Chapter 109: The Reason for the Establishment of Investigation Team Five

Sunday, eight o’clock in the evening, at the Katharine Hepburn Bar.

“Cheers!”

At a round table in the depths of the bar, August, Rowan, Mona, Ryder, and Lacey raised their glasses together.

“I’m so glad you all invited me,” August said, draining his glass and letting out a long breath. He smiled at everyone, “It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed drinking this much!”

Lacey picked up the bottle and refilled August’s glass, tilting her head with a playful smile, “Is your wife strict about this sort of thing?”

The Fifth Investigation Team hadn’t been established for long, and everyone only had a rough idea of each other’s family situations—whether they were married, and who their family members were. The finer details remained largely unknown to the group.

“My wife? No, I never drink myself senseless, so she doesn’t care about my drinking,” August replied, chuckling and patting his sizable belly. “But my daughter cares a lot about it, so…”

He left the sentence unfinished, but everyone nodded knowingly.

“To be honest, Lacey, I didn’t expect you to pick a bar like this,” Ryder said, savoring the tranquil music and the harmonious gatherings around them. He took a bite of food from the table, then looked at Lacey with a grin. “When Rowan told me you’d chosen the location tonight, I thought you’d take us to one of those bars with runway shows.”

“All the runway bars are my secret treasures. I’d never give you their addresses,” Lacey retorted, rolling her eyes as she set down the bottle. “Besides, even if I did, would you have the guts to go?”

Yvonne was not someone to be trifled with, and Lacey, who had shopped and chatted with her, understood that very well.

Mona, having heard about this from Lacey, turned her attention to Ryder, intrigued.

“Why wouldn’t you dare?” Ryder, seeing the look in the two women’s eyes, widened his own, feigning seriousness and thumping his chest, “I’d go there for an investigation—what’s the problem?”

Lacey and Mona rolled their eyes in unison, while Rowan simply chuckled, shifting his gaze back to August. “Chief, how exactly was our Fifth Investigation Team formed? Could you tell us?”

This question had lingered in Rowan’s mind for some time. There were thirteen investigation teams in total, and now a fourteenth had just been established. Why was their newly formed team designated as the fifth? And, with all new recruits, none from the original Fifth Team?

Rowan’s question piqued the interest of the other three. Mona, like Rowan, was new to the Fifth Team and unaware of its history. Ryder and Lacey had assumed, due to their previous work, that something secret lay behind it, so they hadn’t asked. Now that Rowan had brought it up, they were eager to hear the story.

“There’s nothing I can’t say,” August replied, arching his brow as all eyes turned to him. He downed another glass, then beckoned them closer with a crooked finger.

The four quickly straightened up and leaned in.

August lowered his voice, “Actually, I don’t know either.”

The four stared blankly.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, August threw back his head with a hearty laugh.

“Alright, enough jokes,” he said after a moment, noticing the four beginning to discuss ways to dodge the bill right in front of him. He waved his hands, signaling he was kidding.

After a couple of coughs, they leaned in again. August’s expression grew serious as he spoke quietly, “It was actually an emergency contingency plan.”

Back when the previous Fifth Team existed, they’d handled a major case involving a South American drug lord flooding New York with powder. The case lasted half a year, during which the team not only dismantled the drug lord’s trafficking network, but also captured his son, who had been running the operation.

When the drug lord learned his son had been arrested by the FBI and tossed in prison, he flew into a rage. While trying to rescue his son, he continually sent assassins into federal territory, aiming to kill off the entire Fifth Team.

Verenice somehow got wind of this. For the sake of her team's safety, she sealed all files related to the case and disbanded the Fifth Team, scattering its members across other departments in the FBI’s New York branch.

Rowan raised his brows—Verenice was indeed a humane leader.

He lowered his voice, “What happened to the South American drug lord?”

Verenice was humane, yes, but also shrewd. Rowan figured she wouldn’t leave him alive.

“He died half a year ago—sudden heart attack,” August said, sipping his drink. “After his death, his lieutenants carved up his empire, and the assassins in federal territory were wiped out. Of course, to prevent any surprises, Verenice didn’t call back the original Fifth Team, but instead formed a new Fifth Team—us.”

At that, Ryder, Lacey, and Mona exchanged glances and smiled.

Rowan, however, narrowed his eyes, realizing that Verenice’s backing was more formidable than he’d thought. Seventy percent of those South American drug lords, if not all, had been propped up by American agencies.

These men were drug lords on the surface, but in reality, they were proxy agents for various departments.

Verenice had managed to get rid of one…

He didn’t know exactly how, but Rowan sipped his drink, a smile tugging at his lips, and increased Verenice’s importance in his mind.

He silently vowed: “I’m holding onto this connection—Jesus himself couldn’t stop me!”

As for whether the drug lord truly died of a heart attack…

Thinking of what Lydia, the owner of the Flame Queen Bar, had once said, and recalling the ruthless, omnipotent CIA, Rowan doubted coincidences in this world were ever so convenient.

They chatted a while longer before Ryder remembered something, turning his head, “By the way, Rowan, didn’t you arrange to go fishing with Norton from Organized Crime?”

Before Rowan could answer, Mona frowned and asked, “Fishing? Rowan, do you have a fishing license?”

In America, fishing wasn’t free; you needed a license to fish in public places. Mona didn’t want to see Rowan fined by the NYPD for fishing without one.

“I don’t, but yesterday was New York’s free fishing day,” Rowan replied. “So anyone could fish, license or not, and I went with Norton.”

“How many did you catch?” Ryder’s eyes lit up, August was also intrigued.

“Norton caught a few bass,” Rowan shrugged at their eager looks. “But when I got there, I realized I’d forgotten some things, so I didn’t fish—just watched Norton fish all morning.”

“Forgot something?” Lacey grinned. “Don’t tell me you forgot the rod.”

Mona covered her mouth, giggling, while Ryder and August paused, then burst out laughing.

“No,” Rowan shook his head. “I brought the rod, but I forgot my helmet.”

The four stared in confusion.

(End of chapter)