The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 176 Investigation
“We only have ten minutes left,” Bill added as the last sentence.

Eric stared at Bill, his serious expression revealing suppressed anxiety. He nodded and took the pen Bill offered.

Having said all that, he had no other choice.

His current assessment of the situation tells him that listening to Bill, the air marshal, is the best course of action.

Bill breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Eric take the pen. Eric was not just an ordinary air marshal. His current duty as an air marshal was merely a pretext for the government to temporarily hire him for security tasks.

Therefore, relying on his extremely rich experience and intuition, he vaguely sensed that Eric was no ordinary patrolman.

"I'm in charge of sending messages to lure him out. Look for any passengers who are holding a mobile phone or suspected of using a mobile phone or other device that can send messages, and circle them all."

Then, Bill said seriously, "No matter who it is."

Knowing the whole truth, Nancy nodded and stepped forward, while Eric looked at the large screen composed of eight small screens and nodded.

"OK!"

Eric stood next to Nancy, watching Bill take out his phone, and began to wonder to himself.

Based on the current situation, it's highly likely that someone hacked into the aircraft's network system and sent Bill some message.

Bill reminded him, "I'm about to begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, he started sending a message: "Are you there? I have a question I want to ask you."

A few seconds later, a message replied: "Has the payment been confirmed?"

Upon seeing this message, Bill suddenly looked up and stared intently at the large monitoring screen.

At this moment, Nancy and Eric began to circle one after another with their pens.

Thanks to the fact that the plane had been flying for a long time, aside from those sleeping and those reading, only a small number of people were left, which the two of them circled out.

Nancy circled two people, both of whom were women.

Eric had already circled four people in an instant, two men and two women.

Bill frowned, looked at his phone, and continued replying: "Give me some time, we are contacting the airline's owner."

"You're wasting your time." That was the message that came in.

Before Nancy, who was a little nervous, could make a move, Eric had already circled two people, a man and a woman.

This made Nancy glance at him sideways, feeling that even without her, the handsome guy next to her could have accomplished the task.

Bill sensed a glimmer of hope and continued sending messages: "I'm not an airline employee, I don't care about their money, I'm only responsible for the safety of the passengers."

“You’re a good man, Bill.”

Bill: Why did you do that?

"I have my reasons."

Bill continued, reasoning that the more they talked, the higher the chances of catching the guy: "What's the reason?"

"That's enough." But clearly, the guy who sent the message had extremely limited patience or was starting to get alert.

"Get the money sorted out, Bill. I'm not kidding. You really don't have time. When the time is up, someone will die. So how much are you willing to pay to save these people?"

Bill pursed his lips and looked up ahead.

Eleven suspicious targets have been marked on the monitoring screen.

“At all costs,” he continued sending. “That’s why I chose you.”

Upon seeing this message, Bill glanced at his watch; there were seven minutes left until the scheduled fifteen minutes.

His actions were remarkably swift.

Bill didn't answer, because after such a long conversation, the person who sent the message was most likely one of those eleven people.

Bill put away his phone and nodded to Nancy: "Do you have information on these passengers?"

“Yes.” Nancy quickly took out a folder from the counter next to her and began to verify the identities of the eleven passengers.

Eric put down his pen and looked at Bill. To be honest, he had a general idea of ​​what Bill was doing.

But before Eric could ask a question, the satellite phone next to him rang, interrupting his process, and Eric could only shrug in acknowledgment.

At times like these, it's best for him to behave himself and avoid wasting other people's time.

Bill nodded and picked up the phone casually: "Hello?"

“Bill? This is Philip Marennik from the Transportation Security Administration. The captain told me you’re in trouble.”

Upon hearing this, Bill said, "I need to speak with my superior."

“Listen, I’m from the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, so from now on I’m your superior.”

Bill looked up at Nancy and waved.

Nancy understood and handed over the folder in her hand; she had already circled all eleven passengers.

Bill reached out and took the folder, looking at the circled names: "Listen, I'll tell you the seat numbers and names. You check for me to see if these people have any red flags or criminal records."

"No, we need to carefully consider your request, Detective. I need you to recount the entire incident to me from beginning to end, and we are also investigating the bank accounts you provided."
You know the rules, and we need to assess whether everything you've said is a real threat or a prank, Bill. I don't think you can identify the suspect in your current situation, so I need your statement.”

Bill's face grew increasingly grim, and he said in a deep voice, "Just investigate, stop with the nonsense, fuck!"

Bill cursed, tossed the satellite phone to Nancy, and told her to report the names on the list to this damned superior, staring intently at the folder.

"Do you need my help, Agent?" Eric observed everything like a bystander, and it seemed that Bill was experiencing what was called procedural justice.

“Yes, we need to,” Bill nodded, moving closer to Eric and gesturing for him to come along.

“Seven in economy class, four in business class,” Bill said in a deep voice. “And we only have six minutes left.”

Eric stared at the seat numbers and names on the document, silently memorized them, and then said:
"So we need to control these people within six minutes?"

Bill said, "Yes."

“This isn’t an easy job, Bill,” Eric said.

“That’s why I need your help, Eric,” Bill said, staring intently at Eric.

"Within six minutes."

Upon hearing this, Eric nodded. He couldn't avoid it, nor did he want to. Unlike on the ground where there were many choices, at 10,000 meters in the air, everyone's fate was intertwined. No one could escape it, including him.

Bill's phone vibrated. He quickly glanced at the screen and said, "Bill, you have less than six minutes left."

Bill expressionlessly put away his phone, and then, to Nancy's sudden widening of eyes, decisively drew his pistol from his waist and steadily handed it to Eric.

Eric's gaze fell on the gun, the Sig Sauer P226, a world-renowned pistol with a standard 15-round magazine capacity, which was within his selection range. However, it was relatively large and heavy, and the trigger feel was not delicate enough.

(End of this chapter)