach the next morning, before Beckett woke up. He retrieved the blue-ringed octopus and the sea snake that had served him so well, temporarily housing them in two tanks and hiding them in the third basement level of his supercomputer lab, in a room meant for storing treasures.
Of course, he had promised the flirtatious little octopus that he would buy it at least five companions so it could live a happy life. He fully intended to keep his promise, just not right now—doing so immediately after a senator had been killed by a blue-ringed octopus would be too obvious. Castle knew better than to make himself a suspect by suddenly keeping a tank of venomous octopuses at home. He needed to wait for a while before openly displaying the helpful octopus.
As for the clumsy sea snake, Castle had already devised a plan. In ten days or so, one of Big Ivan's men would take the snake on a plane to Australia and release it back into the wild. Would Ivan's men suspect a connection between the snake and the senator's mysterious death? So what if they did? These bodyguards had all shared in a valuable treasure he had distributed among them. Their loyalty to him was solid. These former special forces soldiers from Russia were pragmatic—good food, good pay, and no dangerous missions to face. Only a fool would betray Castle and give up such a comfortable life.
Having convinced Beckett to move to Long Island with him, Castle wasted no time. After hiding the octopus and sea snake in the basement, he eagerly awaited Beckett's awakening to help her move from New York to the estate. As for Alexis? This was already her home; she just needed to bring some personal items over. With such a large estate, there was more than enough space for her.
On Monday, after Beckett and Alexis left for work and school, Castle, feeling content, strolled down to the supercomputer lab, curious to see if Mozzie and the others were still alive after being holed up there since last week.
Castle had underestimated the sheer allure of a personal supercomputer and AI for someone like Ramsey. Although the tech geek Mozzie had helped develop the AI and was less impressed than Ramsey or the others, his heart had been swayed by the beautiful Ramsey, who was, at the very least, an 8/10 when she cleaned up. Ever since last week, Mozzie had been spending all his time assisting Ramsey as she worked on perfecting her "God's Eye" program using the supercomputer and Jarvis. And Mozzie? No one cared what he was up to, though Castle could tell that Mozzie was busy with something in a corner of the lab.
When Castle entered, he discovered that Mozzie, the perpetual conspiracy theorist, had used the AI's permissions to erase all traces of his digital footprint. Mozzie had essentially turned himself into a "ghost." His passport, driver's license, and legal credentials were still intact, but his presence in any government surveillance databases was completely wiped. In fact, Mozzie had even installed a safety measure within the Homeland Security database, which would alert him if anyone tried to monitor or investigate him. With Jarvis's help, he had finally fulfilled his long-held dream of becoming invisible to government surveillance.
Such behavior could only come from someone with deep paranoia and an intense belief in conspiracy theories.
Seeing how immersed his three friends were in the supercomputer and AI, Castle didn't bother them further. Under Jarvis's supervision, they wouldn't starve. The AI would notify the estate's cooks to prepare meals and deliver them to the lab via the elevator. Relieved that they were well cared for, Castle returned upstairs to his mechanical workshop to work on his dream project: a holographic projection system.
But just as he was about to dive into the design, the senior vice president of Northrop Grumman unexpectedly arrived at his estate, requesting an urgent meeting with Castle.
Frustrated that his research had been interrupted, Castle begrudgingly went to meet the man at the main house entrance, curious as to why he had shown up.
To Castle's surprise, the vice president was there to ask him to begin developing the next generation of drones. Castle was baffled. Hadn't his drones just won the military contract? The U.S. military hadn't even begun mass deployment yet, with only a few units being tested in frontline units.
The vice president patiently explained to Castle, who had unexpectedly turned into an arms developer, "This is actually standard practice in the defense industry—research one generation while deploying the current one. Although our drones won the bid, we need to secure our advantage by developing the next generation now."
He continued, "Your previous suggestion to replace the tactical missiles on the drones with smaller ones to increase their firepower is an excellent idea. Current military drones, even the ones you designed, can only carry two to four missiles. Even if they're equipped with your powerful 'Jericho' missiles, they can't simultaneously handle reconnaissance and emergency strikes for extended periods. That's why the board wants you to work on miniaturizing the missiles while maintaining their power, and to upgrade the current drone model as well."
The vice president added that while the company couldn't offer more shares in exchange for Castle's help, they were prepared to offer substantial cash compensation or other forms of payment.
Castle began to understand the real reason for this visit. It wasn't just about upgrading the drones. The company was worried about what he might do with his free time. After all, the Pratt family had likely linked him to Neil Caffrey, and they were undoubtedly suspicious. Northrop Grumman and other families connected to the company must have sensed something was amiss, which was why they sent the vice president over today to keep him busy and out of trouble.
All that talk about "develop one generation, deploy another" was just a convenient excuse. The U.S. didn't follow that strategy—only China did. In America, defense companies typically waited for the military to issue a request before starting development, then bid for the contract while lobbying Congress and the Pentagon. Once they won the contract, they'd work hard to secure funding and approvals.
They were clearly treating Castle like a novice in the arms industry.
However, the visit raised Castle's suspicions. The Pratt family, even without direct evidence linking him to the senator's death, must have already connected him to Neil. It didn't help that Neil had visited Castle's estate just before leaving New York. Then, shortly after Neil's departure, Senator Pratt mysteriously died less than five kilometers from Castle's home.
He had underestimated the danger…
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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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