We all know that for a journalist, getting a scoop that could shake the world's largest intelligence agency would unleash tremendous energy and attention. When Castle learned that the eager journalist had already written his first article and sent it back to his newspaper, he finally laughed. Even if the deputy director, still on the plane, arrived at Castle's home, it would be too late to stop the bombshell.
Now, even if Castle told them the source of the leak, nothing could prevent the inevitable fallout. His next move was to sit back, enjoy the show, and make a killing in the stock market as the storm hit.
When the deputy director's plane touched down in New York, he was oblivious to the fact that The Guardian's online edition was minutes away from publishing the first report on "PRISM." As the news broke, Nameless, who had been closely monitoring the media, was among the first to learn of it. He was stunned, as though struck by lightning. Just as he'd planned to fly to New York to question Castle, the British media had beaten him to it. Now what?
The deputy director received the bad news immediately upon landing. Chasing Castle for the source was now pointless, but he still got into a car bound for Long Island, determined to find out who had betrayed the CIA's most confidential operations. Though Castle might not know the traitor's identity, the enraged deputy director's main goal was now to identify and eliminate the leak.
Jarvis promptly informed Castle that the deputy director was heading to his estate. Castle, who'd been jubilantly celebrating The Guardian's exposé on the CIA's global surveillance, chuckled at the persistence of his adversaries. They still planned to track down and silence Snowden, the whistleblower, despite the inevitable leak.
Castle had no intention of making it easy for these meddlesome agents. Did they expect him to cooperate?
Thus, when the deputy director, tired and irritable from his flight, arrived at Castle's estate hoping for answers, he was met with a Castle feigning ignorance. As Castle had anticipated, the deputy director, invoking "national security," demanded to know where Castle had learned about the former CIA employee's intentions, suspecting that Castle had used this information to profit in the stock market. But Castle now held the upper hand. Officially, he had no involvement in the scandal, other than having somehow heard about the upcoming revelations and investing accordingly. In this country, wasn't that perfectly legal?
Moreover, all traces of the evidence Jarvis had discreetly forwarded had been erased after Snowden received the files. The CIA couldn't find any indication of a connection between Castle and Snowden. So, faced with the deputy director's self-righteous demands, Castle simply played dumb.
After barely half an hour, the frustrated deputy director left, cursing as he drove away. Castle, the "damn liar," hadn't said a word of truth! But what could he do? Arresting Castle and using enhanced interrogation techniques would be out of the question. Castle wasn't just a prominent New York novelist; he was also Northrop Grumman's largest private shareholder and a key designer. Treating him like a Middle Eastern detainee would lead to massive repercussions—first and foremost for the deputy director himself.
To make matters worse, Castle had the audacity to turn the tables, questioning how the CIA knew about his stock market plans and even threatening to expose their surveillance tactics if word of his financial maneuvers got out. How dare he!
Yet, the situation left the deputy director with no time to retaliate. Within the past thirty minutes, the CIA's surveillance scandal had exploded across the internet. Though The Guardian was the first to report, the story was already spreading globally as every major news outlet picked it up. Snowden, the former CIA analyst, was swiftly identified as the source, but he had already fled to Hong Kong, which complicated things for the CIA. They couldn't act freely on Chinese soil—a superpower second only to the United States.
As the deputy director's car left Castle's estate, Castle stood at the front door, smiling with satisfaction. "Serves you right!" he thought. "Mess with me, and now you've seen who's in charge." The beauty of it all was that there was a perfect scapegoat for this mess. Without his interference, this scandal wouldn't have emerged for another three years, but he'd accelerated the timeline, partly to keep Benjamin from bearing the brunt of it if it exploded during his presidency. Besides, from the timing of Mr. Snowden's moves, it was clear he'd been gathering evidence long before Castle's involvement. Jarvis had only nudged things along by sharing some irrefutable proof, while the bulk of Snowden's two thousand government files were all his own doing.
In the days that followed, the scandal became the focus of global attention, even surpassing its impact in Castle's previous life. This time, with Jarvis's help, Castle had compiled hard-hitting evidence against the implicated tech companies. Unlike before, there was now undeniable proof of the role played by certain American phone and computer companies, a result of Castle's efforts to secure his stock market windfall.
Consequently, as the scandal unfolded, those companies' stock prices plummeted. No matter how hard they tried to deny the accusations, angry Western citizens, who prided themselves on their "democratic" values, weren't buying it. Castle and Gianna, having shorted the stocks in advance, were now reaping their rewards.
As for the CIA, they no longer had the bandwidth to pursue Castle. They were too busy dealing with global outrage—even their allies, like the UK, Germany, and France, were appalled to learn that the CIA had secretly spied on their citizens and leaders.
Was this something they could tolerate?
Only Mozz, with his sharp intuition, detected a hint of Castle's involvement. He became suspicious when he learned that Castle had instructed Neal in Venice to short so many telecom stocks just before the scandal broke.
Having been in Washington, Mozz made a special trip back to discuss the matter with Castle.
Castle, valuing Mozz's partnership and knowing he was now a key member of Benjamin's campaign team, didn't conceal the truth. He explained that the CIA's constant surveillance of him had pushed him to the breaking point. After the CIA had tried to manipulate his mother to get to him, Castle decided it was time to give them something else to worry about. Furthermore, he wanted to preemptively trigger this scandal before Benjamin took office, sparing him from being blindsided by the fallout later on.
Castle believed that by ensuring Mozz understood the situation, he could help steer things effectively and avoid mistakes caused by any misinformation.
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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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