Legendary FBI Detective-Chapter 339: Conversation in the Manager’s Office, Chatter in the Investigation Team’s Office Area

FBI Los Angeles Branch building, team leader's office.

Receiving the folder handed over by Potante Byrne, it contained a notification order.

It required Luo An to arrive at the FBI Washington Headquarters on the Monday half a month later, to be evaluated and inspected by the headquarters.

Luo An's eyes slightly shifted, Potante Byrne crossed his legs and asked in a light voice:

"Luo An, do you still remember why the Washington Headquarters established ten Special Investigation Teams among the federal major cities?"

"Of course."

Luo An closed the folder and nodded.

In 2005, the organizational structure within the FBI's frontline case officers was still somewhat complex and redundant, and cooperation with other law enforcement agencies was not very smooth, with frequent occurrences of dragging each other down.

Luo An and others' ten Special Investigation Teams were essentially pilot projects initiated by the Washington Headquarters.

The group at Washington Headquarters wanted to use the specific performances of these ten Special Investigation Teams to study whether the streamlining plan could proceed smoothly and where help and improvements were needed.

After recalling these matters in his mind, Luo An's mouth twitched, realizing he had overlooked some minor issues.

Under his leadership, the Special Investigation Team had successfully solved several cases of varying sizes, earning a good reputation for both the team and himself.

But their cooperation with other federal law enforcement departments, except for the LAPD, seemed...

Not very extensive.

Most of the time, Luo An let Mona go directly to those departments to find information, and their interactions with those departments were very rare.

Seeing the embarrassing expression on Luo An's face, Potante Byrne was also speechless, not knowing what to say.

Previously, Luo An had tactfully refused the recruitment by Potante Byrne, who had never suppressed Luo An or caused trouble for Luo An and his Special Investigation Team.

One reason was the presence of Vireness; another was that Potante Byrne recognized Luo An as an exceptionally talented individual, whom he greatly admired.

In the previous cases, Luo An's performance was highly praised by the higher-ups of the FBI Los Angeles Branch; Luo An Greenwood, the vice leader of the Special Investigation Team, was nimble, intelligent, brave, and tactically savvy.

Moreover, his way of speaking and acting made both senior and junior colleagues comfortable, showing a deep understanding of political operations.

From any aspect, Luo An Greenwood was outstanding.

However, there were two fundamental reasons for establishing the Special Investigation Team.

In terms of handling cases, Luo An was excellent, undoubtedly.

In terms of cooperating and communicating with other federal law enforcement departments...

The group in Washington Headquarters was used to office work, and when problems arose, it was traditional for superiors to blame subordinates.

If Luo An wanted to take this opportunity to go to Washington to officially become the leader of the Special Investigation Team, it probably wouldn't be easy.

"There are two weeks left before going to Washington."

Potante Byrne put down his crossed legs, folded his hands, and said earnestly to Luo An:

"During this time, let the Special Investigation Team handle a few more appropriate cases."

"Alright, thank you, Chief."

Luo An understood the implication in Potante Byrne's words and nodded with a smile.

Then he suddenly thought of something, pointing to the folder he had just brought to Potante Byrne, and said with a laugh:

"Chief, I just remembered that our Special Investigation Team has some additional information on this criminal gathering website.

When other departments' agents handle this case, let's help them solve some problems."

There was an opportunity to cooperate with other federal law enforcement departments right in front of him, he couldn't just let it slip by, nor waste it.

Seeing Luo An's changing attitude towards the criminal website, Potante Byrne was speechless and just nodded in agreement.

Leaving the team leader's office, Luo An looked at the black folder in his hand, thought for a moment, took out his cellphone, and decided to make a call to Vireness, a strong supporter from afar.

On one hand, another case had just been handled, and he wanted to chat with Vireness to maintain their relationship.

On the other hand, he sought external support to see if Vireness could gather information about the other nine Special Investigation Teams for him.

Washington wanted them for evaluation and appraisal; thus, Luo An and nine other heads of the Special Investigation Team would inevitably be competitors, and might even have to vie against one another.

Under such circumstances, it was necessary to get the measure of one's competitors first.

Know thy self, know thy enemy, a hundred battles a hundred victories – this was wisdom that spanned thousands of years.

The call was quickly connected:

"This is Vireness."

"Good afternoon, Chief, this is Luo An."

Luo An chuckled and after some brief pleasantries, began recounting his recent experiences.

————

Elsewhere, in the Special Investigation Team's office area.

The initial capture phase for the "Hollywood Tycoon Shooting Case" was resolved, now they were handling the paperwork and other procedures for the post-case process.

Mona - two folders, Reesi - two folders, Michelle - twelve folders; the three women were busy at their respective desks.

Mona and Reesi's tasks weren't particularly urgent, the pair served Michelle some coffee, got some snacks, and the trio chatted while working.

Mona took a chip and popped it into her mouth:

"Reesi, how's that beautiful landlady of yours doing now?"

Previously, in the teenage death case, Reesi's attractive landlady was at a loss upon hearing about her sister, even ignoring audition calls from Hollywood film companies.

"She's taken a break from Hollywood to go home and rest."

Reesi spread her hands and sighed:

"I'm taking care of the house temporarily. The big house is now for me alone... but I hardly go back to stay there."

Mona knew Reesi's living habits well, and even Michelle, who had only joined the Special Investigation Team recently, had heard about them.

After typing a line of text, Michelle shook her hands, drained her cup of coffee in one gulp, and asked, tilting her head:

"Mona, did Luo An ever mention about giving us a vacation after this case ends?"

"He never said."

Mona shook her head, smiling and asked:

"Why, you want to spend a few days buried in books at home again?"

"Yes."

Thinking about her experiences since joining the Special Investigation Team, Michelle felt deeply moved.

While feeling grateful and admiring towards Luo An Greenwood, the deputy team leader, Michelle secretly prayed a thousand times that the higher-ups would not parachute down a new team leader, and hoped that Luo An would directly be promoted to be the team leader.

The three women continued to discuss the case at hand, but somehow the topic shifted wildly, and they ended up talking about other investigation teams and LAPD, sharing the funny and bizarre encounters during case investigations.

Just then, Luo An returned. Seeing three women laughing heartily, he asked in puzzlement:

"What are you all talking about?"

"An odd case."

Reesi responded with a laugh:

"Recently, the LAPD caught a kidnapper who had abducted 19 people.

But this kidnapper neither harmed them nor demanded money; he forced them to play Monopoly with him for 48 hours."

"…six."

Luo An was speechless, the federal land was vast and full of all kinds of people.

He always thought that people with unconventional thinking were more prevalent in a certain southern state, but didn't expect Los Angeles had its fair share too.

Clapping his hands to draw their attention, Luo An handed over a file to them:

"Ladies, this is what we've achieved after concluding this case."