Thunderous Measures

The Seattle night seemed thicker than usual. In the study of the safe house, the light only illuminated a corner of the desk. Lin Feng leaned back in the high-backed chair, his fingertips unconsciously and slowly tracing circles on the smooth armrest, his gaze lowered as if examining the grain of the wood on the desktop.

The crumpled reports that Kong Xiang brought, along with the ominous brown paper document bag, had already been taken away by K. Lü Yi was sent to "inspect the perimeter," which was actually a reassuring way of sending him away to prevent his volatile temper from interfering with the absolute calm needed at this moment.

In the living room, only Kong Xiang remained, sitting blankly on the sofa, holding a glass of water that had long since gone cold, his eyes glazed over, awaiting the unknown verdict.

K operated the multi-encrypted communication terminal, his fingertips rapidly tapping on the virtual keyboard, the screen's dim light illuminating his expressionless face. A few minutes later, he disconnected, turned to Lin Feng, and reported in a clear and steady tone:

"Boss, we've contacted Roger. He's in his office. He's aware of the situation. He said the Internal Affairs Division (IAD) report hasn't been formally filed yet; it's currently just preliminary findings circulating at the department head level."

The evidence item N-774 and the related fingerprint comparison report are temporarily stored in the IAD temporary evidence room and are in a 'pending review' status. Mike Rawlins (i. e., Mike) is on the night shift today and is currently still in the Criminalistics Division.

A preliminary diagnostic report on the storage server failure has been submitted by an external IT company, classifying it as a 'rare, intermittent hardware sector failure,' but the complete underlying logs have not yet been thoroughly reviewed.

After listening, Lin Feng showed no emotion on his face, only nodding very slightly. He raised his wrist and glanced at the seemingly ordinary mechanical watch that actually contained multiple encryption chips; the hour hand pointed to 9:47 PM.

"Tell Roger," Lin Feng's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a metallic quality in the quiet study, "That before dawn, I want to see Mike's desk cleared and his name removed from the police department's internal system. Kong Xiang's suspicion must be washed clean, cleaner than distilled water. As for the method, he should know better than me what 'evidence' is most convincing."

"Understood." K immediately converted the instruction into an encrypted message and sent it again.

The instructions were given, and the study fell silent once more. Only the faint hum of the air conditioner vents and the occasional, indistinct sound of cars passing by outside the window, muffled by the rain, could be heard. Kong Xiang's heart was in his throat. He didn't know who "Roger" was, how his boss planned to "clear his name," or what kind of efficient and ruthless operation "before dawn" meant. He could only wait, tormented by chilling fear and a sliver of hope.

Time passed slowly, like crawling through sticky asphalt.

The Seattle Police Department headquarters building, the floor housing the Criminalistics Division. The laboratory area is much quieter at night than during the day, with only a few technicians working overtime and security guards on night patrol. The stark white lights illuminate the cold instruments and sealed evidence cabinets, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Mike Rawlins was clearly in a good mood. He hummed an off-key tune as he entered the last, insignificant report into the system, then stretched and glanced at Kong Xiang's locked workbench, which was labeled "Internal Investigation, Temporarily Closed," a smug, malicious smile spreading across his face.

He picked up his coffee cup, walked towards the break room, and pondered how to "casually" spread the latest "developments" about the "clumsy, and possibly scheming" Great East intern to his colleagues the next day.

The thought of the potential charges and disgrace Kong Xiang might face filled him with a twisted sense of pleasure. A lowly, yellow-skinned kid who got in through connections dared to humiliate him in public? This was the price he'd pay.

Just then, a series of hurried but orderly footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Several men in dark suits, with serious expressions and Internal Affairs Division (IAD) badges and identification pinned to their chests, walked directly toward the Criminalistics Division's offices, led by a middle-aged white man in a senior police uniform with a stern face and shoulder insignia indicating he was a deputy commissioner. The deputy commissioner leading the group was none other than Roger.

Upon hearing the news, the duty supervisor immediately came out to greet them. Seeing the deputy commissioner personally leading the team, he felt a chill. "Deputy Commissioner, what's the matter so late?"

Roger didn't waste any words. He directly presented an internal document stamped with an emergency investigation seal, his voice calm and unquestionable. "We received intelligence and discovered new and important evidence involving the N-774 evidence contamination case and possible internal personnel misconduct and framing."

In accordance with procedure, an emergency search is being conducted on technician Mike Rawlins ' work area and personal storage facilities, and relevant electronic evidence is being preserved and analyzed in depth. Your cooperation is appreciated.

"Framed?" The supervisor on duty was stunned and subconsciously looked at Mike, who came out of the rest area after hearing the noise.

Mike's smug expression froze instantly, replaced by astonishment and a barely perceptible hint of panic. "Framed? What framed? Deputy Commissioner, are you sure you're not mistaken? I'm the whistleblower! That Kong Xiang, he..."

Roger's gaze, like a cold probe, swept across Mike's face, interrupting him. "Rawlins Technician, please remain silent and cooperate with the investigation. Now, hand over your access card and locker Key, and stay where you are."

Two IAD agents stepped forward, standing on either side of Mike. Although there was no physical contact, their posture was clear. Another group, at Roger's signal, led by a technical officer, headed straight for Mike's workstation and the personal locker next to it.

"You... you have no right..." Mike's voice began to falter, his bravado masking his underlying weakness.

"This is the authorization document." Roger handed a copy of the document to Mike; the stamp and signature on it were clear and legible. He looked away from Mike and ordered the technical officer, "Focus on checking his work terminal history, personal electronic devices, and everything in his lockers. Especially items or traces related to evidence processing, surveillance systems, and fingerprinting."

The search was swift and professional. Browsing history on work terminals was retrieved, and personal cell phones were sealed in anti-interference bags. When the lockers were opened, a sharp-eyed IAD agent immediately spotted a small bag roughly wrapped in scraps of evidence bag material under a pile of messy work clothes, snacks, and magazines. He put on gloves, carefully took out the bag, and opened it.

Inside were several small clumps of powder of different colors (preliminarily identified as inert reference materials or replacement powders commonly used in laboratories), a small roll of special evidence tape, and several transparent, thin sheets similar to those used for mobile phone screen protectors, but with a special adhesive property.

Experienced detectives immediately recognized it as a special film commonly used to extract and "transfer" fingerprints. It can be obtained through certain illegal channels and is one of the "professional" tools for forging fingerprints at crime scenes.

The moment Mike saw the package, his face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "This... this isn't mine! Someone framed me! It was Kong Xiang! He must have gotten revenge on me by secretly putting it in!"

Roger looked at him coldly and said to the forensic officer, "Take photos, collect evidence. Send these items, along with the trace evidence and forensic science, for cross-comparison. Focus on comparing the composition of these powders with the contaminants in the N-774 evidence bag, and any fingerprints and DNA residue on these films. Also," he turned to the person in charge of electronic forensics, "How's the recovery progressing from the server's low-level logs during the downtime?"

The technical officer, who was rapidly operating a portable device connected to the backup server, looked up upon hearing this, a mixture of excitement and disbelief on his face.

"Sir, we've made a discovery! We've attempted a deep recovery from the underlying physical sectors of the backup disk array, and in the log area corresponding to the time of the failure, we found a temporary operation record marked as 'overwrite' but not completely erased!"

Records show that approximately thirty seconds before the alleged 'failure' occurred, an account with advanced maintenance privileges remotely sent a non-standard debugging command to the storage controller from a specific terminal on the internal network. This command was suspected of creating read/write anomalies and log obfuscation in specific sectors! The IP address of the terminal that sent the command is...

He typed rapidly on the keyboard, bringing up the IP mapping table, then looked up, his sharp gaze fixed on Mike, whose face was ashen.

"... The mapped physical location was the technician's public maintenance terminal area on the east side of the third floor of the Criminalistics Division. According to access control card records and duty logs, only technician Mike Rawlins was active in that area for more than ten minutes during that time period, and he possessed the corresponding advanced maintenance privileges!"

The evidence is irrefutable.

"No... impossible! Anyone can use that terminal! IPs can be forged! Someone put those things in my closet!" Mike panicked completely, his voice shrill, trying to struggle, but was firmly held down by the IAD agents beside him.

Roger ignored his excuses, turned to the supervisor on duty, and announced in a clear voice—enough for all the eavesdropping staff to hear:

"The existing evidence strongly suggests that technician Mike Rawlins is suspected of abusing his position to deliberately destroy important judicial evidence N-774, fabricate and plant fingerprint evidence, intentionally frame his colleague Kong Xiang, and illegally intrude into and damage the police surveillance storage system. His actions constitute a serious violation of police discipline and constitute multiple criminal offenses."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the shocked, horrified, and thoughtful faces around him, finally settling on Mike's despair-distorted face. Each word he uttered was like a verdict:

"In accordance with relevant regulations, Mike Rawlins is hereby immediately suspended from duty and dismissed from his police position. The relevant criminal evidence has been transferred to the prosecution. Take him away and transfer him to a detention center to await formal prosecution."

Two IAD agents ruthlessly handcuffed Mike was completely disoriented and unable to utter a coherent sound. The silver metal gleamed coldly under the lights. Mike was dragged along, staggering towards the elevator. As he passed Kong Xiang's sealed workbench, he glanced at it subconsciously, and the last glimmer of light in his eyes was completely extinguished, leaving only utter despair and fear.

Roger added to the supervisor on duty:

"Regarding Mr. Kong Xiang, all false accusations against him are immediately withdrawn. His position and authority are reinstated immediately. The relevant clarification will be released in the form of an internal announcement."

This incident reveals significant oversights in our department's internal management, oversight of authority, and evidence security procedures, which necessitate a thorough review and comprehensive rectification.

"Yes, yes, Deputy Superintendent, we will fully cooperate with the rectification!"

The supervisor on duty nodded repeatedly, her back already soaked with cold sweat. She looked at Kong Xiang's empty workbench with a complicated expression, and she already knew in her heart that this seemingly ordinary, even somewhat timid, intern from Great East probably possessed a chilling power far beyond her imagination.

The fact that a deputy commissioner personally led a team to turn the tide so swiftly and decisively in the dead of night suggests that this was far more than simply "clearing one's name."

Roger said no more, made a few simple gestures to the IAD agents and technical officers, and everyone quickly packed up their equipment and sealed the evidence, retreating like a tide, leaving only a deathly silence of shock in the Criminalistics Division and a lingering, chilling atmosphere in the air.

The message spread like wildfire through the police station's internal network and communication groups late at night.

From "intern facing serious crime for destroying evidence" to "veteran technician framed and dismissed and arrested on the spot," this shocking reversal was completed in a very short time. The implications behind it sent chills down the spines of everyone who heard the news. When they looked toward the workbench that had regained its "innocence," their eyes were filled with an indescribable sense of awe and caution.

As dawn broke, in the study of the safe house.

K's encrypted terminal received a brief report from "Roger": "Mission accomplished. All settled."

Almost simultaneously, Kong Xiang's phone vibrated and the screen lit up. It was an official notification text message from the police station's internal system, which carefully informed him that "the internal investigation has ended, all charges have been dropped, his position and authority have been restored immediately, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused during this period," and included an invitation for him to "return to work at any time."

Kong Xiang held his phone, staring at the text message, his fingers trembling slightly, speechless for a long time. Overnight, from hell to "innocence," the transformation was too fast, too unreal, and too... chilling. He looked up at the young man behind the desk, still as calm as a deep pool.

Lin Feng had just put down his personal phone when another encrypted message appeared on the screen from an unknown number. It contained only one sentence. "Mike has taken the bait, the line has tightened. The Walton family's tentacles seem to extend further than expected, but they haven't directly made contact yet."

He deleted the message, looked up at Kong Xiang, and said calmly, "The matter is resolved. Go back to work and do what you were doing. No one will bother you again."

Kong Xiang nodded vigorously, his throat tightening. He wanted to say something to express his gratitude, but felt that any words would seem pale and powerless at this moment. He bowed deeply, turned and left the study. Although his steps were still a little unsteady, his back had straightened again.

In the study, Lin Feng leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the city skyline gradually brightening with the morning light outside the window.

A seemingly ingenious frame-up against Kong Xiang was crushed within hours by a more sophisticated, ruthless, and powerful force. This was not merely the resolution of a problem, but a clear declaration and a demarcation of boundaries.

Seattle's waters are deep. But some people seem eager to test just how sharp the teeth of this new behemoth has arrived in these waters.

That's fine.

Lin Feng picked up the half-cold glass of water on the table and slowly took a sip.

Since some have extended their claws, let's just chop them all off, one by one.