New York Presbyterian Hospital, Manhattan Lower City Branch.
"The patient's condition is not serious, a month's rest should suffice."
"Okay, thank you, doctor."
Seeing the doctor turn to leave, Broson, the leader of Squad One, shifted his gaze to the ward and saw Fisher lying on the bed, moaning loudly while his legs were propped up, his expression darkened as he murmured under his breath:
"A group of you couldn't even handle one person, utterly useless!"
Luo An Greenwood was under Augustus's protection, and Broson felt it was not wise to make a move now, but according to his subordinates, Luo An Greenwood was currently investigating that park murder case...
"As long as he doesn't find the murderer within three days, things will be easy to handle."
Without intending to meet his unlucky nephew Fisher, Broson turned and left.
...
Office of the leader of Squad Five's investigative unit.
Luo An was sitting in a chair, looking indifferently at the big-bellied black man behind the desk.
After leaving the training department's interrogation room, Mona had brought him here, and Luo An guessed immediately that this man was the officer who had transferred him. It seemed that his earlier display of beating up Fisher and the others had caught his eye.
As for the fact that the other party was silent, only staring intently at him, Luo An didn't mind, it was just a simple intimidation tactic... treating the other party as a white, no, a black radish would do.
Black radish Augustus, looking at the calm, neither servile nor overbearing Luo An, grew increasingly fond of him and went straight to the point:
"I am Augustus, the leader of Squad Five. Honestly, Luo An, I really like you."
Luo An frowned slightly, feeling something was a bit off with that statement.
"But your current situation is troublesome, and fighting is ultimately wrong."
Hearing this, Luo An nodded internally. Here it comes, the combination of carrot and stick was next.
Augustus took a sip of coffee and continued:
"Here is part of the dossier for the park shooting murder. It's now noon, and I give you three days to catch the murderer. If successful, I will immediately transfer you to Squad Five and make you a full-time agent. If you fail,"
Augustus threw the folder on the table to Luo An, laughing:
"I will still transfer you to Squad Five, but for the next six months you'll be responsible for filing and writing case reports, understood?"
"OK."
Luo An nodded, then looked up and asked:
"If I solve the case successfully, how is the reward divided?"
"You solve the case, the reward is naturally yours."
"Thank you, sir."
Luo An wasted no more words, picked up the folder and left the office.
Watching Luo An's erect figure leave, Augustus nodded appreciatively and remarked:
"Handsome and intelligent, decisive and polite... he's so much like how I was when I was young!"
Amid the curious, puzzled, and various expressions of other agents, Luo An walked out of the Squad Five office area undisturbed, patted the waiting Mona on the shoulder, and smiled:
"Let's go, partner, we have three days to earn the reward."
"What, you think three days is a long time?"
Mona rolled her eyes at Luo An, took over the folder, and headed towards the elevator while starting to read the information and asked:
"Where to next?"
"First, let's get some weapons."
...
Inside the armory, Mona applied for a bulletproof vest and a Glock 19, and after getting ready, she turned to look at Luo An's equipment and was instantly stunned.
Luo An was dressed in an all-black combat suit, holding a tactical helmet, and wore a carrier vest across his chest. His waist packs were stuffed with smoke grenades and stun grenades, and his holsters contained two Glock 18 submachine pistols. Upon closer inspection, Mona noticed that Luo An also carried six extended magazines for his pistols.
"Glock 18 extended magazines can hold 33 bullets each, and you have taken a total of eight magazines!"
Mona felt like she was going insane, raising her voice to question:
"We're in New York, and we're here to investigate! Do you think this is a battlefield?"
"Exactly because this is New York, that's why I brought so much stuff."
Hearing Mona's shout, Luo An helplessly spread his hands, looking resigned:
"If the equipment room had allowed, I would have taken some grenades and assault rifles too!"
"...Fu-k!"
Mona covered her forehead with her hand, murmuring to herself:
"I must be crazy to have agreed to team up with this kind of person."
Luo An seriously explained, "Listen, Mona, you only live once, and I don't want to die before making some money. Let's go, we only have three days."
Watching Luo An's retreating figure, along with the astonished looks from passersby agents, Mona's mouth twitched, hesitating for a few seconds before following him.
Yet she didn't dare to look up all the way.
...
Central Park, three o'clock in the afternoon.
The two drove to the small road where the crime scene was located. By now, it was daytime, and many tourists were strolling around the park.
Seeing Luo An fully armed, people instinctively avoided him, and several patrolling police officers even came forward to inquire about his identity, but Mona, holding the FBI badge, held them back.
Seeing the curious eyes and various looks around, Mona suppressed her breath and asked cockingly:
"What are we doing here? New York Police Department has already cleaned up the crime scene after taking photos and searching for clues. There are no clues left here."
Luo An stood where Mike's body was found in the photos and pondered. Hearing Mona's question, he replied:
"No, the position of the corpse is the biggest clue."
"?"
Seeing Mona's puzzled expression, Luo An said solemnly:
"Have you ever thought about why the killer chose this spot to kill Mike?"
"Uh, is it because there was no one else here except for the killer and the victim at that time?"
"That's only one of the reasons."
Luo An nodded and continued:
"The more important reason is that this place is concealed, and it's easy to leave after the murder."
Luo An stretched out his hand and pointed around, introducing to Mona:
"To the west of this spot are the river and the lake. According to testimonies, there were no sounds of passing boats, so the killer couldn't escape in the direction of the river. To the south and north are pathways leading to the road, and to the east is a large area of woods. The case reports from the New York Police Department reveal that no useful clues were found in the woods, so..."
Mona's eyes brightened up, joining the conversation:
"So the killer escaped from the pathways south or north of the crime scene?"
"No, the killer escaped through the woods."
Luo An shook his head and continued:
"The testimonies mentioned that at the time of the gunshot, people were walking along the pathways to the south and north of the crime scene, so the killer could only have escaped through the woods."
Mona, thinking briefly and realizing the statements matched the testimonies, pondered and then asked:
"But the New York Police Department searched the eastern woods with police dogs, and they didn't find any clues..."
"Dogs can't, but I can."
"???"