While Castle and his semi-military enthusiast sidekick were utterly engrossed in treating the operational B-2 stealth bomber as the ultimate toy, the undercover spy operating under the alias "Jin-ho Park"—or "Park Jin-ho" in the Western naming convention—was making significant progress on her secret mission. Disguised as a seemingly innocent exchange student from the "most powerful nation across the strait," she had quickly befriended Alexis. Using her professional training, the spy became Alexis' "bestie" at an astonishing speed.
Although Alexis was intelligent, her lack of vigilance in interpersonal relationships left her vulnerable. She had been sheltered by Castle, which meant she had little experience dealing with malicious schemes or deceitful individuals. Despite being clever, Alexis' naivety limited her ability to recognize the true nature of her new classmate, especially when faced with the calculated charm of a professional spy.
Previously, Alexis had received training from professional con artists Neal Caffrey and Mozzie, but their lessons focused primarily on Western art history and artifact appraisal. Neither of them had considered preparing her for identifying liars or manipulators, leaving her susceptible to the spy's deception. Just as Taro Watanabe had anticipated in his plan, the disguised spy successfully embedded herself into Alexis' life.
Meanwhile, Castle remained oblivious to this development. Jarvis, typically tasked with monitoring Castle's family, had diverted much of its computational power to assist Castle's projects, leaving gaps in surveillance. This oversight would soon create a potential crisis.
In Massachusetts, at the Boston headquarters of General Electric—a company founded by Thomas Edison—Castle and his sidekick were ecstatic as they watched engineers install the newly developed engines on a disassembled B-2 stealth bomber. The flight control system upgrade had already been completed over the past month. Now, the final step was to install the four advanced engines, designed using Castle's proprietary technology, and prepare for the test flight.
These engines were vastly superior to the older GE F118-110 non-afterburning turbofan engines originally installed on the B-2. The upgrades included a significantly improved thrust-to-weight ratio, reduced weight, and decreased fuel consumption. This allowed the stealth bomber to carry more fuel and travel even greater distances. For a bomber designed with extreme range requirements rather than speed, these upgrades marked a massive improvement in combat capability.
Castle and his sidekick, brimming with childlike enthusiasm, had convinced both the company engineers and the military representatives to take things further. They proposed adding two missile pods to the bomber, hidden in the bomb bay, each capable of carrying twelve "Ex-Wife" missiles. These pods would remain concealed within the aircraft's belly, preserving its aerodynamic and stealth profiles, while providing unprecedented self-defense capabilities for a bomber.
The engineers eventually agreed to this audacious modification, and Castle even scaled up the original Ex-Wife missiles by a factor of two. The missiles mounted on the prototype bomber were no longer cigar-sized but now measured over two feet in length. Their increased range and destructive power made them far more formidable.
The saying "men never truly grow up" couldn't have been more fitting. Every man harbors a boyish side; it's just a matter of what brings it out. For Castle, the opportunity to play with military-grade hardware—encouraged by his equally excitable sidekick—was irresistible. Not only did they exceed the original scope of the bomber upgrade project, but they also transformed a once defenseless stealth bomber into a platform capable of standing toe-to-toe with most modern fighter jets.
The duo was so engrossed in their "toys" that they essentially forgot about the people back at Castle's Long Island estate. Other than the occasional phone call home to check in, Castle and the sidekick were entirely consumed by their work.
Back on Long Island, the estate had become a dominion of women: Martha, Beckett, Alexis, and Ramsay. Castle had left his security team, led by "Big Ivan," to guard the property and protect his family. However, Martha had taken full advantage of Castle's absence. Under the pretext of "taking care of her granddaughter," she returned from Southampton and began converting parts of the estate into her personal theater classroom. With Beckett busy managing the 12th Precinct, Ramsay glued to her computer as the quintessential shut-in, and Alexis occupied with school, Martha was free to pursue her grand plans.
Castle's prolonged stay in Massachusetts wasn't because Northrop Grumman or GE had restricted him. Nor was it due to the geographical distance, as Boston and New York were only a few hundred miles apart. It was simply because Castle and his sidekick had fully embraced their newfound playground.
Castle's role as the chief technical consultant for both companies, combined with his shareholder status, gave him significant authority on-site. Even the Air Force's oversight team, ostensibly there to monitor the project, seemed more like enthusiastic spectators. They had been lured in by the companies' promises of massive performance improvements for the aging bomber fleet.
Naturally, the oversight team had thoroughly researched Castle before arriving. A man who could design advanced systems, wield financial clout, and hold shares in multiple major corporations was bound to attract attention.
While Castle's efforts to upgrade the bomber's flight control system and install self-defense missile pods initially seemed like a whimsical indulgence, the results spoke for themselves. The expanded Ex-Wife missiles demonstrated remarkable capabilities during test simulations.
The scaled-up missiles, each carrying a larger payload and enhanced high-explosive warheads synthesized by Castle himself in GE's labs, shocked everyone present. Their performance exceeded expectations, with six test launches confirming their destructive potential.
For the Air Force representatives, the test results were tantalizing. These compact but extraordinarily powerful missiles outperformed many of the current munitions in the U.S. arsenal. Even Northrop Grumman's engineers couldn't help but compare them to the Jericho missiles Castle had provided earlier. While the Jericho missile was designed for area bombardment with 60 miniature warheads, the new Ex-Wife missiles excelled in pinpoint strikes due to their larger warheads and advanced explosives.
Northrop Grumman had already planned to incorporate Castle's high-explosive compound into the Jericho missile's submunitions. The original Jericho could devastate up to two square kilometers. With the upgraded warheads, its effective radius was expected to increase to three square kilometers.
The engineers at GE and the Air Force oversight team, however, were unaware of these developments. For them, Castle's ability to single-handedly scale, design, and produce advanced missiles within a week was nothing short of miraculous.
Unbeknownst to them, Castle owed his genius to the System, which had gifted him Tony Stark's engineering prowess. While they marveled at his seemingly supernatural talent, Castle was simply having the time of his life.
(End of Chapter)
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