The Blacklist

Chapter 157: Expansion of Quasi-Battle Partners
Wright came to SER and knew that this incident was caused by the attack on Reddington, so he proposed to interrogate him, but Cooper was very stubborn and refused to reveal his whereabouts on the grounds of confidentiality!

Wright said helplessly: "Cooper, okay, even if I understand what you mean and agree to keep Reddington's existence secret, SER must explain the attack clearly! But you are unwilling to say this, how can I explain to the chief? To the National Security Advisor?"

Cooper stroked his oily forehead and worried. He knew a little about the secret society, and even knew that this organization had great influence in the government, but he had no evidence. How could he tell the truth? If he told the truth, the secret society members would probably make trouble immediately. If he didn't tell the truth, how could he get through this hurdle?
Being pressed into a corner, Cooper suddenly asked, "Ms. Wright, can I trust you?"

Deputy Secretary Wright was stunned by Cooper's question. She had never encountered this question since she became a director-level official at the DOJ until now as deputy secretary! After choking for a moment, she asked, "Deputy Director Cooper, what do you mean by this?"

Cooper also took the risk and said directly: "Reddington's existence is the basis for the existence of the SER team, but we have intelligence showing that a special secret organization has been paying attention to this matter. They have even infiltrated government departments. If Reddington's whereabouts are leaked, I'm afraid he will be dead in an instant!"

"What did you say?" Wright thought of many possibilities, but this one was not his, and he stood up in surprise.

Cooper also stood up, stared into Wright's eyes, and said slowly and firmly: "Deputy Minister Wright, if you are loyal to the United States and the Constitution, and swear on the Bible in front of me and the SER members, I can... I can invite Director Kerry of SLR over and let him tell you the truth!"

Huh? Wright's eyes widened. What do you mean, you want me to swear in public? And you want Kerry from the IRS to tell the truth?
-
More than ten minutes later, Kerry was surprised to see Gina appear at the door and let all the SER team members and Deputy Minister Wright of DOJ into her office!
Cooper was a serious person. Even though Wright had clearly stated that he would keep confidential what he heard next, he still found a Bible and asked the deputy minister to take an oath in public!
Fortunately, Mira and Nawabi are both female agents who understand human nature well. They feel that it is inappropriate and not conducive to confidentiality to make the deputy minister take the oath in public in the SER command hall. So they quickly made a suggestion - go to the office of SLR director Carrie upstairs. The space there is spacious and there is no problem accommodating the team members. Besides, they also want to hear some deep secrets of Reddington and the secret organization!

After hearing Donald pull him aside to explain in private, Carrie slapped his forehead speechlessly. This Cooper is really... it's not enough to describe him as reckless!
However, he changed his mind and realized that in the original plot, Deputy Minister Wright was shot dead at home by the secret society director and National Security Advisor Hitchin because he insisted on justice. This shows that firstly, she is not a member of the secret society, and secondly, she is relatively upright. In this case, let's get her on board!

Back in the middle of the office, Kerry met with Deputy Minister Wright and said to Gina beside him, "Call in Corissa, Abby, Jeffrey, Elise, Katie, and Tom."

Gina knew that something important was going to be said, so she responded and walked out of the office.

Carrie turned to Wright and the SER people and said, "Everyone wait a moment. I can tell you that at this point, our work, our department, and all of you are facing security threats. So, I would like to take this opportunity to make some things clear to everyone..." In the past, Gina and Elizabeth had become his combat partners, Donald of SER, Corissa, Jeffrey, and Abby of SLR were already quasi-combat partners, and he knew the characters of the other key members very well. It was time to give everyone benefits, ensure internal unity, strengthen confidentiality and personal ability, so he was ready to bleed heavily!

At this time, several core members of SLR also followed Gina into the office. Seeing that everyone was there, Carrie asked everyone to gather in front of the desk. He then "took out" an exquisite metal box from the drawer, opened the lid and placed it on the table. Inside were several small crystal bottles containing a small amount of red potion.

Kerry pointed at the box and said, "More than half of you know what this is and have enjoyed the benefits it brings. Now I want to ask the other half who have never seen this thing, if I ask you to drink a bottle now, would you be willing?"

Hearing this, more than half of the group were stunned - what does that mean, Carrie wants us to drink this red potion that we don't know what it is?

Among the people in SER and SLR, those who knew about or had used this thing, such as Donald and Gina, signaled to their companions to hurry up!
Mira, Nawabi and Alam from SER naturally trusted Kerry and Donald very much. They immediately reached out for a red bottle, opened it and drank it. Elise, Katie and Tom from SLR, encouraged by their companions' eyes, also followed immediately.

Only Cooper and Wright were left at the scene. Both of them were a little stunned, not understanding why Carrie asked them to drink medicine right away?
Looking at Carrie's half-smile, Cooper wanted to ask a question, but decided not to. He reached out and picked up one of the last two bottles in the box, tilted his head back and drank it!

Wright observed the people who had just drunk the medicine and confirmed that it was not poison, but why did everyone's faces immediately turn red and their expressions became excited? Could it be some kind of drug? Turning his head and looking at Kerry who was staring at him, he couldn't help but say, "Director Kerry, I believe you won't harm us, but I still want to know what this is?"

Carrie said directly: "Okay, I can tell you: after drinking this potion, your physical fitness will increase by about one-seventh. At the same time, you will not lie to your companions who also drink this potion, and you will be able to trust each other...

"Of course, if you think this is a bad thing or have doubts, you don't have to drink it. However, you have to leave because the subsequent topics will be secrets between our teammates!" At this time, the other party's identity as the deputy minister is not enough, and he cannot become one of us, so he has to leave. This is right.

Wright, who was already in his fifties, stared at his eyes for a long time, then turned back to look at the others who had already taken the red bottle, found some clues, turned around and nodded, took the last red bottle, drank it all in one gulp without hesitation, and then... he felt different!
(End of this chapter)