Chapter 101: An Explanation

[Chapter 101: An Explanation]

With Gaskill's support, things became much easier.

After a preliminary discussion of the initial plan, Ian stepped out of the hospital and immediately spotted Katherine walking in.

"Here to see Mr. Bronte about the case?" Ian quickly deduced.

"No, I'm here to talk to you," Katherine replied. "After all, he collapsed right then, and you witnessed the whole thing."

"But I don't have much to say; I don't know those guys," Ian remarked.

Katherine looked at him.

Suddenly, her eyebrows lifted, "Have you contacted that Mohammed Atta?"

Ian frowned. "That's none of your business."

Katherine took a deep breath and quickly changed the subject. "There were several bodies found in the river; they were people from Mr. Bronte's ambulance."

Ian shot her a cold look. "And?"

Katherine answered, "They took a detour and wasted twenty extra minutes, which might have caused Mr. Bronte to die."

"Then they deserve it," Ian coldly said as he walked away.

As he got into his car, Katherine called out, "Ian Carr!"

Ian shot her a cold glance.

Katherine raised her voice. "If you want to help avenge Bronte, the best way is to tell us who did it, not go off on your own! I know you're close with the Crips!"

Did she really think I would let the Crips help me deal with Bloods?

Ian laughed.

Then he replied, "No, my relationship with them is purely about news tips."

As he drove off, he left Katherine standing in the wind.

...

While driving, Ian picked up the phone. "Crips, what's the update?"

On the other end, Crips answered, "I contacted Jett, told him you needed a rundown about the tavern incident."

Ian inquired, "What did he say?"

Crips replied, "He doesn't plan to give you any rundown. You can't blame me, boss; I told you that Chicago scumbag wouldn't back down easily, and he's even inclined to do so. I guess he hopes you'll come at him so he can regain his lost dignity by taking you out... On the streets, they place a high value on respect; without it, you lose influence, and a lot of punks will try to challenge his authority... You know how much he hates you; honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't made another move during this time."

Ian scoffed, "Got it. I don't want him to back down; just keep an eye on them for me."

Crips asked, "What do you plan to..."

Ian coldly replied, "Help them make the headlines."

"Got it, boss! The Crips Gang is at your service, including handling those troublesome goods and territories," Crips said with a grin.

Too bad the boss wants to control the news cycle, otherwise, today, they could have taken over Bloods' turf.

---

In a small town in Boston.

A man with distinct Middle Eastern features stepped out of a house.

He looked around cautiously, got into his car, and just as he was about to start it, he heard a bang, and the car jolted violently.

Atta's heart raced. Was he being attacked?

Instinctively, he reached for his waist but realized he wasn't carrying a gun.

Just as he felt frustrated, he noticed the driver of the car that hit him was already arguing with another person.

A middle-aged man got out, saying, "Look at what you've done; you hit someone else's vehicle!"

The driver was a woman who replied boldly, "It's all your fault! If you hadn't been nagging me, I wouldn't have gotten distracted."

"Do you just blame everyone else, woman?"

"Are you discriminating against women?"

They continued to bicker like this.

Atta let out a sigh of relief.

He opened his car door and walked over. "Hey, have you two argued enough?"

He paused, shocked to find that the car that hit him was a news vehicle.

The middle-aged man then said, "I'm really sorry, sir; my colleague was driving carelessly and hit you, but don't worry, we'll help get your car fixed."

As he spoke, he took out a business card and handed it to Atta. "This is my card."

Atta took the card and glanced at it. "WND News Network? Are you an employee there?"

The man smiled. "I'm Philip Leyso, a reporter. We came to interview this neighborhood; I heard it's a model community."

Atta scoffed. "What's so great about a model community?"

The female driver chimed in, "Life! Life is also part of the news; we can't just bring terror, explosions, and chaos. Sometimes, we need to showcase peaceful living too."

Atta remained quiet, unimpressed.

But Leyso noticed, and he said, "The peaceful lives of Americans, are they really built on the suffering of others?"

Atta silently praised the accuracy of that statement.

This greatly increased his favorable impression of Leyso.

The female driver furiously shouted, "Leyso, you always say that! Your thinking is seriously problematic; I suspect you'll become a terrorist one day! I'm done talking to you."

As she said that, she started reversing the car.

Leyso called out, "You better contact someone to fix the car right away; I'll handle the remaining interviews!"

He then hoisted a camera out of the car and walked over to Atta.

Atta instinctively turned his face; he didn't want to be filmed.

Leyso said, "By the way, sir, are you busy right now? I could use a guide; my colleague will deal with the car repairs."

Atta shook his head. "Sorry, I don't have time to be your guide."

"But you need to fix your car, right? If you're willing, I can pay you," Leyso pressed.

Atta snorted, "I don't need your money. Only guys like you without faith would get caught up in cash."

Leyso brightened up. "Do you think that's true?"

Atta was taken aback.

Leyso glanced around and spoke quietly, "Americans have lost their faith; all they think about is money. I want to tell them that life can't just be about cash, but it doesn't make a difference!"

Atta looked at him seriously while also pondering.

As a trained operative, he had been preparing for an imminent big event for years.

However, he had not carried out anything major himself; even if Germany suspected him, it was only because he had contact with some organizational members, but they couldn't be sure.

To be precise, with the upcoming operations, everyone involved was clear in their background; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to take on this role.

So Atta considered carefully.

He didn't think Leyso was testing him; that wasn't the style of the FBI or CIA. Their approach was to burst in the door and haul you away for questioning.

Even so, Atta remained vigilant, saying nothing. He simply shook his head. "This isn't about me."

"But your car is involved," Leyso laughed. "Come on, it's just an interview; if you're up for it, I could even help make you famous. Oh, did I mention? My reporter name is Butterfly."

"Butterfly?" Atta exclaimed. "You're the Butterfly?"

That name carried a lot of weight!

Leyso smiled. "Yes, I'm dedicated to exposing the atrocities of those beasts in human form and giving a voice to justice. Unfortunately... not many are willing to listen to me."

Atta finally became interested.

He looked at Leyso. "Maybe it's because you're going about it the wrong way."

Leyso raised an eyebrow. "What do you think the right way would be?"

Atta chuckled lightly. "Maybe America needs a profound lesson to awaken them."

He shouldn't have said that. Being a well-hidden individual, he needed to remain low-key and avoid revealing his political leanings casually, yet he couldn't help it!

It was rare to find an dissatisfied American, especially one who was a prominent journalist, which ignited Atta's urge to speak out.

Leyso then said softly, "I think the same."

Then he added cheerfully, "So, how about we go fix that car?"

Atta nodded lightly. "Let me make a phone call first."

*****

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