Looking at the clueless girl in front of him, who had no idea what was coming her way but seemed to have terrible luck, Castle couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. If he remembered correctly, in the original Shooter, this incident took place in another city—either Baltimore or somewhere else. Why had it suddenly shifted to New York? Could this be the effect of his "traveler syndrome"?
As Castle was pondering how to explain this to Beckett, the usually dormant and foolish system he carried suddenly spoke up: "Detected a new plot about to unfold. Attention, host: the new storyline Shooter will commence in three days. The host must help the protagonist, Bob Lee Swagger, clear his name, but you must wait until the plot begins and not intervene beforehand.
Mission Objectives:
1. Help former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Bob Lee Swagger clear the false charges placed on him by Senator from Montana and corrupt CIA officer Johnson.
2. Help Bob Lee Swagger expose the conspiracy involving the Montana Senator and ensure that these individuals receive due punishment (including but not limited to physical elimination!).
3. Expose the truth about Vice President Andrew's massacre of an entire village in Africa and South America, ensuring he is held accountable for his actions.
As this is an advanced, urgent task, completion will grant the host a high-level skill reward from the system (note: all rewards obtained thus far have been basic, but due to the involvement of top-level figures in the country, the reward will be upgraded to an advanced skill of the host's choosing). Moreover, after clearing Bob Lee Swagger's name, the host will gain a solid friendship with this super sniper!"
Hearing his long-silent system suddenly reappearing to stir things up, Castle knew he couldn't refuse this task. The promise of a high-level reward, especially one where he could choose the skill, was too tempting to pass up.
So far, Castle had acquired basic skills—John Wick's firearm proficiency, Jason Bourne's spy techniques, and Tony Stark's mechanical expertise from the Marvel world, which had even made him a shareholder in Northrop Grumman. And just those basic skills had already made him so formidable. The thought of an advanced skill, one acknowledged by the system itself, was simply irresistible.
He still had five random skill rewards stored within the system, which could be traded—two random skills for one chosen skill—allowing him to acquire two specific abilities. Therefore, Castle wasn't upset by the system's sudden intervention; rather, he was quite excited.
After all, Castle had always sympathized with the unfortunate Bob Lee Swagger when he watched the movie in his previous life. Plus, Castle had gotten used to taking on people like the senator involved, so he wasn't too intimidated by the chubby Montana Senator. These people only managed to deceive Bob Lee Swagger because they had access to certain resources and tricked him when he was unaware.
Once faced directly with a war-hardened sniper like Bob Lee, all their tricks wouldn't amount to much. And with Castle's own intelligence resources neutralizing the officials' informational advantage, wasn't it obvious who'd come out on top?
Castle figured that as soon as the sniper shot rang out in three days, he could jump in to help Bob Lee Swagger escape the scene, avoiding capture more easily than in the movie. Once Bob managed to escape, the ones who needed to worry wouldn't be him or Bob, but the Senator from Montana and Colonel Johnson.
But for now, Castle had to figure out how to explain everything to Beckett, who was looking at him with a confused expression. After hiding his shock from the system's sudden announcement, Castle carefully considered his words and cautiously revealed a little to Beckett. "The reason I was so startled just now is that I recently came across information about a plot to assassinate Vice President Andrew. I don't know the exact details, but the event happening in Times Square three days from now would be a prime opportunity for a long-range sniper attack on the Vice President.
You know how complicated the buildings around Times Square are. The Secret Service alone wouldn't be able to control the entire environment, and even with the NYPD and FBI, it wouldn't be enough.
I have a bad feeling about this event. Those who want Andrew dead will take advantage of it."
Beckett, seeing how serious Castle was, knew he wasn't joking. This meant Castle must have known about the plot to assassinate Vice President Andrew for some time but didn't think it concerned him—until now, when the event would be happening in her precinct. That was probably why he hesitated to share the information.
Once Beckett figured this out, she wasn't happy. She was a different kind of cop, someone who genuinely loved her job and had a strong sense of responsibility. So when she realized that Castle had known about this assassination plot for a while, but only brought it up because it was happening in her jurisdiction, she gave him a pleading look. "You're going to help me find those killers and stop this from happening, right?"
Seeing Beckett's rare, soft expression, Castle flashed a mischievous smile. "Depends on how you behave…"
Castle's system only prohibited him from intervening before the plot began, not from finding Bob Lee Swagger, who was likely scouting the area near Times Square. He wasn't about to approach Bob directly, though—after all, Bob was a highly alert and battle-tested soldier.
Even CIA Colonel Johnson had only managed to trick Bob because of his CIA cover. But despite all that, Bob had left himself a perfect escape route and evidence in the original movie.
Castle's first task was to locate Bob Lee Swagger and keep an eye on him. The second was to enlist the help of both Mozzie and the "Little Guy." With the Vice President's Secret Service agents involved, Castle couldn't use his unbeatable drone this time. Instead, the Little Guy would need to hack into the surveillance cameras around Times Square. After all, there was no way drones could fly near the Vice President.
Without his drone, the Little Guy alone wouldn't be enough to handle intelligence support. That's where Mozzie's help came in.
Castle had no idea that Neal had returned to New York that very day. If he did, he'd be thrilled to have Neal—an expert strategist—on his side. With Mozzie and Neal, solving the case of Bob Lee Swagger being framed would be a breeze.
Since the real action wouldn't start for three days, Castle wasn't too worried. For now, he was more interested in spending quality time with his beautiful girlfriend.
The next morning, after a good night's rest, Castle was in high spirits as he left the house. Though Beckett had kicked him out to look for leads, he was actually heading to the Little Guy's place. Along the way, he called Mozzie and learned that Neal had returned from Rhode Island the day before.
This news delighted Castle. After dragging the half-asleep Little Guy out of his home, Castle drove to the luxurious mansion Neal had been staying at on 87 Canal Street to bring him on board.
By midmorning, Castle had gathered the Little Guy, Mozzie, and Neal into his Mercedes and drove them to his newly purchased Long Island estate. He had decided: this estate would serve as the operational base for his mission to clear Bob Lee Swagger's name.
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