Legendary FBI Detective

The next day, a new week began on Monday.

Reesi walked into the Special Investigation Team's office area with a tired face, yawning as she pushed the door open.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

Winslow tossed Reesi a bag of breakfast, smiling as he asked:

"Which bar did you while away your weekend at this time?"

There are four women on the Special Investigation Team, with Michelle being rather quiet, focusing on her work and proving her worth in front of Luo An.

Chenier didn't talk much either, except when on missions, and Mona was also quiet when busy with things on her computer, leaving only Reesi chattering away daily, which is why Winslow got along with her like brothers not long after joining the team.

The two of them would occasionally go out together to have some fun. Reesi liked girls under 25, while Winslow preferred mature women over 30.

Their targets were different, so there was no conflict between them, and sometimes they would even cover for each other.

The rest of the team were speechless when they found out about this.

"Don't even mention it, I made a bad call last night."

Reesi took the breakfast Winslow tossed to her, devoured it, and talked while eating:

"Do you remember the 'Black Jasmine' bar we went to together before?

Yesterday, I met two girls there who looked like college students."

Winslow's face showed curiosity:

"And then?"

"Turns out those two girls were actors chasing dreams in Hollywood, they hadn't even finished middle school."

Reesi finished her breakfast in just a few bites, complaining:

"If I hadn't reacted quickly, they would have conned me last night."

Chenier's ears perked up incognito, and Winslow, puzzled, asked:

"What could they have scammed you out of?"

"Money, of course, or even catch diseases."

Reesi shook her head, explaining:

"Every year, the majority of young girls who come to Hollywood dreaming of overnight fame end up in the nearby San Fernando Valley.

There's a mixed bunch in San Fernando Valley, and those girls are considered lucky if they find a reputable company.

The fear is that they encounter some unreliable companies and unknowingly sign away their 'contract of servitude'."

San Fernando Valley is located about 30 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles City, covering an area of 895 square kilometers, known as the "Hollywood of the adult film industry," with over 300 adult film production companies based there.

Once those girls sign with a company in San Fernando Valley, they completely lose their chance to make it big in Hollywood.

Hearing this, Winslow frowned slightly, but before he could speak, Reesi tilted back her head, gulped down a large cup of coffee, let out a long breath, and asked:

"Haven't Mona and Michelle come to work yet?"

In the Special Investigation Team's office area, only Reesi, Winslow, and Chenier were present; the other seats were empty.

"They did, but Luo An called them away just a moment ago."

Chenier was about to continue explaining when Luo An suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Special Investigation Team's office area, smacked the door loudly, and called out:

"Everyone, stop chatting, get downstairs quickly, the Special Investigation Team has a new case!"

"Got it!"

On hearing that, the three of them quickly got up and headed out. Midway, Reesi paused, turned back, ran quickly to the office area, and grabbed the remaining packs of breakfast that Winslow hadn't eaten yet.

Winslow: "..."

————

Two glossy black SUVs sped through the streets of Los Angeles.

Turning on the communicator, on the passenger seat of the first SUV, Luo An fiddled with the folder in his hands and briefed:

"Everyone, today we have a bank robbery case."

Los Angeles, home to the world-famous movie center Hollywood, is the federal government's second largest city, dubbed "Angel City."

At the same time, this city is also notorious for its high crime rate.

Armed robberies with knives, armed robberies with guns, burglaries, murders, and other such common cases aren't worth mentioning. Just in the category of bank heists alone, Los Angeles averages 6-8 incidents per day.

Once, a bank situated on a street corner in Southern Los Angeles was robbed 11 times within 24 hours, promptly setting a record for most robberies.

However, the losses for that bank were not substantial, as only the first four sets of robbers came away with full loads, while the latter seven attempts were practically for nothing, netting very little money.

Under such circumstances, an ordinary bank robbery wouldn't require the Special Investigation Team to take action.

LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) and FBI would have some of their regular agents take note of the incident, then attempt to apprehend the bank robbers.

"So, because this bank robbery isn't ordinary, that's why they called us in?"

In the second SUV's back seat, Reesi was eating while pressing the communicator, asking:

"What exactly happened when the incident occurred? Did a lot of people die?"

No answer came to Reesi, for even Luo An didn't know the specifics.

In less than ten minutes, the Special Investigation Team's SUV reached the targeted bank.

The bank building was tall and large, not far from Hollywood, named "California First Republican Bank."

California First Republican Bank was founded in 1985, headquartered in San Francisco, focusing on wealth management services for "high net worth individuals," offering low-interest loans for the wealthy, and ranking 14th in asset size among federal commercial banks.

At this time, the LAPD had already set up a police cordon around the bank, with many curious citizens gathering to discuss, or looking up into the bank, and plenty of journalists capturing the scene and broadcasting live.

After showing the LAPD officers the FBI's gold badge, Luo An led five agents of the Special Investigation Team and quickly entered the bank.

Inside, the scene was chaotic, with hostages temporarily controlled by the LAPD on site, and many puddles of white wastewater on the ground.

Luo An waved his hand, and Winslow, Chenier, and Reesi immediately went forward to soothe the hostages and ask for clues, while Michelle and Mona went to check surveillance. Luo An went up to an LAPD captain and inquired:

"What's the situation?"

"This group of robbers is a bunch of well-trained guys."

The LAPD captain stretched out his hand to shake Luo An's, then gave a detailed briefing on the case:

"The robbery occurred 15 minutes ago, with a total of six robbers, all armed.

They had robbed a maintenance vehicle not yet reported stolen, parked it in front of the bank, and hung up a 'Temporarily Closed' sign on the front door."

Luo An picked up the sign and looked at it, frowning:

"This doesn't seem to be this bank's sign."

"Indeed, it's not."

With his hands spread, the captain continued:

"It looks very much like a movie prop, but the people outside didn't know what was going on. Seeing this sign, nobody came knocking to get in."

"OK."

Luo An nodded, setting the sign aside as the captain went on:

"Once these people stormed into the bank, they had a clear division of labor; three took control of the scene, quickly gathering all the staff in the lobby, ordering them to get down on the floor.

Then they confiscated their cell phones, put all the phones into a large box, and then filled the box with water."

The captain brought the box over, showing Luo An the phones soaked and ruined in water, and then pointing to the white wastewater all over the ground, said:

"After controlling the hostages, these three robbers started spraying water in the lobby, which has been analyzed to be chlorine bleach."

Luo An nodded:

"To cover up traces."

"Yeah."

The captain continued to lead Luo An towards the bank vault, saying:

"The other three robbers got the keys from the bank manager.

Once the time-lock on the vault was deactivated, they threatened the bank manager with guns and used the code to open the vault door."

A time-lock is a security measure for a bank vault, meaning that the vault door can't be opened with the code alone before a pre-set time is reached.

Luo An rubbed his temple. The knowledge that these bank robbers knew about the time-lock suggested either that the robbers had conducted detailed reconnaissance or there was an insider in the bank.

Suppressing the two theories for later investigation, Luo An asked:

"What happened next?"

"Next, those three robbers broke into the vault..."

As the captain continued his explanation, suddenly a cloud of white smoke appeared inside the vault.

Seeing this, Luo An's expression drastically changed, pulling the captain into a quick retreat because for the first time, his sense of danger went off like a motor running wild in his mind!