1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 164 Take the Blame!
White House.

The CIA commander reported and requested a second air strike to cover the landing.

Although the attack on the 15th was reported to the UN by xx less than three hours later, exposing Emily's secret operation to the world, Emily was once embroiled in a diplomatic fraud scandal and put in an awkward and passive position.

However, this action by xx quickly united Emilyka's team, leading them to decide to continue their operation.

However, the operation was fraught with unexpected problems and did not go smoothly.

Late last night, a troop of over 1400 exiled personnel arrived off the coast of xx as planned, preparing to land.

However, the complexity of the aquatic environment near xx far exceeded expectations, causing delays in the landing.

This cast a shadow over the operation.

Early this morning, the advance force finally cleared a stretch of water, and with a command from the CIA commander, the exiled troops officially launched their assault on the beach.

The initial landing operation went smoothly, with the exiled troops encountering almost no resistance except for sporadic resistance.

It wasn't until around 02:30 AM that the garrison in xx issued an alert to Havana, and xxxx ordered a full-scale counterattack.

The soldiers on both sides quickly engaged in battle.

Things started to deviate more and more from the CIA's plans.

First, the xx Air Force launched an air raid on the landing fleet.

These air forces should have been completely destroyed on the 15th.

The failed operation on the 15th directly led to a chain reaction.

The air force's attack quickly yielded results.

The sinking of the transport ship USS Houston, fully loaded with ammunition and medical supplies, directly resulted in the exiled troops losing half of their supplies.

The fierce resistance of xx, the sinking of the supply transport ship, and the battlefield that was completely different from what was planned gradually plunged the exiled troops into chaos.

Subsequently, the paratrooper battalion, which was expected to land on the east side of the battlefield, deviated from its landing point and was surrounded immediately upon landing.

Immediately afterwards, xxxx personally went to the front line to command, and the xx Army arrived on the battlefield with heavy firepower such as tanks and artillery.

The sneak attack turned into a beach landing, the beach landing turned into a desperate battle, and the desperate battle eventually turned into a one-sided massacre of the weak.

The exiled troops quickly retreated.

But behind them was only a vast ocean.

There was no way to retreat.

Three years in the making, secretly planned since the general's presidency, and requiring countless hours and resources, this top-priority mission, which was highly anticipated by the CIA and many people, has shown signs of failure.

President Jack did not make an immediate decision; instead, he chose to convene an emergency meeting.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CIA Director, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor, and others attended the meeting.

FBI Director Hoover and Attorney General Robert Floyd were also summoned.

The White House needs the FBI to provide a real-time domestic perspective, and Robert is President Jack's most trusted brother and subordinate.

Director Hoover remained quiet and did not utter a word unless absolutely necessary.

He just sat there at the very end, watching quietly.

At the start of the meeting, the CIA director spoke rapidly, introducing the latest developments to help everyone quickly understand the situation.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that the Chief of Naval Operations had ordered the fleet to stand by off the coast of xx, ready to provide support to the exiled forces and intervene in the war.

The air force is also ready and can take off at any time to launch a second round of air strikes.

After the situation report was completed, the meeting room fell into a brief silence.

An aide to the president's staff pushed open the door and handed over the latest frontline battle report.

The exiled troops have been almost completely driven off the land by the xx Army and are rapidly retreating to the beachhead.

The battle situation is already extremely precarious.

Everyone looked at President Jack.

President Jack kept a straight face and his gaze swept over the crowd one by one, but no one made any contact with him.

Everyone lowered their heads, deep in thought.

His gaze finally settled on Attorney General Robert E. Lee and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who were seated at the end of the meeting.

Robert was furious, even more furious than when he had seen Hoover.

He wanted to say something, but President Jack stopped him with a look.

Director Hoover looked up, calmly met President Jack's gaze for a moment, then lowered his head to stare at the notebook in his hand, lost in thought, as if it contained a century-old problem awaiting his answer.

President Jack turned his gaze back to the CIA director.

He clenched his fist, then finally relaxed it.

He ordered the CIA commander to cancel the second round of airstrikes.

This means he has abandoned the secret operation and will no longer provide any assistance to the more than 1400 people.

This means the operation will be a complete failure.

They haven't been defeated yet, but it's only a matter of time.

Everyone in the meeting room relaxed.

The highly anticipated secret operation has now become a hot potato and a mess.

They just hope that whoever it is will step forward and take responsibility, ending this farce.

After making his decision, President Jack did not wait for the outcome but left the meeting room immediately.

He needs to go to the lounge to rest and calm down.

There's still a lot to do.

Early in the morning, before the attack was launched, United Press International (UPI) secretly received information that "freedom fighters have taken control of the key coastline."

UPI cooperated very well in spreading the message.

Therefore, all the media in Emilyka were reporting on this this morning.

Print media published morning specials, radio anchors discussed the issue at length, and television stations invited experts to explain the importance and potential impact of the action in the context of the international situation.

All of Emily and the world knew about this secret operation.

Since the airstrikes on the 15th, mainstream media in America have been citing the CIA's fabricated narrative of "pilot defection," which has garnered widespread public support.

Since the news broke this morning, most Emilyka residents have been optimistic and supportive, believing that the end of xxx's rule is near and that the 1400-plus people will bring freedom to the xx people who are living in dire straits.

At 10:00 AM, the White House held a press conference.

The spokesperson attempted to distance Emily from the ongoing war in xx, but was besieged by numerous reporters.

A reporter asked Emily directly whether she was providing support to the xx exiled army.

The spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied it, but repeatedly emphasized that Emily would not militarily intervene in xx.

The spokesperson's response was interpreted by the media as the stance of the Emily Kahlo government, led by President Jack.

Later, this response was quoted by major television and radio stations.

Some media analyses suggest that the government's vague wording may imply tacit approval of the action, or even deep involvement.

Amidst the overwhelming praise, discordant voices began to emerge.

Some media outlets have begun using XX radio station as their source to revise their reports, suggesting that the intrusion might fail.

The public discourse descended into chaos.

Some media outlets are still sticking to the CIA's version of events.

Some have already begun their analysis from a fair, objective, and neutral perspective.

Ordinary people were completely bewildered.

…………

According to information provided by AT&T technicians, the female criminals likely made the calls when no one was around. Nevertheless, Bernie wrote down the numbers and gave them to Detective O'Malley.

Detective O'Malley contacted his colleagues at the Fourth Precinct to help handle the numbers.

Bernie then contacted Detective Thomas of the Third Precinct and learned that the young agent had just met with the portrait artist.

The complete portrait is expected to be available this afternoon.

The two groups then split up, with Theodore and Bernie returning to America University in hopes of obtaining authorization from the president.

They finally met the principal.

However, after listening to Bernie's account of the case, the principal seemed very hesitant.

He expressed his concern for campus safety and questioned Theodore and Bernie's demands.

He believes there is no need to obtain a list of students in the relevant majors, let alone check students' assignments or question professors and students.

He believed this would cause panic.

Especially at this point in time.

Theodore was confused by his statement.

He stared at the principal's ear for a moment, then turned to look at Bernie.

He wasn't sure if the principal was mentally challenged or hard of hearing.

Bernie clearly explained the reasons for each demand when presenting the case, so why did he seem to completely ignore that part?
The principal continued to rant and ramble on, questioning their demands, arguing that this was unnecessary and that would have a negative impact.

Theodore asked him:
"How do you think we should conduct this investigation?"

The principal paused for a moment, then expressed his full trust in Theodore and Bernie's professionalism and made it clear that he would not interfere with their work in their respective fields.

Theodore was increasingly puzzled: "But you're interfering with our work right now."

The principal hesitated, denying that he had interfered with the FBI's work, and reiterated that he valued campus safety and was willing to cooperate with them.

Theodore confirmed that the principal was most likely mentally unstable.

He had to remind the principal: "You've only been saying that you value campus safety and are willing to cooperate, but you haven't actually taken any action."

The principal opened his mouth, his neck turning bright red, and the redness was spreading rapidly upwards.

Theodore hesitated for a moment, then asked sincerely:

Do you know how lethal the BAR rifle and Thompson submachine gun are?

The principal's mouth was agape, and his cheeks were flushed red.

Theodore looked at him and assumed the principal was using silence as a negative response.

He was about to offer the principal some helpful advice when Bernie interrupted him.

Bernie picked up the conversation and assured the principal that their investigation would only be conducted on campus, that they would not take any relevant documents out of the school, take no other action, or use his authorization for anything other than the investigation.

He pointed to the campus security officer and offered to help, explaining that they were unfamiliar with the campus and hoped the officer could provide assistance.

The principal's gaze swept over the two men before settling on the slightly overweight campus security supervisor.

He thought for a moment, then extended his hand to Bernie with a serious expression: "I hope you can keep your word."

Bernie shook his hand: "I promise."

The principal instructed the campus security supervisor to assist the two individuals and provide necessary support.

After leaving the principal's office, Bernie requested access to student records, specifically the list of students majoring in drama and literature.

The campus security officer led them to the archives.

On the way, Bernie started chatting with the campus security director.

He asked the campus security officer if he had any military experience.

The supervisor glanced at him and admitted that he was a naval sailor and had served in World War II.

Bernie immediately stated that he had also participated in World War II.

The supervisor was somewhat surprised.

The two started chatting, speaking in a language Theodore couldn't understand, often interspersed with words he'd never heard of before.

Then the two of them got more and more into their conversation.

When Bernie arrived at the archives, the supervisor was already inviting him to a party.

The participants in the gathering were all veterans who had fought in World War II. The gathering was not official but rather organized privately by them.

Bernie readily agreed.

The supervisor was very happy and smiled as he helped them communicate with the people in the archives, asking them to help obtain the student list.

There are nearly three hundred students in the two majors combined, which is quite a lot.

Bernie and Theodore took the list, found the corresponding files, and began to open the files, making an initial screening of the student list based on the profiles.

The supervisor then kindly asked if they needed any help.

Bernie didn't stand on ceremony with his supervisor and asked if someone could help him disassemble the files.

The supervisor left for a while and then called two campus security guards to help.

Theodore stared at the supervisor for a moment, then turned his gaze to Bernie.

The supervisor wasn't this enthusiastic yesterday.

With the help of his supervisor and his assistants, by noon, more than two hundred student files had been screened.

Female students make up a very high percentage of the students majoring in drama and literature, accounting for nearly 60% overall.

Theodore then screened the applicants based on their family's financial situation and academic performance, and still nearly a hundred people remained.

In the afternoon, Theodore and Bernie went to the College of Arts and Sciences to further examine the list.

They first approached the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and obtained his support before seeking out professors for various professional courses.

The initial response they received was not ideal.

Professors have very limited knowledge of their students, and many don't even recognize all the students in their classes.

Especially in literature majors, most courses are so boring that the truancy rate has remained at around 30% for a long time.

Some particularly dry courses, such as rhetoric from ancient Greece to the Renaissance, had an attendance rate of barely 40%.

Theodore and Bernie met with a professor of rhetoric and another subject of religious literature.

The two professors offered no help, but they were curious about the case they were investigating and kept asking questions.

This made their investigation extremely slow, with virtually no progress.

After leaving the rhetoric professor's office, Theodore stopped Bernie, who was on his way to see a third professor, and changed his strategy.

Instead of asking professors about their students, they started asking about the teaching assistants.

Teaching assistants typically need to grade student assignments and undertake certain teaching tasks. They are closer to students and know them better than professors.

However, most university teaching assistants are outstanding students.

In Theodore's profile, the female criminal is also a high-achieving student.

They need to first screen the teaching assistants based on the professors' understanding of each teaching assistant.

This step went very smoothly.

They then met with the teaching assistant for the rhetoric course.

Bernie took out a list and asked the teaching assistant to identify which people were students in the rhetoric class.

The teaching assistant circled a dozen or so names and provided them with a list of students for the rhetoric course for comparison.

Bernie took out the profiles of the female criminals and confirmed them with the teaching assistant line by line.

The teaching assistant shook his head, indicating that none of the dozen or so people met the profile requirements.

(End of this chapter)