After chatting aimlessly for a while in the downstairs living room, Richard Castle and John noticed Gianna, who had changed her clothes, coming down the stairs with Alexis. Alexis was carefully holding a bright Fabergé egg. Judging by its design and Alexis' cautious manner, it was clear that the egg Gianna had given her upon first meeting was no imitation, but a genuine Fabergé artifact.
Sure enough, when Alexis reached the bottom of the stairs, she addressed her father on the sofa, "Dad, Aunt Gianna insisted on giving me a Fabergé egg. I told her I didn't want it, but she said that refusing it would be an insult to her..."
Castle laughed heartily. "Since it's a gift from your Aunt Gianna, you should accept it. You probably don't know this, but before I even met your Aunt Gianna, she once gave me a gift worth over twenty million dollars. Your Aunt Gianna is wealthy. Whatever she gives you, just take it!"
Castle's words made Gianna, who was following Alexis downstairs, burst into laughter. What he said was true. When Castle wanted gold coins, she had given him coins worth more than twenty million dollars. She had done this to thank a 'friend' who had brought the man she longed for to her. Who would have thought that in just a few months, their relationship would become so close?
Not only did she achieve her long-held dream of winning over John Wick, the man she had always loved, but she also became pregnant with his child. With the help of John and Castle, she secured her position as the next head of the D'Antonio family. Additionally, Castle had close ties with the elders of the High Table. For the devout Gianna, Castle seemed like a destined benefactor.
Without Castle's encouragement and information, she might have fallen into her own brother's traps. Her foolish brother even planned to use John's blood oath emblem to force her beloved man to kill her. The happiness she enjoyed today was all thanks to Castle's initial information and his urging John to come to France to meet her. This is why, when John received Castle's call for help last night and told Gianna about it, she agreed without hesitation, bringing her people to New York.
After sitting next to John on the sofa, Gianna spoke to Castle. "You should have told me earlier that Alexis was coming with you. Luckily, I had left a Fabergé egg in this manor. I bought it at an auction in New York last year and never took it back to Italy. It's fortunate that I didn't, or I wouldn't have had a proper gift for Alexis."
Alexis, sitting beside her father, thanked Gianna again. Then, the group casually chatted while waiting for lunch.
Castle started to tease John and Gianna about waiting until after the baby was born to have their wedding. He joked that Gianna's growing belly would make it difficult to look good in a wedding dress. His words made Gianna very happy, feeling that Castle was indeed her best supporter. She thought that no matter how much she repaid him, it would never be enough.
Because Alexis was present, Castle and Gianna tacitly avoided discussing Vincent Adler and the German submarine. There was plenty of time for that later. The main focus today was the afternoon negotiations with Northrop Grumman. Gianna's shares in a European aircraft company were a minor concern.
Although she had not yet seen the drones Castle mentioned, Gianna knew that if Castle asked John to tell her to bring the technical director of her European aircraft company across the Atlantic to New York, it must be something significant. She had planned that even if Rick's drones were not up to par, she would instruct her technical director to buy the flight control system for a high price.
However, after listening to Castle's introduction in the living room, Gianna realized that Castle might once again help her gain a significant advantage.
Why? Because Castle openly stated that last night, Rick almost got kidnapped by General Atomics, the American drone giant, because of these two drones. He did not shy away from talking about this in front of his daughter. Even Gianna, who didn't understand the technical details, could tell something was up. It turned out that not only had Castle's drones caught the attention of General Atomics, which provides the US military with MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers, but also Northrop Grumman, the third-largest American defense contractor, and the only one capable of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Her earlier concerns seemed completely unnecessary.
As lunchtime approached, Castle wandered to the small building behind the main house, bringing out Rick, who had almost finished setting up the room. Since Rick would be staying in the manor for a while, Castle thought it was proper for him to meet the actual owner, Gianna, to avoid any misunderstandings about manners.
Upon learning that his idol, John Wick, was here, Rick immediately put down what he was doing to meet him. Castle had to warn the oblivious Rick that his daughter was present and did not know that her godfather was a renowned assassin. If Rick blurted out anything in front of Alexis, it would be problematic.
Understanding Castle's concern, Rick suppressed his excitement and followed Castle into the spacious main house.
When John saw the short, chubby Rick following Castle, he remembered Castle mentioning that during the raid on the Tanasov family's nightclub, it was this unremarkable, chubby guy who helped them avoid detection and erased surveillance records afterward. Already favorably disposed toward Rick, John gave him a rare smile as he walked in.
Seeing his idol smiling at him, Rick, dazed, forgot all of Castle's warnings and blurted out, "Hello, Mr. Wick... I mean, you're my idol..."
Seeing Rick forget his instructions, Castle was about to speak, but Alexis and Gianna burst into laughter at Rick's excited and jumbled words.
The laughter brought Rick back to his senses. Realizing his mistake, he felt embarrassed.
Seeing Rick blushing, John chuckled and kindly broke the awkwardness. "Alright, now that everyone is here, let's have lunch first. After lunch, we can rest a bit before welcoming Rick's guests."
After a simple lunch and some rest, several cars drove into the manor. These were people from Northrop Grumman, who had scheduled a meeting with Castle. At the same time, another group of guests from Europe arrived, following closely behind.
Castle and Gianna, as hosts of this meeting and flight demonstration, stood at the manor entrance to greet the technical directors from both companies.
After brief pleasantries, Castle wasted no time and led the guests to the small building behind the main house. The two drones were parked on the lawn, already started by Rick, ready for the demonstration.
Upon seeing the drones with their unique design and propulsion systems, the technical director from Northrop Grumman couldn't help but exclaim, "My God, what is this design?"
Indeed, Castle had modeled these drones after the Stark Industries' designs for the Marvel Universe's military. These drones resembled the Quinjets used by S.H.I.E.L.D., especially with their embedded rotors that allowed for vertical takeoff and landing, like the V-22 Osprey, and the ability to hover like helicopters. This design was unprecedented, surprising the technical director who initially thought he was here to see a 'civilian' drone.
Realizing that today's gains might far exceed just the flight control system source code he received yesterday, the technical director decided that he must acquire the design blueprints for these drones, provided the demonstration went well.
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