Chapter 20: Castle’s Decision

"Hey Belle, it's Castle, remember me?" Castle scrolled through his phone contacts and dialed Belle's number.

"Oh? The writer, of course, I remember. What's up, you need a taxi?" Belle's characteristically enthusiastic voice came through the phone.

"Yes... Oh, no, I don't need a taxi, but I do need a favor. I'm at the First Bank of Manhattan right now. Can you come pick me up? We'll talk more when you get here!" Castle told Belle his location, thinking it better to discuss things face-to-face.

"First Bank of Manhattan? Wasn't that just robbed? That area's crawling with cops, not really a good place for me to show up. How about you walk two blocks forward? How's that?" Belle hesitantly suggested, wary of driving her illegally modified cab into a police-heavy area.

"Oh, right, you're correct. I'll walk two blocks and wait at the corner. Hurry!" Realizing her point, Castle agreed without exposing her intentions, and promptly complied.

It must be said, Belle's speed was as efficient as ever. Just as Castle reached the designated corner after walking two blocks, Belle's car screeched to a stop in front of him.

"Yo, writer, good to see you!" Today, Belle was wearing a bright green T-shirt that on her looked like a charred cucumber, a sight painfully bright to behold.

"..." Just after getting into the car, Castle had to exercise great restraint to avoid commenting on her fashion choice. After all, he was asking for her help, not critiquing her style.

"Here's the deal, Belle. I need a favor which might take up some of your money-making time, but I'll compensate you financially, okay?" Castle got straight to the point, ensuring Belle knew there was a financial incentive.

"What's the job? I'll help if I can," Belle responded, half-jokingly hoping it wasn't anything illegal like murder or arson.

"Don't worry, it's nothing like that. I'm currently consulting for the NYPD, and my partner is actually handling the recent bank robbery at First Bank. I just need some advice on cars, purely about cars—things like modifications, paint jobs, and where to get certain types of tires," Castle explained, clarifying to avoid any misunderstanding.

"Wow, a writer turned sleuth now?" Belle was surprised but intrigued by Castle's revelation.

In reality, Castle knew exactly what was going to happen next, including all of Empress Ji's plans and escape strategies. He was just lacking a plausible explanation for his source of information.

Thus, consulting with Belle was more about having a believable justification to present to Beckett than actually needing information. And Castle wasn't about to drag Belle into any trouble; after all, he wasn't the clueless fool from the TV show known as "I Am Stupid."

"Yes, Belle, last time I rode with you, you mentioned you knew quite a bit about illegal car modifications in New York. I need your advice on a BMW 760i used in today's bank robbery. My question is..."

Despite knowing it wouldn't be very useful, Castle spent an afternoon discussing cars with Belle, feeling he could now adequately address any questions Beckett might have about his sources. For this, he paid Belle a 'consultation fee' of $1,500!

Though Castle didn't understand why the case was handed over to Beckett at the 12th precinct instead of the "I Am Stupid" character at the 8th precinct, this actually worked out better for him.

As for Belle, she was just happy to drive her taxi and stay out of trouble.

Letting Beckett's team take the credit for catching Empress Ji's gang, under his guidance, seemed a good move.

"Now, I need to contact my hacker buddy to help me look up surveillance and entry records. Empress Ji, or Vanessa as she's known here, flew in from Brazil and entered through Kennedy Airport. Yeah, that's right, let's get the hacker on that."

As Castle cheerily planned his next moves, he walked into his house.

"Alexis, Mom, you're both back already?" he greeted his daughter and mother sitting on the living room sofa.

"Yes, Daddy, what did you do today? You didn't really go to the police station, did you?" Alexis responded to her dad.

"Of course, did you think I was joking? Plus, I was at the scene of this morning's robbery at First Bank, which Detective Beckett's team is handling," Castle replied, annoyed that his daughter thought he might be joking.

"Oh, really? You went to the scene? Tell us more..." Realizing there was a story to be heard, both Alexis and Martha perked up.

"Alright, I'll tell you. There were four robbers, in a car

..." Castle didn't mind sharing his experiences with his family, and he even discussed some of his theories about the case.

"So, you think these robbers will strike again soon? Have you told Detective Beckett about your theories?" After listening to Castle, Martha was thoughtful.

"Not yet, these are just my speculations, and I have no evidence yet to support them. I'll ask some friends to gather more information, and after putting it all together, I'll tell Beckett tomorrow morning."

"Alright, we're going to rest upstairs, and you do what you think is best. But remember, you promised you wouldn't actively put yourself in danger," Alexis said, helping her grandmother up from the sofa.

"Okay, you two rest," Castle replied, then headed to his study.

Once again going over the plot of the original series and his plans, Castle felt confident. He picked up the phone to call his top aide, the hacker.

"Little Fatty, it's your Uncle Rick. Can you do me a favor?"

"Good evening, Uncle Rick! Sure, I can help, but you have to send me a signed collector's edition of your new book when it launches!" The ever-chatty hacker responded with his usual rapid-fire delivery.

"No problem, I'll send you two!

Here's the situation: I need you to look up the entry records for four beautiful women who entered through Kennedy Airport over the last week. I only know one of their names—Vanessa, blonde, about five-foot-ten, aged between 25 and 30, from Brazil. They likely came together from Brazil. I need their entry information, ideally including surveillance footage and passport photos. Can you do it?"

"Wow, Uncle Rick, you're now chasing women by learning their detailed info? That's intense!" The hacker misunderstood Castle's intent, thinking he was pursuing Vanessa.

"Stop it, they might be involved in today's bank robbery at First Bank. I'm helping the NYPD with the case!" Castle quickly clarified, not wanting to be mistaken for a creep.

"Ha, Uncle Rick, since when did you start playing cop? What, got tired of writing? You... a cop... haha!" The hacker nearly died laughing, imagining the unkempt middle-aged Castle he remembered trying to act like a police officer.

"Little Fatty, I'm consulting for the NYPD! What, you think I can't solve cases like a cop? Don't forget, I've written 26 detective novels!" Castle felt insulted by the hacker's disdain and was slightly irritated.

"Okay, okay, don't be mad, Uncle Rick, I'll start looking right away... haha..." The hacker continued to chuckle over the phone.

Damn, it's tough being underestimated. I need to get in shape, start working out! Castle thought to himself. Hey, didn't the system say it would slowly improve my physical condition? Why don't I feel any different?

"System, is my physical condition improving?" Castle immediately asked the system internally.

"The system has begun to enhance the host's physical condition. The reason the host does not feel any change is that the system is worried about increasing the host's physical capabilities too quickly, which the host might not adapt to. Thus, the enhancement process is slowed down to 30 days. After completion, the host will experience the effects of the physical enhancement," the system's response seemed reasonable to Castle.

Humph, let everyone who ever laughed at me for being weak wait and see; in at most a month, I'll show them all, haha!

While Castle was lost in his daydreams, the hacker's voice came through the phone again: "Okay, I found the people matching your description.

Uncle Rick, I've sent their passport details and the surveillance footage from their entry to your email. Remember, you owe me two signed copies of your new book! Goodbye."

Castle was truly astounded by the efficiency of a top-tier hacker—just a few minutes to get everything?

Not pausing to marvel at the hacker's skills any longer, Castle opened his email.

The first thing he saw was the glamorous image of the blonde Empress Ji, oh, here named Vanessa Lopez, 29, from Brazil. Her three companions were also Brazilian.

Staring at the information on his computer, Castle agonized for a long while before deciding to let Empress Ji and her crew rob another bank before sharing all the information with Beckett to let her catch them.

After all, Empress Ji and her team were only interested in money and didn't harm anyone.

Besides, letting them rob another bank to make the case bigger would only increase Beckett's merit once they cracked the case.

Hmm, is this what they call 'nurturing the enemy'?

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