Reborn as Richard Castle in Criminal Minds

Being questioned and despised by his own daughter made Richard Castle very upset. But the drone in front of him was just a newly built frame and didn't yet have the capability to showcase in front of his daughter. Thus, Castle had no choice but to silently endure his daughter's skepticism without any grounds to refute her. In his heart, he was determined to quickly finish the prototype of this first drone to show his doubtful daughter just how awesome her dad had become as a master of mechanical craftsmanship.

Putting aside these trivial matters, Castle remembered that he hadn't made breakfast for his daughter yet, and now there wasn't enough time. So, he had to divert the curious Alexis, who was circling around the strange drone frame on the desk, examining it closely: "Sweetheart, Dad doesn't have time to make you breakfast. Can you buy something on your way to school? Do you have enough money? Do you need more allowance?"

Following his principle of generously providing for his daughter, Castle asked while taking out his wallet, preparing to give Alexis some more money so she could buy something to eat on her way to school.

Without any hesitation, Alexis grabbed the wallet from her dad's hand and gleefully took all the cash out, but she was startled by the large amount of cash: "Dad, why are you carrying so much cash? Are you crazy?"

Castle thought to himself, should I tell you that your dad can now pull out millions of dollars in cash at any time? Instead, he said, "I went shopping for these parts and tools yesterday. You know, some things can't be paid for with checks or credit cards, so I needed to carry a lot of cash. Alright, enough chit-chat, take the money and hurry to school. You still need to buy something to eat on the way."

Alexis, being a good girl, didn't dare to take the thousands of dollars from her dad's wallet. It wasn't because she was afraid of being scolded—her doting father would never scold her for taking his money—but because she was just a fifteen-year-old high school student and wouldn't feel safe carrying so much cash. So, she only took two fifty-dollar bills from the thick wad and put the rest back in her dad's wallet before heading out the door, reminding her obviously sleep-deprived dad to take a bath and rest.

Thanks to his enhanced physical condition from the system, Castle didn't feel any discomfort or fatigue despite staying up all night. He smiled and agreed to his daughter's request. After Alexis left, he turned to examine his night's work, feeling very satisfied with his progress. He planned to go to the warehouse he had rented and continue working on the drone's body. He also intended to think about the programming of the control system and the creation of the control center.

After all, a drone isn't just a frame; it requires a lot of other components, such as the control system, flight system, and data transmission, not to mention a remote control console. These tasks aren't simple and easy. Even with all of Tony Stark's memories about armed drones, building everything would take more than a day or two. Moreover, he received a side mission from the system yesterday: to help Officer John and Zeus thwart Simon's plot. To complete this side mission easily, he had to finish the drone within ten days before Simon began his heist on the Federal Reserve gold vault.

After washing his face and changing clothes, Castle packed up the drone frame into his portable space and headed to the warehouse. He also planned to visit Zeus's shop in the evening and create a chance for Belle and Zeus to meet again. It might not be a big drama, but watching a romance unfold could be a pleasant change of pace.

To have an excuse for Belle to pick him up again, Castle didn't drive but took a taxi to the warehouse by the Brooklyn waterfront. He immersed himself in working on the drone's body, which was modeled on the armed drone designed by Stark Industries for the military in the Marvel universe.

Castle's diligent work throughout the day sped up the drone's progress. In just one day, he had completed most of the drone's body. This drone, unlike the Global Hawk or Predator with their large wingspans, had a compact design with embedded propellers, similar to the Quinjet used by S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel universe. Its short wingspan did not imply limited speed, range, or flight altitude.

This prototype, based on the Stark Industries design from the Marvel universe, far surpassed the capabilities of the Global Hawk, which has a maximum speed of 740 km/h, a cruising speed of 635 km/h, and a maximum range of 26,000 km. Even with the parts Castle could purchase, the performance of this drone already surpassed the Global Hawk. Additionally, its smaller size made it less detectable in the air. However, Castle couldn't acquire the high-end military reconnaissance equipment used in the Global Hawk.

Even with Winston's help, acquiring advanced military reconnaissance modules like the Raytheon SAR, EO, and IR sensors, or the Hughes Integrated Surveillance and Reconnaissance (HISAR) system, was impossible. HISAR, a low-cost ASARS-2 reconnaissance package, was originally used on U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.

Castle had to make do with what he could get. His drone's advantages lay in its speed, range, altitude, and stealth, not in its reconnaissance equipment. But since he didn't need to scout highly secure military targets, the current capabilities were satisfactory. He could always build more drones if needed, leveraging quantity over quality.

The primary goal was to complete this first prototype within seven days and test its functionality while Simon and his crew were causing trouble in New York. If everything worked well, Castle would be content.

After a day's hard work, Castle waited until sunset to return to the Black neighborhood from last night. Ignoring the unfriendly glances from the idling thugs on the streets, he walked calmly into Zeus's hardware store.

Zeus, who was calculating something behind the counter, was baffled by Castle's return. Yesterday, Castle came to buy things, but what was he here for today?

Castle didn't keep Zeus guessing for long. He straightforwardly stated his purpose: "Zeus, I didn't expect you and Belle to have such an interesting past. I'm here today to talk about you. Don't worry, I'm just a friend of Belle's. She helped me a lot before, and I don't want to see her unhappy."

Zeus was stunned by Castle's words. He never imagined that Belle, his childhood sweetheart who made him feel inferior, was friends with Castle, who even cared enough to talk about their relationship.

Seeing Zeus's stunned expression, Castle found it amusing. He thought about how cool it would be if he could personally matchmake the young Zeus and the taxi queen Belle. Did he really have a knack for being a matchmaker? Looking at Kate and Neil, Alex and Neil rekindling their old romance, and his daughter's godfather John Wick, who was now happily doting on the pregnant Gianna in Italy—all these couples had come together because of his involvement. Was he actually a successful matchmaker?

Zeus quickly snapped out of his daze and, with a bit of annoyance, looked at Castle standing calmly before him, saying in a gruff voice, "There's nothing between Belle and me. You're just meddling."

Castle gave a mysterious smile, "You just want to make a lot of money before confessing to Belle, right? What's so difficult about that? If you want, I can make you rich!"

___________________

Read Ahead

[email protected]/Mutter