Chapter 139: Corbett blushed.

The day after assigning the case to the Special Investigation Unit 5, Colbert woke up in a cold sweat that night. He realized he could have simply hand-picked an elite team from various units to crack the case together. Although Verinice had spoken of Roan from Unit 5 to him several times and had even showcased several of Roan’s solved case files, Colbert still harbored some doubts.

Considering how arrogant the mastermind behind this case was and the complexity of the methods used, Colbert pondered for a long time before finally deciding to make the call. He assumed that Roan couldn't possibly have found the killer this quickly; at best, he might have found a lead and was just beginning to follow it.

"If Unit 5 hasn't found any leads yet," Colbert mused, lying in his hospital bed, "I can take the case back, pull the elites from every unit, and solve this together."

Of course, even if Unit 5 truly hadn't found any useful information, Colbert wouldn't be angry. Finding leads and solving cases was inherently difficult, especially given how young Roan was and how little time the unit had been working on it. Colbert planned to have Roan join the elite task force once he took the case back, hoping the young agent could learn from the experience of his seniors. With this in mind, Colbert looked at the television in his room and asked into the phone, "How are things going with the case, Roan?"

In the office of the Unit 5 supervisor, Roan raised an eyebrow at the question. He replied in a calm, steady tone, "Sir, we have identified a key person of interest, and there is a very high probability that he is the actual killer."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Upon hearing this, Colbert—who had been preparing to discuss the transfer of the case—choked on his own saliva, his face turning a deep shade of red. After a long bout of coughing, he asked with a serious expression, "Are you saying you've already found the killer?"

"No, sir. We’ve identified a suspect with significant ties to the crime," Roan clarified, shaking his head. He would never make a 100% definitive claim before the suspect was in handcuffs; that would be digging his own grave.

Roan then briefly summarized the leads discovered by Unit 5, explaining how the suspect, Garcia, had committed murder to cover his tracks and had studied bomb-making techniques.

Back at the hospital, Colbert sat bolt upright in his bed and fell silent. Having spent a long time as a unit supervisor in his younger years, he possessed the analytical ability to judge case evidence. After hearing Roan’s report, he immediately concluded that Garcia was indeed a prime suspect.

Colbert’s expression grew complex. He had never expected that Roan would actually lead Unit 5 to such vital clues in such a short amount of time. Sensing the silence on the other end, Roan tilted his head and added after a moment, "Sir, the biggest obstacle we’re facing now is that we cannot locate Garcia. The ATF has an open case involving him, and they likely know his whereabouts, but that file is restricted, and we cannot access it."

Colbert was stunned by the speed at which Roan was handling the investigation. Upon hearing that they had hit a wall, he didn't hesitate. "I’ll handle this. I’ll have the ATF case officer bring the file to you immediately!"

Even if it hadn't been the ATF—even if Roan had said the CIA, the NSA, or even the military—Colbert would have made the call to demand the files.

"Understood, thank you, sir."

No sooner had Roan finished speaking than Colbert dialed the ATF leadership. A moment later, the ATF high command agreed. Hanging up the phone, Colbert looked at his screen and then at the Deputy Director being interviewed on the TV. A wide smile spread across his face, revealing even his back molars. "Roan Greenwood, not bad! I like this kid! He’s a natural for this line of work!"

After a moment of reflection, a thought struck him. He decided he would give Roan a surprise once the case was solved.

***

Half an hour later, in the Unit 5 conference room.

"You two, Garcia is no small fry," said Sanchez, the ATF lead investigator. He clutched a file tightly, sitting across from Roan and Mona with a grave expression. "He is rumored to be the mastermind behind several assassinations in South America."

Roan raised an eyebrow. "Is this why you kept the case hidden?"

"That’s only one part of it." Recalling the orders from his superiors, Sanchez sighed and pushed the file across the table toward Roan. "Garcia has a close associate and accomplice named Shawn McCain. McCain owns a private gun club in Brooklyn. Over the last two years, the number of illegal firearms in New York has skyrocketed, and we suspect it’s linked to McCain. Garcia frequents that club, and we restricted the file to protect our investigation into McCain."

"Okay." Roan flipped through the folder briefly and asked, "Does Garcia still go there often?"

Sanchez nodded. "He was there two days ago."

Tossing the folder aside, Roan stood up. "What’s the address?"

Once they had confirmed Garcia was a major suspect, Unit 5 had disseminated his information and photos across the federal network, monitoring borders and flight manifests, but had found no leads. Now that they finally had a lead on the gun club, Roan decided to put agents on surveillance. As soon as Garcia appeared, they would arrest him.

After directing Sanchez to lead Lacey and Reider to the gun club, Roan sat back at his desk and began to carefully examine Garcia’s file. If the ATF’s information was correct, Roan struggled to understand why a contract killer primarily active in South America would use a bomb to kill Senator Mattei inside an FBI building. Such an act would only bring Garcia unwanted attention.

Time passed, and the end of the shift arrived. There was no word from the gun club, and with Lacey and Reider still on stakeout, Unit 5 had to work overtime. Mona took two burgers from August, kept one for herself, and handed the other to Roan, who was still sitting motionless at his desk, reviewing the files.

"Time for dinner, Roan. August bought extra-large burgers."

"Thanks." Roan took the burger, but just as he was about to take a bite, his eyes caught a specific detail in Garcia’s file. He tossed the burger aside, read the passage again, and frowned. He hurriedly pulled up several surveillance videos.

After reviewing the footage and confirming that the information in the file was accurate, Roan cursed, "Son of a b*tch!"