Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 807: Chapter 51: Lost Lamb

Passing through several checkpoints along the way, after finally unlocking a specially encrypted code lock and a final iris and fingerprint scan, the assistant secretary of the Minister of Security entered a unique room.

This room is equipped with advanced equipment and staffed with many elite professionals, all discovered and recruited by the Minister from the military and police force.

This is the headquarters of the Security Department and the hub directing the entire national security system — the secretary now directly walked into a separate office made of glass within the room.

The curtain was only halfway down but enough to see how many people were inside — currently, only the Minister of Security was there.

“Minister.” The secretary gently called after opening the door.

Leaning back in his chair, with only a coat covering him, the Minister of Security opened his eyes abruptly. His eyes were already bloodshot — he hadn’t truly rested nor left this command center for two days and three nights since the hostage crisis.

He appeared quite haggard.

“Minister, perhaps you could go to the rest room and sleep for a while?” the secretary suggested, sounding quite concerned.

The Minister waved his hand, then rubbed his face vigorously. His voice was hoarse but still clear enough: “Any news?”

Many events happened these two days, the most important being the theater hostage incident and the assassination of the Senate Speaker.

Because both events occurred almost simultaneously, the President was furious, issuing an ultimatum to identify the culprits as soon as possible.

“Everyone who attended the concert that day is being investigated. Once there is news, I will notify you immediately.”

The Minister continued to rub his temples, “Anything else?”

The secretary quickly opened the file, “It’s like this: Regarding the theater hostage case, the Technical Department examined the bomb remnants brought back this time and found something.”

Opening the file and flipping it, the secretary directly pushed the document towards the Minister.

The Minister picked it up and examined it carefully; he wouldn’t overlook anything, even trivial details mentioned within the file… yet his eyebrows suddenly furrowed: “Black powder residue?”

The secretary nodded: “Yes, the Technical Department said that based on some bomb remnants, this material seems to be standard-manufactured. Logically, the amount originally buried in the theater is sufficient to blow the entire place to bits… but for some reason, the high-concentration explosives inside turned into black powder. We found an already-activated detonator on Roger’s body, indicating he intended to activate these bombs, planning to take them down with him. However…”

“The final means that should have been used for mutual destruction turned into black powder with no power at all?” The Minister pondered silently for a moment: “Do you think when Roger got these bombs, they might have been rigged?”

The secretary shook his head: “I believe a buyer like him would, at the very least, conduct acceptance tests.”

“This is indeed peculiar…” The Minister’s suspicion deepened as he looked at the secretary: “Additionally, during the rescue of the Senate Speaker, some bizarre occurrences happened. According to the Storm Squad’s testimony at the time, before they arrived, Crocodile and another bandit had already fainted, yet only the Senate Speaker was in the room. We believe the Senate Speaker didn’t have the ability to subdue these two individuals.”

The secretary continued: “Actually, at the concert hall, those guarding bandits also fell into a coma for no apparent reason. Later, when our people seized the bandits’ guns, we found that all the magazines disappeared… but according to the hostages at the time, these guns should have bullets since the bandits had fired shots.”

Things seem to become increasingly peculiar.

The Minister suddenly felt a sense of foreboding… once events exceed conventional understanding, one easily falls into inexplicable fear.

Undoubtedly, the Minister wasn’t someone fond of mysteries or unexplained phenomena.

“Have people re-investigate the theater; leave no stone unturned.” The Minister immediately instructed, then remembered something: “By the way, has communication and power outside been restored?”

“Repairs are underway, but the range is too broad; several key cables were burnt due to short circuits, so it’ll take at least another 48 hours for power in the city to begin recovery. Communications, however, should be fixed soon. But during the storm, most people’s electronic devices were burnt out… currently, the market lacks enough supply of mobile phones and similar devices, which is problematic.”

Nonetheless, this department’s hub still operates as usual — due to its independently-coordinated equipment and power system, ensuring formidable security.

“What’s the cause then?”

“We consulted several professors from the scientific institute, but their explanations varied.” The secretary said helplessly: “The observatory side said they hadn’t detected any unusual solar activities.”

“The hostage case, Senate Speaker assassination, storm disaster all occurred within these two days… it’s like a movie world dominated by terror.” The Minister suddenly chuckled bitterly, “Happening in this City of God, it’s truly ironic…”

“Every event has its cause, as long as we can find its breakthrough point.” The secretary comforted.

The Minister nodded, then perked up: “Bring me a cup of coffee then.”

The secretary quickly said: “Minister, you haven’t rested or gone home for several days… why not go home and rest for half a day? Besides, Dr. Ferenc was frightened this time, are you… aren’t you going home to check on him?”

The Minister was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: “Didn’t Billy’s people take him home?”

The secretary replied: “Later, Doctor didn’t return home but directly went back to the university lab. He’s been frequently going to Mr. Billy’s hospital but wasn’t allowed through by the bodyguards. As for Mr. Billy, his surgery was successful, but he hasn’t come around due to excessive blood loss and some bacterial infection; he’s been running a high fever these days.”

The Minister rubbed his head: “How did he connect with Billy… still seeking sponsorship for the satellite launch plan? Always engaging in thankless tasks… stubborn fellow.”

“Minister…”

“Alright, I got it.” The Minister waved his hand: “I have several documents unfinished, there’s a meeting in the afternoon, and I need to be at the Presidential Palace by five. Other things… we’ll discuss later.”

“Alright, then I’ll excuse myself.” The secretary nodded.

…

…

‘WHITE-HELL’

By the lamppost across White Hell Bar, Caroline and Arno were observing — they’d been here for half an hour now.

After several discussions, to prove her innocence, Caroline decided to find Harry, with the only clue being Livia’s mention that she and her boyfriend had met at this ‘WHITE-HELL’ several times.

According to Arno’s recount about Harry, Caroline sensed that someone like Harry, a small-time thug, should know the people from ‘WHITE-HELL,’ possibly obtaining news from some bar staff.

“Still not open.” Arno frowned.

Due to the peculiar weather’s influence, many areas in the city were yet to receive electricity. As for city residents, they were busy addressing damages caused by the weather; roadsides appeared quite deserted.

“It probably won’t open today.” Arno looked at Caroline, speaking with resignation.

Caroline showed traces of irritation on her face, repeatedly smoking feminine cigarettes; the ground already littered with seven or eight butts.

Arno furrowed his brows, snatched the cigarette Caroline had just lit, and stomped it out on the ground. “Relax, you’re not in a good state.”

“Don’t worry about me.” Caroline furrowed her brows and directly headed towards the entrance of ‘White-Hell’.

Arno had no choice but to quickly follow.

He had heard it somewhere before: never confront a woman who has made up her mind about something, because such a woman is even more stubborn than a man.

Arno thought Caroline might be this type — she was forcefully banging on the gate of ‘White-Hell’.

But it seemed that this straightforward and rough approach worked quite well — soon, the gate of ‘White-Hell’ was actually opened by a tattooed man who impatiently pulled it open, “What’s the matter? We’re closed today due to a power outage, so hurry up and leave!”

“I want to ask you something!” Caroline quickly said, while taking out a few bills from her bag, “You won’t be shortchanged.”

“Miss, you really know the way, go ahead, what do you want to ask?” The man was clearly not facing this situation for the first time — he skillfully stuffed Caroline’s bills directly into his pocket.

“Have you seen Harry? Do you know where he’s been recently?” Caroline got straight to the point.

The man was taken aback, then opened his mouth, furrowed his brows, and took out the money he’d stuffed into his pocket. “Are you joking with me? Isn’t Harry standing right next to you?”

Caroline was stunned and instinctively looked at Arno beside her, who just gave her a helpless smile, “This isn’t the first time it’s happened… you saw it too, right?”

Without much explanation, Arno directly took out his ID and waved it in front of the man: “Look carefully, my name is Arno. The Harry you mentioned is my twin brother. Harry is missing now, and I can’t find him, so I came to ask you questions.”

The man held the ID, looked it over several times, and scratched his head, “This ID can’t be fake, can it? I’ve never heard him mention having a twin brother.”

Arno replied calmly, “If you don’t believe it, I can go to the police station with you to verify this ID.”

The man shook his head, returned the item to Arno, shrugged, but quickly stuffed the money he had just taken out back into his pocket, “I haven’t seen that guy for over a month. Sorry, I don’t know where he is now either.”

“So the last time you saw him, what was he doing? Did he mention anything about his body?” Caroline pressed on.

After taking the money, the man cooperatively shrugged, “What else could he be doing? Just hanging around here with girls, right? The last time I saw him, he’d probably just hooked up with a prostitute.”

“A prostitute?” Caroline furrowed her brows.

The man chuckled, “I forgot her name, but she has hooked up with several men and done it a few times here, so I recognize her. I even talked to Harry about it, saying she was hot, with amazing skills in bed! Then Harry made his move… hey, this guy actually looks pretty good, and once he dressed up, he managed to hook up with her pretty quickly.”

Caroline’s brows were about to knit into a frown.

Inwardly, she couldn’t help but feel sad for Livia.

Livia had told her she never thought her boyfriend knew about her real identity and job. Only to realize that he’s already been aware of it for a long time and was aiming for it.

Probably knowing Livia was a call girl from the beginning, intending to deceive her out of both money and affection.

“Oh… by the way, you might be able to go somewhere, maybe you can find Harry,” the man seemed to recall something.

“Quick, tell me.” Caroline shot him a glare.

But the man just pursed his lips with a sly grin. Caroline shot another hateful glance, reluctantly pulling out a few more bills and slapped them against his chest.

“Qata Clubhouse,” the man said with a sly grin, “One time after he’d had too much to drink, he mentioned getting some temporary work there, but I don’t know if he’s still doing it now.”

He said this while casting an odd look at Arno next to Caroline, rubbing his chin with a mischievous grin growing more intense.

Arno frowned and asked, “What kind of place is Qata Clubhouse?”

Caroline responded coldly, “A place where rich women and people with special preferences find men.”

“Miss, you really know your stuff, huh? You’ve been there before?” The man chuckled hungrily.

“Shut your mouth!” Caroline cast a cold gaze, then turned angrily and stormed off, leaving Arno no choice but to quickly follow.

…

Soon, the two vanished from the man’s sight.

The man didn’t care, happily counting the information fee he got from Caroline, even whistling. But at this moment, he heard the clear sound of footsteps.

A woman wearing a black dress and holding a black parasol walked past him, then stopped.

The woman’s complexion was extremely pale, appearing extraordinarily fragile. She looked up, glancing at the facade of ‘White-Hell’, and the man also saw her face clearly.

This man, accustomed to such an environment, couldn’t help but flirt: “Hey, beautiful, there’s a power outage tonight so we’re closed. But I can set up a private room for you, want to come in and have a drink with me?”

“‘White-Hell’… ‘White Hell’.” The woman smiled slightly, “There are still places with names like this?”

“Pretty cool, right?” The man said proudly.

The woman chuckled softly, “Inside… is it really Hell, with devils?”

“Do you like devils?” The man laughed heartily and flexed his chest muscles, “Even devils aren’t as strong as me.”

“Then let me see for myself,” the woman under the black parasol smiled sweetly, “Just so happens my family and I are homeless now, looking for a place to stay.”

Saying that, she gave him a soul-stirring look and walked right past the man, straight into the ‘White-Hell’ bar.

The man showed an infatuated expression, his eyes glazed over as he slowly followed inside.

Shortly after, a scream suddenly rang out.

In front of the door, a bloody hand reached out, gripping the door panel tightly, but in the blink of an eye, it let go quickly as if being dragged inside by something.

The gate dropped down with a heavy thud.

This ‘White-Hell’ bar was closed once more.