"I just find it amusing. You couldn't find a witness to identify the victim, yet you managed to locate someone who saw me talking to a red-haired woman."
"Besides, isn't this case already closed? Just an hour ago, my brother Daniel called me to say that the girl had been rescued, and they had also dismantled a baby trafficking ring."
In the police department's interrogation room, James Reagan looked slightly annoyed as he faced a deputy captain from Internal Affairs. Sitting beside him was his police union lawyer, a short elderly man in his fifties.
The deputy captain stared at him with a stern expression for a long moment before finally speaking slowly. "Officer Reagan, I am following a direct order from the commissioner to thoroughly investigate this case. The outcome of the kidnapping case has no bearing on my questions. Internal Affairs' job is to ensure that your behavior during the incident met NYPD standards. Lying to Internal Affairs is—"
"Excuse me, Deputy Captain, but let me remind you, Officer Reagan only needs to answer questions within the scope of his duties," the union lawyer interjected.
"But he has already answered this question, and in the absence of witnesses, I have every right to question—" Before the deputy captain could finish, there was a knock on the door of the interrogation room.
A police officer appeared at the door, followed by a plain-looking, red-haired middle-aged woman dressed like a tourist.
The two exchanged a few words in hushed tones. The deputy captain glanced at the woman in surprise before turning back to James Reagan. "This is quite interesting, Officer Reagan. The woman you spoke to in Chinatown that night has volunteered to come forward. Let's hear what she has to say."
He stepped aside to let the woman into the room. "Ms. Catherine Ryan, I'm Deputy Captain Bello. This is Officer James Reagan. Can you confirm whether this was the officer you saw in Chinatown that night?"
James Reagan was still bewildered as he left the interrogation room. He knew full well the true identity of Agent Ryan, and the reason he had lied to Internal Affairs earlier was precisely to protect her identity.
He had met this FBI agent, Ryan, in Chinatown for a covert meeting, which involved the secretive "Blue Templar" society hidden within the NYPD and the death of his brother, Joey Reagan. To him, this was a secret that had to be kept at all costs.
As everyone knows, one lie often requires countless others to cover it up. With Internal Affairs relentlessly pursuing the issue of him speaking to a red-haired woman before the incident, James Reagan knew he could do nothing but remain silent. Saying anything more would only create more loopholes in his story.
What he never expected was for Agent Ryan to voluntarily show up. Disguised as a tourist from Pittsburgh, she claimed to Internal Affairs that she had simply asked James Reagan for directions that night.
She even explained that, upon seeing news reports about the case, she had come forward out of gratitude.
Although the issue with Internal Affairs had been resolved, James Reagan's unease only deepened. In his view, the FBI's willingness to cover for him clearly came with strings attached. He had previously refused the FBI's request to go undercover—could he turn them down again?
As the young rookie officer left the station with a heavy heart, he wandered into the underground parking lot, intending to drive back to his apartment. To his shock, he found his older brother Daniel and the FBI agent Jack waiting by his car.
James Reagan's heart jumped into his throat. But being a Harvard graduate, he quickly pieced together the situation in the few steps it took to approach them. A heavy weight seemed to lift from his chest.
The "Blue Templar" and the death of his brother Joey Reagan had been burdens weighing on him for years. They had been suffocating him, and now it seemed the secret was out. No matter what, he wouldn't have to silently observe his father at every family gathering, endlessly speculating whether he was connected to Joey's death.
"Jack told me you might have a lot to say to me, dear little brother," Daniel said, his face dark and his fists clenched tightly.
The joy of rescuing a pregnant woman had been short-lived. When Jack's striking FBI girlfriend had hurriedly approached them with a file in hand, Daniel had noticed her unusually grave expression. She had then led him to the police department parking lot to wait.
"I'm Officer Joey Reagan. After six months of effort, I believe I've successfully infiltrated the 'Blue Templar.' They're planning an operation tomorrow. I'll be wearing a wire and will update you with the details."
"Is this Joey's voice?" Daniel was stunned after hearing the recording on the device James Reagan had handed him.
When Jack had told him there was something important to discuss regarding his younger brother and had brought him to the parking lot, Daniel had assumed that James had gotten himself into serious trouble, possibly even involving the FBI.
What he didn't expect was to hear the voice of his brother Joey Reagan, who had been dead for two years, coming from the recording device in James's hand.
"This is a recording Joey left the night before he died," James explained. "At the time, he was working with the FBI to investigate the 'Blue Templar.' I'm sorry, Daniel. I should have told you this from the beginning."
"Does Dad know?" Daniel's voice cracked as he looked at Jack, then at his youngest brother. His already tear-filled eyes turned red.
The age gap between Daniel and James Reagan was significant. If there were a way to measure sibling affection, his bond with Joey Reagan, his younger but closest-in-age brother, was undoubtedly the deepest.
Hearing that Joey's death might have involved foul play, Daniel couldn't hold back any longer. As the eldest in the family, his hotheaded and straightforward nature flared instantly.
"No," James replied, shaking his head. But before he could say more, Daniel grabbed him by the collar. "Come with me to Dad's house. And you too, Jack. I want the full story, right now!"
In the study of Frank Reagan's mansion, the NYPD commissioner, who never smoked cigars at home, sat slouched in a sofa, cloaked in the shadows beyond the reach of the desk lamp. The faint glow of a cigar ember flickered in his hand.
"Deputy Commissioner Moreau alerted me as soon as he sensed something was off. We quickly confirmed the activities of the investigation team led by Agent Ryan. Currently, every member of that team has been silenced under a gag order—this was about three days ago. As for the recording James has, it's just a small part. The FBI has the full set, covering Joey's six months as an undercover operative in the 'Blue Templar,'" Jack explained, pulling out the file that Hannah had given him not long ago.
"This is the suicide note left by Joey's former partner, Lena Gonzalez," Jack continued. "Shortly after Joey's tragic death, she also committed suicide. The official story was that she felt overwhelming guilt over her partner's death.
"But in truth, it was far more complicated. Not long after Joey's death, she secretly sent some materials to her younger sister and hid this suicide note among them."
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