Time flew by, and a month passed quickly. During this month, Castle strictly followed his plan, setting aside his previous distractions and returning to the 12th Precinct. He diligently assisted Beckett in solving cases and kept a low profile.
New Yorkers are known for their resilience, living in a country where gun battles are a daily occurrence. The explosive events from a month ago were quickly forgotten by the well-versed citizens of New York. After all, life goes on, and incidents like bombing department stores or subway stations and robbing bank vaults are all too common.
Apart from the persistent harassment from the vice president of General Atomics, which lasted the entire month, even involving the company president and chairman, Castle steadfastly refused their pleas for forgiveness. Especially the chubby guy who had been kidnapped, he furiously cursed out the General Atomics president who had painstakingly contacted him and refused to meet him. Instead, he happily stayed at Gianna's Long Island estate, completely engrossed in his own world. Gianna, who was now visibly pregnant, found the simple-minded Harry quite amusing. Despite his previous experiences in Brazil, where he mingled with scantily-clad women, Harry remained an innocent soul in matters of social interaction.
Gianna, having grown up in a world of scheming and surrounded by cunning individuals, cherished Harry's simplicity. Perhaps because she never had such an uncomplicated outlook on life, she found a maternal joy in looking after Harry. Comparing him to her troublesome brother Santino, she found a genuine sense of being an older sister in Harry.
Under Gianna's indulgence, Harry became the third master of the D'Antonio estate. Following Gianna and John, everyone at the estate was instructed to treat Harry with the same respect as they did Gianna and John.
For someone like Harry, a homebody, what was most important? It was having a life like the one he had now! Apart from tinkering with his new state-of-the-art computer, courtesy of Gianna, he felt like he was in paradise. He no longer had to order takeout when hungry; the estate's servants took care of all his needs. His only obligations were to join Gianna and John for dinner and heed Gianna's motherly advice not to stay up too late. Other than that, Harry didn't have to worry about a thing!
Castle, having aligned with Northrop Grumman, obtained two sets of genuine military reconnaissance components from Mark, their aerospace technical director. Though these were previous-generation items discarded by the US military, they were far superior to the makeshift military-grade reconnaissance components Castle had previously sourced through Winston. Taking two days off from assisting Beckett, Castle easily installed the new reconnaissance equipment on his drones.
These drones, now equipped with Northrop Grumman's reconnaissance gear, were significantly upgraded. Although the drones' small size, deliberately designed by Castle, limited their reconnaissance radius to around 1,000 kilometers and their air time to eight to ten hours, the upgrades were impressive. The new gear, though outdated, included essential features like night vision, low-light, and infrared capabilities, all in a smaller package than the previous components, effectively extending the drones' range and air time.
Mark, the technical director, was thrilled. Castle had initially designed the drones with future upgrades in mind, allowing the new reconnaissance components to fit seamlessly. This revelation made Mark realize the significance of Castle's design, beyond just the semi-intelligent flight control system. The ability to easily upgrade and modify the drones was crucial.
Mark envisioned that Northrop Grumman, possessing Castle's design schematics, could easily create integrated attack and reconnaissance drones, a major advantage over General Atomics' Predator and Reaper, which required multiple operators. Castle's drones, capable of quick weapon swaps, represented a significant advancement.
Delighted with this unexpected discovery, Mark hurriedly returned to Virginia, determined to report his findings and expedite the technical evaluation. He wanted to finalize the results quickly to commence negotiations with Castle's designated representative.
Castle, meanwhile, didn't care about these technical details. He was like a child with a new toy, even shooing away John, who had come to help, to focus on installing the new equipment himself. Using the mechanical skills rewarded by his System, Castle demonstrated his expertise to the zero-skilled Harry and the curious Gianna, who finally understood that some people, like Castle, were indeed prodigies in multiple fields.
Harry, meanwhile, transferred the information from the military satellite communication line, obtained through Northrop Grumman, to the drone control console. He also ensured the signal's exclusivity, crucial for monitoring the submarine salvage operation off New York's coast. He confirmed there were no traps in the satellite line.
Castle, after hearing Harry's explanation, was not too worried. Northrop Grumman hadn't yet obtained his drones' technology or started the transfer negotiations. They had no reason to tamper with the satellite line. Castle and Gianna both believed that Northrop Grumman understood the importance of the situation and wouldn't risk alienating Castle.
With General Atomics already regretting their actions, Castle was confident that Northrop Grumman would tread carefully to avoid any similar mistakes.
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