Chapter 317
Ortie craned her head to look at the television, “Wow, the honorees are really hiding something this time.”
“Yep, the awarding one is going to have a headache for a few more days.” Luke took out his cell phone and started searching for relevant news videos.
The news program just now was not the first broadcast, it was just a rebroadcast.
Luke browsed through a large number of similar news and found some footage from the arrest, all wearing hoods to see their faces, but Fata’u Brandi’s burly physique still betrayed him.
There was also a forward-looking girl among the silver sellers, who looked a lot like Laura by her build.
Olty had investigated Laura before and found out that the other party’s real identity was a silver seller girl, at that time Luke didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking that the other party treated himself as a kaiju before deliberately approaching, but now it seems to have another purpose.
Olty leaned forward, “What’s the idea?”
“That guy is big and stupid for nothing.” Luke had been worried that Fata’u Brandi would turn on him, but it turned out the bastard had made himself in.
“Actually, you can’t say that, Laura is pretty and hot, and those who do their line of work understand men very well, as long as they take the initiative to use a little tactic, most of the single men will take the bait.”
Orty gave a curious look, “How do you see something wrong with her?”
Luke stared at Orty with a serious look on his face, “I can read women’s hearts through their eyes.”
“I’m going to go buy some sunglasses before the mall closes.”
Luke asked, “Did you find out the identity of the man who was drunk last night?”
“Got him, Hansal Pasha, he used to serve in the Army and now works as a parking lot attendant at a parking garage.”
“Pretty clean job, lots of time to plan operations and the ability to switch hours, great cover.”
It was something Luke hadn’t wanted to get too deeply involved in, but he had a feeling that as well as targeting the one who had awarded the prize, this operation felt just as much like it was targeting him.
It wasn’t that he was paranoid of persecution, but this kind of targeting could be one or the other.
If the ‘hero’ who had just been honored had frequent accidents, the citizenry would know that someone was orchestrating it, and it would backfire.
If the civilian hero was Chris Franco was the first to be plotted against and captured.
Then Luke would have been the second, since it was him that Laura approached in the first place.
If Luke had taken the bait then, it wouldn’t have been Fata’u Brandi who was swept up, but Luke.
However, Luke didn’t give a shit about Laura.
Laura hooked up with Fattau Brandi again, which should have been the backup plan.
Last night, drunk white manly man Sal Pasha went looking for a fight, and if Luke had fought back then, odds are it would have made the news the next day.
Luke skillfully avoided the pit twice before the gang exposed Fattau Brandi.
This is also an unlucky guy, originally came here to receive the award in style, but also the national broadcast, the world knows the American hero.
Well, the next day the scandal of whoring J broke out, Luke estimated that soon the whole world will know the news, and become the gossip of the people of all countries after tea.
Fata’u Brandi is completely famous, just famous in a dishonorable way, the rest of his life will not want to remove this label.
If Luke is not cautious enough, it is likely that the bad luck is him, when not only he is humiliated, his family will also be dishonored.
It was the first time Luke had been counted like this since he crossed over.
Olty interrupted Luke’s thoughts, “What are your plans now?”
Luke said, “When you get beaten up, if you don’t fight back, you’ll get punched again next time.”
“True enough, but it won’t be easy to fix this.” Orty could probably guess what was going on as well, and it wasn’t going to be easy trying to break it with her experience.
Luke also wanted someone to talk to, “Tell me what you think?”
Ortie stirred her coffee cup with a spoon, “First of all, the FBI’s arrest of Chris Franco is in line with the legal procedure, and this one belongs to the explicit conspiracy.”
“The FBI didn’t mess with me, I didn’t have to deal with them.
Laura and drunken Hansal Pasha are the ones I have to deal with.”
Orty thought for a moment, “Those two are just as bad to deal with.
Laura was only caught selling silver, she did no physical harm to Fata’u Brandi, what can be done to her?
As for seducing you, she could have just said she was soliciting.
Believe me, she won’t admit to anything.
The same goes for the drunken Hansal Pasha, who did provoke you, but was fought off by me and neither broke the law nor committed a crime, nor did he cause you any harm.
Even if the police find him, there is nothing they can do.”
Orty got to the crux of the matter, the trickiest part of the matter was that the gang had caused great mental harm to the victim at a very small cost of the crime.
In Laura’s case, at best she was incarcerated for a few days.
Fata’u Brandi, on the other hand, would be subjected to enormous public condemnation for this incident, and even be stripped of his newly acquired hero’s aura, becoming the laughing stock of people all over the world.
The damage of this incident would remain with him for the rest of his life.
If drunken Hansal Pasha’s tactic of provoking Luke had been successful, Luke would have been similarly labeled as a drunken, rowdy, brawler over a woman, and the repercussions for him would have been immense.
Hansal Pasha, on the other hand, will probably be bailed out straight away without any sanctions.
To put it bluntly, it would be difficult for the ordinary judicial process to sanction them effectively.
Luke took out his cell phone and dialed the number Reed had given him, “Hello, is this Mr. Tristan Seeger?”
“It’s me, who is it?”
“Luke Lee, LAPD.”
Half an hour later, in a black SUV sedan.
Luke sat in the passenger side and glanced at the white man next to him, around forty years old, somewhat thin, dressed in a suit and tie, neatly hooded.
“Mr. Seeger, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
The white man smiled and looked at Luke, “Man, I’ve been in touch with Frank and Red, they’ve always treated me like one of their own, and so can you.
Get right to the point.”
“GOOD, I don’t like awkward conversations either.”
Luke recounted the experience of this time.
After listening to it, Tristan Seeger followed up with, “You think that the silver seller girl named Laura and the drunken man were both targeting the awardees with a purpose?”
“Yes.”
“Is there evidence of that?”
“The fact that the woman named Laura was on the same plane as me, in the same row of seats, separated by only one aisle, and, in addition, checked into the same hotel as me and met me by chance in the same bar, is not something that can be explained by coincidence.
And then there’s that drunken Hansar Pasha, who was there when Laura and Fata’u Brandi were apprehended and caught by the TV cameras, and although the footage was fleeting, I’m sure it was him.” Luke sighed and said solemnly.
“Me, Chris Franco, and Fata’u Brandi just won the Medal of Highest Honor, and now all three of us are being targeted.
Despite the suspicion of self-aggrandizement, we were indeed awarded the title of ‘hero’ by the state.
This malicious targeting of heroes.
Other than spies, I can’t think of anyone who would do such a thing.”
Tristan Seeger said, “I’ll check him out.”
“Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Say hello to Frank for me.”
“I will.” Luke thought to himself, provided I get to meet him.
Of course, that couldn’t be said without revealing the truth.
In fact, Luke knew the odds were that the incident had nothing to do with spies.
Tristan Seeger also understood what Luke meant.
The two of them tacitly pushed towards the spies because this allowed them to use a more direct and effective means of investigation.
If they went through the normal judicial process, this matter would not have any results, and Laura and Hansal Pasha would not be sanctioned, and the probability was that it would be made peace with, and nothing would be done about it.
Perhaps this was the reason why the people behind the scenes dared to target Luke and the others.
They wanted to deprive Luke of the aura on him, and Luke didn’t mind pitting them with the hero aura.
Evening.
Luke and his family left Washington by airplane.
The departure was hasty.
Luke didn’t say much to his family, but his family had read the news and more or less guessed the situation.
Luke’s family and Chris Franco and Fattau Brandi have all met, and the situation of these two people can be said to be turned upside down, originally came to receive the award in high spirits, but now it is a mess, many netizens are commenting on this matter.
The more radical netizens think that these two are not worthy of this honor, and even hope to recover their medals.
There are other netizens who believe that although the two men are at fault, they are not ambiguous in the face of right and wrong, and that they have merit and flaws.
The good thing is that Luke’s merits are real, and he is also relatively low-key, and has not been affected by the wave of public opinion.
More than four o’clock in the morning, Luke returned to his home in Los Angeles.
Took a shower and directly lay on the bed to sleep ……
Waking up was already noon.
This sleep is very restful, the golden nest is not as good as his own old nest.
After getting up and washing up, Luke skipped to the community restaurant to eat, away from that place of right and wrong, the whole person is relaxed.
Perhaps from reading the news about Chris Franco and Fata’u Brandi, a number of his coworkers called to say hello.
Luke checked in with everyone and prepared to take a day off before going back to work.
October 26, early morning.
Luke drove to the Detective Bureau.
After getting out of the car, one after another, his coworkers greeted him.
If Luke was a minor celebrity before, now he belonged to the brightest existence in the police station.
Luke smiled and responded to each colleague, getting from the parking lot to his office a few minutes later than before.
Pushing open the door of the office room, Luke felt something was wrong, the office area did not see a single person, it was about to be nine o’clock, where were the people?
“Bang ……”
A salute sound rang out.
Luke’s habitual body hand touched his gun and only lowered his hand when he saw the colorful sequins in the sky.
“SURPRISE!”
Blackie and Jackson came out of the doorway and by the desk with the ceremonial cones.
The rest of the team popped up as well.
Reed came out of the break room as well, “Luke, welcome home.”
“Captain, welcome back.”
Luke scanned the crowd and smiled, “Thanks, guys, it’s good to see you too.”
Blackie said, “Captain, you’ve been a sight to behold this time, you must have had a lot of fun, tell us about it.”
Luke said, “A lot did happen, let’s just say it’s hard to tell.”
The lieutenant said, “You sound as if this time it didn’t go very well. Was it something to do with those two captured awardees?”
Luke nodded, “It does have a bit to do with it.”
Reed pointed to his watch, “Guys, it’s time for work.
I know you have a lot to say to Luke, there’s plenty of time in the evening.
Get to work.”
Reed then took Luke aside, “How was the trip to D.C.?”
“Awful.”
“Don’t be so pessimistic, at least you actually got your medal, a medal that will do you a lot of good later on.
Also, there’s one more thing to tell you.
Tonight, the Bureau is throwing you a celebration.”
“Woah wow, would that be too grand?”
“You’re the only person in the Detective Bureau to receive this medal, no amount of grandeur is too much, prepare yourself, you’re the star of the show tonight.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier, so I could look good.”
“It’s not too late to say it, you’re already handsome.
If handsome gets past Frank, he’ll have a problem with it.”
“The Chief will be there?”
“Of course.”
Seven o’clock in the evening.
Hilton Hotel, second floor ballroom.
This hall covered a large area of four to five hundred square meters.
Long white tables were set up on the left side of the hall, and the service staff had already set up food and drinks.
One after another, plainclothes and uniformed police officers entered the hall, chatting in groups.
“Hey, our big hero is here.”
Luke had just walked into the hall when he was surrounded by a group of people.
“Captain Luke, welcome back.”
“Luke, how does it feel to be on this publicly funded trip? It’s made me envious.”
“Where’s your medal? Bring it out for us to see.”
“You’re so handsome, how many young girls in DC did you charm? Did you bring one back?”
“Haha ……”
The crowd was cajoling all around.
“Sure enough, while I’ve been gone for the past few days, you guys have been making up stuff about me.
There are a lot of girls in D.C. and they’re good, but I still like L.A. girls.”
Captain Jones said, “Tell us about your experience with this award, so we can follow suit, and maybe someday we’ll be able to get an award in D.C. too.”
Luke asked back, “What do you mean? Didn’t you guys watch my award ceremony?”
Captain Jones slapped his forehead, “I wish I hadn’t, I was forced to watch it at least three times, and now when I close my eyes it’s still an image of you receiving your award.”
“Haha ……,” the crowd laughed again.
Luke laughed, “I’m much more comfortable hearing you say that.”
Robbery and Murder Division Squadron 2, Chan Kling, asked, “Luke, I saw a civilian award recipient being taken by the FBI, what’s the story?”
“One way or another.” Luke spread his hands.
David said, “Someone must have messed up, that civilian awardee just stole a TV, even the local police department didn’t bother to arrest him.
The D.C. FBI is too fed up to bother with such nonsense.”
Economic Crimes Division Captain Harvey Simmons asked, “I heard that the firefighter awardee from Las Vegas was also arrested, do you know him?”
“Met him twice.”
“Was this guy really whoring out J’s, or was he being counted?”
Luke spread his hands, “By the time I saw the news …… was already on a flight back to LA.”
Harvey Simmons took a sip of his red wine, “To be honest, I kind of sympathize with that guy, just getting national fame and having such a scandal.
It wasn’t easy for him to win that medal, he supposedly went into the fire eight times to save people, saved seven people and a dog, and burned his own back.
And it turned out to be over a little thing ……
Too bad.”
Everyone in the room nodded their heads, as a police officer, they knew very well how hard it was to get that medal.
Just then, a commotion came from the distance.
The top brass of the Detective Bureau flanked this man as he walked into the hall, the man was tall, unsmiling, and had a calm demeanor, it was none other than LAPD Chief Frank.
“Chief Frank.”
“Good evening Chief.”
“Chief, good to see you.”
“Gentlemen, it’s good to see you too, but I’m not the star of the show today, Luke is, and you should go gather around him.”
Frank responded with a smile, then picked up a glass of champagne and raised it to Luke, “Luke, welcome back.”
“Thank you Chief.”
The people arrived and the celebration began in earnest.
Detective Bureau Chief Wolawai Colon, an old white man, took the stage as the host of tonight’s celebration and said a few words before inviting Luke to speak on stage.
Luke was prepared for this and came down after a quick thank you, a few speeches, and some flirting.
The crowd ate and drank and gathered in groups to gossip.
Frank as the boss of the LAPD, he was able to come just to give Luke face.
Luke specifically walked over to toast, “Chief, good to see you.”
“Me too.” Frank clinked glasses with Luke.
Luke whispered, “I met with Tristan Seeger before I came back and he asked me to give you his regards.”
“Speaking of Tristan Seeger, I was just about to talk to you.
Come on, let’s change places.” Frank led Luke out of the hall and to the lounge diagonally across the hall.
Frank sat down next to the couch, pulled out a box of cigars, cut off the round end, lit one and handed it to Luke, “That thing was more complicated than expected, Tristan Seeger contacted me.”
“Thanks.” Luke took the cigar and took a drag.
Luke could smoke, but it was the first time he had ever smoked a cigar, he didn’t dare to go over his lungs, it just stayed in his mouth for a while and gently blew it away.
The flavor of tobacco was left in his mouth, much richer than the taste of cigarettes.
Aside from being a little choking, it felt good.
Frank lit a cigar himself, took a drag, and said slowly, “You did a good job responding to this trip to the D.C. area.
I’ve seen a lot of good police officers who work very hard and solve a lot of big cases, but they are also tainted with some faults and often make mistakes because of some small things.
For example, women, interests, fights, etc.
Handling relationships and life well, knowing what to do and what not to do will help a lot at work.
You’re doing a good job.”
Luke laughed, “Chief, you called me in just to compliment me?”
Frank continued, “That drunk Hansal Pasha who provoked you was arrested by the FBI.
After interrogation, he admitted to being instructed to target the award recipients and also confessed to two accomplices, one of which was Laura, the silver seller woman.
This woman originally targeted you and deliberately created a chance encounter, but you ignored her and chose firefighter Fatau Brandi.
The other man is their handler and the man behind this targeting of the awardees – Josh Biddle.”