Chapter 649: The Necessity of the X Bureau's Existence
Without a second thought, Jason fed Courtney and placed her on the stretcher. Meanwhile, Jared and Hayden apprehended every suspicious individual they could find, disregarding their protests of innocence.
It was better to err on the side of caution than to let someone slip through. Those trained at the spy base were highly alert and adept at acting. If they disguised themselves as ordinary citizens, even the keen eyes of the Monkey King would struggle to discern their true nature.
In no time, two vehicles were filled with detainees. Hayden, unable to hold on any longer, leaned on Jared and knelt on one knee.
"Hayden, hold on, I'm taking you to the hospital," Jared said, supporting Hayden with one hand to prevent him from passing out.
At that moment, Nathan led a major sweep of the area with a large force, and reinforcements from the National Intelligence Bureau arrived. The situation was finally under control, the risk of a secondary explosion was eliminated, and all injured parties, including Grace, were rushed to the ICU.
When Jason was transported to the hospital, he was unconscious, with shards of glass deeply embedded in his abdomen, his condition critical. Natalie, taking over Jason's care, was shaken by the severity of his injuries.
"Tina, didn't you give him the healing pills?" she asked, knowing Tina always carried them for emergencies, especially for missions like this. With Jason's grave injuries, Tina surely would have administered them.
Tina frowned, "I did, but he must have shared them with his team. Mom, he's in your hands now, I'm going to check on Courtney and Elsa."
"Okay," Natalie responded, not probing further as delays were life-threatening.
After two nights and a day, Natalie and Tina managed to stabilize all the wounded. In the X Bureau, members who had been disabled by the explosion had their limbs reattached if recoverable. However, those that could not be found left them helpless.
This mission resulted in the capture of twenty-three individuals, one of whom was confirmed to be an innocent bystander and was released with substantial compensation by Jared. The remaining twenty-two were found with st-0 on their persons, confirming their identities as spies.
The X Bureau suffered over a hundred injuries, and the team led by Elsa from the National Intelligence Bureau was entirely wounded. The economic loss amounted to fifty million dollars. Fortunately, there were no residential areas nearby, sparing ordinary citizens from harm.NôvelDrama.Org owns this.
Following the incident, the Ashbury headquarters issued a critique throughout the agency, starting with Linden, revoking a special commendation and issuing a severe reprimand. The director of the Clearwater headquarters personally called, "I'm telling you, Linden, find the person responsible, or go back to being the chairman of the Linden family!"
Finding the culprit was straightforward for Linden; it was either Nathan or Grace. Linden and Christopher had been away from the command console, discussing strategies at a side table, and other technicians were occupied at their stations and could not leave. The only ones who could have accessed the console were Nathan and Grace.
Nathan was the most likely suspect, as he was in charge of the microphone. However, Linden knew it couldn't be Nathan. Having worked closely with Jared for years, Nathan would not make such a fundamental mistake; Jared would never keep him as his personal assistant if he were capable of such an error.
Among the three team leaders, only Nathan was the most rational and meticulous. Otherwise, Linden would not have chosen him to replace Jared as the chief team leader. That left only Grace. But as of now, there was no evidence; the surveillance tape in the command vehicle was damaged due to an explosion, and the previously recorded information had not yet been recovered.
In the hospital, Grace gradually came to. She had hit the back of her head on a machine, and despite surgery, she could still feel a piercing pain. A young nurse stationed in her room saw her awaken and quickly summoned a doctor to examine her.
"Your injuries are manageable, just rest quietly at home. Try not to get too emotional to avoid inducing headaches and dizziness," the doctor advised after the examination, prescribing some medication for Grace and discharging her. After all, the hospital was overwhelmed; the ICU was full, not to mention the regular wards. Grace's injuries, not being very severe, did not justify her occupying a bed.
"Doctor, my head hurts terribly. What if there are complications after I leave? I can't be discharged."
"The headache is just a post-operative reaction. If it becomes unbearable, have a nurse give you a painkiller injection, but you must be discharged. There are no beds available, and others are waiting. Please pack up and leave by this afternoon. Thank you."
The doctor had been on continuous shifts, and with patients coming in non-stop, he had already lost his patience. Grace continued to be unreasonable, but the doctor did not engage further and simply turned away.
Meanwhile, Tina was still by the ICU, where Courtney and Elsa's conditions had not improved, and Jason and Hayden had not yet awakened. Outside the ward, Hugo's family and Paula waited, with Jennie's eyes swollen from crying. Elsa had not been home for over a year due to her job, rarely even calling, and now her first return was to the hospital with severe injuries.
Natalie gave Jennie a reassurance pill, "Don't worry, Elsa will be fine. With me and Tina here, nothing will go wrong." Hugo could only repeatedly offer comfort, pretending to be calm. As the main support of the family, he could not falter. Jared continued to lead the Mountain Veil Order in the pursuit of a fleeing spy. According to the confessions of the captured, at least five others were still at large. Importantly, they had all had some contact with the Five Poisons. Although they had never seen their faces, they could at least track the movements of the Five Poisons.
Three days later, Courtney and Elsa finally stabilized, and Hayden woke up; Jason was still in a coma but was no longer in critical condition. Tina was finally able to leave the ICU. With the patients stable, it was time to seek out the mastermind. Tina rushed to the X Bureau demanding the surveillance from that day. Christopher intercepted her, "Tina, the surveillance data hasn't been recovered yet. We don't know the specifics, please wait a couple of days."
"I can't wait," Tina pulled a technician from his chair, "Such a simple task and you can't manage it, what's the point of the X Bureau's existence?"
Christopher was left speechless, previously, because of Jared and Natalie, Tina had some filter when it came to the X Bureau. But now, she was utterly merciless. Yet, no one could argue, for to Tina, this really was a minor issue.