Chapter 75: We Only Have the Will, Not the Ability
The case was incredibly time-consuming.
Before they knew it, darkness had fallen outside.
"End of shift! Today's your first day here. Let's hit the bar. It's on me," Director Kate invited with a smile.
Elle and JJ both looked at Unit Chief Hotchner.
Unlike his usual stoic expression, Hotchner actually smiled this time and nodded in agreement.
"Yes!"
Morgan cheered with a fist pump.
The bar was his favorite hangout.
"I won't go."
Gideon, the veteran profiler and spiritual leader of the BAU, waved his hand and looked at Chuck. "Dr. Wolfe, I've heard from Reid that you enjoy chess. How about a game?"
"Sure."
Chuck agreed.
He didn't like the noise and chaos of bars.
"Reid, why don't you come with us?"
Morgan wrapped his arm around Reid's shoulder and teased in his ear, "It's time for you to break out of that shell."
"I want to stay and watch the game."
Reid felt a little embarrassed by the teasing, but he still voiced his preference.
"Come on!"
Morgan said in exasperation: "What's so interesting about chess? Aren't the women at the bar more appealing?"
"This is a match between Chuck and Gideon!"
Reid glanced at JJ and felt slightly tempted, but facing the first showdown between his two intellectual heroes, he couldn't give it up.
"Don't pressure him."
Elle pulled Morgan toward the exit: "In his mind, a battle of wits is far more interesting than anything physical."
"That's not fair!"
Seeing that he couldn't convince Reid, Morgan followed Elle's lead but turned back to complain: "Physical attraction isn't just about the body—there's an emotional connection too. It's the best of both worlds. Reid, trust me and come find us at the bar. I'll be your wingman!"
"You being Reid's wingman would just create chaos. Someone as genuine as Reid can't handle your approach."
Elle heard this and turned back with a smile: "Reid, come over whenever you want. I'll be your wingman then. I guarantee your first night out in New York will be memorable."
"How can a woman be a wingman for a guy?"
Morgan protested.
"Don't underestimate it. A woman wingman for a man is the real deal. Her success rate is much higher than a guy helping another guy. After all, women understand women. During my time in the Sex Crimes and Missing Persons units, I've seen plenty of girlfriends help their boyfriends with schemes, and men pretending to be something they're not to deceive others. It's impossible to guard against..."
Elle's voice faded as they walked away.
Reid smiled awkwardly at Chuck and Gideon, who were watching him. "I'll go get the chess set."
"Which one?"
Gideon suddenly asked.
"Agent Damon Garrett."
Chuck wasn't surprised by the question and stated his theory directly: "Is Garcia reliable?"
"Absolutely,"
Gideon nodded, thinking of the naturally gifted tech analyst whose quirky personality seemed somewhat out of place among the field agents.
"Is she skilled enough?"
Chuck glanced at him. "It's best to ensure the surveillance is covert. I suspect Red John isn't just one person, but an entire organization."
"She was originally a white-hat hacker,"
Gideon explained, then stared intently. "I've sensed that too. I just hope it's not as extensive as I fear."
"Dirty cops are nothing new,"
Chuck shrugged. "It's all documented in major cities like Detroit and Chicago."
"..."
Gideon was speechless. He took out his phone and dialed: "Garcia, I need you to monitor all communications from someone..."
"What are you talking about?"
Reid asked curiously, carrying a chess set.
"Dirty cops and urban corruption,"
Chuck said, taking the chess set from him.
"Ah."
Dr. Spencer Reid, the walking FBI criminal database, immediately went into lecture mode. "Right, most people think of gangs as street-level criminal organizations—those underworld groups committing crimes on the streets. But here in America, we have a unique culture of law enforcement corruption.
They're police officers, but for profit, personal thrills, ideology, or other reasons, they secretly band together to form various criminal 'cells' that control and cultivate street gangs while protecting themselves from prosecution. Members of these cells have special tattoos and even hand signals to facilitate their covert criminal activities.
California isn't just a hotbed of violent street crime and serial killers—it also has the highest concentration of corrupt law enforcement networks.
FBI operations there were significantly compromised. It became common for the FBI to arrest a dirty cop who turned out to be part of a corruption ring, only to have that ring retaliate by targeting FBI personnel.
To address this antagonism, California established its own state-level investigative bureau, the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to create separation between the FBI and local California police.
A Department of Justice investigation into these incidents revealed that one in six officers surveyed had received recruitment offers from such networks.
In cities like Detroit, every newly appointed detective was reportedly pressured by their partner to participate in criminal activity as proof of loyalty, or face serious consequences. This scenario, while dramatized in movies, was based on documented cases taken to their logical extreme.
If Red John was indeed behind this crime, then it's highly probable that he's part of a corrupt law enforcement network in California, and that this network's influence extends far beyond state lines—all the way to New York, three thousand miles away."
"Speaking of urban corruption,"
Gideon said casually while setting up the chess board with Chuck, "what impressed me most wasn't the darkness of those cities, but the idea of someone like Batman fighting against it. Dr. Wolfe, when we first met, you saved Agent Banner with a perfect headshot.
Now, meeting for the second time, you single-handedly captured an entire criminal cell and rescued your female classmate. Whether it's your marksmanship, combat skills, or your intelligence, you're very much like a real-life Dark Knight. If I recall correctly, Batman wasn't originally conceived as a superhero, but as a detective, right?"
"Exactly!"
Reid laughed, "Batman started as a detective comic, and Batman is fundamentally the World's Greatest Detective. That was my first thought when I met Chuck last time and learned he was working part-time as a private investigator."
At this point, he sighed with a mixture of admiration and self-doubt, "Chuck, how do you do it? I always thought we were similar intellectually, but you've become more and more like Batman, while I haven't even passed my firearms qualification. An FBI agent who travels constantly doesn't even have his service weapon certified..."
"There are many ways to defeat an enemy, but sometimes relying on your mind can be more effective than any weapon."
Gideon looked up and reassured his protégé.
As the veteran profiler and intellectual backbone of the BAU, Reid had been recruited by him straight from college, and Gideon had been personally mentoring Reid ever since.
(End of Chapter)
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