The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 384: The Spy Case

[Chapter 384: The Spy Case]

In the meeting room on the 16th floor of the Coastal Building.

"Here's the overall situation." Jennifer Huey quickly went over the details she had grasped.

Both wiretapping teams had their leads clearly identified.

Hawke had already gotten hold of the BlackRock Film Foundation, and hearing that it also connected to the World News Weekly was no surprise.

After all, wiretapping was a basic skill for them.

Time was of the essence, and Hawke wasted no time, asking Jennifer, "Can the FBI detain those involved? Can they search the necessary institutions?"

He had prepared before the meeting: "We discussed the AI plan at the board meeting, which pertains to America's technological future. This plan has been filed with the White House's Science Policy Office and is ready to be submitted to Congress; it concerns national security."

Jennifer glanced at Hawke, thinking that with such a huge issue at hand, the people involved wouldn't just walk away unscathed.

Hawke had many thoughts and continued, "That Eugene Kropov -- I had someone do a background check. He belongs to a generation of Russian immigrants and has even stayed in Moscow. I seriously suspect he might be a spy for the Russians."

As Twitter was getting the grill set up and the ingredients ready for the barbecue party, Jennifer prepared to cook the barbeque meal: "The FBI will conduct a thorough investigation of Eugene Kropov. Given the current situation, this is a serious espionage case involving a technology leak."

She had just taken over as the head of the FBI in Los Angeles and needed to crack this major case.

In the room, Peter Thiel and Mary Ferguson had remained silent.

At that moment, they exchanged glances and both felt that with Hawke at the helm of Twitter, it would definitely bring more benefits to their side.

As for whether it was false accusations, they didn't care.

Blaming the competitor and the Russians couldn't be called a false accusation, right?

Moreover, if these guys hadn't been engaged in wiretapping, how could Hawke have had any opportunity for such allegations?

Hawke said softly, "Do you want the materials I have prepared on my end?"

Jennifer was now in FBI mode; she slightly nodded at Hawke and called in her assistant, instructing, "Bring in the fourth team, cooperating with Twitter, to collect relevant materials and secure the evidence."

"Sure!" The assistant quickly went to notify everyone.

Jennifer then told Hawke, "I need to get back to work now."

Hawke chuckled, "Go ahead."

Jennifer hurried out of the room.

...

The meeting room fell silent, and Hawke pondered briefly, then spoke to Peter Thiel and Mary Ferguson: "This time, our main enemy is the BlackRock Investment Group. Those guys have been eyeing us since last year, waiting to take a bite out of us."

Stealing other people's interests was like murder, Peter Thiel straightforwardly stated, "Collusion with Russia, endangering America's national security. That's a solid charge. Let's work in that direction; we need to make those guys pay a price."

Mary Ferguson agreed, "I think that's viable."

Hawke concluded, "Then we'll work in this direction. Once the FBI makes a move and has achievements, we'll immediately hold a shareholders' meeting to push the AI plan forward."

---

Back in the command vehicle, Jennifer began issuing orders: "This is Unit one, all units pay attention, all units pay attention. This case is significant, involving national and technological security, execute Level One confidentiality protocols! Under the Counter-Espionage Act, I now announce that we will detain all targets. For those who do not cooperate, we can take forcible measures!"

She stressed, "The primary target is Eugene Kropov, assistant to the president of the BlackRock Film Foundation. Turn on the recording device during the operation."

"Understood!" Came the acknowledgment from Chick's side.

Jennifer ordered, "Now commence operations!"

...

Not far away in Parking Lot B, Baldwin drove his Hyundai sedan into the parking space beside an Elantra.

A Jeep pulled up behind the Elantra, directly blocking the Hyundai and Elantra from the rear.

Almost simultaneously, another Chevrolet SUV screeched to a stop, tightly barricading the front of Baldwin's vehicle.

Before Baldwin had a chance to react, six individuals jumped out of the two cars, each brandishing a firearm.

Two of them even carried assault rifles and shotguns.

The leader shouted, "FBI, show me your hands! FBI, raise your hands, don't move!"

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots rang out, as an FBI agent shot the front tire of the Elantra with a shotgun.

Hearing the gunfire, Baldwin quickly raised his hands to his head, ducking against the car out of fear.

Inside the car, Rams saw someone pointing a gun at him through the glass and raised his hands, slowly moving out.

Just as he reached the side door, still not understanding what was happening, he was grabbed by his hair and dragged out onto the ground.

The two were pinned to the ground and handcuffed.

One agent pulled out black hoodies to cover their heads and took them to the car.

Meanwhile, other agents secured the two vehicles, and one reported, "Calling Unit one, parking lot operation complete. Two suspects captured; one vehicle has wiretapping equipment. Requesting technical support."

Jennifer immediately responded, "Secure the scene; technical support will arrive shortly."

...

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At almost the same time, in a bar in West Hollywood, a team of FBI agents escorted the hooded owner out the door and shoved him into a car.

Amid look of astonishment from surrounding people, the FBI convoy sped away.

...

At the Four Seasons Hotel in Silicon Beach, a waiter knocked on the door of room 805.

With the FBI's shouts echoing, several strong men burst in, taking down the man who had come to open the door and rushing into the room.

As expected, after the two left, there was only one person left.

On the side near the window in the room, there were a few listening devices set up.

The lead agent immediately secured them as required, waiting for personnel to check and take over for evidence preservation.

...

At Universal Studios, in the office area.

Near a small building under the BlackRock Film Foundation, a car pulled up alongside a Cherokee.

The person inside got out, approached the Cherokee, and handed a subpoena and search warrant to Chick, saying, "The U.S. Attorney's Office just issued this. The commander guaranteed we will take control of the suspect."

"Even if he flies up to the sky, he won't escape our eyes." Chick called to others, "Start the operation."

One vehicle circled to the rear of the small building to block the back door.

Another four vehicles drove right up to the front of the small building, with Chick donning an FBI blue jacket, leading eight agents dressed in uniforms into the BlackRock Film Foundation's office building.

The receptionist saw such a group of intimidating FBI personnel storm in and immediately made a call to inform her superiors, then approached to ask, "May I help you?"

Chick didn't respond; he simply showed his credentials and search warrant, "I am Senior Agent Chick Hammett of the Los Angeles FBI. We are conducting an espionage investigation, and this is my badge and the subpoena and search warrant issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Please cooperate."

His words sounded polite, but the FBI didn't show any courtesy in their actions.

The case had already been classified as a serious espionage case threatening America's national and technological security. Chick disregarded the receptionist's attempt to intervene and directly led his team upstairs.

The receptionist just attempted to stop them when an FBI agent threw a severe glare, scaring her into silence.

Chick glanced at the office building's layout diagram, dividing the team into two groups -- one group taking the stairs and the other taking the elevator.

It was only four stories high, and they arrived shortly.

Chick's group exited the elevator, only to collide with Anderson and the assistant to the president, Eugene Kropov, who were notified.

Several FBIs simultaneously drew their guns, pointing at them and shouting, "FBI, raise your hands and lie on the ground!"

Chick, equally tense, aimed his gun and shouted, "Eugene Kropov, get down! Hands on your head, lie down!"

Eugene clearly understood that the FBI were not LAPD; faced with the ominous guns, he first obeyed to cup his head and lie on the ground while shouting, "What are you doing? I am a legitimate American citizen..."

Before he finished speaking, a heavy knee landed on the back of Eugene's neck, cutting off his words.

Anderson shouted angrily, "What do you want? You are breaking in illegally!"

Chick showed him the legal documents: "Your assistant is involved in an espionage case. Under the Counter-Espionage Act and the search warrant, we need to search the office building. Please cooperate."

Anderson was taken aback, recalling the recording they had recently received.

Chick added, "You are directly involved with Eugene and are now also a suspect. You are not allowed to leave our sight, and you must not contact anyone outside."

Seeing his two subordinates having secured Eugene, Chick ordered, "Search their offices."

Anderson panicked, "You can't do this; we are a legitimate corporate entity..."

Two FBI agents briefly restrained him.

Chick received a notification -- a different team of colleagues entered for support.

He caught hold of the searching person: "Use the recorder, film everything."

The agent nodded and hurried off.

Not long after, this agent returned saying, "Chief, we found something."

The FBI had discovered a small recorder in Anderson's office, which contained a tape that, upon brief playback, confirmed it was related to Twitter's board meeting.

The recorder also had multiple fingerprints, which the technicians collected.

Chick reported to the command vehicle: "Calling number one, Chick's team has apprehended Eugene Kropov and found the tape..."

He detailed the situation to request, "What about the chairman, Anderson?"

Jennifer decisively replied, "He's implicated in the espionage case and should be temporarily detained; take him back. We have plenty of time to gather evidence."

Chick answered, "Understood."

They worked swiftly; both offices yielded key evidence.

Besides the recorder and tape found in Anderson's office, several greeting cards from the Russian embassy to Eugene were found in Eugene's office.

Under normal circumstances, these would mean nothing.

But when tied to an espionage case, they became what one might call evidence.

...

As Chick was wrapping up the operation, a team of FBI agents at the Burbank branch of the World News Weekly escorted two individuals with work IDs out.

From their Deputy Editor's office, a tape was also found.

*****

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