Richard Castle was thoroughly fed up with the relentless pursuit from both the nameless group and the CIA, which had clung to him like a leech. Frustrated by their persistent harassment and his own lack of fondness for the organization, he was seriously considering releasing information he held about the CIA's global surveillance project. Doing so would not only catapult this information worldwide overnight, but also deliver a sharp, well-deserved slap to these bothersome fools before Benjamin took office as the next leader.
Castle had initially planned to avoid direct confrontation, hoping to shake these people off once Benjamin assumed power. But reality showed Castle that he had underestimated their shamelessness, especially when Jarvis had just discovered that the CIA was planning to approach his mother, Martha, for leverage. That discovery pushed Castle over the edge.
Although he retained memories from his previous life and felt no allegiance to this country, the "Castle" whose body he now inhabited was a devoted son. Despite Martha's eccentricities, their relationship was strong. Realizing that the CIA, having found no openings through him, would now try to target his mother made Castle see that his previous patience had only encouraged these people to escalate their efforts.
Adding to his realization, Castle recalled another point. Based on his past-life knowledge, wasn't it around the time that Edward Snowden exposed the CIA's surveillance scandal that his investment, Benjamin, took office? If that scandal broke during Benjamin's term, even though it wasn't his directive, the public might unfairly blame Benjamin for it, which would complicate some of Castle's plans.
Given the timing, Castle thought, why not expose it now, before Benjamin was in power, especially when the CIA had gone so far as to provoke him?
And while at it, he could take advantage of the inevitable hit to companies owned by certain tech giants whose products had reportedly opened backdoors for the CIA's surveillance operations. Once he revealed his knowledge, the stocks of these tech and software companies would undoubtedly plummet. (Parallel universe, parallel universe! This is pure fiction! Why the U.S. government pursues certain tech rights might go beyond economic motives—who knows?)
Of course, people's memories are short. Even if these companies were affected when the surveillance project was exposed, their stock prices would eventually rebound. Missing this opportunity would be foolish, but he needed to time his entry carefully. If he acted too overtly, the nameless group might suspect his involvement. So, the buying spree couldn't be led by him directly; he'd have to rely on people like Gianna or Neal in Italy to make the moves. If he acted domestically, the CIA would surely monitor his every move after the exposure, making it impossible to buy stocks at a low point himself. But he could start subtly building a legitimate position in these companies now and then later stage a small performance to publicly claim shares dropped by angry investors.
Having thought everything through, Castle was filled with excitement as he walked into his study. He needed to plan meticulously—how could he expose this without drawing suspicion to himself? He also had to consider what to do if the CIA, enraged by the leak, demanded his cooperation to help them manage the fallout.
In truth, exposing this information would be straightforward. Thanks to Jarvis planting a virus in Heydrich's software, he now had unprecedented access to the CIA's internal network, holding more detailed information about global surveillance than Snowden ever had. Revealing everything would be catastrophic for the agency, even for the world's largest intelligence organization. Castle wasn't planning a full reveal; he'd only leak enough to rattle the CIA, hit the tech companies, and bring some benefit to himself.
Going all-out would be reckless. Not only would the CIA suffer, but it would likely put a huge target on his back. He needed to strike a balance—to wound the agency but not provoke them into a frenzied hunt for the whistleblower's identity. This delicate balance was a challenge; if he didn't go hard enough, it wouldn't teach them a lesson, but too far and it might backfire. Why did it have to be so difficult to get anything done?
Fortunately, Jarvis came through once again. Apparently, this world also had an Edward Snowden, currently working for the NSA. Castle immediately marked him as the perfect scapegoat. Based on Jarvis's analysis of Snowden's character, he was highly likely to go public if he got his hands on these secrets. So, Castle could stay hidden and let the "savior" take the fall.
Upon learning from Jarvis that his ideal scapegoat actually existed, Castle's enthusiasm soared. All he had to do was find the right time to discreetly pass on some carefully selected parts of the CIA's "PRISM Project" to this would-be hero. With some subtle nudging, Castle felt confident he could get Snowden to blow the whistle on the CIA, exposing their activities to the world.
Satisfied with his plans, Castle left his study, knowing his wife would be home soon. Now he just had to wait for the right moment, notify Neal and Gianna in Italy to start buying up stocks, and then coordinate with a Wall Street broker to begin building positions. After that, he could simply sit back and let his chosen whistleblower go to town on the CIA.
Beckett returned shortly after, but immediately reprimanded Castle for dragging officers Esposito and Ryan out for drinks and barbecue while they were on duty. Then, she brought up the outcome of yesterday's case. Although Castle already knew about it, he was still surprised that Beckett had shown mercy and worked with the DA to dismiss charges against the six bikers led by Dominic.
While the bikers had indeed helped Diplomatic Security's Hobbs capture Owen Shaw's brother, Deckard Shaw, in the past, Castle couldn't understand why Beckett had shown leniency, considering the bikers had openly engaged Shaw in a brawl right in New York's city center.
When Castle voiced his curiosity, Beckett explained, "Just as we brought them in, Hobbs from Diplomatic Security, who's currently hospitalized in Los Angeles, sent us files on these individuals and explained the context. Since these men had helped capture Owen Shaw, their records were cleared domestically. Technically, they're clean now, at least more so than Deckard Shaw, and they're also the victims here. That's why I agreed to Hobbs's request to submit their files to the DA."
"The decision to drop charges wasn't mine; it was the district attorney's office," Beckett clarified.
Castle sighed. "So, I'm guessing you don't know why these guys showed up in New York, right?"
Beckett caught the hint in his voice. "You know?"
Castle hesitated. If only he'd told Beckett the whole story sooner, but now that the bikers had been released, bringing it up would only complicate things. And he couldn't just openly tell her he was now a CIA target. That would only worry her without any practical benefit, given her position as a precinct captain in the NYPD.
Castle shook his head. "Yeah, there's more to this than meets the eye, but it's a moot point now. You've already decided to extradite Deckard Shaw back to the UK, so if there's any lingering issues, they're no longer a problem for the NYPD."
"Oh, by the way," he added, "no trouble over that warlord I took down over the East River, right?"
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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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