Chapter 1459: Cause and Effect
It was noon on Coro Island on the other side of the Pacific Ocean when the NATO military base in the Port of Barranquilla plunged into a sea of flames. However, the sea in the distance was as calm as ever.
After Celestial Trade announced its armed intervention in the Colombian Civil War, the ten Guardian-class frigates and twelve newly installed guided-missile frigates docked at New Moon Island moved 100 nautical miles towards Guam. The move was a preventative measure in case the UA military would further escalate.
After the Guam Military Base discovered Celestial Navy’s movements, the stationed destroyers and guided-missile cruisers quickly responded and departed from the port. The two sides were at a standoff at a distance of hundreds of nautical miles. There were dozens of anti-ship missiles that were locked onto the modified Guardian-class frigates.
The captains of these UA warships knew that they would not be able to withstand a 10-kg shell, but at the same time, they believed that the Celestial frigate would also not have a good time after being hit with an anti-ship missile!
For now, the two sides maintained their utmost sanity. All conflicts only stayed in Colombia, and the war did not show any signs of escalation.
Of course, Jiang Chen couldn’t determine whether they could still maintain such a reservation after Celestial Trade attacked the Port of Barranquilla.
At this moment, inside the office of the mansion.
Ayesha stood at Jiang Chen’s desk. In front of her, two photos and a paper bag lied quietly on the desk.
After Jiang Chen scanned the two photos and asked.
“Who are these two people?”
“Eugene Eric and Kayn Jay. Just twelve hours before the flight went missing, they visited Mike Pence’s house and stayed for more than one hour,” Ayesha reported.
“What do they do?” Jiang Chen asked.
“The former was an employee of Cassidy Public Relations, a former Republican senator, and a well-known political broker on K Street. The latter was formerly named Lester Keynes, a former FBA agent, and died in a car accident in Georgia in 2007. ”
Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows.
Good lord, even the dead came came back to life.
Jiang Chen tapped his finger against the armrest, then said.
“Can you find these two people?”
“The former has been found,” Ayesha put another picture on the desk and gently pushed it in front of Jiang Chen. “After contacting Pence, Eric immediately took a flight to London, England. Gurney Vale was responsible for tracking his whereabouts, but when she found Eric following the clues, he had become a corpse in a motel in the suburbs of Nottingham.”
Gurney Vale was the code name of Monica Geller, and she was one of the early members of the Ghost Agents. After Rothschild turned against Celestial Trade, Jiang Chen sent her to Europe to command the Ghost Agents in Europe for intelligence activities.
Since the other party killed Eric before Monica could get there, they were obviously not ordinary people either. As Jiang Chen connected Kayn Jay’s unique identity and the unsettled case decades ago, Jiang Chen lowered his head and deliberated for a moment. Then he spoke as he looked up again.
“Could it be that the FBA and Wall Street jointly plotted against the Air Force One?”
“We don’t rule out this possibility,” Ayesha nodded. “Bernice is tracking Kayn Jay’s whereabouts. If there are no surprises, he should be in North America. If he didn’t get silenced, he is probably controlled by the FBA.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Ayesha stopped talking.
Jiang Chen was slightly taken aback, then he said.
“Come in.”
With Jiang Chen’s permission, Natasha pushed open the door and walked in.
When he saw Natasha hadn’t changed out of her work uniform, he asked with a hint of surprise.
“You got off work so early today?”
“I guess you might need my help, so I came back early.” Natasha walked into the office, scanned the photos on the table, and said with a smile, “… You guys got to Eric Eugene and Kayn Jay already?”
Jiang Chen was also straightforward when he heard Natasha said. He raised an eyebrow, then asked blatantly.
“The KGB asked you to send a word?”
“Yes, the Russian Security Services attaches great importance to this ‘accident’ and dispatched a KGB team for this. It is said that this mission was personally instructed by Putin,” Natasha sat down on the sofa in the room, crossed her slender legs, then smiled at Jiang Chen, “My former boss called the embassy, so I got off work early.”
“What did you find?” Jiang Chen asked.
“The first point,” Natasha shook her finger. “Before visiting North America, Boeing had regular maintenance of Air Force One. This maintenance was completed under the joint supervision of the FBA and the Department of Homeland Security. According to our investigation, the engineer who overhauled the engine of Air Force One was Sloan Percy, a Florida native, who died of drunk driving 15 days ago.”
“Second Point,” Natasha shook two fingers after a pause, and then continued, “FBA Director John Corning, the former chairman of the Republican Senate committee, has a close relationship with the Morgan Group.”
“Did the FBA do it?” Jiang Chen’s eyes turned sharp.
“It’s not just the FBA,” Natasha said, “The Department of Homeland Security, Boeing, which is responsible for the regular maintenance of Air Force One, some employees of the their top military command, and a senior commander-level officer. Speaking of which you should know who the biggest shareholder behind Boeing and whose interests he represents.”
Everything made sense.
Air Force One was not shot down by missiles or other things at all. Instead, it was clearly the work of a mole. Air Force One had to send a distress signal during its fall, but this signal was obviously concealed by the murderer’s accomplices.
As for what they did, it would all depend on what the black box reveal.
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Chen had a look of mischievousness.
If he was the one to find the black box first, things would get interesting.
“So, what are you going to do now?” Natasha looked at Jiang Chen after she changed the way she sat and put one leg over the leg. “Trump is unaccounted for. It’s very likely he is dead. NATO obviously does not intend to let go of the Colombia issue. For Morgan and Rockefeller, Mike Pence is an opportunity. With this opportunity, they can make the political landscape turn to the right.”
“Not letting go,” Jiang Chen laughed, opened his hands, “Isn’t this great? It just so happens that I can use this opportunity to get rid of them once and for all. As for Mr. Trump, it doesn’t matter if he is alive or not. All we need is a black box and a legitimate excuse.”
“Are you going to attack the UA?” Natasha’s bright red lips opened slightly, and she looked at Jiang Chen in shock. Her right leg over her left knee came down as she muttered to herself, “You must be crazy.”
“Huh? Did I say that?”
However, after a pause, Jiang Chen suddenly laughed.
“You are like a mind reader.”