You're a US police officer, what are you thinking about going back to the East for?

"I've dealt with the media outside for now. Now, behind closed doors, tell me exactly what happened last night. Don't try to fool me with those reports you use on the Ministry of the Interior."

Leon pulled out a chair and sat down, casually crossing his legs.

He certainly wouldn't reveal the details of the system's C4 explosives or the background of his plan to capture his employer on the dark web. That wouldn't only be inexplicable, but it would also get him into serious trouble.

"It's actually very simple."

Lyon looked Sterling in the eye and began to recount the edited version in a calm tone:

"Last night after I got off work, I discovered I was being followed. They were highly professional assassins; they changed cars, cut lanes, and executed counter-surveillance very well. They wanted me dead."

"I didn't alert them; instead, I followed them and tracked them all the way to that unfinished building in the northern suburbs."

"After confirming their location, I called the people from ACU over and they surrounded the building."

"And then?" Sterling asked, placing his hands on the table.

"Then we prepared to storm in and arrest them."

Lyon shrugged, his expression completely undetectable.

"As it turned out, the enemy had heavy firepower, including anti-materiel sniper rifles, and we were suppressed."

"During the firefight, Chloe tried to blast a passage with a breaching patch, but unfortunately, the killers had stockpiled a large amount of high explosives in that unfinished building."

"The patch detonated their explosives depot, causing an extremely serious secondary explosion. The building's load-bearing columns were blown off, causing it to collapse and burying them all alive."

A deathly silence fell over the office for more than ten seconds.

Sterling just stared at Lyon quietly for a long time.

Then, she let out a long sigh, leaned back in her chair with a headache, and slumped against the chair.

"Leon."

Sterling looked at him, his voice full of exhaustion:

"A six-story reinforced concrete building. Just as you finished surrounding it and were preparing to break in, a secondary explosion occurred by chance."

"Moreover, the force of the explosion severed all the core load-bearing columns, causing the entire building to collapse straight down to the ground, leaving no survivors."

Sterling's lips twitched slightly: "Do you think I believe that?"

Lyon looked at Sterling's "Do you think I'm an idiot?" expression, but didn't show any panic or guilt.

The two are now in the same trench, and they both know what kind of person the other is.

Lyon smiled, leaned forward slightly, and spoke with unwavering conviction:

"Believe it or not, Chief, this is what happened on the scene."

"That's what Chloe's blasting report says too, and a large amount of ammonium nitrate and C4 residue were indeed extracted from the site."

"The process is completely compliant, that's all."

Sterling stared at Lyon for a while, then helplessly turned his head to look out the floor-to-ceiling window.

She knew Leon was hiding something; an explosion of this magnitude could not possibly be a coincidence.

But she also knew that she couldn't find any procedural flaws in this man, the source of the explosives was unknown, and she didn't need to look for any flaws at all.

From a purely economic standpoint, the fact that Lyon presented was simply too perfect.

A group of assassins, armed with heavy firepower and even stockpiling enough explosives to destroy buildings, were discovered and eliminated by ACU in an unfinished suburban building.

What does this mean?

Under her leadership, the West Precinct successfully thwarted a major terrorist attack targeting Seattle!

This level of political achievement is a million times more worthwhile than her and Lyon's behind-the-scenes infighting over the source of a few dozen kilograms of explosives.

The mayor is currently worried about not having enough sensational news to divert public attention from the economic downturn.

"Alright."

Sterling turned back, accepted the situation, and his tone became businesslike again:

"Given the perfect chain of evidence at the scene, this is a group of extremists preparing to carry out a terrorist attack in Seattle."

"I will have the public relations department write a report in this direction, and I will suppress the internal affairs department's report."

Sterling picked up his coffee, took a sip to clear his throat, and then asked, "Besides this, is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"have."

Lyon had been waiting for these words. He straightened his casual posture and said seriously:

"ACU suffered heavy casualties last night. Nail died, and Bulldozer and Jacob were seriously injured, with several broken ribs."

"Carlos's leg was injured before and it hasn't healed yet. There are also some other injured brothers who are currently in the hospital."

"These brothers risked their lives to stop a terrorist attack."

Lyon looked at Sterling and immediately offered his price:

"I need a significant improvement in ACU's compensation package."

"The compensation for the nail must be paid at the highest level, and his family must receive enough to live on for the rest of their lives."

"The bulldozer and Jacob's medical expenses will be covered, and everyone will receive an extremely generous bonus and hazard pay. The bonuses for the other team members will at least double."