ca-book This place is definitely not simple
This place is definitely not simple
The old man trembled with his hands, his eyes full of fear and anxiety: "Last night...last night was so scary. Those people suddenly rushed out and chopped people with knives. They shouted something I couldn't understand, like... …Such as Spanish.”
Lynn frowned, and he keenly captured the key message in the old man's words: "Spanish? Are you sure?"
The old man nodded, "Yes, I'm sure. Although I don't understand Spanish, I can hear that it's Spanish."
Lynn's heart sank, realizing that the incident might really be related to the Mexicans. But he still doesn't want to believe that the Mexicans will commit crimes in Manhattan for no reason. He must find more evidence to uncover the truth of the incident.
Lynn and Hans' cars stopped slowly on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, and cordons were set up around the streets, and red and blue police lights reflected a solemn atmosphere on the streets. There was a strong sense of tension in the air, and even the cold wind in winter seemed more and more bitter. When Lynn came out of the car, he had already tightened the collar of his windbreaker, and his dark brown eyes glanced around, looking cold.
"Where is the suspect?" Lin En asked a young agent standing by the cordon as soon as he walked to the scene. The other party was wearing a police jacket that looked incompatible, and the sweat beads on his face had not been blown dry by the wind.
"Not caught yet, Agent Lynn. He ran too fast." The young agent looked guilty, his voice shivering from the cold and nervousness. "However, we are blocking the nearby streets and should not be able to run too far."
"'Should'?" Lynn repeated the word in a bad tone. He had never been patient with this ambiguous attitude. "Have the suspect's description reached the command center?"
"Yes. He is a Mexican male, about thirty years old, six feet tall, wearing a black jacket and jeans-"
"This description can be placed on fifty passers-by on the street." Hans interjected, holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth. There was a hint of disdain on his face, "I bet there are at least three people in the bar next door now that are exactly the same as this description."
"Enough, Hans." Lynn turned his head and glared at him, then nodded to the young agent, "You go on with your work and we'll take over."
The agent nodded and ran away quickly as if he had received pardon. Lynn looked around and the scene was blocked heavily, but there were still a group of citizens and reporters watching the fun. The flashing lights made people's eyes hurt from time to time. He rubbed his eyebrows and turned his eyes to the crime scene not far away. There was the entrance to a small supermarket, the glass door had been broken, fragments scattered all over the ground, and blood spread from the door to the sidewalk.
"To be honest, I still don't understand." Hans finally took the cigarette out of his mouth. "A Mexican suddenly ran to Manhattan and killed a few people at will? This sounded like a random crime, but Too confusing. This kind of thing is not usually done by drug dealers.”
"Don't rush to draw conclusions." Lynn walked quickly to the scene, and the leather boots under her feet made a crisp sound on the wet and cold ground. He walked into the door of the damaged supermarket, his eyes staying on the crimson blood.
"Has the victim's identity been identified?" Lin En asked a detective who was investigating the scene. The other party was a man in his fifties, wearing glasses and his face was full of fatigue.
"Yes, there were two dead and one seriously injured. One of the dead was a cashier in the supermarket, a Mexican female, 23 years old; the other was a customer, a white male about fifty years old. This is the serious injury. The owner of a supermarket has now been taken to the hospital. "The detective answered while looking through his notes.
Lynn frowned, "Why did he take action? Is there any surveillance?"
"The surveillance was damaged, but we found the fragments and the technicians were trying to recover. As for the motivation, we have no idea." The detective's tone was a little helpless, "However, the attack happened too suddenly, and the witnesses There are few, and everyone's descriptions are unclear."
"What did the witness say?" Hans interrupted, his tone still teased with disapproval. "Let me guess it's a 'tall and strong man', and then they didn't see anything, right?"
The detective pushed his glasses and coughed awkwardly, "It's basically it."
"Damn it." Lin En cursed in a low voice, and he stood up and looked around at the mess in the supermarket. The shelves were knocked over, the goods were scattered all over the ground, the glass shards reflected the dazzling light, and in the center of the blood on the ground, he noticed something strange.
It was a fragment of fabric with patterns, mixed in blood, and seemed to have been torn from some kind of uniform or clothing. Lynn squatted down, picked up the fabric with tweezers, and observed it carefully for a while. The pattern is very special, like some kind of totem - not an ordinary factory product.
"What is this?" Hans leaned over, put his hands in his pockets, and looked over.
"Like a sign of some kind of gang," Lynn whispered, then stood up and carefully put the fabric into the bag of evidence. "Perhaps, this case is much more than just looking."
"Do you think it's a gang attack?" Hans raised his eyebrows, with a little doubt in his tone. "But Mexican gangs rarely attack directly in public, especially in New York. This is not their territory."
"I don't know, but the texture of this piece of fabric reminds me of some rumors." Lynn handed the evidence bag to the detective next to him, "send it to the technical department immediately to find out where it comes from."
"Yes." The detective quickly took the bag and left the scene.
"Rumor?" Hans tilted his head and asked with a questioning face, "What rumors?"
"Have you heard of the 'Holy Blood Alliance'?" Lynn said in a voice that only two people could hear.
Hans was stunned for a moment, "That legendary underground organization? You're kidding, they're not ordinary gangs. They're the kind of thing that only appears in rumors. No one has seen it before, no one knows what they really are. It's true or false."
"But their logo is very similar to the totem on this piece of fabric." Lin N's eyes were still locked at the door of the supermarket. It was a thoughtful but faintly alert look, "If it was really them, we would Get in big trouble."
"Damn it." Hans murmured in a low voice, then took out a piece of gum from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth, "What should we do? Keep chasing this killer, or call the headquarters directly and ask them to send more People come here?”
"Let's find out the ins and outs of this matter first." Lynn said decisively. "The headquarters' support is not easy to apply, especially for such underground organizations. We need more evidence."
"Okay, you're the boss, you have the final say." Hans shrugged and walked out of the supermarket with Lynn. Although there was still a casual expression on his face, there was a hint of undetectable solemnity in his eyes.
As soon as the two of them walked outside the cordon, a police officer hurried over, pale and shortness of breath.
"Agent Lynn, we found a body in the nearby alley!" the policeman said gasping.
"What?" Lin Neng turned his head suddenly, his eyes as sharp as a blade, "Take us!"
They quickly passed through the crowd and came to a narrow alley a few streets away. The alley is dim and damp, and the trash can emit a pungent smell. At the end of the alley, a blood-covered corpse lay.
The body was a man, about forty years old, wearing ordinary streetwear, but a strange symbol was carved on his chest—a winged dagger surrounded by blood-drop marks.
"Damn it, what the hell is this?" Hans frowned and covered his nose with his hands.
Lynn's face was terrifyingly gloomy, and he squatted down and carefully observed the marks on the body. The lines of the symbols are very precise, like those carved by a specially trained person, which further verified his previous guesses.
"This is a warning," he whispered.
"Warning?" Hans widened his eyes incredibly, "Who did this come for?"
"It's for us." Lynn stood up, his eyes as sharp as an eagle. "The Holy Blood Alliance is telling us that they already know we're investigating."
Hans opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but finally he only sighed, "This is getting more and more interesting."
"Funny?" Lynn glanced at him coldly, "Next, you'll just feel worse."
Lynn's voice was like a cold blade passing through the air, and Hans couldn't help but shrink his neck when he heard this. He knew that Lynn rarely showed such a tone—which meant that things were trickier than they thought.
"Check the surrounding environment to see if there is any surveillance or any traces left." Lynn directed the police officers around him, put on gloves, squatted down and observed the body carefully again.
A shocking wound was opened on the chest of the corpse, but strangely, it was not an ordinary knife wound. The edges are neat, but there is a strange irregularity, like a specially designed weapon. Lynn stared at the "Winged Dagger" sign, and some fragments of memory appeared in his mind.
"This symbol looks so familiar..." he murmured to himself.
Hans stood behind him, looking up at the sides of the alley. It is dark and narrow, so secret that it makes people's scalp numb, and even the sound of the wind seems to be blocked. He sighed, biting the gum in his mouth, and kicked an overturned trash can next to him, trying to hide his uneasiness.
"Linn, do you really think this is done by the Holy Blood Alliance? I still think it's a bit too exaggerated." He said, looking down at the corpse, with a little more suspicious tone.
"These symbols are not something that ordinary people can do. The symbols of the Holy Blood Alliance have always been their signboard of actions and their way of declaring war on the outside world." Lin En stood up, took off his gloves, and swept across the alley with his eyes, "Although this organization is still the same as this organization." There is little news, but every time it appears, it is accompanied by a high-profile killing. And—” He paused and looked up at Hans, “There must be a bigger story behind this case.”
"Well, let's say what you're saying is true. That's the question - why do they kill this person? Who is he?" Hans pointed to the corpse on the ground with a hint of anxiety.
"I don't know yet, but we will know soon." Lin En said coldly, then turned to the police officer around him and said, "Send the body to the forensic department immediately, focus on checking the symbolic marks on the chest and checking the signs on his chest. Can you find something special?”
The police officer nodded and quickly arranged for people to deal with the body. Lynn turned around and patted Hans on the shoulder.
"Let's go, we have other things to do."
"Where?" Hans followed him reluctantly, "Aren't he waiting for the forensic report?"
"Waiting for a report is the stupidest choice," Lynn said without looking back. "We have to take the initiative."
His pace was fast and firm, and Hans had to hurry to catch up. He looked at Lin En's back in a daze, muttering in his heart that Lin En seemed more nervous than usual. The name of the Holy Blood Alliance obviously touched some of his memories, but he didn't dare to ask - at least, not now.
The two returned to the car, and Lin En started the engine silently. Hans couldn't help but break the deadlock.
"So, where are we going now? Do you have the 'contact information' of the Holy Blood Alliance?"
Lynn glanced at him, the corners of his lips slightly raised, revealing a sneer, "I don't need their contact information, but I know someone who may have the answer."
"Who?"
"Carlos Alvarez."
Hans was stunned for a moment, "The intelligence dealer hiding in Brooklyn? Are you sure he will help us?"
"He won't help us, but he will ask for money." Lynn said calmly, with a hint of hidden determination in his eyes, "Besides, he has an old account with the Holy Blood Alliance. If the Holy Blood Alliance really intervened in this case, he must know something."
Hans shrugged and leaned back in his seat, "I hope he doesn't play any tricks, otherwise you know how difficult these people are to deal with."
Lynn didn't answer, but drove the car with full concentration. As night fell, the streets of Manhattan were decorated with lights like a dream, but under the shadow of this city, there are always some unknown dangers lurking in the dark.
They drove all the way to a shabby residential area in Brooklyn, which was completely different from the prosperity of Manhattan. The air was filled with the smell of old mold and tobacco. Lynn parked the car in front of a mottled apartment building. Before holding the door handle, he turned his head and looked at Hans.
"Follow me closely and don't talk nonsense."
"When did I talk nonsense?" Hans spread his hands with an innocent expression.
"Every time." Lynn replied coldly and got out of the car.
The two walked through the dim corridor and came to a shabby door on the third floor. Lynn knocked on the door neatly and three times without any hesitation.
There was silence behind the door for a few seconds, and then a voice with a strong Mexican accent came, "Who?"
"Carlos, it's me, Lynn." His voice was calm, but it revealed unquestionable majesty.
There was silence again for a while behind the door, followed by the sound of the chain being untied. The door was opened, and a short, thin man poked his head out. He looked to be in his forties, with wrinkles all over his face and alert and cunning eyes.
"Agent Lynn, I didn't expect you to come to see me." Carlos smiled meaningfully, but his hand did not leave the door.
"I have a question." Lynn pushed the door open without waiting for him to move aside.
Carlos obviously didn't expect him to be so direct. His body shook a little, but he didn't stop him. Instead, he smiled, "It seems that you are still the same, straightforward."
Lin En ignored his teasing and got straight to the point: "The Holy Blood Alliance has recently appeared in Manhattan. What do you know?"
Carlos' smile disappeared instantly, and his face became gloomy, "The Holy Blood Alliance? I don't know what you are talking about."
"Don't play dumb, Carlos." Lin En took a step forward, his eyes like a sharp knife piercing his heart, "You have a feud with them, and this is known to all New York. They committed a crime in Manhattan. If you don't want to get into more trouble, tell me everything you know."
Carlos stared at Lin En, his eyes full of hesitation and struggle. He finally sighed and leaned against the door frame, "Okay, I did hear some news, but after I tell you, you have to promise that I won't be found by them."
"Speak." Lin En ordered coldly.
Carlos lowered his voice, "The Holy Blood Alliance has indeed made some moves recently. They are recruiting soldiers, and their target is... a very special batch of goods. I heard that the batch of goods is hidden in a secret place in Manhattan."
"What goods?" Lin En frowned even deeper.
"I don't know what it is exactly, but I heard that it is some kind of "holy object". They think that thing is an important legacy of their organization and must be taken back." Carlos looked at Lin En and added, "You'd better be careful. The people of the Holy Blood Alliance are very crazy, especially their leader... the guy called "Blood Eagle."
"Blood Eagle?" Lin En repeated the name in a low voice.
"Yes, he is a ruthless character who kills without blinking an eye. If you meet him..." Carlos paused, his expression complicated, "It's best not to confront him head-on."
Lin En was silent for a few seconds, then turned and walked out the door, "Thank you for your information, Carlos. I hope you don't say these words to others."
"Of course, I want to live a few more years." Carlos laughed dryly and watched the two leave.
Hans followed Lin En down the stairs and couldn't help but ask, "Blood Eagle? Sounds like a madman."
"Madmen are the most dangerous enemies." Lin En's tone was cold, "and his target is likely to be related to our case."
"What should we do next?"
"We have to find that batch of goods." Lin En stopped and looked deep, "We have been dragged into this game."
As night fell, the city was shrouded in dim lights, and the cold wind blew with a hint of damp and moldy smell. Lin En and Hans' car was quietly parked in a shadow outside the warehouse. The warehouse itself was dilapidated, with mottled bricks on the wall and rusty iron doors, revealing a sense of desolation due to long-term disrepair. But this was just the surface. Lin En's sixth sense told him that this place was definitely not simple.