At the back of the speedboat, Evelyn sunk into gloom, her complexion pale as she hung her head in silence.
Reesi glanced at her, then moved slowly to Luo An's side and whispered:
"Luo An, are you sure everything's okay with Mona?"
"No problem."
Luo An smiled and asked:
"Do you remember at that meeting, when Conrad mentioned that Agent Shawn's mother and wife were killed by MI6?"
Reesi paused, nodded, while Conrad frowned and looked up. Luo An turned to him, smiling as he said:
"That was a lie."
During that meeting, Luo An, through his "emotional perception," had realized that those words were deceptive.
Considering that concocting the story had no real benefit for Conrad and his team, Luo An guessed they intended to use it for some purpose.
Hence, Luo An suggested keeping Agent Shawn back as a test, and indeed, Conrad smoothly arranged it that way.
Seeing Agent Shawn sorrowfully accepting the orders, Luo An immediately realized that he was definitely someone Conrad intentionally kept in the rear as some sort of contingency.
Mona was also inevitably someone placed in the rear for her safety. After the meeting, Luo An secretly sneaked into Mona's room.
Mona was startled initially, thinking Luo An was there to engage in something at that moment.
It wasn't until Luo An explained briefly that Mona understood what was happening.
To be cautious, before approaching Mona, Luo An specially got a bottle of perfume, emptied it, rinsed it clean, then filled it with a [sleeping potion] declaring it a special chemical agent he had formulated.
Luo An had a history of tinkering with various oddities at home, so Mona, accustomed to such peculiarities, thought it was something Luo An prepared before leaving the federation, and without doubt, she concealed it by her side.
At the same time, Luo An also prepared a handgun for Mona. In front of Conrad and others, Mona herself prepared several grenades and stun bombs, which were actually meant to cover while Agent Shawn was diverted.
Later in the operation, Luo An, Reesi, Evelyn, and Conrad all left; Mona chose to strike first while Agent Shawn was distracted and slipped some sleeping potion into his drink.
Agent Shawn had never suspected that Mona, who was busy typing on the keyboard, would make a move on him; he casually picked up the cup and took a sip... and then fell asleep in the arms of the store owner like nothing.
Luo An didn't elaborate further. Once Reesi was sure there was no issue with Mona, she felt relieved, turned around, and continued to watch over Evelyn.
After a long silence, Conrad raised his head and forced a stiff smile:
"Group Leader Greenwood, I underestimated you."
"You're very skilled, Conrad," Luo An replied, smiling. "Busy catching people and making plans in recent days, seemingly flawless on the surface... I feel you could go to Hollywood, stir things up for a few years, and might even stand a chance to win an Oscar."
Luo An chuckled slightly, bent down squatting in front of Conrad, and asked:
"Can you talk about everything now?"
Initially, Conrad wanted to ask Luo An for a cigarette but knowing that Luo An didn't smoke, he just let out a wry smile, sighed deeply, and said:
"Five months ago, a CIA operation failed. Not only did we lose many agents, but a list was also lost."
This incident infuriated a high-level individual within the CIA, and the group leader responsible for the operation faced severe reprimands.
After some time, the CIA suddenly received news that an underground dealer was planning to sell the list, thus they immediately started an investigation.
During the investigation, they unexpectedly discovered CIA Agent Valery, who had survived that operation and was also investigating the list. He had even gone undercover, infiltrating the underground dealer Rupert's circle.
Earlier at the dock, Conrad managing to find the USB drive near the skid marks was also aided by that undercover agent.
"Wait a moment."
Luo An raised both hands in a T-shape, interrupting Conrad, and asked:
"The 'Valery' CIA agent you mentioned, does he have a butt chin?"
"Butt chin..."
Conrad's lips twitched; the Western world prefers to call it a "dimple chin," "apple chin," or "omega chin"—always positive terms.
However, "butt chin" wasn't incorrect either, and Conrad finally nodded.
"OK."
A realization flashed through Luo An's eyes, understanding the identity of that guy, he spread his hands:
"Continue."
Conrad took a deep breath and said:
"Our objectives for this mission are threefold: find that list; kill Valery; and kill everyone else who knows about this, citing an operational error, purely accidental."
"Why kill Valery? Isn't he one of your own?"
Reesi immediately furrowed her brows at this:
"Also, killing the other personnel... Do the three of us count as other personnel?"
Conrad remained silent, leaving Reesi visibly angry:
"Why? This operation was clearly spearheaded by your CIA, yet you're turning on us?"
Recalling her recent confrontation with Valery, the words he had spoken; the reactions and planning of Conrad and the others throughout the operation; and even MI6, Section 7, BND getting involved in tonight's actions...
A pattern slowly emerged in Luo An's mind. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at Conrad and said:
"Because the original operation failed, and because of internal issues within the CIA.
Valery came here for revenge, and your mission was to silence him.
As for involving us from the FBI, we were part of that original mission, so it was standard procedure to include us.
Ultimately, you would turn on us from the FBI as well, claiming we died in accidents or killed by the enemy, which is a routine play for you, right?"
"…"
Conrad stayed silent, indirectly confirming Luo An's suspicions.
"Damn it."
Fire flashed in Reesi's eyes, after cursing out loud she asked:
"What exactly happened at that event five months ago? Did your CIA betray Valery, or did you never intend to let him leave alive?"
Conrad glanced at Reesi but said nothing. Suddenly, Luo An sensed something, quickly drew his gun, and shouted loudly:
"Watch out for Evelyn!"
Reesi's expression hardened as she quickly ducked and turned to tackle Evelyn, and the next second, two gunshots rang out!
Bang!
Bang!
After the shots, Reesi successfully tackled Evelyn and seized the weapon in her hand, a very compact pistol with just one bullet.
Looking up at Evelyn's face, a bullet hole right between her eyebrows, blood slowly oozing out. Reesi quickly looked back and saw Luo An was the one who had fired.
The bullet Evelyn fired hadn't hit Luo An but had instead pierced through the side of Conrad's neck.
Conrad's face was full of panic as he desperately clutched his neck with his remaining left hand, trying to stop the blood flow. But the blood was gushing out uncontrollably, like water from a pump.
"I'm sorry."
Reesi stood up and glanced at Evelyn's corpse, with a very somber expression, she said:
"I searched Evelyn's body, but I overlooked that spot."
That tiny pistol was smaller than a human palm, and Evelyn had concealed it cleverly which is why Reesi didn't find it.
Luo An didn't say much more, turning to face Conrad, shaking all over from the blood loss. Conrad, despite the hoarse voice and quick speech, focused intensely on Luo An:
"Save me, I can't die, you must save me, or the CIA won't let you go, they will send someone to kill you, save me, I can help explain, save me..."
Luo An took the pistol from Reesi's hand, previously grabbed from Conrad, and said flatly:
"No need for explanations; I worry you might repay kindness with malice later. Time for you to confess to God now, and you're welcome."
"Fu-!"
Bang!
Looking at the two corpses on the yacht, Reesi wiped her swollen face and said softly:
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to turn out this way."
"It's okay, the result would have been the same in the end."
Luo An gestured to Reesi to help him dispose of the bodies into the sea to feed to the sharks, they then started the speedboat heading towards Valery. He pulled out his phone and called Vireness:
"Good afternoon, Chief, I need your help."