"Detective, if you say yellow ribbons, we'll investigate yellow ribbons. If you say fortune cookies, we'll investigate fortune cookies."
"I believe our goals are aligned, and we are all trying to solve the case."
"But in the end, we achieved nothing. We are still spinning in the same place, just like a top. The more we whip it, the happier it spins."
"I want to help you, believe me, I really want to help you, because I know you also want to solve the case, and helping you is the same as helping me."
"But time is running out now. We really don't have time, no... time..."
"I……"
"I can not……"
As Adrian spoke, he fell into deep fatigue and spoke incoherently, and he didn't even know what he was saying.
The passionate and surging anger slowly dissipated , and the fatigue and confusion dissipated bit by bit between the brows. It was helplessness and fatigue. It seemed that just sitting quietly on the high stool would automatically fall apart in the next second, like a sand fortress in the cold wind.
The conversation paused briefly here, without any beginning or end.
Adrian picked up the beer and gulped it down his throat.
Normally, alcohol would always numb his nerves, but tonight, he felt nothing, and the beer was just like plain water.
Then, without waiting for Kirk to speak, Adrian continued talking on his own.
"I think we should start with the Senator."
“I don’t think senators are going to get their hands dirty, but members of their teams are not necessarily going to.”
"We should look through their criminal records and reconstruct their timeline over the past period, especially the day of the crime, to see if we can screen out more reliable suspects and conduct further investigations."
Adrian meant it.
Likewise, Kirk.
Kirk, "Because it buys you some breathing space with the media, right?"
Now the media and public opinion are in a panic, constantly chasing and blocking, condemning and cheering, urging and paying attention, just like vultures circling around a dying body, expecting the Special Investigation Department to throw out some big news so that they can have a carnival party again.
If Adrian focuses his investigation on the senator, the consequences are predictable.
First of all, there will be huge waves, and even the media in North America will pay attention to it, and countless election issues will surge here.
But at the same time, the media's focus will also shift.
On the one hand, they can understand that the Special Investigations Division is having difficulty making progress and that the senators will certainly try to obstruct it in every possible way; on the other hand, they will temporarily let the Special Investigations Division go and focus on the senators' team.
As you can imagine, there is nothing trivial in an election year, and this matter will only become more and more exciting.
In other words, Adrian's pressure can be relieved.
It's hard to say that this is a good move -
The consequences of angering a lion in order to escape from a group of foxes are unpredictable; but there is no doubt that Adrian, who has always been law-abiding, is not a soft persimmon.
Kirk was just speaking the truth, but it sounded so sharp and harsh to Adrian's ears.
Suddenly, Adrian looked up, instantly irritated, his eyes widening with anger, "I need some breathing time, I could use some breathing time, what, is there anything wrong with that?"
Kirk also didn't expect Adrian's anger. "I mean, this is a Pandora's box. We're not sure what's going to happen."
"Yes, I know. There is no need for you to remind me."
"Adrian, you know what it means to investigate the senator's team. Without sufficient evidence..."
"Shut up! You're not the only smart person in this room. There's no need to pretend you're worried about my condition. What? Have you forgotten? It was you who first proposed investigating the senator, but now that things have come to this, you're the one who chickened out?"
"Oh, so now we're entering the stage of who's the bigger jerk?"
"Why, you are allowed to be a jerk, but I am not allowed to be a jerk for once?"
One wave after another, one wave after another.
Adrian was a little out of control. After fifty hours of not sleeping, his mental state was extremely tense.
Kirk could sense the restlessness and anxiety without needing to communicate, even the bustling conversation and music in the bar became noisy.
Kirk consciously slowed down the pace a little, and stopped responding. He raised the corners of his mouth slightly and made a joke.
"So, you also know that you're acting like a jerk right now?"
Adrian curled his lips and said, "Haha, no, no, I dare not show off in front of a true master ."
Kirk chuckled as well, trying to get back on track, "I mean, we can do both..."
"No, not us."
"Adrien..."
"No, no, no, detective, listen carefully, this is my case, not yours, understand? I will decide the direction of the investigation and I will be responsible for the investigation."
In just two sentences, Adrian's irritability, which had just subsided, rose up again, and his internal organs were burning.
"remember?"
"You're just a private investigator, not a police officer."
"God damn it, I certainly know what it means to investigate the Senator's team!"
"But now this shit is my shit. No matter how dirty, disgusting, or mushy it is, it's still mine. I can do whatever I want with it."
"If you miss it, take a quest and find a brand new pile of shit yourself."
“Get lost!”
Adrian glanced at Kirk dejectedly, picked up the bottle in front of him, tilted his head back and poured the remaining beer into his stomach, gulping it down in one gulp.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Kirk seemed ready to continue speaking, but Adrian didn't want to give him the chance and yelled again.
"roll!"
"Detective, this is my case, understand?"
"mine."
boom!
Adrian put the bottle back on the table heavily and shouted to Mike not far away.
"Big Mac, all the money for tonight will be charged to that bastard Kirk Hull."
Then he took out a banknote from his pocket, picked it up lightly with his fingers, and threw it contemptuously on the table in front of Kirk, as if he was sending away a beggar.
"Here. It's a tip, but you owe me the beer."
After saying that, Adrian didn't stop, he pushed the crowd away and walked away staggeringly. His light steps seemed as if he could fly away with the wind at any time. His strong body with a broad back and strong arms was no different from a kite at this time, but his figure walked away without any hesitation.
Parted on bad terms.
Mike came over with a rag, put away the two empty bottles swiftly, and glanced at Kirk, "Are you sure that guy is okay?"
"No, I'm not sure." Kirk shook his head slightly, then picked up the banknote in front of him, "But I'm sure the bar should be blessed tonight."
The voice rose——
"Guys, next round, Detective Adrian's treat."
Roar.
Roar, roar, roar!
The whole place was in an uproar, with whistles and clapping of the table, and the booing was particularly loud.
Kirk raised the banknote between his fingers and handed it to Mike.
It was a green hundred-dollar bill.
It was obvious at a glance that Adrian was confused. He probably thought it was a small one-dollar or two-dollar bill and just threw it out casually.
result……
"Adrian! Adrian! Adrian!"
In the bar, people banged their bottles and glasses against the table and shouted in unison. The deafening sound created ripples.
Outside the door.
Adrian had already left the bar and walked onto the street. The roar behind him made him pause for a moment, with a puzzled look in his head:
what happened ?
I was dizzy and had no time to think. My light steps floated in the wind. I stood on the side of the road and staggered to stop a taxi.
Inside the door.
Kirk tilted his head back and took a big sip of beer. His temples began to throb. So, what should he do next?