As Henry and his son drove away with the paralyzed yet conscious Adam, Castle stood watching the car disappear into the distance. He then turned his attention to the system panel before him.
The system had confirmed the completion of a side mission when Henry injected air into Adam's carotid artery, rewarding Castle with a targeted skill bonus. Now, Castle was staring at that reward, drooling with excitement.
'Adam's Resurrection Skill' (three uses)!!!
Thanking his lucky stars and the unwitting Adam, Castle was ecstatic upon seeing this skill. Despite the three-use limit, he stood transfixed for ten minutes before he could focus enough to read the skill description.
The screen straightforwardly displayed: This skill is a truncated version of Adam's immortality. Upon acquisition, the host will gain the ability to resurrect three times after unnatural death, similar to Adam. Upon such a death, the host will resurrect, naked, in either the Hudson or East River (the location must be determined in advance and cannot be changed once set).
Castle laughed like a man who had just won the lottery. This was the biggest prize since he acquired the system, aside from his personal storage space.
Three extra lives! Adam's resurrection ability! Even with usage limits, who cares?
And what a perfect excuse to persuade Henry to team up. He could tell Henry that he, too, was immortal. The kind-hearted Dr. Henry surely wouldn't want to see his benefactor die just to test it out, right? What a fantastic pretext!
After laughing maniacally for five minutes, Castle finally calmed down and got to business. He set his resurrection location to the Hudson River, closer to his home, before composing himself and driving towards Adam's apartment in Manhattan.
Throughout the drive, Castle couldn't suppress his glee. Though resurrecting naked in a river like Henry might be embarrassing, it was a small price to pay for the ability to resurrect. That's a resurrection skill!
Maintaining his euphoric smile, Castle arrived at the upscale Manhattan apartment building. Using yesterday's tracking data from Adam's car, he found the building easily.
With a little 'financial persuasion,' a single Franklin was enough for the doorman to disclose Adam's exact apartment number.
Walking up to Adam's apartment without a hint of stealth, Castle used the keys he had found on Adam, reasoning that Adam wouldn't be needing them anytime soon.
Once inside, Castle took precautions despite the familiar setting, donning gloves he always carried with him before proceeding into Adam's tastefully decorated residence.
"Wow, this old guy had some taste…"
Marveling at the museum-like living room, Castle knew that any item here could be an authentic artifact, like the Victorian era rapier or the 19th-century flintlock pistol housed in a separate glass cabinet...
Wait, a flintlock pistol? Did Adam salvage that from the sunken HMS Queen Anne? Was this the same pistol that killed Henry and triggered his immortality?
Intrigued by Adam's meticulousness—perhaps a collector's obsession or just precaution—Castle found that each item was labeled with its provenance. Nearing the glass cabinet, he read the label clearly marked by Adam: 'Recovered from the captain's quarters of the HMS Queen Anne, confirmed as the firearm that killed Henry Morgan.'
"Haha, Adam really did us a favor! Who would have thought he'd go through the trouble of retrieving it from the sea? I'll have to take this to Henry; he'd be thrilled."
Amused by Adam's unintentional generosity in equipping him and providing a gift for Henry, Castle didn't hesitate to stash the pistol that had killed and immortalized Henry into his personal storage space. He then began searching for the dagger that could potentially end Adam's life.
Despite the plethora of antiques in Adam's apartment, Castle, not a thief or an art collector, had no interest in them. His focus was solely on finding the dagger.
However, after a thorough search of the apartment and all possible hiding spots, the dagger was nowhere to be found.
"It can't be. His reaction when I mentioned the dagger was clear; he must have it. And knowing his distrustful nature, I don't believe he would keep such a vital item out of his sight. It has to be here, but where?"
Wishing for a thief's skill in that moment, Castle realized that finding hidden items wasn't his forte. Just as he was pondering who might help, his phone began to vibrate violently.
Pulling out the buzzing phone, he saw the name 'Mozzie' flashing on the screen.
"Mozzie? Do I have a friend named Mozzie? Oh, must be from before…"
Somewhat puzzled, Castle quickly remembered that this must be a contact from his predecessor's life. Without further thought, he answered.
"Mozzie, what's up?"
"Neal, where are you? I've got urgent news. Did you hear that
Neal escaped from prison this afternoon? Has he contacted you? The FBI is all over this, led by the agent who caught him, Peter Burke!"
Castle was confused. Why would Neal contact him after escaping prison?
"Neal, Neal, are you listening?"
"Oh, Mozzie, I am. Neal hasn't contacted me. What's going on? Why would he escape?"
Caught off-guard, Castle could only keep up the pretense as Mozzie rambled on anxiously.
"I don't know, man. He was close to being released after nearly four years behind bars, and then out of nowhere, he escapes today. I just found out and had to call you to see if Neal had reached out…"
As Mozzie continued to vent, Castle's memories began to piece together the identities of Neal and Mozzie.
"Damn, that sounds familiar."
Recalling the image of a short, bald man with glasses from his predecessor's memories, Castle realized they were the mastermind art thieves from the show White Collar.
This 'Mozzie' was a genius in forging art, bonds, and securities, a true criminal mastermind skilled in art history and fine wines. And Neal, the escapee, was an exceptional con artist and thief.
"Ha, just as I needed a master thief, they show up at my door. Talk about perfect timing!"
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Read Ahead
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