Upon hearing Luo An's question, Lai De's face, which wore a smug smile, instantly stiffened:
Seeing Lai De's reaction, Luo An chuckled.
The question was a bit tricky for Lai De, and Luo An did not expect him to provide an answer.
Picking up the phone that was not hung up yet, Luo An directly said to Mona on the other end of the line:
"I want you to check immediately on the backpack purchased with Martin's credit card, and see who else has bought the same model.
I suspect that among the people who bought this model of backpack, there is one who is Jacques and his team's next target."
To make a backpack bomb, there are plenty of cheap backpacks available in various stores in New York.
The reason for purchasing such an expensive backpack was likely that the target person whom Jacques wanted to kill, has children at home.
And Jacques plans to use their bomb-laden backpack to swap out the children's ordinary backpacks.
Upon hearing Luo An's words, Mona agreed without hesitation, but then she spoke with some indecision:
Luo An's eyes narrowed: "Are you feeling unwell today?"
Opening her mouth, Mona hesitated for a few seconds but still did not speak. Finally, she said:
"Give me ten minutes; there are a lot of people who've bought this model of backpack. I'll call you back once I have looked into it."
After saying this, Mona didn't wait for Luo An to respond and pressed the hang-up button on her end.
Hearing the busy tone from the phone, Luo An licked his lips and muttered under his breath:
"Mona is not quite herself today."
Considering that the case was somewhat linked to Mona's father, Luo An immediately deduced that Mona was hiding something from him and the other agents of Team Five.
However, having known Mona for so many days and understanding her character and past experiences, Luo An guessed that the things she hid were probably just some information related to her father.
In any case, it would not be anything that threatened the safety of the agents of Team Five.
Mona always knew how to weigh things properly.
Thinking this, Luo An decided to set the matter aside for now.
Mona didn't want to talk, so he would not press her.
Hanging up the phone, Luo An turned to Lai De sitting beside him and said in a deep voice:
"Our next goal is to hurry up and find and capture Jacques and Thomas, while also locating that backpack bomb."
Lai De nodded: "The team, including William, is checking the surveillance footage around this building and reviewing the materials sent by the CIA, and Mona is tracing the lead on the backpack.
The bodies found here have also been passed to the forensic department. What should we do next? Go back to headquarters?"
"No, I have to make another call."
At these words, Luo An fell silent for a moment, then picked up his mobile phone again, flipping through contacts while saying:
"I just remembered something."
In the office area, Augustus was leading a few technicians, looking through the materials sent by the CIA with a stern expression.
Inside the conference room, Vireness and Lady Heloise were sitting on chairs, watching the busy crowd outside, silent.
The air in the room was very oppressive.
After a long while, Lady Heloise picked up her coffee from the table and took a sip:
"Team leader, didn't you tell me earlier that you would be the one to direct this case?
Is your so-called direction just sitting in the conference room with me, drinking coffee?"
Lady Heloise wasn't fond of Vireness.
There were many reasons, such as her underling lying in the hospital, the fact that she did not have control over the leadership of the investigation, Vireness's somewhat indifferent attitude towards her, and so on.
Vireness also despised the old lady by her side.
Because as the CIA chief, Lady Heloise was accustomed to lying through her teeth, nine and a half out of ten sentences were false.
Moreover, she was arrogant, completely uncooperative, and always wanted Team Five to follow her orders in handling cases.
Thus, when Vireness heard Lady Heloise's words, she couldn't be bothered to look at her and said coldly:
"Lady Heloise, I am in charge of this case, and I will decide how the investigation is conducted. Your job is merely to observe and suggest."
Lady Heloise's face turned dark in an instant and she was about to speak when Vireness's phone suddenly rang.
It was Luo An calling Vireness.
"Good afternoon, Chief."
After briefly recounting the events following his departure from Team Five and the current investigation status, Luo An asked in a heavy tone:
"Chief, I remember Lady Heloise from the CIA said before that her information indicated Jacques Jon wouldn't leave New York in the short term.
I want to know why she came to this conclusion?
Or, does the CIA know where Jacques Jon is going next?"
When Luo An heard Led's words, he suddenly remembered what Lady Heloise had said during the meeting:
The CIA guaranteed that Jacques Jon wouldn't leave New York shortly.
If this information is true, there's only one possibility:
The CIA has always known Jacques Jon's targets and movements.
But they never told Team Five, just watching them slowly investigate.
Hearing Luo An's words, Vireness's brow furrowed, and she understood quickly.
She even thought deeper than Luo An:
Did the CIA already know about the car accident involving Ivande before it happened and that Jacques and his cohorts were planning this?
With this thought in mind, Vireness immediately turned to look at Lady Heloise, not relaying what Luo An had just told her, but instead directly asked in a firm tone:
"Who is Jacques Jon's next target? Where is he now?"
Lady Heloise, with an expressionless face, sipped her coffee and said lightly:
"I'm sorry, I have nothing to disclose."
Hearing this, Vireness's face turned grim instantly.
This statement indirectly confirmed the CIA's knowledge of Jacques's whereabouts.
After taking a deep breath to suppress the anger rising within her, Vireness said coldly:
"Lady Heloise, our objective is the same – to capture Jacques Jon. So you..."
Before Vireness could finish, Lady Heloise stood up from her seat and left, saying without any expression:
"I'm sorry, team director, as I said, I have nothing to disclose."
Watching Lady Heloise's back as she pushed open the door and left the conference room, Vireness's face looked as bad as it could get.
Luo An on the other end of the phone also heard the conversation between the two, and his expression was equally grim:
"Return to headquarters for now, Luo An."
Vireness took a large sip of the coffee on the table, and then her voice was as cold as ice:
"I will get to the bottom of this."
Hearing the busy tone after the call was hung up, Luo An's mouth curled into a smirk.
Vireness was never someone easy to fool, and the CIA people were not even bothering to put on an act...
"Let's go, Led, back to headquarters."
Stowing away his phone, Luo An stood up and stretched lazily:
"I have a premonition that this case will be resolved today."
Led tilted his head in confusion. Just as Luo An was about to give him a brief explanation, his phone in his pocket rang again.
"...Several calls in just a short time."
Luo An, with a face full of exasperation, pulled out his phone and pressed the answer button, and Mona's familiar voice came from the other end:
"Luo An, I think I might know where Jacques Jon and Thomas are now."