“I’m just providing a few clues, I wouldn’t dare to take any credit. As long as Director Hale remembers that the Security Department has someone like me, Caleb Bennett, that’s enough.” Caleb Bennett said modestly. In the police station, the biggest taboo is to fight others for credit, especially with the higher-ups—that’s practically courting death. Only those hotheaded fools are always fixated on getting credit.

“Don’t worry, if you don’t want the credit, you definitely won’t miss out on the reward money.” Leonard Hale understood what Caleb Bennett meant. Caleb Bennett truly was an old hand at policing—he knew all the tricks.

Early the next morning, Matthew Brooks, eager for news, left home half an hour earlier than usual, so early that even Third Young Master missed him at the alley entrance. Matthew Brooks thought he was early enough, but to his surprise, Caleb Bennett was even earlier. There’s always a reason for getting up early—sure enough.

After meeting Caleb Bennett, Matthew Brooks realized he’d been a bit too hasty. Luckily, his low rank and lack of power meant he wouldn’t attract attention. But this was something he needed to be careful about—no matter what, he had to keep a calm mind. If someone with ulterior motives saw this, they might suspect he was involved in last night’s events.

Matthew Brooks silently warned himself that he couldn’t let this kind of thing happen again. He had no power or influence in the police station, no background or connections. If he hadn’t accidentally enrolled in the Japanese language school, he probably wouldn’t have gotten into the police station at all.

Living in chaotic times, he had to stay vigilant to survive. His safety didn’t just concern himself, but also Third Young Master, Watson Harris, and the other brothers.

“How is it?” Matthew Brooks took out a pack of Sanpao Tai cigarettes, handed one to Caleb Bennett, lit it for him, and then took one for himself. Since he was here, he had to act concerned. At least in front of Caleb Bennett, he should appear to care.

“Not great. I heard Howard Clark was only injured, and he managed to escape again.” Caleb Bennett said regretfully. Without capturing Howard Clark, everything was just empty talk. Not only would there be no credit, even the reward money was out of the question.

“Injured—he probably won’t survive, right?” Matthew Brooks wasn’t concerned about credit or reward money. For someone like Howard Clark, if he didn’t die, he’d just be more trouble.

“Don’t worry, whether he’s dead or not, our salaries won’t be docked.” Caleb Bennett misunderstood Matthew Brooks’s meaning, thinking he was worried that if Howard Clark died, not only would there be no reward, but they’d also lose a month’s pay. Howard Clark’s injury was caused by the Special Services Department and had nothing to do with them.

“What did Director Hale say?” Matthew Brooks asked again.

“We didn’t bring the man back—just not getting slapped is already lucky.” Caleb Bennett glanced upstairs, speaking with a hint of schadenfreude.

Leonard Hale had been called into the office by Shawn Benson for quite some time. Since he hadn’t come down yet, based on his experience, it definitely wasn’t anything good.

Chapter 7: Cover

Last night, Leonard Hale hadn’t informed Shawn Benson before taking action. If he’d brought Howard Clark back, everything would have been fine. If Leonard Hale had given Shawn Benson a heads-up in advance, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out so badly.

But Leonard Hale was eager for credit and ended up failing. Most importantly, he even injured Howard Clark. With Shawn Benson’s temper, there was no way he’d let him off without a tongue-lashing.

Just as Caleb Bennett finished speaking, Leonard Hale actually came out. But there was a clear five-finger slap mark on the left side of his face. When he saw Caleb Bennett, his face was full of resentment. Caleb Bennett didn’t dare wait for Leonard Hale to come down—he grabbed Matthew Brooks and hurried off to patrol the streets.

Leonard Hale certainly had reason to be resentful. Last night, he’d led the Special Services team, coordinated with the Self-Defense Force and the river patrol, but still let Howard Clark escape. Even if he didn’t get credit, he’d at least put in the effort.

When he reported to Shawn Benson that morning and mentioned he’d gone to capture Howard Clark the night before, Shawn Benson immediately flew into a rage and slapped him without a word. He scolded him for a full half hour, until his mouth was dry, before finally telling him to get out.

He cursed inwardly, thinking that Caleb Bennett had better never fall into his hands, or he’d be in for it. As the deputy director of the Special Services Department and captain of the operations team, it would be all too easy to get back at a lowly patrolman like Caleb Bennett.

After Leonard Hale left, Shawn Benson was still fuming. He’d worked so hard to set up a trap, and Leonard Hale had almost ruined it. He worried to himself—medical conditions in the guerrilla zone were limited. If Howard Clark died from his injuries, how would he explain to Oyano?

Matthew Brooks’s guess was right—Howard Clark was indeed a member of the underground party. After being secretly arrested, he shamelessly betrayed them and became a despicable traitor!

Recently, the underground party organization in Guxing City had suffered repeated blows, all because of Howard Clark’s betrayal. After Howard Clark had revealed almost everything about Guxing City, Shawn Benson came up with another vicious plan: have the police pretend to hunt him down, forcing Howard Clark to leave Guxing, and in the process, uncover the underground communication lines between the city’s underground party and the guerrillas.

Once Howard Clark reached the guerrilla zone, he would either stay there or be sent back to Guxing under a new identity. Either way, they could wipe out the city’s underground party in one fell swoop, and even destroy the guerrilla forces across the river. Howard Clark was so important that Shawn Benson even gave him a code name: “Flying Fish.”