Legendary FBI Detective

Luo An and Reesi exchanged glances before briefly questioning Allen. Once they confirmed that Allen had no other clues and that the distant firefighting had ended, Luo An let Reesi go over to check out the situation, while he himself returned to the Special Investigation Team's SUV.

"How is it, Mona, has the surveillance found anything?"

"Nothing at all."

Mona, in the SUV's passenger seat, pointed to the laptop on her thigh and said helplessly:

"These bank robbers definitely scouted this area before the heist.

Not only is the surveillance system in this parking lot old and in disrepair, but there are also no surveillance facilities at several nearby intersections."

Luo An's expression remained unchanged; he had already guessed this might be the case. After clearing his throat, he briefly relayed the details of the police car Allen had mentioned.

They could not ascertain whether the police car described by Allen was real or fake, and it was inappropriate for several FBI agents to directly inquire with the LAPD chief nearby. Therefore, Luo An had Mona look into the matter before deciding what to do next.

"Police?"

Mona's eyelids twitched, and several worst-case scenarios instantly flashed through her mind.

But she didn't say much, simply nodding and beginning her investigation according to Luo An's instructions.

LAPD patrol cars typically have tracking devices, and the routes and schedules of patrol officers are also accessible at the LAPD headquarters' information center. It wasn't long before Mona found some useful information.

"Luo An, what Allen said was correct."

Mona's ten fingers tapped on the keyboard for a moment before she turned the computer to show Luo An the screen, saying:

"Before Allen called the police to report a car on fire in this parking lot, there was indeed a police patrol that had passed through here."

"Good."

Luo An narrowed his eyes and asked:

"Who is the cop in that police car? Where is he now?"

"That would be Patrol Officer Davis."

Mona whispered his name and then pointed to a nearby circle of LAPD officers chatting with Los Angeles firefighters.

One of them, a chubby middle-aged white man dressed in LAPD patrol attire with his hands in his pockets, was Patrol Officer Davis.

"OK."

Seeing the man's appearance clearly, Luo An nodded, then after a second of silence, a smile suddenly appeared on his face as he strode towards the group.

"Hello."

Approaching the group with a smile, Luo An briefly introduced himself, thanked the hardworking Los Angeles firefighters, and then asked about the bread van that had been set on fire.

"There was quite a bit of gasoline inside that bread van."

A firefighter shook hands with Luo An and explained with a light smile:

"When we got here, that car was already nearly burnt out; all we could do was put the fire out."

The implication was clear: there was likely nothing left inside the bread van, so any hope of finding clues was slim.

"It seems these robbers were well prepared."

Luo An's expression did not change as he joined in the complaints about the robbers with those present. After some brief chitchat and as the scene was wrapping up and everyone was preparing to leave, Luo An discreetly approached Patrol Officer Davis. He pointed to the nearby police car Davis was responsible for and smilingly said:

"Shall we talk over there?"

Patrol Officer Davis paused mid-action, a smile appearing on his chubby face, but before he could say anything, Luo An suddenly put an arm around his shoulder and whispered:

"Just the two of us. Too many people around isn't good for you or me, OK?"

At Luo An's words, Patrol Officer Davis took a slightly quicker breath, remained silent for a second, and then nodded:

"OK."

Luo An's smile did not fade, and after briefly greeting the nearby LAPD chief, who looked somewhat puzzled, he walked to the back of the police car laughing and chatting.

Patrol Officer Davis turned back to look at Luo An and asked seriously:

"May I ask what Group Leader Greenwood wanted to discuss with me?"

"Just call me Luo An."

Luo An chuckled and said calmly:

"I'm here leading the Special Investigation Team, simply trying to catch that gang of robbers."

"I'm sorry, Group Leader Greenwood, I..."

Patrol Officer Davis shook his head. Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Luo An did not mention Allen's account. Instead, he directly spoke about the clue Mona had discovered. Then, he hugged Patrol Officer Davis's shoulder and said in a deep voice:

"Officer Davis, we all get paid for our jobs, don't we?"

Mona had previously found out that Patrol Officer Davis was in his thirties this year, with a loving wife and two adorable children, a boy and a girl, and that his family's financial situation was good.

Upon seeing this information, Luo An immediately guessed why Patrol Officer Davis, who saw the robbers but chose to ignore them:

With a son, a daughter, and a wife at home, and only a handgun on his belt while the rifle was in the trunk, Patrol Officer Davis certainly didn't want to be prematurely honored on a police memorial.

For the salary he earns in a month, it's not worth risking his life playing games with a group of robbers armed with rifles.

Luo An expressed his understanding of Patrol Officer Davis's predicament and didn't want to make things difficult for him; he just wanted to know about the situation with the robbers.

Patrol Officer Davis remained silent for a long time before he finally let out a long sigh, as if he had lost his support and slowly slumped to the ground, covering his face and whispering:

"I'm sorry, Group Leader Luo An, at that moment, I really..."

Luo An patted Patrol Officer Davis's shoulder, not saying much, but took out the pen and paper he had just got from Mona and asked Patrol Officer Davis to describe the robbers' details meticulously.

Half an hour later, Luo An returned to the SUV. Mona glanced at Patrol Officer Davis, who was being pulled into the car by the police chief not far away, and asked:

"Did he tell everything?"

"Of course."

Luo An shook the paper in his hand, which was filled with text. Patrol Officer Davis had written down everything he saw.

Reesi took the paper and looked at it, frowning, she asked:

"What about this Patrol Officer Davis? How will he be dealt with?"

Patrol Officer Davis had seen the bank robbers but chose to ignore them and did not report it. At the very least, this can be considered as fearing for one's life, and at worst as a dereliction of duty, and concealment of clues.

In any federal law enforcement agency, such a situation needs to be handled seriously.

"Let LAPD handle it themselves."

Luo An started the SUV, turned the steering wheel to drive away, and casually replied.

FBI and LAPD already had some overlapping responsibilities leading to various conflicts.

Whether to report this matter to LAPD or to the Special Investigation Team supervisor Potante Byrne, there was nothing to be gained for Luo An.

Since this was the case, and since the desired clues had been obtained, might as well let LAPD handle it themselves.

The LAPD chief wasn't a fool either; after a few words with Patrol Officer Davis, his condition had become so poor, how could he not see the problem.

How LAPD would deal with Patrol Officer Davis afterward, whether it be suspension for reflection, or some other form of punishment, it was of no concern to Luo An of the FBI anymore.

Luo An gestured for Reesi to give the paper to Mona to check the license plate number written by Patrol Officer Davis, and while he drove, he took out his phone and called Michelle:

"Michelle, how is the situation at the Federal CDC Laboratory?"

"The genetic analysis results of the botulinum toxin found at the crime scene have just been made available."

Michelle's voice was a bit strange over the phone:

"The staff at the CDC say that this type of botulinum toxin is usually stored in a laboratory with a biosafety level 2 or higher.

Such laboratories are quite numerous within the federal territory, with just California alone having dozens."

Luo An didn't understand what Michelle meant:

"So?"

"So..."

Michelle swallowed, stepped to a secluded corner, and whispered:

"Not only do several universities in California have labs of this level, our FBI, CIA, as well as the Army, Navy, and even the Air Force have labs of this level."

"…Fu-k, I got it."

Luo An rubbed his temples with a look of speechlessness, understanding the reason for Michelle's odd tone.

Whether it's the CIA, or the Navy, Army, or Air Force, none were easy to deal with. Investigating whether that bottle of poison gas came from their labs would be incredibly complicated.

Exhaling deeply, Luo An remained calm. After all, he had his supervisor Potante Byrne above him, so he hung up Michelle's call, planning to call Potante Byrne next.

Just then, Mona, who was in the passenger seat, suddenly spoke:

"Luo An, I've found a new lead."