America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Chapter 126 Quantico 4K

America FBI National Academy, located at U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

This place has always been a training ground for FBI agents, and its reputation is as famous as that of the CIA headquarters in Langley, and it has been mentioned many times in various films, games and literary works.

Rosen's closed training session was taking place in Quantico, so he had to travel across North America, flying from the West Coast to the East Coast.

This is a very tedious journey, because even by plane it takes more than ten hours.

However, when Rosen saw another person on the plane, he suddenly felt that the journey wouldn't be so boring.

"Ms. Banner?"

"Just call me Jane, we're colleagues now."

Jane extended her hand to Rosen in a friendly manner, and the two shook hands.

"Jane, are you going to Quantico too?"

Rosen discovered that Jane was on the same flight as him and that their seats were next to each other, which was clearly not a coincidence.

This plane ticket was provided by the bureau, and Rosen suspects that Jane's ticket was also from there.

"Yes, I feel that my abilities are somewhat lacking and I would like to receive retraining."

"You can do that?"

"Of course! Quantico doesn't train agents into super agents like those in movies and TV shows all at once. They adjust the training program based on your rank and responsibilities. Frontline agents like us will focus on investigation and combat, while non-frontline agents will have their own specialized training programs."

Rosen looked thoughtful.

No wonder the training was so short; it was just basic training.

"Jane, you must have received training once before, right?"

"Yes, but my grades are just average, and my internship didn't go very well, so I'd like to get some more training."

As Jane said this, her gaze remained fixed on Rosen, which made him a little suspicious.

"Uh, you said the internship didn't go well, is it because of me?"

Rosen did use bulletproof suits and rhetoric to deal with Jane, but he didn't expect her to doubt her abilities because of it.

"No, it has nothing to do with you. I'm just having doubts about my own abilities."

Jane did not acknowledge Rosen's statement; she simply placed all the blame on herself.

Rosen quite liked this personality trait.

So the two started chatting.

Jane was quite interested in Rosen's informant career, especially the Bonanno family case.

To protect Rosen, the FBI did not actually disclose the source of the evidence, but Jane and Sean Arthur had already guessed where the evidence came from.

After all, Neil's smug demeanor practically screamed it all over his face.

Rosen would pick out whatever he could say, add some artistic embellishment, and tell it to Zhen.

Unexpectedly, Jane actually took all of this seriously, and her gaze toward Rosen gradually turned into one of admiration.

"My God! I've studied countless case files, and many seasoned detectives couldn't do this! Rosen, you're amazing!"

"Have you studied many case files?"

According to Rosen, the FBI does not release the investigation process for most cases, and unless there are special connections, it is very difficult for insiders to see the case files.

Jane answered Rosen somewhat embarrassedly.

"Yes, I've loved detectives since I was a child, so I used my connections to get access to a lot of FBI internal files to study."

Judging from this, Jane's family background must be quite impressive.

Ordinary wealthy people don't have this kind of power; it's probably because he comes from a political family.

America has many prominent political families; you may not see them in the position of president, but their influence is deeply entrenched in the local areas.

The most famous are the Kennedy family, the Bush family, and the Clinton family, all of which have produced presidents.

Next, Rosen and Jane chatted for a long time until Jane got a little tired, at which point they ended their conversation.

Long flights are unbearable without sleep, so Rosen managed to doze off for a while on the plane.

Fortunately, the plane did not fly to downtown Manhattan in New York, but instead arrived safely in Virginia.

When they got off the plane, Rosen was with Jane, along with several other young people, presumably also sent by the FBI's Los Angeles office for training.

The FBI National Institute bus took them to their destination.

Upon entering the Quantico training base, everyone had their unnecessary personal belongings, such as cell phones or keys, confiscated.

Rosen didn't care; the magical futuristic phone would automatically return to his hand, so taking it wouldn't matter.

However, many of the agents who participated in the training with Lawson found it difficult to get used to.

Since its inception, the mobile phone has occupied a significant amount of human time.

It's not just in the smartphone era that people can't live without mobile phones; many people were already inseparable from mobile phones as early as 2000. Fortunately, everyone knows the importance of this training, and no troublemakers have emerged to oppose the training base.

At this stage, male and female agents will be separated.

Before leaving, Jane gave Rosen a reminder.

"Don't sleep too soundly tonight."

These words made Rosen raise an eyebrow, revealing a meaningful expression.

Soon, Rosen was assigned a dormitory room, a double room. The accommodation at the FBI National Institute was quite good.

After entering the dormitory with his belongings, Rosen found his roommate already inside, reading a very thick book.

Upon hearing Rosen enter, the man immediately looked up at him but did not speak.

It's clear that this guy is somewhat introverted and reserved, with a temperament more like a scholar; he's probably a technically skilled detective.

Rosen took the initiative to extend his hand to the other person, after all, they were roommates to live with for the next few months, and it was necessary to get along well.

"Hello, my name is Rosen."

"Will Graham, it's a pleasure to meet you."

But Will's expression didn't seem particularly happy; he looked somewhat gloomy, even a bit bitter and resentful.

However, after observing for a while, Rosen felt that Will's face seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

(Will Graham, played by Edward Norton)

"Are you also a trainee agent? Perhaps we were in the same training batch."

"I think so, I just arrived today too."

"That's great! By the way, do you smoke?"

Rosen took out 15 cigarettes, intending to offer Will a pack, but Will refused outright.

"No, I don't smoke."

"Really? I've heard that real FBI agents are either heavy smokers or coffee machines. You'll have to get used to it."

Will chuckled at this.

"Yes, I do know some FBI agents who are either inseparable from cigarettes or coffee beans, just like you described."

It seemed that the joke had broken Will's guard, because the man became more talkative afterward.

So, Rosen put down his personal belongings while starting a conversation with the other person.

Both sides revealed their backgrounds to each other.

Will is an ordinary person from a small town who, through his outstanding academic ability, was admitted to an Ivy League university and earned a master's degree in psychology. He is a true academic superstar.

No matter where they are placed, they are highly qualified talents.

The FBI recruits highly skilled technical personnel from universities every year, and their salaries are much higher than those of ordinary agents.

It's worth mentioning that, in addition to the salary tiers based on different positions, the FBI also has another salary tier system for ordinary agents.

There are 15 levels in total, from GS1 to GS15. Generally speaking, the higher the education level, the higher the starting salary.

Talented individuals with a master's degree like Will can start at GS9 level, which is $4 per year.

Someone like Rosen, who doesn't even have a high school diploma, can only start from GS1 and can only earn a maximum annual salary of $2.

However, Rosen no longer relies on his FBI salary; the cash bonus for any two-star job exceeds the salary of an FBI GS1 agent.

Since Will has a master's degree in psychology, he must want to pursue a technical career.

However, as a trainee agent, you still have to undergo the most basic training.

Technical positions do not mean you won't handle a gun. The FBI is ultimately a violent agency, and even support staff can be in danger.

At this point, Will was starting to worry about whether he could pass the FBI's physical training.

Rosen patted Will on the shoulder, signaling him to relax.

"The training for trainee agents shouldn't be that difficult. As long as you can get through the initial training, there shouldn't be any major problems after that."

"I hope so."

Will was still somewhat worried, and Rosen didn't try to persuade him further.

After putting his things away, Rosen went out of the dormitory to smoke a cigarette.

In the dormitory area, you can see many young people of similar age to Lawson moving in with their belongings; they are probably all agents who participated in the same training program.

Rosen looked around but didn't find anyone else who looked as familiar as Will.

After putting out his cigarette, Rosen returned to his dormitory.

"Hey Will, don't sleep too soundly tonight."

Why?

"Someone reminded me, so I'll remind you too."

Will looked thoughtful.

However, sleep is something that humans cannot perfectly control.

Especially when lying in bed, not many people can endure it.

Will eventually fell asleep in the middle of the night.

Then, the dormitory door was quietly opened, and a person carrying something walked in.

The man walked to the bedside and was about to pour what he was holding onto Rosen's bed when he suddenly noticed that Rosen had opened his eyes and was staring straight at him.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"I came from the West Coast and am jet-lagged."

That's pure nonsense. America's east and west coasts are only 3 hours apart, which is far from enough to cause jet lag.

But since Rosen had already said that, there was nothing the man could do.

Moreover, because of Rosen, Will, who was a lighter sleeper, also woke up.

Will was startled to see a person standing by his bed carrying a bucket of water.

The next second, screams erupted one after another, and all sorts of screams and curses could be heard throughout the dormitory area.

This greatly enriched Rosen's understanding of English swear words.

"Alright, since you're all awake, let's just go out and assemble."

Even though the light was very dim, Rosen could still see the constipated look on the other person's face.

This feeling must be unpleasant.

After Bai Tianzhen reminded Rosen, Rosen guessed that the training base would give these trainee agents a hard time tonight.

In fact, many military training programs use similar methods, such as surprise attacks to give trainees a shock and thus change their mindset.

Moreover, those who usually do this are people who have been trained before. They have suffered losses in this area before, so they are more willing to let newcomers suffer the same losses.

Just like in the military, veterans are the most ruthless when it comes to toughing out new recruits.

Soon, a group of soaking wet people were herded onto the playground.

Although it was summer, it was still a bit chilly in Virginia at night, especially since these people had been doused with cold water.

Some of the worse ones even poured water with ice cubes on it, and now I'm already sneezing.

"Thanks!"

This prompted Will to quietly thank Rosen.

If it weren't for Rosen, Will would probably be soaked to the bone right now.

"Don't rush to thank us; it might not be a good thing that we didn't get wet!"

Will was taken aback by these words and didn't understand what Rosen meant.

Although Rosen had not participated in America's training, he had participated in military training in his previous life.

In the military, playing tricks won't work; if someone wants to mess with you, they'll have plenty of reasons.

Rosen himself has a hundred reasons to punish himself.

Just then, footsteps approached, and everyone saw a tall young woman leading several middle-aged men over.

This woman must be close to 1.8 meters tall, and she's about the same height as Will when she's not wearing heels.

(Edward Norton's official height is 1.83 meters, but his actual height is probably less.)

Her facial features were slightly sharp and strong, giving her a very heroic air; you could tell at a glance that she was the kind of woman who was not to be trifled with.

However, he has a very good physique; his pectoral muscles look at least a D cup, and he also has obvious muscle definition on his arms.

Only those who regularly exercise and are exceptionally gifted can have this kind of physique.

"I am your instructor, Peggy Gray, and I will be in charge of your physical training for the next few months."

(Peggy Gray, played by Julia Benson)

Peggy's gaze swept across the trainee agents on the playground, and suddenly she noticed that two of them were dry.

"What's going on with you two?"

Will didn't know how to answer, but Rosen stepped forward very calmly.

"Report! I suddenly moved to a different sleeping spot, and I can't sleep at night!"

Peggy's lips curled into a cold smile. She was just looking for someone to make an example of, and Rosen and Will had practically delivered themselves to her doorstep.

"Oh? You must not have been tired enough during the day to be able to sleep! Now, both of you, run laps around the track right now, until you can't run anymore!"

"Report! This has nothing to do with Will; he was just woken up by my talking!"

"Whether it matters or not isn't up to you to decide; I'll judge for myself! Go run laps right now!"

Rosen shrugged at Will; he had tried his best to extricate the other person, but Peggy was determined to kill the chicken, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

"I told you you thanked me too soon!"