Castle hadn't seen the man in the footage in person before. However, the sharp-dressed elder commanding armed soldiers to bury bodies in a mass grave was someone he vividly remembered from a movie in his previous life. It was The Hitman's Bodyguard, starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, where the duo stormed from the British Isles to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to bring down the antagonist. That antagonist, a certain Duhoviche, was the national leader accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
So… did this mean the storyline involving Zeus—the guy who, after breaking up with Belle, supposedly became a hitman—was about to kick off?
In Castle's memories, the man in the photo looked quite distinguished: white-haired, bespectacled, and refined. But the sight of him standing beside a mass grave filled with innocent victims quickly wiped away any notion of elegance. Upon reading through the information the chubby kid had gathered about the massacre, Castle realized that Duhoviche wasn't just any villain—he was truly a ruthless one.
The man was following the playbook of a certain infamous Austrian with a tiny mustache, carrying out acts of genocide. The difference? Duhoviche operated on a much smaller scale, confining his atrocities to the borders of his own small Eastern European country. Moreover, unlike the brazen atrocities of the 20th-century dictator, Duhoviche worked in the shadows, using his personal guard to carry out these heinous acts.
If it weren't for the chubby kid and Ramsey, who spent their free time scouring the internet for intriguing stories, these videos and photos might never have come to light. The two had used JARVIS to infiltrate Duhoviche's classified archives after catching wind of the rumors. Some of the evidence even came from the phones of idiotic government officials or secretaries who couldn't resist taking selfies while on the scene.
As Castle reviewed the footage, he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer stupidity of Duhoviche's "team." Even the most fortified fortress can crumble from the inside when it's filled with brain-dead teammates.
Who on earth brings their phone to document a genocide?
Beckett, meanwhile, was furious. She scoured the evidence, her sense of justice burning hot. The chubby kid and JARVIS had meticulously compiled all the details, presenting the full scope of Duhoviche's monstrous actions.
According to the records, Duhoviche rose to power after a long civil war, securing his victory with control over a significant military force. During the war, he had faced fierce resistance from his opponents. Ever since assuming leadership, he had quietly continued his campaign of ethnic cleansing to eliminate any potential threats to his regime.
Reading the details, Castle felt like he was reading a history book about the infamous general Bai Qi, who had executed 400,000 surrendered soldiers in ancient China. Duhoviche, much like Bai Qi, left no room for mercy, disposing of prisoners and civilians alike to secure his position.
Even after his victory, Duhoviche pursued a covert campaign to eradicate his ethnic rivals, ensuring they could never rise again to challenge his authority. Castle couldn't help but shudder—this man was a true cold-blooded monster.
As he sifted through the materials, Castle found himself muttering in disbelief. How had such a blatant atrocity gone unnoticed by the world's self-proclaimed defenders of justice? Where were the nations waving banners of "freedom" and "human rights"?
But upon reading further, Castle begrudgingly admired Duhoviche's cunning. Unlike his historical counterparts, Duhoviche had learned from their failures. His operations were meticulously concealed, and he was adept at burnishing his public image, making it difficult for the outside world to uncover his true nature.
Beckett, however, was on the verge of exploding. Despite her years as a detective witnessing countless gruesome crimes, nothing had prepared her for the scale of this atrocity. The cold-blooded slaughter of hundreds, even thousands, of innocent people—women, children, the elderly—was beyond her ability to comprehend.
The chubby kid and Ramsey, pale as sheets, clearly felt the same.
Castle, meanwhile, remained composed. His sense of detachment from this world, combined with prior knowledge of the events, made it easier to maintain his calm. However, even he felt deeply uncomfortable. Seeing those photos and videos firsthand, he struggled to comprehend how anyone could kill so many innocents without hesitation.
This was the very definition of a crime against humanity.
But what could he do? Castle was no savior. He was just a writer from New York. Even if he wanted to intervene, he was powerless to act against Duhoviche in Eastern Europe. Moreover, as far as he could recall, Duhoviche's reign of terror was already nearing its end. The man would soon face justice, either through international prosecution or a domestic uprising.
If that was the case, there wasn't much for Castle to do. Perhaps it was better to sit back and watch the unfolding drama, knowing full well that the wheels of justice were already in motion.
Beckett, though, wasn't so easily pacified. Even with her newfound political awareness, she couldn't ignore the atrocities. She demanded that the chubby kid compile all the evidence they had uncovered. If she couldn't personally bring Duhoviche to justice, she could at least expose his crimes to the world.
Castle turned to JARVIS, instructing the AI to locate Kincaid in South America. When Kincaid appeared on the screen, Castle chuckled despite the grim circumstances.
"Bald and strong, huh? A real-life example," he muttered.
On the screen, Kincaid was seated in a bar, nursing a drink and leering at a voluptuous waitress. Castle couldn't help but laugh at how life had shaped Kincaid into this middle-aged, bald version of himself.
At that moment, a group of thugs began harassing the waitress. Castle's attention sharpened—this fiery, street-fighting waitress was clearly destined to be Kincaid's "one."
She would become the catalyst for Kincaid's eventual involvement in the events that would bring down Duhoviche.
As Castle turned to Beckett, he saw her preparing to leak the evidence to the media. She was determined to blow the lid off Duhoviche's atrocities, consequences be damned.
Castle suddenly realized something: if Beckett's actions exposed Duhoviche's crimes to the public, wouldn't that make her the spark that brought down the tyrant?
Had he, once again, accidentally changed the course of history in this world?
Castle didn't stop her. Despite his detachment, even he couldn't turn a blind eye to what he'd seen. Beckett's righteous anger was one of the reasons he'd fallen for her in the first place.
In the end, Castle decided to let things play out. Sometimes, justice needed a little push—even from an unintentional meddler like himself.
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