Upon hearing Luo An inquire about the identity of the wealthy individual, Chenier’s expression shifted subtly and she asked:
"Luo An, what do you an?"
"It’s simple, if we can’t find anything upfront, we approach from the side."
Luo An picked up the docunts Iris had brought earlier and explained:
"Since we can’t find the assassin involved in this case, nor any information on the ’Skull Flower’ assassin organization, why not look for people who have previously been assassinated by that organization?
By investigating the assassinated individuals, we can find information about other assassins, and then locate the assassin organization."
"OK."
Chenier nodded, and Reesi and the others suddenly understood, while Iris, after a brief silence, said:
"That wealthy man is from Iowa, involved in the oil industry."
"Is he still alive?"
"Due to so complications, his genitals and left leg were amputated, but he is still alive."
"OK."
Luo An turned to look at Winslow, Chenier, and Reesi and said:
"You three will take a plane to Iowa for a trip and have a chat with this wealthy man."
"No problem."
Chenier and the others nodded their heads, and Luo An then asked Iris:
"You ntioned earlier that after the director was poisoned, your departnts had reviewed the director’s itinerary during that period and checked the surveillance footage, right?"
"That’s right."
Iris nodded her head, and Luo An said:
"Bring us a copy of that surveillance."
"Alright."
Iris agreed, although she didn’t think Luo An would find any clues in those surveillance videos.
At the beginning, their agencies like the NSA, CSS, DIA, and others had reviewed the footage, and aside from a suspected assassin, they hadn’t found anything else.
The next morning, Winslow, Chenier, and Reesi left Washington D.C. by plane, while the rest of the team continued working in the special investigation unit’s office area.
Iris brought quite a few items, filling an entire cardboard box, and Mona picked up a hard drive, asking:
"Are all these surveillance videos?"
"Yes."
Iris introduced:
"The forr director’s ti of death was a month ago, and according to the checks by the hospital and the Departnt of dical Examination, the poisoning happened about half a month before that.
These surveillance recordings capture the forr director’s whereabouts from two months ago up until a month and a half ago."
Mona nodded, and Michelle picked up a videotape ready to review, when at that mont, Luo An approached from the nearby coffee machine and said:
"Let review the surveillance footage; you have other tasks."
"What?"
Mona and Michelle both turned their heads in surprise, and Iris was quite puzzled:
"Group Leader Luo An, the total length of these surveillance recordings probably adds up to over a thousand hours, and you alone..."
"It’s okay."
Luo An simply smiled without explaining much and continued:
"It will take ti for Reesi and the others to arrive in Iowa and make contact with that wealthy man.
We can’t waste this period. Mona, Michelle, log into the previous underground cri network and see if there’s any information about the ’Skull Flower’ assassin organization."
Most assassins in the world kill for money.
To earn that money, they have to advertise their services; otherwise, nobody knows they’re assassins - and their business would fail before it even starts.
Assassins definitely can’t advertise like normal ads, out on the streets or on television; an underground cri website is a good choice.
"No problem."
Mona and Michelle were sowhat puzzled by Luo An’s insistence on checking the surveillance himself, but still nodded in agreent.
Out of the corner of her eye, Iris caught sight of Luo An seated at Reesi’s workstation, checking the surveillance with no urgency, her respect for Luo An quietly diminished a little.
Yesterday, Luo An’s "micro-expression analysis" indeed shocked and impressed Iris, but his insistence on looking for clues through the surveillance footage by himself made her feel that Luo An was a bit too arrogant.
However, seeing that both Agent Mona and Investigator Michelle from the special investigative team didn’t say much, Iris, considering herself an outsider, decided to let go of the idea of raising objections and began to browse through the underworld cri website alongside the two won.
Ti marched forward by the minute, and the morning passed quickly. They called for food by phone, and everyone in the office began to rest and eat lunch.
"We’re in Iowa now."
Reesi yawned hugely as she called Luo An:
"The scenery in Iowa is nice, plenty of cornfields, and the land is all plains."
Chenier snatched the phone and said:
"Luo An, we have made contact with the secretary of that wealthy individual, but his secretary said he is unavailable today and asked us to schedule a eting for tomorrow afternoon."
"Go directly to his house to find him."
Luo An remained composed, swallowing the vegetable salad in his mouth and said indifferently:
"The situation with this case is special; the Federal Deputy President’s executive order is with , just be mindful of your actions."
"Understood!"
Winslow and Reesi smiled at each other over the phone, Chenier’s lips curled up, they exchanged a few brief words and then hung up the phone.
In the office, Mona also heard Luo An’s words. Swallowing her food, her face showed so concern:
"Luo An, is it alright to do this?"
"It’s okay, Chenier and the others know their limits."
Luo An smiled, signaling Mona not to worry; Chenier and the others would not do anything excessively out of line.
Moreover, Luo An wanted to use this opportunity to see what effect the Deputy President’s executive order could achieve.
If soone jumps out to target Luo An’s investigative team in the process, Luo An would be too happy; he’s exactly waiting for the opposition to erge.
Since arriving in Washington D.C., Luo An has encountered so small bumps in the road, such as the head of the Professional Responsibility Office, the Jewish Antoine.
But all in all, Luo An’s journey can be described as smooth sailing, without encountering major setbacks.
This isn’t good because not everyone is going to like soone; there must be quite a few people who are dissatisfied with Luo An, but for so reason, they have been suppressing it and have not jumped out.
Luo An is well aware of the principle of being wary in tis of peace and knowing oneself as well as the enemy.
Instead of allowing enemies hiding in the shadows to stab him in the back at a critical mont, it’s better to find them out first, understand them, and ultimately find a way to control them.
Just like Sarls did initially, since the enemy won’t disappear, dig a pit for them in advance, and when they jump out, kick them into the pit and bury them.
Luo An was aware of this but didn’t think it was necessary to tell Mona and the others. He made a few casual responses and then turned the topic back to the case they were investigating.
"We did discover sothing on the underworld cri website."
Mona finished lunch, took a sip of mineral water, brought her laptop over, and said:
"I found a post, which is an advertisent made by so assassin organization, along with their contact information.
At the bottom of the post is a pattern of a pale red flower, which is precisely the Skull Flower."
"I also found a post on another underworld cri website."
Next to her, Michelle, swallowing the food in her mouth, raised her hand and said:
"It’s a similar advertisent as well, the contents are much the sa, and at the very bottom, there’s also a pale red Skull Flower pattern."
"Nicely done!"
Luo An’s lips curved up, just as he was about to speak, Iris suddenly asked:
"Group Leader Luo An, did you find anything in the surveillance?"
Mona frowned slightly and turned to look at Iris, whose expression remained unchanged. Luo An glanced at Iris and said:
"There are so findings, such as the fact that the case behind this is a saturated assassination."
Reviews
All reviews (0)