The Last Killer

Chapter 54 The Crocodile and the Leopard

"Let me guess what you're thinking." Alessio lay on the bed, raised one leg straight, and half of the loose brown trousers fell from the ankle, revealing an old scar on the Achilles tendon.He pushed the top of the bed with his bare feet, "You're awake, but you don't want to get up, and you plan to lazily lie on the bed until the afternoon, right?"

His new upper bunk replied in the same lazy tone: "I haven't slept for a long time until I woke up naturally... Besides, what else can we do here except eat and sleep? Go grab fitness equipment from gays?"

Alessio laughed. "Maybe you want to go to the video room and watch a movie? They're playing Top Gun today."

"Oh come on, do they think that putting a patriotic brainwashing film can have the effect of disinfecting water? Let us reflect on our lives in the shock of our hearts and vow to change our minds. After going out, we will do community volunteers and go to the hospital to care for cancer patients. Or go to a prison with a shortage of manpower to be a prison guard or something?" Sha Qing's voice casually leaked from the gap between the bed boards.

Alessio couldn't help laughing—the guy who slept on the top bunk was even more interesting than he thought, and the sharp mouth was inversely proportional to his handsome appearance.He cleared his throat and said, "Then you can continue to hang around. By the way, after the roll call at 4 pm, there is a fixed game on the eighth floor. I want to take you to see it."

"why?"

"Because that's a good time to see the situation." The Italian further explained, "The situation in the White House, you know—between 'guests' and 'guests', between 'guests' and guards, and Between guards and guards."

Sha Qing thought for a while and said, "I don't think a fixed game will welcome newcomers."

"Yes, but," Alessio shrugged: "One of the guys went to the 'grave' last week, and they were missing one for several days, and they were a little crazy."

"Well, you are an 'old man', you have the final say." Sha Qing turned over and was about to go back to sleep when a series of dull footsteps approached their cell.

The iron door with a small square of thick glass was knocked several times, and the voice of the prison guard sounded outside the door: "3145-107, there are visitors, follow me to the interview room now."

Before Sha Qing walked out of the cell, he heard Alessio muttering behind him: "Why do they always call your number? You are not a robot."

The people who appeared in the meeting room were not beyond Daqing's expectations, but the opponent's action against every second still made him nod slightly.

The man in suits and ties greeted him warmly, shook his hand vigorously, "I am very glad that we gave each other a precious opportunity. I would like to formally introduce myself again: Canning Gonzalez, The chief lawyer of Neckert Law Firm has 13 years of experience. I will be responsible for the whole process and finally win your lawsuit, believe me—" He looked around, and cautiously approached the new client's ear: "Mr. .”

"Li, you can call me that here." Sha Qing said, sitting in front of the reception table, "Tell me, your strategy, I don't think you will come here to tell me just because of your enthusiasm. Soon I'll be out of jail, right?"

Canning sat down opposite him, straightened his tie, and said in a deep voice, "In order to win this defense of innocence, I plan to—"

Sha Qing suddenly stretched out an index finger and put it straight in front of the opponent's face.

Canning was taken aback: "...What do you mean?"

"It means that you have only one last chance." Sha Qing withdrew his index finger and held up his right cheek with the adjacent thumb. "There is an old saying in our country, 'There are only three things.' In the basement of the court, you draw A fake pie, and now for the second time. If you still refuse to be honest with me and treat me like a legal idiot, our so far still tenuous partnership will come to an end."

Canning's eyes flickered, but he still maintained his usual demeanor and demeanor, "I don't quite understand what you mean, Mr. Li, I am sincere about this case..."

"Sincerely plead not guilty, but the winning rate is only, well, let me do the math - 0.001%, and this is still when you perform extremely well." Sha Qing smiled, "No, I am not questioning your ability, but It is to have a clear understanding of your own situation. I think as a lawyer, you should know better than me that 99% of the criminal cases prosecuted by the federal government plead guilty before the trial, in exchange for an acceptable sentence. It’s just a formality, and for those 1% who refused to plead guilty, after losing the first trial, the winning rate of the second trial is only one in a thousand, isn’t it?”

Canning moved on the chair, as if sitting on pins and needles, but he couldn't interrupt these sharp analysis.

"In short, in a lawsuit with the government, you can only lose, you must lose, and you have no suspense to lose - because the other party is the federal government. Oh, think about it with your toes, how can the government lose face and lose the lawsuit? So, why should I accept your proposal, because whether you win or lose, you can take advantage of this case's skyrocketing publicity, and the talking rate can increase from $100 to $800 per hour, such a unilateral benefit?"

Canning was stared at by Sha Qing's deep eyes, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead, "No, I think you have misunderstood, actually..." He defended incoherently, but those few words were as pale as his face.After a moment of embarrassment, he gave up with a sigh, "Well, you're right, it's not a win-win—at least not in equal measure. But I will do my best to defend you so that the case can be minimized." Sentence, I swear to God on that."

With a little smile on the corner of his mouth, Sha Qing picked up the hot coffee cup he brought and took a sip, and said in a tone to appease a child who made a mistake: "You should confess earlier. But it's not too late yet."

The lawyer who has experienced many battles has now realized that the young man opposite him is not any type he has ever come into contact with: he is not depressed, angry, fearful, blindly obedient, arrogant, or restless. The emotions that a criminal should have hardly exist in him.

He felt that he couldn't figure out what the other person was thinking at all. This young man's head was like an unfathomable deep pool, and his expression was like the calm water surface.

——This is a truly strong and fearless person, a hundred times more dangerous than those serial killers.These words flashed through Canning's mind, but he found that instead of flinching, he tasted the thrill of adrenaline rush in the shuddering of the skin on his back.

This is the case you want, big case!It's not a bunch of nonsense things like cheating on couples, child disputes, widowed old woman suing the pet grooming center for hair removal of her pet dog and so on!Canning uncontrollably clenched his fists in front of his lips.He coughed twice, trying to calm down his excitement, and said in a calm tone: "So, do you want to arrange a plea deal before going to court? I can do some work with the prosecutor and the judge..."

"No, you made a mistake." Sha Qing replied calmly, "I don't plead guilty."

Canning asked suspiciously, "But you clearly—"

"Yes, I know this case is impossible to win, but I plead not guilty."

Canning pondered the deep meaning of the other party's words, and asked tentatively: "You mean...to take advantage of the public's attention to this case to obtain the maximum benefit? Yes, this is another option. The upsurge of public opinion is putting pressure on the government, but I’m not sure if the consequences of doing so will be a retreat from the government or intensified anger...but I like this option, this is my style!” The gray-eyed lawyer thumped excitedly He glanced at the table, "This will be a fierce fight, but I can smell an extremely exciting smell! I can't wait to control the situation afterwards!"

Sha Qing was noncommittal about his personal understanding, and touched his chin with his fingertips: "Go, my bulldog... Before that, I will provide you with a piece of excellent equipment: go to the old In the recycling store, ask the store manager for a key, then go down from the subway entrance No. 16, open the storage box No. 139, and the thing is inside."

Canning looked at his water-tight expression, and couldn't help asking curiously, "What is it?"

"A manuscript just finished."

"The manuscript? Is it a novel? Or is it a personal autobiography related to the case? Do you need my help to contact the publisher? What is the title of the book? Is it published under your real name?" Canning asked repeatedly, as if a hound smelling the smell of blood was coming. Grinding his teeth, he waited eagerly for the attack.

Sha Qing smiled slightly at him: "My pen name is written on the cover, you will understand what to do after reading it."

FBI New York branch building.

"I have a bad feeling..." Rob put down the phone and muttered to himself, "What did he say at the time, 'I don't have a private lawyer, and I don't intend to contribute to the decoration of a lawyer's new villa. Fei, since there are free ones, why not use them?”

"——What kind of signal do you think this is? Planning? Conspiracy?" He frowned, picked up the file on the top of the desktop and quickly flipped through it, and asked the detective assistant behind him who was looking for information without looking back.

"I think those two words are the same thing."

"No, it's not the same—wait! The voice..." Rob turned around in amazement. His dark blue-eyed partner was standing in the doorway, smiling and nodding at him.

"Leo!" Rob cried out, stuttering because he was overjoyed: "Aren't you on vacation? I thought you would..."

"Is it time for vacation now?" Leo strode in, a dark gray woolen long trench coat was put on over his black suit, and the hem of the beautifully tailored fabric fluttered neatly with his steps.

"Great, you're resurrected!" Rob hugged him, patting his back in relief.

Leo patted him too, "I'm not Jesus. I just need some enough sleep."

"Looks like you slept well last night." Rob took a step back and winked at him. "Whiskey works? Shall I buy a case and send it to your apartment next time?"

Leo shrugged and refused to answer, then changed the topic and said, "What were you talking about just now, private lawyer...his?"

Knowing who this "he" is, Rob nods and hands over a page, "Canning Gonzalez, the lawyer he hired within 10 minutes of his first court appearance. Check out this guy's bio Well, business secret theft, police bribery, supermarket robbery... From criminal cases to trivial matters, he has covered a wide range of cases, winning more and losing less. Did you know that last month he helped a husband who had an affair divide 80% of his property? , because the wife accidentally let the child's forehead hit the edge of the bathtub while helping their son in the bath, which he twisted into 'abuse behavior', in order not to be deprived of custody, the poor woman voluntarily gave up 30% of her Due property... oh, the fellow is an alligator! Cold-blooded, self-interested, scheming, and with a big appetite."

"But the New York Bar Association did not revoke his license, which means that he may not be so aboveboard, but he did not break the law." The assistant detective interjected.

Rob ignored him, and asked Leo seriously: "The edge of the cliff, the gray area, walking a tightrope on the gap between law and morality for personal purposes... Who does this description remind you of?"

The dark-haired, blue-eyed detective frowned unconsciously.

"Now I know why Zaqing appointed him—except for his occupation, he is like a weakened version of him." Rob concluded.

Leo stared at the information in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "I think he is more like his gun, or a three-edged thorn. He always carries a weapon with him. Even if he is stripped naked and thrown into prison, he can use the weapons around him. All resources, find another one for yourself.”

"Canning can't help but see that he's been used as a gun, but he's still willing to do so, which shows that there's some kind of agreement between them, some kind of...dangerous, agreement." Rob blinked thoughtfully. Green eyes, "Leo, do you think we... will announce the news now, let the public know that we have caught him, the serial killer, and the case is being further investigated? To be honest, we can't hide much God, the media is everywhere these days."

"I know." Leo said, "but we still need to collect more evidence in court and summon witnesses. If we announce the news too early, it will inevitably be affected by public opinion and certain groups in society—you know those who died The relatives of the serial killer's victims are grateful to him, and even spontaneously formed a fan group on the Internet, called the 'Dark Angel Judgment'?"

"Oh, that sucks." Rob sighed, holding his forehead. "Why don't they call it 'The Avengers'?"

Leo hit Rob on the head with the paper helplessly, "Detective, pay attention to professional ethics!"

"Okay, take it back."

"We need a little time. To be precise, Prosecutor Martini needs a little time to make her performance in court more exciting and more impressive."

"For her chances of promotion at the end of her term, I understand."

"Hold it, block it," said the senior agent to his partner, "and investigate the lawyer and see what he knows, but don't let him find out."

The latter clapped his palms knowingly, "Based on the lawyer-client confidentiality agreement, the lawyer cannot disclose the client's information, even if it is a criminal act. So in order to defend successfully, what Daqing told him may be much more than we know... ...Leave this matter to me, and make sure it will be done without any trace, don't worry, federal agents are best at this." Rob half-jokingly said.

He gathered his collar with great fighting spirit, walked to the door of the room, then turned around and asked, "What about you, Leo, what's your schedule today?"

Leo thought for a while, "Go and talk to the prosecutor so that she doesn't have to worry too much about choosing court attire?"

Rob laughs and shakes his head at the pun, "Other than that?"

Leo thought.

"Let me give you a suggestion... Maybe you should go to MCC and meet him."

Leo glanced at him and frowned deeply. "That's useless. He won't say anything."

"I'm not for the merits of the case, but for you. In any case, before you go to court as a defendant and a witness, you must make a settlement. Calm, rational, and unencumbered. This is good for everyone. good."

Leo was silent.

Rob continued, with a meaningful expression, "I don't want you to be so drunk every night that you have to go to sleep, and then you have to quit alcohol after you quit drugs."

The muscles on Leo's face were tense, and he replied coldly: "I don't want to beat him in front of a bunch of prison guards and suspects."

"Then don't beat him up and talk nicely."

"Impossible! When I think of his face now, I want to draw a gun."

Rob sighed silently, "If you hate him so much, you should go and see it, it will be very relieved-you know a pretty badly injured, disabled, and severely reduced self-preservation (he emphasized this Words) Young man, what will happen once he goes to prison? Don’t say that he can defeat one hundred, life is not a kung fu movie.”

"He deserves it. People always pay for what they do," Leo said coldly.

"Yes, the price can be imprisonment and going to the injection table, but it shouldn't be insulted physically and mentally." Rob said while staring at the black-haired detective's face, trying to find some micro-expressions, but failed , shrugged regretfully: "It's up to you. I wish you a good night's sleep." After speaking, he walked out of the office.

Leo stared blankly at the automatically closed door, as if he was stuck in a quagmire where he was struggling to move.He really wanted to get rid of it and go ashore, but the soft and sticky mud wrapped his feet tightly, creating a warm, tight, and seductive suction... He tried to pull out one leg, but the other leg was trapped go deeper...

He shook his head violently and rubbed his face hard with his palms until his skin was numb and painful, before he broke free from the dangerous hallucination.

Sorry, I won't take your suggestion.Leo told Rob, who had already left, that from the moment he tore off that false mask with his own hands, my love died with Li Biqing, leaving only a pair of life-and-death enemies.

Federal Metropolitan Detention Center (MCC).

The visitor puts his hand into the reader, and the invisible seal on the back of the hand glows fluorescent under ultraviolet light, showing his alert level and entry time. "Verification passed." The electronic synthesis sounded, and the heavy iron door slowly opened.

"Management procedures." Warden Jason gave the visitor a "please understand" apologetic expression, "There are still two doors behind."

"To ensure everything is safe." The visitor nodded understandingly, "It's good to be cautious, especially here." As he said, he took off the other badges on his chest and put them in the inner pocket of his suit: "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Jason replied with a smile. "It's good to be cautious, isn't it, Senior Agent Lawrence."

"Leo, you can call me that." The black-haired and blue-eyed man stared at the pale and long corridor in front of him, as if his eyes could penetrate the barriers and reach the deepest part.

"Please wait a moment in the meeting room, I will call someone to summon him right away," said the warden.

It seemed that in just a second, Leo suddenly changed his mind and blurted out: "There is no need to deliberately arrange, can you show me the prison cell?"

"You have to apply and get it approved in advance. But," the warden glanced at him, and slowly opened his fat lips, "Procedures are dead, but people are alive."

"Well said, Jason." Leo patted his fleshy shoulder, "Which one?"

"That number boy? Oh yes, let me see," Jason flipped through the folder, "When I first came here, I was at 7R, and the next day I transferred to 9S, No. 13 in Area A."

Leo paused, "Change the cell the next day? Why? What happened... something bad?"

"There is nothing abnormal in the daily report. But, if you mean... 'that' thing." Jason pressed the corner of his mouth exaggeratedly, making an expression of "I'm sorry but I can't help but you should understand" , "We will try our best to avoid it, but after all, there are dozens or hundreds of men in a room, you know, there is no sex life, hormone secretion is strong, there are always some dirty bastards trying to take advantage-especially For newcomers."

"So I changed the room for him, as...remedial action?" Leo looked at him expressionlessly.

Jason couldn't help avoiding his eyes, a little annoyed and puzzled by the sudden cold tone of the federal agent.Nobody wants to be accused of negligence on their own turf, even if that person is a senior FBI agent.

Sorry, but you didn't specify a private room when you brought him in and threw him here, did you?He really wanted to ask such a question, but he held back rationally.

Fortunately, the federal agent's eyes quickly moved away from his face, and he continued to walk, as if he did not intend to delve into the topic just now.

They took the elevator and quickly reached the ninth floor, and came to Cell No. 9 in Area A, but the iron door was wide open, and the inside was empty.

Jason waved to the prison guards patrolling nearby, and asked the latter with a straight face, "Where are the people inside?"

The prison guard glanced at the prisoners walking around in the hall, and said hesitantly, "Now is the activity time, probably... which activity area are you in?"

"I don't need 'probably'. Contact the monitoring room and tell me within a minute where the new Chinese kid is." The warden said.

The prison guard immediately used the walkie-talkie to contact them, and answered them after a while: "It's in the central lounge on the 8th floor."

Jason turned his head to signal Leo, and the two took the elevator down to the 8th floor again, passing through prisoners who were walking, talking on the phone, chatting and singing under the supervision of the prison guards, and entered a relatively quiet lounge.

The scene in front of him was unexpected—or at least completely unexpected for the dark-haired detective.

Sitting around a square table next to the sofa in the lounge were four men with different shapes: a gray-haired, hook-nosed old man, wearing an old-fashioned military uniform; his bald head, whose left eye was changed by a scar A muscular Asian man; a gentle, pale and thin young man with glasses, and a man in a prison uniform with bandages that have not been completely removed... Finished.

Hell, if he's not mistaken, the neat rows of cubes on the table are... Chinese mahjong?

"Two barrels!" The old man in military uniform threw out a card and slowly exhaled a cigar smoke ring.

"Nonsense! Single hanging two barrels!" The bald man sitting opposite him laughed and went to grab the cards.

"Wait a minute," Sha Qing stretched out a finger and pressed down on the second tube, "Shangjia stops you."

"—Fuck! Do newcomers understand the rules? Do you dare to block the cards of Master Ghost?" The bald head slapped the table with a "bang" and cursed in Mandarin with a Fuqing accent.

"There are no brothers in the card game. If you break the rules, be careful not to lose your luck." Sha Qing threw out a sentence without haste.

The bald man's face was ferocious, and even the blood vessels at the back of his head were flushed. The thin young man with glasses beside him touched the back of his hand lightly, and said in a trembling voice, "Ghost, you can't live without rules."

The bald head withdrew his hand as if being licked by the poisonous snake Nobuko, and glanced at the other party with some fear.

On the sofa with the back facing the door, there were two prison guards holding drinking cups, one of them knocked the cup on his colleague's hand, and smiled triumphantly: "Look, I won, I told you to bet on the West. "

The other shrugged annoyedly, and said sarcastically, "Be careful if the newcomer doesn't admit it... Don't forget Lucas before, that guy not only refused to pay the fee, but also wanted to sue you for bribes from the warden."

"So I gave him a good lesson, the topic is "Hey boy, you have to recognize the rules of survival in prison or you'll get fucked." His colleague pointedly poked the baton at his waist.

Outside the lounge door, Leo turned his head to look at the old warden's flushed face with a cold expression: "Can you tell me about the other three people at the gaming table and their relationship with your subordinates? "

Jason gasped in anger, his fat body almost trembled, and he let out a bellows sound from his throat, but he was not so angry that he lost his mind, he gritted his teeth and said one by one: "That The old man, Liu, is the teacher of the Golden Triangle Kunsha Drug Cartel; the bald, Chen, the boss of the Ghost Gang, a Chinese gang in New York; The background is not small, right?" He glared at Sha Qing angrily, and then said to Leo in a bad tone: "Okay, detective, I'll give you back your secret boy, one hour, is it enough?"

The muscles at the corners of Leo's mouth twitched imperceptibly, and he replied stiffly: "No need!" Then he walked away unceremoniously.

The two prison guards who participated in the betting turned their heads inadvertently, and saw the huge body standing outside the door, their faces turned pale.Their boss shouted angrily: "You two come to my office, right now! Everyone else, leave and go back to your respective rooms!"

Leo strode out of the aisle, fists clenched in rage.I knew it was a huge, stupid mistake to make this trip!He growled to himself from the bottom of his heart, I must have been crazy back then to think that an expert-level criminal like Sha Qing would suffer in prison!That guy is like a fish in water, nourished like a leopard running towards the jungle, compared to the resolution he finally made after struggling with all kinds of conflicts, he is simply humiliating himself!

I will never care about that bastard's life or death again!Leo swore to himself, and decided to find any excuse to slash Rob severely after he went back.

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