The Trail Finally Emerges
In the FBI Los Angeles Office, Special Agent Jack McCann, armed with newly acquired intelligence, approaches his partner, Maris Horvath.
The content concerns a key figure in the disappearance of California Congressman Mike Liddell Halton.
They have been trying to question the other party, but have been unable to locate them. Furthermore, due to insufficient evidence, they have been unable to issue an arrest warrant or search warrant, causing the case to remain stalled until now.
Now they finally saw an opportunity, but the timing wasn't quite right... so they had no choice but to approach the head of the Los Angeles office, the assistant director, Owen Davis.
The two of them arrived together in front of the boss's office and knocked on the door.
A voice immediately came from inside the office. "Come in."
The two people who entered the room got straight to the point. "Boss, the key person in our case has appeared. There's just a small problem, and we need your help."
What case? Who?
"The disappearance of Holden State legislator Henry Brown —we still can't find him."
Hearing that it was this case that was about to reach its two-year mark gave Owen a headache.
He knew perfectly well that this wasn't a disappearance, it was an execution of his entire family! His family members, entourage, and close associates had all been wiped out.
The hotel that made the move was Continental Hotel!
But the Continental Hotel have such powerful backers that they dare to disregard the FBI's demands and refuse to hand over the killer. Besides, they're just a platform; what's the harm in shutting them down? Is it that difficult to start over?
This is not about demanding that Continental Hotel cut their losses and survive. As long as there is a scapegoat, everyone can save face and the matter can be easily resolved by downplaying the severity of the situation.
The most likely scenario is that the Continental Hotel provides a name, leaving the FBI to make the arrest. However, whether there is a real person behind that name, whether they are still in the United States, and whether they are actually the gunman are all difficult to verify.
As for who the employer is, no one dares to ask. It's not that they're afraid the Continental Hotel won't tell them, but rather that they're afraid they'll reveal a name that they themselves can't afford to offend!
This case is clearly a result of political enemies being dissatisfied with the actions of that overweight black congressman, so they took action to eliminate him. However, they did it very cleanly; there was no body, so a case couldn't be filed.
The scientific investigation team couldn't even find any bloodstains, and they had no direction for their investigation.
What If...? it were an ordinary person, and they were listed as a missing person, everyone would conduct a few perfunctory investigations, then put the case file away in a box and throw it into the cold case archive. After twenty years, if the person hadn't reappeared, the record would be changed to death, and the matter would be closed.
Unfortunately, Mike Liddell Halton was a California state legislator and a well-known public figure. His disappearance could not remain an unsolved mystery; it had to be thoroughly investigated, regardless of whether he was dead or alive.
The LAPD readily passed the buck, leaving the FBI caught in the middle, torn between two difficult options.
Jack McCann and Maris Horvath, who volunteered to take on the case, confidently asserted that the missing person case could be pinned on a key figure: Henry Brown, Mutants with bulletproof abilities.
However, merely having a suspect's suspicion, without direct or indirect evidence, is insufficient to obtain an arrest warrant, search warrant, or even a summons from the magistrate. This doesn't even consider the sufficiency of the evidence.
Therefore, their only option was to find a way to extract information from the other party and turn the witness into a criminal in order to advance the case.
Here's the trouble. Henry Brown has no job and no fixed address. Although he has a place to live, he can't seem to find anyone.
Without Court permission, they don't even have the right to enter the premises. And without being able to even encounter the person, they cannot use the other party's uncooperative attitude as grounds for strong suspicion of involvement in the case to obtain a summons or arrest warrant from the Court.
If it weren't for the frequent eyewitness reports, one would suspect that this person had already left Los Angeles and California.
But that intelligence didn't help the FBI catch the man. Every time they arrived at the sighting location, he had already vanished.
Finally, today, we have more information about their whereabouts. Irving, the assistant director Owen should have breathed a sigh of relief, was horrified when he saw the location.
The Stark Studios held a banquet to celebrate the inauguration of their new CEO, Henry Brown, whom they had been longing to appoint.
Arresting an ordinary citizen is completely different from arresting someone with a certain social standing. Not to mention that Owen sensed something amiss in this case.
What If...? Henry Brown really had a problem, he would absolutely agree to put this Mutants in jail or even hand him over to the military for experiments.
But knowing that the murderer was the Continental Hotel, what's the reason for insisting on implicating Henry Brown?
The other person's experience includes working on a crab fishing boat in Alaska and working as an extra in Hollywood. Their more significant job was as Audrey Hepburn's assistant, helping with United Nations Children's Fund visits.
This kind of person has nothing to do with the Continental Hotel, and he's also connected to Senator Mike Liddell Halton... Well, the senator probably knows he's in trouble, so he needs a Mutants like this to protect him.
As a result, the Holden State legislator and his family became missing persons, while Henry Brown continued to be active outside.
Based on Owen's years of experience in handling cases, he was certain that Henry Brown was connected to the disappearance of the state legislator.
But what role does he play? Why are Jack McCann and Maris Horvath so determined to attack him? These are the things Owen doesn't understand.
There were parts of the situation that weren't clear, and making hasty judgments would be dangerous. So Owen threw the intelligence files back on the table and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"Boss, if you can get us into the banquet hall and ask Henry Brown to cooperate with the investigation, he has no reason to refuse. Bringing him back will solve half the problem."
Hearing this, Owen didn't want to listen anymore. What followed was definitely illegal, and if he listened to even one more word, he risked being dragged down with these two.
"Stop!" Owen silenced his two subordinates, looking at them seriously. "Have you considered whose occasion this is?"
"Boss, this is just Stark Studios, not one of Hollywood's Big Eight, not even a second-tier film company. What are you worried about? A film company of this caliber opens and closes, opens and closes, and doesn't even make the news."
Am I worried about Stark Studios? I'm worried about Stark Industries!
People in the market now have doubts about whether companies bearing the "Stark" name actually belong to "Stark." After all, Obadiah Stane's questionable actions a few years ago left many speculators holding the bag.
But how could the FBI not know who Stark Studios ' owner is?
However, the state legislator's case did indeed need a resolution. Weighing the pros and cons, the head of the FBI Los Angeles Office, Assistant Director Owen, said, "I can take you there. But have you considered the risks of taking someone away in this kind of setting?"
"Don't worry, Boss, everything's foolproof. What If...? anything goes wrong, we'll take full responsibility. With Congressman Mike Riddle-Horton's unsolved case as a precedent, even if there are reporters present, they'll only strip the suspect naked. We can't afford to lose."
Although his subordinates spoke with great confidence, for some reason, Owen felt even more insecure.