บท 1769: Chapter 1196: The Lamb's Cry (Eight)_1
"Bruce, may I call you that?" Angela turned around, sighed, and said to Bruce, "Actually, I know what the Federal Bureau of Investigation really wants to do. I understand their modus operandi too well."
"If I had to sum up this organization in a phrase, it would be 'endless suspicion and extreme greed.' Everyone caught in this whirlpool of a situation is suspicious of everything around them, yet simultaneously greedy for it all."
"When I first joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I heard rumors that there was a faction within the Bureau with alternative ideas about supervillains with abilities far beyond the average person."
Angela walked out from behind the chair and leaned against the desk, recounting with a hint of reminiscence:
"In this world, there are people who see any power not under their control as a threat. The current head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Anti-Violence Criminal Investigation Team, my immediate superior, Amanda Waller, is one such person."
"She chose to recruit me into her team precisely because of my extensive experience handling these serial killers."
"But she needs this experience not to have me arrest these serial killers and bring them to justice like a police officer, but rather in the hope of turning the power of these lunatics to her advantage."
"She is more insane than the lunatics themselves," Angela concluded, "She's always looking for a way to control this group of lunatics and make them work for the FBI."
Angela sighed softly and said, "Even though this may not conform to mainstream values and may sound frightening and outrageous, every well-known detective in the heavy crime circles knows one fact - many of these born lunatics are extraordinarily talented."
"There is no clear evidence in modern medicine for this phenomenon. Many people think it as manifestations of high-functioning antisocial personality, but years of frontline criminal investigation experience tell me that it's hard to tell if they are geniuses because they're crazy, or crazy because they're geniuses."
"In a survey conducted by the FBI on adolescent character and mental stability, roughly four million federal citizens admitted to having antisocial tendencies during their adolescence."
"That's a very large number, and even after disregarding those who are talking nonsense or deluded, there must be at least hundreds of thousands of potential born killers hiding within ordinary society."
"Ignoring those among them with little or no talent or whose level of genius does not far exceed that of ordinary people, at a minimum, thousands, or even tens of thousands of crazy geniuses could be picked out."
"And if one continued to cherry-pick, it wouldn't be difficult to build a think tank or army composed of dozens or even hundreds of super geniuses."
"This is Amanda Waller's plan," Angela sighed deeply before proceeding to explain:
"But everyone knows that these lunatics won't follow orders. They may be mad, but they are not dumb. In fact, those talented madmen are often far colder and wiser than ordinary people. They obviously know working with the FBI is like courting disaster. No one would take the bait."
"So, what does this Amanda Waller intend to do?" Asked Bruce.
"This brings me back to the origins of the so-called 'Lamb Plan' that I mentioned before," Angela said, pacing over to the couch to take a seat and wet her throat with a sip of water before continuing:
"Waller believes that while these natural-born maniacs can't choose whether or not they are mad, the crimes they commit as a result of their madness, and the severe devastation they bring to society, strip them of their rights as ordinary federal citizens."
"If they can avoid getting caught forever, more power to them, but once they are captured and undergo trial, they morph from savage, bloodthirsty hunters into hapless lambs ready for slaughter."
"All the brutalities they've inflicted on ordinary people will be repaid to them personally. The same indifferent manner with which they've treated ordinary people will be shown to them."
"They once saw the people they perceived as weak and vulnerable as nonresistant, silent lambs. But if they were to become lambs, there should be a shepherd to whip and admonish them, to make them understand that the fear borne of bleeding and pain isn't lessened by their special abilities."
"Amanda Waller wants to form a society for these natural-born killers, to shepherd these lost lambs, to exercise the authority of both the wheat-bearing and whip-wielding master. The Lamb Plan was born for this very purpose."
"In 1983, about ten years ago, Amanda Waller lobbied Congress for the approval to build the Florence ADX Supermax Prison in Colorado State. This prison is the experimental site she prepared for her plan."
"Over the following ten years, she gradually freed several hundred serial killers, and selected 20 supervillains to include in her list of lambs. In the last three years, they have been captured one after the other, gone through trials, and eventually imprisoned."
Bruce's eyes slowly narrowed, while Angela, oblivious to his change in expression, continued her narrative.
"Waller attaches great importance to this experiment, and all target individuals have been carefully selected from various industries, each possessing different special abilities. To ensure the smooth execution of the plan, a series of schemes geared towards them would be initiated the moment their identities are confirmed."
"From arrest and trial to custody, every step was meticulously studied by Waller's team. All measures were purposefully designed. They played their cards right and the vast majority of targets couldn't escape capture."
Angela rubbed her forehead, looking very worried. She held her cup tightly and began to speak, "Congress and large corporations are backing Amanda Waller, hoping the lambs she tames will serve their purpose. That's why her plan encountered almost no resistance and proceeded smoothly."
"Just last night, I received the news that Schiller Rodriguez, your mentor and my benefactor, was transferred to Florence ADX Supermax Prison. I too, just learned that he's been targeted by Amanda Waller for a long time."
Angela pursed her lips and said, "When Schiller was implicated in the incident in Central America, the reason why the FBI and CIA didn't investigate further was due to Waller's mediation. She didn't want her chosen lambs to end up in an ordinary prison for ordinary crimes."
With some hesitation, Angela glanced at Bruce, hesitated for a moment, then continued, "During a long period of my time with the FBI, I wasn't trusted by Waller. It was only recently that I learned about the details of the Lamb Project."
"In essence, Waller plans to create a completely enclosed testing ground to figure out how to tame these lambs. This includes, but is not limited to, many well-known forms of torture."
"Waller knows, she can't physically harm these lambs. The reason they are lambs is because they are fragile and precious, with irreplaceable value. Hence, psychological punishment is Waller's best choice."
"I believe, you also know how heavy confinement and sensory deprivation can inflict great pain. Given enough time and professional means, it can completely destroy a person's character, making them completely forget who they are."
Angela stood up, stepped toward Bruce, and looked into his eyes to say, "From a police perspective, I harbor no sympathy for these vicious criminals. Any punishment they receive is well-deserved."
"When they were harming and tormenting ordinary people, they never thought this day would come, and acted recklessly. When the time comes for them to pay for their actions, no one will save them, and it's their just desserts."
"But, in my opinion, Schiller is different." Angela looked earnestly into Bruce's eyes, "He may have killed, but he has also saved. At least, as someone who has been saved by him, I can't simply view his actions from a perspective of justice. I'm not a machine that executes the law, I have my own feelings."
"Whether it's healing patients or instructing students, it doesn't compensate for the harm he inflicted on others. But as his healed patients or devotedly taught students, we can't just dismiss his possible torments with the phrase 'crime deserves punishment'. If so, how are we any different from those indifferent madmen?"
"What's more, Amanda Waller is not purely altruistic," Angela shook her head, "On a macro level, all the forces backing this project have their ulterior motives. They're not out to save ordinary people out of benevolence. They're after their own gain essentially."
"In microscopic terms, Waller's hatred for these criminals is coupled with envy. She wants to drain their talents and infuse it into herself. She's no shepherd, she's a jackal."
"Therefore, Bruce Wayne, I've come to you, hoping that you can save Schiller with me. I don't want your mentor, my benefactor, to bleed under endless torture in darkness and become someone else's prey."
"Bruce, answer me, are you willing to do this?"
When Angela asked this question, she saw no expression on Bruce's face, or rather there hadn't been any throughout her explanation of the terrifying plan.
Angela thought, this wasn't the reaction of a businessman or a playboy. But Bruce was quiet like a statue.
After a long silence, Bruce finally asked,
"So you're saying, the Florence ADX Supermax Prison where Schiller is locked up, isn't a prison for criminals but a testing ground for a secret plan?"
Angela stepped back, because she saw in those deep blue eyes, a storm as cold as the arctic coastline. The icy wind howled past, sending chills down her spine.
Angela took a deep breath, nodded, and continued along his line of thought.
"Those locked up there are not criminals who have been justly sentenced and are paying the price. They're silent lambs, serving merely to satisfy Amanda Waller's control urges and ambitions."
Angela saw Bruce slowly close his eyes. It seemed like he had made an important decision.
In that instant, he seemed to shed his youthful naivety and his silence was longer than a Gotham's rainy night.
But also at that moment, purity returned to him, as untouched as a newborn baby. The cry for new life was no longer a lamb's incoherent whimper, but a resounding roar from the last man standing on earth.
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