Law America, the Devil's Agent

Chapter 80 The Ruthless Couple's Next Step

When Link and Ace walked out of the room, the scene in the hallway had completely changed.

The South African gang had pinned the Turin boy and his entourage, who were tied up, against the wall and lined them up. The ballistic traces in the room had been rearranged, and the scattered shell casings had been replaced with those from the South African gang's own weapons.

Mankla was directing his men to handle the final details when he saw Link come out. He immediately stepped forward and whispered a report on the progress of the arrangements.

All traces have been dealt with, and eyewitnesses in the vicinity have confirmed that no images have been left behind. The sound of the gunshot has been contained inside the room and will not be heard outside.

Link nodded, took the two pistols from Mankla, and handed them to Tomsky and Karina respectively.

"These are fabricated testimonies and related evidence, all of which have been matched. Take a look, and you'd better memorize them all."

Now you need to do one last thing!

"Oh?"

"That means one of you two can leave gunshot wounds on your arms and thighs, choosing non-lethal spots to shoot yourself a few times."

This way, the prosecutor I'm working with can quickly reach a conclusion that you engaged in self-defense with a firearm.

Tomsky nodded, then took the gun. He suddenly remembered that Link still had some tasks to assign him, and was about to say something—

"Bang."

A gunshot shattered the words he was about to say in his throat.

Karina had already pulled the trigger, but the bullet precisely avoided the femoral artery, passing through the muscles on the side of her thigh.

Blood trickled down her fair calves, and she knelt on one knee, but didn't let out a scream!

Finally, she just bit her lower lip hard, used her other hand to support herself against the wall, and managed to stand up again.

Everyone was stunned.

Mankla's men stopped what they were doing, and Tomsky threw down his pistol and rushed over to support her, asking her repeatedly in Russian why she did what she did.

Link stood there, looking at the woman. In the eyes of the woman who looked up at him, there was no regret or fear, only a firm resolve.

The decisiveness and ruthlessness unique to the Slavs.

"Now, Mr. Link—"

She leaned on Tomsky's shoulder, forced a smile at Link, her voice trembling slightly from blood loss.

"There is a victim in the case of self-defense against harassment."

Link looked into her eyes and remained silent for a second.

"Very good, Miss Karina, thank you for your support."

Tomsky kept whispering something in her ear in Russian, his voice rapid and low.

But Karina gently pressed the back of his hand and whispered in Russian, "Go do what you want to do, I'll take care of everything."

"Hey, sweetheart, how have you been lately?"

A soft hum came from the other end of the phone, Elena's voice carrying a hint of lazy complaint: "Not good, someone doesn't even come to see me."

Link leaned against the wall in the motel corridor, holding his phone between his shoulder and using his free hand to stub out his cigarette on the fire extinguisher box in the corner.

"I've taken on a big case recently, so I've been quite busy. But—"

I've found you a few more jobs. Home invasion murder, followed by self-defense killing; the targets are street thugs and gang members. It'll boost your earnings.

"Those guys from the Turin boys?"

Elena's voice immediately switched from languid to professional, with the sound of turning pages coming from the background: "I just saw the dispatch log for the Thomson district on the dispatch console. It's a motel shooting, one dead and several injured. The initial assessment is that it was a self-defense attack."

I was still debating whether to take on this case myself—and it really was you.

"I have already had all the relevant evidence and physical evidence compiled, and I will hand them over together."

The suspect acted in self-defense. I hope you can handle this personally to ensure the process is clean and efficient.

"Okay, no problem. I'll personally oversee this case."

Link hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

At the end of the corridor, Mankla had just seen Tomsky and Karina off to the vehicle heading to the police station. He returned so quietly his footsteps were almost inaudible. He walked up to Link and gave a slight bow.

"Attorney Link, Tomsky and Karina have been taken away by the police."

As you instructed, I directly connected with Sheriff Thomson's people; there won't be any procedural issues.

Link nodded.

Benny strolled over from the Cadillac parked nearby, holding a timeline table that recorded all the action points for the night.

"Team leader, I've already shared this case with Daniel."

These individuals will work together to help Ms. Karina navigate the entire process. From the police statement to the prosecutor's office's case filing procedures, we have people following up on the whole process.

Link nodded again, then turned his head and asked Mankla in a flat tone that revealed no emotion: "Karina, where did you find this informant?"

Was today's scene all in your script?

Mankla paused for a moment, then immediately stepped forward, speaking several decibels faster than when reporting on gang affairs.

Karina was indeed a pawn we selected and contacted. Initially, it was because the gang wanted to expand into the Bella Vista district and needed someone within the Turin Boys to provide intelligence.

We contacted several people and finally identified her as the one.

She vehemently disliked Safite—the Italian leader—but due to visa issues preventing her from obtaining a green card, she was forced to rely on him.

Safit promised to help her get her residency, but he dragged his feet for a long time and never delivered.

Our people initially treated her as a regular intelligence partner, providing information on the internal movements and transactions of the Turin Boys.

She is very cautious in her actions, never asking too many questions, and never leaving any evidence against herself.

"But her behavior tonight was unlike that of an ordinary informant. She didn't even blink when she shot herself."

Link pulled a cigarette case out of his pocket, but didn't open it. He just twirled it between his fingers a couple of times: "I've seen many informants who can stay calm under pressure, and I've also seen many people who dare to be ruthless to themselves at crucial moments, but not many can do both."

Miss Karina's courage and decisiveness are rare qualities in any organization.

If she hadn't been held up by her visa, she wouldn't have stayed with that Italian man.

Mankla was silent for a few seconds. "She is indeed not simple, sir. But she is trustworthy."

Link put the cigarette pack back in his pocket and didn't continue the conversation.

"We've got Tomsky as our breakthrough point, but there's still a lot more to do."

Mankla, your people continue to keep a close eye on the area around the Sacred Heart Church and the primary school, especially the weekend school bus schedules and the reception procedures inside the church.

After tonight, Tomsky will become our first key information node within the school, but that's not enough.

I need you to be on standby at all times, ready to cooperate with the next step of the operation.

Mankla nodded without saying anything more.

He bowed slightly to Link, then turned and disappeared into the night with a few men waiting at the edge of the parking lot.

Benny watched the group of men in black disappear into the darkness, then walked to Link's side, his tone carrying a sense of relief that had been suppressed for a long time and was finally being released.

"Team leader, we've completely secured the Tomsky line."

From discovering him to setting up this trap, and finally closing the net tonight, every step has been within your plan.

You are truly a brilliant strategist.

Nothing is ever completely planned.

Karina is not.

Benny nodded slightly.

"So, should we now proceed with the case investigation, after obtaining information about this informant and the school bus driver?"

Link put the cigarette back in his mouth and took a deep drag: "We've got insiders at the church, but Tomsky alone isn't enough."

A school bus driver's testimony can only open a breach, but it cannot block all avenues of retreat for the other side.

They could say he was unaware of the inner workings of the church, or that his testimony was merely his personal opinion.

We need more people who can testify that there is systemic abuse inside the Sacred Heart Cathedral.

"Should we continue looking for witnesses and evidence?"

"No, it's not about looking."

Link stubbed out his cigarette and looked up at the night sky above the motel, which was tinged with a grayish-yellow hue by the city lights.

"We need to remember those who are still forgotten, and let their long-suppressed roars be heard again."

"The other victims who suffered greatly—"

They may have transferred schools, moved away, or thought that no one would ever seek justice for them.

But their names were on Costello's list, and their contact information was in the suppressed complaint files.

We need to find them one by one and tell them:

Now there are people willing to stand on their side.

Just you wait, Benny.

When all these people stand up, let's have a thorough and satisfying class-action lawsuit together.

PS: A trusted assassin, a crazy but loyal couple.

The two sharpest swords in Attorney Link's hand have arrived.