North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 148 War Room Meeting: Fruit Killer (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Washington, D.C.

White House.

Contrary to what many people imagine, the White House is actually the presidential residence, the administrative center of Washington, and a strategic command hub.

In addition to the familiar Oval Office, White House press briefing room, cabinet meeting room, and state banquet room, there are several multi-functional rooms underground on this site.

This includes the White House operations room, which monitored the Cuban Missile Crisis in its entirety!
Location: Underground in the West Wing of the White House, near the Oval Office and Situation Room.

The conference room features a long table that can accommodate twenty people, equipped with an encrypted video conferencing system, where the president, vice president, national security advisor, secretary of state, and secretary of defense make decisions.

It receives global intelligence in real time and has direct connections with agencies such as the Pentagon, CIA, and NSA.

Meanwhile, a tense meeting was being held here late at night.

There weren't many people seated at the long table, but it included the President, Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, CIA Director, Director of National Intelligence, Deputy Director of the Counterterrorism Bureau, Director of Homeland Security, and Secretary of Foreign Operations.
More than a dozen important figures who hold significant positions in the entire U.S. federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have all arrived.

And they were only discussing one thing—nano bombs!
"How could a few economically backward countries, which are even unable to independently develop conventional missiles, really develop such a strategic weapon?"

"The most important factor is the blueprints and core theories provided by the organization called 'Cobra.' Moreover, according to our intelligence, the nanobomb is very likely just one part of the blueprints for this organization's various high-tech weapons!"

"So, where did this organization come from?! Why didn't either the MI6 or the Pentagon receive even the slightest bit of information a few days ago?! Jack, even the [machines] couldn't find any intelligence on Cobra?"

"Excuse me, gentlemen, the machine is responsible for monitoring and predicting internal dangers. As for matters outside the country, I think you should ask the CIA."

"Ask me? Jack, if I were you, I would never say something so irresponsible. Everyone knows that your counterterrorism department receives the highest budget allocation in the entire department, but how come I've never seen you accomplish a single decent task?"

"Do you need me to pull out the operational files completed by the Counterterrorism Bureau for you to review? Oh, I almost forgot, you CIA people probably don't even know what 'mission accomplished' means."

"Since your CTU is so capable, we'll entrust this nanobomb interception mission to you. The CIA and the Department of Homeland Security are happy to assist you and witness the CTU's superior skills."

"Wasn't I clear enough? The Counterterrorism Bureau is only responsible for domestic crisis management; overseas operations are the CIA's responsibility. What? Now you're helpless even in a place like Slovakia? If you ask me, you might as well resign. In the past few years, all I've seen you do is ask for funding, and you haven't accomplished a single proper task. This morning, you even lost an entire team in New York. Tsk tsk, at this rate, in a few years, the CIA's international reputation will probably be worse than MI6's!"

"U-san, brew up that bitch!!!"

The meeting had only been going on for a few minutes when, after several rounds of buck-passing, the atmosphere in the operations room was already tense.

The current CIA Director, Leon, blushed and pointed at Jack, the head of the Counterterrorism Bureau who was representing the Attorney General at the meeting, and launched into a tirade.

Although his self-control was indeed lacking, the main problem was that Jack's swearing was just too vulgar.

To compare them to MI6 and say they are inferior is blatant humiliation.

"Gentlemen!"

The Black president, seated at the head of the table, impatiently tapped the table.

Leon could only suppress his anger, glare fiercely at Jack, and sullenly sit back down in his seat.

The president's sharp gaze swept over the CIA director, whom he had personally promoted, and he frowned as he questioned, "Jack wasn't wrong about one thing: what exactly is the CIA doing? You've caused such a commotion in New York these past two days, and not only have you failed to catch the person, you've also lost an entire action team!"

Leon did not answer immediately. He first glanced at Secretary of State Joe sitting next to the president before reporting, "My men have found Rorschach's trail. The princess from that small country was rescued by Rorschach. The original plan was to arrest both of them at the same time, but an accident occurred during the operation."

"What accident?"

“One of our KGB agents suddenly defected, leading to the annihilation of the entire operation team.”

"."

The Black president was speechless for a moment, unsure how to respond.

Because he didn't expect that the CIA had become so stupid that even the Russians would believe them.

"I'm sorry, Mr. President, this was an order I gave."

Old Joe, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, his lowered eyes flashing with a cold light, "I think Rorschach poses a higher threat to our country than nanobombs."

The president looked down at the documents in his hands, ignoring Old Joe's explanation.

It wasn't until the atmosphere in the operations room became somewhat awkward that he slowly spoke, "Joe, in the future, for these kinds of special operations, I hope you can go through the approval process first. Rules still need to be followed."

Old Joe wore a formulaic smile: "The situation is urgent, this is a one-time exception."

The president sneered inwardly, ignoring the cunning old fox of politics, and turned his attention to the only woman in the room—Homeland Security Director Janet.

"Jenny, is the intelligence from Eastern Europe reliable?"

The white-haired, sixty-year-old female director confidently replied, "Our Bulgarian foreign intelligence officer confirmed that in five days, a suitcase containing four nano-bombs will be escorted across the border from a small town by the Slovakian military, where it will be handed over to the Cobra organization at the border."

Four.

After a moment's thought, the Black president looked at Old Joe and asked, "Can we use diplomatic pressure to get the Slovakian authorities to hand over the weapons to us directly?"

Without hesitation, Old Joe replied, "The current ruling party in Slovakia is the SD (Social Democratic) Party. It follows left-wing populism, has a moderate attitude towards Russia, and is not part of the free world."

The president frowned, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the table.

About a minute later, he held up three fingers:
"Three goals."

"First, if we can't get these four bombs, then we'll make sure that no country or organization in the world can get them!"

"Secondly, I need the complete weapon design blueprints."

"Third, thoroughly investigate the main areas of activity of the Cobra organization and the location of its base."

He turned to Old Joe, his tone firm: "Immediately put pressure on Eastern European countries through the United Nations to strongly protest their unauthorized development of weapons of mass destruction! At the same time, push the United Nations to designate Cobra as an international terrorist organization and issue a global arrest warrant."

“I understand.” Old Joe nodded slightly.

Finally, the president looked at the intelligence and law enforcement agencies that were all present except for the FBI and a few special departments, and asked in a deep voice, "Of you all, who is confident in completing these three tasks?"

In the conference room, these bureau chiefs, who usually wielded considerable influence in the outside world, fell into a collective silence.

Even the CIA director, who usually likes to take on a lot of responsibilities, unusually kept a low profile.

It wasn't that the task itself was difficult, but rather that the president's first requirement was far too demanding.

If we can't get it, then no country or organization in the world can get it.

This is clearly implying that if the bomb cannot be seized, it must be detonated on the spot!

If this results in a large number of civilian casualties, such a stigma will be forever etched on their careers.

Therefore, these shrewd bureaucrats were unwilling to take on this hot potato.

In their view, since Slovakia had deployed regular troops for the transport, this dirty work should be left to those brutes in the military.

There's something I must remind everyone of.

CIA Director Leon suddenly broke the silence: "Weapons expert Keller and her daughter were both captured by Rorschach a couple of days ago. This most wanted fugitive in the Federation may already have intelligence on nanobombs. Perhaps right now, our wanted man is already on a flight to Slovakia."

He spread his hands exaggeratedly: "Imagine a desperate outlaw who dared to assassinate the Speaker, wielding a superweapon capable of destroying the Brooklyn Bridge in 60 seconds, what kind of disaster would that create?"

"."

These words caused everyone present to involuntarily frown and their breathing to become rapid.

The president turned to Jack and asked in a deep voice, "Has the machine still failed to track down any trace of Rorschach?"

“No progress at all,” Jack reported truthfully. “Rorschach seems to have top-tier hackers assisting him. Whenever the [machine] tries to track his movements, the system encounters a large amount of interference code, and the information is blocked immediately.” Upon hearing this report, the President and Secretary of State’s faces immediately darkened.

Top hacker?

A lone terrorist has suddenly gained an accomplice.

This only means that the other party has already started building their own team.

And what the hell is the purpose of this team?!

The war room had fallen silent countless times. The Black president took a deep breath, his piercing gaze sweeping over everyone present, before decisively issuing the order:

"This operation is a joint effort by the Counterterrorism Bureau, the Department of Homeland Security, and the CIA! Send out your most elite agents! I want to see nanobombs on American soil in five days!"

"Jack!"

He pointed at Jack, who was silently smoking, and said sternly, "Don't think you can get away with this this time. You must send out your top ten agents!"

“I need to consult the Attorney General first,” Jack replied cautiously, without giving a direct answer.

But this time the president's attitude was very tough: "I will contact Secretary Holder personally. You just carry out the orders."

He then turned his gaze to Leon, "Are all the agents of Project Treadstone on missions?"

“Most of them are in a dormant state, but I can call in the IMF (Impossible Missions Group),” Leon replied confidently.

Upon hearing this code name, the president did not ask any further questions.

The Impossible Missions Group is the CIA's elite force, with an extremely high level of secrecy. Among all federal special operations units, its mission success rate is second only to the golden age when Jack first took charge of the Counterterrorism Bureau.

After explaining some specific details, only the president and Janet, the director of the Department of Homeland Security, who he had specifically kept behind, remained in the conference room.

After confirming that no one was around, the president lowered his voice and asked, "How is the [Soldier Program] progressing?"

“The first batch of enhanced soldiers has completed their modifications and is fully equipped with the latest high-tech weapons,” Janet replied confidently.

"very good."

The president smiled with satisfaction and remarked, "Actually, besides your DHS, the Counterterrorism Bureau, the CIA, and even the FBI are all secretly developing super soldiers, but their progress is far behind yours."

Janet smiled without saying a word.

In fact, the government had already begun developing enhanced soldiers as early as twenty years ago during the Gulf War, but only in recent years has it made substantial breakthroughs.

How easy would it be for other agencies to catch up with the Department of Homeland Security?
"This time, the CIA and CTU will be the main force on the surface. Send a team of reinforced soldiers to provide covert support. Do not expose yourselves unless absolutely necessary."

"I understand what you mean."

"besides!"

The president suddenly slammed his fist on the table, his tone sharp: "Once Rorschach is found, kill him on the spot, at all costs!"

"understand!"

End of the meeting.

When he was alone in the conference room, the Black president rubbed his temples wearily.

Within the party, Old Joe and Underwood are engaged in a fierce power struggle, with Old Joe even attempting to undermine his authority.

The external situation is equally grim: the war on terror continues, scandals have emerged involving troops stationed in Africa, and, more bizarrely, a mysterious terrorist organization has suddenly appeared with blueprints for a variety of high-tech weapons.

All of this gave the first black president of the federation, who was ambitious but constrained at every turn, a huge headache.

"咚咚-"

There was a sudden knock on the door.

A burly special agent pushed open the door and entered, respectfully asking, "Sir, Madam asked when you would be finished; she has prepared a late-night snack for you."

Thinking of his wife and daughter, the president's gloomy mood immediately eased.

"Come right away."

He stood up and patted the special operations captain on the shoulder affectionately, "After we finish our late-night snack, let's go to the basketball court for a workout. Let me see if your skills have improved, hahaha."

Mike Banning smiled shyly: "My throwing skills are nowhere near as good as yours, Mr. President."

"With your physique, why would you need to practice shooting? Don't you watch the NBA? Just use your strength to drive to the basket like LeBron, and nobody can stop you!"

"."

In front of his confidants, this black president never hid his true nature, and even uttered vulgarities.

The two left the operations room amidst laughter and conversation, leaving behind only an empty conference room and the lingering smell of smoke.

----------

Eastern Europe.

Slovakia.

A train slowly pulled out of the city, and the scenery outside the window gradually opened up.

Withered yellow grass, a lonely oak tree, low and dilapidated farmhouses, and occasionally an abandoned factory flashing by.

Apart from a few scattered people, the surrounding area was desolate.

This is a European international train. The carriages are very old, and there are even a few holes burned by cigarette butts on the leather seats.

At this moment, in a certain train carriage, Luo Xia crossed his arms and sized up the two people in front of him.

One white and one black.

The black ones are short and fat, the white ones are tall and thin.

Although their skin tones and body types were quite different, what they had in common was that they were both wearing dark suits and had awkward smiles on their faces.

"so."

Rorschach raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're all here to kill me?"

"Ah."

"Then why haven't you made a move yet?"

"Can't beat it."

"Hmm, that's a very valid reason. So, what are your names?"

The fat and thin monks exchanged a glance and replied in unison:
"Mikan."

"lemon."

(End of this chapter)