249. Chapter 249: Explosive News!
Three hours later, in an Interrogation Room at the NYPD.
Chief John looked at the autopsy report in his hand, his head aching. Outside the Police Department, reporters holding long and short lenses were already swarming, eager to know about the corpse. If the deceased was indeed Stormfront, a Superhero under Vought, then this would undoubtedly be explosive news.
"Chief, Ms. Mallory from the CIA wants to see you," a young Police Officer pushed open the door and said to John.
"Okay, I'll be right there." John glanced at the black person being interrogated, coughed, and said, "It seems they know very little about Stormfront's death. There's no need to keep questioning them. Asking further would just be a waste of time."
He tidied the information in his hand and then followed the young Police Officer out of the Interrogation Room.
Soon, led by the Police Officer, he met Mallory, who was wearing a brown trench coat and carrying a handbag.
"Welcome, Ms. Mallory. It's been half a year, and you still look as radiant as ever," John said with a smile, shaking hands with Mallory.
Although the CIA and the NYPD are essentially both subordinate to the US Government, one is an independent intelligence agency, and the other is a Department formed by the New York City Government. The two have no intersection, meaning the CIA has no right to interfere with the NYPD. In fact, situations like this are very common in the United States.
This also explained why Billy's request for help from Mallory was rejected after the NYPD discovered he had stolen a yacht.
"Thank you." Mallory smiled slightly. After some chat, her expression suddenly turned serious. "Let's get down to business. You must know why I'm here."
"Of course."
John handed over the information in his hand with a bitter smile. "According to the autopsy report, the identity of the deceased has been confirmed as Stormfront, a Superhero under Vought International. She had multiple wounds on her body, her right leg was almost completely severed, and the wound on her right arm was a tearing wound. However, these were not the reason for her death."
John raised a finger and pointed to his eyes.
"Her eyes were burned by some kind of high-temperature substance, turning into charcoal along with her brain. At the same time, we found two puncture holes at the back of her head. This should be the real reason for her death."
"A very familiar method of attack." Mallory flipped through the information in her hand, which included several high-definition images of the wounds on Stormfront's corpse. "You must have guessed the murderer's identity."
The bitterness on John's face deepened.
"I think this incident should be handed over to the Office of Supe Affairs." He certainly recognized the burn traces left by Heat Vision. To be honest, the only one with the strength and means to kill Stormfront using this method was probably the national hero, Homelander. But he was quite wary of Vought International. This case was a hot potato in his hands, and John was eager to dump it on someone else.
Just then.
Two Police Officers brought a white guy to John.
"Chief, this guy says he saw with his own eyes that Homelander and Stormfront had a fight in a restaurant and flew out of the restaurant one after the other."
"Does anyone else know this information?" John asked with a solemn expression.
One of the Police Officers nodded. "There were many witnesses at the time, and the roadside surveillance also confirmed this."
"I understand. Take him to the Interrogation Room first."
John then looked at Mallory.
"Do you think I should summon Homelander?" "Let us handle this case."
Hearing that Mallory wanted to take over this hot potato, a smile immediately appeared on John's face. "Right, the CIA has more experience than us with Supe crime."
...
When Xia Shang returned to Vought Tower, he saw that the Staff inside were mostly whispering. With his hearing, he could easily hear the content of their chat.
"I really didn't expect Homelander to actually kill Stormfront. They seemed to have a good relationship usually, how could something like this suddenly happen?"
"I guess it's possible their relationship broke down, so Homelander, angered and embarrassed, killed Stormfront on impulse. Honestly, things like this are quite common. A friend of my uncle's next-door neighbor..."
Clearly, as they chatted, the topic naturally went off track.
"Oh, my God, Mr. Jervis, you're finally back. CEO Edgar was just looking for you." Ashley Barrett immediately ran up to Xia Shang when she saw him, her expression anxious.
"It seems something I didn't know about happened while I was away," Xia Shang frowned slightly.
"Stan Edgar is waiting for you in the Meeting Room. I'll explain as we walk."
From Ashley Barrett's expression, it was clear the matter was urgent. She was completely flustered now.
"Just now, several authoritative media outlets reported news of Stormfront's death, and pointed out that the one who killed Stormfront was none other than Homelander. At the time of the incident, many witnesses saw with their own eyes that Stormfront attacked Homelander first, and then the two flew into the sky together, disappearing without a trace." Ashley Barrett said in the Elevator after organizing her words.
"Homelander would actually do something like that? No wonder I saw so many people discussing it with each other just now," Xia Shang was slightly surprised.
"But actually, at the time of the incident, Homelander didn't leave Vought Tower. I'm sure of that, because I, CEO Edgar, and Queen Maeve were all in the Supe Conference Room. How could he suddenly appear somewhere else and kill Stormfront? It completely doesn't make sense." At first, when Ashley Barrett heard the information, she thought it was just a rumor spread by others, until she opened her phone and saw the overwhelming news reports.
Although she still thought it might just be a misunderstanding, until she saw a piece of surveillance footage. In the footage, Homelander and Stormfront walked into a restaurant together, and half an hour later, Stormfront, with a face full of panic, directly smashed through the glass and disappeared from the surveillance footage.
"I think I understand what you're trying to say. You mean that the one who killed Stormfront wasn't Homelander, but someone else, and that guy could also impersonate Homelander."
"Exactly."
*Beep*, the Elevator stopped. Xia Shang walked out with steady steps.
"If that's the case, then it should be easy to solve. We just need to provide evidence proving that Homelander didn't leave Vought Tower at the time of the incident, right?"
"It's not that simple." Ashley Barrett pushed open the Meeting Room door for Xia Shang.
Inside the Meeting Room were the heads of Vought Public Relations Department, Publicity Department, Legal Department, and other departments.
And Stan Edgar was sitting in the head seat, as always.
(End of Chapter)