It's no wonder the mysterious figure was so pleased. Despite the fact that the chubby guy hadn't completely erased his tracks when he went to Frankfurt, Germany, to meet Heydrich—especially when his bodyguards ended up in a shootout with kidnappers at Heydrich's doorstep—it made it easy for the CIA to start noticing him once they recognized Heydrich's significance.
Initially, the CIA hadn't fully grasped Heydrich's importance; plus, after the incident, the chubby guy returned to Rome under the protection of the D'Antonio family on his bodyguard's advice. This made the CIA, who were wary of conducting investigations in Italy where their influence was limited, reluctant to probe too deeply. Additionally, because the chubby guy had a certain cover identity, the CIA chose not to pursue him directly, as they hadn't yet given up on rescuing Heydrich.
The reason was simple: back when Castle was developing drones for Northrup Corporation, he had taken the chubby guy along to their high-security lab because of his exceptional skills in drone operations. Northrup even gave him the title of designer, thanks to his impressive computer skills and Castle's connections. This officially recognized role complicated matters for the CIA. Even with their power abroad, they couldn't just go after a well-connected national defense contractor without significant cause.
This is why they thought of extracting some information on "Harry Mitnick" from Heydrich. However, Heydrich was clueless about the name and, instead, gathered surprising information from a gang of bikers.
The revelation that Harry was coincidentally at Heydrich's door during the kidnapping—where his bodyguards engaged the assailants—had been a shock to the CIA. They recalled how he had orchestrated their escape in Brazil, where his mysterious strategic skills had left a lasting impression. The expressions on their faces, hinting at some suspicion, had not escaped the fox-like gaze of the mysterious figure.
The mysterious figure was familiar with the bikers' history, and one thing baffled him: how had they managed to pull off such an audacious escape in Rio de Janeiro against all odds? They had even escaped the citywide manhunt by taking a yacht out to sea after a heist against Hernán Reyes, the underworld king. The figure's curiosity was particularly piqued by the hacker who had helped them.
Now, thanks to the recent slip-up by Dominic and his crew, the figure realized that the hacker who had supported them in their daring escape from Rio and facilitated their clean getaway with over a hundred million dollars was, in fact, Harry—the very person he had recently been tracking.
Furthermore, intelligence suggested that over the past year, this same Harry had been closely connected with a New York-based detective novelist who had recently become a shareholder in Northrup Corporation. Interestingly, this novelist had also been in Brazil around the time Dominic's crew clashed with Reyes.
Could it be that the novelist had covertly assisted Dominic's crew during their feud with Reyes, just like Harry?
It all made sense. According to his most detailed intelligence reports, Harry had been a homebody before his trip to Brazil. How would he have access to safehouses and weapons for Dominic's crew, who were fleeing Reyes like hunted animals?
This novelist must have been involved in the takedown of Reyes as well. It was only now that all the clues were coming together for someone well-informed, like the mysterious figure.
Unfortunately, despite being powerful, the CIA was an intelligence agency, not an enforcement body. They had no leverage to bargain with a shareholder of Northrup, even if they had evidence implicating him in the Brazil incident. The crime had occurred abroad, leaving the CIA with no real threat to hold over the novelist.
The CIA's habit of doubting everything had fully emerged when the mysterious figure confirmed that Heydrich's software was irrecoverable. It wasn't that the CIA didn't wonder why Harry had been at Heydrich's doorstep, but Heydrich and his software were more pressing issues. Once they had roughly verified Harry's background and identity, the CIA decided to focus on retrieving Heydrich.
Now, however, with Heydrich's value significantly diminished, the chubby guy had inadvertently exposed himself thanks to Dominic and his gang's lapse in composure, which the cunning figure had seized upon. Although he couldn't leverage Harry's involvement in the Brazil heist against him because of Northrup's support, he could use this minor opening to figure out why Harry was coincidentally at Heydrich's doorstep during the kidnapping, and—more importantly—what he and the novelist had been doing lately on Long Island.
Others might not know, but the mysterious figure did. Dominic's crew had successfully rescued Heydrich from a warlord using a new micro-missile. That weapon, developed by none other than the novelist who was closely associated with Harry, was now produced by Northrup. Proven in real combat, it was a treasure for the CIA, who saw themselves as global guardians. While it would be difficult to control the novelist, who had influential connections in New York and was Northrup's largest private shareholder, establishing a connection with him might still be feasible.
As soon as the novelist began to show prominence in military design and started collaborating with Northrup, the CIA investigated Castle's background and discovered that his father had once been an agent for the CIA. Even more surprising, he was one of the legendary R.E.D. agents in Langley's basement archives.
Didn't that make him practically one of their own? It should be relatively easy to establish contact, right?
Despite rumors that Castle's father held a grudge against a certain secret faction within the CIA, that didn't necessarily extend to all of the CIA. With the opportunity at hand, and since Dominic's gang was familiar with Harry, a conversation could be beneficial. Who knew, it might even be fruitful.
The current situation was clear: Heydrich's software no longer posed a concern, but both the mysterious figure and Dominic's gang needed the assistance of a top-tier hacker to track down Deckard Shaw, who was still in hiding. Tej and Heydrich alone wouldn't be enough. And it was known that the novelist's Long Island estate housed a rare private supercomputer. If they could persuade Harry to join them, possibly connecting with the novelist as well, it would be a profitable arrangement for the CIA, Dominic, and even the mysterious figure.
However, the mysterious figure was unaware that when he ordered Heydrich to upload the software to the CIA's internal network, a hidden virus within the program allowed Jarvis to slip quietly into the network. It wasn't that Jarvis was incapable; it was simply that bypassing the CIA's network without leaving a trace was virtually impossible, so Castle had refrained from risking Jarvis's exposure.
This time, though, Castle had Jarvis mimic Heydrich's program and seize the opportunity to infiltrate the CIA's network through their cloud storage.
Consequently, everything—from the footage of Heydrich's interrogation, the unusual looks on Dominic's crew when Harry's name came up, to the mysterious figure's covert report to his superiors about leveraging Harry and possibly Castle—was relayed back to Castle and Harry, who were vacationing in Italy, by Jarvis.
This unexpected development abruptly interrupted Castle's original plans. He hadn't anticipated that Harry would unwittingly be exposed by Dominic's group.
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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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