Duhovich, well-versed in the ruthless games of power, understood that his immediate priority was not hunting down the treacherous hitman who had abandoned him, but rather crushing the civil war brewing within his own borders. As long as he remained the head of state, any threats from the International Criminal Court were nothing more than empty words.
This was precisely why Castle, despite having Beckett expose Duhovich's atrocities and knowing that he had hired Kincaid, had only instructed Jarvis to keep an eye on the situation without paying it much attention. The downfall of a head of state wouldn't happen overnight—Duhovich might be cornered, but bringing down a dictator wasn't a matter of days.
In Castle's past-life memories, it had taken a significant amount of time for Duhovich to go from hiring Kincaid to being overthrown and dragged to trial. At this point in time, Kincaid's soon-to-be partner, Michael, was still working as a top-tier AAA bodyguard in Manchester, completely oblivious to the chaos ahead.
In other words, there was no rush to pay attention to the upcoming battle between Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson against Duhovich.
Right now, Castle was far more focused on something else—his satellites.
The first batch of three satellites he had ordered under a private contract was now in the final assembly and testing phase. If things went smoothly, they could be ready within a month!
Upon confirming the progress of his private communication satellites, Castle also had Hughes Aerospace arrange a commercial launch service to put them into orbit.
This endeavor had kept Castle so busy that he barely had time to breathe, let alone worry about what was happening with Duhovich or Kincaid.
At Hughes, Castle was personally overseeing the modifications to his satellites, integrating reconnaissance technology he had obtained through deals with Lockheed Martin and Boeing, both eager to gain his favor.
Hughes Aerospace was aware that Castle, a novelist by trade, wanted to install high-tech surveillance equipment on his "communication" satellites. After a thorough review by their experts, they confirmed that these modifications wouldn't compromise the structural integrity of the satellites. With that assurance, Hughes ultimately decided to turn a blind eye to Castle's unorthodox requests.
The company had quickly recognized that this so-called "author" was no ordinary client—he was a tech prodigy.
By the time Castle arrived at Hughes, several of America's largest defense contractors had already reached out to Hughes executives, subtly urging them to accommodate Castle's modifications. These weren't just any companies—among them were aerospace giants like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, as well as General Electric and Canada's Pratt & Whitney, major players in aircraft propulsion.
With pressure from such an influential lineup, Hughes executives had little choice but to comply.
Moreover, after paying the full remaining balance on the satellites, Castle was now their rightful owner. He was free to modify them however he saw fit.
After verifying that the modifications wouldn't interfere with satellite operations, Hughes granted Castle and his "assistant" (Harry) full access to make their changes.
For the next month, Hughes engineers bore witness to Castle's technical expertise firsthand.
When it came time to install the ground receivers for these satellites—delivered to Castle's Long Island estate—he found that they didn't meet his specifications. Since these units hadn't been built at the same Hughes facility where he modified the satellites, he hadn't had the chance to tweak them before production.
Now, he would have to make further adjustments in his own fully-equipped mechanical lab.
But that was a problem for later.
For now, the satellites still looked identical from the outside. However, beneath the surface, Castle and Harry had completely transformed them.
These were no longer mere communication satellites.
By the time they were finished, the three units had been secretly converted into near-Earth reconnaissance satellites. They still maintained their original function as communication relays, but now they were also fully capable of executing surveillance missions. Under Jarvis' control, their capabilities had been vastly expanded.
Castle's deployment plan for the satellites was as follows:
One would be positioned over the Americas. Another would be stationed over Europe. The third would remain in geosynchronous orbit over the Pacific, with built-in maneuverability for emergency repositioning.
This setup would give Castle the ability to conduct real-time surveillance anywhere he needed, maximizing his intelligence-gathering capabilities.
Additionally, with these satellites in place, the encrypted communication functions of the smart wristbands Castle had distributed to his close friends would finally reach their full potential.
For the first time, Castle and his allies would be able to communicate securely across continents without Jarvis having to clandestinely hijack other satellites, as had been necessary when making contact with Steve in the Pacific.
After more than a month of non-stop work, Castle and Harry had finally completed the satellite modifications. But their mission wasn't over yet.
The next step was overseeing the launch.
Castle personally attended the deployment of his three customized satellites, ensuring that every detail was executed flawlessly. Only after they were successfully placed into orbit and began transmitting signals did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
His paranoia had driven him to personally supervise every step of the process—he knew that many of the technologies he had implemented were well ahead of their time.
Had he entrusted these modifications to an outside company, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't attempt to steal his designs.
That was why Castle had kept the project within his own hands, allowing only Harry to assist him.
Even so, Hughes had been left utterly shocked by the final result.
The company's executives were so impressed that they proposed a long-term partnership, hoping to integrate Castle's designs into future production runs. They even suggested that he participate in the development of his next batch of satellites from the initial blueprint stage.
Castle, of course, immediately saw through their intentions.
He knew Hughes wanted to reverse-engineer his technology.
But with his current set of three satellites, Castle had already achieved his primary goal—establishing a private, independent satellite network. There was no reason for him to give Hughes direct access to his secrets.
Unlike the technology he had previously traded with defense companies—advancements that were slightly ahead of their time but still within a reasonable range—his satellite innovations were on an entirely different level. If the world realized what he was capable of, it would trigger a massive upheaval.
That was why Castle had personally monitored the entire process, staying at Hughes for over a month and then immediately overseeing the launch.
He wasn't about to let anyone tamper with his satellites before they were safely in orbit.
Fortunately, his concerns had proven unnecessary.
Hughes, well aware of Castle's formidable connections, had refrained from attempting anything underhanded. Instead, they had gone out of their way to accommodate him, ensuring the launch proceeded without issue.
After nearly two months away from home, Castle had finally achieved his long-cherished goal of establishing his own satellite communications network.
It was still in its infancy—just three satellites forming the backbone of the system—but it was a solid foundation.
For the first time, those wearing Castle's custom smart wristbands could enjoy truly secure, real-time communication across the Americas, Europe, and parts of Asia.
It was a remarkable accomplishment.
Now, back in New York, Castle still had one final task—installing and modifying the satellite ground receivers that had been delivered to his estate.
With Big Ivan and his team of Russian muscle at his disposal, however, that was hardly a challenge.
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