In the villa in Greenwich District, Luo An and Darren were sitting in the study, while Reesi and another female agent went to the couple's bedroom to conduct a simple search.
"Mr. Darren."
Luo An took a sip of coffee, pointed at the clock by the conference table, and said:
"Your wife disappeared around 6 AM, and now it's already 2 PM, a full eight hours have passed, but the kidnapper has yet to call for a ransom... Are you sure you and your wife haven't offended someone in your business dealings?"
"Definitely not... I really don't know, Mr. Agent"
Darren sat on the sofa with a very unpleasant look on his face, and it was unclear whether it was because of his wife's disappearance or the worry that he might not inherit much money if she died. He immediately explained after hearing Luo An's question:
"Sabina mostly handles the company's affairs, while I am usually responsible for liaising with business partners, maintaining relationships."
"Okay."
Luo An nodded. This was also a kind of reversal of traditional gender roles. Just as he was about to continue asking, Darren seemed to suddenly remember something and slapped his thigh, saying:
"Right, Mr. Agent, Sabina often goes to a ladies' healthcare center for body maintenance. Last night, during our last phone call, Sabina mentioned she had been there during the day, I wonder..."
Before Darren could finish, Reesi walked into the study holding a pink membership card and handed it to Luo An, saying:
"I found the VIP card for the healthcare center."
"OK."
Luo An took the card and nodded, instructing Darren not to leave the villa for now, as there were two agents outside responsible for surveillance... to protect him, and then he left with Reesi back to the SUV.
The pitch-black vehicle sped along the road, and Reesi, holding the pink membership card, examined it carefully. Luo An noticed this and asked with some confusion:
"What's wrong, Reesi? Is there something unusual about the membership card?"
"The membership card is fine, but the address on it is not."
Reesi ran her fingernails over the card, her expression a mocking smile, and turned to Luo An:
"The address on this card is for the Lower East Side of New York, an area I'm quite familiar with. I don't remember any healthcare centers there."
"Hmm?"
Luo An suddenly understood: "Are you suggesting Sabina lied to Darren?"
"Who knows?"
Reesi took out her handgun and began to organize the magazine, tossing the membership card aside, and said calmly:
"This couple is not as simple as we imagined."
...
Luo An drove the SUV and parked across the street from the address listed on the membership card, turned his head, and saw a high-end café on the opposite side.
Turning to look at Reesi, he saw her smile faintly, holding the membership card between two fingers, her tone suddenly teasing:
"Come on, little boy, I'll show you the big world today."
"..."
Reesi was 32 years old, Luo An only 25, so in a sense, he was indeed a little boy.
The two got out of the car, and Luo An followed Reesi as they crossed the street and entered the café.
The café was small, and at just past two in the afternoon, Luo An only saw a few men and women enjoying afternoon tea. However, before he could voice his doubts, Reesi grabbed his arm and pulled him into the back kitchen of the café.
"Don't speak, leave it to me."
Reesi pulled Luo An closer, whispered in his ear, and they continued forward, suddenly encountering a burly black man sitting in front of thick curtains.
Upon seeing Luo An and Reesi, the burly black man stood up as if to ask something, but upon seeing the pink membership card held by Reesi, he nodded and sat back down.
Lifting the thick curtains, they discovered a staircase leading downwards. At the end of the stairs, they found a door bathed in light, and upon pushing open the door, music filled with teasing and temptation burst into their ears.
Luo An scanned the surroundings and under the shimmering colorful lights, pairs of men and women sat on sofas discussing the usage of toys. When they got excited, they would walk into the rooms on either side of the hall, starting to expend their energy while applying what they had just discussed onto each other.
"Welcome to the new world."
With a chuckle, Reesi looked up at Luo An, hooked her arm into his, and headed toward the bar in the corner. She knocked on the table and shouted:
"Where's your boss?"
The female bartender behind the bar poured two glasses of drink for them and pointed to a certain pink room in the corner of the hall, saying:
"The boss is playing, no time."
Nodding, Reesi, still linked with Luo An's arm, headed toward the pink room without even knocking and barged right in.
"Hey!"
"Fu-k"
"What the hell?"
The moment the door was flung open, several angry curses erupted from the room. Reesi didn't care; she casually pulled a black leather whip from behind the door, cracked it, and pulled out an FBI golden badge to show everyone, shouting loudly:
"The boss stays! Everyone else get out!"
Luo An: "..."
Are their methods always this wild?!
Upon seeing the FBI's golden badge, several men and women in the pink room instantly stopped their activities and turned their heads toward a middle-aged white woman with a naked body and heavy makeup.
Seeing her gesture, several men and women quickly dressed and ran out of the room, one of the white men was so hurried that he even ran off the bed without pulling out his... thing.
That's just too hard on the eyes.
Luo An sighed. He didn't know if his luck was just bad or if American customs were simply too liberal. Why did he always run into such odd stuff today?
"FBI?"
Middle-aged white female Avila sat up from the bed, lit a cigarette, put it in her mouth without bothering to get dressed, and just quietly looked at Reesi and Luo An, smiling:
"What brings you here today? Anything I can help you with?"
Without beating around the bush, Reesi took Sabina's photo from Luo An's hand, placed it in front of Avila, and said:
"She's a member here. Bring out the people who have serviced her before; I have some questions for them."
"That's impossible, agent lady."
Avila stood up from the bed and said while putting on her clothes:
"This place was created to give our clients a safe fantasy space. We cannot show you our clients' privacy; it goes against our principles."
Hearing Avila's words, Reesi didn't get angry but simply took out her phone and said:
"Then I'll contact the NYPD, see if they will deal with this place."
"We have a legal business license; everything here is in compliance. If the FBI wants to search here, please go get a search warrant from the court."
Avila exhaled a puff of smoke and touched Reesi's face, smiling:
"Why do you think we've been able to operate safely up to now?"
"You..."
Reesi's face stiffened, but Avila's smile deepened. Just as she was about to continue, Luo An suddenly stepped between the two and, seeing Avila looking at him, he took out his phone and said with a smile:
"My superior used to work at the IRS. Do you want to have a chat with him?"
"..."
Hearing this, Avila fell silent and then glared fiercely at Luo An and Reesi. As she walked towards the door, she said:
"Give me ten minutes, I'll call those people out."