Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Late night.

North of Los Angeles, in the remote suburbs.

On a small hill not far from the highway, the terrain here is relatively high, with a view of the winding road to the west and a two-story vacation cabin to the east.

Luke looked into the distance of the road with his binoculars. Beside him stood a white man, none other than Armand Hains, a senior agent from the FBI's Los Angeles Counterterrorism Division.

After female agent Sabina Dodd called the Marshal's Office for reinforcements, Luke also reported the situation to Supervisor Aysha Gard, mentioning the possibility of a mole in the Marshal's Office, and also discussed his plan to ambush the killers.

Aysha Gard agreed to Luke's plan and allowed him to mobilize Counterterrorism Division personnel to assist in the operation.

Luke mobilized six agents, including Armand Hains. These agents had previously worked with him and had a certain level of mutual trust.

Adding Luke and two agents from the Marshal's Office, there were a total of nine agents ambushing around the vacation house, which was enough to handle the killers.

Luke handed the binoculars to Armand Hains and asked, "Armand, how is my brother doing?"

"Rest assured, I have arranged enough personnel.

Moreover, according to our observations, those two suspects aren't very professional in their tracking.

Therefore, I haven't acted against them yet; I think even if we apprehend them, they might not know the whereabouts of the other killers.

These two seem more like bait. As long as we catch these two suspects, the remaining killers will be alerted, and it will be even harder to catch them," said Armand Hains, adding, "Of course, if you have different ideas, we can apprehend those two suspects at any time."

Luke thought of the two suspects who had led him to Las Vegas. Although he caught them and forced them to disclose some information, they were only peripheral members and were not aware of other killers' details.

"I agree with your view," Luke nodded. If those two suspects were professional enough, they wouldn't have been easily discovered by his brother. Now, with FBI protection, there was no need to worry about Jack's safety.

Moreover, the FBI had already kept an eye on those two suspects, and as long as Luke wished, he could have them apprehended anytime, they couldn't escape.

The most important thing now was to catch the killers who were targeting Maggie and her daughter.

"Creak..."

At this moment, there was a faint sound of footsteps coming from behind.

Luke pressed his right hand on his waist, turned his head to look back, and saw Maggie walking over with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Luke, it's Maggie," Maggie called out, approaching and handing coffee to the two.

"Thank you."

Looking ahead, Maggie said somewhat pensively, "Do you think those killers will come?"

Luke said, "If they have received the news, they will definitely come."

Maggie glanced at her watch, "When do you think they will come?"

Luke thought for a moment, "It's hard to say, but if it were me, I would come in the latter half of the night."

Maggie shrugged, "Then it's going to be a long wait. Let me know if you need more coffee."

Luke cautioned, "Maggie, you'd better not wander around, otherwise, if the killers arrive, it will be difficult for us to protect you."

"Don't worry, I'm good at protecting myself," Maggie said as she turned and left.

Armand Hains took a sip of coffee and praised, "She's calmer than I imagined, which is good."

That night, nine agents were divided into three groups to guard in shifts.

However, the anticipated attack never came.

In the morning, one group stayed on guard, while the others returned to the vacation house for breakfast.

Sydney Burn, the agent from the Marshal's Office with the injured arm, said while eating a sandwich, "I told you earlier, the Marshal's Office wouldn't leak information. Your previous suspicions were unfounded."

Armand Hains shrugged, "At least we've ruled out one possibility."

Luke said, "You're right, we should discuss which part of the plan went wrong."

"Squeal..."

The walkie-talkie on the dining table crackled, and Sabina Dodd's voice came through, "A black SUV has been spotted heading towards the vacation house."

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the house became tense.

Luke said to Sidney Burn, "Take Walker Baruch and Maggie to a safe place, the rest come with me."

Luke led the group out of the vacation house, ambushing at various points as per the prearranged plan.

Luke went to a high ground, watching with binoculars, and indeed saw a black SUV approaching, stopping not far from the vacation house.

Then the passenger door opened, and a dark-haired white man got out of the car.

At this point, the walkie-talkie crackled again, and Sabina Dodd said, "Crisis averted, they're on our side."

Luke felt like he had punched into cotton; a whole night's preparation had turned into nothing.

Four people got out of the black SUV, three men and one woman, with the dark-haired white man seemingly the leader.

Sabina Dodd went up to the four, greeting them familiarly.

Luke also put away his weapon and walked over.

Sabina Dodd pointed at the dark-haired white man and introduced, "This is Renat Hafid, head of our Witness Protection Unit."

Sabina Dodd then pointed at Luke, "This is Deputy Director Lee of the FBI Los Angeles Counterterrorism Department."

Renat Hafid paused, looking at Sabina Dodd, "You didn't mention there were others here."

Luke explained, "I wasn't called by them; I'm a friend of Maggie's."

Renat Hafid stared at Sabina Dodd, "Is the situation bad?"

"Yes, we were attacked again near the apartment, and Sidney got injured there too."

Renat Hafid asked, "Why didn't you call for reinforcements in time?"

Sabina Dodd was silent.

Renat Hafid sighed lightly, "Understood, you were waiting not for me, but for the killers."

Sabina Dodd explained, "Our movements had been exposed twice, Sidney got injured, and I wasn't sure when reinforcements would arrive...

Sorry."

Renat Hafid shook his head, "You don't need to apologize, protecting the witness is the most important thing.

Is Walker Baruch and his daughter okay?"

"Yes, I'll go call them."

"Tell them to pack their bags. We're relocating now, and I'll personally take part in this protection operation."

Luke asked, "Where are you planning to relocate to?"

"Minister Li, it's not that I don't trust you, but the less we know about this, the better.

I appreciate everything you've done, but now... leave it to us."

Luke said, "Until we understand why their whereabouts were exposed, I think relocating doesn't make much sense.

Since everyone is here, why not have a good chat?"

Renat Hafid touched his chin, "You've got a point."

Then, Armand Hains had his men stand guard outside, while Luke and Renat Hafid took several individuals back to the cabin.

Walker Baruch shook hands with Renat Hafid, "Team Leader Renat Hafid, thank you for coming personally."

Renat Hafid said, "I should have come earlier."

"It's not too late now."

"OK, let's have a good talk and see where the problem lies." Renat Hafid looked at Luke, "Minister Li, I've heard of your reputation. Why don't you do the questioning?"

Luke didn't refuse and asked those present, "After your first attack, you relocated to an apartment near the school. I want to know who you contacted while staying in the apartment.

Agent Sabina Dodd, you go first."

"I only contacted the Marshal's Office."

"What about your family?"

"During a mission, I never contact family. It's for the safety of the witness and to protect my family."

Luke looked at Sidney Burn, "Agent Burn, what about you?"

"I didn't contact anyone."

"Mr. Baruch."

"I didn't contact anyone either."

"Maggie."

"I received your call."

"Besides that call, did you contact anyone else?"

Maggie pursed her lips, "No."

Luke slightly frowned, getting a vague feeling that Maggie might be lying.

"Maggie, look at me. Did you contact anyone else?"

Maggie's eyes darted around. She opened her mouth but didn't answer.

Walker Baruch also noticed something unusual. Leaning in, he asked, "Maggie, what's really going on?"

"I... answered my mom's call."

Walker Baruch was shocked, "What! What did you say?"

"Mom called me."

"When did you contact her?"

"We've always been in touch."

"Oh my God." Walker Baruch slapped his forehead hard, "I told you, we're in the witness protection program, but your mom isn't. You're not supposed to contact her. Why would you make such a simple mistake?

I just can't believe it."

"She's my mom!" Maggie's voice choked, and she began to cry softly.

Hearing this, Walker Baruch looked saddened too and embraced Maggie, "I'm sorry, sweetie..."

After a moment, Renat Hafid spread his hands, "OK, we have a breakthrough now. The problem likely isn't with the Marshal's Office, so...

Maggie, your phone needs to be temporarily held by me."

Maggie wiped her tears, "I've always been in touch with Mom; it's not something recent. Besides, I believe she wouldn't harm me, it couldn't be her."

Renat Hafid explained, "I'm not saying your mom would harm you.

But as long as there's contact between you two, those killers might use your mom to pinpoint your location.

This could also put your mom in danger."

Luke said, "I have a suggestion; Maggie can contact your mom one more time. If the killers are indeed tracking through the phone, then we'll wait for them here."

Renat Hafid responded, "Like just now?"

Luke said, "Catching those killers once and for all is better than constantly being pursued."

Renat Hafid pondered for a moment, "If you insist on doing that, I won't oppose it, but I'd like to relocate them to a safe place first."

Walker Baruch also agreed with the decision and then persuaded his daughter.

Maggie wiped away her tears, collected herself, and dialed her mother's number.

The two chatted for ten minutes before Maggie hung up the phone, "Is this okay?"

Walker Baruch patted his daughter's shoulder, "Honey, everything will pass."

Maggie asked, "Will my mom be in danger?"

Luke said, "As long as we catch those killers, your mom will be safe."

Renat Hafid clapped his hands, "Ladies and gentlemen, for your safety, it's time for us to move."

Then, Maggie got into the black SUV with her father, waving goodbye to everyone through the window.

The car drove down the highway, getting further away from the vacation cabin.

Maggie asked from the back seat, "Mr. Hafid, where are we going?"

Renat Hafid turned around and smiled, "I think it's better if you don't know."