CHAPTER 513: CHAPTER 513: AIRPLANE, MEETING KENNEDY AGAIN, NEW CASE SITUATION

At nine thirty in the evening, on the streets of Los Angeles, a black Ford sedan zoomed past.

The driver was the personal secretary of the Los Angeles Branch Chief Nasim, and the driving skills were excellent, maintaining high speed while keeping the car’s interior very stable.

Luo An sat in the back seat, looking at the retreating scenery outside the window with an expressionless face.

Before leaving the dinner, Chief Nasim repeatedly whispered to Luo An that his phone must be turned off during the trip, and that no one should be contacted, filling Luo An with doubt and speculation about what was happening.

Before long, the black Ford arrived at the Los Angeles Branch’s small airstrip, where Chief Nasim’s secretary quickly got out of the car and opened the door for Luo An:

"Go straight ahead."

"OK, thanks."

Activating his "Emotional Perception" discretely, Luo An stepped out of the car, thanked the secretary who nodded and returned to the car, driving the Ford away from the place.

Under the dark night, on the runway of the Los Angeles Branch’s small airstrip, red and blue lights constantly blinked on the ground.

Around the runway were some large hangars, housing small planes used by Los Angeles Branch agents for urgent trips, as well as some special-purpose helicopters.

Under the dark night, bursts of cold wind blew.

Dressed in a suit, Luo An, standing alone on the asphalt concrete ground of the airport, saw a large hangar lit up not far away, eyes slightly narrowed, he quickly walked towards it with large strides.

Inside the large hangar, the lights shone on a familiar small plane, which Luo An had previously taken on a trip to San Francisco with the Special Investigation Team.

As Luo An entered the hangar, there were a few staff members busy under the small plane.

Luo An was about to walk over to ask, when suddenly a very muscular black man approached him and asked expressionlessly:

"Luo An Greenwood?"

"Yes."

Luo An sized him up and nodded, confirming the person was correct, the black man pulled out a black hood from behind and slightly grinned:

"Sorry, please understand."

"..."

After speaking, the black man directly put the hood on Luo An’s head, and Luo An, losing his vision, had to be led forward by the man.

But Luo An was not panicked; on one hand, his "Emotional Perception" told him that the other party bore no malice.

On the other hand, Luo An had already memorized the layout of the hangar, and his "Emotional Perception" wasn’t related to his sight; even with his eyes closed, he could sense where everyone around him was.

Unlike what Luo An had imagined, the man didn’t take him to the small plane in the center of the hangar, but instead led him to a helicopter on the other side of the hangar.

The helicopter started, and Luo An, along with the black man and a helicopter pilot, flew into the sky amid a roaring sound.

About ten minutes later, Luo An felt the helicopter slowly descend and eventually landed somewhere.

The black man pulled Luo An, still hooded, off the helicopter and continued walking for a while, opened a door, and led him into a room, pressing him onto a chair without removing the hood, saying:

"Sit and rest for a while, someone will come to see you soon."

After saying that, the black man turned to leave, but at that moment, Luo An seated with the hood suddenly spoke:

"The person is already facing me, why still wait?"

"... "

Hearing this, the black man stopped in his tracks, surprised, and looked at Luo An, then suspiciously at the person sitting opposite Luo An.

Seeing the person opposite him waving, the black man nodded, gave Luo An a deep look, and then left the room.

"Can I take off the hood now?"

Hearing the sound of the room door closing, Luo An turned his head to his right side, and asked:

"This thing is quite stuffy."

As soon as the words fell, a light laugh came from Luo An’s right side:

"Of course, please go ahead."

Raising his hand, Luo An took off the hood, squinted to adjust to the light in the room, and also quickly scanned the layout of the room.

The room wasn’t large, and the layout was very simple; apart from the light fixture on the ceiling, there were only two chairs on the floor, and a bulky computer monitor on a desk.

On the chair opposite Luo An, sat a middle-aged Caucasian male with short hair, no beard, wearing a black suit.

Luo An was very familiar with the man’s face; it was none other than Trick Kennedy, the Deputy Minister of the Office of Interior Threats at FBI Washington Headquarters, whom Luo An and Vireness had met during a banquet earlier (Chapter 221).

"Good evening, Luo An."

"Good evening, Mr. Kennedy."

Trick Kennedy’s lips curled upward as he casually took the hood Luo An had removed from his head, asking with a hint of confusion:

"Can you tell me how you realized there was someone opposite you?

I didn’t move at all, and I controlled my breathing very well."

"Intuition."

Luo An grinned. The moment he entered the room, his "emotional perception" had detected the presence of the other person.

Trick Kennedy did not believe this explanation, but unable to think of any other reason, he smacked his lips in admiration and remarked:

"Well, that’s a very impressive intuition."

"So, what’s going on today?"

Luo An looked around and spread his hands in inquiry:

"I thought I would be taking a plane to the FBI Washington Headquarters, but it turns out we’re still in Los Angeles.

All this secrecy, are you trying to have me act as an agent on some mission?"

"Not exactly an agent, but there is a case that needs to be handled by you, an excellent leader of the Special Investigation Team."

Trick Kennedy pulled out a briefcase from behind him, handed over a file folder to Luo An, and explained:

"Three days ago, Mr. Alexander Henderson, the Minister of the Information Management Department at FBI Washington Headquarters, was killed in a car accident with a truck on his way to work.

The truck driver also died at the scene from excessive blood loss before the police arrived."

"Wow."

Looking at the photos of the accident scene and the autopsy reports of the truck driver and Alexander in the folder, Luo An, with an unchanged expression, asked:

"There are so many capable people in the FBI Washington Headquarters, it seems a bit over the top to need a mere leader of a Special Investigation Team for this kind of murder case."

"Don’t underestimate yourself, Luo An.

The case-solving rate led by your Special Investigation Team, even among those at the FBI Washington Headquarters, is one of the best."

Trick Kennedy stood up, walked over to Luo An, patted him on the shoulder with a smile, and continued:

"Besides this case, we have also discovered something else.

Before Minister Alexander’s death, he had arranged for three agents from the FBI Washington Headquarters, along with the Special Investigation Team from the Chicago Branch, to secretly investigate and handle a case.

However, after this car accident occurred, those three headquarters’ agents, along with the entire Special Investigation Team from the Chicago Branch—ten people in total—all went missing.

No one knows where they went, no one knows if they are dead or alive."

"The Special Investigation Team of the Chicago Branch?"

Luo An paused for a moment, recalling their situation.

The leader of that Special Investigation Team, named Essen Patel, was the person who, during Luo An’s interview at the Washington Headquarters, tried to use Luo An as a scapegoat to face the wrath of the Headquarters (Chapter 362)

Luo An had seen through his intentions during the interview and turned the tables, allowing him to successfully "advance" to handle cases within a state.

Luo An had thought that he would be dealing with those old, complicated cases, but now it turned out he had gone missing.

Closing the file folder, Luo An looked up at Trick Kennedy and asked:

"So, do you want me to find these ten missing agents?"

Trick Kennedy nodded and added:

"And to clarify what case Minister Alexander had them investigating; who was behind Minister Alexander’s assassination; and the reason behind the murder."

Luo An’s brows furrowed:

"With so many agents in the FBI Washington Headquarters, why choose me?"

"Because you are outstanding, and I can only be sure that you, and your Special Investigation Team, have no connections whatsoever with Minister Alexander."

At this point, Trick Kennedy’s expression grew somber:

"Those people in the Washington Headquarters, however, cannot be so easily trusted."