In the office, Lu Ming looked at a blank piece of paper with only a few words written on it. After thinking it over, he decided it was meaningless, so he grabbed the paper, crumpled it up and threw it into the trash can. There was really no point in wasting time with those border committee members.
There was a knock on the door and it was Datou who came in. He smiled and said, "Boss, I lost a badge."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I lost it. Who lost the badge this time?"
"I have a very good relationship with Lao Catfish, Catfish..." Big Head smiled and walked to the desk.
Lu Ming opened the locked drawer, took out a blue Eagle Medal and threw it to Datou, "Here..."
Big Head laughed and said, "No one will know about these guys. Boss, you actually know every time when the medals are lost. I didn't hide it from you, and you weren't angry at all. Besides, the replacement badges are not the replicas I bought from outside at a high price. They look like the real ones, and they are the real ones."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Everyone is required to wear the medal, even when they are outside, the medal should be pinned on their underwear and shirts. In fact, it is to make them feel a sense of belonging and never forget that they are a member of the free force. As for losing it, of course I will be angry. That means they are still very casual and don't pay attention to very important things. That's why I am angry."
Datou nodded in understanding. Usually, when a core member lost their badge, they would come to him secretly. Although he received a new badge from the boss, it would take several days to supply it to them. He said that he secretly found an expert to make a replica outside, and it would take several days to polish it to be the same as the real thing.
Of course, it has been a long time since the badge was lost. After all, we are afraid of being discovered by the boss.
"Lao Catfish? This name is interesting. It suits you well?" Lu Ming asked casually.
"Yes, he came from Longbei Province three years ago. His family is all in his hometown, Linhe City? He sends money home when he makes it, and he uses his life to earn money to support his family. I think he is the right person. After getting to know him, it's true. Apart from being taciturn and a little stupid, he is a perfect friend to you, and he is loyal to you."
"In fact, he treasured the badge very much. I don't know how he lost it. He doesn't have many friends and stays in the club all day, but he is like an invisible person. Basically no one pays attention to him. Look, I don't know what he did the whole afternoon. He said he was sleeping in the dormitory, and when he woke up, he found that the badge was missing."
Lu Ming nodded. "It's a big training session tonight, right? Even though we've done it a few times, we still have to pay attention to safety. Check that the ammunition has been replaced with blanks. There are many things that we are afraid of becoming numb over time and not paying attention, which can easily lead to accidents."
"Don't worry! I know you have scolded me several times!" Big Head laughed.
At this time, the phone rang. Lu Ming saw that it was the "red line" and picked it up. Seeing this, Datou made a gesture to walk out, bowed slightly, and walked out.
"Commissioner Lu, a big case has occurred. Oh, I, I am Sha Dahai!" The voice on the other end sounded familiar, but Lu Ming could only confirm it after giving the name.
Now Sha Dahai has already secured the position of Chief of the Criminal Division of Beiguan Patrol Police Bureau.
"Dahai, what eucalyptus?" Lu Ming felt a little strange. What eucalyptus was he talking about to him
"It's like this. In the Admiralty Hotel, four of the five border commissioners were killed, and one was seriously injured, but it looked like he would not survive. They were all shot. They must have been wearing silencers. The hotel owner only discovered it a quarter of an hour ago and called the police."
Lu Ming was startled.
Sha Dahai sighed and said, "It seems that it was because of robbery. Next door to where the five committee members live, there is a northern merchant who brought more than 30 gold bars. Now he has been robbed and the man has been killed. The murderer climbed in through the window of the murdered merchant's room."
"Maybe one of the committee members alerted the murderer or witnessed the murderer. As a result, the murderer chased them into the room and shot them all."
Lu Ming frowned: "Northern merchant? How do you know about the gold bars he brought?"
"He has a letter of introduction from a place called Linhe in Longbei Province. It was written to the East China Sea Imperial Bank by some institution there, proving that the gold bars on the victim were of clean origin and could be deposited in this bank."
As he spoke, Sha Dahai sighed, "People in the north still don't understand Donghai. In Donghai, banks don't need any letters of introduction. If the small yellow croaker comes, they will definitely deposit it. If they want to exchange it for red notes, that's a given. Besides, people in the north are used to carrying so many gold bars and staying in small hotels. They think they are very careful. It's really... Alas!"
Lu Ming frowned and suddenly asked, "Linhe, Longbei?"
"Yes..." Sha Dahai was a little surprised, not knowing why Commissioner Lu cared about this. "Wait for me to take a look at the letter!" He paused, "Commissioner, it's Linhe City, Longbei Province."
"Any other discoveries?" Lu Ming asked.
"No more!" Sha Dahai said worriedly, "Four border commissioners died, maybe five, all of them were killed in one go. This is a shocking case, and I feel so upset. Besides, you should have known about it first, right? So I kept talking to you about it. I reported it first, and it's not my turn to investigate this case. Now, I am responsible for guarding the scene!" He said with a wry smile.
"Okay, Dahai, this kind of thing is not your responsibility. Don't worry, you won't be blamed!"
On the other side, Sha Dahai agreed with a wry smile.
Lu Ming hung up the phone, pondered for a while, picked up the internal receiver, dialed a few numbers, and said, "Call Datou!"
…
Outside, the lights came on and gradually turned into torch-like lampposts.
With the lights off, Lu Ming sat in the office, feeling the passage of time outside the window from the falling of night to gradually turning into late night.
The telephone suddenly rang. It was a dedicated line that could be dialed directly from outside.
Lu Ming picked up the phone.
"Commissioner Lu, I'm glad you're here. I'm Jordan!" Jordan looked relieved.
"I have something urgent to discuss. I need to meet you at the intersection of Kuiyang Road and Sanhe Road, in the third alley from the east. Please keep it a secret and come alone, okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute!"
…
The place Jordan mentioned was not far from the Liberty Building. There was a black car parked in a small alley without street lights. Lu Ming came by taxi, and he got off the car some distance away and walked slowly to find this place.
The taillights lit up and the car door was pushed open.
Lu Ming walked over and saw only one person in the car, Jordan, sitting in the driver's seat.
When Lu Ming got in the car, his attention was drawn to the back seat. In the back half of the car, there were no seats, but various black iron boxes, small radar-like things, etc.
"Car phone?" Lu Ming smiled.
Jordan shook his head, looking somewhat helpless, "Commissioner, please don't mind this sneaky thing."
He glanced at Lu Ming and said, "Four people from the Beiguan Border Committee were killed and one was seriously injured. Did you know that?"
Lu Ming nodded, "I know." He paused, "Oh, I'll hand it over to the Operations Office. It's a big case after all."
Jordan, now the director of the office, was expected to be the young prosecutor, who was capable and, most importantly, had strong connections.
Jordan sighed in understanding: "You will definitely be the first to know about such a big event in Beiguan."
After thinking for a while, he said, "Commissioner, tell me the truth. Your Freedom Power Club has a membership badge. Is that thing difficult to forge?"
Lu Ming shook his head. "It's easy to copy a regular member badge, and it's not difficult to copy a core member badge either. But if you put the replica and the real one together, you can definitely tell the difference."
Jordan took out a small transparent plastic bag. Inside was a badge with an eagle pattern, but it was covered in dirt.
"Look, is this a genuine item or a fake?" He presented it to Lu Ming, but obviously, he didn't intend to actually hand it over to Lu Ming.
Lu Ming looked at the badge in the plastic bag and nodded: "It's the badge of the Freedom Force Left Group. It's authentic."
After a pause, he continued, "The Freedom Force has two core members. The armed personnel are the left wing group, 235 people, and the badge is blue. The right wing group is the backbone of the Freedom Force's external publicity and development of club members. Together with the branches in Xinfa District and Mengdu Town, there are 132 people, and the badge is green."
I pondered, "The left-wing group has a fixed salary every month, which is paid by the club membership fee. The right-wing group, most of them need to pay membership fees, and some backbone members donate a lot of membership fees. Of course, there are also backbone members from poor families who don't pay membership fees."
"Among ordinary members of the club, some pay dues and some do not, but most of them undergo military training regularly."
Jordan smiled bitterly. "Commissioner, you don't have to tell me so much in detail. I know that the club is a legally registered society, but according to what you said, the club is very similar to the militia organizations of the past. However, those militia organizations were merged into the National Autonomous Army fifty years ago. New armed organizations are in a gray area in terms of management. Although they can carry out collective activities in specific locations, if more than three people appear in public places with weapons, it is illegal. However, because you have had several eye-catching cases, you are also hated by some radical organizations. Therefore, after you refused official protection, you were allowed to have multiple civilian security personnel with guns to enter and exit various occasions."
Lu Ming nodded: "I understand. What I want to say is that from a legal point of view, the Freedom Power Club is completely in compliance with the regulations."
Looking at the badge Jordan took back, he smiled and said, "Found it at the crime scene?"
Jordan was startled, then nodded: "You can tell nothing from me. It can be considered a crime scene, or it can be considered not."
"It was found in the alley behind the murdered businessman's window. Prosecutor Han found it."
Lu Ming smiled: "Prosecutor Han? That's Annie. She's very observant."
Jordan said helplessly: "Yes, she has been temporarily suspended by me now."
"She was the first to discover the badge, but she secretly put it in her pocket. Someone noticed her little move and suspected that she had discovered something and concealed it, so a prosecutor told me about it."
"To be honest, she is really capable. This badge was originally in the garbage dump, dirty and was swept into the garbage dump by the auntie who lives there. It will be sent to the garbage station tomorrow morning."
"No one noticed it at first, you know. They just suspected that the criminal escaped from that alley. It's normal that they didn't find anything."
"But I didn't expect that Prosecutor Han would find out."
Lu Ming smiled: "She is very clever, but I think even if she can't find it, someone else will. Um, who reported Annie to you?"
Jordan hesitated for a moment and said, "It was Prosecutor Liu Tao. You haven't seen him. He came into the office after you left."
Lu Ming nodded, "This chess game is huge!"
Jordan was stunned. "Commissioner, do you suspect that this case was not committed by members of the Freedom Force, but someone wrongly accused the Freedom Force? However, the shooting of four border commissioners has caused such a big incident, the case will definitely be thoroughly investigated. If it is only for the purpose of banning the Freedom Force Club, I am afraid it will backfire."
Lu Ming looked at him: "Didn't the border committee members find anything related to me in their rooms?"
"What?" Jordan was confused.
"For example, the materials that reported me? For example, the records of my hearing by the Boundary Commission?"
Jordan was even more stunned: "Have you been questioned?"
"At three o'clock in the afternoon, the people being heard, I suppose, these border commissioners were attacked at about four or five o'clock?"
Jordan's face changed again and again, and he was completely stunned for a moment.
"It seems that the records of my interrogation and the materials reporting me have all disappeared. Is it possible that these border commissioners discovered a shocking secret of mine, a secret that could completely destroy me and send me to jail?"
"I have to take this risk and kill them as soon as possible?"
"Maybe I had already noticed it and had investigated the hotel thoroughly. When I found out that there was a northern businessman with a huge sum of money living next door, I came up with a brilliant plot. The gunman was going to rob him, but was accidentally discovered by the border commissioners, so he killed him to silence him."
"However, the gunman I sent was too careless. He accidentally dropped his badge while climbing down the window."
"Of course, the badge won't be easily seen by you. Instead, it may take several days, or even a coincidence, for you to find the badge."
"It's just that, Annie, Annie, you are so clever. Doesn't this interrupt the progress of the story?"
"It seems that the badge is so easy to find. Is it possible that someone framed it on purpose?"
Lu Ming couldn't help but laugh and shook his head repeatedly.
Jordan was speechless, his face full of embarrassment. He had made the appointment with Lu Ming out of good intentions. He felt that since a member of the Freedom Force had committed such a serious crime, it was reasonable for him to inform his former superiors before taking any action, and at the same time, ask for useful information.
Of course, no matter what, it’s better to meet in private.
But unexpectedly, according to the old leader, the five border commissioners had just heard the old leader before the attack.
Unfortunately, no relevant information could be found in the border commissioners’ rooms.
Then, obviously, the old leader instantly became a possible suspect.
It would be a serious violation if I met with my old leader in private.
But think about every moment I had with this former official.
He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Commissioner, I believe you, but I am afraid that our meeting this time will have an adverse effect on you."
Lu Ming smiled: "I haven't finished my story yet!"
"Do you think I trust that this gunman won't reveal his identity? What if he is exposed? What if he is found out?"
"Then, this gunman must also have a legitimate reason to rob money, so that it will appear to have nothing to do with me."
"For example, the gunman and the northern businessman who was killed were from the same hometown. So, he may have known through some unknown means that his fellow villager had come to Beiguan with a large sum of money. The two may have had private contact."
"So, it's completely logical for this gunman to go and rob people."
"Besides, this gunman is likely to have an accident soon and won't be able to tell the truth anymore."
"So, you don't have any evidence to prove that the attack on the five border commissioners is related to me. At most, you just have suspicions in your mind."
"But from the prosecutor's perspective, you will think that I am full of evil and vicious and cunning."
"If the media finds out and reports it with innuendo, my reputation will be completely ruined. From then on, I will be worse than a gangster."
"The top leaders of East China Sea will definitely not watch me get away with it. The murder of five border commissioners is something that only people dare to do during times of great chaos. To dare to do it now is to challenge the social order of the entire East China Sea. Even if there is no evidence to convict me, I will not be able to take a single step in East China Sea in the future."
Lu Ming shook his head. "As for the current election, forget it. Even if it is the best outcome, this election has nothing to do with me."
Jordan listened in amazement.
"Oh, there is another seriously injured committee member? Which one is it?" Lu Ming asked.
Jordan hesitated for a moment and said, "Call me Li Zhongliang."
"Oh, that Free Citizens Commissioner, you must protect him well."
Lu Ming suddenly smiled: "Tell me, if he survives by chance, will his confession be beneficial to me, or will it directly put me to death?"
Jordan remained silent.
Suddenly, the car phone rang. Jordan picked it up and heard a hurried voice accompanied by noise.
"What?"
Jordan hesitated for a moment, "Okay, let's do it!"
Looking at Lu Ming, Jordan sighed softly, "Commissioner, your club members had an accident during training. It seems that there were live ammunition but no blanks were used. One member was shot and killed on the spot. He is being sent to the hospital."
Lu Ming nodded, "Your people are outside the Freedom Building?"
Jordan was silent for a moment. "Yes, they had already arranged it a few minutes before you arrived here. Commissioner, I'm sorry, I need to investigate all the members of your club."
The phone suddenly rang again, and there was a panicked voice on the other end of the receiver.
Jordan shook his head helplessly and looked at Lu Ming: "Your people don't let the police enter the building."
Lu Ming held out his hand, "Tell them to notify a man named Yuan Datou to answer the phone, and I'll talk to him." He then said to Jordan, "There's nothing to keep secret about our meeting this time."
Jordan smiled bitterly and nodded, then instructed the police officer to ask the man named Yuan Datou to answer Commissioner Lu's call.
Lu Ming looked out the window and sighed softly, "Winter is here, it seems like the weather is getting colder!"
Outside, a few fallen leaves swirled and flew away from the car window, and faintly, the whistling of the north wind could be heard.