And seated there was Bertie Louis, the senior agent brought back from the FBI Office.
Upon seeing it was David that entered, Bertie Louis's expression changed slightly, but he quickly recovered to normal and asked, "Director David, grabbing someone from our FBI must be your masterpiece, huh? But have you thought about whether you can bear this responsibility?"
David didn't pay attention to his remark, but instead pulled out a document and threw it in front of him.
"What's this?"
"Aren't you asking whether I can bear the responsibility? Just look and you'll know!"
Seeing David's confident demeanor, Bertie Louis had a bad feeling, but still picked up the document in front of him and started reading carefully.
However, as the contents inside became clear, his complexion turned increasingly pale, and finally, in panic mixed with a tinge of anger, he asked, "Where did you get these materials from?"
"You think I need to explain that to you?"
"What do you want to do? I can pay the taxes!"
David didn't reply, but gave a scornful laugh and stood up, then headed for the door to leave.
Bertie Louis was also desperate, shouting, "David, leave some leeway for future encounters, we're all from American law enforcement agencies, there's no need to go this far!"
The threat of capital punishment for city hall officials from both cities indeed frightened him.
David still ignored him, walked out the door, and said to Simmons, "The FBI can see him now!"
Having said that, he directly went to the second detention room.
And Simmons, taking Gavin's dispatch, Ou En, let him enter this detention room.
As soon as he entered, seeing the seemingly frantic Bertie Louis, Ou En felt something was wrong and immediately asked, "What's happened, Agent Bertie?"
Bertie looked up, saw it was Ou En, wanted to say something but his lips moved without making a sound, ultimately not gathering the courage to speak.
"Speak up, Agent Bertie, Mr. Gavin sent me. He warned you, if you really have committed any illegal acts before, you have to come clean now, otherwise if the tax bureau really proves it, no one will be able to save you, and it will drag down the entire FBI!"
Bertie bit his lips and said, "But I have already been proven guilty..."
"What did you say?"
"Just before you came, that David brought over a document, on the document... anyway, it has all my records."
Ou En immediately followed up, "All your records, what does that mean? Is there anywhere that can be challenged, anywhere that can be cleared..."
"It's no use, Agent Ou En, I don't know where he got that document from, but it has very detailed records about me, so detailed it includes who I've dealt with, which places, and any financial transaction over these past two months have all been recorded..."
"Are you deaf or dumb?"
Hearing the shouting from the other end of the phone, Bronning dared not keep silent any longer. He gritted his teeth and stammered: "Mr. Gavin, the person...is gone..."
"Gone?"
Gavin, puzzled, immediately pressed: "I don't have time to beat around the bush with you, spit it out!"
"The person has been... 'taken' by the IRS's David. I'm really sorry, Mr. Gavin, we were forced into a corner..."
"What did you say, you damned bastard..."
Gavin was furious, unleashing a tirade into the phone.
Finally, realizing that the situation was irreversibly settled, he put down the phone and said to Ou En: "If the witness is gone, can this case still result in a conviction?"
From Gavin's reaction, Ou En, who had been by his side, already knew the situation on the other end of the phone, so he wasn't too surprised to hear that the witness was gone.
He replied: "The amount involved in his case is too small, only a mere 5,000 US dollars. Besides, we don't have the IRS's channels to check his subordinate's detailed expenditures and fund transactions over the past few months. If we're also missing the witness, considering the level of the IRS lawyers, it probably won't be easy to get a conviction."
"Just tell me straight, what are our chances of winning?"
Ou En thought for a moment and said: "40 to 50 percent, I'd say."
Gavin's brow furrowed, and his gaze dimmed, clearly dissatisfied with those odds.
"If only our FBI had its own court..."
Ou En sighed helplessly.
The FBI, unlike the IRS, didn't have its own private court.
And precisely because the IRS had its own court, they were often able to forcefully convict tax evaders with inadequate evidence, and impose extreme penalties.
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Now, if they were to have a falling out with David, even if they arrested Poppy, she would certainly have to be tried in a court under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice.
And the courts under the Department of Justice, not only operate with a jury system, but Western laws also emphasize the need for a complete chain of evidence.
Moreover, not only is this matter involving David, it also touches on the face of the IRS. The IRS would definitely send a top-notch legal team to clear Poppy's name of these charges.
That's why Ou En was so envious of the IRS having their own court.
If the FBI had their own court, just with the document evidence they had on hand, they could have forcefully convicted Poppy.
No need for any detailed financial documents or witnesses.