Chapter 324: Early Warning

Chapter 324: Chapter 324: Early Warning

But that was to be expected. The goods they were trading were too sensitive. If anyone found out and reported them, it would be their heads.

They had to be careful.

"Then what do we do? We can’t just send Iris Logan out there again, can we?" Sean Hughes frowned, voicing the key issue.

Zoe Sawyer wanted to hear more, but the door flung her back.

"How did it go? Did you get anything?" Evan Keller, who had been watching intently, hurried over and looked at Zoe Sawyer with anticipation.

"I did!" Zoe Sawyer nodded and told everyone the address she had seen, along with the final question Sean Hughes had asked.

The group’s initial excitement at hearing the address instantly faded. That’s right, there was still that problem to solve.

’Are they really going to make Iris Logan handle the exchange?’

’No, no, the risk is too great.’

Heath Hale didn’t speak, instead looking over at Zoe Sawyer.

’Her tone was relaxed when she relayed the question just now. She must have already thought of a solution.’

Sure enough, a moment later, Zoe Sawyer spoke again. "I’ll do it. Since I can pinpoint the location, I can just shift the time forward a bit. I should be able to find other clues. Or, we can find out the times of their previous transactions and I can go back to identify the suspect. There’s always a way."

The others, who had been anxious, now calmed down. Sean Hughes thought for a moment, then said, "Go ask Iris Logan again if her contact had any other distinguishing features during their meetings. Like a specific clothing color, or an accessory."

"Good idea. No time to waste. I’ll head over to Iris Logan now. Zoe, identifying the suspect is up to you." With that, Evan Keller strode quickly toward the room where Iris Logan was being held.

Time was of the essence. The sooner they figured things out, the better. It would give them more time to set up their operation, or even raid the criminals’ main hideout.

Sean Hughes and the others didn’t just wait around. They began tracking Iris Logan and her boyfriend’s movements through surveillance footage, hoping to find something out of place.

Beau, meanwhile, brought over her sketchbook and pencil and sat down behind Zoe Sawyer, ready to sketch the suspect the moment Zoe needed her to.

Heath Hale brought an energy drink over to Zoe Sawyer. "Drink this to keep your strength up. We still have time, so don’t rush. You don’t want to hurt yourself."

Zoe Sawyer took the drink from Heath Hale, downed it in one go, and rested in her chair for a few minutes before resuming her earlier task.

After some thought, Zoe decided it would be better to follow the timeline forward, since she already knew the time and place.

With her first success as a guide, this attempt went much more smoothly. Within a few minutes, Zoe Sawyer had opened the door again.

This time, the scene inside the door was a shopping mall.

Zoe’s eyes scanned the surroundings, and she quickly locked onto the figures of Evan Keller and the others in the crowd.

Evan Keller and the others, dressed in plainclothes, were wandering through the mall’s main hall. Though they appeared relaxed, every one of them was ready to rush over and restrain the target at the first sign of trouble.

Iris Logan, meanwhile, stood in a corner of the mall, wearing a face mask and carrying a backpack.

Moreover, Zoe noticed that although Evan Keller and his team moved between floors from time to time, the number of people guarding each level never changed.

Every corner and angle was covered, ready to move in for support the moment the dealer made a move.

Another ten minutes passed. Then, a man in a red duckbill cap, carrying a bag of bubble tea, walked toward Iris Logan with his head down.

"Someone’s approaching. Everyone, on alert." Evan Keller was the first to notice the activity around Iris Logan. He pressed his earpiece, relaying the update to everyone.

At the same time, his eyes scanned the area and spotted another man in a red duckbill cap standing near the back entrance on the first floor, also watching Iris Logan’s position.

Evan Keller signaled a team member to move in closer, cautioning them to be careful and not get spotted.

Zoe Sawyer maneuvered the door closer to Iris Logan, trying to overhear their conversation.

The man in the duckbill cap handed the bag of bubble tea to Iris Logan.

Following Evan Keller’s instructions, the moment the man took her backpack, Iris Logan grabbed his hand, her voice laced with panic. "What should I do? One of the clients I found got busted by the cops. Is she going to rat us out? Is there anything you guys can do on your end?"

The man’s expression changed at her words. Then, as if thinking of something, he reassured her, "As long as you didn’t expose your personal information to the client, you’ve still got a chance. Don’t panic. I’ll go talk to the boss right now; he’ll definitely have a way to handle it. We’ll pause things after this deal. I’ll contact you again once it’s completely safe on your end."

At this, the man in the duckbill cap frowned and looked around before asking, "Where’s your boyfriend? How come you’re here alone today?"

Iris Logan’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly composed herself and tugged nervously at her clothes. "His cravings hit him suddenly. He’s at the training center now. Do you have anything with a stronger effect? What we have now... it’s not quite enough anymore. Besides, sales at the training center have been unexpectedly good the last few days. If it’s possible, I’d like to increase my order size."

Iris Logan wasn’t explicit, but the man in the duckbill cap understood perfectly.

’Their habits were getting worse, and they needed something with a bigger kick.’

’And on top of that, a larger order size... This was all money!’

’If I can just pull off this deal, I can take the money and go live it up somewhere else!’

"I do, but I can’t get it for you right this second," the man replied without hesitation. He had been about to suggest setting up another time for delivery, but then he remembered what Iris Logan had just told him.

’One of her clients was on the cops’ radar, which meant things were a little dangerous on her end.’

But the man was reluctant to give up on the money that was almost in his grasp.

Soon, he thought of another solution.

"Once the heat from this blows over, contact this number. I’ll have someone deliver it," the man said, gritting his teeth as he recited a phone number to Iris Logan.

With that said, the man took the backpack and hurried toward the mall’s back entrance.

Seeing this, Evan Keller waved for several colleagues to follow.

They had placed a small tracker in a hidden compartment of the backpack, but its range was limited, so they had to follow closely to maintain the signal.

This was a golden opportunity to find their main base of operations, and Evan Keller refused to let it slip by.

As for Iris Logan, the moment the man in the duckbill cap left the mall, she was immediately escorted away by the surrounding officers and taken back to the police station.

Just as Zoe Sawyer thought it was all over, a figure on the mall’s first floor suddenly moved, walking over to the spot where Iris Logan had just made the exchange before stopping.

"Tsk. How troublesome."