Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Monday morning.

After a night of heavy rain last night, the sky finally cleared up today, and there was not a single dark cloud in the blue sky.

Jack Waltz went to work on time as usual. He adjusted his tie, hugged his wife and said goodbye in the hallway, then got into his Cadillac and headed for Rice Flower.

Today was a weekday, and there were many students and office workers on the road. While waiting for a traffic light, he suddenly glanced at the rearview mirror as if unintentionally.

A Mazda was mixed in the traffic, two cars away from him.

Jack Waltz withdrew his gaze, and when the green light came on, he started the car again.

After walking and stopping along the way, he arrived at his company at 3-chome, Beika-cho, twenty minutes later.

If no one had known about it in advance, no one would have thought that an explosion had occurred here yesterday. The Mihua Construction Company has rich experience. Even though the weather conditions were bad, they only took one night to fill the ground and replace the trash cans with new ones.

Now there was no trace of anything here, and Jack Waltz felt a little better. He parked his car in the parking lot next to the company and entered the company.

As soon as he entered, the receptionist who had come to work earlier immediately greeted him: "Good morning, President."

"Good morning." He glanced around the room. "Are the police here today too?"

"Yes." The receptionist replied, "We are just following your instructions. Please ask them to stay outside and not enter the company to avoid being seen by customers who come to rent a car and affecting business."

Jack Waltz nodded with satisfaction.

He turned and went upstairs. His secretary just came out of the office and greeted him as soon as she saw him: "Good morning, President. Coffee and newspapers are ready. If you need anything else, you can call me at any time."

"it is good."

He waved his hand casually, entered the office, and closed the door behind him.

The office was not big, but it was fully equipped with everything you need. Several windows faced the street, so people staying downstairs could see his back as he sat behind his desk.

Jack Waltz sank down into his chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

The newspaper brought by the secretary was placed neatly on the table. He glanced at the headline of today's newspaper. When he saw Hunter's black and white photo and the news headline, he couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.

……

How easy is it to make a person fall to the bottom?
How easy is it to completely destroy all the honor of a person?

Even Jack Waltz himself did not expect that seven years ago, a casual remark he made to a war correspondent who came to the battlefield would lead to such a follow-up.

"Silver Star Medal? You mean Hunter? ... Humph, he shot and killed so many people. It's hard to say whether they were all enemies or some civilians who didn't have time to escape."

At first, he really didn't think about framing Hunter.

In the beginning, he was just dissatisfied. He was dissatisfied that the man could get the medal of honor and was called a hero, even though he was not inferior to him in ability.

Maybe all they lack is some luck.

however……

"Really?"

The Japanese reporter who asked the question had shifty eyes and looked very cunning. When he heard the answer, his eyes lit up instantly and he hurriedly moved closer.

Jack Waltz should have shaken his head, but for some reason he didn't.

"What do you ask for this?"

The reporter stared at him closely, his eyes were surprisingly bright under his messy bangs.

"Mr. Waltz, if you have such suspicions, have you ever thought about reporting Hunter?"

Jack Waltz was startled.

It is prohibited to kill civilians. This is a rule of modern warfare, but it is also a rule that is bound to be violated in almost every battle.

Take their team for example, there is a group of people around Jack Waltz who like to do that. They would abuse prisoners of war and even shoot videos to leave a lot of solid evidence for themselves.

No one stopped it, the superiors were indifferent, and peers ignored it. After all, the one who took the lead was the only son of an official, and it was good enough that others did not join in. Who would have the time to report it?
Jack Waltz should have questioned the reporter's intention in saying this to him, or called his companions to chase him away.

But inexplicably, he still didn't do it.

“The Pulitzer Prize will be announced soon.”

The reporter seemed completely unaware of his attitude and suddenly mentioned a certain award.

Jack Waltz remembered that it was some big award in the field of journalism. He frowned and said, "So what are you going to do?"

"Today I took a photo of a child on the battlefield. Even though I chose the right subject, angle, and light and shadow, and it looked perfect at first glance, and my boss said it was the best photo I've ever taken, it was just too 'ordinary'."

The reporter said: "I think it needs a burst point."

During war, what could be more eye-catching than a war hero being a thug who disregarded the lives of civilians?

Especially since these kind-hearted and enthusiastic people had just seen a beautifully photographed image of helpless civilian children on the battlefield not long ago?

"As long as I bring him down, my photos will attract more people and I'll have a chance to win the Pulitzer Prize. Some American media will also rush to buy other materials I've taken..."

The reporter became more and more excited as he spoke, and his shining eyes reminded people of vultures eyeing corpses and rotting flesh on the grassland.

"You can get credit for this, too, Mr. Waltz. And I can give you a share of the prize money."

Jack Waltz's mouth opened and closed for a long while, and he suddenly asked, "Why me?" The reporter thought he was going to ask a big question, so he replied nonchalantly, "I asked a lot of people, but you were the only one who answered like this, which made me feel that there is a possibility of cooperation."

Then Jack Waltz went and reported it.

He never thought that his report would be successful so easily. The public believed it and were furious. In order to take into account the surging public opinion, Hunter's Silver Star Medal was stripped.

The Japanese reporter won the grand prize as he wished, and at the same time as he got the money, Hunter returned to the battlefield. He saw that he was being excluded and isolated, and he felt uneasy.

Jack Waltz felt guilty and somewhat regretful, but he knew that he could not apologize, let alone admit his mistakes.

If he does this, the public opinion and accusations he will face will be even more insane.

So he made another decision. He ordered his men to attack Hunter on the battlefield and shoot him in the head.

Even if he survived, such an injury would force Hunter to leave the battlefield completely, with no possibility of returning.

After finishing his reminiscence, Jack Waltz began to browse the reports in the newspaper.

He was indeed shocked when the Suzuki Tower sniper attack occurred. Having been in Tokyo for too long, he was used to all kinds of fancy murders, and his sensitivity to gunfire had declined.

When he saw the wanted poster for Hunter, the police came to his door, and there was an explosion downstairs of the company, he was more worried that his actions would be exposed than that he would be killed.

Moreover, compared with death, he feared more about damaging his reputation and suffering the same overwhelming and pervasive accusations as Hunter did in the past.

Fortunately, he received a call from his former commander yesterday evening.

"I know what you did back then. Don't worry, this attack is not Hunter's revenge."

Jack Waltz was stunned on the spot. He didn't even care how the other party knew about it. He asked quickly: "It wasn't him who did it? But the Japanese police..."

"They are currently investigating the wrong direction." The other party said, "You don't have to pay attention to them. If they want to provide you with protection, you don't have to accept it, but don't oppose it fiercely. Just keep them hanging."

Jack Waltz pondered over these words and felt that he understood them.

There is definitely something behind this series of attacks, and Hunter's revenge may just be a cover to fool outsiders.

Think about it, if the Americans came to Japan to investigate a case, it would be good enough if they were willing to inform the Japanese police. How could they possibly tell them all the information in detail?
Especially since this time it involves the embassy and the US military, what if a huge scandal breaks out?
Jack Waltz asked cautiously, "So where is Hunter now?"

The other party laughed lightly. With this laugh, he no longer looked like the white-haired and majestic commander, but rather had a bit more of the liveliness of a young man.

"He's going to die soon. Don't worry about it."

Jack Waltz thought that this was a plan to arrange Hunter's "commit suicide", so he quickly shut up and stopped asking questions. He didn't ask how the other party knew about it or what they were going to do with him until the other party hung up the phone.

He thought that they would not pursue the matter further since the person involved was going to die anyway. Instead of exposing that it was a slander, it would be better to let the other party die with such a stigma.

The front-page news took up half of the page. Jack Waltz read it quickly, ten lines at a glance. When he read halfway, he frowned.

Why sniping?

After all, this is Japan, not the United States, and the main force in investigating the case is the Japanese police. If you want someone to "commit suicide", the method should be closer to real suicide, such as shooting with a pistol against the temple, or hanging with a rope. Long-range sniping will inevitably be considered homicide.

Could it be that... the matter has not been resolved yet?

As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, Jack Waltz suddenly heard a commotion below. He had a bad premonition and stood up subconsciously.

"Crash!!"

Windows shattered.

A bullet broke the window glass, passed through the back of the chair, and hit Jack Waltz's back as he stood up - if he had not stood up just now, it would have shot through his head!

Jack Waltz's expression was frozen, and his body fell to the ground. He felt that he had been hit in the spine.

……

On another tall building a few hundred meters away, a sniper with short black hair watched his target fall to the ground.

Through the clear lens of the sniper scope, he saw the target's body twitching slightly. He let out a low "tsk" and wanted to shoot again.

But just then——

"boom!"

"!!?"

There was a sharp pain in his hand as a bullet hit the gun in his hand. The huge force made his arm numb and the gun immediately slipped out of his hand and slid to the side.

At the same time, the door to the rooftop behind him was kicked open, and countless policemen rushed in. They quickly surrounded him with guns and shields.

"Don't move!"

They pointed guns at him but did not shoot immediately. Instead, they shouted orders and told him not to act rashly.

The sniper looked at them, slowly stood up from the ground and raised his hands.

He said calmly: "I surrender. I turn myself in."

……

On a tall building farther away, Akai Shuichi, who was shot, did not stand up, but continued to observe the arrested person through a sniper scope.

He saw that the corner of the other person's mouth seemed to curl up. (End of this chapter)