Upon arriving in the U.S. and witnessing the might of Uncle Sam firsthand—even the National Guard was equipped with F-15s and F-22s—Watanabe Taro's simmering resentment boiled over. He believed Japan should reclaim the glory of the "Showa men," not languish as the "Heisei shut-ins" of today. Castle's rejection of his overtures marked the tipping point, triggering a rapid and complete descent into darkness.
If he was going to embrace the shadows, Watanabe resolved to extract the maximum benefit. What began as a plan to acquire Castle's explosive synthesis formula had now expanded dramatically. His sights were set on far more: to abduct Alexis, Castle's only daughter, and force Castle to surrender all his cutting-edge technologies.
Watanabe's narrow, insular mindset—fueled by extreme nationalist ideologies—had consumed him. Like the opportunistic warlords of Japan's past, he gave no thought to the consequences of failure. His sole focus was on exacting revenge against Castle for the perceived slight.
This transformation was both predictable and emblematic of Japan's national character. Beneath their surface politeness, frustration could quickly escalate into unrestrained aggression when expectations went unmet. It was a cultural trait that had long driven the country's history of recklessness, from the Mukden Incident in 1931 to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Now, Castle remained blissfully unaware of Watanabe's machinations. Nor did he know that a young, sweet-faced Asian girl, ostensibly no older than 16 or 17, was already en route from Honolulu to New York. This "dark asset," planted by Watanabe, was set to infiltrate Alexis's life under the guise of a transfer student.
Watanabe, having been personally rebuffed by Castle, understood he could not risk using a Japanese identity for this operative. Instead, he devised a more deceptive approach, assigning her the nationality of a neighboring country with historically fraught relations with Japan. However, Watanabe underestimated the true reach of Castle's resources—specifically, his AI system, Jarvis. While the girl's cover story might pass ordinary scrutiny, no fabricated identity could withstand the probing of an artificial intelligence.
For now, however, Watanabe had the element of surprise. Using Japan's proprietary satellite communications and hand-delivered messages to coordinate the operation, his plans escaped Jarvis's immediate detection. Meanwhile, Castle remained deeply engrossed in an entirely different matter: the B-2 stealth bomber upgrade project.
In his sprawling mansion's supercomputer lab, Castle was focused on evaluating the feasibility of upgrades to the B-2's flight control and engine systems, proposed by Northrup Grumman. Having recently returned from an inspection trip to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, Castle had left Northrup Grumman and General Dynamics teams on-site to continue the groundwork. General Dynamics had already adopted his advanced engine improvement technology, a tried-and-true innovation that was practically ready for deployment.
Castle understood the urgency behind the project. It was no coincidence that these upgrades were being prioritized ahead of a planned military campaign in North Africa, targeting the rogue Colonel Gaddafi. The so-called "Arab Spring" of 2011, which he remembered vividly from his previous life, bore all the hallmarks of CIA and Pentagon interference.
The Pentagon and the Air Force, preparing for an imminent conflict, sought to ensure their fleet of stealth bombers was battle-ready. Northrup Grumman and General Dynamics, eager to secure lucrative contracts, had capitalized on this urgency to push their flight control and engine upgrade solutions. Castle, both a shareholder and a trusted consultant, saw this as an enticing opportunity to both profit and indulge his curiosity about one of the most advanced weapons in the world.
As for his longtime collaborator, the "chubby genius," he was equally enthusiastic. The prospect of tinkering with a stealth bomber thrilled him to no end. Meanwhile, Ramsay, who had little interest in military technology, had gone upstairs to play with Alexis and her rapidly growing Caucasian Shepherd puppies. For Ramsay, who was close in age to Alexis, these fluffy, energetic pups were utterly irresistible.
In the lab, Castle and his companion were fully immersed in simulations using his state-of-the-art supercomputer and the computational power of Jarvis. They meticulously calculated the performance gains of implementing the new flight control system and engine upgrades for the aging B-2 fleet.
This collaboration between Castle, Northrup Grumman, and General Dynamics was no small matter. While Northrup Grumman had access to supercomputing resources, those were often shared across departments, creating bottlenecks. Castle's private supercomputer, one of the fastest in the world, offered unmatched efficiency.
Bored and seeking a project before Christmas, Castle had been nudged by his companion into taking on the job. In return, Castle roped him in as an assistant for the task. With Jarvis at their disposal, they dove into the classified documents provided by Northrup Grumman. These included original schematics of the B-2, years of modification records, and other top-secret materials.
Northrup Grumman, confident in Castle's discretion and security measures, entrusted him with these assets. As the company's largest private shareholder and the creator of the semi-autonomous flight control system, Castle's integrity was beyond question. Moreover, his AI and supercomputer setup had already demonstrated invulnerability against cyberattacks, such as those attempted by the CIA.
The task at hand was straightforward. Castle needed to ensure the new flight control system would integrate seamlessly with the upgraded engines he had provided to General Dynamics. Meanwhile, his assistant focused on simulating the performance of a fully upgraded B-2, analyzing its capabilities with the new technology in place.
Unbeknownst to Castle, as he worked diligently in the lab, Watanabe's "dark asset" was already in the air, heading toward New York. The young woman, armed with a meticulously crafted identity, aimed to infiltrate Alexis's school and, ultimately, Castle's life. While Watanabe's plans were intricate, he remained unaware that Castle's Jarvis could unravel the deception with ease, should the AI's attention be drawn.
For now, Castle's preoccupation with the B-2 upgrades kept him unaware of the approaching threat. With Jarvis's processing power temporarily diverted to the lab's simulations, Watanabe's operation had bought itself a brief window of invisibility. Whether this window would be enough to execute their scheme remained to be seen.
(End of Chapter)
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