After leaving the 12th precinct, Castle was on his way to the Seventh Psychiatric Hospital and had already called Henry to inform him of his plans to start tracking and monitoring Adam. Henry, indeed busy with Abigail's aftermath in a very low-key manner, expressed his deep gratitude for Castle's help and told him that he would finish his current matters by tomorrow to meet up with Castle.
Castle didn't mind, but Henry, intent on avenging his beloved Abigail, was not about to let Adam be easily captured by the police. Now fully recovered from his shock and grief, Henry realized that no one beyond himself, Abraham, and Castle should know about the secret of his and Adam's immortality. He reiterated the importance of not alerting Adam, to avoid jeopardizing their plan for revenge.
Castle agreed to Henry's request and, after some thought, did not head directly to the Seventh Psychiatric Hospital. Instead, he turned his car around and drove to an acquaintance known for selling all sorts of illegal gadgets, intending to acquire some surveillance equipment.
After all, Castle was a writer, not a spy. Like the time he, John, and Marcus had raided the Taranasov family, it was Marcus who had arranged the SUV. Now, with John not often in New York, Castle figured it was time he equipped himself with some special gear.
However, this time, Castle decided not to seek help from Winston, the owner of the Continental Hotel in New York. Ever since meeting his father Sean in France, Castle had been reminding himself to minimize contact with Winston, preferring not to let these old foxes have a handle on his every move.
Castle quickly reached his friend's workshop, and after some smooth talking and flattery, he acquired a batch of the latest micro surveillance devices and GPS trackers from his tech-savvy friend. After paying him and encouraging further development of useful gadgets, promising to become a regular big client, Castle excitedly headed to the Seventh Psychiatric Hospital with equipment even more advanced than what CIA agents used.
Upon arriving, Castle used a small bribe to easily find out from the security staff which car was Adam's. After covertly installing the small devices, Castle had no intention of meeting Adam directly. Knowing well that Adam, who had lived for over two thousand years, was extremely cunning, he did not want his presence to alert Adam and compromise the setup.
Sitting in his car, Castle pulled out his laptop and tested the stability of the devices installed in Adam's car. He also began collecting public information about Adam online to prepare for upcoming actions and to have an excuse ready in case Beckett found out.
Busy in the parking lot of the Seventh Psychiatric Hospital, Castle finally saw Adam himself. After watching Adam leave in his car equipped with the tracking device, Castle looked at the moving dot on his computer screen that represented Adam's location and smiled in satisfaction.
"Alright, the first recon mission officially begins!"
With Adam gone from his office, Castle finally had the time and opportunity to enter and install the spy cameras. After tidying up his car and placing the necessary equipment in his personal space, Castle casually entered the hospital among the crowd.
After asking the reception for Adam's office location, Castle stealthily made his way there, quickly surveying the office before deciding to install the camera in the air vent on the ceiling.
Clumsily handling the pinhole camera, Castle managed to install the device after some struggle. After ensuring no one was in the corridor outside, he swiftly slipped out of Adam's office.
"Damn, that scared the life out of me. This kind of secret infiltration should really be left to John. I only got his firearms skills, not his stealth skills. Plus, my mental fortitude clearly isn't up to snuff; just installing a camera nearly killed me. I'm such a loser!"
Chastising himself along the way, Castle felt he should really learn more about stealth and possibly train his mental resilience. Otherwise, he might end up half as effective in future situations like today.
Back in his car, Castle checked his computer. The clear surveillance footage satisfied him, and looking at the tracking device now stationary in a residential area of Manhattan—presumably Adam's home—he knew he couldn't install more cameras there as an amateur. He'd have to try again when Adam was at work the next day.
That concluded today's activities. Time to head home!
In the basement of the Abraham's Antique Shop, Dr. Henry Morgan's secret laboratory.
Henry was delicately placing Abigail's remains into an exquisite antique box on the examination table. After discussions with Abraham, they had decided it was not the right time for Abigail's funeral. Doing so might alert Adam that they had found Abigail, potentially jeopardizing their plan for revenge.
The father and son had decided that they would only lay Abigail to rest after capturing Adam. Thus, Henry retrieved a mahogany antique box they had bought together in Europe to serve as Abigail's temporary
resting place in the secret lab.
"Abraham, starting tomorrow, we officially begin avenging Abigail. Are you sure you want to join?"
Henry, facing his son who was over seventy years old, couldn't bear to involve him in such dangerous tasks and tried to dissuade him.
"Henry, that bastard killed mom. I have to go! You can't stop me!"
At the mention of Abigail, Abraham, despite his age, reacted with the vigor of a young man.
Indeed, without Abigail, there would be no Abraham today. She had found him as a baby in a concentration camp, and to Abraham, she was his real mother. The thought of Adam, who had cruelly murdered his mother and left her body exposed in the wilderness for over twenty years, was unbearable. How could Abraham agree to stay out of the revenge plan?
"Alright, I shouldn't stop you from wanting to avenge mom. Then, Abraham, what do you think about Castle's suggestion?"
"What suggestion?"
Abraham was confused, not knowing what Henry meant.
"The one where Castle suggested we incapacitate Adam into a vegetative state or make him lose his ability to move and speak."
"Oh, right, yes, I think Castle's plan is very good. Henry, that bastard is like you; he's not afraid of dying, and his body disappears and resurrects in a river after death. We can't just kill him; that would be exactly what he wants. Castle's idea is perfect. Injecting air into Adam's carotid artery to cause a cerebral embolism is a plan tailor-made for torturing Adam. I support this suggestion!"
Henry was still unaware that both he and Adam could indeed be killed if they found the weapon that killed them the first time—for Adam, it was a Roman dagger from over two thousand years ago, and for Henry, it was a flintlock pistol from a ship captain two hundred years ago on the African Queen.
Only Castle, who had seen the original series, knew this, but he was not yet ready to share this information with Henry. After all, Henry was a part of the team Castle needed to form according to his system's requirements, and if Henry, who already harbored a strong death wish, learned this, and found the pistol, he might choose to end his life, leaving Castle devastated.
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter