"Where have they gone?"
In a room of the mansion, Benjamin turned his head to ask a female agent. Kira hesitated for a moment, then said, "The agents have not found their tracks, suspecting that they may have already left the main building of the mansion."
"Didn't I ask you to keep an eye on them?"
"They used a little trick to shake off our agents. They didn't seem to be investigating the spy at all," Kira explained.
"I know, of course." Benjamin's voice was still very low, but he was not angry about being played with. He said, "Because I had no intention of pacifying the crowd either."
"But..." Kira paused slightly, sounding a little anxious, "Now it's snowing less and less. Many people are saying that helicopters can take off. They're even plotting to force their way through the door and leave on the helicopters."
"They will not have that opportunity. I have already sent someone to the roof of the neighboring building. Those helicopters will never take off again."
Kira frowned. She stepped closer to Benjamin, trying to convince him, "Benjamin, I understand that you want to find the spy and take the treasure beneath. But if you resort to such coercion, you may face a strong backlash."
"Not only media representatives, regular businessmen, and dealers live here, but also many politicians, even state legislators from Kansas State. If the lot were to team up and pressure us, we might not withstand."
"You think I would take on something so uncertain?" Benjamin retorted. Kira still frowned, having a hard time figuring out Benjamin's game. She said, "You've always been tough, but this time you're forced to be too tough. What are you relying on exactly?"
"I already knew who the spy was before coming here."
Kira was stunned. She stared at Benjamin and said incredulously, "What??"
"So what are we here for? Why didn't we just go and arrest him?"
"Why don't you first hear who the spy is?"
Benjamin moved back to his desk. At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Kira turned her head and recognized the secret knock. She immediately said, "Come in."
A younger-looking agent came in with a briefcase in hand. He saluted Benjamin and reported, "Boss, the helicopters have been destroyed and the item has been retrieved."
After his report, he stepped forward and handed the briefcase to Benjamin. After another salute, he exited the room.
Kira's eyes followed the briefcase in Benjamin's hands. Benjamin then pulled out a file folder from it. After opening the file, on it, he read aloud:
"Alfred Pennyworth, born into the hereditary Butler family, the Pennyworths, who have lived in London for generations. He attended Eton Public School and made it into Cambridge University King's College with exceptional results."
"With excellent scores, he was specially recruited by the British Section Six during his sophomore year in college and became an agent in the D Department of Military Intelligence."
At the sound of key phrases like "Cambridge University" and "British intelligence agency MI6", Kira's face took on a strange expression. Benjamin put down the file and continued, "I think you should be familiar with this resume. Heard about someone with a similar background on the radio, haven't you?"
"Kim Philby," Kira named slowly.
Both graduated from Cambridge University, both were specially recruited by British intelligence, and both ended up in the D department engaged in foreign espionage work ...
However, Kira still felt that this was farfetched. She argued, "There should be a few actual British agents in the British intelligence agency MI6, right?"
Looking at Benjamin's gaze, Kira suddenly hesitated,"...There are, right?"
"Indeed, merely these experiences are not enough to conclude he's a Soviet agent, but what truly exposed him was his appearance at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Kira looked at Benjamin, waiting for him to elaborate, only for Benjamin to remark, "That is not something within your security clearance."
"All I can tell you is, going to serve the Wayne Family as their butler is not Alfred's first time in Gotham. In his younger days, he was involved in Gotham and got tangled up in a case that remains unsolved."
"The case concerned many people, including the renowned Godfather Carmine Falcone of Gotham, and the famous missionary Daniel Christoph, who was once called the 'Glory of the East Coast'."
"But I still don't understand why, if Alfred Pennyworth, the butler of the Wayne family, could be a Soviet spy, we didn't go to Gotham but came here instead?"
As soon as Kira finished her question, she immediately knew the answer. The reason was that even in Gotham, Wayne Enterprises' stronghold, no one could make a move against Alfred Pennyworth without inviting trouble.
Following this, Benjamin provided more detail.
"We've tried to send agents into Gotham before, and those who were lucky enough to escape told me it's a madhouse. It's like a giant quagmire that the CIA doesn't want to get sucked into."
"According to our intel, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne died young. When they passed, Bruce Wayne was still a child. He was essentially raised by his butler, Pennyworth, with whom he is very close."
"Besides, as you saw for yourself, Bruce is far from the frivolous playboy he pretends to be. He's highly skilled, seamlessly engaging several agents in combat, certainly no fool. He may be extraordinarily clever."
"What do you think made him this way?"
Kira pondered this and concluded, "Did Pennyworth train him all the way?"
"That's likely. It's the only way that can explain his extraordinary fighting skills and the manufactured public persona he has."
"He may well have been moulded by Pennyworth into an enemy of ours, and his disguise is meant to reduce our chances of exposing him. After all, who would suspect that an American-style playboy is a Soviet spy?"
"So, Wayne and his butler are essentially our enemies now?"
"Exactly. That's why we're setting this trap. The CIA cannot tolerate the possibility of Wayne Enterprises' leader colluding with the Soviet Union. If he wants to cause trouble, the consequences would be disastrous."
Benjamin sighed, looking out the window and raising his voice, saying, "Bruce Wayne needs a justifiable cause of death."
"The CIA wants him dead, but we can't resort to simple assassination, and our agents cannot perform efficiently in Gotham. So, we must lure Bruce Wayne out."
"Once he's in Metropolis, we can take him into custody under the guise of investigating potential spy activity. If he dies, we pin it on the Soviet spies, and everything is above board."
"On the other hand, Pennyworth might be the one holding the Philby List, and might know something about a case from many years ago. Hence, he must not die."
"We put down Bruce Wayne, the sole Wayne family leader, first, then catching Pennyworth will be trivial. He's old, and without the Wayne family's protection, he'll have nowhere to run."
"The only question now is, how do we kill Bruce?" Kira asked, somewhat confused. "I saw how he fought the agents in the hallway. His combat skills are too advanced for his age."
"I'm not planning on fighting him head on. Even if we could, didn't you notice that Clark, who suddenly showed up, has abnormal abilities?"
Benjamin looked up, his face somber, "The CIA knew about the secret experiments conducted underground by former mayors of Metropolis, but we don't have legal jurisdiction inside the federation, so it isn't our place to interfere."
"What can be confirmed is that the ex-mayor who built that lab was not an ordinary person."
"The lab he created wasn't ordinary either. Even Lionel knew about the treasure underground, so why hasn't anyone successfully entered it all these years?"
"Or perhaps, they've entered but couldn't get out."
Upon hearing this, Kira realized what Benjamin was hinting at — to wait for Bruce and Clark to enter the lab, then seize the spoils when they can't get out.
If Bruce entered and didn't come out, they could report him as missing. If he died from severe injuries, they could pin it on Soviet agents. If he only sustained minor injuries, wounded Bruce wouldn't be able to escape the agents lying in wait for him at the exit.
"If they've been missing for some time as per your intel, they've probably found the entrance and entered," she concluded.
"Now..." Benjamin tapped his finger on the table and looked at Kira, who promptly saluted him. He then issued a direct command:
"Muster everyone to conduct a carpet-style search on the first floor. Once the entrance is found, stay put. Everyone, be on high alert, and load bullets."
Benjamin's face was grave, his tone severe and cold — colder than the snow outside, like every leader of an intelligence agency:
"Whomever comes out of there, empty your magazine."