Brian’s Capture

Interesting.

After hanging up the phone, Lake let out a laugh.

Kingpin’s call was an offer of friendship, and at the same time, he was showcasing his network. In his network, one of his friends happened to be a friend of Lake’s as well.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

A friend of a friend is undoubtedly an even greater friend.

Lake said to Rachel beside him, "I’m going out."

Rachel nodded, "Okay."

Lake left and immediately dialed the California Department of Homeland Security, asking his friend there to dispatch an action team from the Los Angeles office to cooperate with his operation.

Soon.

As Lake drove towards the vicinity of Racing Edge, an armored vehicle was already waiting at the intersection.

Lake got out of the car directly, shook hands with Adam, the leader of the action team from the Los Angeles office, and said briefly, "When we go in, shoot anyone who resists. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility."

Adam nodded, "Okay."

After all, they had received orders to cooperate with Lake, and with Lake’s assurance, they were even more prepared mentally.

Lake put on his earpiece, "Speak!"

Tiffany, his assistant in the New York Homeland Building, who was using satellites for real-time monitoring, gestured for the Homeland agent to zoom in. She took a look and replied, "Sir, according to the satellite image, there is indeed a sky-blue Porsche Cayenne parked in the backyard, with several people operating near the vehicle."

Lake hummed, opened the car door, and said to Adam and the others, "Move out."

Adam and the others quickly got into the vehicles.

Yes.

Sky-blue.

It was obvious that his car had been repainted while he was on his way.

This information came from Kingpin. If it was true, Lake didn’t mind making friends with him. If it was false, Lake vowed to flatten Hell’s Kitchen with his troops.

Vroom!

The armored vehicle was the first to pull up to the entrance of Racing Edge.

With a bang.

The armored vehicle opened, and Adam led his team, along with the members, rushing out of the armored vehicle.

"Woof woof woof!"

"Boom!"

"DHS!"

"Get down!"

"Get down!"

Adam led the team, charging directly into the Racing Edge shop, roaring, signaling the few staff members in the store to raise their hands high, and at the same time, leading his men to advance rapidly towards the backyard.

Just then.

The store manager, with his hands raised high, found the right moment and with a whoosh, ran to the left, preparing to escape.

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

Lake walked in from outside with a blank expression, glanced at the store manager who had been shot in the knee, and asked, "Where do you think you’re going?"

At the same time.

A firefight broke out in the backyard.

But the firefight was quick and ended quickly.

When Lake reached the backyard, five bodies were already lying on the ground. There was one more person, a young man with a Federal Bureau of Investigation badge in his hand, being held at gunpoint.

"Huh?"

Lake frowned as he looked at Brian O’Conner kneeling on the ground with his hands raised, holding the federal badge, "FBI? What are you doing here?"

Saying that.

Lake didn’t wait for Brian to speak, his gaze fell on the sky-blue Porsche Cayenne in Brian’s line of sight.

He opened the driver’s cabin.

Lake bent down and glanced under the dashboard, finding his mark. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Old friend, I’ve finally found you.

If this car couldn’t be found, it would undoubtedly become a stain on Lake’s life. As he said before, the car of a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security was stolen, and he couldn’t get it back?

If this news got out, his reputation would be ruined.

It’s just that…

Who the hell gave my car a paint job.

As Lake breathed a sigh of relief, he looked at the car in front of him, which had changed from pure white to sky blue, and a surge of anger rose within him.

Just then.

Wuwuwuwu!

Police sirens blared outside.

Lake said without turning his head, "Adam."

Adam nodded, signaled two team members, and turned to head outside, preparing to liaunt with the local police.

Lake caressed his recovered car, feeling fortunate.

After a while.

Adam brought the local sheriff and… the federal agent Billy Kings, who had visited him last night.

After Billy Kings walked in, he saw that the undercover agent Brian O’Conner was still alive and breathed a sigh of relief. He then immediately said to Lake, who had his back to him, "Edwin…"

Lake, without turning his head, caressed his car, "This car, it’s the one that was stolen from me in New York over ten days ago."

"…What?"

Billy Kings was stunned. The words of accusation he was about to utter were swallowed back, leaving him speechless.

But Lake had no intention of letting him off the hook.

Lake turned, glanced at Brian O’Conner, who was holding his badge, and then said expressionlessly to Billy Kings, "Agent Kings, can you explain to me why there’s a federal agent next to my car, telling me that I’m curious?"

Damn it.

Collusion from within and without?

Lake had done similar things when he was with the NYPD. Although rarely, he had done it. At this moment, Lake had already imagined the scene of what kind of illicit dealings there were between the FBI here and this car dealership.

No wonder.

No wonder any law enforcement officer in Los Angeles drove sports cars, while in New York, even driving a brand-new sedan was considered rare.

So that’s where the problem lay.

Good heavens.

No wonder Los Angeles was known as a transit hub for stolen cars. The root of the problem was rotten to the core.

Hearing Lake’s words, Billy Kings quickly said, "Agent Brian O’Conner is here on an undercover assignment."

Lake said "oh," and looked at Brian, "I’ve met you, is that right?"

Brian quickly nodded.

Lake chuckled and, right in front of Billy Kings, directly dialed the number of the California FBI Director.

The call connected.

"Good afternoon, old friend."

"Good afternoon, Lake. How are things? Are you staying in Los Angeles for a few more days? I’ll be heading back in about half a month."

"Then we probably won’t see each other."

"That’s a great pity."

Lake smiled, exchanged pleasantries, and then mentioned that he had found his car, but there was a federal agent next to it, who was supposedly undercover. "I’ll take the person back with me. It has nothing to do with him. I’ll let him go. But if I find out otherwise, I won’t be lenient. Old friend, I will definitely investigate this matter to the end."

Who stole it.

Who painted it.

Who received it.

Where they planned to sell it.

Who got the money.

This was a whole industry chain. Lake would not be lenient. As he said again, this was not just about one car.

The California Director on the other end laughed heartily and agreed, "Okay, I have no objections."

Lake said thank you.

He hung up the phone.

Lake glanced expressionlessly at Billy Kings. Since the conversation had been on speakerphone, Lake looked directly at Adam and said, "Take the people here away, separate them, and I’ll interrogate them myself."

Adam nodded.

Billy quickly said, "Please wait a moment."

Lake looked at Billy Kings expressionlessly.

Billy frowned, glanced at Brian, and said to Lake, "Director Edwin, Brian is on an undercover operation."

Lake frowned, "Undercover? I’ve already busted the operation. It proves my car is here. So, is his undercover mission not over yet?"

Billy wiped sweat from his brow, "It’s not here…"

Lake let out a sound and his gaze turned cold. "So, the FBI office in Los Angeles knows what this place is, right? If I hadn’t followed up personally, my car would have been bought by some buyer by tomorrow?"

Billy’s forehead was sweating.

Lake snorted. "I’ll get to the bottom of this. My car traveled from New York across state lines to Los Angeles. How many notices were issued? I’ll have a good chat with your director about this, Adam!"

"Here."

"Arrest them, pack up!"

"Yes."

Adam and his team nodded, cooperating with the Homeland agents who had just been called in. They directly handcuffed the store owner, employees, and Brian, and took them away.

Lake glanced at Billy Kings one last time, then nodded to the local sheriff who had followed him and remained silent, acknowledging him. He then walked towards the exit.

He had worked in the NYPD system before, so he was somewhat familiar with it. Therefore, the local sheriff didn’t say anything, as Lake was genuinely from the police system.

Moreover, after taking office, Lake had directly signed over twenty applications for Homeland agents, all from various police systems. From a certain perspective, police officers now had another channel for advancement.

"Brian…"

"Mia!"

"…"

After leaving the building, Lake saw his sister-in-law calling out to Brian, who was being escorted into a car outside the cordon. His expression became a bit strange.

Mia was Rachel’s sister, so from a certain perspective, wasn’t she Lake’s sister-in-law?

Lake looked up and shouted to the police officer maintaining order at the cordon, "Let her in."

Mia looked over when she heard him and was stunned when she saw Lake.

Lake looked at Mia, who had run in, and pointed to Brian, who was already sitting in the police car. "Do you know him?"

Billy Kings, who had followed, broke out in a sweat.

This was bad.

After all, Billy Kings still believed that Brian O’Conner’s undercover identity had not been exposed to Lake.

Mia nodded, then looked at Lake. "Um… Mr. Edwin, may I ask why Brian is being arrested?"

Lake turned his head, glancing thoughtfully at Billy Kings behind him, and smiled. He then said to Mia, "Vehicle theft!"

Mia was taken aback.

Vehicle theft?

Aren’t you with the Department of Homeland Security? Since when did vehicle theft threaten national security?

Lake saw the expression on Mia’s face and added, "My car!"

Mia turned to look at Brian, who was sitting in the police car with his hands cuffed behind his back. Her small mouth opened slightly, and she looked at Lake in surprise.