Law America, the Devil's Agent

When the three of them came out of the 24-hour restaurant again, it was already midnight in Philadelphia.

Today's brief gathering of three will soon end.

Los zipped his jacket up to his chin and said to Link:

"Mr. Link, I'll be going now."

Link nodded to his personal devil servant, then added:

"I need you to keep an eye on the Bloodhands, and keep an eye on Holland Quix's movements."

Steve at the hospital, keep in touch with him as usual. Continue receiving goods and conducting transactions as planned. Don't let anyone notice any changes.

"Okay, I understand. Is there anything else you need?"

Link buttoned up his suit jacket, and a cold wind blew in through the collar, but his voice remained clear in the wind:

"Also, what you're doing now is no different from what you did before:"

  

Selling medicine, finding customers, and socializing in gang territory.

The only difference is that every pill you sell and every word you hear will become my information.

I need you to know the frequency, quantity, and likely intermediaries of the Blood Hands gang's purchases from the hospital.

I need to know the time, location, and people Holland Quays will be contacting for his next shipment.

If you encounter any trouble along the way…

Link paused, then took a slip of paper from his hand and handed it to him:

"Make this call, name Daniel, and say you are an informant for Attorney Link."

My reputation won't intimidate thugs, but it can. Just remember, don't use it unless absolutely necessary.

"clear."

Los didn't waste any words.

His gaze was exceptionally focused under the streetlights, a deep, instinctive loyalty.

He waved casually at Benny, then turned and walked toward his dark gray sedan.

The taillights flashed twice at the street corner before disappearing into the darkness of the old town.

Link watched him leave, then opened the car door and got into the passenger seat.

Benny started the engine and turned the heater up to the maximum, and the Ford's cabin gradually warmed up.

The two walked silently through the streets of the old town, the light from the streetlights flashing past the car window one after another, alternating between light and shadow, like some kind of silent metronome.

Benny spoke first.

His voice still carried the excitement of watching those photos scroll across the camera screen that evening—an excitement that had been suppressed for hours and was now finally finding an outlet.

"Team leader, tonight's gains are enormous."

Holland Quays, the father who tearfully recounted in the media how his son was brutally murdered by a serial killer, was actually a hospital's medicine mule!

He was driving his new pickup truck right under our noses, smuggling controlled drugs into the Blood Hand Gang's territory.

Now we have photos, license plates, timelines... everything.

These photos alone are enough to bring at least three federal charges against Philadelphia General Hospital.

Illegal trafficking of controlled substances, fraud against the federal healthcare system, and collusion with criminal organizations!

These are all very serious crimes. With Holland on our side, we can completely turn the tables and go on the offensive.

As a family member of a victim, his act as a medicine mule for the hospital clearly indicates a special financial relationship with the Hawthorne case.

This matter itself is the most compelling evidence supporting us.

We can start from this line, expose the entire drug resale chain within the hospital, and then move Hawthorne from the defendant's seat to the plaintiff's seat:

The countersuit against Philadelphia General Hospital alleges malicious accusations, fabricated evidence, and a wrongful conviction.

"Go on, tell us your thoughts."

Link remained noncommittal, simply leaning back in the passenger seat, his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought.

Tell me your next line of defense.

Benny knew that Link was testing him.

He sat up straight, cleared his throat, and began to organize his thoughts.

"The Holland line has confirmed our previous inferences:"

That is, there is indeed a systematic chain of prescription drug outflow within Philadelphia General Hospital.

They used Medicare's collective purchasing and subsidy policies to obtain large quantities of controlled drugs at low prices.

They then outsourced the drugs to waste disposal companies, falsified consumption records, and directly cooperated with gangs to transport them out and sell them to the Blood Hand Gang at market price, from where the Blood Hand Gang distributed them to the streets.

The profit margin can be tens or even hundreds of times.

The existence of this chain is enough to prove that there are people inside the hospital who are carrying out illegal activities in an organized manner.

Therefore, our client, the so-called hospital serial killer Hawthorne, was framed because he touched this chain.

We already have evidence to support this logical chain.

So my thought is:

Instead of simply pursuing criminal defense, we can turn defense into offense and directly file a countersuit.

He accused the hospital of malicious accusations, fabricated evidence, and creating a wrongful conviction. He transformed Hawthorne from a defendant in a serial murder case into a plaintiff exposing the hospital's dark secrets.

Holland Quays's case is the first weapon in the countersuit.

Once this knife is plunged in, the hospital will have to deal with two lawsuits simultaneously, while our initiative will greatly increase.

It can even be seen by the jury in a criminal case—

The person you are sentencing is a scapegoat framed by those so-called "witnesses" in front of you.

He's finished speaking.

The carriage was quiet for a few seconds, with only the muffled sound of warm air blowing from the vents.

Benny tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, waiting for Link's response.

"and then?"

Benny paused for a moment.

The carriage was quiet for a few seconds, with only the muffled sound of warm air blowing from the vents.

He opened his mouth, but a thousand words stuck in his throat.

He clearly had many ideas...

Regarding the construction of the chain of evidence, the litigation strategy for counterclaims, and how to interrogate Holland in court to make him recant his testimony on the spot...

But while all these things are clear in my mind, I just can't seem to make sense of them when I try to put them into words.

This is an old problem of his.

He could spend entire nights organizing case files, clearly marking the source and destination of every piece of evidence.

But when he needs to express these things in words, the logic seems to be stuck in something, and he can't get it out.

He is diligent in action but clumsy in speech.

Link opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him.

There was no reproach in his eyes, only a calm, scrutinizing patience.

He leaned back in the passenger seat, closed his eyes again, and breathed steadily, as if he were dozing.

But Benny knew he wasn't asleep—

His fingers, resting on his knees, were tapping lightly at an extremely slow pace—a habitual gesture he made when he was thinking.

"You're on the right track."

After a long silence, Link finally spoke:

"By starting with Holland, we can turn Hawthorne from defendant to plaintiff and use a counterclaim to break down the hospital's defenses."

There's nothing wrong with this framework.

But once the framework is built, you need to fill it with things.

What do you think needs to be added to this? What would be most beneficial for completing this case?

Benny responded in a deep voice:

More evidence? More witnesses?

"Wrong, it's something we've been ignoring."

It was also a trap carefully set by our opposing law firm and the hospital.

That's a label, a story.

The story of a serial killer.

"Oh! That's right. More and more media outlets are now paying attention to Hawthorne's case."

But without exception, they all emphasized this point in their reports.

"So we can also use stories to fight stories."

Hawthorne was not just a falsely accused defendant—he was a brilliant surgeon from rural Kentucky.

He was admitted to medical school at the age of sixteen and graduated first in the entire state.

He performed surgeries at Philadelphia General Hospital for sixteen years, achieving the lowest failure rate in the city. He discovered corruption within the hospital, wrote a whistleblower letter, and signed his name.

Then he was reassigned, ostracized, forced to see a psychiatrist, and finally accused of being a serial killer.

What comes to mind when you hear this story?

Benny's fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel.

"A hero. A tragic hero."

"Yes. A tragic hero."

Link repeated the word, his tone carrying a subtle irony, not directed at Benny, but at the narrative logic the word itself represented:

"The popular American TV series and social media platforms now offer tens of thousands of dollars for this kind of article."

What's truly scarce in this society isn't information, it's stories.

A brilliant doctor from the countryside is systematically destroyed by his own hospital for refusing to compromise his principles.

—This is the best story.

It is simpler, cleaner, and more powerful than the prosecution's narrative of a "serial killer."

This is the kind of public opinion weapon we need.

Benny nodded vigorously, his face lighting up with excitement again.

"Yes, that's what I wanted to say."

We used Holland's evidence to create the first opening, and then we pushed Hawthorne's story out into the open, getting public opinion on our side..."

"But have you ever thought about this question?"

Link interrupted him, his voice still steady, as if posing a thought-provoking question to a student in class.

"Can Holland alone break into that hospital?"

Benny's voice stopped abruptly.

He turned his head and met Link's deep black eyes. Those eyes were calm, but beneath that calm lay a sharpness that was impossible to ignore.

"You just mentioned Steve, our informant in the hospital."

"Yes."

Benny nodded, his tone becoming cautious:

"Steve is a pharmacist; he can appear in court..."

"What if the other side questions the credibility of Steve's testimony?"

Link's voice remained steady:

"Steve himself was involved in illegal drug trafficking."

His business relationship with Los continued for quite some time.

The prosecution only needs to seize on this point to undermine the credibility of his testimony in court.

They would say:

What right does someone who engages in underground drug transactions with members of a South African gang have to stand in the witness stand and accuse a hospital of its drug management system?

For a corruption network of this size, sacrificing pawns to save the king is standard practice.

They could also argue in court: 'Holland Quays was a temporary worker for our outsourced logistics company; his personal actions were unrelated to the hospital.'

They could push Holland out as a scapegoat, pin all the blame on him, and then completely sever ties with the Hawthorne case in legal proceedings.

As for Steve, they might even turn on us!

"The defense attorney used illegal means to recruit hospital staff, coercing him by exploiting his own misconduct to produce testimony detrimental to the hospital."

You know the credibility of tainted witnesses.

Benny's fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel.

He understood.

It wasn't that he couldn't understand legal logic, but rather that he suddenly realized how fragile his optimism had been. He took a deep breath, didn't argue, and simply drove silently through a traffic light intersection.

His hands slid off the steering wheel and landed on his knees. He hung his head, his shoulders slightly slumped, and the excitement he had just felt dissipated like a balloon punctured by a needle.

"So...everything we did tonight was for nothing?"

"It's not useless."

Link's voice softened again. He straightened his seat and turned his head to look at Benny's profile:

"You're right, Holland is the first knife. But the first knife isn't meant to kill the other person; it's meant to cut open the wound and expose what's inside."

The countersuit strategy, public opinion tactics, and using Holland to expose the hospital's dark secrets that you just proposed—

This is the complete framework, a necessary condition for us to win this battle.

Your mistake wasn't that you were going in the wrong direction, but that you thought you had found the key to solving the whole case by finding Holland's lead.

But Holland is just one piece of the puzzle. A single piece cannot complete the picture.

He extended a finger and tapped it lightly on the dashboard.

"We need Steve to find the original record in the hospital's drug inventory system that directly points to the falsified signature of the pharmacy manager."

He extended his second finger.

"Loss needs to confirm the identity of the contact person with the Blood Hand Gang—preferably tracing back to a specific member of management."

He held up his third finger.

"The original letter of whistleblower Hawthorne himself is needed as irrefutable evidence in the timeline."

This proves that he had already reported the entire chain of events before he was framed.

He lowered his hand and looked at Benny.

"Only when all these things are connected can the Holland Quays thread truly be ignited."

The countersuit strategy, public opinion tactics, and heroic narratives you just mentioned...

These are parts of our overall defense strategy.

They are useful and groundbreaking. But that alone is not enough. You need more.

You need all these forces attacking simultaneously from different directions to truly shake that hospital.

Benny looked up at the road ahead and remained silent for a moment.

Then he took a deep breath, put his hands back on the steering wheel, and slowly straightened his shoulders.

The tangled mess in his mind began to slowly unravel...

It's not all sorted out, but at least we've found the starting point.

He suddenly remembered the question Link had just asked him—"And then?"

He couldn't answer it then. But now he's starting to understand.

Holland is just a starting point, not an end point.

"I understand, team leader. Holland is just one link in the chain; I need to find more."

"There's one more thing you're right about!"

In this case, we can't just rely on criminal defense. We must shift from a defensive to an offensive strategy.

but not now.

A countersuit requires the right timing. The evidence must be sufficiently complete, and the attack must be concentrated effectively.

Link's lips curved slightly.

He rolled down the car window a crack, and a gust of cold air rushed in, dispersing the stuffy, warm air inside the car.

"What you proposed tonight is the blueprint for how we'll do this. You did a good job."

Benny didn't say anything.

But his back straightened up a bit, and his hands on the steering wheel were no longer so tense.

He was still repeatedly processing Link's words in his mind:

Countersuits, heroic narratives, and multiple storylines running concurrently.

He knew that when he got back tonight, he would have to stay in his office until the early hours of the morning to sort through all these clues again.

But this time, he felt that the stuff stuck in his throat seemed to have cleared up a little.

A black Ford drove through downtown Philadelphia, streetlights casting flowing streaks of light across the windows.

The city hall tower loomed in the distance, and the clock on its roof struck twelve in the night.

The sound traveled through the empty street and into the car, like a dull and drawn-out reminder.

Today is over, tomorrow is just beginning.

Benny gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed intently on the road ahead.

The headlights illuminated a short stretch of asphalt road ahead; beyond that, everything remained shrouded in the deep darkness of night, but the direction was no longer wrong.