Beckett smiled and explained, "The wreckage of that lunatic's helicopter, which plunged into the East River, along with the recovered rocket launcher and heavy machine gun, all clearly show he was a maniac prepared to launch an assault on a police convoy in New York's bustling downtown. So, Deputy Commissioner Montgomery publicly announced that he was decisively shot down by a police drone to prevent further casualties, and the NYPD is officially taking responsibility for it."
"Thankfully, you quickly decided to donate that missile-equipped drone to my precinct, the Twelfth. Now, even if there's an investigation, it can be chalked up as a police operation, distancing you from it entirely."
"Besides," she continued, "no one's going to sympathize with a 'foreign terrorist.' The man was flying a helicopter loaded with rockets and an M2 machine gun straight at a police convoy escorting prisoners. Was he here for sightseeing?"
"The NYPD won't let anyone question the decision to prevent a major loss of officers."
Castle laughed. "Haha, well, from now on, your Twelfth Precinct will officially be the NYPD's heavy artillery team. Just picturing you facing down armed suspects, then a drone from above suddenly fires a missile, sending them into disarray—it's hilarious."
"The media already complains that the Twelfth Precinct has firepower far exceeding what a typical precinct should have. Now that you've added a nearly military-grade drone, you'll be hearing even more criticism and relentless attacks from reporters!"
Beckett wasn't one to be swayed by public opinion. Her husband had pulled out all the stops to support her work, and she wasn't going to let reporters or the media's criticism cloud her judgment.
Besides, Beckett knew that this drone could be a game-changer for handling certain crimes within her jurisdiction, allowing her to respond swiftly. To someone as dedicated and career-driven as Beckett, that was invaluable.
After sharing a bed with Castle for so long, she was well aware of the capabilities of this drone, which he had essentially built himself. Once Castle secured authentic military-grade components from Northrop, all the modifications he made were completely transparent to her.
She knew that aside from being a bit smaller and having a shorter range than the latest U.S. military drones, this one was nearly identical to those currently used by the armed forces. Plus, Castle had equipped it with a miniature missile he'd just developed, about the size of a cigar but packing a considerable punch. Strictly speaking, a local police precinct shouldn't have this kind of firepower—even Texas cops didn't carry such high-grade weaponry. It was definitely overkill for handling petty criminals or even murder suspects.
Yet, with this drone, future patrols for the Twelfth Precinct would be far easier. Castle had outfitted it with a military-grade engine for high-speed flight and given it twin embedded rotors so it could hover over specific targets like a helicopter. This was a capability that neither the Global Hawk nor the Reaper, two of the military's most advanced drones, possessed.
This hovering ability was crucial for the Twelfth Precinct; it essentially provided them with an ever-present "eye in the sky" covering the entire jurisdiction.
On top of that, the drone's reconnaissance equipment, including thermal imaging and infrared sensors, was all sourced directly from Northrop as active-duty gear. With this new asset, the Twelfth Precinct instantly became the most technologically advanced division in the NYPD.
Castle hadn't shared with Beckett that he was, in fact, far from carefree. The CIA and his old nemesis, the Nameless, had started eyeing him after learning that Deckard Shaw had chosen Central Park, within Beckett's jurisdiction, as the site for his showdown with Dominic and his gang. Since Castle had already resolved to slap the CIA in the face with the upcoming "Snowden incident," there was no point in worrying Beckett. Even if she knew, there wasn't much she could do; in this covert battle between Castle and the CIA, Beckett, despite her skills, would only worry helplessly.
The next day, after Beckett left for work, Castle entered his study alone. His plan was so confidential that not even his close associates Harry and Ramsey could be let in on it. The fewer people who knew, the safer it would be from leaks. Not even Gianna or Neal in Italy would know the full story; he'd simply notify them to buy stocks in telecommunications companies once he'd tipped off Snowden, currently at the NSA, about the upcoming CIA surveillance scandal.
With Jarvis's help, Castle quickly located Snowden's background information, confirming his suspicion: this man was anything but a rule-follower. Whatever Snowden's motivations in his previous life for exposing his employer's dark secrets, this time Castle would be the one pulling the strings.
The Nameless would never guess that their carefully crafted plans had already been uncovered, and their attempt to manipulate Castle by targeting his mother, Martha, had backfired spectacularly. Soon enough, these plotters would learn the hard way that their schemes had failed miserably.
Castle spent the entire day studying Snowden, eventually deciding to contact him via email. By doing this, he could ensure that all communications with Snowden remained within Jarvis's purview. No matter how many emails Castle sent, as long as Snowden read them, Jarvis would scrub Castle's traces from the mail servers, ensuring that, even if Snowden were investigated post-leak, nothing would lead back to Castle.
Castle had little doubt Snowden would trust the documents. Working as an analyst for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and having previously been with the CIA as an intelligence analyst, Snowden would immediately recognize their authenticity. The real challenge lay in nudging Snowden to willingly take the leap and expose the scandal.
In Castle's past life, rumors about Snowden's motivations abounded, but his eventual destination in Russia suggested something deeper. After all, Snowden had initially leaked the documents to The Guardian and The Washington Post in Hong Kong, yet he fled to Russia—what was going on there was anyone's guess.
One thing was clear: Snowden was likely already covertly collecting sensitive intelligence. The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald once hinted that Snowden had amassed nearly 20,000 secret documents from the U.S. government. Greenwald rose to prominence by publishing Snowden's NSA leaks, and it was The Guardian that broke the story of the PRISM program.
Given that Snowden was likely amassing such documents even now, Castle's task was simply to drop irrefutable evidence into his hands and hope it would prompt him to blow the whistle early.
Later that evening, Snowden, back home after work, opened his email to find a startling message. Shocked, he realized someone had sent him an email containing detailed evidence of the CIA's global phone and internet surveillance program over the past decade.
Where had this come from? Why was it sent to him?
Soon after, he received another anonymous email explaining the sender's motives. This mystery benefactor claimed to share Snowden's disdain for the CIA's blatant disregard for citizens' privacy rights. Knowing that Snowden was already gathering evidence to reveal these abuses, the sender wanted to lend a hand by completing most of the investigative work.
The email went on to say that, should Snowden choose to go public with the CIA's transgressions, this mysterious ally was ready to provide him with any additional evidence he might need.
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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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