Chapter 657
Mutant Criminal Organization
"Understood!" the team members responded in unison, and immediately began to seal the evidence. Some team members stayed behind to guard the warehouse, while the rest quickly boarded off-road vehicles and headed towards Verus's private villa to support Lynn.
Meanwhile, inside Verus's private villa, the battle had reached a fever pitch. Lynn and the remaining team members were engaged in a desperate struggle with the three mutant bodyguards. The team had suffered heavy casualties; five members had already been knocked to the ground and rendered incapacitated by the mutants, and the remaining members were all more or less injured. However, they still did not retreat, tenaciously blocking the mutant bodyguards' attack and buying time to capture Verus.
Lynn was locked in combat with the mutant bodyguard who could unleash icy energy. His arm was frostbitten, sending a sharp pain through him, but he didn't give up. Relying on his years of detective experience and superb fighting skills, he managed to hold his own against the mutant. He knew that if he could just hold on a little longer, Jason's reinforcements would arrive, and then they could work together to subdue the mutant bodyguards and capture Verus.
But the mutant bodyguard's strength far exceeded their expectations. The tall, gray-skinned mutant had already taken down three team members and was charging towards Lynn. His arms were thick and powerful, and each swing carried a tremendous force, as if he could easily shatter everything.
Lynn's heart tightened. He dodged the attacks of the mutant who could unleash chilling energy while remaining wary of the approaching gray-skinned mutant. Just then, the gray-skinned mutant grabbed Lynn's shoulder, the immense strength rendering him immobile. He then delivered a powerful punch to Lynn's chest. Lynn had no time to dodge; the blow struck him hard in the chest, instantly causing a sharp pain. Blood gushed from the corner of his mouth, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.
"Lynn!" a team member shouted, trying to rush over to support Lynn, but was blocked by the extremely fast mutant, who punched him hard in the chest, knocking him to the ground and rendering him unable to fight.
The gray-skinned mutant walked up to Lynn, looking down at him with cold eyes. He stretched out his thick arm, trying to grab Lynn's neck. At that critical moment, a gunshot rang out, and the bullet struck the gray-skinned mutant precisely in the shoulder. The mutant let out a muffled groan, released his grip, and staggered back a few steps.
Lynn looked up and saw Jason leading his reinforcements, rushing in and opening fire on the mutant bodyguards. "Lynn, are you alright?" Jason asked, running towards Lynn while still firing, and helped him up.
“I’m fine,” Lynn said, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were resolute. “Quick, Varus is still in the study. We must catch him! We can’t let him get away! Leave these mutant bodyguards to us. You go and capture Varus!”
"Alright!" Jason nodded and immediately led several team members towards the study in the main building. The remaining team members stayed behind to fight the three mutant bodyguards. With reinforcements, the team members' morale soared, and they opened fire on the mutant bodyguards. Although the mutant bodyguards had special abilities, they gradually fell into a disadvantageous position in the face of the overwhelming attack from the team members.
Jason led his team, rushing into the main building and heading towards the study on the second floor. Inside, chaos reigned, with occasional sounds of fighting and screams escaping. They quickly ascended the stairs to the second floor; the study door was tightly shut. Jason signaled to his team to prepare, then kicked the door open.
Inside the study, Verus stood by the window, a black briefcase in his hand. His face showed no panic, only a cold smile. Seeing Jason and his team rush in, he turned slowly without fear and said, "You still came. But do you think you can catch me?"
“Varus, you are suspected of drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons. The evidence is conclusive. Put down your briefcase and surrender immediately!” Jason raised his pistol, pointed it at Varus, and said in a serious tone.
Verus sneered and shook his head: "Surrender? I, Verus, never bow down to anyone. Do you think those mutant bodyguards are just there to protect me? They also serve another purpose: to buy me time so I can leave here safely."
The words had barely left his mouth when the study window was suddenly shattered, and a dark figure leaped in—it was the incredibly fast mutant bodyguard. He was covered in blood, clearly injured, but his eyes remained cold. He stood in front of Verus, baring his teeth at Jason and his team like a wounded beast.
"Damn it, he's trying to cover Varus's escape!" Jason shouted, immediately firing at the mutant bodyguard. But the mutant was incredibly fast, dodging to the side. The bullet grazed his body and struck the bookshelf behind him, causing it to collapse with a crash, scattering books all over the floor.
The mutant bodyguard seized the opportunity to rush forward and attack Jason and his team. He was incredibly fast, weaving between them, each strike precisely hitting their vitals. Before they could react, they were all knocked to the ground. Jason dodged the mutant's attacks while firing at Varus, but Varus was hidden behind the mutant, and the bullets couldn't hit him.
Verus sneered, turned and walked to the window, opening it. Outside, a small helicopter was parked, its rotors spinning rapidly—clearly, his escape vehicle, prepared long ago. "Detective Jason, see you next time," Verus glanced back at Jason, a mocking smile on his face. "You'll never catch me, and my empire will not be destroyed."
After saying that, Varus climbed onto the window and jumped towards the helicopter. The incredibly fast mutant bodyguard, seeing that Varus had already boarded the helicopter, immediately turned around, jumped out of the window, and followed closely behind Varus, boarding the helicopter as well.
"Quick, stop him!" Jason shouted, firing out the window. But the helicopter was already taking off, and the bullet struck the fuselage without causing significant damage. The helicopter quickly ascended, heading towards the distant bay, and soon disappeared into the night, never to be seen again.
Jason watched the helicopter disappear into the distance, slamming his fist against the wall in anger, his eyes filled with resentment: "Damn it, he got away again!" Meanwhile, the battle downstairs had ended. The two mutant bodyguards, despite their special abilities, were eventually subdued by the overwhelming force of the team members, collapsing to the ground, incapacitated. Lynn, helped by his teammates, walked to the study on the second floor. Looking at the empty window, he said with unwavering determination, "Don't lose heart, he can't escape. We have all the information about him, and his trading network. As long as we follow the clues, we will definitely find his trail and bring him to justice."
Jason nodded, the resentment on his face gradually fading, and his eyes became firm: "You're right, we can't give up. Although Verus escaped, his gang has been completely destroyed by us. His cold chain warehouse, trading den, and his men have all been taken into control. He's all alone now. As long as we continue our investigation, we'll definitely catch him."
Lynn looked at the scattered documents on the table and the black briefcase left by Verus, walked over, and opened the briefcase. Inside the briefcase were some transaction records and bank transfer receipts, as well as a photograph. In the photograph, Verus was standing with an unfamiliar man. The man was wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses, so his face was not visible, but he exuded a cold and oppressive aura.
“Who is this man?” Lynn picked up the photo, his brow furrowed, and said to Jason, “It seems that his relationship with Verus is unusual. He is likely Verus’s backer or the head of another criminal gang.”
Jason walked over, looked at the photo, and shook his head: "I don't know. We haven't received any information about this man before. Black Wolf hasn't mentioned him either. It seems there's an even bigger secret behind Verus."
“Whoever he is, we have to find out,” Lynn said seriously as he put the photo away. “This man is very likely closely connected to Verus’s drug dealings and those mutant bodyguards. We must find out his identity as soon as possible and follow this lead to find Verus’s whereabouts.”
By this time, the emergency response team had subdued all the individuals involved in the case inside the villa and brought them to the villa's yard. They also found a large quantity of illegal weapons, drugs, and transaction records inside the villa, as well as Verus's private ledger, which detailed all his transaction information and fund flows—all crucial evidence in the indictment of Verus.
The other two operations have also been successfully completed. Two teams raided two drug trafficking locations in Brooklyn and Queens, arresting all suspects and seizing large quantities of heroin and cash, leaving no one at large. One team has also sealed all contraband and evidence in a Manhattan cold chain warehouse, awaiting further processing.
As dawn broke, a pale light appeared in the east, and golden sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating Verus's private villa and dispelling the gloom of the night. In the villa's courtyard, those involved in the case were being escorted into police cars one by one, while members of the emergency response team were busy organizing evidence and handling follow-up work. Lynn and Jason stood in the villa's courtyard, gazing resolutely at the distant bay.
“Although Verus escaped, we still achieved a great victory in this operation,” Jason said, looking at Lynn. “We destroyed his drug trafficking network, arrested most of his men, seized a large amount of contraband and evidence, and completely cut off his drug supply channels in New York.”
“Yes,” Lynn nodded, “but we can’t let our guard down. Varus hasn’t been caught, and behind him is that mysterious man and those mutant bodyguards. They are likely to come back and continue their drug trafficking. We must find out the identity of that mysterious man as soon as possible, find Varus’s whereabouts, and bring them to justice. We must not give them any chance to make a comeback.”
“I’ve already arranged for my men to investigate the identity of that mysterious man based on the clues in the briefcase and Black Wolf’s testimony. At the same time, we’re also closely monitoring Verus’s movements,” Jason said. “In addition, we’ve contacted the mutant control department to get information about those mutant bodyguards, hoping to find some clues about Verus and that mysterious man from them.”
Lynn nodded, a hint of relief on his face: "Good, well done. The team members have all worked hard on this operation. Please arrange for the injured team members to go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible, and for the rest of the team members to rest well before throwing themselves into the follow-up investigation."
"Understood." Jason nodded and immediately went to arrange the follow-up work.
Back at the FBI field office, Lynn and Jason immediately convened an emergency meeting to arrange the follow-up investigation. They compiled all the evidence and handed it over to the technical department, instructing them to further analyze the transaction records, bank transfer receipts, and photographs to identify the mysterious man as soon as possible. Simultaneously, they instructed their subordinates to closely monitor all airports, ports, and border crossings in New York City to prevent Verus from leaving the United States. Furthermore, they contacted FBI field offices across the country, requesting their assistance in tracking Verus's whereabouts.
The technical staff quickly analyzed the evidence and discovered that the mysterious man, named Karen, was the leader of a mysterious mutant organization that specialized in providing mutant bodyguards to criminal gangs for exorbitant fees. Verus's mutant bodyguards were hired from Karen's organization. Furthermore, Karen's organization had close ties with multiple international criminal groups, involved in drug trafficking, illegal arms dealing, and other heinous crimes.
“Karen, the leader of the mutant organization,” Lynn said, his brow furrowed as he looked at the report from the technical department. “I never imagined that Verus had such a mysterious mutant organization behind him. It seems that we’re not just facing a simple drug cartel, but a massive mutant criminal organization.”
“Yes,” Jason nodded, his tone serious. “This Karen is very mysterious. We haven’t received any information about him before. His organization is also very well hidden, making it difficult to track them down. Moreover, they have many mutants with special abilities who are extremely dangerous. Our investigation will be even more difficult.”
“But we can’t give up,” Lynn said firmly. “Karen’s organization is extremely dangerous. They provide mutant bodyguards for criminal gangs, fueling the spread of crime. We must destroy this organization as soon as possible and bring Karen and Verus to justice. We already have some information about Karen, although it’s not detailed enough, but at least we have a direction to follow.” (End of Chapter)