"Mayor White has been assassinated; the murderer shot him in the head and threw him from the roof,"
In the banquet hall, everyone had been herded by agents to the edge of the room, lined up against the wall. Only Benjamin stood in the center of the hall, broadcasting Mayor White's cause of death in a sowhat indifferent tone.
He presented many obvious circumstances that everyone was well aware of. As a result, there was clear impatience on everyone's faces. However, worse news was waiting for them.
"I've just received orders from my superiors. To prevent another large-scale espionage assassination incident similar to the previous one, I must ensure the safety of all important figures on the East Coast."
"Starting now, none of you are allowed to leave the Mayor's residence. Agents will arrange for you to rest in different guestrooms shortly..."
The crowd burst into murmurs, but before they could voice out their protest against Benjamin's audacity, his next words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads.
"I think you should have all heard about the widely publicised Philby corpse case through the broadcast. You may think the comntators speculating a larger conspiracy behind it are talking nonsense, but I can tell you that it is not the case."
"Kim Philby, a Soviet spy infiltrated in British MI6 and held a high position. Before his death, he left behind a crucial list of Soviet spies lurking in the European and Arican intelligence networks, which we call the 'Philby List'."
"According to reliable informants, this list was handed over by Philby to a mysterious agent with whom he was in direct contact. During the many years of investigation, soone found that all clues pointed toward the East Coast of Arica."
The noisy discussions in the hall gradually quietened down, everyone knew, in this era, anyone could be targeted on this matter, regardless of their wealth, status, or reputation.
Benjamin's gaze swept across the hall, his eyeballs exerted a great pressure, no one dared to et his gaze. He continued to speak,
"The frequent spy murders in major cities across the East Coast in recent years are not a coincidence. Federal authorities found that there is indeed a mysterious spy intelligence network here. And the person who organized and built this network is likely the mysterious agent who got the Philby List."
"Therefore, I must regretfully inform you all ..." Benjamin's voice beca increasingly cold, his tone steadily dropping, as if he was reading out a death notice, he said: "According to our many years of investigation, that mysterious agent is likely to be in a high position, in other words, that person could be among you."
"I am sorry everyone, but I must say, all of you are suspects, so, you must stay, and cooperate with the investigation."
"So, what, you intend to lock us up, and then interrogate us?" Bruce asked coldly, arms crossed: "Do you know, I have two parties to attend tomorrow night, and a match to catch the day after tomorrow ..."
"I apologize, Mr. Wayne, but this is an order from my superiors, I cannot disobey." Benjamin was still polite to Bruce, or rather, he was sowhat wary of major conglorates like Luther Group and Wayne Enterprises.
Although he knew in his heart that Bruce Wayne was unlikely to be a spy. Compared to the news of the heir of the Wayne family being a spy, the news of the president being a spy seed more credible.
Bruce seed very agitated, which led the others to get a bit restive as well. They knew neither the Central Intelligence Agency nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation had any real way to deal with Wayne Enterprises. If Bruce were to stand up for them, they might not have to be confined here anymore.
At this mont, Lionel stepped up. He had the sa smile on his face as he said, "Let's all cool down, Mayor White has just been murdered, and we don't know if a spy did it ..."
"We are all gathered here, while under the protection of the agents, it's unlikely a spy would dare to commit a second cri in a short period. However, if everyone disperses and returns ho via their modes of transportation, we don't know if the murderer would attack those who are separated."
"All of you have put in a lot of effort to attain your current status and reputation. If such achievent were to vanish into thin air due to so imprudent actions, it would not only be a tragedy for you but also a loss for the East Coast Cities and the entire Federation ..."
Lionel made his way to the center of the hall, then turned to Benjamin, he said, "I suppose, this person in charge of the agents will guarantee us, he would absolutely not infringe upon our privacy rights, and would do his best to ensure our safety, right?"
Benjamin crossed his arms and said, "As I said before, this is not a compulsory investigation, just a asure of confinent during a particular ti. The Mayor's residence is full of anities, after tonight is over, once all external investigations have been confird, you can leave freely."
Many softened their protesting stance when they heard the confinent would only last one night. Then, Lionel asked Benjamin another question: "We won't be locked in our rooms, will we? We should be free to go anywhere within the Mayor's residence as long as we don't leave it, right?"
Benjamin didn't verbally reply and simply nodded then said begrudgingly, "You all better not wander around too much. If there indeed is a spy among you, we won't be able to protect you if they decide to strike when you're on your own."
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