chsdbacks Chapter 30 Not a Drop of Water Leak
Chapter 30 Not a Drop of Water Leak
Superintendent Chen's gaze swept heavily over the three people standing in front of him:
"Has all the finishing touches been taken care of?"
He Chu shrugged indifferently:
"Time is too short, and this is all we can find right now."
Superintendent Chen's brows furrowed tightly as he said in a deep voice:
"Won't this approach leave any future problems?"
Lin Kuangtian finally couldn't help but speak up:
"Inspector Chen, why don't you let me turn myself in?"
Superintendent Chen flew into a rage and shouted:
"Shut up!"
"If you really want to turn yourself in, you can do so within our police force."
"What we have in abundance here is police officers to handle cases."
Do you even know what the situation is right now?
"Do you really think this is just a private matter for you alone?"
"Completely wrong!"
"This is a battle between the police force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)!"
"It's not just a small matter concerning you alone."
His voice was extremely low, carrying a chilling undertone.
"Don't forget, what was the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) established for in the first place?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Kuangtian immediately shut his mouth and dared not utter another word.
Why was the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) established in the first place?
To put it simply, it's about cracking down on the rampant corruption within the police force.
Lei Luo, a once-in-a-century genius in the police force, single-handedly wove a vast corruption network spanning the police force, the business world, and the underworld.
According to rumors, he embezzled as much as HK$500 million in the 1960s and 70s.
What an astonishing number!
Keep in mind, what was the market value of Hutchison Whampoa in the mid-1980s?
All together, it's only HK$300 million!
Lei Luo not only lined his own pockets, but he also built an airtight network of interests, in which everyone was firmly bound together.
Even if the police wanted to investigate Lui Lok, they simply wouldn't know where to begin.
The reason is simple: the entire police force, from top to bottom, is almost entirely composed of Lei Luo's cronies.
Finding someone who doesn't collude with him is as difficult as climbing to the sky.
Lei Luo was always the first to know about any investigations targeting him.
Under these circumstances, the special investigation team had to completely sever all ties with the police force and establish a completely independent law enforcement agency, which later became the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
It can be said that from the moment it was established, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) carried a very clear objective and a strong political character.
Anyone who actually considers it a simple anti-corruption oversight agency is absolutely out of their mind.
The relationship between the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the police force has never been good.
To give the most apt analogy, it's just like the relationship between frontline field officers and the Internal Affairs Department in the police force—they're like oil and water.
The relationship between the police force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has never been good from the ground up!
Superintendent Chen grew increasingly angry as he spoke, and exclaimed:
"If it weren't for the ICAC lurking behind the scenes, I would have taken you all to court today."
"Now, all of you shut your mouths!"
Lin Kuangtian stood there, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He never expected things to take such a turn for the better.
Superintendent Chen turned his head, frowning as he looked at He Chu:
"I don't want to have to clean up this mess after finally dealing with the ICAC."
He Chu spoke calmly:
"Since the ICAC likes to talk about rules, then we'll play along and talk about the rules with them."
Superintendent Chen stared at him and pressed for an answer:
Are you absolutely certain?
He Chu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a confident smile:
"If they really followed the rules, they wouldn't find anything."
"But if they dare to break the rules, we will definitely be able to find something to use against them."
Superintendent Chen slapped his thigh and shouted:
"Well said!"
"I understand the principle of 'don't wash your dirty linen in public.'"
He turned to look at Lin Kuangtian and said slowly.
"Uncle Tian, you've reached the age where you should retire. Once this case is closed, you can officially retire."
"Leave yourself a little bit of dignity at the end."
Upon hearing this, Lin Kuangtian was both surprised and delighted, and was completely stunned:
"Can...can I really retire?"
He had already prepared himself for the worst: either death or imprisonment.
He never dreamed that it would end like this.
Superintendent Chen looked at him with a pained expression:
"Are you feeling particularly excited right now?"
"You shouldn't have ended up like this!"
"You should have been a role model for our entire police force."
"You should have been a role model for generations of police officers."
Uncle Tian lowered his head, his face full of sorrow:
"It's too late to say anything now..."
Just as Superintendent Chen was about to say something more, the phone on his desk suddenly rang urgently.
He reached for the receiver with a disgruntled expression.
"Hello!"
His expression changed drastically after hearing just one sentence.
Seeing this, everyone else in the office looked at him in unison.
Superintendent Chen casually pressed the speakerphone button, and heard an extremely arrogant voice coming from the other end of the line:
"Hello, is this the West Kowloon Police Station?"
"I want to report the officers of the West Kowloon Regional Crime Unit A for double-crossing."
"When they arrested the drug lord, they secretly withheld HK$10 million of the drug traffickers' ill-gotten gains."
"Your West Kowloon Headquarters aren't planning to cover for them, are you?"
Superintendent Chen, Lu Qichang, and Lin Kuangtian all had their expressions change drastically at the same time.
He Chu immediately took out paper and pen and quickly wrote down a few lines—
Rebut the other party with righteous indignation, try to delay as much as possible, and locate the source of the call as soon as possible.
Lu Qichang glanced at it, then turned and ran out without saying a word.
He Chu quickly took out his phone and sent a text message.
Superintendent Chen, having already grasped the situation, calmly countered with:
"Who are you?"
The person on the other end of the phone said:
"I am a good citizen with a sense of justice and responsibility."
Superintendent Chen snorted coldly and said:
"There's something I need to make clear to you."
"The West Kowloon Regional Crime Unit A is one of the most elite and ace teams in our West Kowloon Headquarters. They bear the important responsibility of maintaining social order throughout Hong Kong."
"You casually ordered us to immediately halt all operations of Group A with a single sentence. Who will bear all the losses caused by this?"
"I don't need you to tell me your name; this is for your personal safety."
"However, I must tell you clearly."
"Your report is vague and baseless."
"The Major Crimes Unit handles countless drug cases every year."
"You haven't even specified the exact time, place, or people involved, yet you're making baseless accusations. How is that any different from malicious defamation?"
"Just because of a casual remark you made, you want me to suspend the authority of the entire Group A..."
"No legitimate organization would do this."
"One last thing I'll say to you,"
"If you really want to report our Group A members, I'll give you two options."
"Or you can go to the Police Internal Affairs Department, which is an internal agency that deals with police misconduct."
"Either you come to my office in person, and I'll have someone take a detailed statement from you."
"Saying something so casually is no different from slander."
"What do you mean by double-crossing?"
"Do you think our police force is a criminal gang?!"
The person on the other end of the phone immediately shouted excitedly:
"Isn't this just double-crossing?"
"This is blatant collusion among officials!"
Superintendent Chen remained calm and composed as he spoke:
"How can this be called officials protecting each other?"
"Do you think if you went to Government House and told the Governor that the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Commissioner was corrupt, the Governor would immediately order an investigation?"
"That's an absolute joke!"
"We accept any legitimate report, but only if you provide solid evidence!"
"If you can't provide evidence, I can only consider your words as malicious slander."
"Listen to me carefully,"
"Either you go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or you bring the evidence and come see me in person!"
"I'm a police superintendent, I don't have time to play this game of hide-and-seek with you!"
boom!
Superintendent Chen abruptly hung up the phone.
Lin Kuangtian said with a livid face:
"That's definitely Fang Xiangdong's voice, I absolutely can't be mistaken!"
"That bastard, he's clearly trying to kill me!"
Superintendent Chen, his face equally dark, stared intently at him:
"You know that much is good!"
Lin Kuangtian shrank back in fright and dared not say another word.
He Chu frowned, seemingly lost in thought, and said:
"Isn't Fang Xiangdong employed by the ICAC? Why would he call us in his personal capacity to report us?"
Superintendent Chen's eyes became unusually deep:
"There are some intricacies involved here that are worth pondering carefully."
Lu Qichang rushed in, panting, his face filled with disbelief:
You'd never guess where that call just came from.
A sudden inspiration struck He Chu, and he blurted out:
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)?!
Lu Qichang stared at him in shock:
How did you know?
Superintendent Chen and Lin Kuangtian also looked at He Chu with surprise:
"Was the call really made by the ICAC?"
Lu Qichang nodded vigorously, then said something that shocked everyone.
"According to our technical department's tracking results, this call came from the ICAC Commissioner's office!" Bang!
Superintendent Chen slammed his hand on the table, the loud noise making Lu Qichang feel dizzy, and the documents on the table bounced up.
"The ICAC is simply going too far!"
Lu Qichang nodded repeatedly in agreement.
On the surface, the ICAC seems to be using Xiang Dong's words to push forward the investigation into Lin Kuangtian.
But none of the people present were fools.
If they really want to investigate Lin Kuangtian, can't they just go through the normal legal process?
Everyone knows exactly what the ICAC is up to.
He Chu said without any hesitation:
"The ICAC is just using this as a pretext; their real intention is to target Liu Bang. The investigation of Lam Kwong Tin is merely a smokescreen."
"Their real purpose is to make a big fuss about this incident and, incidentally, to give our entire police force a severe blow."
Lu Qichang was so angry that he gritted his teeth:
"Their actions are completely undermining the cooperative relationship between the police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption!"
He Chu scoffed upon hearing this.
"Damage the relationship between the police and the ICAC? Do we need them to damage the relationship between our police force and the ICAC?"
He became an inspector at a young age, and was in his prime, daring to say anything.
Of the four people present, he was the most appropriate person to say those words.
If young people aren't a little arrogant, are we supposed to let those old men be arrogant?
Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
He Chu's tone turned cold as he said:
"Our police force is a law enforcement agency, and officers are entitled to carry firearms in accordance with the law."
"Coincidentally, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is also a law enforcement agency, and their investigators are also authorized to carry firearms."
"Moreover, our business scope overlaps in many areas."
"More importantly..."
"The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has the right to oversee all law enforcement actions of our police force."
Deathly silence!
The moment those words were spoken, the entire office fell into complete silence.
Even Superintendent Chen's breathing became rapid:
"Absolutely not!"
"I must report this to General Huang immediately."
He Chu quickly reached out to stop him:
"Absolutely not now!"
"It's not too late to report after this is over. Telling the boss now will only put him in a difficult position."
Upon hearing this, Superintendent Chen was stunned.
He took a few deep breaths, thought about it carefully, and finally nodded in agreement.
He Chu's words do make sense.
Although the relationship between the police force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has always been strained, they are both law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong, and the two sides have not completely broken off relations.
Moreover, the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is, in some ways, even higher in rank than the Secretary for Security, while our police force's highest-ranking officer is subject to the Security Bureau.
If the two sides really fall out completely, the ICAC can suppress our police force in terms of procedures alone.
Superintendent Chen, his face dark, looked at He Chu and asked:
"So, what's your idea?"
He Chu frowned, rested his chin on his hand, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said,
"If I'm not mistaken, the ICAC officers will be here soon to arrest them."
Lin Kuangtian gave a wry smile and said:
"I know it in my heart."
"I take full responsibility for my actions."
"It will absolutely not involve any of you."
"I'll go with them."
He Chu interrupted him without any politeness:
"Uncle Tian, how could you be so foolish!"
Lin Kuangtian looked at him blankly:
"What do you mean by that?"
He Chu snorted coldly and said:
"They've already bullied us on our doorstep. If we hand you over now, how will our police force maintain its standing in Hong Kong?"
Lin Kuangtian was greatly surprised:
"But if they don't hand me over, wouldn't that be tantamount to a direct confrontation with the ICAC?"
He Chu looked at him speechlessly:
"They've already pooped on our necks, and you're still thinking of handing yourself over willingly?"
Superintendent Chen pondered for a moment and said:
"Otherwise, I'll assign an emergency mission to Group A, and have the entire group go out to carry it out immediately. That way, we can hide for a couple of days."
"It will at least buy us two days."
Lu Qichang immediately clapped his hands and cheered:
"That's definitely a good idea."
Lin Kuangtian turned his head and looked at He Chu:
"Achu, do you think this method is feasible?"
He had a very strange intuition.
At times like this, you absolutely must not listen to Lu Qichang; you must listen to He Chu.
Although He Chu is young, he is meticulous and has a very strong sense of right and wrong.
No wonder he was recognized as the strategist of Group C.
He Chu shook his head and said:
"We absolutely cannot let Uncle Tian go out to hide; that would be giving the enemy an opportunity."
"If we were to send Uncle Tian out on a mission at this critical juncture, it would be like trying to hide something obvious."
He pointed to the telephone on the table.
"That phone call just now was made by Fang Xiangdong from the ICAC Commissioner's office."
"The ICAC is now eager for Uncle Tin to leave the police station immediately."
Lin Kuangtian quickly pressed for an answer:
"So what should we do?"
He Chu smiled slightly and said:
"It's actually very simple."
A sharp, ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
"We'll confront them head-on."
Everyone present was stunned by these words.
Superintendent Chen, Lin Kuangtian, and Lu Qichang all stared at He Chu in disbelief, while He Chu looked at them with a strange expression.
"What's with those expressions?"