Reborn as Richard Castle in Criminal Minds

Officer John McClane, known for his reckless bravery, didn't need to think twice. Of course, he immediately planned to hide in the garbage truck Simon's men were using to transport the gold. This shocked the still young and not yet bald or strong Mace, who held his breath for a moment before quickly stopping the desperate officer. He desperately tried to calm McClane down and stop him from committing suicide.

In fact, Castle had indeed arranged for a rental car near Wall Street specifically for Zeus and John to track Simon's escape. Castle couldn't show himself publicly in such a high-profile situation. The reason was simple: Vincent Adler must have heard the news by now and was probably watching the show on TV with great interest. After all, Simon was doing the same thing he did years ago—robbing Wall Street.

The only difference was that Adler used a Ponzi scheme, relying on his brain to rob Wall Street, while Simon was much more violent, using brute force. Despite different methods, both aimed to fill their pockets from Wall Street. So, Adler might be watching Simon with a sense of camaraderie. Therefore, Castle couldn't reveal himself directly. If Adler found out about his involvement, he might become suspicious, and Castle, Neal, and Mozzie's plans against Adler could face complications.

So, Castle couldn't appear directly in this matter, which is why he was helping John and Zeus so diligently.

While Castle, John, and Zeus were discussing how to track Simon, inside the Federal Reserve vault completely controlled by his men, Simon's team had already loaded nearly ten trucks with gold in less than two hours. Simon's organizational skills and his men's execution abilities, all retired soldiers, were top-notch. Despite Castle's interference and covert information leaks thwarting Simon's plan to deceive the police, it wasn't due to flaws in Simon's plan or execution but rather Castle's intervention.

Simon received news from his lookout men outside that the NYPD was broadcasting on TV that they had found the bomb Simon planted in a school. Though surprised by the NYPD's efficiency, Simon wasn't worried. After all, only he and Ferris Targo knew the bomb at Chester A. Arthur International School was fake. As long as the NYPD couldn't fully defuse the intricately designed bomb by Ferris, his side would remain safe.

What Simon didn't know was that Captain Montgomery and Beckett, the front-line commander checking the bomb, knew it was fake. They remained calm, waiting for high-ranking parents to arrive at the school before performing the show. Only they, Esposito, and Ryan knew the bomb was a fake. Simon's men had indeed stolen 2,500 pounds of chemicals from the school's lab, making the bomb seem plausible.

Everyone had been fooled by Simon. Although he did use real bombs to destroy the Fifth Avenue department store and the Wall Street subway station, the remaining chemicals were used to blast a tunnel to the Federal Reserve's vault. Simon's team couldn't procure enough military explosives in New York, where it was nearly impossible due to strict ATF regulations, especially post-9/11.

Simon's bomb expert, Ferris Targo, devised a method to mix chemicals to create explosives nearly as powerful as C4. They only stole enough chemicals to blast the tunnel, with none left for the school bomb. The fake bomb was merely a threat to ensure Simon's smooth escape with the gold.

Unaware that he was just a pawn in Castle and Montgomery's show for New York's high-ranking officials, Simon smugly believed his plan remained undiscovered by the NYPD.

Through the bank's internal cameras, Castle saw Simon's men loading the twelfth truck with gold. He finally convinced John to retreat and follow his plan, sneakily exiting the subway tunnel to drive the rental car Castle had arranged. Under Castle's guidance, they would track Simon's garbage trucks carrying the gold.

Seeing his men preparing to wrap up and the last two garbage trucks slowly backing up, Simon decided it was time to retreat. He called his girlfriend and got into the twelfth truck loaded with gold, planning to leave the nearly emptied Federal Reserve vault. Castle immediately notified John and Zeus, who had found the car near Wall Street.

With Castle's intelligence support, Officer John McClane had Zeus take Castle's phone instructions while he reported the situation to his superior, Walter. Learning that Simon's gang had used the bombing as a cover to rob the Federal Reserve's vault, nearly emptying it with dozens of trucks, Walter almost had a heart attack. Simon's audacity was beyond imagination—using such a massive operation to clean out the Federal Reserve? If he succeeded, the NYPD's reputation would be in ruins.

Walter ordered John to track the robbers and find their hideout. He would bring the ESU to confront Simon, but until then, John had to keep Simon in sight.

As John successfully followed the unaware Simon, Castle laughed and called Montgomery. The show was about to end!

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