1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 108 Having a friend like you is really unlucky!

To ensure that all three robbers were captured, especially the 'driver' who was the leader, Ronald devised a specific plan based on Theodore's analysis.

They arrived at the Riggs National Bank DuPont Roundabout branch first, and after communication, replaced all the bank employees and customers with FBI agents, waiting for Javier and Fernando to come and take over.

After the robbery, FBI agents waiting outside will immediately take action to arrest the 'driver'.

Once the 'driver' is successfully apprehended, the agents in the branch will receive a signal to take action and arrest Javier and Fernando.

If no signal is received, the FBI agents inside the branch will continue to impersonate the perpetrators, cooperate in completing the robbery, and then find the "driver" through Javier and Fernando.

Theodore glanced outside, then obediently followed Javier's instructions and faced the wall with Mike and Andrew.

Seeing that the hostages finally obeyed, Javier felt a little relieved and turned to look at the counter.

Bernie was all alone behind the counter, wearing a tight-fitting suit, frantically stuffing banknotes into his bag.

He was trying very hard to appear panicked, but the scene was clearly not enough to frighten a World War II veteran.

Therefore, his panic was limited.

Fortunately, time was tight, and neither Javier nor Fernando paid much attention to his superficial nervousness.

What they care about is that Bernie is alone!

He's too slow at loading money!
This is completely different from what they had envisioned!
They observed that there are usually three employees behind such a branch counter.

Javier scanned the crowd facing the wall and pointed to Theodore, who was closest to the counter:

"You, move over there! Go and help him with the installation!"

The crowd did not react.

Theodore hesitated for a moment, then turned around and pointed to himself.

"Yes! It's you! Hurry up and go in! Help him with the installation!" Javier's tone was somewhat impatient.

He glanced at the time on his arm and warned, "Don't try anything funny! We don't want to hurt anyone."

Theodore went behind the counter and helped Bernie put money into his bag.

The branch was quiet.

Five minutes later, Fernando immediately asked Theodore and Bernie to step back.

He and Javier each grabbed a backpack and backed up to the branch entrance.

As soon as they stepped out, they were surrounded by two teams of nearly twenty FBI agents, with their bags slung over their shoulders.

"FBI!"

"lay down your weapon!"

"Kneel on the ground!"

"quick!"

Amidst the chaotic shouts, Havel's terrible premonition came true.

He didn't try to resist; he even pushed Fernando next to him, then decisively dropped his backpack and weapon and knelt on the ground.

FBI agents swarmed in and arrested the two men.

Ronald directed the agents to put the two men into the car, nodding to Theodore who was running over:

"Henry Thompson has been captured."

He turned and pointed to a side street not far away, where a Chevrolet sedan was parked: "He's waiting over there."

"They even tried to jump out of the car and run away after seeing us."

With all three robbers captured, Ronald felt a great sense of relief.

It's not just the ease of solving cases, but also the ease of completing missions.

Although Theodore's analysis was ultimately proven correct, and although the entire case seemed remarkably simple to solve.

Ronald didn't want to go through that again.

Before the results are revealed, the torment of uncertainty is enough after just this one time.

He stared at Theodore for a moment, then reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "Well done!"

Mike and Andrew ran over at this moment, watching Fernando and Javier being shoved into the car, then looked at Theodore, their eyes still showing obvious surprise.

Analyzing something in the office is one thing; having that analysis actually verified is another.

They were still amazed to see Theodore's unreliable analyses become reality.

It turns out that simply sitting in the office and flipping through files can actually solve cases!

Bernie had anticipated this outcome and was the most unremarkable of them all.

He just came over and patted Theodore on the shoulder before running off to share his experience of handling money with the other agents playing the roles of customers.

Theodore suspected he would soon get to know all the agents.

People from the bank came over to negotiate.

They hoped to get the money back from their bag, but Ronald refused without hesitation.

The bag no longer contains money.

They are evidence.

The manager wanted to plead for leniency, but Ronald glanced at the road where traffic was starting to pick up and, not wanting to waste any more time with him, waved to the side.

Mike and Andrew stepped forward and blocked the manager.

After dealing with the scene, the group returned to headquarters, well past closing time.

Ronald did not ask them to work overtime. He dismissed them in the parking lot and returned to headquarters to report on his work.

After listening to the report, the head of the investigation department pondered for a long time before asking Ronald a question: "Without Theodore Hoover's analyses, how long would it have taken you to catch them?"

After some thought, Ronald, drawing on past experience, gave a relatively conservative answer: "It may take at least three to six months after they rob the DuPont roundabout branch."

He explained his investigative approach to his supervisor: "We need to investigate along this line of inquiry after the robbers start using the stolen banknotes."

"Prior to this, the two leads we had—the gun and the work clothes—had been proven to be untenable for further investigation."

Recalling Ronald's report, the supervisor asked, "Won't you expand the scope of the investigation?"

Ronald shook his head: "We thought these were just two ordinary post office robberies, and we didn't even consider the possibility that they were preparing to rob a bank."

"Our initial assessment was that the robbers had purchased the weapons on the spot and organized the robbery hastily, so our investigation focused on the past month."

"Perhaps if we don't get any results, we will expand the scope of our investigation. But this expansion will be done little by little."

"Moreover, it is also very difficult for us to pinpoint the identities of the robbers so precisely."

Ronald recalled that when he returned to the conference room with the list that afternoon, only the names of Henry Thompson and two others remained on the whiteboard.

He still finds that scene incredible.

After a pause, Ronald said seriously, "More importantly, we didn't even notice Henry Thompson's presence."

"He did not show up in either of the two robberies targeting the post office, and he ultimately did not intend to show up."

“Even if we catch the other two robbers on the spot, we will miss Henry Thompson.”

He concluded, "This person simply doesn't exist in our field of vision."

The supervisor stared at the map and various lists on the table for a while, then shook his head.

He couldn't understand Theodore's analysis and even thought it was absurd at one point.

But the result is what it is.

The supervisor returned the map and list to Ronald: "The chief is still waiting for you, go quickly."

Ronald glanced out the window, somewhat hesitant.

By this time, it was completely dark.

The supervisor waved his hand and instructed him, "Go quickly, the report can be submitted later. Haven't you always wanted to be transferred to the branch office?"

Ronald is a senior agent. To advance further, he must become a supervising agent and gain management experience before he can continue to be promoted.

There are plenty of senior agents like him at headquarters; if they want to gain management experience, they can only go to a branch office.

Transferring to a branch office isn't so simple either; there are plenty of agents waiting in line.

He was lucky to get Theodore's direct pass.

With his supervisor's guidance, Ronald no longer hesitated and took the list and map to report to Hoover.

As soon as he arrived at the director's office door, Ms. Gandy stood up: "The director is waiting for you."

Hoover did not leave as expected.

Not only did Hoover stay, but Deputy Director Tolson also stayed.

Reporting to these two is much simpler than reporting to the supervisor.

After Ronald finished his report, Hoover asked him, "What do you think of Theodore Dixon Hoover's performance?"

Ronald was stunned.

He didn't know how to answer for a moment.

After a moment of silence, Ronald chose to tell the truth:

"I cannot understand his analysis, let alone where his confidence in it comes from."

"But at least judging from the results, his analysis makes sense."

Thorson continued, speaking on Hoover's behalf: "Besides that?"

He asked, "Do you think he has the ability to lead an investigation team on his own?" Ronald was shocked.

He thought about it carefully for a few seconds and gave an affirmative answer.

Thorson looked at Hoover.

Hoover said nothing more and waved for Ronald to leave.

After everyone left, Hoover snorted in dissatisfaction.

He could tell, of course, how much of Ronald's answer was embellished.

Thorsen handed him the coat, pretending not to hear.

After leaving headquarters, the two had dinner at a restaurant. On their way back, Hoover suddenly brought up Theodore again: "Find him another case to try."

Seeing that Thorson was looking over, Hoover said, "No need to find an agent to escort him, just let him go with that Irishman and the other one."

Tolson recalled for a moment, then hesitated: "The two of them had already independently investigated many cases in Felton."

Hoover smacked his lips but did not refute.

After a moment of silence, Thorson quietly corrected, "Felton's side conducted a detailed investigation into Bernie Sullivan, and he is indeed German."

Hoover slowly turned his head and stared at Thorson for a while.

For a moment, he wondered if the person sitting next to him was Theodore, not his old friend.

Tolson turned his head away, avoiding Hoover's gaze, and began to talk about the preparations for the new round of selection training.

The selection and training were personally overseen by Tolsen.

All application materials will be sent to him for him to personally screen.

According to his and Hoover's plan, the number of trainees selected and trained is expected to be around 50.

The personnel composition is also simpler than before, consisting only of outstanding local detectives and outstanding military personnel.

Hoover listened patiently and was very satisfied with Tolson's arrangements.

…………

Theodore felt that his colleagues were watching him the whole way.

And there were also many more people greeting him.

Although many people came up to greet him the previous two days as well, Theodore was certain that the two greetings were different.

He and Bernie arrived a little early today and waited in the conference room for a while before Andrew and Mike arrived.

After waiting for another ten minutes or so, Ronald finally arrived.

He tapped the table, his expression serious, which made Mike and Andrew, who had relaxed somewhat because the robbers had been caught, put away their relaxed expressions.

Ronald looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "It is indeed good news that the robbers have been caught, but our work is not over yet."

“The evidence against Javier and Fernando is overwhelming and irrefutable. But let’s not forget about him.”

He pointed to Henry Thompson's name on the whiteboard.

That was circled by Theodore yesterday afternoon.

Ronald shrugged: "We conducted a brief search of his car and found no direct evidence linking it to the robbery."

“We have to prove that he is indeed in cahoots with Javier and Fernando. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to let him go.”

After his reminder, Andrew and Mike realized the problem and took it seriously.

They have encountered situations where they have caught criminals but lack sufficient evidence, but this is the first time they have encountered a situation with almost no evidence at all.

After a pause, Ronald began assigning tasks:
“Andrew, go and search Henry Thompson’s house.”

“Mike, go find Richard Mason (Paramedic Henry Thompson).”

These two had worked on many cases with Ronald and had developed a certain understanding of each other. They knew what to do without Ronald having to explain much.

After the two left, Ronald hesitated for a moment, then pointed to Theodore and Bernie: "You two come with me to interrogate the prisoners."

"You two will be the presiding judges."

The FBI's interrogation rooms are underground.

Although the Department of Justice building vacated the entire fifth floor for the FBI, it was barely enough for the FBI's office needs.

The training grounds, practice areas, interrogation rooms, and other functional areas were all located in the basement.

Theodore and Bernie followed Ronald in the elevator to the second basement level.

The entire basement has a "回" shaped structure.

The gray walls and cool-toned lighting made the place seem somewhat eerie.

After registering at the entrance, the three walked along the right-hand corridor to the very end and entered the interrogation room at the corner.

After a short wait, Javier was brought in.

He didn't seem to sleep well last night; his mental state was comparable to Ronald's. He kept yawning after being brought in.

Havel was well aware of what he had done, and even more aware of what he was about to face.

He was very cooperative and confessed to his crimes without reservation.

Javier and Fernando are good friends.

The two grew up together, joined the army together, were discharged together, committed robbery together, and went to prison together.

They do almost everything together, even XX.

In June, the two were released from prison, ready to turn over a new leaf and start a legitimate business.

They have a long criminal record and a long history of misconduct, so no one dares to hire them.

The two could only do odd jobs, and they couldn't even fill their stomachs every day.

This made them miss the days of robbery.

In early July, the two worked as stock clerks at a supermarket, and lost all their wages in just one morning.

This became unbearable for Javier, and he decided to return to his old ways.

He and Fernando used all their savings to buy two guns, put on stockings, and began sweeping through the streets and alleys of the southeast district.

Bernie spreads out a new map and asks Javier to identify the shops he had robbed.

Because he had taken so many, he couldn't remember them all and only pointed out a few.

However, when the topic shifted to robbing the bank, he became taciturn.

He admitted to robbing the bank.

When asked if the two robberies of the post office were drills or tests, he seemed surprised but admitted it nonetheless.

But when asked about Henry Thompson, Javier remained silent.

Even when Bernie produced their records of serving time together in a Maryland state prison, he remained silent.

Bernie reminded him, "You're robbing a bank, not a regular convenience store."

"Moreover, you two conspired together to commit armed robbery."

"This would be enough for a 20-year sentence in Texas."

Ronald, who had been listening in, then interjected, "According to federal law, armed conspiracy to rob a financial institution carries a minimum sentence of 15 years."

"Given their prior convictions, they should be sentenced to life imprisonment."

Javier looked up, his face showing obvious surprise.

He seemed not to have expected it to be this serious.

Nevertheless, he chose to keep Henry Thompson's secret.

He only acknowledges his own part.

Javier only admitted to meeting Henry Thompson while in prison, stating that they were roommates.

Bernie asked him, "Are you willing to take the blame for Henry Thompson, and would you also want Fernando to do the same?"

Havel looked up.

Theodore also looked up and stared at Bernie in surprise.

Bernie, oblivious to Theodore's odd behavior, continued, "I've seen your service records."

“He is different from you. You have a bad record, while he performed well in the army. He left the army because of you.”

"If he had stayed in the army, he might be a sergeant by now."

"He may have married a beautiful wife and had two or three lovely children."

"I usually train in the military camp and go home to spend time with my family on weekends."

"He's probably settled in Arlington or Bethesda. His acquaintances are government employees, university professors, journalists, or his comrades. At least he's not a notorious scoundrel."

“You took him out of the army, you took him to rob, and now you’re taking the blame for Henry Thompson and putting him in prison for the rest of his life.”

Bernie paused, then opened his palm and looked sincerely at Javier: "Honestly, I think Fernando is really unlucky to have a friend like you."

Bernie stood up as he spoke: "Javier. If you really consider Fernando your best brother."

"Tell us now who ordered and planned this robbery."

Um...

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(End of this chapter)