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Chapter 151: Secret Operation?
The joys and sorrows of people are not interconnected.
While the Soviet Union celebrated a successful manned space flight, various departments in America frantically scrambled for budget increases.
While Harold Wilson envied Billy Hawke for being chosen by Theodore, Billy Hawke remained immersed in shock that Theodore had invented his own method of solving cases.
While Theodore thought acquiring Felton Star News would free him from seeing himself battle various bizarre creatures, Felton Star News had other ideas.
They used to write with restraint and focus.
After all, the twin detectives were the signboard of the Felton Police Department!
Later, when Theodore was recruited by the FBI, they became even more cautious, even preparing to stop publishing at one point.
Writing stories about an FBI agent meant serious pressure and risk.
Who knew when someone would knock on the door shouting, "FBI! Open up!"
Now everything was fine.
They'd been acquired!
Since they were all one family now, writing little stories about the boss, the boss wouldn't mind, right?
While Theodore breathed a sigh of relief, Felton Star News, far away in Felton, was already extensively recruiting writers, preparing to create more outrageous stories.
Science fiction was hot right now, especially with the Soviet Union's successful manned space launch.
If they didn't produce a wave of "Psychic twin detectives battle the Red Ghost," they wouldn't be worthy of the fifty thousand dollars their boss spent!
They'd also contact DC Comics!
They used to think that as long as they could achieve collaborationâeven without a single pennyâit would be fine.
After all, that was DC.
Now they needed to negotiate the price properly.
It was just DC.
Not that Felton Star News only cared about profit, it was just that the offered price was too low, unworthy of their boss's status!
Theodore had no idea what was happening, or about to happen, in Felton.
At this very moment, he and Bernie were stuck on the road back to Georgetown.
The impact of Soviet manned space flight news was still fermenting, primarily reflected in D.C.'s traffic conditions.
The roads had become even more congested than before.
In the opposite lane, a Chevrolet with Ohio plates was honking frantically, the driver leaning out and yelling at the cars ahead.
He was a sales manager for an Ohio aerospace-related company.
His boss had woken him in the early hours and ordered him to rush to D.C.
He was supposed to fly, but flights were fully booked.
He'd turned to the train station, no seats left either.
He could only drive to D.C. himself, not even stopping to eat, taking a wrong turn at one point.
Missing the plane and train already put him far behind his competitors. Enough to make him anxious.
But then, after finally making it to D.C., he hit traffic.
He was about to explode with frustration.
He strongly suspected that by the time he reached his destination, the orders would've been divided among competitors, leaving him with nothing.
His shouts attracted attention.
Several drivers got out and surrounded the Chevrolet.
A fierce argument broke out, accompanied by a string of curses.
One driver rushed toward a police car by the roadside, yelling in a thick Southern accent that he wanted to report a Soviet spy.
The driver swore the person in the Ohio Chevrolet was a Soviet agent and might be connected to the leak of manned space flight technology.
The officers reluctantly walked over and dispersed the crowd, revealing the Chevrolet driver's face, covered in blood from the beating.
They'd witnessed the entire dispute. If no one had reported it, they wouldn't have bothered.
After all, such incidents happened several times daily during rush hour.
Hot-tempered drivers are exploding due to traffic, then getting beaten by fellow drivers.
The officer perfunctorily asked if he needed to go to the hospital.
The Chevrolet driver waved his hands repeatedly, anxiously asking if the officer could take him to Capitol Hill, he had very urgent business.
The officer pointed forward. "They're just like you. They all have urgent business on Capitol Hill."
The Chevrolet driver completely broke down, despairingly banging his head against the steering wheel.
The officers startled, quickly pulled him out, and put him in the police car, hoping he'd calm down.
With the Soviet Union successfully sending a person into space, America wouldn't be content to lag behind.
NASA would inevitably receive massive budget increases. How to spend that budget wisely and achieve the fastest results, that was the arena where various related industry enterprises competed to perform.
The sophisticated ones had already hired lobbying firms since morning.
The even more sophisticated had started their activities in the early hours.
Those who came by plane, train, or car mostly belonged to the lowest tier.
Bernie and Theodore's car was in the adjacent lane. They witnessed the entire incident.
Bernie shook his head. "I suspect everyone in the country came to D.C."
It took them an hour and a half to return to Georgetown.
Twice as long as usual, incomparable to their early morning drive.
They parked and went into a barbecue restaurant for dinner.
The place was noisy, already packed with customers.
Almost every table discussed the news of sending a person into space.
They analyzed from their respective professional perspectives, predicted government response, deduced industry impact.
Speaking eloquently, sounding more credible than White House staff.
Bernie specifically chose a corner seat. Soon after sitting, an acquaintance came over to greet them and mysteriously inquire about "inside information."
They were FBI agents. In outsiders' eyes, they were full of "inside information."
Reality was they hadn't done anything all day.
Moreover, even if they knew inside information, they couldn't casually blurt it out.
Theodore watched curiously as Bernie responded to each one.
He really didn't know when Bernie had met so many people.
They'd only eaten at this restaurant a few times!
Finally, Bernie couldn't stand it. He called the owner to pack their meal, and he and Theodore fled.
On their way back to the apartment, they met a neighbor from the same building.
The neighbor had just returned from a convenience store, carrying large bags in each hand. One filled with various canned goods, the other with daily necessities.
Bernie stepped forward to help.
While thanking him, the neighbor earnestly advised them to go shopping too.
He told them America had already lost the Cold War, and the Soviets would soon drop nuclear bombs on D.C.
The neighbor swore many people had already started hoarding supplies in large quantities, and that they'd surely thank themselves later.
Theodore and Bernie looked at each other.
Bernie escorted the neighbor to his apartment, then went to the convenience store with Theodore.
The convenience store was packed. Shelves were mostly empty. A long line snaked from the checkout counter.
Just as the neighbor said, everyone bought large piles of things, expressions serious, faces full of worry, whispering to each other while waiting.
Bernie stood outside the convenience store and asked Theodore, "Are the Soviets going to attack?"
Theodore gave him a strange look, lifted the meal in his hand, and reminded him that if they didn't go home soon, the grilled ribs would be completely cold.
Georgetown residents were mostly elites, federal employees, university professors, media professionals. They had access to the latest information and behaved relatively restrained.
In more remote towns and rural areas, some places had already experienced looting.
The next day.
The House Space Committee held a hearing to question the NASA Director.
This hearing was originally supposed to happen yesterday.
But yesterday, congressmen had more important matters. Accountability could only come today.
The NASA Director righteously stated that their aerospace agency possessed the most advanced technology. The reason the Soviets succeeded was spies.
Spies stole their advanced technology.
Not only did NASA face accountability, but the Department of Justice didn't escape either.
Congress believed Soviet success was due to spies in America.
Robert was being questioned in Congress.
He vowed that Soviet success was purely a technological breakthrough and had nothing to do with spies.
He stated that everything was under FBI control.
Even unwillingly, Robert had to endorse the FBI with a grimace.
President Jack's appointment of him as Attorney General hadn't been without opposition.
Doubts had never ceased.
In this situation, he, the FBI, and Hoover were all in the same boat.
Selling out Hoover would bring him no benefits.
While Robert debated with the crowd, he furiously cursed Hoover in his heart.
After the hearing, Robert took the budget application to the Budget Committee to request increases.
There, he met the NASA Director, who'd also come to apply for budget.
They nodded in greeting, smiled and shook hands, then went to exchange pleasantries with the Secretary of Defense, who'd just arrived.
This day, the Budget Committee was exceptionally busy.
Equally busy was Vice President Johnson.
Johnson didn't understand what was happening.
Originally, under international pressure and with his and others' persuasion, both sides had abandoned differences and begun cooperating.
Everything was going well. How did relations between the two sides suddenly deteriorate to this extent?
Johnson arranged a meeting with Hoover through Tolson.
The FBI's current performance made him particularly worried about another secret operation.
He had to confirm Hoover's attitude to adjust the secret operation's progress at any time.
If Hoover continued refusing to cooperate with the White House, the secret operation might need temporary suspension.
Johnson was reluctant for things to develop that way.
Because that would mean this secret operationâplanned and prepared since the Eisenhower presidency, three years in the makingâmight be indefinitely postponed or even shelved. Countless financial, material, and human resources were wasted.
It would also mean Hoover and the White House had officially fallen out.
That would be a political storm more terrifying than Soviet attack.
Johnson even felt fortunate the Soviet Union had launched manned space flight now, and succeeded.
This news attracted most people's attention, preventing them from noticing the potential storm.
With this complex feeling, Johnson had a secret meeting with Hoover for an hour.
After the meeting, Johnson breathed a sigh of relief.
At least Hoover wasn't crazy.
The secret operation could continue.
Cooperation could continue.
The storm was just his overthinking.
At the same time, Johnson secretly warned himselfâ
He didn't think if he were Jack, he could do better than Jack.
His relationship with Hoover was good now, but what about the day he entered the White House?
Could their relationship continue as good as ever?
Department of Justice Building. Basement office.
The storm from the upper floors didn't blow here.
Winds from the Soviet Union were also kept out. After Theodore and Bernie, Billy Hawke became another forgotten soul.
Supervisor Rosen had no intention of sending them to participate in the secret operation.
Theodore's team was completely isolated from the entire incident.
After Theodore offered to help evaluate personnel data and was rejected, he returned to the office to continue preparing his article.
Bernie was reviewing the Riverside Hotel case.
After watching people hoard supplies last night, his anxiety about war inexplicably disappeared.
Billy Hawke, meanwhile, spent the day looking at case files.
He hadn't gone to the library last night. With D.C. traffic at that hour, the library would've been closed by the time he arrived.
After returning to his apartment, he'd asked colleagues from his cohort.
No one had heard of modus operandi or identifying marks.
The most senior former agent he knew was also unfamiliar with "criminal profiling" and said it was the first time hearing it.
Billy Hawke finally confirmed Theodore wasn't joking.
He really had created his own investigation methods!
This morning, Theodore gave Billy Hawke the closing report for the Earl family murder case.
He'd asked if Billy Hawke had participated in case investigations during his internship.
Theodore hoped he hadn't participated at all, preferably a blank slate.
In the morning, closing reports for the phone scam case and the Riverside Hotel murder were also sent over.
Billy Hawke had two more reference cases.
After reading all three reports, Billy Hawke still couldn't fully understand.
His biggest impression was Theodore's time and energy efficiency when handling cases.
The investigations almost directly led to final answers.
As if Theodore knew who the killer was from the beginning, and all investigations were just to prove the killer was indeed the killer.
Completely different from case investigations he'd participated in during internship.
Theodore then showed him his own case notes.
Billy Hawke was different from Bernie.
Bernie had fully participated in these case investigations. Billy Hawke had only read closing reports.
Already quite good if he could understand how cases were solved.
Theodore planned to first let Billy Hawke get general understanding of criminal profiling through these cases and experience the difference from traditional investigation methods.
That way, when actually investigating cases, he wouldn't be completely out of sync.
Near closing time, Supervisor Rosen's assistant appeared at the basement office entrance.
He brought a thick case brief.
Due to the Soviet space event's impact, Supervisor Rosen had to reassign some senior agents.
This led to the suspension of many case investigations.
Supervisor Rosen hoped Theodore's team could take over these cases, focus on investigating them, and not think about getting involved in the Soviet space event.
Theodore's performance in the Riverside Hotel case made Supervisor Rosen believe his team was already capable of handling most cases.
[End of Chapter]