Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 41 Foresight and Prediction

As the US military relayed the instructions, Gina looked down at the satellite phone terminal next to the instrument panel, slightly hesitant.

"Is it really necessary to contact the media so quickly? Reporters will come sooner or later, why not wait for them?"

"Don't be so naive—"

Zhou Yi was only halfway through his sentence when he felt his craving for a cigarette kick in.

He touched his pocket and realized that his lighter had been taken away by Teixeira's men before he even boarded the plane.

Gina paused slightly: "Didn't they just agree to let us land?"

Reluctantly stuffing the cigarette pack back into his pocket, Zhou Yi began to explain:

"Allowing a landing does not mean making concessions."

“Puerto Rico is a special case; even if something happens, it won’t affect its domestic voter base.”

“Live streaming, however, is a completely different matter.”

"After the war on terror, the White House became even more unwilling to compromise, especially in preventing criminals from using the media to create a precedent. Because once that door is opened, anyone can follow suit."

"So whether it's CIRG[1] or SOCOM[2], they're probably both discussing how to put a bullet in my head now."

Gina frowned and asked uncertainly, "Since you're so sure the news won't get out, why did you tell air traffic control?"

Zhou Yi waved his hand, signaling the captain, who was distracted and eavesdropping, to turn his back.

"Civil aviation communications rely on airborne systems, which the NSA can interfere with from the ground at any time."

“However, if a clear target is provided beforehand, they will be busy discussing how to use it to negotiate with me, rather than blocking the signal.”

Nodding to indicate that she understood, Gina breathed a sigh of relief and asked solemnly, "Which media outlet do you think we should start with?"

"The order doesn't matter, let's go with CNN."

As Zhou Yi spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and read the numbers on it: "+1-4XX-XXX-XXXX".

The screen flickers as the connection signal begins to transmit.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

Everything in the cockpit seemed to be magnified infinitely in that instant.

Gina could hear her own heartbeat.

Strangely, however, she found her fear of the future rapidly dissipating.

She should have been anxious, she should have been afraid of what might happen after landing—arrest, interrogation, extradition, or even worse, never being able to get off the plane again.

But at this moment, her consciousness seemed to detach from reality, and a long-lost tranquility welled up in her heart.

"CNN International News, this is Patrick, please go ahead."

"Listen, this is a hijacked flight, Delta 60, bound for Atlanta, diverting to San Juan en route. The hijackers have something to say to the world, and they hope you will broadcast it truthfully."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the rapid sound of keyboard typing.

"Please confirm the source of your information?"

“I am one of the hijackers. You can contact the FAA or Delta Air Lines headquarters to confirm.”

The other end of the phone suddenly became noisy, and you could vaguely hear someone issuing instructions rapidly.

Patrick's tone turned unusually serious: "Who am I talking to?"

“Gina Lopez, former Deputy Secretary of the Internal Affairs Department of ABIN.”

“For the past two weeks, I have been relentlessly pursued by Bahia Governor Álvaro Domingos and his political group. Being forced to board this plane was my last resort.”

"As for the reason—I have solid evidence involving high-level officials, including corruption, illegal executions, and political purges, which involve the current Brazilian President António Silva."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi froze and looked up at Gina.

Good guy.

There's such explosive news hidden here.

No wonder Alvaro acted like a madman, even going so far as to have an assassin fire on an international flight.

At the same time, a long silence fell on the other end of the phone.

Clearly, they were deeply moved by the content conveyed in those two short sentences.

After a dozen seconds, Patrick finally spoke again:
"How can we verify the authenticity of these messages?"

"The evidence is stored on the Tor network at ******"

Gina paused for a moment, then continued, "All files have been hashed and certified, and their integrity can be checked by themselves."

"If access is unavailable, query the PGP server, obtain my key, and verify the signature."

"ID is ******" "If you lose contact with me, that's the answer."

After saying that, Gina hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

"Who's next?"

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, suppressing his urge to tease, and said seriously, "Reuters, Fox News, Globo, Veja, and the Washington Post."

Brasilia, Presidential Palace.

Eastern Standard Time, 3:14 AM.

President Antonio Silva sat at a long table, his hands clasped together, his face grim.

The television on the wall was playing the news.

The reporter spoke urgently, and the banner at the bottom of the screen scrolled rapidly.

"Urgent: Delta flight hijacked, potentially exposing Brazilian government secrets!"

Only a few people remained in the room.

Chief of Staff, Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, Director of Intelligence, and Press Secretary.

The air was still, and everyone's expression was serious.

After a long pause, the president took a deep breath, closed the document in his hand, and broke the silence first.

How much of Gina Lopez's accusation is true?

The intelligence chief adjusted his glasses and said cautiously, "The bureau has conducted a preliminary investigation into some parts."

“The flow of funds and contractual relationships can be traced, but the details of specific transactions, especially who is involved, still need to be confirmed.”

"If a full investigation is launched, we cannot guarantee that more key figures will not be implicated."

Silva pondered for a moment, then tapped his fingers twice on the table. "To what extent can we still control the situation?"

The press secretary said softly, "Very low, domestic public opinion can still be intervened. The problem is, they also contacted the American media."

“We have some channels with Reuters and Fox News, but the Washington Post is unaffected.”

"Moreover, the international attention this incident has garnered far exceeds that of ordinary criminal cases."

"There were more than 50 American citizens on the flight, the largest number since 9/11."

"Washington asked news organizations to hold off on reporting key details 30 minutes ago, but this was only a stopgap measure."

The president's expression was clearly not good, and he turned his gaze to the Secretary of Defense.

What is the military's attitude?

“The Pentagon has not made an official statement, but the FBI and DHS intervened immediately at the request of the DoS[3].

"Of course, their focus remains on the hijacking itself."

The president sneered and glanced at everyone present: "In other words, Alvaro is our problem, not theirs."

The intelligence chief nodded and added, "Alvaro had close ties with the U.S. during the military government period, especially with some of the DoD's contractors."

"If he feels abandoned, he may seek help from the United States in exchange for intelligence and asylum."

The president narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Would the Americans take him in?"

The intelligence chief pondered for a moment: "They won't take him in willingly, but if he offers something of sufficient value..."

"At least it will provide a safe evacuation route."

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Justice's expression shifted slightly, and he couldn't help but remind him, "If the materials he takes away involve our materials, you and the ruling party will be in a very passive position."

Sensing the implication in his words, the president did not respond immediately, but instead closed his eyes wearily and rubbed his temples.

Seeing this, the Attorney General quietly gave his chief of staff a wink.

Upon receiving the signal, the chief of staff took two steps closer and whispered, "The mayors of several northern states have publicly criticized our fiscal allocations, and the strike wave is still expanding. In this sensitive situation, if Alvaro really makes those things public, the ruling party's credibility will completely collapse."

"."

After a long silence, the president finally made up his mind and slowly began to speak:

"Press the Attorney General's Office to initiate a formal investigation as soon as possible on the grounds of national security and economic crimes, and apply for an emergency arrest warrant."

"Once approved, the operation will be led by the federal police, and the arrest must be completed within 48 hours."

"From now on, all government statements will adopt a strategy of no comment, no denial, and no clarification."

"To the outside world, portray this incident as an independent judicial investigation."

“Remember, the Labour Party has already sparked nationwide protests over tax reform and mortgage payments[4], and cannot be dragged into another scandal.”

　[1] FBI Emergency Response Team
　　[2] Special Operations Command

　　[3] U.S. State Department

　　[4]escndalo do mensalo
　　
　
(End of this chapter)