102: Chapter 102 Joining the FBI?

Sean fell silent for a moment.

He looked at Elizabeth. There was no malice on that expressive face, only one thing... sincerity.

She was truly, extremely sincere.

"You're afraid of what's behind that demon coming for you, you're afraid you can't stop it, you're afraid that those around you will be implicated."

Elizabeth continued to entice him.

"Even if you don't think of yourself, you should think about your Little Witch, shouldn't you?"

Elizabeth was right about that, though the reason wasn't what she thought.

The current predicament of the witches lay in the fact that there was no successor for the Supreme Witch.

The threat to the witches wasn't external; it was internal.

Just as he was thinking about this, Elizabeth continued: "Once you have the power of a Vampire, you won't be afraid anymore. No one will be able to hurt you, and no one will be able to hurt them."

Sean was cheating, so he definitely couldn't agree to Elizabeth.

After thinking for a moment, he still had to "drag it out."

So Sean said: "Elizabeth, you said you've lived for hundreds of years and have seen countless people."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Of those you've turned, how many were willing?"

Elizabeth's eyebrows twitched.

She hadn't expected Sean to ask this.

"Donovan was willing. He loved me." Elizabeth's tone was flat. "But he loved the version of me he imagined, not the real me."

Sean struck while the iron was hot: "And what about you? When you turned him, was it because you loved him, or because you needed him?"

This question stumped Elizabeth.

She remained silent for a moment before slowly saying: "I don't remember. It was too long ago."

Elizabeth had loved many people, turned many people, and abandoned many people.

However, Sean understood her quite well. She wasn't doing it on purpose; she had just lived too long and seen too much, and her heart had hardened.

Sean said: "Elizabeth, if you turn me, I become yours. Your kind. But clearly, none of them had a good ending."

"Do you want me to follow in their footsteps?"

Elizabeth pondered for a while, perhaps also sensing Sean's future. She picked up her wine glass, took a sharp gulp, and then said: "Fine, I won't turn you, but you owe me a favor."

Sean looked at her: "Owe you again?"

"Again." Elizabeth smiled. "You owe me plenty; one more doesn't matter."

Sean gave a wry smile.

He picked up his glass and clinked it against hers: "To owing debts."

Elizabeth smiled more genuinely this time.

She took a sip of wine, leaned back on the sofa, and looked at the lemon tree outside the window.

"The thing that demon summoned, you need to be careful. It is older and stronger than you think."

Sean nodded: "I know."

"You don't know." Elizabeth looked at him. "But you will."

She stood up, walked to the door, and pulled it open.

The light from the hallway poured in, dim and yellow.

"Go now. Your partner is still waiting outside."

Sean stood up and walked to the door.

He stopped and looked back at her: "Elizabeth, thank you."

Elizabeth leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching him: "Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for telling me these things, and thank you for not forcing me."

Elizabeth smiled: "I don't force people. I wait. I can afford to wait."

Sean didn't speak.

He turned and walked into the hallway.

He walked past the tightly shut doors and the front desk.

Alice stood behind the counter, watching him. That expression was still in her deep brown eyes—a clear warning. She seemed to dislike Sean's arrival very much.

Sean didn't look at her, pushed the door open, and walked out of the motel.

Sunlight poured over him, blindingly bright.

Ballard was standing by the car, leaning against the door, her hands in her pockets.

Seeing Sean come out, she straightened up and looked at him: "Are you okay?"

Sean shook his head: "I'm fine."

Ballard nodded and didn't press for details.

She opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat.

Sean sat in the passenger seat, and the car drove out of the quiet street and merged into traffic.

Sean's mind was still spinning with what Elizabeth had said—that the demon was summoning something older and stronger than itself.

The corpses sealed in the walls were part of the ritual.

He had swallowed that demon, so that thing would come looking for him. He needed to be prepared...

...

"Ding ding ding..."

Just as Sean was thinking about these things, his phone suddenly rang.

Sean opened his eyes and took his phone out of his pocket.

There was a strange number on the screen. No caller ID, just a string of numbers.

The area code for Washington, D.C.

He glanced at Ballard. Ballard was driving, her gaze sweeping over with a hint of confusion.

Sean answered.

"Officer Black." The voice on the other end was neither high nor low, carrying a professional steadiness. "I am John Murray from the Department of Justice. We met before at the awards ceremony."

"Mr. Murray." Sean's voice was also very calm. "What is the matter?"

"Are you in Los Angeles?"

This made Sean silent for a second.

He was in Los Angeles, and the other party knew.

Could they have been watching him all along?

"Yes."

"Is it convenient to talk?"

"It is."

Murray paused for a moment.

Then he continued: "Officer Black, I have a task on my end that the higher-ups take very seriously. Your name was recommended, and we believe you are very suitable."

Sean didn't agree directly.

He was wondering who the "higher-ups" were, and why his name would be recommended.

Was it about the Joseph White case, or something else?

"What task?"

"It's not convenient to discuss over the phone. When are you returning to New Orleans?"

Sean thought for a moment: "In the next two days."

"Good. Contact me when you arrive. Also, one more thing..." Murray paused. "We would like you to consider joining the FBI."

Sean was stunned: "The FBI?"

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation. Your abilities, your record, and your performance in the Joseph White case are highly recognized by the higher-ups. The FBI needs someone like you."

Record?

What kind of record did he have!

Sean gripped his phone, his mind racing.

Someone from the Department of Justice, asking him to join the FBI.

What was the relationship between the Department of Justice and the FBI?

He knew the FBI was the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the most important federal law enforcement agency in the United States, responsible for investigating crimes that violate federal law, including espionage, organized crime, violent crime, and so on.

He also knew the FBI was under the Department of Justice; the Department of Justice was the FBI's superior department.

But for someone from the Department of Justice to call directly to recruit someone, this was unconventional.

The FBI had its own recruitment process... requiring exams, background checks, physical fitness tests, and training at the National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

It wasn't something you could just get into because someone from the Department of Justice said, "Join us."

So Sean asked: "Mr. Murray, the FBI's recruitment doesn't seem to be directly managed by the Department of Justice, does it?"

"Under normal circumstances, no..." On the other end of the line, Murray's voice lowered. "But your situation is not normal. Someone from the top personally intervened. You don't need to go through the standard process."