CHAPTER 776: CHAPTER 778: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE ENTIRE CASE

Mr. Clement’s actions were too direct, not only stunning Thomas on the spot but also catching Luo An off-guard.

A few seconds later, Thomas, completely unruffled, smiled and said:

"Long time no see, and you’re ready to greet me with a bullet as soon as you arrive?"

Mr. Clement, still expressionless, replied:

"You should know, my coming to you means you still have a choice, to not take this bullet.

If I had sent someone else, then you truly would have no choice."

The elderly white man known as Thomas fell silent for a few seconds, then chuckled, stepped aside, and said:

"Come in and have a chat, you shouldn’t be in a rush, should you?"

Mr. Clement glanced at Thomas, holstered his gun, walked into the villa, followed by Thomas, and Luo An was the last one to enter, closing the door behind him.

Upon entering the living room of the villa, Mr. Clement made himself at home by pouring a glass of red wine and then sat on the couch.

Thomas didn’t mind either; he casually poured himself a glass of red wine, took out a cigar, lit it, took a deep drag, and smiled:

"When did we last meet? Three years ago, I think? You’ve never visited me here since I retired."

Mr. Clement waved his hand to indicate Luo An to sit wherever, then looked at Thomas and asked:

"This prison riot, who are you trying to kill?"

Luo An’s expression remained unchanged, a flash of understanding in his eyes; it seemed that Thomas was indeed the mastermind behind the prison riot.

However, Luo An still had some questions, such as the real identity of Thomas, the relationship between Mr. Clement and Thomas, how Mr. Clement guessed that Thomas was the mastermind, and the reasons behind Thomas’s actions.

Considering it was inappropriate to make calls now, Luo An openly took out his phone, pretending a new situation had arisen, but actually, he sent Mona the appearance, home address, and other information about Thomas for investigation.

"I want to kill quite a few people, but the one I most wanted to kill was actually killed by someone else."

Thomas exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, grinned revealing his yellow teeth, and without denying or resisting, he openly admitted everything.

Thomas indicated that five years ago, he had, for some reason, assumed a false identity and posted a task on the "Skull Flower" Assassin platform, and the assassin who took it was "Blue-eyed Roy".

The task was successfully completed at the time, and Thomas thought that was the end of it and put it out of his mind.

"Then a few days ago, I received a letter."

Thomas picked up his wine glass and took a sip, a somewhat ferocious smile appeared on his face, he said:

"That blue-eyed assassin, not abiding by the assassin’s code, privately investigated my identity.

He even blackmailed me with it, demanding I find a way to transfer him to a prison that would be easier to escape from!"

Luo An’s brow furrowed slightly while Mr. Clement, still expressionless, said:

"But the person who killed Blue-eyed Roy wasn’t you."

"Exactly, which is why I said earlier, the person I most wanted dead was killed by someone else."

Thomas put down his wine glass and smiled:

"I was initially very happy when I heard the news.

But I soon realized a problem, that blue-eyed assassin is dead, but the guy who delivered his letter is still alive!

Once someone investigates the case of the blue-eyed assassin’s death, and tracks down the letter deliverer, it will eventually lead to me, and I’ll be blamed for the real killer!"

What Thomas actually feared wasn’t becoming a suspect, but that once he caught the eye of the investigators, they would definitely look into his connection with Blue-eyed Roy.

For Thomas, the incident behind the murder-for-hire years ago is the secret he absolutely cannot reveal.

Mr. Clement nodded:

"So you disguised your identity, secretly entered the prison, and interrogated the leader of the prisoners to have him handle the aftermath for you."

"Exactly."

Thomas smiled and nodded, then said with some disdain:

"Sending someone to kill that blue-eyed Assassin, what a waste, leaving so many clues in prison!"

Luo An’s lips curved slightly, wondering how Matthew Moses, the CIA director caught by him, would feel upon hearing this.

To protect himself and erase traces, Thomas had to secretly interrogate the leader of the prisoners, negotiating terms with him to incite a prison riot.

In the chaos, kill those who knew, those connected to the clues of Roy’s murder, regardless of whether they were prisoners or guards.

As for the prisoner leader who had seen Thomas’ face, Thomas had secretly poisoned him during their meeting; even if the leader survived the riot, he wouldn’t live more than 60 hours.

Luo An’s expression changed subtly when his phone suddenly vibrated; he took it out and saw a message from Mona.

The message was brief, simply introducing Thomas’s identity:

Thomas Henderson, male, 57 years old, joined the FBI at 24, worked in counterintelligence, violent crimes, fugitives, and profiling departments.

Thomas’s skills in investigation, combat, marksmanship, and anti-tracking are exceptional, but his addiction to alcohol and overly violent direct methods led to his retiring as the head of a violent crime investigation unit after decades of service.

The person who processed his retirement was Mr. Clement.

Moreover, Mona found out that Mr. Clement and Thomas had both taken classes at the FBI training academy in their younger days, and it’s highly likely they had met.

Luo An put his phone back in his pocket, reflecting on the information Mona had found, understanding why Mr. Clement suspected Thomas to be the perpetrator.

"I didn’t initially suspect you, Thomas."

Mr. Clement fell silent for a few seconds, sipped his drink, and said solemnly:

"But seeing the information my agents uncovered, I grew increasingly suspicious it was you.

No clues, no one saw your face, surveillance either failed or was destroyed... these are all your signature moves, I’m too familiar with them."

At last, Mr. Clement put down his glass, drew a handgun, placed it on his thigh, aimed at Thomas, and asked sternly:

"One last question, what exactly did you do when you went to ’Skull Blossom’ to assign the task to an Assassin? What are you so afraid of being discovered now?"

Luo An also straightened up, looking up at Thomas.

The whole case has been clarified:

Roy, eyeing to break out of prison, sent a threatening letter to Thomas.

Before Thomas could act, CIA director Matthew Moses, worried about the Po-210 affair being exposed, preemptively had Roy killed.

Pleased with the outcome but worried about being implicated, Thomas orchestrated a prison riot to cover up the evidence.

CIA agent Dick Lawrence, assigned to continue the cover-up, was caught off guard by the prison riot and went to kill Prison Guard Danny’s mother, but was captured by Luo An and his team.

Meanwhile, prior to the prison riot, the head of the nuclear lab, Etwan Jones, sought to frame manager Ulysses, thus took advantage of the information shared by Matthew Moses to poison Vireness.

Henderson, corrupt by greed, kidnapped Etwan Jones to extort more money, eventually caught by Luo An and his team...

Seeing Mr. Clement and Luo An intently watching him, Thomas chuckled unfazed and said:

"The cigar smoke is poisoned, with less than three hours until it takes effect.

My terms are simple: escort me out of federal custody, and I’ll hand over the antidote to you."