At 4:30 PM, under Vireness's astonished gaze, a police car with flashing red and blue lights slowly stopped in front of the FBI Washington Headquarters entrance.
"Good afternoon, Chief."
After parking the car and getting out, Luo An checked the time and waved at Vireness with a smile:
"My calculation was correct; indeed arrived a few minutes early."
"You always manage to surprise me."
Watching Francesco being escorted out of Mona's car, Vireness showed a hint of a smile.
Just as she turned to lead the group into the building, Luo An took a white male out of the trunk.
After such a long ordeal, the truck driver was now awake, and upon lifting his head to see the FBI Washington Headquarters entrance, his body stiffened, frozen in place.
"I remember you said before that you didn't know me."
Luo An patted the truck driver on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"This is the FBI Headquarters; think carefully about how you will prove that what you said is true next.
I'll tell you a secret, lying to a federal agent is a serious offense."
Pushing the truck driver toward Reesi and Chenier, Luo An and Mona followed Vireness inside the building with Francesco in custody.
Watching their retreating figures, the truck driver swallowed nervously and squeezed out an ugly smile, turning to Chenier and Reesi, he asked:
"I'm dreaming, right?"
The memory he had from just a second ago was at a crossroads on the street, and the next moment he opened his eyes, he was at FBI Headquarters. The truck driver felt he might have eaten flour or smoked green organic leafy substance because the world seemed a bit illusory, almost unreal.
"That's right, you're dreaming."
Chenier chuckled, and Reesi, while escorting the truck driver, walked toward the offices of the 13th Investigative Team, saying as they went:
"Since you think it's a dream, let's show you what the FBI Headquarters looks like in a dream."
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Francesco was quickly taken away by Mr. Clement's secretary and others; Mona returned to the 13th Investigative Team, while Luo An followed Vireness into the elevator.
As the numbers on the screen kept jumping, Luo An fell silent for a moment before asking:
"Chief, where are we going?"
"The Director's office."
Vireness glanced sideways at Luo An with a flash of admiration in her eyes, then said softly:
"FBI Director Robert and Mr. Clement are both waiting for you in the Director's office."
Luo An raised an eyebrow, and Vireness added:
"When answering questions later, tell the truth, answer exactly what is asked."
The numbers stopped flickering, the elevator doors opened, and as they walked down the corridor, Vireness knocked on a particular office door.
After receiving permission, the door opened, and Luo An followed Vireness into the room, quickly scanning it to find a rather spacious office.
The layout was somewhat similar to the one at the White House, with a large desk, large sofas, and large bookshelves.
The difference was that there were windows behind the desk in the White House, whereas a wall was behind the desk in this office.
"Good to see you, Chief."
Vireness nodded to Director Robert and Mr. Clement; Luo An stood up straight and repeated:
"Good to see you, Chief."
Director Robert leaned back, his arms crossed on the desk, eying the dignified and handsome Luo An before him, a glimmer of light passing through his eyes that was hard to detect.
But seeing the silent Mr. Clement sitting on the sofa, Director Robert inwardly felt it was a pity, and with a somewhat serious tone, he said:
"Luo An Greenwood, leader of the 13th Investigative Team, a genius agent with a hundred percent case-solving rate.
But I didn't expect that upon our first meeting, you would cause such a big mess."
There was a hint of criticism in his words, and Luo An's heart stirred slightly; noticing out of the corner of his eye that Mr. Clement's expression remained unchanged, Luo An let go of his concern and replied:
The office was quiet for a few seconds, Vireness turned to look at Luo An, Director Robert also appeared somewhat surprised. After the apology, that was it? Nothing more?
Just then, Mr. Clement cleared his throat and spoke:
"Luo An, give us a brief on this case."
Luo An nodded, outlining the investigation of the serial killings starting from the discovery of the bodies, the plan for making arrests, and the situation where the Special Service Bureau stepped in to take the credit.
As Luo An narrated, the twists and turns captivated Vireness, her eyes gleaming with admiration.
Director Robert, however, remained expressionless, not paying much attention to these details and instead asked:
"What exactly is the situation with Francisco?"
"Based on the interrogation, he has a family relationship with National Assembly Chairman Mike Monroe."
Luo An glanced at Mr. Clement impassively and said in a solemn voice:
"To be precise, he is a distant cousin of National Assembly Chairman Mike Monroe."
Previously, when Reesi and Chenier led the raid on that mansion, they successfully arrested most members of "the organization," with the remaining members either dead or injured, no longer capable of fighting.
The serial killings on the beach were not the work of a single person, but were the "initiation tasks" performed by some members before joining "the organization" to prove themselves.
These members, while killing those innocent bystanders, were monitored and recorded by a leader in the organization named Toby Henderson, who documented the entire process of their killings.
The photos previously discovered by Mona on the criminal website of the Underworld were actually screenshots from a segment of a murder video.
"The organization" had a clear division of labor; Toby Henderson was responsible for managing "the organization's" members. Besides him, there was another leader in charge of "the organization's" security, a leader responsible for harvesting the organs from the "meat rabbits" after their death, and a leader who handled the sale of the organs.
The top manager of "the organization" was Francisco, responsible for collecting and distributing money, controlling and managing the organization, and recruiting new members.
"Francisco's real name is Nacho Jones.
His mother and the mother of National Assembly Chairman Mike Monroe were biological sisters."
Luo An continued to explain:
"Fourteen years ago, when that 'unsolved' series of serial killings was being investigated, Francisco worked at a church, and National Assembly Chairman Mike Monroe was a State Legislator for that state.
Later, when the FBI launched an arrest operation, Mike Monroe tipped off Francisco in advance, allowing him to escape successfully.
After hiding his identity for some time, Francisco came to New York State to reestablish his trade and set up 'the organization' to start recruiting business."
Director Robert pondered for a few seconds, and leaning slightly forward, he asked:
"Did the National Assembly Chairman have any involvement in the establishment of 'the organization'?"
Luo An shook his head, as he had not uncovered anything pertaining to that matter, and continued:
"However, for the following ten-plus years, the organization grew slowly and cautiously, but the quality of its members has always been high, composed either of wealthy individuals or politicians.
Francisco, as a result, obtained a lot of incriminating ledgers, videos, recordings, surveillance footage, and other information.
And Mike Monroe's career progression has been very smooth after the establishment of 'the organization', enjoying nearly flaw-free advancement, rapidly rising to the position of National Assembly Chairman over the decade."
The subtext in Luo An's speech was not hard to understand—politics are complicated, and no one can win all the time.
Yet Mike Monroe has been winning for over a decade since starting as a State Legislator.
If Luo An were to say that none of this had anything to do with Francisco, he certainly wouldn't believe it.
Director Robert's fingers tapped on the desk, glancing at Mr. Clement without any change in expression, and then asked:
"Where are those videos, ledgers and such?"
"Still not located, Chief."
Luo An shook his head, indicating that they had been pursued by the Special Service Bureau goons and had no time to conduct a thorough interrogation.
Also, these items were Francisco's bargaining chips to save his own life, and he wouldn't likely give them up easily in a short time.
Director Robert was about to continue his questioning when the phone beside the office desk suddenly rang. Pressing the answer button, the voice of the Director's secretary came through:
"Chief, there's a call from the Special Service Bureau. Would you like to take it?"