Richard Castle was completely baffled when, while boating on the Venetian canals with his daughter and girlfriend, he received a report through his Bluetooth headset from Jarvis about a kidnapping in Frankfurt, Germany. What's more, Ramsey and his chubby friend had unwittingly crossed paths with the kidnappers.
Castle couldn't help but wonder: Was he really a walking disaster magnet? Here he was, finally on a vacation with his girlfriend and daughter, yet trouble seemed to follow him everywhere.
Not long ago, he'd had to deal with a traitorous insider, and now, the chubby kid who went to Germany alone to meet some online friend had gotten himself into trouble? And from the information Jarvis just dug up, this seemed to be straight out of the plot of Fast and Furious 7.
But Castle didn't see why he should get involved. Ever since he took Ramsey under his wing, it was as if the world's will had forced another German hacker recluse to replace her role in the story, just to ensure that Deckard Shaw and the bald speed-racing crew would still clash. But what did that have to do with him?
He vaguely remembered that the chubby kid was friends with Tej, the black guy from the bald crew. Back in Brazil, Tej had invited the chubby kid, which was how Castle got roped into that epic heist where they robbed a police station. Instead of using compact cars, though, the crew had followed his suggestion through the kid and opted for military trucks.
So now that the world had somehow rebooted Fast and Furious 7, why should he get involved? After all, Diplomatic Security Agent Hobbs and vengeful Deckard Shaw would be there, along with the CIA's "Nobody," all scrambling to get their hands on that magical program. And soon enough, they'd be doing death-defying stunts with parachuting cars over the mountains of Azerbaijan to rescue the kidnapped hacker. Castle didn't need to intervene at all!
For now, his only concern was to get the chubby kid and Ramsey safely back to Italy. After that, he would focus on what really mattered: spending time with his girlfriend and daughter. Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi weren't under his girlfriend's jurisdiction, after all. If a rogue warlord wanted an advanced tracking software, why was that Castle's problem? And why should he care if the meddling CIA couldn't keep their hands out of everything?
Deckard Shaw's quest for vengeance was perfectly reasonable; who wouldn't want revenge? But those meddling Americans, always obsessed with saving the world? If it weren't for them stirring the pot, there wouldn't be nearly as much trouble.
So, the moment Castle heard the news, he decided he wouldn't waste his energy on it. Jarvis would keep an eye on the situation, and once the Diplomatic Security Service and CIA showed up and connected with the bald gang, the chubby kid would get a real lesson on just how murky things could get.
Castle had always thought that, except for the somewhat straightforward Hobbs and the clearly motivated Deckard Shaw, there wasn't a single decent character in Fast and Furious 7. Not the warlord chasing after the Eye of God, nor Ramsey, nor the ever-loyal "family" led by the bald-headed crew, nor that CIA agent "Nobody"—not a single one was trustworthy.
Take Ramsey, for example. Are we really supposed to believe she created the Eye of God for purely noble reasons? And the CIA only wanted to "rescue" her to gain access to the Eye's incredible abilities, which would nicely complement their own surveillance projects. And the "family"? Besides Mia, was any of them really any better?
With all this in mind, why should Castle willingly get involved? He knew that the CIA, aware of Ramsey's weaker version of the Eye of God created by the German hacker Heidrich, would soon reveal their greedy intentions. So why jump into a situation that would only serve the CIA's agenda?
From his god-like perspective, with Jarvis monitoring the world effortlessly, Castle much preferred watching the CIA make fools of themselves. Why should he risk his life helping the agency he despised most? The bald gang was simply cooperating with the CIA to save their necks and find Deckard Shaw, who had his own reasons for hunting them. That was all there was to it.
However, given his intervention, Ramsey had now hit it off with the chubby kid, whom Castle viewed as a son or younger brother. And while the world had indeed produced a German hacker with a similar skill set, Castle was confident that nothing this guy could create would be half as impressive as Jarvis. So, what was there to worry about?
As long as the chubby kid was safely back in Italy, Castle planned to let him use Jarvis's tracking capabilities to watch the whole drama unfold. This would be an excellent lesson for the idealistic duo, always so naïve and unaware of how gray the world truly was.
What is gray, you ask? It's everything that's about to happen. The dedicated Diplomatic Security Service agent who turns to his targets for help when he's out of options? Gray. A criminal who eventually finds redemption? Gray.
Even Deckard Shaw's ruthless quest for revenge for his brother is gray. The man would soon be redeemed for helping the bald gang against the yet-to-appear Cipher, going from black to white—gray all along.
But the CIA's methods? That's not gray; that's pitch black, irredeemable.
Castle directed Jarvis to keep an eye on the chubby kid's safety and locate the bald gang's whereabouts. With that done, he returned to enjoying the sights of Venice.
Meanwhile, in a heavily guarded British hospital that had recently suffered a blast from Dr. Bailey, Deckard Shaw was single-handedly taking down the hospital's security to reach his unconscious brother Owen Shaw. As he stood by his brother's bed, venting about his brother's foolish decisions, he made a promise: Dominic Toretto and his crew would pay.
Deckard Shaw, a former black-ops squad commander, was more formidable than his brother, who had been a major in the British SAS. His solo takedown of hospital security and the officers guarding Owen Shaw made it clear just how deadly he was. Yet, while he was making threats over his comatose brother, Deckard was unaware that he was already under Jarvis's watchful eye.
Castle, uninterested in saving the CIA's kidnapped hacker, wasn't about to let this situation go entirely unmonitored. Knowing the world was still forcing Fast and Furious 7 to happen, he'd ordered Jarvis to find Owen and Deckard Shaw. Within five minutes, Jarvis had located the notorious Jason Statham look-alike by his brother's hospital bed.
Castle was well aware of the timeline: next, this "tough-guy who gains power with baldness" would likely head to Tokyo to blow up Han, the Korean street racer, before going after Hobbs in the U.S. But would he really succeed in killing Han so easily this time around? If he could take out Han as before, it could spell trouble for Dominic's old gang, too.
Castle had always found it ridiculous how, in his past life, Deckard Shaw could go from Tokyo, where he killed Han, to teaming up with Dominic to save his son, sweeping their history under the rug. This so-called "family" talk rang hollow; if they truly valued friendship, Han would have had plenty to say from beyond the grave.
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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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