America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Chapter 147 Psychological Offense 4K

In the interrogation room, Adams sat on a cold chair, eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the stares of the FBI agents around him.

A twenty-year professional career has allowed Adams to witness countless grand occasions, but some fierce gazes are no longer enough to stir his emotions.

Adams knew that the FBI would not take action against him.

On the one hand, Adams is already 61 years old, which is considered advanced age even in prison.

No one knew what would happen if they tortured an elderly person to extract a confession, so naturally no one dared to do it.

On the other hand, it was also because Adams was rich enough.

Adams amassed a huge fortune over the past two decades, enough to keep him at bay with the FBI.

This is America, a paradise for the rich and a hell for the poor.

Suddenly, the interrogation room door was opened, and Sean entered with a man wearing sunglasses and a mask.

"You can all leave now, leave this to me."

The two FBI agents guarding the interrogation room immediately left, leaving only Rosen, Sean, and Adams in the room.

"Sean, you can go out too. I'll handle this old man by myself."

Are you sure?

"Ha! You don't actually think I can't handle a 61-year-old man, do you?"

The voice, altered by the voice changer, carried a slightly mocking tone, causing Adams, who appeared to be asleep with his eyes closed, to twitch his eyelids.

Sean leaned close to Rosen's ear and whispered a reminder.

"Alright then, I'm right next door. Put on your headset and tell me what you need."

Rosen glanced at the huge mirror on the wall. It was obvious that the interrogation room had a one-way mirror, meaning that people inside the interrogation room could not see into the other side of the glass, but people on the other side could see into the interrogation room.

The applications of this type of one-way glass are quite extensive; it is used in interrogation rooms, recording studios, and of course, the Magic Mirror.

(This is it)

"Remember to turn off the surveillance."

These words made Sean frown.

"What exactly do you want?"

"Believe me, even if you keep the monitoring on, you'll definitely have to delete it later, which is more troublesome."

Sean was clearly still a little confused.

"Let's record it first, otherwise it'll be hard to explain later."

"It's up to you. You'll definitely have to edit it yourself, so don't think it's too much trouble."

"Why should I edit it myself? I'm a top-tier secret agent!"

Sean patted Rosen on the shoulder with a smile, then walked out of the interrogation room and into the observation room next to it.

Just then, a man with gray hair walked over.

"Agent Arthur, I heard you've captured Adams Byrne?"

"Chief Cole? What brings you here so early?"

It's only four in the morning, and because it's already autumn, Los Angeles is still in the dark.

At Gordon Cole's level, unlike Sean and Jane who work through the night, they work nine-to-five like most office workers.

"I got word that the department has arrested Adams Byrne, and I couldn't sleep, so I came to the station to check. Is it really true?"

Clearly, the Adams Byrne case was of great concern to Cole.

Don't underestimate the Byrne Gang just because it's a regional gang; there are actually three other gangs on par with it.

But in reality, Adams Byrne was a transnational drug lord.

According to internal investigations by the FBI and DEA, most of the methamphetamine on the West Coast originated from Adams.

The amount involved in these cases reaches billions of dollars every year!

Of course, this refers to the total retail sales at the terminal; Adams himself wouldn't have earned that much money.

Even if it's only one-tenth, that's still a rather astonishing amount.

Aside from those giant companies, how many companies in the world can achieve a net profit of hundreds of millions of US dollars a year?

So when the case was closed, Adams Byrne alone took home 13 points.

The rest of the Byrne gang received a 3.0 rating, indicating they were just coasting through.

That's right, these guys dragged down the average score of the Byrne Gang.

Adams could have left the Byrne Gang much earlier, but he chose to stay in Long Beach.

"Yes, we are still conducting a surprise interrogation of Adams Byrne."

"Did you find anything useful?"

Sean gave an awkward smile, and Cole understood without him saying a word.

"Who is interrogating Adams Byrne now?"

"Rosen is interrogating him."

The name Rosen immediately reminded Cole of what happened three months ago.

"Did you manage to deal with Rosen, who's currently in Bonanno's territory? I'd like to see how he plans to interrogate him."

With that, Cole and Sean entered the observation room together.

Two agents were taking notes in the observation room, and they immediately stood up when they saw Cole enter.

"Chief!"

Cole nodded, and then Sean told the two of them to go out first.

"You can all leave now, I'll take notes."

The two agents obediently left the observation room.

"Sean, why did you let them out?"

Sean hesitated for a moment, but still offered an explanation.

"Rosen said he knew some classified information, and the fewer people who knew it, the better. He also suggested that I turn off the surveillance."

Cole pondered for a moment, then observed the situation in the interrogation room through the one-way mirror.

"Don't rush to turn off the surveillance. Wait for me to tell you when to turn it off."

"Yes, Chief."

The two then put on their headphones and began listening to the conversation in the interrogation room.

Separated by a one-way mirror, Rosen on the other side was unaware that his boss was watching his performance.

Rosen first moved the chair heavily, the jarring sound causing Adams to frown, but he still didn't open his eyes.

"Still not awake? I guess I need to get a glass of ice water."

The voice changed by the voice changer has a noticeably mechanical sound, but the words are still very clear.

Faced with Rosen's subtle threat, Adams finally opened his eyes.

"I never imagined that after all these years, the FBI's interrogation methods would still be so crude."

"Hehehe, FBI interrogation methods? No, no, no, Mr. Byrne, I'm self-taught, much more ruthless than the normal FBI!"

Cole, who was in the observation room, was speechless after hearing Rosen's words.

"No wonder he wouldn't let you turn on the surveillance camera. If this interrogation video is released, it will definitely be met with a barrage of criticism from the media."

Sean was starting to sweat. He realized that Rosen didn't know Cole was in the observation room, which was why he was letting loose and talking nonsense.

Just as I was about to say a few good words for Rosen, Cole answered to himself.

"However, those words did have some effect; at least Adams's psychological defenses were torn down a bit. Sean, remember to edit the interrogation video afterwards."

"Yes, Chief."

Adams in the interrogation room was indeed provoked by Rosen's words, and his emotions underwent a subtle change. The Joker's trump card must have been at work here.

However, Adams managed to control his emotions. After all, he's a 61-year-old veteran, and he certainly wouldn't be swayed by Rosen's words.

"I'm a little curious, why are you wearing sunglasses and a mask, and using a voice changer? Are you someone I know?"

Want to know?

Adams was indeed very interested in Rosen's identity, so he nodded.

"But I won't tell you."

When it comes to manipulating people's mentality, Rosen is quite professional; even a seasoned veteran like Adams gets a little annoyed.

But Adams knew that this was Rosen's goal, so he simply closed his eyes and ignored Rosen, just as he had treated other FBI agents before.

"Mr. Byrne, are you in such a hurry to sleep? Your lung cancer is already in its late stages. Are you worried about not having time to sleep later?"

These words struck Adams like a bolt from the blue, leaving both Adams and the two men in the observation room in shock.

Adams suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes wide open like saucers.

"How did you know?"

Rosen crossed his legs and looked at Adams with an air of profound wisdom.

"Mr. Byrne, although your medical records have been deliberately erased, some things will leave traces once they happen. Don't underestimate the FBI's intelligence capabilities."

Cole looked at Sean with a puzzled expression from inside the observation room.

"Is the FBI's intelligence capability really that strong?"

Sean could only laugh awkwardly. If the FBI's intelligence capabilities were really that strong, he wouldn't need to buy intelligence from Svefar.

However, when the FBI was first established, it did indeed wield enormous power.

John Edgar Hoover, the first director of the FBI, sparked a wave of political censorship before and after World War II and directly promoted McCarthyism.

At the time, the FBI was like a sword hanging over everyone's heads, making many people tremble with fear.

It has a bit of the feel of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Because of its immense power, which caused panic among many wealthy individuals and politicians, the FBI was subjected to a series of investigations and crackdowns after John Edgar Hoover stepped down.

Today, the FBI has lost most of its deterrent power and often becomes nothing more than a police dog for the powerful and wealthy.

Putting power in a cage will naturally release other things.

Adams's expression kept changing, as if he had become a chameleon.

Rosen didn't rush to speak. Sometimes saying too much can give away the truth, so it's better to let the other person fill in the blanks themselves.

After a long pause, Adams finally spoke again.

"What else do you know?"

"I also know you have a son with intellectual disabilities. You've been working so hard to earn money all these years, it must be for him, right?"

Having prepared himself mentally, Adams did not react much at this moment.

Instead, Cole and Arthur in the observation room were once again shocked.

"Sean, are you aware of this?"

"Uh, I had absolutely no idea about this until Rosen mentioned it."

"How did Rosen know that?"

"Agent Rosen seems to have an extraordinary talent for gathering intelligence."

Sean looked conflicted. He now understood Rosen's abilities; no wonder he could carry Neil to victory.

Cole quickly accepted Sean's explanation, after all, Rosen had already proven himself with the Bonanno family case.

"That's right! Some people just have an extraordinary sense of smell. I think Mr. Rosen could probably have become a legendary agent like 007 during wartime."

In the interrogation room, Adams remained silent for a moment before continuing to speak.

"Since the FBI already knows, what's the point of asking?"

"Mr. Byrne, the FBI actually wants to make a deal with you. The FBI can protect your son and ensure he lives a life of comfort and security. In return, you must tell us about the Byrne Gang's criminal network."

Adams closed his eyes.

"it's out of the question!"

"Heh, is it because some organization made a promise to you that you feel so secure?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

Rosen tapped the table lightly with his fingers, the rhythm of the tapping gradually synchronizing with Adams' heartbeat, making him feel increasingly pressured.

Just as Adams felt his breathing becoming increasingly rapid, Rosen suddenly uttered three English letters.

"The CIA, did the CIA make you any promises?"

Adams' pupils contracted, and his expression changed noticeably.

Even Cole and Sean in the observation room noticed this change.

"Agent Arthur, is this true?"

Sean immediately recalled what Jane had told him a few days ago.

"It's not certain yet. We previously investigated Adams Byrne's past and found traces of forgery and erasure, which seems like the CIA's style, but there's no evidence."

This made Cole somewhat unhappy.

"Why didn't we discover something this important before?"

Sean chuckled awkwardly, unsure what to say.

The answer is very simple: the person who was in charge of the case before must not have investigated it carefully. But Sean can't just say that his other colleagues were incompetent.

This is actually quite normal. The FBI has both elites like Sean and those like Neil who just coast along.

A large organization certainly cannot guarantee that everyone has the same level of competence.

Cole quickly realized this as well and couldn't help but sigh.

Inside the interrogation room, the conversation between Rosen and Adams continued.

"Since you already know, why ask me again?"

"Mr. Byrne, I was just trying to give you a friendly reminder, the CIA's reputation for integrity is well-deserved. Aren't you afraid they'll break their contract?"

These words caused Adams's expression to change drastically; he was well aware that the CIA had a bad reputation.

In fact, the CIA has long controlled the drug trade in the Americas, and most of the major drug lords in the Americas were actually promoted by the CIA. The huge profits from the drug trade are an important source of funding for the CIA.

Otherwise, where would the CIA get so much money to do all sorts of things around the world?

The federal government doesn't have that much money!

Most of the drug lords who were helped by the CIA did not have a good outcome, and Adams had heard about these things. However, Adams had no choice.

Is contact with the CIA something you can just cut off at will? It's either work for the CIA or die; there's no third option.

It wasn't that there wasn't a third option at all; at this point, Rosen presented Adams with the third option.

"Mr. Byrne, you can absolutely cooperate with the FBI. The FBI will guarantee your and your son's safety. When it comes to credibility, the FBI is far superior to the CIA, and the FBI has absolutely no fear of the CIA."

These words did indeed stir Adams's heart. He lowered his eyes, his eyelids twitching constantly, clearly going through a fierce internal struggle.

After a while, Adams finally looked up at Rosen.

"Can you make a decision about something this important?"

Cole smiled in the observation room, took off his headphones, and stood up.

"Looks like it's my turn to make an appearance!"

As soon as Cole left the observation room, he saw a face that he found extremely repulsive.

"Saul Goodman?"

>