The wood chipper isn't rare among federal agencies.
Many federal city government workers, when dealing with trees on the sides of roads, directly pull the wood chipper onto the road, throwing the useless wood inside to be chipped and hauled away.
Luo An had seen wood chippers by the roadside before, though not very familiar with their operation, he knew they were extremely dangerous.
For example, in a past-life movie called "I Love My Family," there was a guy who could spit acid that accidentally fell into a wood chipper when flying down from the sky, and the end result was too gruesome to behold.
Hearing that the assassin was thrown into the wood chipper by Anthony Soling, the three women immediately furrowed their brows, whereas Luo An asked:
"Did this assassin say who hired him before you killed him?"
"He wasn't clear, but he divulged a lot of information."
Anthony Soling indicated that after he defeated and captured the assassin, they had a detailed "chat."
The assassin's name was Laird, a bomb-making expert, who attempted to silence Anthony Soling using bombs.
The bombs discovered by Anthony Soling amounted to four in total, which he later used to threaten the FBI.
Besides those, Anthony Soling had made one himself.
Mona, Chenier, and Michelle raised their eyebrows, exchanging glances, understanding what the evidence examination agent meant when they said the bombs did not come from the same person.
"The assassin was also contacted by the employer online."
Anthony Soling, not noticing the looks among the three women, continued to convey the information he got from the assassin's mouth, saying:
"After accepting the job, the employer sent over my information, Anthony Soling, to the assassin, allowing him to understand my capabilities and habits, to better target and assassinate me.
However, this also served as a wake-up call for the assassin. Since the employer could hire him to kill me, who's to say they wouldn't hire someone else to silence him in the future?"
…
The room fell silent, Anthony Soling's words were simple and clear. The thought process of the assassin was not hard to comprehend for the three women, as worrying about being silenced themselves was a normal state of mind in a hit job.
But Mona still found it rather absurd, the person behind the scenes hired Anthony Soling to kill the Deputy Governor, and in the process, Anthony Soling silenced quite a few people.
Then the employer found another assassin in an attempt to silence Anthony Soling... If someone else was hired to silence the assassin, wouldn't this cycle of silencing never end?
Luo An's gaze flickered, noticing a problem in Anthony Soling's words, and asked:
"So, the assassin started to worry, what did he do out of concern?"
"He got someone to investigate the true identity of that person behind the scenes."
Anthony Soling laughed, saying:
"Worried about being killed, the assassin looked into the real identity of the mastermind while on his way to kill me.
If he indeed became the next target of the employer, he was prepared to go directly to the source to have a talk."
After extracting the contact information of the investigator from the assassin and taking away the bombs, Anthony Soling reneged and threw the assassin into the wood chipper.
Worrying about whether the employer had hired someone else to have him killed, after much consideration, Anthony Soling ultimately chose to go to Atlantic City for some entertainment.
On the surface, it was for fun, but in reality, it was to observe the situation and ensure everything was safe before seeking out the investigator to extract clues, and then to have a proper talk with the employer.
Those bombs hidden by Anthony Soling were traps specially designed to ambush a possible second silencer.
This was precisely why, during the time at the restaurant, Anthony Soling got up to head to the bathroom, to lure out any potential second silencer.
What Anthony Soling never expected was that the assassin didn't show, but instead, a whole bunch of FBI agents popped up.
In Anthony Soling's estimate, it would be at least a half month before the FBI investigated him, by which time he would have already completed his talk with the employer and left the federation.
The investigation speed of Luo An and the others far exceeded Anthony Soling's expectations, never in his wildest dreams did he expect the FBI to move so fast!
"I can give you the contact information."
After explaining the sequence of events, Anthony Soling looked at Luo An with complex eyes, both shocked and angry, took a deep breath, and said gravely:
"But I have a condition, the cell I am put in must have a window!"
"..."x3
Luo An finally got the investigator's contact but did not agree to Anthony Soling's request, stating that he was just an ordinary leader of a special investigation unit, with no power to persuade the judge, nor the prison warden.
"￥#%*..."
Choosing to ignore Anthony Soling's expletives, Luo An left the room with the three women, closed the door behind him and looked at Mona, asking:
"How about it, can you find out the situation of the investigator?"
"I checked the phone number that Anthony Soling mentioned, and it turns out that it's a burner phone."
Mona held her laptop in her arms, slightly frowned as she looked at the information on the screen, and said:
"Give me some time, though, I'll find the other party."
"OK."
Luo An patted Mona's shoulder, signaling her not to rush, then took the interrogation record from Chenier's hand, and said with a smile:
"Before that, let's take a look at that unlucky assassin's home."
Chenier nodded slightly, and said:
"Do you mean the assassin might have other preparations?"
"Very likely."
Luo An chuckled and said:
"To kill Anthony Soling, that assassin made four bombs at once, showing he is very cautious.
Someone like that, just to be sure, probably wouldn't just find one person to investigate the real identity behind the scenes, they likely have other backup plans."
"That makes sense."
Chenier, Mona, and Michelle nodded in agreement. Luo An didn't waste any more words, and directly commanded:
"Mona, Michelle, you two stay back later and use the network to trace that investigator.
Chenier, you, me, Winslow, and Reesi are going to the assassin's home to have a look for clues."
"No problem!"
The three women each started to prepare. Luo An, looking at the interrogation record in his hand, slightly narrowed his eyes, thinking hard, he took out his phone and called Vireness:
"Good morning, chief, I'd like to ask for your help with something..."
————
The next morning, in a mid-range residential area in Southern New York City, a black armored vehicle sped from the distance.
The vehicle came to a halt in the street outside the entrance of a two-story apartment building; over ten SWAT team members immediately rushed out of the car, surrounding the front and back doors of the apartment.
The leading SWAT member, holding a riot shield, quickly approached the apartment door, followed by the second SWAT member who did not hesitate, directly lifting a battering ram and smashing it down.
Bang——
With a loud noise, the apartment door instantly fell to the ground, and the SWAT team members swiftly rushed into the apartment, quickly checking each room, while loudly shouting:
"FBI!"
"Put your hands up!"
"Drop your weapons!"
The apartment's rooms were quickly checked; aside from a young woman in the second-floor study, there was no one else in the house.
Faced with the barrel of the gun, the young woman, her face full of terror, did not hesitate and immediately raised her hands in a French military salute:
"Don't shoot, I surrender."
The SWAT members paved the way, and Luo An, wearing sunglasses, came over with a smile on his lips:
"Don't be afraid, we're the good guys."
"..."