Chapter 122: The CIA's Failed Abduction Attempt
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Seeing the four stun grenades in the sky, Ryder’s mouth twitched, and he instantly understood who the intruders were.
“Son of a—!”
Thomas, crouching behind the SUV, cursed sharply, his voice piercing as he quickly bent down to take cover.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The four stun grenades exploded in rapid succession, shattering the glass of several nearby vehicles into fragments.
After throwing the grenades, fully armed Rowan slid past the hood of a sedan and swiftly reached Ryder’s side. Bending down, he asked quietly,
“Ryder, are you okay?”
“Fine.”
Ryder patted his chest, signaling he was unharmed.
Seeing this, Rowan nodded, slowly rising while holding his Glock 18. He and Ryder took tactical positions on either side as they approached the rear of the SUV.
As expected, Thomas, who had been hit by the stun grenades, was completely unconscious and collapsed on the ground.
Rowan carefully took the rifle from beside Thomas, while Ryder pulled out handcuffs and cuffed Thomas’s hands behind his back.
After thoroughly searching Thomas’s pockets and the nearby SUV, Rowan found a driver’s license.
“Demonti Adams.”
Looking at the photo on the license, Rowan clicked his tongue. Ryder glanced over and winked.
“Looks like that’s Thomas’s real name.”
“Maybe.”
Rowan shrugged, then took out his phone and called Mona, asking her to look up information on this guy.
Just as he hung up, a middle-aged white man wearing an FBI gray-blue jacket and armed with a Glock at his waist approached from afar, accompanied by a younger white man dressed similarly.
“Hello, my name is Terry, from the FBI’s Bomb Squad,” the older man introduced himself.
He extended his hand to shake with Rowan and Ryder, smiling warmly as he asked,
“May I ask, is the person you arrested the one responsible for causing the explosion?”
Ryder’s eyebrows raised as he was about to answer, but Rowan immediately patted his arm and, tilting his head with a smile, replied,
“No.”
“…”
Terry and his partner’s faces stiffened instantly at this reply.
“Is there anything else?”
Rowan’s smile was bright and sunny.
“If not, we’ll be going now.”
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Without waiting for Terry’s response, Rowan patted Ryder’s arm again, signaling him to take Thomas away toward a nearby SUV.
“Wait a moment, guys.”
Terry and his partner quickly caught up and stopped them, holding out their hands.
“You guys…”
Terry’s words faltered as Rowan drew his Glock 18.
Terry’s companion instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist.
“Mr. Terry,”
Rowan narrowed his eyes, waved his hand to tell Ryder to take Thomas back to the SUV first, then smiled as he said to Terry,
“I know what your mission is, and you know what ours is.
But the man is in our custody and will only be taken back by us, understood?”
From the moment Rowan first laid eyes on Terry, he felt uneasy.
Moreover, Terry had only introduced himself without asking about Rowan or Ryder’s identities, leading Rowan to conclude that Terry knew him.
Upon hearing that Terry’s target was Thomas, Rowan quickly deduced Terry’s true identity:
CIA operative under Mrs. Heloise’s command.
As for why the CIA agent was wearing FBI attire and carrying their equipment…
Well, that’s America for you.
On the surface, federal law prohibits the CIA from operating domestically, but in reality, CIA activities within the United States have never ceased.
Most of the time, CIA agents disguise themselves as members of the FBI, DEA, NSA, or other agencies.
Realizing his cover was blown, Terry dropped the pretense, his expression immediately turning serious:
“Agent Rowan, we must take this man with us.”
“Impossible.”
Rowan licked his lips, his smile growing even sunnier and more amiable, but his right hand slowly moved to the safety switch of his Glock 18.
“As I said, this man was captured by us.”
Hearing Rowan’s words, Terry’s younger partner raised his eyebrows and made a move to draw his pistol.
“No.”
Terry quickly restrained his partner’s action and fixed his gaze on Rowan, lowering his voice to ask,
“Are you sure you won’t hand him over?”
Rowan said nothing, only chuckled softly as he slowly released the safety on his Glock 18.
They stared each other down for a moment before Terry grimly nodded.
“Good. The man is yours.”
Without hesitation, Terry grabbed the younger man and turned to leave.
Watching them walk away, Rowan narrowed his eyes, holstered his Glock 18, and after a brief pause, chuckled lightly:
“Looks like the CIA is far more chaotic than the FBI.”
Returning to the SUV, after learning Ryder had already called an ambulance, Rowan pulled out his phone and called Mona again.
Through her investigation, Mona discovered that Demonti Adams had previously served in several overseas locations.
Several of these service locations overlapped with those of John King.
Rowan nodded; that was correct. Most likely, he was just another ordinary soldier who had been betrayed by John King.
After ending the call with Mona, Rowan dialed Veronice.
The call was quickly answered.
“Good afternoon, ma’am.”
Hearing Rowan’s familiar voice, Veronice, who was in the number five investigation team’s meeting room, breathed a sigh of relief.
Glancing at Mrs. Heloise, who stood in the corner of the room with a scowl while on the phone, Veronice asked coldly,
“What’s the situation on site?”
“The bomb was a backpack explosive,” Rowan briefly summarized the bald security guard’s report, adding that John King had died in the blast and the child’s condition was unknown but had been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Upon hearing that John King had been killed on the spot, Veronice raised an eyebrow and asked,
“Have you caught the culprit?”
“Not yet.”
Rowan explained that Jaquel had not appeared and they still didn’t know where he was hiding.
“But we have captured Thomas. His real name is Demonti Adams.”
Rowan relayed the information Mona had uncovered and concluded,
“Through Demonti, we should be able to find out where Jaquel is hiding.”
“Good.”
Veronice nodded approvingly. When she heard that Mrs. Heloise had sent people to try to snatch Thomas, a look of disdain crossed her face. She promised to handle the matter later and then ended the call.
Meanwhile, in the corner of the conference room, upon learning that Terry had failed to wrest Thomas from Rowan’s hands, Mrs. Heloise’s eyes burned with anger, her expression as dark as could be.
Before Mrs. Heloise could reprimand anyone, Veronice’s cold voice came from behind her:
“Mrs. Heloise, shall we talk now?”
Looking down at the files in her hand and listening to Rowan’s recount of the case, Veronice licked her lips.
By now, she had roughly pieced together the background and entire process of this case, as well as Mrs. Heloise’s role in it.
(End of chapter)