American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

These seemingly small things constitute the daily lives of ordinary people. For the Howards, this burglary was a major event in their lives; their sense of security was shattered, and their property was violated. Helping them recover their lost items and catching the burglar was equally important.

“Lynn,” Sarah’s voice came from behind, “Morrison has a new task for us.”

Lynn turned around. "What mission?"

“An informant,” Sarah said, “claimed to have intelligence about the Brotherhood and wanted to make a deal with us. Morrison wanted us to meet him.”

Lynn frowned. "An informant? What kind of informant?"

“I don’t know,” Sarah said. “All I know is that he contacted the FBI, saying he knew something about the Brotherhood’s activities in New York. Morrison wanted us to assess his credibility.”

“Kevin,” Lynn turned to the young man, “you continue analyzing those theft cases. Sarah and I are going to see the informant.”

“Okay,” Kevin said, though a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes—he clearly preferred to go with him to meet the informant.

Lynn noticed his expression. “Don’t worry,” he said, “data analysis is just as important. If you can find the intruder’s pattern of action, you’ll be the key to solving the case.”

Kevin nodded and went back to his work.

Lynn and Sarah left the office and took the elevator down to the underground parking lot.

“Where is that informant?” Lynn asked.

“A coffee shop in Lower Manhattan,” Sarah said. “He chose that place because he said there were lots of people there and he felt safer.”

What is he afraid of?

“He’s probably afraid of the Brotherhood,” Sarah said. “If he really has intelligence on them, he should know the consequences of betraying the Brotherhood.”

They drove to the downtown area and stopped in front of a small shop called "Blue Moon Coffee." The coffee shop was located on a busy commercial street, and through the glass windows, they could see several customers drinking coffee and reading newspapers; the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed.

“He said he would sit in the corner, wearing a gray coat,” Sarah said.

They entered the café, the air filled with the aroma of coffee beans and toast. Behind the counter, a barista was operating a sophisticated espresso machine, the clanging of metal mingling with the hissing of steam.

Lynn scanned the shop and quickly spotted his target—a man sitting in a corner, around forty years old, wearing a gray coat, with a barely touched cup of coffee in front of him. He was pale, his eyes constantly glancing towards the door, and he exuded an aura of tension and unease.

“It’s him,” Lynn whispered to Sarah.

They walked to that corner and sat down opposite the man.

“FBI agents Ashford and Connors,” Lynn showed his badge, “you contacted us.”

The man glanced at his identification, then quickly looked away, as if afraid of being seen contacting the FBI.

“Thank you for coming,” he said in a low voice. “My name is Tony. Tony Martinez.”

“Mr. Martinez,” Lynn said, “you said you have information about the Brotherhood. Could you elaborate?”

Tony licked his lips, clearly very nervous. "I...I used to work for them. Not a core member, just did errands. Delivering goods, relaying messages, things like that."

"What kind of goods? What kind of news?"

“I don’t know the specifics,” Tony said. “They’re very careful and never let me know too much. But I know some other things.”

"for example?"

Tony leaned closer and lowered his voice. “They have a base in New York. A safe house, a place to hide their members and supplies. I know where that place is.”

Lynn and Sarah exchanged a glance.

“Would you be willing to tell us our location?” Sarah asked.

“I’m willing,” Tony said, “but on conditions.”

"What are the conditions?"

“Protection,” fear flashed in Tony’s eyes, “If they find out I betrayed them, they’ll kill me. I need your protection, a new identity, and to get me out of this city.”

Lynn leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. A witness protection plan wasn't difficult, if Tony's information was indeed valuable.

“How can you prove your intelligence is true?” he asked. “How do we know you’re not fabricating a story to gain protection?”

“I can give you something,” Tony said, pulling a USB drive from his pocket and carefully placing it on the table. “There are some photos and documents in here that I secretly copied. You can use them to verify them.”

Lynn picked up the USB drive and looked at it. "We'll check it. If your information is accurate, we can talk about protection."

“Hurry up,” Tony said, his voice more urgent. “I don’t know if they’ve noticed what I’m doing. If they have…”

“Calm down,” Lynn said. “We’ll handle it as quickly as possible. Until then, keep a low profile and don’t do anything suspicious. We’ll contact you.”

They left Tony's contact information and then left the cafe.

“Do you think he’s real?” Sarah asked from inside the car.

“I’m not sure,” Lynn said. “He’s genuinely scared, which could be real or it could be an act. We need to verify the information he’s providing.”

They returned to the FBI building and handed the USB drive to the technical department for analysis. Lynn then went back to the task force's office to check on Kevin's progress.

Kevin was still working at his computer, with several printed documents spread out in front of him.

"Did you find anything?" Lynn asked.

“Yes,” Kevin said, his eyes gleaming with excitement, “I analyzed those seven cases and found some commonalities.”

He handed the document to Lynn.

"First, all the incidents occurred on Thursday or Friday evenings, between approximately 9 and 11 p.m. Second, all the victims were middle-class families, with homes valued between $500,000 and $1 million. Third, all the victims had posted information on social media about going on vacation or attending events within the week prior to the incidents."

“Social media,” Lynn said, ““break-ins choose their targets online.”

“Yes,” Kevin said, “he might be monitoring certain tags or keywords, looking for people who leave home at specific times.” “Good analysis,” Lynn said. “Have you found another potential target?”

Kevin hesitated for a moment. “I have some guesses, but I’m not sure. There are several neighborhoods in Brooklyn that fit the criteria for home invasion, and several families have recently mentioned on social media that they’ll be going out this weekend.”

"Show me the list."

Kevin handed him a printed list with five addresses on it.

“It’s Wednesday this week,” Lynn said. “If the intruder’s pattern doesn’t change, he might act tomorrow or the day after. We can set up surveillance in these locations.”

"Really?" Kevin's voice was filled with surprise. "You think my analysis is correct?"

“I think it’s worth a try,” Lynn said. “You did a great job, Kevin. That’s the value of data analytics—it helps us predict crime, instead of waiting until it happens to investigate.”

Kevin's face broke into a bright smile, the joy of being recognized was clearly evident.

“I will continue to refine this analysis,” he said, “to see if I can narrow it down.”

“Go,” Lynn said. “Tell me if you find anything.”

He walked back to his desk, sat down, and began working on a backlog of documents. While his primary mission was to track down the Brotherhood, as a federal agent, he had many other responsibilities—reporting, assessment, coordination. These administrative tasks, though tedious, were equally essential.

Around 4 PM, the technical department sent over the analysis results for the USB drive.

Lynn opened the email and quickly glanced through it.

The USB drive contained several photos and a document. The photos showed an abandoned warehouse in Queens, taken from different angles, with several people who appeared to be security guards patrolling around the warehouse. The document was a handwritten note with dates and times, seemingly some kind of shift schedule.

“Interesting,” Lynn murmured.

He studied the photos carefully. The warehouse did indeed look like it was being used, rather than truly abandoned—the windows were intact, the door had a newly replaced lock, and there were electrical wires coming in from the outside, indicating that there was electricity inside.

“Sarah,” he called, “come and see this.”

Sarah walked over and looked at the photo on the screen.

"Is this the safe house Tony was talking about?" she asked.

“Possibly,” Lynn said. “The technical department confirmed the photo's metadata; it was taken two weeks ago, and the location is indeed in Queens. The address Tony provided also matches the building in the photo.”

"Shall we go take a look?"

“No rush,” Lynn said. “We need more intelligence. If this really is a Brotherhood stronghold, acting rashly might alert them. I want to monitor the location first and see who goes in and out.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Sarah said.

“Also,” Lynn added, “have someone investigate Tony Martinez’s background. I want to know who he is, why he worked for the Brotherhood, and why he’s betraying them now.”

"clear."

Lynn leaned back in his chair, pondering the new information.

If Tony's intelligence is accurate, this could be a major breakthrough—they've been tracking the Brotherhood but haven't been able to pinpoint their exact location in New York. Now, someone has proactively offered a possible location.
Everything went too smoothly.

Lynn's intuition told him that things might not be as simple as they seemed. Why would Tony betray the Brotherhood? Was he really just afraid and wanted to escape, or were there other reasons?
Or is this a trap?
He shook his head, deciding not to draw conclusions for the time being. Any speculation was pointless until more information was available.

“Lynn,” Kevin’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “I’ve discovered something else.”

Lynn walked over and looked at Kevin's screen.

“I looked into the possible escape routes the intruder might have used,” Kevin said. “After each incident, witnesses said the intruder disappeared in the same direction—east. I marked all the crime scenes and the last place witnesses saw the intruder on a map, and they all pointed to the same area.”

He drew several lines on the map that converged at a point in eastern Brooklyn.

“Here,” Kevin pointed to the spot, “there’s an old apartment building complex, many of them vacant. If a burglar lives nearby, he can quickly return home after committing the crime, reducing the risk of being caught.”

“Good reasoning,” Lynn said, “but it’s just speculation; we can’t search based on that.”

“I know,” Kevin said, “but if we set up surveillance in that area, we might be able to find some clues.”

“This will take manpower and time,” Lynn said. “I’ll consider it. Now, continue refining your analysis. See if there are other ways to narrow down the scope.”

"OK."

Lynn returned to his desk and continued working on the documents. But various thoughts kept flashing through his mind—the intruder, Tony's intelligence, the Brotherhood's safe house—all these fragments seemed to point to a larger picture, but he couldn't see the whole picture yet.

In the evening, Sarah received the results of Tony Martinez's background check.

“Tony Martinez, forty-two years old, born in Queens,” she read, “has a few minor criminal records—theft, fraud, illegal possession of a weapon. Never been convicted of a serious crime. Three years ago, he disappeared from the system—no employment record, no tax records, no official documents.”

“Three years ago,” Lynn said, “that was around the time the Brotherhood started to become active.”

“Maybe that’s when he was recruited,” Sarah said. “Someone with a criminal background, just the type of errand boy they needed.”

“The question is, why is he leaving now?” Lynn said. “He’s worked loyally for them for three years, and suddenly he decides to betray them? Something must have happened.”

“Perhaps he saw something he shouldn’t have seen,” Sarah speculated, “or he realized he was involved in something far more dangerous than he thought.”

“Perhaps,” Lynn said, “In any case, we need to be careful. If this is true, we might have an opportunity to infiltrate the Brotherhood. If this is false, we might be walking into a trap.”

He glanced out the window; the sun was beginning to set, and the sky was tinged with an orange-red glow. Another day was drawing to a close, but the investigation had only just begun.

“That’s enough for today,” he said. “Tomorrow we’ll monitor that warehouse and see what we find. Kevin, continue your analysis; contact us if you discover anything.”

“Okay, Lynn,” Kevin said, his eyes still shining with enthusiasm, “I won’t let you down.”

Lynn looked at the young man, a slight smile playing on his lips. (End of Chapter)