Castle and John returned home in completely different moods.
Castle was frustrated. He had gone all the way to Hawaii and ended up being nothing more than bait. He hadn't even fired a single shot.
John, on the other hand, treated the trip like a routine business trip—calm and indifferent. Though he had recognized Jason as a formidable opponent during their coordinated ambush on Miura Kenichi's team, his naturally cold and distant demeanor meant he had no desire to form any friendships.
So, after their long journey, these two men returned home empty-handed—without even buying souvenirs.
After hugging their wives and children to confirm that everyone was safe and sound, Castle finally asked about what had happened while he was gone.
Though he had kept in touch via video calls, there were still many details to catch up on. However, the key takeaways were simple:
Miura Kenichi and Suzuki Mitsuru had been taken into FBI custody. The sniper-killed assassin's blood and guts had thoroughly contaminated the beach, prompting Ivan's team to replace the sand. Booth had already left for work at the Jeffersonian, returning to his usual homicide cases with "Miss Bones." Bob was still around, waiting for Castle's return, his loyal dog Sam by his side.
On a lighter note, the happiest person during Castle's absence had been little Onona.
She had grown bored of the four Caucasian Shepherd dogs at the estate, but Bob's dog Sam was a new and exciting toy. Unlike the massive Shepherds, who would run away the moment they saw her coming, Sam was intelligent, obedient, and tolerant—making him the perfect playmate for the young girl.
Castle sincerely thanked Bob for his help, but the retired sniper wasn't interested in staying longer. After seeing Bob off and sending Beckett back to work, Castle wasted no time—he immediately sought out Gianna to discuss his plan.
He laid it all out:
He had discovered that India harbored a massive treasure hoard, and since the U.S. government wasn't planning to punish India for their recent stunt, he wanted to steal the treasure before the Indians even knew it existed.
As expected, Gianna saw right through his motives.
She gave him a knowing look—one that clearly said, I understand why you're doing this—before eagerly jumping into the planning.
As for John?
Now that he was home, his only duties were babysitting.
With Gianna, Castle didn't need to hold back. The only thing he ever kept from her was his secret about being a reincarnated soul. Everything else, he shared freely.
He explained that while digging through Indian intelligence files, Jarvis had come across an old report from 2009. It mentioned a former intelligence officer—who had served under the Gandhi administration—who had spoken of an ancient temple in Kerala rumored to contain a vast treasure.
For some reason, India's government had never investigated this claim.
When Castle had Jarvis cross-reference the information, the AI determined there was an 80% probability that the treasure was real. That was all Castle needed to hear—if it was real, he was going to take it.
Of course, he couldn't say that he already knew about the treasure from his past life.
So, he framed it as pure revenge against India.
Gianna didn't care where the intel came from—she only cared about whether the treasure was real.
She had long accepted that Castle had a knack for uncovering hidden riches.
After all, he had pulled an entire submarine full of priceless artwork out of nowhere, and then somehow looted the underground vaults of Trinity Church.
So, when Castle spoke of treasure worth hundreds of billions, she didn't doubt him for a second.
Where he got the information? Who cares?
The important thing is—we're about to get filthy rich again.
With that motivation, their planning moved fast.
Castle was slightly concerned about the risks of traveling to India so soon after their agents had tried to assassinate him. But time was of the essence—if India did discover the treasure before he got there, it would be too late.
And besides—Castle had complete faith in himself and John.
That's right.
John Wick would be joining him on this little "adventure" to India.
Meanwhile, Gianna and Beckett—along with their kids—would travel to Sri Lanka, where they would serve as Castle's support team across the water.
Originally, Castle had only planned to have Gianna's family connections provide a ship and some men to help transport the treasure out of India.
But Gianna had immediately shut that idea down.
Her reasoning?
"You already ran off to Hawaii with John once. Beckett and I aren't sitting around, worrying again. If we're coming, we're bringing the kids too."
So, not only would Castle be bringing his entire family, but if Little Chubby and Ramsey wanted to come, they would be included as well.
At first, Castle resisted.
He had wanted a quick solo operation—sneak in, grab the gold, teleport it into his personal storage space, and get it onto Gianna's ship in Sri Lanka.
But Gianna wouldn't budge.
As a friend, she voiced her real concerns:
First, this treasure was worth hundreds of billions. If they simply put it on a ship, who could be trusted to transport it?
Loyalty was cheap—betrayal only required the right price.
And no one could guarantee that even Gianna's people wouldn't be tempted.
Second, the timing was suspicious.
India had just been humiliated by the U.S. If Castle traveled there alone, he wouldn't be obvious—but if he pretended to take his family on vacation? That would divert all the attention.
If India wanted revenge, they wouldn't dare act now—not while under U.S. scrutiny.
That was why Gianna wasn't worried about bringing a big group to South Asia.
They could camouflage Castle's real mission as a family vacation, while also personally overseeing the transport of the treasure.
A perfect cover story.
Meanwhile, John—who had no say in the matter—just sat nearby, happily babysitting.
Castle's infant son was still too young to even roll over, lying in his stroller and babbling. Onona, his daughter, sat on the floor playing with her toys.
John didn't care that Castle and Gianna had just planned an entire family trip to South Asia in a single conversation.
But when Beckett came home from work that evening, she immediately knew something was off.
Her husband had just survived an assassination attempt by Indian operatives.
And now, he wanted to take their entire family on vacation to Sri Lanka—right next to India?
Absolutely not.
Suspicious, she demanded an explanation.
Castle had no choice but to reveal what he had uncovered.
So, he pulled out the research that Jarvis had compiled—detailing the hidden treasure of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala.
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