"What in the world is going on?" The female agent slapped the steering wheel, "FBI, CIA, and the KGB have all spread their feelers out, but they have yet to figure out where this mysterious fire started. I absolutely don't believe that such a well-organized riot was spontaneously organized by a bunch of corn farmers!"
"I don't believe it either." The black agent inhaled deeply and said. "But you need to be prepared, what Rodriguez said had better be false."
"Even if it's only partly true, dealing with individuals of their caliber... have you heard of Philby?"
"I sure have." The female agent started the car again, saying, "A hair's breadth away from becoming the highest leader of Britain's special agent organization, only to be found out a KGB agent. And the absurdity doesn't stop there, he was acquitted and returned to the Soviet Union! Wasn't it just a ruckus over his remains recently?"
"Forget about Britain, even in America, there are several such cases. The more cunning they are, the harder to deal with." The black agent revealed a somewhat cruel expression. "If he escapes from our grasp, those guys from the Central Intelligence Agency will mock us for life."
The female agent was obviously tense, her breathing noticeably quicker. She turned a bend before hesitatingly saying, "Wouldn't it be better... if we let the Central Intelligence Agency handle this?"
"Forget about it, our boss won't let anyone go." The black agent lit up a cigarette, puffing on it as he spoke, "Have you forgotten our friction with the CIA? This is precisely our chance to show that we're superior. I don't want to be clueless and then have that partial group taking him over to the CIA."
He blew out a puff of smoke, coldly saying, "We are not like those genteel Brits who ask nothing but patronizing questions."
"The other side is a renowned psychologist, conventional interrogations have no effect on him. But we can use any methods to obtain important intelligence."
When his cold voice was transmitted over to Batman via the bug, Batman immediately pressed the hang-up button, then stood up. He knew that he had to act swiftly.
Batman was well aware of America's urgency regarding the revolution in Central America. They were almost about to be pushed to the brink of insanity.
Since the start of this revolution, they had been incessantly investigating, aiming to find the organizer behind, but whether they tried infiltrating or counter-invading, they gained nearly no progress. To obtain the specific intelligence from Shiller, they were surely willing to stoop to any level.
In the past, Batman would not worry. He knew Shiller had the ability to turn into gray mist, and that most attacks could not harm him. However, the situation was different now.
If the brain, or the spirit that controlled the body, was compromised, even very high defensive capabilities and sophisticated defensive means would be useless. If Shiller couldn't even react in time, he would not be able to dodge.
And from the state Shiller was in when he was taken away, the tranquilizer that Brand had given him was clearly not enough. Batman clearly remembered, Shiller's hand was still trembling when he got in the car.
Batman knew that the biggest suspicion lay in the fact that the Federal Bureau of Investigation suddenly arrested Shiller. While Shiller certainly had the ability to escape, he skipped the process of asking for evidence, warrants, arguing with them and resisting.
Shiller even added fuel to their arrest process — one, by admitting that he was an important agent of the KGB and two, stating that he was a person of great importance.
In the end, he used a cold attitude to silence everyone, forbidding them to argue in his defense. It looked like he was intentionally pleading guilty.
The original process of arrest, although the charges sounded numerous, would just result in regular imprisonment after the interrogation process.
If he applied for witness protection, this issue could potentially escalate into a tug of war between two nations, where the party in the middle might not be dealt a good hand.
Philby was merely an exception, he indeed was quite capable. Because his position was too high and too renowned, both parties would have to hold back a little.
But people like him were the minority. The majority, who thought they could manipulate both sides, ended up crushed in the end.
Batman couldn't comprehend Shiller's motivations at all, he wasn't even sure if Shiller was deliriously blabbering due to fever, but it was without a doubt he needed to quickly figure out a way to get Shiller out.
Finding conclusive evidence of Shiller's crimes and having him face trial was one thing, letting him be targeted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the CIA was another matter entirely.
To that end, Batman knew who he should turn to. After all, all these incidents were inescapably tied to one organization, the KGB.
When he went to look for Alfred again, Batman discovered he had sent Dick off to school.
In Alfred's room, only Aisha, who had also been unsuccessfully looking for the housekeeper, was there. Batman lifted Aisha, intending to take her away, but at that moment, Aisha began howling, her muddled cries rang out:
"Wah! Wah wah! Want toy! Yesterday! Toy! Book! Next to book! Want toy!!!"
Batman knitted his brows, looking at Aisha he said: "Aren't all your toys in the toy bucket in your room?"
Aisha grew more frantic, she yelled out: "Not toy! Not! Yesterday... new toy... new toy!! Red! Shiny! Sharp! Next to book... here! Right here!"
Batman didn't quite understand the disjointed words Aisha was saying, but he understood the last two words. Thus, he surmised that Aisha was saying Alfred gave her a new toy yesterday, it was in this room, close to a book.
With Aisha wailing in his arms, Batman was left with a pounding headache. So, he decided to search the bookshelf for the toy, intending to first soothe Aisha to sleep before continuing his investigation.
As he approached the bookshelf, he noticed a tiny glint next to one of the books. Reaching out to touch, he felt a hard metallic object. Upon examining it, he found it to be a Red Flag Medal.
Batman's hand stiffened momentarily. He knew his faithful butler might have had some connection to the Soviet Union, but he didn't expect that the connection would've got to the point of being awarded a Red Flag Medal.
Aisha quickly snatched the medal from him, yelling in excitement. Batman was just about to turn around and leave, but when he touched the medal earlier, his hand brushed against the edge of a book, and he noticed the corner of a letter sticking out.
Curiosity piqued, Batman pulled out the letter. He saw that the letter paper had already been taken out of the envelope. He decided to unfold it, but the very first sentence on the paper left him shocked.
"Comrade Pennyworth, the brilliant feats you accomplished in Mexico have left me both shocked and in admiration!"
Batman didn't even glance at the main body of the letter, instead his gaze directly fell over the signature of the letter, which bore the name of someone who had repeatedly appeared in TV reports over the past few months — Vasilyevich.
This was a personal letter from the new leader of the Soviet Union.
So, Alfred was the true leader of the revolution in Central America??!!
Shocked, Batman raised his head. As for Shiller....
Aisha, who was holding the medal, looked up to see the black figure disappear in an instant.
After he left, the letter paper slowly floated down to the ground, like a leaf in the yearly transition between the end of summer and start of autumn, seeming light but carrying considerable weight.