Reborn as Richard Castle in Criminal Minds

Castle, the true mastermind behind everything, had no idea that after he left, John was fiercely confronting the CIA idiots. At that moment, he was on the phone with Zeus, who had secretly taken three gold bricks and been ordered to leave the scene earlier. Zeus hadn't gone far since he didn't have a car and was carrying three heavy gold bricks, each weighing 37.5 kilograms (about 75 pounds in total). Though he had managed to carry them off the truck due to the sheer excitement of seeing the glittering gold, he couldn't realistically transport them back to New York City by himself.

After Castle ensured the chubby man would erase all traces of his presence at the hydraulic construction site and promised to bring back Zeus' commemorative gold brick, he remembered that Zeus was still not far ahead, trying to find a way back to New York. 

So, leisurely driving, Castle called Zeus and sarcastically asked if he needed Castle to call Bell to pick him up, as Zeus was struggling to measure the distance to New York City with three gold bricks in hand. 

When Zeus received Castle's call, he realized that Simon must be finished, otherwise, Castle wouldn't have the leisure to tease him. This young man, perhaps overly stimulated by the day's events, unleashed his talent for swearing in a violent outburst towards Castle over the phone. After venting, he waited obediently in a hidden spot for Castle to pick him up.

Castle picked up Zeus, who no longer harbored resentment. Despite Castle dragging him into a dangerous situation, he did receive three gold bricks as compensation. Zeus understood that Castle and John had deliberately left those bricks for him because, given the NYPD and city government's usual conduct, a black man like him would receive far less recognition and reward compared to these gold bricks. Realizing this, Zeus dropped his earlier antagonistic stance once he got into Castle's car.

Castle was pleased to no longer endure the rapid-fire ranting from the newly stimulated Zeus. After dropping him off in a neighborhood in Queens, Castle only reminded him to melt down the gold or erase the Federal Reserve markings before selling it. 

Zeus, with a disdainful look, sarcastically replied, "I've lived in this mixed neighborhood for half my life. Do I need a white guy from the Upper East Side to teach me how to fence stolen goods? I haven't been living in vain. See you, writer. If you need me, call. I won't be going back to the hardware store anymore."

Without waiting for a response, Zeus got out of the car and disappeared into the shadows of the alley, eluding even Castle's enhanced vision. Chuckling, Castle shrugged it off, closed the car door, and drove to the home of the chubby man eagerly awaiting him.

On the way, Castle received a call from Beckett. Initially swamped with work, Beckett hadn't wanted to question Castle about how he knew the bomb at the school was fake, but the more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became. Beckett finally called Castle, certain that he knew about Simon's entire plan before the bombings and had kept her in the dark. 

Castle wasn't surprised by Beckett's call and calmly told her he would give a satisfactory explanation once she finished her tasks. He then hung up, feeling quite pleased with himself for finding a chubby man as a decoy. 

At the chubby man's house, Castle retrieved the gold brick he had for him and walked in, the heavy gold glinting in his hand. The chubby man, busy erasing Castle's traces from New York's surveillance footage, didn't notice Castle's entry. He was too focused on hacking various surveillance systems to remove any evidence of Castle heading towards Simon's assembly point at the hydraulic construction site.

"Hey, chubby, I'm back. Here's your souvenir," Castle said, waving the gold brick in front of the chubby man.

Despite having millions in his bank account, the chubby man couldn't resist the allure of the gold brick. Abandoning his work, he lunged at the glowing gold brick in Castle's hand. 

Castle laughed heartily, watching the chubby man drool over his 'souvenir.' However, the chubby man quickly snapped out of it and delivered some bad news: "Uncle Rick, I nearly forgot. When I was recovering the drones, a military 'Global Hawk' spotted them. Thankfully, our drones are small, and I managed to evade the military drone by flying through Manhattan's skyscrapers and underground tunnels, and then I flew them back at a low altitude of about thirty meters. I think our extensive drone surveillance on Simon's group has been noticed by the military. They just don't know the drones are ours yet!"

This news didn't faze Castle. He lay on the couch, eyes vacant, much to the chubby man's bewilderment. "Uncle Rick, aren't you worried the military might track us? Your drones have been exposed!" 

Castle thought the chubby man was still too young but explained, "I anticipated these drones wouldn't remain secret for long. Since handing them to you, you've been flying them all over New York, even spying on people. With such frequent use and no efforts to conceal it, did you think the military or intelligence agencies wouldn't notice two drones vastly different from their own?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed, the chubby man stammered, "Uncle Rick, I wasn't spying on anyone. I just wanted to get familiar with the controls. Besides, I mostly flew them at night. I didn't think they'd be noticed!"

Castle didn't blame the chubby man. He had prepared for the possibility of exposure. To this end, he used only commercially available parts to build the drones, making them less advanced than current military models. The only superior component was the flight control system stolen from Stark Industries in the Marvel Universe. Thus, Castle wasn't worried about the military or intelligence agencies tracing the drones back to him.

Still, the fact that a 'Global Hawk' had tracked the drones made Castle more cautious. If Northrop Grumman, the manufacturer of the Global Hawk, got involved, it could spell trouble.

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