Chapter 47 Familiar Faces

The Director hit up George that the man who started the training class was a local guy. They already had the basics down—name, age, birthday, where he lives. At first glance, nothing seemed too fishy, but looks could be deceiving.

There were still a ton of questions hanging in the air. Like, what was his job? Did he have the cash to run such a big training gig? What was his family like? Who was he hanging out with? All that stuff needed digging into, and that took time. Even the best detectives couldn't crack a case in a day.

Plus, this kind of snooping around needsed to be on the down-low. They'd need undercover folks to blend in and gather intel without raising any red flags. George had been down this road before, so he knew the drill. Patience was key.

And it wasn't just his problem. Pretty soon, the whole Seventh Bureau would be knee-deep in this mess. Even if he was itching to get answers, he had no choice but to chill and wait it out.

Then there was this chick, Linda, whose real name turned out to be Linda Abigail. She wasn't from around here, and no one knew when she rolled into town. They had her address pinned down, and the criminal investigation team was on it, planning to verify her info and keep tabs on her.
"That's it for now, take care of yourself," the director said.

"Got it," George replied.

"Alright then," the director responded before hanging up.

George slowly put down his phone, his eyebrows knitting together. According to the timeline, the home surveillance must've been set up before his last trip back. He'd only been gone a short while before Ellie hit up that training class, which meant someone had been tailing him for a while.

And it wasn't just him they were after. They'd cooked up this whole elaborate scheme, with surveillance and getting close to Ellie. It didn't feel like some petty revenge; it felt more like a long game to dig up some dirt on him.

Did this mean the other side not only knew about the Seventh Bureau but also had some inside scoop on it and his role there? The word "acquaintance" suddenly popped into his head.

Even Patrick, who was on their team now, didn't know where George lived or his undercover gig. But this person knew all that. Just how "acquainted" were they?
To be so tight with him, to know him inside out, and to pull off such a big scheme to worm into his life and the people around him, this person had to be super confident. George's professional instincts kicked in, and he quickly sketched a mental picture of the culprit.

A group, with someone who knew the Seventh Bureau and him like the back of their hand, and this person was cocky as hell.
George squeezed his phone and took a deep breath, staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

After a moment, he finally left the bathroom.
When he got back to the room, Ellie had already cleaned up, put on her pants, and was sitting on the edge of the bed. The vibe was clear—no more fun times.

Saying he wasn't bummed would be a lie, but he also felt a bit relieved. Having surveillance at home was a buzzkill, and her little escapade wouldn't have ended well anyway.

Seeing George standing at the door, Ellie felt awkward about her earlier seductive moves and now tried to play it cool. She nervously tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Uh... so, your unit called you for something?" she asked.
The blush at the corner of her eye hadn't completely faded, and her guilty look was downright adorable, at least to George.
He couldn't help but chuckle. Ellie, who had been a bit bold earlier, now seemed awkward after putting her pants back on and trying to act all nonchalant.

When she saw his smile, she hesitated for a moment, and her face got even warmer.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," George said, shaking his head lightly as he walked towards her.
He said it was nothing, but his expression clearly showed he got what she was thinking. It felt like a game, making Ellie even more embarrassed.

She nervously clenched her fingertips and quickly changed the subject. "What did your colleagues want to talk to you about?"

"Just some stuff that needed handling before I came back, nothing major."

Hearing this, Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought they were sending you on another business trip..."

George smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. "Don't worry, I can take some time off this time. The Director's cool with it."

Yeah, he was gonna stick around for a bit until this whole mess was sorted out. He wasn't going anywhere...