Reborn as an American Writer

After thoroughly discussing the plan against Vincent at Neil's house with Neil and Moz, and assigning the task of monitoring Vincent and his gang to the overly enthusiastic little fatty, who was thrilled to be working with his idol, Castle finally left Neil's place with the eager little fatty. Castle still had an art theft case to investigate with his FBI New York Division partner, Peter, in the afternoon, so Castle, the little fatty, and Moz all headed out together.

To Castle's surprise, the little fatty, a homebody, and Moz, clicked instantly. Perhaps it was because they shared some similar traits. Moz, who usually didn't invite anyone, astonishingly invited the little fatty to visit his secret laboratory.

Castle didn't stop the "date" between the little fatty and Moz. After all, what interests the homebody might not interest him. He only seriously warned Moz not to let the little fatty drive. Then, Castle watched the two head off, arm in arm, to Moz's secret place in Brooklyn.

Having handed over the task of monitoring Vincent to the little fatty, Harry, and all the brainwork to Neil and Moz, Castle now felt truly carefree. He had been away from the Twelfth Precinct for a while. He wondered if the beautiful long-legged Miss Beckett missed her top assistant. However, it was already noon, and heading to the precinct now didn't seem appropriate. Castle decided to go tomorrow morning instead.

So, how should he spend his afternoon?

Just as Castle stood in front of Neil's mansion at 88 Canal Street, pondering how to spend his afternoon, his agent Paula called.

Castle answered the phone nonchalantly, but before he could speak, his agent's excited voice startled him: "Rick... Richard Castle, do you know that your latest novel, 'Nikki Heat,' has climbed into the top ten of the New York Times Best Sellers list today? I believe it won't be long before you break into the top three... Oh my god... This book has only been out for a month and it's already in the top ten... You're a genius..."

"What? Paula, what did you say? 'Nikki Heat' is in the top ten of the New York Times Best Sellers list? Today?"

Castle himself was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected that the novel, inspired by Miss Beckett, would gain such market acceptance and support from fans so quickly! It seemed he wasn't much worse than the original 'Castle.' Castle thought smugly.

Paula's excited voice didn't diminish with Castle's response. In fact, she got louder after hearing Castle's question: "Of course, today's updated New York Times Best Sellers list shows your new book, 'Nikki Heat,' in the tenth position. You know, it's only been out for a month and it's already in the top ten. It's a miracle! The NYPD Commissioner just called me. He hopes you can continue writing the second book and further enhance the NYPD's reputation!

To that end, the Commissioner even offered you unconditional support from the NYPD. Rick, do you know what that means? It means the entire NYPD will become your helpers... Ah... I'm so excited I could explode..."

Castle moved the phone away from his ear to avoid the piercing screams of his agent, Paula. Once Paula finally calmed down, Castle brought the phone back to his ear and helplessly said to his agent, "Alright, Paula. It's only the tenth position and you're already so excited you might have a stroke. What if it actually hits the top? Would you jump off the Empire State Building? By the way, what do you need from me? Was it just to inform me about my book hitting the top ten?"

Paula was a bit puzzled as to why Castle was so calm. Why didn't Castle show the same excitement as he did when his first Derrick Storm novel hit the list? Back then, he went crazy and partied with dozens of women all night long. But his current calmness actually made Paula quite satisfied. At least it showed that Castle was no longer as crazy as before; he had matured, which was a good thing, right?

If Castle knew that his calmness was due to his preoccupation with Vincent's situation and the fact that he was no longer the original Castle, and that this was seen as maturity by Paula, he would probably be speechless. He wanted to party all night with dozens of women like his former self, but his system wouldn't allow it. Damn, the system's designer must have been a lifelong bachelor, prohibiting him from having any deep interactions with anyone other than Miss Beckett. How tragic...

After calming herself down, Paula remembered the main purpose of her call. "Rick, Gina just contacted me as well. The publisher wants to do a second print run of your novel, so we need to discuss the royalties. Do you have time to go to the publisher?"

Castle, who had been wondering how to kill time, immediately shrank at the thought of negotiating royalties with his ex-wife and publisher, Gina. He had never won any arguments with her. His predecessor would always shrink in front of Gina's stern face, and this trait seemed to have passed on to him.

So, he promptly handed over the negotiation task to his agent. After all, if she couldn't get a good deal from Gina's publishing house, her income would suffer as well. It was better to let two equals fight it out rather than getting himself involved.

Now, his goal in writing was no longer about money but about Beckett. So, the royalties were his agent's concern, not his. Why bother negotiating with Gina?

With no psychological burden, he threw the big task to his agent and promised her a hefty bonus if she managed to get a good deal from the publisher. Motivated by the huge bonus, Paula eagerly went to the publisher to battle with his vampire ex-wife, Gina.

Castle put away his phone and reluctantly dismissed his thoughts of going out for fun. He decided to go home and wait for Winston to deliver the ordered weapons and, most importantly, the military drone parts. He needed to modify a few drones for surveillance on Vincent.

At this point, Castle realized he should probably set up a few safehouses to store the military drone parts. It wasn't feasible to keep them at home.

Realizing he had forgotten about this, Castle hurriedly called Moz for help, hoping Moz could find a place to store the military drone parts and modify the drones.

Moz didn't disappoint. He quickly found an empty warehouse by the Hudson River that had lots of tools. Moz, however, was busy with the little fatty at his secret lab and couldn't accompany Castle to inspect it. He arranged for a friend to meet Castle there.

Castle hurried to the address Moz provided. Upon arrival, an old man was waiting at the warehouse door.

After inspecting the former small hardware processing factory's warehouse, Castle was very satisfied. He rented it at a very reasonable price. The warehouse's excellent location by the Hudson River, complete with a small dock, and the tools left behind would greatly aid Castle in modifying the drones.

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