The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 400: The Curse Must Not Be Ignored

[Chapter 400: The Curse Must Not Be Ignored]

Austin, the head of security, received word that Russell was at the Coast Tower, overseeing work for a company that had a long-standing partnership with Twitter. It was the on-site supervisor from Infolytika Network.

He quickly reviewed Russell's file from the security department.

Russell had worked at Infolytika for over eight years without incident, and he was currently a key technical and management team member. He was from Lithuania, a nation known for its hostility towards Russia, and was a first-generation immigrant.

As a nation of immigrants, such situations were far too common. Within Twitter, there were at least three employees who were also first-generation immigrants, including individuals of Russian and Ukrainian descent.

Given Russell's role, Austin decided to play it safe and reported the situation to Edward immediately. Edward had a long history with Lola and asked her about it briefly.

Initially, there was nothing to worry about, but then the Savior suddenly recalled something: the leader of the Cursed Cult, Brian Ferguson, had issued a curse targeting Russian spies in Washington. Brian had a reputation for being a doomsayer; many of his curses had come true, and both Hawke and Erica had faced peril several times because of him.

In fact, in Covina, the leader had nearly cursed himself to death.

...

Knowing how serious this was, Edward wouldn't underestimate the situation and promptly found Hawke: "Brian said something in Washington."

Hawke recalled the curse and replied, "I should probably sew this guy's mouth shut!"

With so many curses manifesting, it was not something to take lightly.

Hawke visited the security office and spoke with Lola to get the details. Realizing that the situation had alarmed Hawke, Lola recounted everything regarding Russell, including her unexpected confrontation with him.

After hearing her out, Hawke asked a few crucial questions: "How long have you known Russell?"

"A long time," Lola thoughtfully replied. "After Twitter was founded and acquired the website created by Kasim and me, I started handling the hardware side. During the second server replacement when the company started full cooperation with Infolytika, that's when I met Russell. So it's been about two years."

Hawke asked, "Has he pursued you at all during these two years?"

Lola slowly shook her head. "No, never." She shared some gossip, "There was a time I wanted to sleep with him and hinted at it a few times, but he honestly has a hard time reading signals. Eventually, I lost interest until a week ago when he suddenly started pursuing me."

Edward chimed in, "Right after he got back from Washington."

Though it sounded a bit absurd, Hawke had experienced strange situations like this before and didn't dare to dismiss it. The situation was clearly off. No one wanted to take risks, especially someone like Hawke who could easily become a target for backlash in America.

He advised Lola, "Don't act strangely; keep up your usual work."

Lola nodded. "I will."

Hawke turned to Austin and said, "Trained spies are not something you can handle. Beyond electronic monitoring, do not let anyone else surveil him."

Austin replied, "Understood."

...

Of course, this kind of thing was best left to the professionals. Hawke pulled out his phone and called Jennifer Huey directly.

When she picked up, he said, "I think we might have discovered a Russian spy."

Jennifer couldn't comprehend it. "We just caught one; they're sending another one? And you found him?"

Hawke likewise found it puzzling. "I can't figure it out either."

"What do we do with this person?" Jennifer, who respected Hawke's opinion on such matters, asked. "Should I have someone monitor him long-term, flush him out?"

Hawke harbored doubts. They couldn't leave a ticking time bomb in the company, saying, "Get him away. I trust you to figure out if he's a spy. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Where is this guy?" Jennifer was eager for him to actually be a spy, as that would solidify their previous case.

Even if she didn't need the recognition, her team would. The higher her position rose, the more she needed a reliable team.

Hawke quickly summarized the situation.

Jennifer decisively responded, "I'll head over there right now."

Hawke added, "I'll be waiting in the security room."

...

Lola momentarily felt dazed; she initially thought the situation was unsafe and just wanted to file a report. How did it turn into a spy chase?

...

In the office, Jennifer hung up and summoned her assistant, saying, "Notify Bernaldo and Chick; assemble their teams and have everyone turn in their phones. We're heading out."

The assistant hurried off to inform the two team leaders.

Ten minutes later, several unmarked FBI vehicles rolled out of the branch and headed straight for Santa Monica.

Jennifer wasn't afraid of catching the wrong person; the FBI had the means.

She began considering how to connect these two cases for even greater recognition.

---

At the Coast Tower, Hawke ordered Lola to continue her usual work while he stayed in the security office to monitor Russell via surveillance.

Russell appeared completely normal, with a rugged beard, commanding his subordinates with seriousness, seeming nothing like a spy.

Hawke's deepest impressions of Russian spies came from various movies and literature. He remembered that his cousin had starred in a similar movie.

Not long after, Jennifer and her team made their way from the freight elevator to the first floor and entered the security room.

Hawke pointed to the surveillance footage and said, "Do you see that man in the red hard hat with a big beard? That's our target, Russell."

Jennifer waved her hand for Chick and Bernaldo to confirm the target's appearance. Hawke instructed, "I'll have someone call him into the switch room; it will be just us and the security staff there. You quietly take control of him."

"Sounds good." Jennifer turned to her subordinates, "Prepare the setup."

Austin led the way, saying, "This way."

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Hawke ordered another security personnel, "Switch the feed to the switch room."

The large screen quickly adjusted, dividing into four quadrants showing different angles of the switch room.

Hawke nodded at Edward.

Edward called Lola on the phone: "Let's go."

...

At the North side server room of the Coast Tower, the Infolytika technical team was busy.

Russell sat at a desk, unease radiating from him.

A Black guy approached and asked, "Boss, what's wrong? Did Lola deny your advances?"

Russell shook his head. "Actually, we spent the night together last night."

"Wow, that's fast!" The Black guy blinked, asking, "How was it?"

Russell scratched his beard. "Feels like someone took advantage of me."

Just then, his phone rang; seeing it was Lola, he quickly picked up, "Hey, darling, I'm in the North side server room."

Lola's voice came through immediately, "You need to come to the South side server room. There was an issue this morning, and you need to be made aware of a few things."

"On my way."

He jumped off the desk, stored his phone, and urged, "Everyone stay sharp, no screw-ups."

The Black guy added, "You go on your date; we won't have any problems here, Boss."

Russell didn't respond, leaving alone and taking a loop through the corridor leading to the switch room.

...

Typically, no one passed through this area; only security guards were on patrol.

Russell made his way towards the switch room but as he passed the restroom and storage room, noises erupted from both sides at once, and he was suddenly pounced upon.

The two strongest FBI agents tackled Russell with the force of a bear.

Russell tried to struggle against them but was swiftly taken down. In an instant, five or six more agents swarmed him.

These FBI agents were highly trained; some pinned Russell's arms down while others pressed his legs.

Others quickly tore open Russell's shirt to prevent him from pulling at the neck.

Someone grabbed his chin to check inside his mouth for any hidden dentures.

Russell fought with all his strength, but there was no escaping; he could only mumble, "What are you doing? What do you want?"

A nimble white agent came over, shoved a gags into Russell's mouth, and strapped it behind his head.

Then, he pulled out a black hood and said softly, "FBI! Buddy, your time's up. Come with us!"

Hearing the FBI, Russell's tense body suddenly relaxed, and he ceased to struggle, seemingly resigned to his fate.

At that moment, he recalled the absurd orders from Moscow and the sadness and helplessness of being a pawn for a spineless politician.

As they bound his hands, several agents quickly searched him. All items found were captured on the recording device and placed into evidence bags before lifting Russell from the ground.

...

Bernaldo came over to check Russell's face and glanced at his work badge hanging around his neck, confirmed his identity, and said, "Take him away."

The short white agent placed a black hood over Russell's head.

The FBI agents dragged Russell down the opposite corridor.

...

Meanwhile, Austin had already cleared out an elevator area.

Russell was taken into the underground parking lot and pushed into a commercial van.

...

On the other side, Chick and his team had subdued Russell's workers.

...

In the first-floor security room, Jennifer watched the entire capture process through the surveillance and told Hawke, "I'll immediately begin interrogation and will summon the relevant personnel from Infolytika."

Hawke replied, "Notify me as soon as you have any results."

Jennifer nodded slightly and quickly exited the security room.

...

Hawke turned to Edward, saying, "Inform everyone; all vice presidents and higher management will hold a meeting. Lola is to be included."

As Infolytika was a long-time partner of Twitter, responsible for the fiber optic cable connections, although there had never been an issue before, it was necessary to conduct a complete inspection of all cables.

As for Lola, if Russell's spy identity was confirmed, the company surely owed her a significant reward.

It was essential to distinguish rewards from punishments; otherwise, trust would quickly erode.

...

Half an hour later, Twitter held an internal meeting. Lola's news was astonishing.

Just like Hawke, the management team couldn't understand why Russians had chosen such a sensitive moment to dispatch a spy.

*****

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