amaotonovel Chapter 4152 When the Pumpkin Ripens (34)
Chapter 4152 When the Pumpkin Ripens (34)
Chapter 4152 When the Pumpkins Ripen (Thirty-Four)
A dark-haired girl emerged from the next room. She was petite with a youthful face, but her eyes were bright and lively. Barry immediately recognized her as Jenna from The Magic Twins.
He couldn't help but cover his forehead. Jenna is indeed very capable, but she already suspected that aliens were stealing the research materials, and now she's going to investigate this matter with another alien. Truly, Amanda is something else.
Of course, Barry knew Jenna was trustworthy. However, he was just a lowly employee in the Behavioral Analysis Science Department; his thoughts wouldn't bother him. Amanda, on the other hand, was the head of the Federation Shield; sometimes, being suspicious is a good quality in a leader.
However, since Brainiac didn't offer any opinion, Barry naturally didn't press the matter. He simply said, "Hello, Miss Jenna, it's been a long time."
"Long time no see, Mr. Allen. I heard you joined the FBI's Behavioral Science Division."
"Yes, I am now a full-fledged agent of the BAU. I read your previous articles, which gave us a lot of inspiration. Thank you for your help."
Amanda immediately wore a smug expression, but Barry and Jenna ignored her. After thinking for a moment, Jenna said, "This theft is unusual. If there hadn't been a curfew, I would have liked to go to the scene, but since that's not possible now, looking at the photos will do. I'll go to the office with you."
“Wait a minute,” Amanda said. “This matter is now under the jurisdiction of our Federal Shield, so the investigation will naturally be conducted in our office.”
“We are not obligated to unconditionally satisfy your desire for control,” Jenna began. “Federal Shield’s offices are still far from perfect, especially the clerical offices for those doing technical work. The FBI’s Behavioral Science Division, on the other hand, already has a very mature operating system. It has all the professional equipment I need, and I can have professional discussions with the technicians, which greatly improves my work efficiency. If you are dissatisfied with this, you should further improve Federal Shield’s support capabilities for technical work, instead of making unreasonable demands that I stay here.”
"Besides, this is Brainiac's first official assignment to you. I think it's more important to produce results as quickly as possible than to focus on where you work. Only with results can we rescue the Shield of the Federation from its current awkward position and chaotic situation. I believe any intelligent leader would aim for this. What do you think?"
These words left Amanda speechless. Barry couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Sometimes it's a good thing for employees to be smart, but if they're too smart, it can make one appear rather foolish.
Fortunately, the head of their behavioral science department is only a figurehead and generally doesn't interfere with their work. They mostly operate on a self-governing basis, and so far, they're cooperating very well.
Thinking about this, Barry couldn't help but wish he could bring Jenna to the BAU as well. Her psychoanalytic talent was exceptional; one of her papers helped them find the perpetrator in a child abduction case. With her on board, their work would definitely go much more smoothly.
But at that moment, Brainiac suddenly spoke up: "We are currently under martial law, so it's not advisable for people to move around too frequently. Let's conduct the investigation in the Federal Shield office. The necessary information and personnel will be sent remotely from the FBI office."
Barry frowned slightly. The request sounded reasonable at first glance, but upon closer inspection, something seemed amiss. After all, the reason for wanting to move to the FBI office, which was better equipped and staffed, was precisely to avoid excessive personnel turnover. Otherwise, the Federal Shield office was practically empty; if they needed any equipment, wouldn't they have to have it delivered? Wouldn't that lead to even more frequent personnel movement?
Besides, the two places aren't far apart, and there's no question of one being safer than the other. Apart from Amanda, no one wants them to stay in the Federal Shield office. And Amanda isn't a professional, nor is there any issue with her work attitude. Why should she stay here?
Barry and Jenna exchanged a glance, almost immediately realizing there was more to the story. Only Amanda remained smug, shrugging and saying, "I didn't complain to Brainiac; it was his own decision. As a super AI, of course I understand the importance of balancing authority and responsibility..."
The two men didn't have time to listen to her rambling. Jenna immediately said, "Have them send me pictures of the scene. I need to see the situation first, and then give me the statement from the first person who discovered this. If there are any other witnesses, have them be ready to contact them; I need to question them personally."
Barry immediately set about making preparations. Amanda then led Jenna to the office next door. Although Federal Shields owned an entire building, it wasn't very large to begin with. The first and second floors were reception areas, the third and fourth floors had been converted into training rooms, the fifth floor was Amanda's office, and there were only two empty offices left on that floor. Just as Jenna had said, it seemed Federal Shields was planning to completely abandon clerical work.
Even more outrageous, the building didn't even have an elevator, and there was only one staircase. Amanda chose the office furthest from the staircase as her own, while the remaining two offices were on either side of the staircase. Anyone coming up could hear what was happening in those two offices, as if she intended to completely abandon the secrecy.
"Which office are you planning to choose?" Amanda asked.
Jenna stood between the two offices, somewhat speechless: "What's the difference between these two offices?"
"Actually, there's not much difference. The one on the east side has better lighting. The one on the west side is colder and darker. But overall, they are both good offices."
Jenna was even more speechless. She had no idea that the standard for judging an office was whether it had enough light. Especially since Federal Shield was an intelligence organization. For some reason, Amanda seemed to have never considered Federal Shield's need for secrecy, and even the building itself was just an ordinary mansion standing on a quiet street.
Regardless, Jenna casually walked into an office. It wasn't even shabby; it was downright desolate. Besides a desk and a chair, there was only a large, somewhat luxurious floor-to-ceiling window. She had to retract her earlier thought; this wasn't even a question of privacy anymore. She was certain that every move she made while sitting in the chair would be clearly seen by the newspaper deliveryman or milkman passing by on Green Street.
Meanwhile, the investigation data about the theft scene that Jenna had requested from Barry had been sent via her personal communicator. However, there wasn't even a decent image analyzer, let alone a high-definition projector. Jenna stood in the middle of the room, rubbing her forehead, feeling utterly helpless.
“You really need to come over, Barry. And bring the professional equipment from the Behavioral Science Analysis Department with you. Otherwise, I could stay here until next year and still not be able to see anything wrong. After all, I'm not Brainiac, who can analyze the information I need directly from the pixels of a bitmap.”
Amanda seemed completely oblivious to the sarcasm in Jenna's tone, nor did she see anything wrong with the office. She simply stood there surveying the room, seemingly extremely pleased with her decor.
Barry brought Jenna lunch on his way. Neither of them seemed particularly interested in the food. They finished quickly, downed large cups of coffee, and then got right back to work.
After all, this is Amanda's territory, and Amanda is right behind them watching. You never know when she'll find something to do for you, especially something stupid that won't help the current situation at all.
Barry, meanwhile, mourned the loss of the equipment he had brought. In Amanda's hands, it would likely never see the light of day again. Amanda herself was a civil servant, yet she seemed completely oblivious to the importance of clerical work. She seemed excessively fascinated by superpowered individuals; it was unclear whether this was a case of love born from hatred.
Although Barry and Jenna had received the only mission currently available to the Federation Shield, Amanda seemed very busy. She didn't even have time to stay and give them a few more instructions before hurriedly leaving after seeing them get to work.
She had barely left when Barry heard a noise at the bottom of the stairs. He wanted to go out and check, but Jenna called him back. Jenna, looking down at the photo, said, “It’s no use going now. Eavesdroppers don’t write their names on their faces. Since Brainiac and Amanda have no objections, why should we, as their subordinates, insist on correcting everything?”
“You seem to have a pretty good attitude about it,” Barry said with a sigh.
“If it were a previous child abduction case, I would definitely argue my case. But a theft of research materials? They neither tell us what they are researching, nor provide any clues about the thieves, and they don’t even care about the investigation process. Since even the biggest victim, Brainiac, doesn’t care about this, we don’t need to rush to help—never worry about your boss.”
Barry nodded, accepting the explanation. He was beginning to change his mindset. Looking at the two empty coffee cups on the table, he said with some regret, "I should have taken my time. I really like the coffee here."
"Then let's go buy two more drinks, it's on me." Jenna smiled and winked at him.
"That won't do; if you drink too much, you won't be able to sleep."
"You run so fast, can't you shake off the caffeine? I don't care, aliens have a much stronger metabolic rate than humans."
Barry then remembered that he was a superhuman. Although he wasn't sure if his Speed Force could get rid of caffeine, he figured he'd just have to stay up all night. The job wasn't that important anyway, and he could sleep during the day.
So he immediately turned around and went out, saying, "Then I'll go buy two more drinks. Do you want a latte again?"
"Give me a flat white, extra sugar, please. I'm not afraid of gaining weight anyway. And a donut, I'll eat it while I watch."
Barry gave her an "OK" sign and then went out. Just as he stepped outside, he heard a noise coming from the safety door leading to the balcony in the stairwell below. It sounded like someone had hurriedly hidden there. But he didn't pay any attention.
Although the Federal Shield's equipment was rudimentary, Brainiac had placed plenty of cameras here. Everyone's every move was under Brainiac's watchful eye; there was no room for stealth. If there was any, it was definitely Brainiac's permission.
As for why Brainiac left them in the poorly equipped Federal Shield and allowed people to move freely in the stairwells without any concern for information leaks, Barry had some guesses, but no evidence. However, based solely on these guesses, he no longer became overly anxious or paranoid.
So he leisurely walked downstairs. The old buildings of Green Street were submerged in the golden leaves of maple trees, as if stepping back many years to when this was still the most bustling commercial street. Groups of wealthy people, laughing and chatting, walked under the same blue sky, stepping on the same golden fallen leaves. Banknotes rained down from the rooftops, and jewels were scattered all over the ground. In that era of extravagance and debauchery, autumn was always exceptionally radiant.
Now, those who step onto these streets again need not feel guilty about such beautiful scenery and memories. Children are running and laughing in the warm corridors of the East Wing, playing hide-and-seek among inflatable castles, their joyful voices almost melting this concrete jungle.
When Barry pushed open the café door again, he smelled a rich aroma of pumpkin.