Chapter 35 Beg for Life

Within two minutes of ingesting the poison, Paul lost control of his bladder and bowels, leaned back in the iron chair, and died.

 

Samuel stood in the middle of the interrogation room with his hands behind his back, his face extremely grim as he cursed at William, "The guy made it into the interrogation room, and you still let him die. The police department folks are coming to pick him up tomorrow. You explain it to them."

 

"I... I..." William was momentarily speechless from the scolding.

 

"A bunch of useless idiots." Samuel threw down the words and strode out of the interrogation room.

 

At the doorway, Eric stood dumbfounded, staring at Paul who had died horribly in the iron chair, his legs weak and his mind in a daze.

 

William turned back with the dentures in hand, looking towards the doorway, his gaze finally resting on Eric.

 

Half an hour later.

 

Paul's body was carried away covered in a white sheet, while William walked into another interrogation room, cleared out irrelevant people, and started talking alone with one of Steven's associates.

 

"You said Paul met with one of our officers before he planned to leave?" William took an e-cigarette out of the drawer and casually tossed it over.

 

"Yes." The accomplice nodded repeatedly.

 

"Steven dared to set off a grenade and go down with us, so how could he have such a cowardly brother like you?" William asked bluntly.

 

"Steven promised me big bucks, that's why I worked for him. But I haven't made any money yet, and he's dead. I... I don't want to die either," The accomplice replied very realistically.

 

"Just recently joined him?" William asked.

 

"Yes."

 

"Tell me, how did Paul meet that person before he left?" William asked softly.

 

"He just said he had a last wish before leaving, to meet a friend," The accomplice replied with his head down, "But Benjamin and Steven thought it was too dangerous outside. If he went out and ran into the police, he might get caught. You know, the supply chain for the drugs was controlled by Paul alone. In fact, we all depended on him for our livelihood, so we had to protect him. That's why we always followed him whenever he went out. But he usually made us park the car far away and walked a bit himself. One time, I went to a food store to buy water, and coincidentally, I saw him go into a certain courtyard."

 

William took out a photo and threw it to the accomplice, asking, "Was it this person Paul met?"

 

"Yes, I've seen him twice."

 

"Didn't you say you only saw him by chance that one time?" William frowned.

 

"It was on the day this person got married. There were many people at the restaurant, so we didn't know who Paul was looking for. But in the evening, Paul went into that courtyard. I saw this person and realized Paul was looking for the one who got married, so it was twice," The accomplice explained in detail.

 

William licked his lips. "Do you know their relationship?"

 

"No, Paul never mentioned it, and no one asked." The accomplice shook his head.

 

Twenty minutes later, William left the interrogation room and immediately ordered Kevin, "Have the police forensic team go to the morgue and extract Paul's DNA for comparison."

 

"Compare it with whom?" Kevin asked.

 

"Who do you think?" William retorted.

 

Kevin paused for a moment. " Do you suspect Paul is related to him?"

 

"The accomplice's testimony explains why he didn't dare to shoot that day," William replied lightly, "Eric usually acts very cautiously. If it weren't for some absolute reason, why would he get involved with someone like Paul?"

 

Kevin immediately understood. "Got it."

 

In the logistics warehouse.

 

Eric sat dazed on a chair, lost in thought.

 

"Eric, everyone walks their own path, and they have to bear the consequences themselves." Alexander stood by the table, looking down and advising, "I know you're feeling sad, but look at me. At least you have a reason to be sad when something happens. I don't even know how my family died. You've lost your brother, but you still have your mom, sister, and wife. What do I have? I have nothing."

 

Eric remained silent.

 

"Eric, let the sadness pass quickly. You still have other family members to take care of." Alexander turned around and advised, "There are many people here. Don't let anyone find the truth ."

 

Eric looked up blankly. "Yes, the dead are dead, but the living must go on."

 

As the two were talking, the door of the logistics warehouse was pushed open. Two of Kevin's subordinates entered, expressionless, and said to Eric, "William wants to see you, come with us."

 

"For what?" Alexander asked on Eric's behalf.

 

"Nothing major, just some details about a previous case." The person on the left smiled and urged, "Let's go."

 

Alexander looked puzzled, and Eric quickly adjusted his state to avoid suspicion, standing up and saying, "What case could involve me?"

 

"You'll know when you get there."

 

"Alright, let's go," Eric replied with a smile.

 

After a few exchanges, they left, and Alexander followed to the door, suddenly feeling a bad premonition for Eric.

 

Two hours passed.

 

Slowly, it got light, and then it got dark again.

 

Alexander waited for over ten hours and still didn't see Eric return to the team. At this point, he couldn't stay calm. Thoughts of Emily and what Paul had said to him came to mind.

 

A sense of unease quietly spread in Alexander's heart. The more he thought about it, the more he felt this drug trafficking case was not as simple as it seemed.

 

After careful consideration, Alexander got up, took his work badge, quietly left the office, and drove the car from Group Three to Pine City Prison.

 

On the other side.

 

William walked into his office, looked at Eric, who had been held there for over ten hours, and said, "Let's go, come with me."

 

Eric stood up uneasily, smiling and asking, "William, what's going on?"

 

"You'll know when you get there." William threw down the words and turned to leave.

 

Eric suppressed his inner sadness, hesitated slightly, and then immediately followed William.

 

Half an hour later, William drove Eric to the police hospital., Under the guidance of the staff, they entered the morgue.

 

Eric glanced around and asked nervously, "William, why did you bring me here?"

 

William lit a cigarette, walked to the inside of the morgue, and pulled open the drawer containing the body.

 

Eric looked up and saw Paul lying in the drawer with a purple-blue face.

 

"Do you recognize him?" William asked expressionlessly.

 

Eric clenched his fists and immediately replied with a smile, "William, what do you mean? I don't understand."

 

William scratched his nose, took out two folded A4 papers from his coat pocket, and walked up to Eric, saying, "The expedited DNA comparison shows that you share the same Y chromosome, meaning Paul is your biological brother."

 

Eric was dumbfouded, and his expression instantly became flustered.

 

"At the capture scene that day, you didn't shoot to protect him, right?" William asked calmly.

 

"This... this is... a misunderstanding, you got it wrong..." Eric explained.

 

"Eric, you and I both know that even if we did the DNA test a thousand times, the result would be the same." William turned and sat on the autopsy table. "The facts are right in front of you. Is there any point in denying it?"

 

Eric held the test results, his eyes full of panic, not knowing how to respond to William.

 

"Eric, if this identification result is placed on the desk of the higher-ups, combined with your failure to follow orders and shoot during the capture, do you know what kind of consequences you'll face?" William looked at Eric expressionlessly. "You'll be labeled an accomplice, charged with dereliction of duty, and harboring a criminal. Your punishment won't just be dismissal. You'll face at least ten years in prison."

 

Eric slowly raised his head, stared blankly for a long time, and suddenly knelt in front of William, grabbing his pants and shouting, "William... Paul is indeed my brother, but we lost contact a long time ago. That day, I ran into him by chance during the capture. I didn't know it was him beforehand."

 

William looked at Eric, saying nothing.

 

"Captain, I really can't be dismissed, and I can't go to prison. I have a family to support. I can't afford to get into trouble." Eric was full of tears. "Please, help me out."

 

William took a puff of his cigarette, patted Eric's shoulder, and said, "People have emotions. We've been together for so long, don't I know what kind of person you are? Eric, I really believe you have nothing to do with this case, but the higher-ups don't know you. Can they believe you? Four officers died in the last capture, and both the leaders and the management need a good and reasonable explanation. If your DNA identification comes out now, what will be the result? An internal mole caused the capture to fail, and all the blame will be placed on you. Can you handle that?"

 

Eric was stunned.

 

"I want to help you, but my influence is limited." William took the DNA report, thought for a long time, and said, "But... maybe there's another way."

 

"What... what way?" Eric asked.

 

"Pail was a middleman delivering goods for the Anderson family. Now that he's gone, if you can find his supplier and uncover this line. I can vouch for you in front of Samuel and the police higher-ups. With that credit, you won't be in trouble." William looked at Eric and said, "At that time, a word from highers-up can suppress your DNA report."

 

Eric thought carefully for a while and suddenly remembered what Paul had told him before he left.'If one day you could not survive, there wasa contact in the package.You could find him.'

 

Eric thought of this and immediately responded, "He did give me a contact. Let me go home, I'll find it and see if it's the supplier's contact."

 

"You better not lie to me," William said.

 

Eric looked up at William and replied hoarsely, "My family is all here. Would I dare lie to you, William?"

 

"Alright, go find the thing," William said. 

Eric added, "Don't let anyone follow me. I don't want my mom to worry. She's not in good health."

 

William replied, "Don't worry. My people won't enter your house." 

William smiled. "They'll wait outside, and once you have the contact, they'll bring you back."

 

On the other side, Alexander was interrogating Robert at Pine City Prison.

 

Robert, wearing a prison uniform, sat lazily in the iron chair and cursed, "Are you still not dead?"

 

Alexander tilted his head and looked at him. "So you're all just itching to see me dead?"

 

"You made the poor unable to afford medicine and cut off the livelihood of those trying to support their families. How dare you ask if we want you to die?" Robert replied with a sneer.

 

Alexander was silent for a while and then leaned forward, asking, "Besides you guys, there's another group selling drugs in the Black Street District, and their prices are twice as high as yours. Do you know about this?"

 

Robert was stunned. "Are you kidding me? Shouldn't you know this better than I do? Didn't you arrest us to clear the way for those above you?"

 

Alexander's expression suddenly became complicated. "What if I told you I didn't know before, would you believe me?"

 

Robert was dumbfounded.