Tanner was under scrutiny by the FBI, DHS and the Pentagon, not to mention the NYPD Counter-Terrorism Unit. Somebody objective needed to look into his death, so they picked me.
Beckett
When did you realize that he was killed by a drone and not a car bomb?
I don’t understand what a car driving through the desert has to do with Dale Tanner.
WWarburg
[holding the photo up] Intelligence reports said there were three high-ranking Afghan militants in this car. It was the right make and model, traveling at a high rate of speed. So the drone pilot was given the green light to strike. But then, he saw those red dots on the trunk, and he had a feeling. So he aborted the mission. There were no militants in that car. The red dots were roses; because the young couple driving down that desert road had just gotten married. That’s when I knew I could no longer be a part of the drone program.
But I don’t understand why. The pilot didn’t fire.
WWarburg
Because the next generation of drones won’t have pilots. The new AI software will give drones decision-making capability. They’ll assess the data and take lethal action all on their own.
Those new drones would turn that car to ash without hesitation. That’s why, when lives are at stake, we need a man who sees roses. We need the human factor.
Maybe Erika was some kind of Erin Brockovich, you know. A crusader for good, delving into the seedy underbelly of the legal system in order to uncover some seamy truth.
Beckett
Or maybe she was just hired by a rival firm to steal privileged information.
Please let me finish. I've been doing a lot of thinking about us, about our relationship. What we have. Where we're headed. I've decided I want more. We both deserve more.
So whatever happens...whatever you decide...[Castle gets off the swing and kneels in front of Beckett] Katherine Houghton Beckett...[he pulls out an engagement ring and holds it up] will you marry me?
Kate, I'm not proposing to you to you to keep you here, or because I'm afraid I'm gonna lose you. I'm proposing because I can't imagine my life without you. If that means when things get difficult we have to figure them out, then I'm willing to figure them out. Assuming you're willing to figure them out with me.
Beckett
Well, in that case…Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle, yes. Yes. I will marry you.
[Castle grins as he slides the ring on her finger]
Look, when I was a year out of Quantico, I was busting my ass on this case, my first big chance. We'd been going at it straight for a month, and I really wanted to let off some steam, so I went to a bar, and I picked up a guy, and I took him home. Next morning he says, "Who's Scofield?" Scofield was the subject of our highly classified investigation.
You want everything to be black or white, I get it. But, in this town, it rarely is, and to do this job, you’re going to have to make peace with that. But hey, that was a hell of a hunch about Mrs. Reed. [Beckett stands up and McCord follows] You should feel really good about this.