Chapter 120: The Truth Behind the Original Mission and the Explosion at the Federal Prosecutor's Office

According to Mona’s description, there was a federal prosecutor named John King who, one month ago, had purchased a backpack of the same design for his elementary school-aged son.

Upon hearing Mona, Roan asked calmly while heading downstairs with Ryder:

"Mona, why did you conclude that Jaquel's target is this John King?"

"..."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the line.

Seeing this, Roan narrowed his eyes. He nodded to signal Ryder to get into the car first, telling him he would be there in a moment, then stepped into a quiet corner with his phone and asked in a low voice:

"Mona, is it inconvenient to talk?"

After a long silence, Mona stood up from her desk on the other end of the line and walked with her phone to a corner of the Special Investigations Unit 5 office.

After taking a deep breath, Mona whispered:

"Roan, a while ago, I hacked into my father's computer."

Roan’s face twitched slightly at these words.

According to Mona, she had seen a photograph of Lady Eloise in her youth inside her father’s study when she was a child. When Roan had entered the conference room for a meeting earlier, Mona was not at her desk. In truth, she had taken her laptop to the restroom to check if her memory was correct. Later, after learning from Roan that this case was linked to her father, Mona hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to hack into his computer, wanting to see what that mission was really about.

To Mona’s disappointment, there was no information regarding that mission on her father's computer. However, she did find a photo that included not only her father but also Jaquel Jone.

"In that photo, there was also the John King I mentioned, only back then his name was Owen Avery. Judging by the clothing and positioning in the photo, John King—or rather, Owen Avery—held the rank of officer, while Jaquel and the others were the soldiers."

Mona continued:

"Earlier, when I was searching through people who had purchased that specific backpack, I accidentally stumbled upon a photo of this John King, so I decided to look into his identity."

Hearing this, Roan rested his chin on his hand and nodded:

"So, this John King is actually a CIA agent."

"A CIA agent who retired not long ago. He is older and likely held a higher rank than my father."

On the other end of the line, Mona’s expression was solemn, her voice heavy:

"I later conducted a thorough investigation into John King's finances and discovered that at a certain point a year ago, a large sum of taxed but untraceable funds suddenly appeared in his bank account."

That point in time a year ago was exactly when the mission organized by Mona’s father had failed, and when Jaquel and the other soldiers were declared dead.

It was clear that John King had obtained a large sum of money through that mission. The price, however, was the lives of soldiers like Jaquel Jone.

"Thank you, Mona."

After hearing Mona’s account, Roan was silent for a long moment before saying in a low voice:

"It must have been exhausting for you to successfully track down John King among so many people who bought that backpack."

"..."

Mona was stunned for a moment, then caught the subtext in Roan’s words, and the corners of her mouth curled upward:

"You're welcome. It was my job."

Following that, Mona provided Roan with all the specific details, including John King’s home address and workplace. After a brief conversation, they hung up.

Sitting in the driver’s seat of the SUV, Roan signaled for Ryder to check their gear, then floored the accelerator, sending the SUV onto the road. He called Lacey, instructing her to head to John King’s home immediately, while he and Ryder made their way to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Manhattan, New York.

Immediately after, Roan called Verinis.

—

In the office of the lead investigator of Unit 5, Verinis squinted at the report she had just received. The report had been sent to her by Secretary Clement, detailing the general circumstances of that past mission.

Although it was only a summary without many details, Verinis still spotted the underlying foul play: Javarri Evans had stated that the intelligence was incomplete and that they should not initiate the operation so quickly, but his superior, Owen Avery, had directly overruled his recommendation, and the operation was carried out at ten o'clock that night as planned.

The operation was a total failure, and every soldier involved was reported dead without exception. Yet, in reality, Jaquel Jone had survived.

"Owen Avery."

Looking at the name in the document, Verinis pondered for a few seconds, put the file away, and walked alone into the conference room. Without preamble, she asked coldly:

"Lady Eloise, what exactly is the CIA trying to do? And furthermore, where is Owen Avery right now?"

Lady Eloise’s brows shot up at Verinis's words. She had not expected Verinis to be able to uncover the name Owen Avery. However, knowing it wouldn't change anything. Lady Eloise curled her lips, glanced disdainfully at the agents busy in the Unit 5 office area, and smiled contemptuously:

"I'm sorry, Supervisor, I..."

*Ring-a-ling—*

Lady Eloise paused, as Verinis’s phone rang again. Glancing at the old woman sitting in the chair and seeing who was calling, Verinis pressed the answer button:

"This is Verinis."

"Good day, ma'am."

Turning the steering wheel to guide the black SUV onto another road, Roan said while pressing the gas pedal:

"We have a general idea of where Jaquel Jone and Thomas are heading next."

Concealing the fact that Mona had hacked her father’s computer, Roan explained that Mona had identified a man named John King through her investigation of the backpack purchases.

"John King?"

Verinis tilted her head, confused: "Who is that?"

Beside her, Lady Eloise’s expression shifted sharply upon hearing the name. Verinis noticed this, her eyes brightening. She paused for a moment and pressed the speakerphone button, and Roan’s voice filled the room:

"Ma'am, this John King used to go by the name Owen Avery. He is a former CIA agent..."

Hearing the voice from the phone, Verinis’s eyes grew even brighter; she hadn't expected Roan and his team to investigate so quickly! She had originally planned to hand over the information she had just obtained to Unit 5 to help them narrow down their investigation.

Lady Eloise’s expression turned increasingly ugly as she listened to the voice on the phone. When she heard Roan state that he and Ryder were about to arrive at the Manhattan Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Lady Eloise finally lost her composure. Her face contorted with rage, her eyes burning with fury, and she shouted in a shrill, piercing voice:

"Damn it! Agent Roan Greenwood! I order you to stop this investigation immediately! Immediately! Stop! Right now!"

Hearing Lady Eloise’s shouting, Verinis was stunned for a moment, then became furious herself, slamming her hand heavily onto the table.

*Bang!*

Just as Verinis was about to speak, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the other end of the phone!

*Boom—*