Chapter 187 The Investigation Team's Requirements

Mu Xin's motorcade had not yet left Cincinnati when his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID; the name displayed was Acton.

"Ms. Acton, how is your campaign preparation going?" Mu Xin answered the phone.

"Mr. Mu, are you still in Cincinnati?" Acton's voice sounded different than usual; it sounded like there were people around her.

"Yes, we just finished talking. What's wrong?" Mu Xin asked.

"Then don't rush back to Oxford Town just yet." Acton paused for a moment. "The people from the investigation team want to meet with you."

Mu Xin raised an eyebrow. The investigation team wanted to see him, and right after the agreement he had just reached with Patrick—the timing was a bit delicate.

"Which investigation team?" Mu Xin asked, knowing the answer.

"The one from the federal government," Acton said. "They are already in my office now."

The meaning of this sentence was very clear: this wasn't a discussion; it was a notification.

The fact that Acton could arrange for them to be in her office showed that the people who arrived had put a lot of pressure on her.

"Give me the address, I'm heading over now. It's not too late, is it?" Mu Xin sighed lightly.

"It's not too late. I had them not wear uniforms; just take the elevator directly when you arrive." Acton's voice was visibly relieved.

Mu Xin hung up the phone, and John had already turned his head from the passenger seat to look at him.

"Turn around," Mu Xin said. "Head to the State Department of Health."

"Not going back to Oxford Town?" John hadn't expected Mu Xin to go to the State Department of Health.

"Not anymore. The federal people are waiting for me in Acton's office; I have to go." Mu Xin shrugged.

Jessica frowned. "They didn't make an appointment in advance; this isn't standard procedure."

"I know." Mu Xin put his phone back in his pocket. "But they have the ability to not follow procedure, and there's nothing we can do about it."

...

There weren't many cars on the streets of Cincinnati at this hour. Six cadillac escalades crossed the highway in the city center named after a former president, made two turns among the State Government office building complex, and finally stopped in front of a gray, ten-story building.

John got out first, looked up and scanned the building's windows, then opened the car door for Mu Xin. "Do you want me to go up with you?"

"No need," Mu Xin said. "You wait downstairs with the others; Jessica, come up with me."

Victoria was about to speak, but Mu Xin shook his head at her. "Stay with John; they are government people, not terrorists."

Jessica followed behind Mu Xin, and the two of them entered the building.

"Something is wrong with how things are developing," Jessica said, watching the floor numbers on the elevator door. "Now the investigation team is coming to you."

"I was the one who approached Patrick; these people aren't coming for Patrick, they're coming for me."

"But the root of this matter still lies with Patrick, so it's not a big problem." Mu Xin patted Jessica on the back to reassure her.

"You have the complete data that Patrick handed over; that is the key." Jessica thought for a moment and said.

"If this material were publicly submitted to the court by any federal prosecutor, the law enforcement systems of at least three counties in southwestern Ohio would collectively collapse."

"I estimate they want to downplay the big issues and resolve the small ones; this isn't a bad thing for us."

"We also need an exit route, and this might just be the opportunity." Mu Xin said.

"If I were one of the people sitting in Acton's office, I'd have two choices: make you hand the data over to me, or have you hand it over to the special task force." Jessica analyzed.

"Let's play it by ear; trust me."

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor, and Mu Xin walked straight into Acton's office.

There were four people sitting in the office.

Acton was standing by the window, holding a cup of coffee she hadn't really drunk. When she saw Mu Xin enter, she nodded slightly but didn't speak.

Sitting near the door was a man in a dark blue suit, in his early forties, wearing rimless glasses, and holding a folder with no markings.

Sitting next to him was a woman who looked a bit older than him, with short hair, wearing a gray jacket, with an open laptop placed in front of her.

Sitting opposite them were two people. One was a white male around fifty, wearing an expensive dark coat, with his hair combed meticulously.

The other was slightly younger, with a Latino appearance, wearing a casual jacket, and clutching a pen in his hand.

The man in the dark blue suit spoke first.

"Mr. Mu." He placed the folder on his lap without opening it. "Let me introduce myself. Federal Bureau of Investigation Cincinnati Field Office, I am Senior Resident Agent Kevin Morrison."

"This is Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Erin Cross."

Mu Xin nodded, then calmly found a chair and sat down.

"We are aware of your cooperation with the local police department," Morrison said. "Your performance was outstanding; if it weren't for you, the water supply poisoning case would likely have caused major problems."

"Additionally, you consolidated the electricity markets in Oxford Town and around Cincinnati; you are remarkable."

"Thank you for the compliment," Mu Xin said with an innocent smile. "So, are you here to award me a medal?"

"I can hardly wait." After saying this, Mu Xin also deliberately rubbed his hands together.

The middle-aged man in the dark coat picked up the cup on the coffee table and took a sip of water.

From the moment he entered until now, he hadn't spoken, but his posture told Mu Xin that he was the highest-ranking person in Acton's office.

Morrison glanced at Acton, then turned back to Mu Xin. "Mr. Mu, we are not here for the Connolly Family case itself."

"Then what is it for?" Mu Xin asked.

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Ohio has been conducting a parallel investigation into the organizational structure and supply chain of the Connolly Family in Cincinnati for nearly three years, but we have an internal consensus within the Department of Justice that this case needs to be limited to the local level."

"There are some things that the federal level does not want to be publicly discussed. The Connolly Family's years of operations in Ohio involve certain federal-level immunities and exchanges of interests. If all of these were exposed at once..."

Morrison paused, as if choosing his words. "It would be very inconvenient. Do you understand what I mean?"

The middle-aged man in the dark coat finally spoke. "Let me explain what is inconvenient: we are prepared to characterize all the cases involving the Connolly Family in southwestern Ohio as internal corruption issues within the state-level law enforcement system, not involving federal jurisdiction."

Mu Xin looked at him without speaking.

"In other words," Morrison took out the folder and placed it on the table, "The Connolly Family case in Ohio cannot continue to be investigated further up."