Chapter 15 Chapter 13 UACV Headquarters

Paula's stern words silenced the room.The room was very still.This long day made everyone feel heavy, and the exhaustion in the morning was clearly reflected in everyone's eyes.At last it was the silence broken by Troy. "Pola, tell us what to do." Paula hesitated before speaking. "I know it's been a long day. Let's all go back and rest for a few hours. We'll meet again here at 8:30. Our first mission will be to find where the victims were killed. We're going to revisit the scene, Hopefully whoever Pondello sent to scout the scene can bring us some evidence, whatever it is. Well, Pondello, call Dante and tell him when we're meeting."

"Happy to oblige," said Pontillo cautiously. Paula pretended not to hear his tone. She walked up to Troy and touched his arm. "I want to talk to you alone." "Let's go." Paula walked in front of Troy, and Troy opened the door for Paula like a gentleman, and followed him out, closing the door behind him.Paula pondered the purpose of her superior's demeanor. "Okay, you can ask." "What role did Anthony play in this investigation? I don't know, and I doubt his own vague reasons." "Pola, have you ever heard of John Negroponte?"

"I'm sleepy. Who is he, an Italian-American?" "My God, Paula, you should take a breather from your criminology books and read the papers. Yes, he's American, but his family is Greek. Long story short, he was recently appointed to the U.S. National Chief of Secret Service. He is in charge of all agents of various units of the US government, including NASA Space Agency, CIA Central Intelligence Agency, US Drug Enforcement Administration, etc. What I want to say is that this person is probably a Catholic. Well, today he Called me personally in the morning when we were investigating the scene of the Father Robaya case and we had a great talk and a long talk. He told me that Anthony flew here directly from Washington DC to join the investigation. He didn't give me any options opportunity. It's not just because President Bush is in Rome and needs protection. These are Negroponte's words: 'I'm sending you one of my closest partners and we should be thankful because He knows all about the case, from head to toe.'”

"How did you get in touch with them so quickly?" Paula asked, staring at the ground, and she was quite surprised by Troy's heavyweight words just now. "Oh, dear Paula, don't underestimate the power of Serin. After the first case, Serin called Negroponte himself. According to what Negroponte told me, they used to Never spoke, and he has absolutely no idea how Serling got his number. Because his phone only existed for the last two weeks." "Then how did Negroponte know who to send quickly?" "It's no secret. The last person who deciphered Kaloski's words - Anthony's friend in VICAP was when Kaloski escaped from the St. The Vatican police got in touch. When they found Robaya's body this morning, Serin himself broke the rules he had set up not to clean up behind closed doors. He made some phone calls to connect the leads. He was everywhere Guys with connections, and those connections are high-level. I thought you'd be able to discover those connections yourself, honey."

"I have a vague feeling," Paula said, with great sarcasm in her tone. "He told me that there was going to be a growing interest in the case from the government side, and it was a private interest." "Oh my god, then there's not going to be a team helping us, right?" "For this question, you'd better find the answer yourself." Paula fell silent.If the most important thing in this case is to keep confidential, she would rather only work on her own part of the information, and leave the rest alone. "You don't think I've gone too far with this case, do you?" In fact, Paula was exhausted by the case, and she couldn't take it anymore.She had never encountered a similar situation, and it took her a long time to feel that she regretted what she just said.

Troy poked his chin with a finger.He forced Paula to look at him. "We've all been through it now, baby. But don't let those emotions get to us. Focus on the fact that there's a devil killing people. Your job is to catch him." Paula smiled.She was so grateful for Troy's words that she even wanted to hug him one more time, one last time, right here.Although she knew in her heart that it would be a mistake and would break her heart again.Fortunately, this impulse flashed through her mind, and she tried her best to adjust her state as quickly as possible, hoping that Troy didn't find out what she was thinking just now.

"I worry that Anthony will mess with our investigation, that he will be an obstacle." "Maybe. But he might be useful. This guy was employed by the U.S. Air Force as a special paratrooper. He's got a lot of talent, he's very smart, and he knows our suspect well, and he's a priest. He'll tell you Good help in unfamiliar territory, and so is Dante. Think of it this way: our colleagues in the Vatican have opened doors for you, and for Antony, you are not simple people.” "Dante is a nasty fool." "I get it, he's a nuisance too. But both of our victims were in his territory. Even though they were just a few steps apart, it was still his territory."

"This is still Italy, that's our territory. And what they did to Pottini was illegal. They disposed of the body without notifying us. This is a trampling on justice." Troy shrugged disapprovingly. "Even if we report this, what do we gain? We'll just make ourselves enemies, that's all. Forget about the politics, and never mind what they did to make us uncomfortable. Now we need Dante's help , as you know, he's one of your team members." "You decide." "And you're my favorite detective. Well, now I'm going home and going to sleep. I'm going to the lab in the morning, testing everything they bring me, and I'm going to help you build Your castle in the air."

Troy was walking toward the stairs when suddenly he stopped and turned to Paula with a look that seemed to pierce Paula's heart. "One more little thing. Negroponte asked us to catch this bastard. He asked me to help him especially personally. Do you understand? I couldn't be happier if I could make him owe us something."

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