Chapter 28:
You're Going to Make Headlines
Two days later, in the afternoon, at the Mounted Police Division.
"He didn't ask for a leave? Then where did that kid run off to?" In the office, Jialong grumbled, twirling his mustache and narrowing his eyes.
"Who knows, he hasn't come to the police station for two days," his colleague glanced at the attendance sheet.
Jialong faintly sensed a hint of crisis.
Damn, this brat. What's the meaning of absenting himself without reason at a time like this?
Ever since he discovered that annoying prison guard was investigating Veronica's case, he had been keeping an eye on Bruce movements.
That kid is really unreliable. Maybe a slight scare was all it took for him to spill the beans. That's why he's been giving him a preventive shot these past two days.
Logically speaking, by now, Bruce should understand his situation, after all, they're like crickets tied to the same string.
But Jialong never expected Bruce to be such a coward, to the extent of cowering at home out of fear. Doesn't he realize how suspicious that looks?
I really feel like finding someone to take care of him once and for all!
"Help me find out where that kid lives, I want to go check on him," Jialong requested his colleague.
"When did you become so close with him?" His colleague looked somewhat surprised.
"Stop the nonsense and just find it for me..." Jialong impatiently clicked his tongue.
His colleague was a bit displeased with his attitude, but it was somewhat expected. Jialong Rowton's position in the police force wasn't particularly high, but he was well-known for his bossy demeanor, thanks to his influential politician father.
Most of the senior members in the division didn't take his nouveau riche senator dad seriously, but they also didn't want to pick a fight with him over trivial matters and sour the atmosphere.
As Jialong colleague was about to reach for the personnel files in the drawer, the office door swung open, and five men in uniforms entirely different from those of the Mounted Police Division stormed in.
The middle-aged man at the forefront scanned the two of them with sharp eyes and asked, "Which one of you is Jialong Rowton?"
"That would be me..." Jialong felt somewhat puzzled by these unexpected visitors. "Which unit are you from? What do you want with me?"
"I'm Tiege Olsen from the Prosecutor's Office." The man pulled out his identification and waved it. "I'm here specifically because we need your assistance in reviewing a case. Please come with us."
"What case?" Jialong's face changed in an instant.
In addition to reviewing cases and filing prosecutions, the Prosecutor's Office was also responsible for supervising other law enforcement agencies.
For instance, if there were cases of dereliction of duty or bribery within the police force, it would fall under the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office.
If the Prosecutor's Office had come solely for a case currently being handled by the Mounted Police Division, there was no need to come all the way here with such a grandiose manner, especially since Jialong wasn't currently in charge of any cases.
This brash display... it looked very much like they were here to apprehend someone.
"We'll explain everything when we get there. Please come with us," the prosecutor said in an official tone.
"Wait a minute, you have to follow proper procedures. This is so sudden... it will affect our department's work. I still have duty later..." Jialong tried to make his voice sound calm.
"You don't need to be on duty. We've already spoken to your superiors. Here's the paperwork." The prosecutor coldly interrupted him, showing a hint of impatience. "Please come with me."
"No, how can I go with you when everything is so unclear? Since when does the Prosecutor's Office abuse its power like this?" Jialong put on a show of bravado, trying to stall for time.
"Let me tell you, my father is Anthony Rowton, a city council member. Have you heard of him? He might even know your superiors!"
The prosecutor rolled his eyes, seemingly having finally lost patience. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo to show Jialong.
Jialong fixed his gaze on it, and instantly becoming as motionless as a statue.
The evidence photo clearly displayed a golden pocket watch, with a rose gold cover engraved with the image of a harpy.
He distinctly remembered that desperate evening when he had given this trinket to Bruce Kane, only for that fool to turn around and sell it on the black market.
...It wouldn't be so strange if officers from another police division had found it on the black market, but for it to end up in the hands of the Prosecutor's Office was beyond comprehension.
The seasoned prosecutor leaned in closer to Jialong and whispered in his ear, "You need to have some sense in yourself. Making a scene will only make things more embarrassing for you. Just come with us quietly, it'll cause slightly less commotion."
Jialong's heart sank in an instant. He caught a glimpse of his colleagues in the office giving him strange looks, as well as the other mounted police officers gathering in the corridor outside.
Before he could react, the people from the Prosecutor's Office had already surrounded him, briskly leading him out of the police station.
Jialong walked along in a daze, his thoughts was jumbled in mess.
He couldn't fathom how the Prosecutor's Office had gotten hold of that pocket watch. Could it be that Bruce had voluntarily turned himself in? And was that watch something he had been secretly holding onto all this time? It didn't make sense.
He had warned him, so why would he do something so foolish? If he had even an ounce of conscience, he wouldn't have been so easily bribed in the first place...
He was escorted out of the police station and onto the street, his face immediately washed in a harsh white light.
He looked over in astonishment, seeing several cameras pointed at him. At some point, a group of reporters had gathered at the entrance of the precinct.
And the moment they saw him being brought out, the reporters became instantly excited, their camera flashes going off one after another.
"Why did you bring the media into this too?" Jialong instinctively shouted at the prosecutor beside him. "Aren't you here specifically to target me?"
"I... I have no idea what's going on either..." The prosecutor also looked bewildered. The entire operation to apprehend him at the Mounted Police Division had been kept strictly confidential. There shouldn't have been any leaks to the press. The fact that a bunch of reporters had managed to ambush them here was beyond comprehension.
"Hurry up and get him on the carriage!" The prosecutor ordered his subordinates.
Jialong suddenly realized—while the Prosecutor's Office had its sights on him, the media had also caught wind of it. This wasn't as simple as Bruce Kane voluntarily surrendering. There was someone scheming behind the scenes!
Before he was pushed onto the carriage, he subconsciously looked around.
Finally, as he stepped onto the carriage, his gaze passed over the besieging reporters and onlookers, and he saw a street corner in the distance.
Under the streetlight at the corner of the street, a young man in a prison guard uniform leaned on a cane, was looking at him with a slightly smug smile on his face.
In the instant their eyes met, the young man reached up to tip his hat in a farewell gesture.
"It's you!?" Jialong Rowton roared in that his, his face contorted in rage.
Accompanied by a series of shutter clicks, his twisted expression was captured by numerous reporters' cameras. The people from the Prosecutor's Office quickly pushed him into the carriage.
"Thank me, Officer Rowton. You're about to hit the headlines soon. I haven't forgotten to make it clear to the reporters that you're a councilman's son, after all, it's your favorite thing to boast about, isn't it?"
Aiden stood at the street corner, watching the departing carriage with immense satisfaction.
"However, with things blowing up like this, I doubt your councilman dad will be able to save you. He might have trouble saving himself, for that matter."