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Chapter 1130 The Real Target Is…
While Jodie was distracted, the phone call connected. Hearing the inquiry from the other end, she recovered her composure and said solemnly, "Target located. Safety checkpoints Mo-02, Mo-03, and Mo-06 near Mo Building. Mo Building itself is likely their chosen sniper point. Everyone follow the previous groupings, leave from different exits of Sunshine Building, and slowly surround the area. Maintain concealment and avoid alarming the other party!"
Andre Camel had already spoken with James Black. After Jodie finished her call, he said, "The situation has been reported to Mr. James. Jodie, should we inform Mr. Akai?"
"Let's tell him."
Jodie immediately called Akai Shuichi on her mobile phone.
She hadn't forgotten their unconventional teammate, who had gone AWOL and was nowhere to be found…
The call connected, rang twice, and was immediately hung up.
Jodie's forehead throbbed.
This crucial moment before the operation, and he's out of contact? Can he possibly have a little team spirit?
The key was, she didn't know whether or not to call again. If Mr. Akai was in a situation where he couldn't answer the phone…
"Knock knock!"
A knock sounded on the car window.
Andre Camel looked up vigilantly. Seeing Akai Shuichi and James Black, who she had just spoken to on the phone, standing outside the car, he was surprised. "Mr. James? Mr. Akai?"
Jodie was also stunned. Okay, so he hung up on her because he had already arrived nearby?
Akai Shuichi nodded to Andre Camel in the back seat, indicating that he had been informed. He directly asked, "Cameron, is it confirmed that the people are near Mo Building?"
"Yes," Andre Camel nodded, turning to look at the surveillance footage, then froze. "No… they're gone…"
"What's gone?" Jodie leaned over to look, also stunned.
The three people who were originally in the surveillance footage had disappeared. Perhaps it wasn't just those three; other Organization Members they hadn't locked onto might have also left the surveillance range…
What's going on?
Had their encirclement operation been discovered from the start? Or had That Organization received some news, causing everyone to withdraw?
"They're all gone, right?" Akai Shuichi chuckled lightly, turning to James Black. "I'm rushing over from Ichikawa Bridge; maybe I'll run into them!"
James Black nodded solemnly. "Be careful. Leave this side to me."
"Then I'll leave it to you," Akai Shuichi opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. He said to Jodie, "Jodie, let's go to Ichikawa City. Speed it up!"
Seeing that Akai Shuichi seemed to be in a hurry, Jodie reversed the car and drove out of the parking lot. "Shu, did we alert those fellows?"
Andre Camel asked doubtfully, "Why are we suddenly going to Ichikawa City? Did the Organization's people retreat there?"
Akai Shuichi wasn't in a hurry. He lowered the car window, lit a cigarette, and then explained, "No, their original target was Ichikawa City, or rather, the real target is in Ichikawa City."
"The real target?" Jodie was surprised.
Akai Shuichi looked at Jodie. "Last night, Mr. James told me that you spoke with Mr. Adrian. His choice to stay in Edogawa District for two days is actually because of Mr. Armstrong, who came with him…"
"That's right, Mr. Adrian did mention last night that Armstrong used to work for the Secret Service and retired at the beginning of the year. This time, he came to Japan with Mr. Adrian to visit a friend in Ichikawa City…" Jodie's face changed. "Is That Organization's target Armstrong?"
"Watch the road," Akai Shuichi pointed out an upcoming turn, then continued, "Initially, the Secret Service also discovered suspicious activity near Mr. Adrian, right? This should be a pretense created by the Organization to focus the Secret Service's attention on Mr. Adrian. In reality, their target is Armstrong. I confirmed with Armstrong. A month before his retirement, one of his subordinates discovered traces of That Organization's activities during an investigation. Three days ago, I had James call a colleague at the FBI in America to confirm that Armstrong's subordinate was shot and killed near his residence a week ago, one night."
"So that's it. That Organization suspected Armstrong had learned something and wanted to silence him," Jodie analyzed. "Although Armstrong has already left his post, the Secret Service would still protect him. This time, Armstrong and Mr. Adrian's visit here is a good opportunity for assassination. If they create a false impression of danger around Mr. Adrian, they can concentrate the Secret Service's protective forces there. Then, assassinating Armstrong, who is visiting a friend in Ichikawa City, would be much easier."
"In fact, they succeeded. For the past three days, almost all the security forces have been concentrated around Mr. Adrian. Even our attention was focused here, after all, Mr. Adrian is an active diplomatic official…" Andre Camel's face was grim. "Mr. Akai, did Mr. Armstrong bring a bodyguard to Ichikawa City?"
"Only one person," Akai Shuichi paused. "But don't worry, when Mr. Armstrong went to Ichikawa City yesterday, our personnel in Sanmu Bridge and Ryokudai had already rushed over. They will be protecting him."
Andre Camel: "..."
To avoid exposing everyone, they couldn't use all their personnel. The people in Sanmu Bridge and Ryokudai had been hidden and didn't participate in the protection of Adrian. There were still people available to be deployed to Armstrong's side.
He wanted to take back his previous words. Not everyone's attention was focused on Adrian; Mr. Akai hadn't been, and had already made arrangements…
Jodie, who was driving, couldn't help but ask, "When did you suspect that the Organization's target was Armstrong?"
"When I heard from the Secret Service that they had also discovered that Mr. Adrian's surroundings were unsafe, I felt something was wrong," Akai Shuichi said thoughtfully, holding his cigarette. "The Secret Service's protection and reconnaissance capabilities are very strong; discovering abnormalities isn't strange. But the Organization's people aren't weak either. I always felt that the Secret Service's discovery was too easy. If the Organization wanted to target someone like Mr. Adrian, who is under heavy protection, they should be more cautious…"
Jodie: "..."
Understood. That's 'My opponent can't be this weak; even a little weakness is suspicious,' right?
"So I confirmed with my colleagues in America. After hearing about Armstrong's subordinate being shot two weeks ago, I began to suspect that their real target was Armstrong," Akai Shuichi said. "But before that, I couldn't be sure who their target was, because Mr. Adrian was also a possibility. So I stayed in Tokyo, waiting for the timing."
"Timing?" Andre Camel was puzzled.
"Although Mo Building allows sniping of the dining room on the 38th floor of Sunshine Building, Mr. Adrian might suddenly change to another restaurant or eat in his room," Akai Shuichi explained. "From tomorrow afternoon to the afternoon the day after tomorrow, Mr. Adrian will be sightseeing and staying temporarily in the Central District, and will be active in the open-air park for a period of time. If they want to assassinate Mr. Adrian, tomorrow afternoon to the afternoon the day after tomorrow is the best time for assassination. Therefore, from tonight to tomorrow, they should be confirming the safety of the vicinity of the open-air park, and not rush into action today. In addition, Armstrong will return from Ichikawa City tomorrow morning and meet with Adrian for sightseeing. At that time, there will be many Secret Service personnel protecting Armstrong, making it difficult to strike again. Therefore, by observing the Organization's time of action, we can judge their real target. If they act this evening, their target can only be Armstrong. Their presence near Mo Building is merely to create a smoke screen for those protecting Mr. Adrian."
During these few days, he had made preparations on both overt and covert fronts.
He had the staff member in Shimono Town exchange places with the one beside Adrian. They had indeed used various means to gradually replace the people, but was that really enough concealment?
He had intentionally exposed the Shimono Town stronghold to the Organization. He felt that there was at least a 50% chance that the Organization would notice the exchange, but he didn't care whether the Organization would notice, and even hoped they would.
If the Organization could detect the FBI's involvement, that would be even better. The Organization would pursue a more cautious approach in choosing the assassination timing, making it easier for him to judge the Organization's true assassination target based on their timing.
Replacing the person beside Adrian to provide protection was the overt move.
On the other hand, the colleagues in Sanmu Bridge and Ryokudai were relatively well-hidden and not intentionally exposed to the Organization. Those people secretly went to Ichikawa City, lurking near Armstrong while investigating the situation around him.
This was the covert move.
If the Organization's target was Adrian, and they bizarrely chose to act tonight, James would continue the encirclement and ambush plan with their colleagues.
If the Organization's target was Armstrong, the personnel secretly arranged in Ichikawa City would investigate the situation around Armstrong's foothold in the next few days and install listening devices and hidden cameras in advance. As soon as the Organization's people approached, they would be detected. At that time, their people would protect Armstrong, and one of them would disguise themselves as Armstrong to leave, luring the Organization's people towards the Tokyo Edogawa District area.
As for him, he would stay in Tokyo, constantly watching, and judging the target based on the Organization's choice of time. He could monitor the movements of the Organization's operatives while using the colleagues who lured the wolf to Ichikawa City.
Seizing the opportunity, he might be able to shoot those fellows in the back!
…
The car disguised as a TV broadcast van drove through the streets, speeding towards Ichikawa City.
On a road from Edogawa District to Ichikawa City, a black Zelas was slowly driving.
In the passenger seat, Chi Feichei, wearing Raki's disguise mask, took out his mobile phone, glanced at the email he had just received, and said in a hoarse voice, "Wayne Walkerly, arrive at the intersection of Line 2 within ten minutes, accelerate and turn right."
"Okay!"
Yingqu Yan Nan, who was driving and wearing the Bearded Man's disguise, nodded in response and accelerated towards the intersection.
(End of Chapter)
While Jodie was distracted, the phone call connected. Hearing the inquiry from the other end, she recovered her composure and said solemnly, "Target located. Safety checkpoints Mo-02, Mo-03, and Mo-06 near Mo Building. Mo Building itself is likely their chosen sniper point. Everyone follow the previous groupings, leave from different exits of Sunshine Building, and slowly surround the area. Maintain concealment and avoid alarming the other party!"
Andre Camel had already spoken with James Black. After Jodie finished her call, he said, "The situation has been reported to Mr. James. Jodie, should we inform Mr. Akai?"
"Let's tell him."
Jodie immediately called Akai Shuichi on her mobile phone.
She hadn't forgotten their unconventional teammate, who had gone AWOL and was nowhere to be found…
The call connected, rang twice, and was immediately hung up.
Jodie's forehead throbbed.
This crucial moment before the operation, and he's out of contact? Can he possibly have a little team spirit?
The key was, she didn't know whether or not to call again. If Mr. Akai was in a situation where he couldn't answer the phone…
"Knock knock!"
A knock sounded on the car window.
Andre Camel looked up vigilantly. Seeing Akai Shuichi and James Black, who she had just spoken to on the phone, standing outside the car, he was surprised. "Mr. James? Mr. Akai?"
Jodie was also stunned. Okay, so he hung up on her because he had already arrived nearby?
Akai Shuichi nodded to Andre Camel in the back seat, indicating that he had been informed. He directly asked, "Cameron, is it confirmed that the people are near Mo Building?"
"Yes," Andre Camel nodded, turning to look at the surveillance footage, then froze. "No… they're gone…"
"What's gone?" Jodie leaned over to look, also stunned.
The three people who were originally in the surveillance footage had disappeared. Perhaps it wasn't just those three; other Organization Members they hadn't locked onto might have also left the surveillance range…
What's going on?
Had their encirclement operation been discovered from the start? Or had That Organization received some news, causing everyone to withdraw?
"They're all gone, right?" Akai Shuichi chuckled lightly, turning to James Black. "I'm rushing over from Ichikawa Bridge; maybe I'll run into them!"
James Black nodded solemnly. "Be careful. Leave this side to me."
"Then I'll leave it to you," Akai Shuichi opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. He said to Jodie, "Jodie, let's go to Ichikawa City. Speed it up!"
Seeing that Akai Shuichi seemed to be in a hurry, Jodie reversed the car and drove out of the parking lot. "Shu, did we alert those fellows?"
Andre Camel asked doubtfully, "Why are we suddenly going to Ichikawa City? Did the Organization's people retreat there?"
Akai Shuichi wasn't in a hurry. He lowered the car window, lit a cigarette, and then explained, "No, their original target was Ichikawa City, or rather, the real target is in Ichikawa City."
"The real target?" Jodie was surprised.
Akai Shuichi looked at Jodie. "Last night, Mr. James told me that you spoke with Mr. Adrian. His choice to stay in Edogawa District for two days is actually because of Mr. Armstrong, who came with him…"
"That's right, Mr. Adrian did mention last night that Armstrong used to work for the Secret Service and retired at the beginning of the year. This time, he came to Japan with Mr. Adrian to visit a friend in Ichikawa City…" Jodie's face changed. "Is That Organization's target Armstrong?"
"Watch the road," Akai Shuichi pointed out an upcoming turn, then continued, "Initially, the Secret Service also discovered suspicious activity near Mr. Adrian, right? This should be a pretense created by the Organization to focus the Secret Service's attention on Mr. Adrian. In reality, their target is Armstrong. I confirmed with Armstrong. A month before his retirement, one of his subordinates discovered traces of That Organization's activities during an investigation. Three days ago, I had James call a colleague at the FBI in America to confirm that Armstrong's subordinate was shot and killed near his residence a week ago, one night."
"So that's it. That Organization suspected Armstrong had learned something and wanted to silence him," Jodie analyzed. "Although Armstrong has already left his post, the Secret Service would still protect him. This time, Armstrong and Mr. Adrian's visit here is a good opportunity for assassination. If they create a false impression of danger around Mr. Adrian, they can concentrate the Secret Service's protective forces there. Then, assassinating Armstrong, who is visiting a friend in Ichikawa City, would be much easier."
"In fact, they succeeded. For the past three days, almost all the security forces have been concentrated around Mr. Adrian. Even our attention was focused here, after all, Mr. Adrian is an active diplomatic official…" Andre Camel's face was grim. "Mr. Akai, did Mr. Armstrong bring a bodyguard to Ichikawa City?"
"Only one person," Akai Shuichi paused. "But don't worry, when Mr. Armstrong went to Ichikawa City yesterday, our personnel in Sanmu Bridge and Ryokudai had already rushed over. They will be protecting him."
Andre Camel: "..."
To avoid exposing everyone, they couldn't use all their personnel. The people in Sanmu Bridge and Ryokudai had been hidden and didn't participate in the protection of Adrian. There were still people available to be deployed to Armstrong's side.
He wanted to take back his previous words. Not everyone's attention was focused on Adrian; Mr. Akai hadn't been, and had already made arrangements…
Jodie, who was driving, couldn't help but ask, "When did you suspect that the Organization's target was Armstrong?"
"When I heard from the Secret Service that they had also discovered that Mr. Adrian's surroundings were unsafe, I felt something was wrong," Akai Shuichi said thoughtfully, holding his cigarette. "The Secret Service's protection and reconnaissance capabilities are very strong; discovering abnormalities isn't strange. But the Organization's people aren't weak either. I always felt that the Secret Service's discovery was too easy. If the Organization wanted to target someone like Mr. Adrian, who is under heavy protection, they should be more cautious…"
Jodie: "..."
Understood. That's 'My opponent can't be this weak; even a little weakness is suspicious,' right?
"So I confirmed with my colleagues in America. After hearing about Armstrong's subordinate being shot two weeks ago, I began to suspect that their real target was Armstrong," Akai Shuichi said. "But before that, I couldn't be sure who their target was, because Mr. Adrian was also a possibility. So I stayed in Tokyo, waiting for the timing."
"Timing?" Andre Camel was puzzled.
"Although Mo Building allows sniping of the dining room on the 38th floor of Sunshine Building, Mr. Adrian might suddenly change to another restaurant or eat in his room," Akai Shuichi explained. "From tomorrow afternoon to the afternoon the day after tomorrow, Mr. Adrian will be sightseeing and staying temporarily in the Central District, and will be active in the open-air park for a period of time. If they want to assassinate Mr. Adrian, tomorrow afternoon to the afternoon the day after tomorrow is the best time for assassination. Therefore, from tonight to tomorrow, they should be confirming the safety of the vicinity of the open-air park, and not rush into action today. In addition, Armstrong will return from Ichikawa City tomorrow morning and meet with Adrian for sightseeing. At that time, there will be many Secret Service personnel protecting Armstrong, making it difficult to strike again. Therefore, by observing the Organization's time of action, we can judge their real target. If they act this evening, their target can only be Armstrong. Their presence near Mo Building is merely to create a smoke screen for those protecting Mr. Adrian."
During these few days, he had made preparations on both overt and covert fronts.
He had the staff member in Shimono Town exchange places with the one beside Adrian. They had indeed used various means to gradually replace the people, but was that really enough concealment?
He had intentionally exposed the Shimono Town stronghold to the Organization. He felt that there was at least a 50% chance that the Organization would notice the exchange, but he didn't care whether the Organization would notice, and even hoped they would.
If the Organization could detect the FBI's involvement, that would be even better. The Organization would pursue a more cautious approach in choosing the assassination timing, making it easier for him to judge the Organization's true assassination target based on their timing.
Replacing the person beside Adrian to provide protection was the overt move.
On the other hand, the colleagues in Sanmu Bridge and Ryokudai were relatively well-hidden and not intentionally exposed to the Organization. Those people secretly went to Ichikawa City, lurking near Armstrong while investigating the situation around him.
This was the covert move.
If the Organization's target was Adrian, and they bizarrely chose to act tonight, James would continue the encirclement and ambush plan with their colleagues.
If the Organization's target was Armstrong, the personnel secretly arranged in Ichikawa City would investigate the situation around Armstrong's foothold in the next few days and install listening devices and hidden cameras in advance. As soon as the Organization's people approached, they would be detected. At that time, their people would protect Armstrong, and one of them would disguise themselves as Armstrong to leave, luring the Organization's people towards the Tokyo Edogawa District area.
As for him, he would stay in Tokyo, constantly watching, and judging the target based on the Organization's choice of time. He could monitor the movements of the Organization's operatives while using the colleagues who lured the wolf to Ichikawa City.
Seizing the opportunity, he might be able to shoot those fellows in the back!
…
The car disguised as a TV broadcast van drove through the streets, speeding towards Ichikawa City.
On a road from Edogawa District to Ichikawa City, a black Zelas was slowly driving.
In the passenger seat, Chi Feichei, wearing Raki's disguise mask, took out his mobile phone, glanced at the email he had just received, and said in a hoarse voice, "Wayne Walkerly, arrive at the intersection of Line 2 within ten minutes, accelerate and turn right."
"Okay!"
Yingqu Yan Nan, who was driving and wearing the Bearded Man's disguise, nodded in response and accelerated towards the intersection.
(End of Chapter)
