mtl008 Chapter 3843 The Nameless Bat (3)
Chapter 3843 The Nameless Bat (3)
Chapter 3843 The Nameless Bat (Thirteen)
"Boss." Another agent knocked on the door and came in, holding a document in his hand. He said, "The technical department's report shows that there was no evidence of any intrusion into Wayne Group's network. We can basically rule out the possibility of online hacking. It's more likely that the attack was carried out offline."
“The head of information security is a prime suspect.” Schiller tapped his fingers lightly on the table. “It could also be someone else from Wayne Enterprises. Department heads have some connection to Diamond Street, and they are all suspects.”
“But we can’t arrest them all,” another female agent said, arms crossed and brows furrowed. “I’ll investigate whether they’ve had any suspicious activity recently. But that’s a sensitive matter, and it would be best to get the president’s approval first.”
“We are unable to reach the President.” The older agent sitting in the front row pushed up his glasses and said, “He declined all communications about three hours ago, and the locator signal has also disappeared. According to Washington, this situation is expected to continue for at least 24 hours.”
“Let’s do it,” Natasha said. “I’ll take full responsibility for whatever happens.”
Everyone stood up from their seats, ready to take on their respective tasks. Schiller and Natasha stayed behind last. Schiller lowered his voice and said, "Special cases require special handling. We need to inform those people in the Justice League."
"Is it that serious?" Natasha's brows furrowed even more as she looked at Schiller and said, "While flirting with a Slavic female agent might damage one's reputation, it doesn't warrant the Justice League's intervention, does it?"
"Do you really think this was just something Diamond Street did?"
"Otherwise what? Even if they colluded with visitors from another world, that person's skills aren't very good. Otherwise, why would they have staged two such unprofessional attacks to alert the enemy?"
"Have you ever considered that this is just a smokescreen to mislead you, making you think he's not very capable, thus lowering your guard?"
“I never let my guard down,” Natasha said. “But this is definitely a bit strange, and I’ll go talk to them about it.”
Schiller and Natasha parted ways at the bottom of the stairs. He returned to his office, where agents were discussing work in small groups. One of them walked in and said, "Boss, the FBI guys working with the local police department are asking us to mind our own business. Did you bypass them and pressure the local police department?"
“There’s been a problem,” Schiller said briefly. “The perpetrator of the suburban villa murder case attacked the CIA agents who were investigating. I have to get them to give me some information quickly, otherwise those CIA agents will be eager to use their newly acquired law enforcement powers.”
"Is there any work we need to do?"
"Of course. There are two things: you take one team to keep an eye on Diamond Street and see if there's any unusual activity there; Nina, you take another team to the Gotham Police Department and let me know if anyone reports a murder or other serious crime."
The agents in the office quickly dispersed, but a few technicians remained. One of the young male agents, wearing glasses, took off his headset and said, "Boss, the listening device you left in the ambulance picked up some information. Do you want to come over and listen?"
Schiller walked behind him, placed one hand on the table, and picked up the headphones with the other, but didn't put them on. He just picked one up and put it to his ear, listening to the conversation inside.
It was the victim's daughter, the little girl sitting in the back of the ambulance, sobbing as she spoke to the doctor. At first, she was simply expressing her fear, but towards the end of the conversation, she mentioned her parents' argument. Somewhat unexpectedly, it wasn't the infidelity or similar allegations given by the police; their argument seemed to be about the fluctuations in a certain fund's stock price.
Another technician, who had apparently also listened to the recording, said while typing on his keyboard, "This explanation is more credible. I just found out that it wasn't just the woman who cheated in this family; the man cheated as well. To be precise, they were each having their own affairs, and this had been going on for three years. Even if their relationship was going to break down, it wouldn't be breaking down now."
"Furthermore, according to the behavioral analysis department's psychological profile of the killer, she was not an emotional person. To be able to reach the position of a professional fund manager at one of the three major investment banks on Diamond Street, she should have cherished her career far more than anyone else. The possibility of killing due to a conflict of interest is higher than that of killing due to an emotional conflict."
Schiller stood behind the two men, deep in thought, when suddenly a report came through his earpiece: "Boss, we're on Diamond Street now, and I've spotted a helicopter."
"Helicopter?"
"Yes."
Whose helicopter was it?
"From the Luther Group."
"Boss, we have news." A female agent rushed into Natasha's office through her earpiece and said, "About a month ago, the Luther Group in Metropolis established a project called the 'Transatlantic Policy Reserve Fund.' More than 60 groups invested in the project, and over 1000 professional managers participated. The murderer in the suburban villa murder case was one of the managers of the first phase of the fund."
“Lex Luthor…” Natasha paused for a moment, then twirled the pen in her hand and asked, “What exactly does this foundation do?”
"Generally speaking, it's a hedge fund designed to mitigate risk," the subordinate explained succinctly. "Since the new president took office, many policies have been unfavorable to the financial industry. This fund is designed to address the impact of future policies on the East Coast's financial and economic development, and to reserve funds for potential financial volatility caused by new policies."
"Is it legal?" Natasha asked, frowning.
“It’s still legal for now.” After thinking for a moment, the subordinate said, “But what our people in Washington have heard is that the president is preparing to legislate to regulate the financial industry, so it’s hard to say whether it will still be legal in the future.”
“I see,” Natasha said. “To discredit the legitimacy of someone’s policies, you must first discredit their legitimacy. Spreading rumors about a female agent who is suspected of being a foreign spy is the perfect way to do this.”
"The military doesn't seem to support this decision either," the subordinate said. "The financial sector can still provide a considerable amount of defense funding."
“None of that matters.” Natasha shook her head and said, “No one can change Batman’s decisions. Congress has long been a mere shell; they’re just making a death throes.”
Another agent rushed in and said, "Boss, Lex Luthor is in Gotham!"
Natasha jumped to her feet: "Where is he?"
"The Stagg Navigator Building. He's most likely here to meet Lee Stagg, the nephew of Simon Stagg, the former CEO of Stagg Pharmaceuticals."
"Five minutes. I need evidence of this guy's treason."
“Wait.” Schiller’s voice came from the doorway. He walked in wearing a windbreaker, followed by fully armed agents. He looked at Natasha and said, “They might be waiting for you. Don’t be impulsive.”
"What can he do to me?" Natasha sneered. "You expect their little water guns to cause me any trouble?"
“They’re not carrying guns, they’re carrying journalists.” Schiller took out a stack of photos and placed them on the table, pushing them towards her with his finger. Natasha looked at Schiller with suspicion, but he just kept his eyes downcast. Then she picked up the stack of photos again.
Above are several cars, and through the reflection in the side windows, you can see the profiles of several people. Below are front-facing and profile photos of famous reporters from the Gotham Daily and the Metropolitan Daily; with a little scrutiny, you can easily recognize that they are the same person.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the only person you can catch after you rush over is Stagg. Luther will pretend to defend his partner and confront you. At that point, no matter what you say, your appearance, tone of voice, and voice will be exposed."
"so what?"
“Your background can’t stand scrutiny,” Schiller shook his head and said. “The biggest problem is that they can’t find anything. They’ll think the president is blinded by lust and would rather erase your KGB background than not put you by his side. This will severely damage his reputation.”
"Batman doesn't care about that."
"Indeed, but what I'm most worried about is that they might target you. It's not just the two minor incidents before; this time it might be for real."
"What will they use to take me down?"
What did I use to take you down?
"But that time..."
“It’s the same, ma’am.” Schiller seemed a little impatient. “If you insist on going, I don’t mind knocking you out again.”
"Then you should try it." Natasha was also a little angry.
Schiller took a step to the side, and Natasha, thinking he was about to attack, instinctively reached out to block him. But Schiller didn't make any sudden move; he simply took a step, revealing a red and blue figure behind him—it was Superman.
Natasha's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "How did you let him out?!"
Schiller sighed and said, “He’s a human being, not a tool or a game character. If you speak to him like a human, he can understand. I gave him a brief overview of the situation, and he felt obligated to help Batman clear his name of the false accusations. The first thing he had to do was stop you from being exposed to the media.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Superman said. “I know you have your duties, but I have mine. I’ve dealt with Luthor for a long time; he’s intelligent, but also despicable. You’d better not make any contact with him rashly.”
Natasha hesitated, rooted to the spot. If it weren't for Superman, she might have tried to run, but now Superman was less than two meters away. Even a Tyrannosaurus Rex couldn't escape her, let alone Black Widow.
“Okay, what do you want?” Natasha looked at Schiller.
"You go wait in Superman's interrogation room for a while, I'll go meet with Luthor. Whether it's to lure you in or to lure you away, as long as you stay with Superman, you'll be absolutely safe."
Superman smiled at Natasha. Natasha sighed and said, "Well, let's hope you two can actually make something of a conversation."
“Both of you go to Wonder Woman’s interrogation room,” Schiller said. “Moon Knight has cast a magical protective barrier there, not only preventing people from getting out but also blocking electronic signals, making it a completely sealed room, which is much safer.”
“You’re being a little too cautious.” Even as she said this, Natasha turned and walked toward the door, saying, “I’m getting more and more curious about your professional background.”
When Natasha and Superman were shoved into Wonder Woman's interrogation room, Wonder Woman was clearly bewildered. But Schiller had no intention of saying much to them. He slammed the door shut from the outside, locked it, and told his subordinates, "You two stay here. Don't open the door for anyone."
"Uh, what about water and food?"
"No need to take them. They're not normal people. They won't die of thirst or hunger, and they don't need to go to the bathroom. Don't talk to them."
After giving his instructions, Schiller reached up to zip up his jacket and said, "Find people to drive all the cars, then find a rental car company and have their people drive around to reserve every legal parking space within a two-mile radius of the Navigator Building. Don't miss a single one. Also, call the city patrol and tell them the FBI has a big order."
Schiller walked quickly down the stairs, got into a car with two subordinates, and said, "Give me the fire department's phone number."
They drove all the way to the entrance of the Navigator Building. As he got out of the car, he said to one of his subordinates behind him, "Find a way to sneak into the building across the street." Schiller pointed to the building across from the Navigator Building, which was about five stories taller than his own, and then said, "Go to the rooftop."
"doing what?"
Schiller pulled a small mirror from his jacket pocket, handed it to the agent, and said, "Nothing much, just wave this mirror at the top of the Navigator Building every 15 minutes or so."
The agent nodded, walked across the street, and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Schiller watched as he expertly chatted with the receptionist of the building across the street, and soon entered the elevator.
Schiller entered the Navigator Building, pulled his badge from the chest pocket of his jacket, and flashed it at the building's receptionist: "FBI Agent Rodriguez, invited by the GCPD to investigate the murder of the head of Wayne Corporation's information security department. We have discovered that the deceased had contact with Lee Stagg, the current president of Stagg Corporation, at a dinner party approximately one week before his death. We hope Mr. Stagg will cooperate with the investigation."
"I'm sorry, but our CEO has an appointment..."
“This is not for discussion, madam.” Schiller turned and gave his two subordinates a look, while the two agents behind him went straight to the door and began to set up security tape. He looked at the receptionist and said, “I will wait until they finish their conversation.”