Chapter 659
Taking Unauthorized Action
“Okay, I’ll arrange it right away!” Jason nodded, immediately took out his phone, dialed his subordinate’s number, and issued the investigation order. He knew that Marcus was currently the only breakthrough in finding Verus’s whereabouts, and he had to find out Marcus’s whereabouts as soon as possible; otherwise, once Verus successfully escaped the United States, it would become even more difficult to catch him again.
Over the next few hours, FBI agents split into several teams and launched a full-scale investigation. One team interrogated Verus's captured associates, attempting to extract information about Verus's cross-border shipping routes and network of contacts; another team investigated Marcus's whereabouts and traced the routes of his smuggling vessels; and yet another team contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, requesting their assistance in patrolling the Atlantic coast to search for Verus and Marcus.
Lynn remained glued to his computer, closely monitoring the investigation's progress, frequently checking the reports from the technical department, and analyzing every possible clue. His arm still throbbed with pain—a frostbite from his fight with the mutant bodyguard—but he paid it no heed. At this moment, all his attention was focused on tracking down Verus. He knew that as long as Verus remained at large, more people would be harmed by drugs, and more families would be plunged into suffering. He had to find Verus as soon as possible and bring him to justice.
As dawn broke, the investigation finally made a breakthrough. The interrogation team obtained a crucial lead from one of Verus's key henchmen—this henchman had been involved in Verus's cross-border drug trafficking and knew that Verus had a clandestine smuggling route along the Atlantic coast, headed by Marcus. Furthermore, Verus had repeatedly mentioned that he had a secret base in Honduras, which he would flee to in case of danger.
Meanwhile, the team investigating Marcus also reported that a large smuggling vessel under Marcus's name departed from a secluded rendezvous point in international waters in the early hours of the morning, heading towards Central America. The people and cargo on board were acting with unusual secrecy, and the smuggling vessel had no voyage records, clearly deliberately evading official oversight. Combined with previous clues, it was almost certain that Verus was on this smuggling vessel, fleeing towards Honduras.
"Great! We finally have a lead!" Jason, holding the investigation report, strode up to Lynn, his voice tinged with excitement. "Lynn, we've found out! Verus is on Marcus's smuggling ship, heading towards Honduras. At the ship's speed, they're expected to arrive in Honduras in three days. We'll contact the Coast Guard immediately and request they send ships to intercept the smuggling vessel. We're sure we can capture Verus!"
Lynn took the investigation report, quickly glanced through it, but his face showed no excitement, only a hint of seriousness: "No, we can't intercept them. Marcus's smuggling ship has already entered international waters, and will soon enter the waters of other countries. We don't have the authority to enforce the law across borders. If we rashly intercept them, it will trigger a diplomatic dispute. Moreover, Marcus's smuggling ship is likely equipped with a large number of weapons and mutant bodyguards. Forcibly intercepting them will only cause more casualties."
Jason's excitement vanished instantly, replaced by a hint of helplessness: "What can we do? Are we just going to watch Verus flee the United States and escape to Honduras? Once he arrives in Honduras and goes into hiding, it will be very difficult for us to find him again."
“Of course not,” Lynn said firmly. “Verus has committed heinous crimes, and no matter where he flees to, we must bring him to justice. Since we do not have the authority to enforce laws across borders, we should apply for cross-border pursuit, contact the Honduran police, and request their assistance in arresting Verus after he arrives in Honduras and then extraditing him back to the United States for trial.”
“Cross-border pursuit?” Jason frowned. “But the application for cross-border pursuit is very complicated and requires multiple levels of approval. Moreover, the security situation in Honduras is very poor, and the police’s law enforcement capabilities are limited. They may not be able to fully cooperate with us. In addition, Karen’s mutant organization has a branch in Honduras. After Verus arrives, he will definitely receive their protection. It will be very difficult to capture him.”
“I know,” Lynn nodded, his tone serious, “but this is our only option. No matter how difficult it is, we have to try. You immediately compile all the evidence, including Verus’s criminal record, the smuggling ship’s trajectory, Marcus’s information, and clues about the Cullen mutant organization. Then submit a cross-border pursuit application and report it to the FBI headquarters as soon as possible to try to get approval quickly.”
“Okay, I’ll go gather the evidence and submit the application right away!” Jason nodded and immediately turned around to gather the relevant evidence and application materials.
The next morning, the lights were still on at the FBI's New York branch. Lynn had just rubbed his bloodshot eyes when Jason rushed in carrying a stack of documents, his voice filled with barely concealed impatience: "Lynn, the first draft of the cross-border pursuit application is ready, but headquarters has sent word that they need to provide additional substantial evidence of Verus's collusion with the Cullen mutant organization, otherwise they won't accept it."
Lynn sat bolt upright, took the document, and traced the dense handwriting on the paper with his fingertips, his brow furrowing deeply. "Supplementing evidence? They know we're pressed for time. Verus's smuggling ship will arrive in Honduras in three days at most. Any further delay, and it will be too late." He picked up the phone on the table and dialed the FBI headquarters official in charge of approvals, his voice filled with suppressed urgency. "This is Lynn Carter. Regarding the cross-border pursuit application for Verus, I need to explain the situation to you. We have tracked Marcus's smuggling ship and confirmed that Verus's destination is Honduras. Supplementing evidence will take time, but Verus won't wait for us."
An impatient voice came from the other end of the phone: "Detective Carter, rules are rules. Without sufficient evidence, headquarters cannot approve cross-border pursuit. This involves diplomatic risks, and we cannot act rashly."
“Risk?” Lynn’s voice suddenly rose. “Velus’s drug trafficking has destroyed hundreds of families. After he escapes to Honduras, he will only continue to expand his business, and the risks will be even greater then! I request special permission from headquarters to go to Honduras to set up surveillance while gathering evidence. Otherwise, we will completely lose the opportunity to capture him.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before the voice slowly said, "I can apply for special approval from my superiors, but I can only give you two days to supplement the evidence at most. Moreover, you must go to Honduras under the guise of 'assisting in the investigation,' and you must not take any law enforcement action without authorization. If it causes a diplomatic dispute, you will bear the consequences yourself."
“No problem, thank you!” Lynn hung up the phone, breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to Jason. “Headquarters has approved the special request, but requires us to supplement the evidence within two days. You immediately take people to re-interrogate Verus’s men, focusing on uncovering the details of his collusion with the Karen organization, especially the specific information about the Honduran branch.”
Jason nodded, about to turn around, when a staff member from the technical department rushed in, pale-faced: "Detective Lynn, something bad has happened! Our database has been attacked again. Part of the evidence we just compiled on Verus's crimes has been deleted, and the attacker left a warning message." Lynn strode to the technical department's computer. A line of cold text appeared on the screen: "Stop investigating Verus, or you and your families will pay the price." His eyes instantly turned icy, and he slammed his fist on the table: "It's Karen's men! They're just trying to buy us time."
"So what do we do now? The evidence has been deleted, and it will take time to reorganize it. Headquarters only has two days left." Jason frowned, his tone filled with anxiety.
Lynn took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "You continue the interrogation. Even if you have to pry open those henchmen's mouths, you have to get the evidence. Technical department, immediately activate the backup database, recover the deleted files, and strengthen network security. Don't give them any more opportunities." He paused, picked up another phone, and dialed the mutant control department's number. "This is Lynn Carter. I need your assistance in investigating the Karen mutant organization's branch in Honduras. Provide information on their hideouts and member lists. This is crucial for our capture of Verus."
The response came from the other end of the phone: "Detective Carter, the Karen organization's branch in Honduras is very well-hidden, and we have limited information. However, we can send two specialists to assist you in your investigation, but we will need you to provide relevant cooperation documents."
“I’ll have Jason send you the collaboration documents immediately. Please arrange for a specialist as soon as possible. We’re leaving for Honduras first thing tomorrow morning.” After Lynn finished speaking, he hung up the phone and turned to his team members. “Everyone, stay alert. The more Karen’s people interfere with us, the more important Verus’s whereabouts are. We can’t let them succeed.”
Just then, Lynn's private phone rang. The caller ID showed an anonymous number. He hesitated for a moment, but answered anyway. A hoarse, threatening voice came from the other end of the line: "Detective Lynn, you'd better stop investigating Verus, or your daughter will be in danger."
Lynn's body stiffened abruptly, his hand holding the phone trembled slightly, and anger instantly ignited in his eyes. However, he forced himself to remain calm and said in an icy tone, "If you dare to lay a finger on her, I will chase you to the ends of the earth and make you pay the price."
"We'll see then." A cold laugh came from the other end of the phone, and then the call ended.
Jason noticed Lynn's pale face and quickly asked, "What's wrong, Lynn? What happened?"
Lynn slowly put down the phone, his eyes resolute, and said, "It's nothing, just a threat from Karen's people. They're trying to use my family to force me to give up. But they're wrong. Not only will I not give up, but I'll also catch Verus even faster and completely destroy their organization." He patted Jason on the shoulder, "You continue dealing with the evidence. I'll arrange security for my family to ensure their safety. We can't have any worries."
Jason felt a pang of heartache seeing Lynn's exhaustion and repeatedly urged him to rest, but Lynn refused each time. "Lynn, you haven't rested for days. If this continues, your body will break down," Jason said. "The preparations for the cross-border manhunt are urgent, but we can't rush it. You should rest for a while, and I'll handle the rest."
Lynn shook his head, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, and said firmly, "No, I can't rest. Verus will be arriving in Honduras soon, and we must complete all preparations as quickly as possible. Once he hides, it will be very difficult for us to find him again. I'm fine. As long as we can catch Verus, any hardship is worth it."
Jason knew that once Lynn made up her mind, she wouldn't change it easily. He could only shake his head helplessly and work even harder to relieve some of Lynn's pressure.
Just as Lynn and Jason were busy preparing for the cross-border manhunt, news came from the technical department: Marcus's smuggling ship had entered Honduran waters and was expected to arrive at a hidden Honduran port in a few hours. Verus would likely land there and then head to his secret base.
“Oh no, Verus is about to arrive in Honduras. Our cross-border pursuit application has not been approved yet, and the Honduran police have not made it clear that they will fully assist us,” Jason said, holding the report and walking quickly to Lynn. His tone was anxious. “If we don’t take action soon, Verus will escape completely and we will never be able to catch him again.”
Lynn's expression also turned serious. He thought quickly, and after a moment, he said with a firm look in his eyes, "We can't wait any longer. Regardless of whether the cross-border pursuit application is approved or not, regardless of whether the Honduran police cooperate, we must act immediately. Jason, you immediately select a few elite members to form a pursuit team, prepare weapons, equipment and relevant documents, and we will personally go to Honduras to carry out the pursuit operation."
“Go to Honduras in person?” Jason frowned. “But we don’t have the authority to enforce laws across borders. If we take action arbitrarily within Honduras, it will cause a diplomatic dispute. Moreover, Karen’s mutant organization has a branch in Honduras, and Verus has mutant bodyguards protecting him. It would be extremely dangerous for us to go there rashly.” (End of Chapter)