And at present, the person in the world most likely to be capable of something like this was the underground president.
Mycroft watched every subtle change in Watson's expression and said gravely, "A large quantity of weapons has disappeared. That's already enough to cause panic around the world."
"Those weapons would be more than enough to wipe out a small country."
"There's one more thing." Mycroft took a deep breath, his voice turning solemn. "We can't determine whether any nuclear weapons are missing."
Britain was not the only country that had suffered losses. Other nations had lost weapons as well.
Some of them were nuclear powers, but MI6 was temporarily unable to confirm whether any of the weapons missing from those countries were nuclear.
After all, this was highly classified information, and the intelligence agencies of other countries were no pushovers either.
"I need you to tell me where those weapons are, Watson."
If Watson was not responsible, then Mycroft wanted him to take responsibility for finding out who was.
"Someone has to take responsibility for this and bear the consequences," Mycroft said. "You should know I'm not the only one who suspects you."
Among the major underground powers, ***. Sometimes, the man standing in plain sight was the one expected to take responsibility and shoulder the blame.
Watson understood that as well. He stared at the documents and fell silent for a long time.
"Those people don't have that kind of capability."
Sneak into a national defence facility and steal missiles?
Even Bond couldn't pull that off.
Watson said gravely, "Infiltration might be possible, but moving the weapons would require a large number of people and transportation. If we're talking purely about underground forces, no one could do it."
Mycroft suddenly asked, "What about you?"
"Me?" Watson froze.
He wondered what any of this had to do with him. Before Mycroft arrived, he'd been debating whether to throw another soda party.
"Stop pretending you don't understand, Watson." Mycroft scrutinised him. "You have that capability. That explosion at the Tower of London."
Watson was left speechless. He could hardly tell him that the thing responsible belonged to his son.
"I couldn't do it either. I'm just a hub connecting them." Watson shook his head. "I'll tell you this much. If you wanted me to destroy a city, I could probably manage it with some effort. But getting into a national defence facility without anyone noticing would require either controlling the entire base or bribing someone inside..."
The more Watson spoke, the more he realised something was wrong.
Mycroft quietly watched him.
Go on. Why did you stop?
"Ahem. In any case, I don't have the means to do it. Besides, I'm not ***, so what would I even need those things for?" Watson said awkwardly.
"I seem to recall that you invested in an arms company in America." Mycroft raised an eyebrow. "Hammer Industries, wasn't it?"
"Orlov introduced me. I only..."
"That's enough, Watson." Mycroft stood up. "I don't want to see missiles marked as belonging to a national defence facility exploding anywhere in this country."
Mycroft left.
Watson had not been cleared of suspicion, but the suspicion against him was no longer as strong.
Because Watson was right. For the underground president to accomplish something like this, he would have had to kidnap the person in charge of the defence facility. Otherwise, it would have been impossible.
The facility used the most advanced security systems available. Even entering through the main gate required multiple rounds of manual identification, along with fingerprint and retinal verification.
And only the person in charge possessed full access privileges.
The fact that the intruders had forced their way in by creating a new entrance meant they had not obtained full access.
No matter what, however, Mycroft still needed to put pressure on Watson.
It was partly about making a statement, and partly about forcing Watson to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Besides, the invisible man made for a very convenient scapegoat.
Watson watched Mycroft leave, then silently looked down at the documents.
John stepped out and glanced at the pedestrians who had begun appearing outside again.
"Weapons were stolen?"
John narrowed his eyes. If it were him, finding the defence facility and getting inside would not have been particularly difficult.
As for Mycroft's threat toward Watson, John thought for a moment before saying, "I can deal with it."
"No need." Watson put down the documents and sighed. "I have a way. But tracing where those weapons went won't be easy."
As the underground president, Watson possessed intelligence capabilities that were no weaker than those of a national security agency.
Several people who might have been capable of such a thing came to mind.
"Orlov, you've really screwed me over."
Watson groaned. He never should have let that arms dealer talk him into investing in Hammer Industries.
Ariana came downstairs holding her teddy bear. She looked at Watson, and a trace of darkness flashed through her eyes.
...
Night.
The calm before the storm.
Barty Crouch Sr. stared at the corpse before him, his expression unreadable.
Lippi said, "The Schmidt family ring was probably swallowed deliberately by Bart Schmidt while he was struggling."
"The ring can prove his identity, and the magic inside it can only be used by someone of Schmidt blood."
Listening to Lippi, Barty Crouch Sr. said quietly, "Muggles possess power greater than that of wizards."
If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Barty Crouch Sr. would have found it difficult to believe that someone could be made to look like another person without using magic.
The corpse Lippi had brought back was preserved inside a crystal coffin. Despite everything it had been through, it was still largely intact.
Barty Crouch Sr. could clearly see the horrific wounds caused by the process of increasing the body's height.
Muggles might not have magic, but they possessed technology more terrifying than magic.
"Grindelwald, you're going to drag magic into the abyss," Barty Crouch Sr. said.
Grindelwald wanted to declare war on the Muggle world.
That was no secret.
But the Muggles of today were not something wizards could easily deal with.
Their technology.
Their terrifying weapons.
Some arrogant wizards dreamed of their former glory, treating Muggles as though they were still people who could be toyed with as they had been a thousand years ago.
That was still a mistake.
Even a thousand years ago, Muggles had once come close to wiping out wizards.
The Ministry of Magic firmly upheld the Statute of Secrecy.
Not to protect Muggles, but to protect wizards.
Once wizards were discovered, what would happen to them as beings Muggles considered abnormal?
Death?
Or coexistence?
No one dared gamble on that possibility.
However wizards treated werewolves, Muggles would treat wizards the same way.
That was simply human nature.
They were willing to fight and destroy one another over something as trivial as skin colour, let alone over the existence of wizards.
Only when faced with a danger capable of destroying everything would humanity truly unite.
"Tomorrow, we'll make all of this public."
Barty Crouch Sr. immediately said, "Have the Aurors monitor and arrest Grindelwald's followers."
"A large number of them have come here, and there are others still hiding."
Barty Crouch Sr. said seriously, "We need to eliminate this danger before it can take root."
"If anyone resists..."
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, his gaze filled with unwavering resolve.
"Kill them on the spot!"
As Minister for Magic, he had never lacked decisiveness.
The evidence had not even been made public yet, but he had already begun making preparations.
There would be bloodshed tonight, and it might stain Barty Crouch Sr.'s reputation.
But he did not care.
Compared to what Grindelwald intended to do, these were merely sacrifices necessary to protect the wizarding world.
"Need our help?"
Oxer stepped forward. He was beginning to admire Barty Crouch Sr.'s decisiveness.
"The Star Disciples' mission is to protect Mr. Crouch's safety. Those people are threatening that." A cold smile appeared on Oxer's lips.
Theodore clenched his fists.
Was it finally about to begin?
Killing.
Barty Crouch Sr. did not refuse.
He mobilised the Aurors who had accompanied him.
There were fifteen Aurors, and with the Star Disciples included, their total strength came to twenty-five.
"I will win this election and expose Grindelwald's conspiracy," Barty Crouch Sr. said as he looked around at everyone. "This is a necessary fight."
"For us, and even more so for the stability of wizarding society."
"Tonight will be a difficult battle, but tomorrow, the world will be a better place."
Barty Crouch Sr. looked at everyone and said seriously, "So move out. Crush the conspiracy."
"We need to ensure the election proceeds smoothly."
At Barty Crouch Sr.'s order, the Aurors sprang into action.
Oxer looked at Theodore. "Let's go, rookie."
Theodore took a deep breath and stepped out through the door.
Only Lippi and Pierce remained beside Barty Crouch Sr.
"What form will this year's election take?"
The election for President of the International Confederation of Wizards did not follow a fixed method. In the past, they had used a Qilin to choose the winner.
It was widely regarded as the fairest method, except for the one time Grindelwald turned a Qilin into an Inferius.
Qilin were extremely rare and could only be found in the East.
So they were not available for every election.
The previous election for President of the International Confederation of Wizards had not used a Qilin either. Dumbledore's reputation had simply overshadowed everyone else, allowing him to become the new president.
Before the election began, Barty Crouch Sr. believed the result would probably be decided by public support.
He would compete with Grindelwald to the very end, and the final victory would likely be decided between the two of them.
It was not that the other two candidates had no chance. It was simply that, during this period, Barty Crouch Sr. and Grindelwald had received the most support.
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