Chapter 97 They tried everything to find Charlies
Having received Ryan's order, the maritime police who were about to leave had to turn back. Martin stared at the OMM cargo ship with sharp eyes and a dark, inscrutable expression, pondering something.
Carter proposed, "Since we've confirmed Charles is on board, I think we should send more people to search. Whether they are hiding, received prior information and ran away, or there is a mole within the maritime police leaking secrets. Instead of waiting for something bad to happen, it's better to go straight in."
Ryan agreed, "I think Carter is right. Since he is hiding with Charles, it means the news has leaked. In that case, let's send more people."
Martin remained silent for a moment, then nodded, "Send people on speedboats to search the surroundings, and send more personnel to search the cargo ship. Don't let any cargo container go unchecked. Even if Roger took the lifeboat on a passenger ship, he won't get far."
Upon receiving the order, Ryan's excited eyes sparkled. "I'm going to do it now! I want to go up there and search with everyone. It's so thrilling and fun. After being bored for so long, I finally found something interesting."
As he spoke, he took out his phone to make arrangements.
After a while, everyone who was ambushing in the vicinity arrived.
In addition to searching the sea on the speedboats and guarding Martin, Carter cast a meaningful glance at him and smiled, "Martin, once you catch him, don't let him go again. Patricia is a good woman, cherish her well."
Martin looked at him in surprise.
Carter smirked, "You went to great lengths to save Patricia and the child she had with another man. Isn't that enough to explain everything?"
Martin's face couldn't hide the repulsion after hearing his words.
"Haha..." Carter couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Even your current expression says it all! Martin, just accept your fate!"
Martin's hand on his thigh slowly clenched, and the knuckles turned white from exertion.
Carter patted him gently, "Since certain things have happened and can't be changed, cherish the present and don't regret it later."
Martin still didn't speak, his gaze remained fixed on the ferry terminal the entire time.
On the other side, after Ryan led the team onto the OMM cargo ship, he waved his hand and commanded, "Search from the inside out. When thieves are guilty of something, don't let any crevice escape your attention."
The captain was shocked by the scale of this operation, especially seeing the maritime police inside.
He hurriedly asked, "What's happening? We're a legitimate cargo ship with proper certificates. You have no right to do this."
The maritime police captain, tall in stature and holding a baton, stood there with an imposing aura that expressed authority rather than anger.
"We received a tip-off that your ship is carrying prohibited items. We're here to conduct a search!"
The captain's heart skipped a beat as he realized, "Have you finished the search?"
You see, since they dared to smuggle people secretly, they must have connections at all the checkpoints. Normally, they shouldn't have been searched. Why are they searching one after another now?
The captain of the maritime surveillance team angrily said, "The search earlier was not thorough enough. We will search again."
Thinking about Roger disguised as a crew member, the captain had beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
He walked up to the captain of the maritime surveillance team and discreetly handed him a check, whispering, "Vern, you know what kind of cargo we are transporting, right? There's really no need to go to such great lengths! I assure you, our cargo doesn't have any problems."
If he hadn't bribed Vern, he might have thought that Ryan received inaccurate information.
But after bribing him, he immediately realized that something was wrong.
Vern's expression changed instantly, and he threw the bribe back at him, saying, "What do you take me for? Do you know that this is bribery? It's illegal!"
The captain broke out in a cold sweat, trembling with fear, almost kneeling to the ground.
"No, no! Vern, you misunderstood! This is just a small token of appreciation for everyone's hard work. It's really not bribery, please don't misunderstand."
Vern glared at him, waving his hand dismissively, "Search!"
With that command, everyone rushed out and started searching every inch of the ship.
The captain was terrified, his legs trembling. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and glanced at Roger, who was disguised as a crew member walking behind him. He silently prayed, hoping that they wouldn't search the crew members, or else they would be doomed.
It was too late to send Roger away now. He could only face it head-on with a brave front.
Ryan didn't idle either.
While everyone was searching, he looked at the captain with playful eyes, scanning him from head to toe. Seeing the captain's trembling legs, a mischievous smile curved Ryan's lips.
"Captain, if you haven't done anything wrong, why are your legs trembling?"
The captain's mind went blank for a moment, and he hastily came up with an excuse, "It's cold, just cold! The sea breeze feels a bit chilly."
"Sea breeze?" Ryan's smile deepened as she glanced around. Yes, there was indeed wind, but where was it cold? It was clearly a warm breeze!
The captain forced a smile and kept quiet. The more he said, the more likely he would be caught in his lies.
With just one glance, Ryan saw through his thoughts, but he didn't press further. He found a chair and sat down, waiting for the search results.
The cargo ship was so large that a thorough search took an entire hour before everyone began reporting their findings.
"No findings in the bottom of the ship."
"No findings in the cabins."
"No findings in the cockpit."
"No findings in the cargo hold."
"No findings in the cargo containers."
As the reports came in, Ryan's expression grew darker and her carefree demeanor vanished.
The captain secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His nerves slowly relaxed. Vern's expression also turned gloomy.
After such a grand search, it turned up nothing.
If this were to spread, it would damage the reputation of the maritime surveillance bureau.
The captain was happy that nothing was found, and with a smiling face, he offered cigarettes to everyone, saying, "I'm truly sorry for making you all come here in vain. How about I treat you all to a meal?"
"Let's relax later in the evening," Vern said.
Feeling mocked, his expression turned uglier as he looked at Ryan and asked, "Mr. Parker, what should we do now?"
"Disband!" Ryan impatiently stood up and left first.
Vern gave the captain a cold stare and followed Ryan out.
As they were descending the ladder, Ryan got a call from the speedboat.
"Mr. Parker, we... we've searched within a two-kilometer radius, but we haven't found any lifeboats..."
"How is that possible?"
Confused, Ryan ended the call and dialed Martin's number.
"Martin, are the information you received inaccurate? We didn't find anyone on the cargo ship, and the speedboat just sent a message saying they haven't seen any lifeboats within a two-kilometer radius. Venturing further into the sea is dangerous with the rough waves, so it's unlikely that anyone would take a lifeboat that far!"
Martin furrowed his brows.
Seeing him remain silent, Ryan continued, "But, I can't shake the feeling that the captain is up to something! He discreetly gave Vern a tip earlier. If he didn't do something shady, why would he give a tip? It's obvious that something's fishy."
Knowing that the captain was being suspicious but not having any evidence felt extremely frustrating.
"Then dis...," before finishing his sentence, something suddenly occurred to Martin.
His gaze sharpened, and he said coldly, "Have you verified the crew members? Double-check them."
If they couldn't find anyone in both places, then there was only one method left to hide a person.
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