SWNOVELS Chapter 601: Asher Vance
The "Destruction Plan" was a mission led by Natalie years ago with the X Bureau's special squad, which ended in failure. After the mission failed, Everett left the team, Christopher went into hiding for many years, and Linden undertook an undercover assignment. A few years later, Deputy Commander Kahleah died mysteriously, and Everett ended his life by suicide. Almost the entire special squad was wiped out.
Due to the devastating consequences of the mission, the "Destruction Plan" was kept as a top secret by the headquarters, never to be mentioned again.
Over the years, Jared had always wanted to understand the causes and consequences, but his clearance was never high enough to access the records. However, now things were easier since he was no longer with the X Bureau. Linden, furrowing his brow, said in a deep voice, "You should know that even at my level, there's no way to access those files."
"You only need to tell me the code of the 'Destruction Plan'. I know you remember it better than anyone," Jared insisted.
The events of that year cast a long shadow over everyone involved who was still alive. Linden had previously risen to the position of second in command at the Clearwater X Bureau headquarters. He must have seen the detailed case files from that time, and those sequence of numbers must have been unforgettable!
Linden hesitated for a moment, "You're asking me to make a mistake."
"You've done it before, Chief Linden, and this is very important to me."
After a long silence on the phone, Linden finally spoke slowly, "245214216589."
Jared hung up the phone after Linden finished speaking. Having obtained the answer he wanted, Jared promptly entered the code into his computer. Within seconds, the printer connected to the computer began to print out the details of the "Destruction Plan."
Tina picked up the report and flipped through each page, memorizing every word printed on it. Over the years, she had hacked into the X Bureau's security system more than once to find the case file of the "Destruction Plan," but she always got stuck on the final code. No question about it, it was Natalie's doing.
No matter how skilled a hacker tried to access the X Bureau system, without the file's corresponding code, they could not view a single word. If the wrong code was entered, the system would immediately initiate a counter-trace, locking onto the location within a second.
Thus, Tina had never succeeded over the years. Jared came over and handed Tina a glass of juice, "How is it?"
"A bit strange." Tina handed the documents to Jared and then quickly typed a password into her mini-computer. Jared's printer started again.
Jared stood up and took the documents, comparing two sets of data. One was the operational trajectory of the "Destruction Plan" from that year. The other was the only document left by Natalie after her "suicide," clearly recording GTO's movements during the "Destruction Plan."
Comparing the two, the routes matched exactly! However, after analyzing the timing, this overlap was not because the X Bureau was chasing GTO, but rather, GTO was chasing the X Bureau's special squad in a guerrilla warfare! This proved that the locked location of GTO provided in the "Destruction Plan" was fake! This plan was clearly a planned and rapid extermination of the X Bureau's special squad, orchestrated by an internal traitor in collaboration with GTO. Jared, his face as cold as ice, understood why Everett never returned to the X Bureau after the mission's failure.
She had sensed it back then; there must have been a GTO mole within the X Bureau. Tina turned another page, her fingertip resting on a red line indicating the route of the "Destruction Plan" operation. "This route was the escape path my mother took with the first squad," she said. Jared's fingers gripped the document tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. "It was because of this route that most of the first squad's lives were saved, though they eventually walked into an ambush. Still, it was a better outcome compared to the complete loss of the second and third squads."
"It was also because of my mother's decision that the X Bureau started to suspect her, leading to a relentless pursuit," she continued, pointing at a picture of a uniform on the "Destruction Plan" document. "The people chasing us wore this uniform. I remember."
Jared's heart tightened at her words. He remembered. Back then, Natalie only trusted him and Christopher within the X Bureau. She trusted no one else. While Natalie was being hunted by many, she never revealed to Jared who exactly was pursuing her. Now, he realized that if Natalie had told him the truth, it would have caused a bloody turmoil within the X Bureau, and it was uncertain if he would have survived. At that time, neither of them was strong enough to reveal the truth amidst their dire circumstances.
Jared never imagined that there were people within the X Bureau who were also after Natalie! The two sat in silence for a while. Although they were well aware of the mole within the Bureau and had confirmed it, facing the truth directly was still unbearable, even with all their preparations. Betrayal by those they trusted most was something no one could immediately accept.
After a while, Jared turned to the last page. It detailed a meticulous combat plan. Everett was to lead the raid, Pigeon was in charge of readiness, and Blue handled the command. The plan was elaborate, pre-scouted by several reconnaissance personnel, and GTO's base had been pinpointed. The X Bureau had deployed nearly all its special forces, confident in their operation and determined to succeed in one strike.
Jared's gaze shifted to the last signature on the document. Asher Vance. Tina saw the name too. Warren Pace, Asher Vance. Whether it was a coincidence or not, Tina was particularly concerned about the name Asher Vance. Jared squinted his eyes, "Tina, I need to see Linden."
"Okay, see you tomorrow," Tina stood up, kissed Jared on the cheek, and left with a smile. Jared watched her leave and then arranged to meet Linden at a teahouse owned by the Farrell Group.
"What did you want to see me about?" Linden asked. Jared placed the signature of Asher Vance in front of Linden. "When the X Bureau was being chased by GTO, didn't you take any measures?" Linden hadn't expected Jared to notice the name Asher Vance. After all, throughout the document, Asher Vance had only one signature, while he, as the commander, had made all the final decisions. "The initial operations went smoothly, but then Everett noticed something was amiss. We held an emergency meeting, changed the plan on the fly, and got approval from the leadership. But in the end, it still failed. Jared, what exactly are you trying to do?"