Law America, the Devil's Agent

Chapter 71 The Church as a Company's Comforting Examination (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

The carriage was deathly silent.

Neither his demon servant Los nor Celine, who was driving for him, remained silent.

Unlike Link, they are not completely free of psychological burdens and mental imprints.

Both of them were members who had received church education and guidance since childhood.

They are certainly aware of the current state of the church.

However, due to their upbringing and ingrained ways of thinking, they carry a heavy psychological burden.

Link didn't stop talking and continued, "The purpose of these parish churches now has absolutely nothing to do with helping and saving people!"

Apart from those local miniature churches with only a few dozen members, which have retained their original intentions.

Most churches are essentially companies whose main purpose is to recruit members, solicit donations from believers, gain greater influence, and ultimately convert more people to the religion.

In the United States, there are chain churches like Faith Church or Grace Church, with many church addresses across the country. Their headquarters, like those of Google and Microsoft, are completely commercial office buildings.

The legal representative of the local church is the pastor, the board of directors is the Presbyterian council, the department manager is the supervisor, and below that are the volunteers.

They don't pay taxes, and the volunteers don't get paid for their work. They earn hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year, which they use for church infrastructure or activity funds.

They do budget management every year, and the amount of money allocated to each activity is fixed.

How much is spent on helping the poor, how much on paying oneself a salary, and how much on maintaining that glamorous facade?

And Sacred Heart Elementary School —

He flicked the ashes out the car window: "It's a typical example of spending a lot of money to defend against external threats while turning a blind eye to internal violence."

Hmph, how ironic.

Praised by all as a sacred place for cultivating elites and leaders, it was secretly a rotten hell.

Los didn't speak, he just waited quietly.

After Link mocked the distinctive religious system of the United States, he continued, "Alex is also a boarding student."

His mother was too busy with work, and the house was far from the school, so he chose to live at the school.

This means that he spends most of his time at that school each month, living in the dormitory at night and going to church on weekends.

The things he said ——————

The scenes depicted in those paintings likely took place partly in the dormitory and partly in the church.

All the information we currently have points to one fact:

The violence within this school is not accidental, but systemic.

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He turned around and looked directly at Los.

"Keep observing the external situation."

You have two informants specifically keeping an eye on the passageway between the church and the primary school.

In addition, Alex mentioned that they would take the school bus to church every Saturday and Sunday for worship services.

This process is a crucial information point for us; I need to understand the school bus schedule and the church's pick-up procedures.

Here's a suggestion.

Let's start with the school bus drivers—their scheduling methods, employment backgrounds, and labor contracts with the schools.

This information does not require illegal acquisition; much of it can be found in publicly available records.

Find a suitable entry point, and then tell me.

Los nodded slightly and wrote down every word Link said.

"There's one more thing. How's the investigation on Mankla's side going?"

"He is collecting records of scandals involving the Sacred Heart Church and Sacred Heart Elementary School in the black market and underground channels, as you requested."

Intelligence related to the church has always been the most difficult to uncover, as they have a sophisticated information-blocking mechanism within their ranks.

Mankla asked me to tell you—

He needs a little more time.

"Push him. Tell him I need him to overcome the difficulties and deliver the results to me as soon as possible."

This case won't wait much longer.

Los nodded again.

Just as Link was about to give him some more instructions on the details of the perimeter control, his phone rang.

Benny's number was displayed on the screen.

He pressed the answer button.

"Boss."

Benny's voice came through the receiver, his tone clearly anxious, and the background noise of hospital corridor announcements could be faintly heard.

"Alex has started the injury assessment, but the examination process is not going smoothly."

After the examination, he suddenly lost control of his emotions, smashed everything in the examination room, and wouldn't let anyone near him.

Even Ms. Martha couldn't control him. He wouldn't say anything, only kept saying he wanted to see you.

Link stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the armrest.

"I'm coming right away."

He hung up the phone and turned his head slightly to the driver in the front seat: "Let's go, to Jefferson Hospital."

By the time Link arrived at his destination, it was already dark.

He parked his car in the visitor parking space on the side of the emergency building, quickly walked through the automatic door, and followed the floor and room number that Benny had given him on the phone. He walked briskly all the way to the waiting area of ​​the examination room.

Benny was leaning against a plastic chair in the waiting area, holding a cup of coffee that had gone cold. When he saw Link walking over, he immediately stood up straight.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, standing next to him, was wearing a white chief physician's coat with his name tag bearing the title of Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Jefferson Hospital. The two had clearly been standing there for a while.

After several months apart, Nathaniel appeared more confident and optimistic, and he was clearly doing well in the hospital.

"How is the situation?"

Link walked closer and asked in a low voice.

Just as Benny was about to speak, the door to the examination room was pushed open a crack.

Martha Kate emerged from inside, her eyes red-rimmed, her fingers still tightly gripping the strap of her handbag.

She visibly relaxed when she saw Link and quickly walked over.

"Mr. Link, you've arrived."

Alex was inside, but he—he still refused to cooperate.

The nurse tried to examine him, but he pushed her away. No matter how I tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen; he was trembling the whole time.

Link nodded, his gaze passing over Martha and landing on the half-closed door of the examination room.

"let me."

He pushed open the door to the examination room.

Alex was huddled in the corner next to the examination table, his knees against his chin. His baseball cap had fallen off at some point, revealing messy hair and a small face covered in tears.

Two nurses stood opposite the examination table, holding record boards and examination instruments, their faces filled with helplessness.

They dared not approach, because every time they got close, Alex would shrink back even further.

Link stood at the door for a moment, not in a hurry to go over.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets, crouched down, and came to be at Alex's height.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear in the quiet examination room.

"Alex. It's me."

Alex lifted his eyes from behind his knees, his eyes filled with terror.

"This isn't a school!"

Link remained crouched, not approaching: "Everyone here is someone you know. Your mother is outside, Uncle Benny is outside, and my friend Dr. Nathaniel is outside too."

They are here to help you, not to hurt you.

The examination is to record your injuries so I can help you.

You must remember that we are going to do something together now.

This is about making those who hurt you pay the price.

But to do this, I must first obtain evidence. And that evidence is with you.

You are not being examined—you are providing evidence to accuse them.

Every step you take now is helping me send them to prison.

Faced with the child's fear, he decided to tell the truth.

Only by first uplifting his spirit can he be forced to return to a normal state of being.

Alex stared into his eyes for a long time, then slowly loosened his arms from his knees, wiped away his tears with the back of his hand, and nodded.

Link stood up and nodded to the nurse.

The two nurses exchanged a relieved look, carefully stepped forward, and pushed the examination table into the examination room.

Link stepped outside, and Martha stood in the doorway, watching Alex finally being wheeled in for a checkup, her lips trembling slightly.

"I had been trying to get him to do a medical examination, but he would resist whenever he saw people at the hospital. He was afraid that his injuries would be seen and that people would know about them."

Mr. Link, thank you. He only listens to you.

Link didn't say much, he just watched Martha walk into the examination room with the examination cart.