The chubby guy screamed, "Right, what were they planning to do after knocking me out? And how am I still at home? I fainted after sending you the distress signal. You arrived so quickly. Who is this..."
The chubby guy pointed at Beckett, already having some guesses. After all, he knew Castle had been getting close to a female detective from the NYPD recently and had even published a novel with her as the protagonist. But he had never seen Beckett in person.
Castle smiled and explained to the chubby guy, "This is Detective Kate Beckett from the NYPD, the one I've been working with. Now, don't talk too much. Just lie down and rest for a while. They came to kidnap you, but I'll handle everything. You just rest."
The chubby guy obediently lay back on the couch. Although the sedative used by General Atomics had no significant side effects, the chubby guy still felt dizzy. Hearing that Castle would handle the situation, he lay down again, looking curiously at Beckett sitting next to Castle.
Beckett, who had initially planned to confront Castle, calmed down. With her subordinates, Castle, and the chubby guy present, she decided to maintain her composure. This allowed Castle to escape her wrath once again.
However, Castle intended to confess some things to Beckett to prevent her from being overly curious about his mysterious information sources. After making sure the chubby guy was lying down, Castle decided to proceed with his plan. He cleared his throat and continued explaining to Beckett about his drone, also letting the confused chubby guy understand why he was attacked at home.
"The reason our drone attracted the attention of those fakes on the ground is that our drone design allows one person to control one or two drones in different places simultaneously. Our design philosophy differs from current military companies like Northrop Grumman, which provides Global Hawk drones to the US military, and General Atomics, the company that tried to kidnap you. This is why they are interested in our technology..."
Before Castle could finish, the chubby guy, shocked that the unconscious kidnappers on the ground were from the renowned General Atomics, sprang up, "Uncle Rick, are you saying these guys are from General Atomics in California???"
Although the chubby guy was a homebody, he knew more about weapon manufacturing companies than Beckett, who focused on solving murders and robberies. Hearing Castle say the kidnappers were from General Atomics was a shock to him.
Castle and Beckett were puzzled by the chubby guy's intense reaction. The chubby guy, no longer wanting to rest, sat up excitedly and said, "Uncle Rick, don't you know? General Atomics is currently struggling with issues related to their MQ-1 Predator drones, which carry Hellfire air-to-ground anti-tank missiles. There are significant flaws in their flight control systems, and all Predators supplied to the US military face being returned for redesign. I now understand why they wanted to kidnap me. They must be after our drone's flight control system source code!
But why kidnap me? You developed the flight control system and designed the drones. Why target me?"
Castle, frustrated that the chubby guy had revealed too much, looked at Beckett and her team, who were giving him strange looks. He forced a smile and said, "I haven't finished explaining. Let me finish, okay?"
Beckett, who had always suspected Castle of hiding secrets, looked at him meaningfully without speaking. Esposito couldn't hold back, "Oh, the writer also designs drones? Make one for me. I'd love to fly a drone over New York at night and enjoy the view."
Castle, smiling wryly at Esposito's teasing, agreed, "Alright, I'll make one for you someday. But can we focus on today's events first?"
Beckett, displeased with her subordinate's interruption, told Esposito to shut up. Seeing that Beckett was getting angry, the four men, led by Castle, fell silent. After a while, Castle mustered the courage to continue but first told the chubby guy, "Lie down and rest. Don't interrupt me again, okay?"
Beckett's eyes changed again. This chubby guy seemed to know many of Castle's secrets. However, she didn't care about his secrets. She was only interested in how Castle obtained his precise information. She also needed to take the four kidnappers to the police station. With so much work at the station, she didn't have time to waste on Castle.
Castle, unaware that Beckett wasn't interested in his and the chubby guy's secrets, feared the chubby guy might reveal their misdeeds in Brazil. After silencing the chubby guy, he explained the events from morning to evening.
"I designed those drones as a gift for the chubby guy because he's always at home. But unexpectedly, through these drones, the chubby guy discovered Simon's plan to rob the Federal Reserve vault on Wall Street. Initially, we couldn't figure out Simon's entire plan, so I twice went to the police station to tell you and Captain Montgomery. You know, without the chubby guy's drones, we couldn't have pinpointed the bombs Simon planted in the school or stopped him from transporting the stolen gold bricks. The drones played a crucial role."
Beckett interrupted Castle, "About that, when the NYPD arrived at the water construction site you mentioned, the leader of the robbers, Simon, was almost dead from a sniper shot. The sniper was gone by the time the police arrived. Since you were monitoring Simon, did you see this mysterious sniper? The FBI and CIA are arguing about this at headquarters. Since you were watching Simon, do you have any information about the sniper?"
"Damn, I talked too much..." Castle's heart sank. He quickly responded, "We were following Simon with the drones, but after we saw another drone tracking ours, we notified Officer McClane of Simon's location and quickly left to avoid exposure. So, we know nothing about the sniper..."
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