章節 176: Chapter 176 Waiting for a Life Sentence
Since it wasn't William, who exactly stole the Declaration? Sedes asked Riley, "How long has it been since the robbers left?"
Riley trembled and replied, "About twenty or thirty minutes, I'm not too sure, but definitely not long."
Sedes ordered his subordinate, "Lily, pull up the surrounding cameras. I want to know where that robber went, quickly."
"Yes, sir," Lily responded and made the call.
Sedes glared at Riley, "Tell me everything you know, Riley, or you can wait for a life sentence."
Terrified, Riley stuttered and confessed everything he knew about the entire incident. Seeing Riley talk, Ben Gates finally had to divulge what he knew as well, reassured by William's earlier statements.
Ben Gates thought to himself that if William were the mastermind, he wouldn't have left him alive. Ben Gates knew too much about William, and letting him live would indeed be disadvantageous for William.
Now, Ben Gates also wanted to know who had been watching him from the shadows. He directly shared his suspicions, including his test on the robber, and concluded that these people had possibly been monitoring him for a long time—perhaps even since Ian approached him two years ago.
Just then, Agent Lily hurriedly entered and whispered something to Sedes, who exclaimed, "What? How could there be no clues at all?"
"Yes, sir. The opponent is very experienced in counter-surveillance. We only found a burned-out van with lots of listening devices inside, but no hard drive remnants. They must have taken it, leaving no leads."
This was tricky. Tracking a premeditated and experienced group was no easy task. The Secret Service now truly believed there must be secret clues about the treasure on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Otherwise, so many people wouldn't be after it.
Sedes' face darkened. He was likely in big trouble. If he couldn't find the Declaration in three days, he was sure his superiors wouldn't be gentle and would scapegoat him.
He hadn't expected such a mess so close to retirement, making him extremely angry. He ordered his subordinates, "Handcuff Ben Gates and Riley. We're heading back to Washington."
After Ben Gates and Riley were cuffed, Sedes gritted his teeth and said to Ben, "Ben Gates, get ready for a life sentence, you scumbag."
To avoid arousing suspicion from Church, William pretended to be angry with him. On the way back to Washington, he kept his eyes closed and ignored Church's attempts to speak to him.
Two hours later, back in Washington, Sedes had no evidence to detain William. Watching William walk into the hotel, Sedes gloomily instructed his men, "Keep an eye on William Devonshire 24/7. I want to know his every move. Although we have no proof, he is still highly suspect."
"Understood," his subordinate replied, then assigned several men to follow William into the hotel.
Sedes covered his face and asked Church, "What do you think about this?"
After a moment of contemplation, Church said, "Although everything we have suggests William isn't involved, I have a gut feeling he is somehow connected.
"Sedes, you haven't dealt with foreign affairs before, so you don't know William well. But I know a lot about him. Despite his young age, he is ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He spent a lot of time and effort searching for the treasure but seemed unconcerned about the Declaration's final whereabouts, which is very unusual. It feels like he is trying to distance himself from the suspicion."
Agent Lily asked in confusion, "But all the evidence shows William never intended to steal the Declaration in the first place. Even Dr. Abigail confirmed William's claims."
"That's exactly why I suspect him," Church explained. "William might not act directly due to our presence, but he would certainly be happy to see the Declaration stolen. Lily, if you were William, would you act personally or hire someone?"
"That means William could have been targeting Ben Gates for two years. But that doesn't make sense either. Two years ago, William Devonshire was only eighteen, still in high school, and had no money. How could he possibly do this?"
Sedes was puzzled as well. "What if William only started targeting Ben Gates in the last few days?"
After pondering for a while, everyone had to shake their heads. Sedes sighed, "Even though we all know William is highly suspect, we have no evidence. Everything needs proof. Without grounds to arrest William Devonshire, a public figure, the media will latch onto it. If he retaliates, causing a diplomatic incident, our superiors and England will tear us apart."
With no other options, they drove back to the Secret Service headquarters. It was already past midnight, and the exhausted agents sipped coffee while drowsily reviewing the surveillance footage.
Back at the hotel, William felt uneasy. His intuition told him he was in danger. After contemplating for over an hour, he still couldn't pinpoint the problem, making him irritable. He opened a bottle of whiskey and took a swig while staring out the window. What had gone wrong? He looked at the street below and suddenly thought of something.
Damn, that car! The one parked outside the archives had a full set of surveillance and receivers. If that car were discovered, his suspicion would increase. If it belonged to another group, it would have left long ago, not stayed outside the archives.
William put down the bottle, thinking, "Fortunately, I have some tricks up my sleeve. Maybe this bad situation can turn into a good one."
He walked into the bathroom, scanned it multiple times with his mental power, and, finding no surveillance devices, thought to himself that the portal might finally come in handy.
William was cautious. He didn't open the portal directly into the van, not knowing if the Secret Service had anticipated this loophole and set an ambush around the van.
At the Secret Service headquarters, Church suddenly exclaimed, "I've got it! Wireless surveillance has limited range. If William or anyone else was monitoring Ben Gates, there must be a receiver. Otherwise, the bug wouldn't transmit far. Lily, check if any vehicle followed Ben Gates to Pittsburgh. Sedes, we need to inspect the area around the archives for any suspicious vehicles or recent suspicious residents. Hurry, hopefully, the evidence hasn't been destroyed."
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