Gwen was preparing dinner downstairs.
Hawk was in George's study, perusing the dossier of New York Times reporter Ottos.
Before Christmas last year, the reporter was found tied to a cross and burned to death on the banks of the Hudson River.
Once the news was confirmed, media outlets all over New York City exploded.
The public also exploded.
Although the New York Police Department disliked this reporter, he was, after all, a reporter and a colleague in the media circle. So, it was normal for the media to feel a sense of shared sorrow and righteous indignation, speaking out for Ottos.
The public also spoke out, but their feelings were different from the media; they believed that Ottos must have uncovered some dark secret, leading to his assassination.
Success due to happy education.
Failure due to happy education.
It was called happy, but in reality, it was about keeping the populace ignorant.
As is well-known.
Keeping the populace ignorant can significantly reduce management costs, but if you choose to do so, you must accept that they will be swept up once incited.
And so it was.
Most people, who still believe that Earth is flat and that there is another World behind the North Pole wall, were incited by the media and took to the streets to protest, speaking out for Ottos.
It was under such circumstances that the 21st Precinct, Alexander.
Especially Captain George Stacy.
He was under pressure from both the public below and the headquarters above.
In fact, if George had been willing, he could have easily pinned the case on any deceased drug addict and closed it.
Don't think that the Federation doesn't have coerced confessions or wrongful convictions.
Even a murderer with irrefutable evidence can walk free from court with a not-guilty verdict under the defense of a top lawyer. This glimpse shows how many innocent people are wrongly accused.
Because the Federation operates on a jury system.
Simply put.
In court, you don't need to convince the court; you only need to convince the jury. Even if there's a video of you committing murder, as long as you convince the jury that the video is AI-generated, and they believe it, you can walk out of court.
Similarly.
The District Attorney only needs to convince the jury that, even if the defendant has an alibi, they killed remotely with their mind. As long as the jury believes it, the defendant will go to jail.
After all, can a defendant wrongly accused by the District Attorney afford a top lawyer?
But George was unwilling.
He still had his own pursuits. Even though the Hudson River case was not the primary crime scene, and there were no surveillance cameras nearby, he fully supported Detective Mahoney in investigating this case.
Finally, after nearly two months, which was last month, with the full restoration by the technical department, scattered data was recovered from the equally burned laptop hard drive. From a name in that scattered data, they followed the clues and traced it to "Blood Apocalypse."
This was not a person's name, but an organization's name.
A sect.
To be precise, it was a cult.
But it was legal.
After all, there's freedom of belief.
The founder of Blood Apocalypse was named Elani, an organization that believed "blood is needed to summon the Four Horsemen to cleanse the World."
Other than that, nothing.
After all, this was a cult; although legal, it still maintained secrecy.
Just like the reporter Matos, he only barely investigated that the founder was named Elani, and then there was nothing more.
Mahoney immediately applied for an arrest warrant from the court.
And then—
Someone came to surrender, confessing to the crime of murdering reporter Matos. Before Mahoney and George could even react, the District Attorney's office quickly reached a plea agreement with the suspect.
As Mahoney said, there was considerable pressure from above on this case.
After all, no one liked to waste a lot of police resources on a reporter who constantly caused trouble for the police department.
With someone confessing, George had no choice. Although he felt the confessor was a scapegoat, under pressure from headquarters, he could only choose to close the case.
Once again.
If George had compromised, he wouldn't still be just a Captain now.
And so.
He was secretly investigating.
And then… he was retaliated against, wasn't he?
Hawk finished reading all the dossiers, then looked at the scattered information about Blood Apocalypse online, feeling speechless but not particularly surprised, shaking his head.
In a word.
George went up against a cult. How could he not be silenced by them?
In terms of fanaticism, cults are much more fanatical than HYDRA.
After all, HYDRA is just a villainous organization; they don't engage in mind control.
But cults… they play with mind control.
Hawk shook his head, closed the dossier, got up and left the study, then went downstairs and found Gwen, who was making dinner in the kitchen.
He told Gwen everything he had read in the dossier, from beginning to end.
Finally.
Hawk said with a smile, "If you want me to, I'll chop up this Elani."
George was a Captain, so he needed evidence.
Hawk was not.
He usually didn't look for evidence when he chopped people. As long as he had suspicions, that was enough for him to take action.
In a word.
If it wasn't you who did it, then why would I suspect you and not someone else?
Gwen frowned, then shook her head.
"No."
"Huh?"
"This is Dad's case."
As thoughts flickered, Gwen, who several times wanted to tell Hawk to chop up this Elani, strongly suppressed the idea. As she took the cooked steak out of the oven, she looked at Hawk: "You advocate for outcome justice, but Dad advocates for procedural justice. This is why Dad doesn't like Spider-Man very much. Moreover, this is Dad's case, and he almost got into trouble because of it. So, this case should be concluded by Dad himself."
Hawk understood Gwen's meaning.
George almost died because of this case.
But he didn't die.
If he finally woke up and then heard that the cult leader was killed by a slap from the sky, he would probably be depressed for a long time.
So… George's case, George finishes it.
Hawk thought, chuckled, and took the steak pan from Gwen's hand: "As you say, I'll do whatever you say, after all, you're the most educated in our family."
Gwen was already a Dr.
And he, on the other hand, was about to go on summer vacation again, but the company for his summer internship hadn't even been decided yet.
Gwen heard Hawk's teasing and rolled her eyes at him again.
"But I'll always want your help."
"Of course, the direction you point is the direction I will go."
Hawk responded with a smile.
He didn't take this matter to heart.
Just a cult.
If Gwen said to leave it to George, then leave it to George.
An hour later.
Howard and Simon, after finishing dinner, obediently sat in Hawk's audi a8 and then arrived at New Amsterdam Hospital.
There was no loud talking or shouting.
Howard and Simon stood quietly by George's hospital bed, looking at George, who was lying in bed, intubated, still unconscious but not in critical condition.
Helen, who was eating nearby, commented on Gwen's cooking.
"Not bad, your cooking is getting better and better."
"Of course!"
Gwen listened to her mother's praise, proudly lifting her chin like a white swan: "I am the daughter of Chef Helen Stacy."
Helen looked at her proud daughter, smiled, then looked at Howard and Simon, who were quietly watching their father: "I used to think these two were very mischievous, but they are actually quite good."
Gwen followed Helen's gaze and also looked at her two younger brothers, who were holding hands and standing quietly by their father's hospital bed. She said with a smile, "They are just a bit naughty, but they are actually very well-behaved."
"It's just that they're not good at studying," Helen agreed with a nod, then changed the subject and looked back at Gwen: "If their academic talent was one-tenth of yours, I would be very satisfied."
Gwen defended her two younger brothers: "Mom, boys are always late bloomers. Hawk was also very mischievous when he was ten."
Hawk, who had been sitting quietly nearby, heard himself being brought into the conversation, paused slightly, then met Gwen's gaze, blinked, and then looked at Helen, saying with a serious expression, "Yes, I was also very mischievous when I was ten. I often sang loudly during church services and events."
Helen said with a smile, "You were in the choir. If you didn't sing loudly, that would be a problem."
Hawk heard this, looked at Gwen, and shrugged.
Gwen gave a helpless smile and looked at Helen, "Mom, you should have more faith in Howard and Simon.
If Hawk and I have children in the future, even if their academic talent isn't a tenth of Hawk's, I won't be angry."
Helen glanced at Gwen, who had confidently said this, chuckled, and looked at Hawk.
"Do you believe her?"
"I do."
Helen smiled and pressed, "Really?"
Hawk parted his lips, looking at Gwen who was watching him, then at Helen who was smiling at him, his expression helpless: "Helen, don't make it difficult for me."
On one side was his fiancée, on the other, his future mother-in-law.
Hawk felt he should be outside the door, not here.
But... Helen, who had already gotten the answer she wanted, looked at Gwen with a silent smile.
Gwen rolled her eyes at Hawk, then looked at Helen with a serious expression.
"I'm serious, Mom."
"Hmm, I believe you."
Helen also nodded with a serious face.
But her smile wouldn't stop.
After all... only a mother truly understands a mother.
Helen looked at her most proud daughter, who had earned her Dr. degree at twenty, and smiled.
"Just don't come crying to me then."
"I won't!"
Gwen said definitively.
She was so smart.
Hawk was also so smart.
Even the worst offspring they produced, how could it not have at least a tenth of their combined intelligence?
Her ninety-nine points, plus Hawk's one point, a tenth of that would still be ten points.
Mm.
Not bad!
Gwen thought to herself.
Helen then smiled and looked at Hawk: "So, have you thought about it yet, whether you want a son or a daughter, when the time comes?"
Hawk looked at Gwen with a faint smile: "As long as it's Gwen's, I'll like it."
He had fallen for that once already and was determined not to fall for it a second time.
Hawk didn't want to be a pawn in his future mother-in-law and fiancée's game.
Moreover, he was speaking the truth.
As long as it was his and Gwen's child, whether a boy or a girl, as long as Gwen liked it, he would like it.
If Gwen didn't like it, he wouldn't like it.
Gwen looked at Hawk with a beaming smile, then smiled at Helen: "One daughter, two sons, that's what Hawk and I have agreed upon."
Helen raised an eyebrow, instantly realizing where her daughter had gotten this configuration.
She smiled.
"Not bad."
"I think it's great too."
Gwen replied with a smile.
Hawk and Gwen took Howard and Simon to the apartment after staying at the hospital until nine o'clock.
The two little ones, after returning from visiting their father at the hospital, were also very well-behaved, washing up and going to bed in their rooms.
Hawk and Gwen, meanwhile, were entertaining Detective Mahoney and Detective Hale in the living room, who had also returned from visiting George at the hospital.
Detective Mahoney looked at the paper with the letters "BU" found in George's study, still completely bewildered.
Detective Hale, sitting beside him, also frowned deeply: "I checked the informant database at the precinct this afternoon, and there's no name related to this BU in it, not even the slightest connection."
Gwen, sitting nearby, asked, "Is it possible it's an informant from another precinct?"
Being an informant wasn't something you could just decide to be.
After all, in the Federation, informants enjoyed certain special privileges, such as the District Attorney's office being able to choose not to prosecute them for certain criminal acts, and clues collected by informants being admissible in court.
Unlike police officers, if they searched without a warrant, anything found could not be used.
But such informants had to be officially registered.
Hale also thought of this: "The Deputy Chief is currently coordinating with other precincts, but there's no news yet."
Gwen nodded and stopped speaking.
Hawk then asked the two about clues regarding the gunman.
Normally, Mahoney and Hale would not disclose information about a case to unrelated individuals, especially the victims' families.
But Hawk and Gwen were not in a normal situation, and the victim was no one else but their precinct's Captain.
Especially considering what Helen had told them when they left the hospital.
So... they weren't discussing the case with Hawk and Gwen, but rather reporting the case to the Captain's wife.
After all, George was only injured, not dead, and the Captain of the 21st Precinct was still George.
Actually, there wasn't much to report.
Because—
The suspect was already dead.
"After Hale and I found surveillance footage of the suspected gunman fleeing the scene, we immediately issued an alert."
"Killing a police officer is a major case."
"The entire New York Police Department mobilized, and half an hour later, a patrol officer from the 3rd Precinct reported discovering the motorcycle the suspect used to escape."
"However, the motorcycle had already been burned."
"The technical department quickly recovered the vehicle identification number and found the suspect of the vehicle."
"But by the time we arrived at the suspect's address, he had already hanged himself."
"There was a suicide note on the table."
"But whether it was a real suicide or a fake one, the medical examiner from the 21st Precinct has already taken the body back and is in the process of identification."
"..."
Hawk and Gwen listened to Mahoney's account and looked at each other.
Gwen frowned: "Could this suspect be BU?"
Hale shook his head: "The suspect's name is Ethan Thomson, his initials are ET, not BU, and a handgun was found in the bag at his feet when he committed suicide, which is currently undergoing forensic testing, but the bullet caliber matches."
"A Blood Apocalypse follower?"
"We're investigating, but from the scene inspection, no connection between the suspect and Blood Apocalypse has been found so far."
"Is that so?"
Hawk felt a hint of curiosity upon hearing this.
But not much.
After all, he wasn't a professional detective; at least in terms of investigation and solving cases, his level was even inferior to Gwen's.
But then again.
He didn't need evidence to solve cases, only suspicion.
And Gwen had told him not to intervene for now, so although he was interested in George's shooting, it wasn't much; he was just listening with Gwen.
However, Gwen wasn't a professional either; she could only be considered top-tier among amateurs.
So, after the three exchanged information, they couldn't come up with a new plan for a while and could only wait for the medical examiner and the testing center to confirm the identity of the deceased first.
As for this BU.
It's likely they'll only know after George wakes up tomorrow.
It's just unknown if the mastermind, after learning that George was rescued, will send a gunman to the hospital to try and silence George again.
Wait.
Silencing?
Hawk's brows furrowed, and he looked at Gwen, who was seeing Mahoney and Hale out the door, then posed this question.
Gwen heard him and looked at Hawk with a smile.
Hawk was confused.
Gwen said with a smile: "This is the difference between amateur and professional, Hawk.
The precinct already thought of this.
Detective Mahoney and Detective Hale will also go to the hospital to guard Dad later."
Hawk's expression suddenly dawned on him.
That's right.
The injured person wasn't just any police officer, but the Captain of a precinct.
Hawk shook his head and smiled.
"So we don't need to worry?"
"That's right."
Gwen nodded and said with a smile: "Dad will wake up tomorrow, and then we'll know who this BU is.
If Dad finds him and that person runs, then you'll have to step in, Hawk."
Although she said she would leave the case for George to solve himself once he woke up.
But if the suspect ran away, that would be another matter.
If he remained in New York City, was obediently caught by her father, and stood trial according to her father's due process, that would be for the best.
But if he dared to run, then she wouldn't hesitate to deploy Hawk.
Gwen thought to herself, then the two returned to Gwen's original bedroom, preparing to sleep.
About an hour later.
Hawk's movements abruptly paused.
Gwen, lying in bed, felt Hawk's sudden stillness and looked at him with somewhat hazy eyes: "What's wrong?"
Hawk came back to his senses, lowered his gaze, and looked at Gwen with a serious expression.
"Pop!"
"Helen achieved Nirvana."
"..."
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