"It's me, who is this?"

"Los Angeles Police, Luke Lee."

...

Half an hour later, inside a black SUV.

Luke was sitting in the passenger seat and glanced at the white man next to him, about forty years old, a bit thin, wearing a suit, tie, and neatly dressed.

"Mr. Sig, I've heard a lot about you."

The white man smiled and took a look at Luke, "Buddy, I've been in touch with Frank and Reid, and they've always treated me as one of their own, you can too.

Let's just get down to business."

"Good, I'm not fond of awkward chit-chat either."

Luke recounted his recent experiences.

After listening, Trist Sig inquired, "Do you think that silver-selling woman named Laura and the drunkard were deliberately targeting the award recipients?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any evidence?"

"That woman named Laura was on the same flight as me, in the same row, just separated by an aisle. Additionally, she checked into the same hotel as me and we coincidentally met at the same bar. This can't be explained by coincidence.

Moreover, that drunkard Hansar Pasha, when Laura and Fatou Brandi were arrested, he was caught on camera by the TV station. Although the footage was brief, I'm sure it was him." Luke sighed seriously and said,

"Chris Franco, Fatou Brandi, and I have just received the highest honors, and now all three of us are being targeted.

Though it may sound like I'm tooting my own horn, we have indeed been awarded the title of 'heroes' by the state.

This malicious targeting of heroes,

Apart from spies, I can't think of who else would do such a thing."

Trist Sig said, "I'll check out his background."

"Is there anything I need to do?"

"Say hello to Frank for me."

"I will." Luke thought, provided I can see him.

Of course, he couldn't say this out loud, or his cover would be blown.

Actually, Luke knew that this matter was most likely unrelated to espionage.

Trist Sig understood Luke's implication as well.

The two of them tacitly shifted the blame onto spies because this would allow for more direct and effective investigation methods.

If they followed normal legal procedures, the case would lead to nothing, and Laura and Hansar Pasha wouldn't face any sanctions; it would likely end up being downplayed and unresolved.

Perhaps this was also why the puppet master dared to target people like Luke.

They wanted to strip away the aura from Luke, and Luke didn't mind using his heroic halo to trap them in return.

...

That evening.

Luke and his family boarded a plane and left Washington.

It was a hasty departure.

Luke didn't share much with his family, but after seeing the news, they guessed some of the situation.

The Luke family had met Chris Franco and Fatou Brandi, whose fortunes had dramatically reversed. Originally, they came to receive their awards happily, but now they found themselves in a pathetic state, with many netizens commenting on the matter.

Some of the more radical netizens believed that the two were all for show and didn't deserve the honor, even hoping their medals would be revoked.

Others thought that although the two had made mistakes, they had been resolute when it mattered, contributing both good and bad, and their merits couldn't be overshadowed by their faults.

Luckily, Luke's merit was genuine, and he was relatively humble, not affected by public opinion.

At four in the morning, Luke finally returned to his home in Los Angeles.

He took a shower and went straight to bed...

When he woke up, it was already noon.

He had slept comfortably; nothing was better than his own cozy home.

After getting up and freshening up, Luke strolled to a community restaurant for a meal, feeling relaxed since he was far from that place of trouble.

Perhaps due to the news about Chris Franco and Fatou Brandi, many colleagues called to check on him.

Luke assured everyone he was safe and planned to take a day off before returning to work.

...

October 26th, early morning.

Luke drove to the Detective Bureau.

As he got out of the car, colleagues greeted him one after another.

If Luke was somewhat well-known before, now he was among the brightest stars of the police department.

Luke responded with a smile to each colleague, and the walk from the parking lot to the office took him several more minutes than before.

As he pushed open the door to the office, Luke felt that something was amiss – not a single person was seen in the office area, and it was nearly nine o'clock. Where was everyone?

"Bang..."

A burst of confetti sounded.

Luke instinctively reached for his gun, but when he saw the colorful sparkles in the sky, he let go of his hand.

"Surprise!"

Little Black and Jackson came out with confetti cannons from the door and beside the desks.

Other team members also emerged.

Reid walked out of the break room, "Luke, welcome home."

"Captain, welcome back."

Luke looked around at everyone and said with a smile, "Thanks, guys, I'm also happy to see you."

Little Black said, "Captain, you had quite the glory at the award ceremony, there must be a lot of interesting stories. Come on, tell us about it."

Luke replied, "A lot did happen indeed, it's a long story."

The deputy captain said, "The way you speak sounds like it wasn't very smooth. Does it have to do with those two award recipients who got arrested?"

Luke nodded, "It does have something to do with it."

Reid glanced at his watch, "Everyone, it's time to work.

I know you all have a lot to say to Luke, but there's time in the evening.

Go back to work."

Then, Reid took Luke aside, "How was your trip to the capital?"

"It was terrible."

"Don't be so pessimistic. At least you got your medal for real, and that medal will bring you many benefits in the future.

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