Inside a rapidly advancing armored personnel carrier, four bank robbers handcuffed with silver bracelets stared angrily at Luo An and his two companions, cursing out loud.
"Son of a bitch!"
"Fu-k you!"
Among the four robbers, Joseph was the main planner and leader of the bank robbery. Now that he was caught, he was the loudest in cursing:
"Damn IRS! They broke the deal! And you damned FBI..."
"Hey, stop cursing."
Winslow and Chenier sitting beside them couldn’t be bothered with it, and Luo An yawned, thought for a mont, and said with a smile:
"To be honest, you guys should thank us."
"What?"
"What did you say?"
Hearing this, Winslow and Chenier looked at Luo An with subconscious confusion, the four robbers were startled and then filled with even more fury:
"You..."
"Let break it down for you."
Before Joseph, Carter, Ferdinand, and Brooke could let out more intense curses, Luo An started explaining simply.
First, their FBI Special Investigation Team found the trail of the four robbers before the IRS, and they were ready to capture them.
However, since the IRS has a higher priority, it was the IRS who dispatched their people to capture the four robbers before the FBI took action.
The IRS was only after taxes. As long as they got the desired tax revenue, the IRS would let them go, so the four robbers could hand over the tax money from the stolen bank funds.
If the FBI had acted first and arrested them, the money stolen from the bank by the four robbers would have been confiscated by the FBI.
The tax collection by the IRS from the four robbers would remain the sa, but at that point, the money they stole from the bank would have been seized by the FBI, and the four robbers, who didn’t have that much savings themselves, would have been saddled with a huge debt to the IRS.
If they couldn’t deliver the money to the IRS within the set ti, they would also incur tax interest, with the interest getting higher the longer it took.
"Now you’re just simply caught by us, the FBI, instead of being caught by us and then also owing a load of unpaid taxes to the IRS, sitting in jail while the interest keeps piling up."
After finishing the explanation, Luo An’s face was filled with a sunshine-like smile:
"So, shouldn’t you be thanking us?"
"..."
As his voice faded, the inside of the armored personnel carrier instantly beca very quiet.
Winslow and Chenier’s faces were full of speechlessness, Joseph and the others were speechless with their mouths agape, not knowing what to say, while the nearby SWAT agents exchanged glances and nodded, having learned sothing new.
————
At 7:30 PM, inside a large conference room in the FBI Los Angeles Branch building.
Reesi was still hospitalized, and other agents of the Special Investigation Team, like Mona and Michelle, were upstairs handling the follow-up work for the "toxic gas case" and the "bank robbery case."
As the leader of the Special Investigation Team and the main investigator of the "bank robbery case", Luo An was once again dragged by Director Nasim and team supervisor Potante Byrne to participate in this press conference.
"It’s an exhilarating mont. Under my leadership, our FBI Los Angeles Branch has successfully..."
Maybe it was because the two cases were solved in quick succession, or maybe because Luo An’s performance had made him look good, Director Nasim was very excited.
Nearly laughing his molars off, he talked for over an hour on stage, with the reporters below unable to get a word in, their smiles becoming increasingly strained as Luo An got more and more uncomfortable in his seat.
Without making a sound, Luo An glanced sideways at the team supervisor next to him and was imdiately struck with surprise, as Potante Byrne’s smile did not change at all, not even his sitting posture.
A streak of admiration flashed through Luo An’s heart; indeed, this was a man befitting of a team supervisor.
"...Thank you, that’s all for now."
Another ten or so minutes passed by, and Director Nasim finally finished his elaborated opening remarks to everyone’s relief.
Luo An breathed a sigh of relief and was about to shift his position, when Director Nasim suddenly gestured with his hand, and an FBI female agent who had been waiting outside the door for a while walked into the conference room with a wooden tray.
Seeing the wooden tray the female agent was holding, Luo An was slightly startled. Potante Byrne’s mouth curled into a smile; he gently patted Luo An’s shoulder and whispered:
"The surprise the Director promised you, stand up quickly."
Luo An swiftly stood up, and Director Nasim nodded in satisfaction. He picked up a dal with red, yellow, and blue stripes from the wooden tray and announced loudly:
"Please allow to represent the California State Governnt, the Los Angeles City Governnt, and the FBI Los Angeles Branch, to confer this ’California Courage dal’ to Special Investigation Team Group Leader Luo An Greenwood, who has bravely fought for the citizens of Los Angeles, remained faithful to his duties, and selflessly solved major cases one after another!"
Each state in the Federal Union has a great deal of autonomy in economic and political aspects and has the right to establish its own law enforcent agencies. Therefore, each state also has the authority to design and award its unique types of dals. The California Courage dal is one of them.
In the vast state of California, not many people have received this dal so far; its symbolic and motivational value is very precious.
"Thank you, Director."
Luo An really hadn’t guessed this beforehand. As Director Nasim pinned the dal on him, he patted Luo An’s shoulder with a beaming smile and then posed with Luo An for the photographers, both offering smiles for the flashing caras.
"Group Leader Greenwood, say a few words."
"Of course."
Luo An nodded, showing a modest smile to the reporters.
It wasn’t that Luo An deliberately wanted to appear overly modest, but rather the reporters’ cara flashes were too enthusiastic, and he couldn’t open his eyes.
Group Leader Potante Byrne and Director Nasim had kept this news very secret; Luo An really hadn’t expected the dal, so he didn’t prepare any speech.
But this didn’t trouble Luo An; he smiled and nodded, waving his hand to signal for a chance to say a few words first and then take pictures. After a few seconds of thought and when the fervent flashes stopped, Luo An coughed lightly and said:
"First of all, regarding this honor, regarding this dal, I feel unworthy..."
The content wasn’t complicated; Luo An simply adapted the speech he had given when he received two FBI dals previously, changing the nas for this occasion.
After Luo An briefly concluded, Group Leader Potante Byrne stood up:
"I announce that the dal ceremony concludes here, and next, we will enter the reporter Q&A session."
Clap Clap Clap—
A series of applause rang out, and the press conference continued for over forty minutes before finally coming to an end.
In the corridor, Director Nasim ca to Luo An’s side, tidying up his clothes and dal around his neck with a smile, nodding in praise for a mont, then left ahead of everyone else.
"I hadn’t expected the Special Investigation Team to clear up the bank robbery case so quickly."
Group Leader Potante Byrne touched the dal on Luo An’s chest with a smile and said:
"Originally, I wanted to apply for an FBI dal for you at the headquarters, but you’ve already received two dals before, and it was very unlikely that another application would be approved, so the Director applied for this California Courage dal for you."
"Thank you, Chief, I really like this dal."
Luo An grinned broadly, expressing his genuine feelings.
The two previous FBI dals he had received ca with a reward of 40,000 US Dollars each, and Luo An had received a total of 80,000 US Dollars.
The California Governnt is financially robust; the prize accompanying the "Courage dal" is 100,000 US Dollars, which is more than the total of the two FBI dals combined.
The two went into Group Leader Potante Byrne’s office, and Potante Byrne picked up a folder on the desk and handed it to Luo An, saying with a smile:
"This represents the reward money for the wanted criminals, and the gratitude paynt from the California First Republican Bank."
One of the wanted criminals, Francisco, died at the hands of CIA officer Cockerland who had acted on his own, so the bounty for Francisco was not included in the folder.
After opening the folder and taking a quick glance, Luo An saw that the bounty for each of the Pollard brothers was as high as 340,000 US Dollars, totaling 680,000 US Dollars.
The bank had paid the Special Investigation Team a gesture of thanks amounting to 800,000 US Dollars, which partly comprised the funds that the bank robbers had stolen but were later recovered by the FBI and IRS.
The robbers: "..."
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