Chapter 134: Developments

Hastings reached into his bag and pulled out a second notepad, flipping it open. "Mr. Somnus, we've combed through your case files. We're particularly interested in two events: the hacking incident on July 4th and the pickpocket situation."Hastings continued, "The assailants in the ongoing case seem to be presenting their actions as if they're targeting your associate, Mr. Johnson. But almost 50% of the individuals tied to this case are people directly connected to you, Mr. Somnus. Photos of potential victims were obtained during the investigation, and the majority of them have no known contact with Mr. Johnson.

He's never met these people. So, we can't help but think that the true target here is you, sir."

'They got to the same conclusion as me quite quickly...' I thought.

"That said," Hastings lowered his voice. "It still doesn't explain why the threats have been directed at Mr. Johnson. We're still looking into why that is the case."

Agent Carter, who had remained quiet until now, looked at his colleague like he wanted to say something.

Hasting glanced over at Carter "My partner here, Agent Carter, is with counterintelligence. He'll be leading much of the questioning from here."

Carter glanced at me, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Mr. Somnus, I can't disclose much about the larger investigation, but what I can tell you is this: we are aware that Russia has been investing heavily in its cyber warfare capabilities. There's a specific organization that's been a focal point of our monitoring.

We believe it's tied to multiple cyber attacks, and that includes what you've experienced."

They know everything already....

Agent Carter turned to Charlotte. "As for the man who attacked you, Miss Rodriguez, we have reason to believe his gang has ties to a Russian organized crime syndicate. This family operates by creating small, scattered street gangs that carry out their orders, but they make it nearly impossible to track them back to the higher-ups."

"Russian organized crime?" Charlotte whispered, clearly uneasy.

Carter nodded. "They deal in everything from cybercrime to financial fraud. We're looking into how deep those connections go, but we need to figure out why they're targeting you, Mr. Somnus. And... whether you were involved in something related to them." he smiled at me, his bald head shining.

"Unknowingly, of course..."

"Are you accusing me of something?" I asked.

"Oh, no, Mr. Somnus, no accusations. Why would we do that? We just need to make sure we don't miss anything."

"Mr. Somnus, we're going to need your full cooperation from this point forward." Hastings stated. "The more you can tell us, the better chance we have at figuring out exactly why you're being targeted."

Full cooperation... They obviously wouldn't find out that I had traveled through time... right?

What a stupid idea.

But then there's Immortal Investments...

The last thing I needed was the FBI breathing down my neck, asking the wrong questions.

I took a slow breath, steeling myself. "Of course, ask anything you need." As I said this, I slid my arm around Charlotte's shoulder. "Charlotte can stay here, right?"

Carter raised an eyebrow. "Sir, that's your choice."

Charlotte lowered her head, her fingers resting on my thigh. "Jack, I don't mind if you have something to hide from me," she said softly.

'Haa?' I blinked, taken aback. "But you just said..."

"I'm sorry, I was just a bit emotional earlier." She gave a small, apologetic smile. "I trust you. If there's something you don't want to tell me, it must be because it's better left unsaid."

I looked into her eyes and then turned back to Agent Carter, "Go ahead."

They started with the basics, asking about my early investments—how I'd managed to pick companies that grew at rates most wouldn't believe. I gave them the answers easily enough; I knew why they had succeeded. I'd seen it all before, of course.

Then, they wanted to know if I'd ever had someone else invest in the same stocks.

"No, not until the Monster Beverage case."

"Why didn't you?" Carter asked.

I paused. Just for a second. Why hadn't I?

"I guess... I didn't want to risk other people's money."

Carter gave me a sideways glance. "Or maybe you didn't want others to gain?"

I met his gaze, not giving anything away. "I won't be answering that."

He smiled. "Sure," he said, and then read another question from his notepad. "Mr. Somnus, was obtaining shares in Johnson Trading Orlando from Sam Johnson your goal from the very first day you met him?"

"No. I genuinely wanted to help him. We're friends." I didn't hesitate.

"Helping by taking over equity?"

"Sir, that's ridiculous. I actually took fewer shares than he offered himself." I gave him a level stare. "Clearly, you don't know much about investments."

He looked at me for a second and then proceeded with another question. "Sir, have you ever accessed the dark web?"

"No."

He looked up at me, eyes searching for any cracks in my response. When he found none, he simply nodded, scribbling something on the notepad.

He flipped to the next page of his notepad. "Mr. Somnus, do you know a man by the name of Nikolai Jennings?"

Nikolai Jennings...

"No, never heard of him."

Carter gave a small nod. "How about Peter Ivanford?"

"Nope. Doesn't ring a bell."

He exchanged a glance with Hastings before turning back to me. "But you know Chloe Flynn, right?"

That name hit me like a punch to the gut. Chloe? Why they'd bring her up in all of this. "Yes. Chloe Flynn. She's my friend.

I'd say we've known each other since childhood."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

I let out a small sigh, thinking back. "I told her we should meet up more often, but we didn't. The last time I saw her? June. Yeah, it was June, I think. Wait...

don't tell me that something happened to her."

Agent Hastings looked at me. "Peter Ivanford, the man we mentioned earlier, was her boyfriend. He was killed in July this year."

"Her boyfriend was killed? God, don't tell me that something happened to Chloe."

"Miss Flynn is safe," Carter said. "But she was your neighbor for years, and given that connection, we thought you might know something. But you're saying you didn't know this man?"

I wanted to rip the legs off that guy for breaking Chloe's heart... At least someone did the job for me.

"I only saw him with her a few times. I didn't even greet him. Besides, I thought they broke up in June, so they should have been apart when he was killed."

Agent Hastings moved around in his chair, but his face stayed serious and steady. "You're right. Peter Ivanford was indeed Chloe Flynn's ex-boyfriend at the time of his death. However," he glanced over at Charlotte, "we're asking these questions because Ivanford was part of the same gang involved in the attack on Miss Rodrigues."

I stared at the agents.

"We're trying to piece together the connections." Hastings continued. "Possibly Ivanford could have been hired to spy on you, sir."

"Why?" Charlotte spoke up.

"We don't know yet, but we will find out."

'They are sure digging deep...' I thought.

Agent Carter looked at me sharply. "We have one last question for you. What was the reason for the transfer of $1,000,000 to the account of Christopher Vanderbilt on November 2nd, 2002?"

I felt a jolt of surprise but quickly masked it. "I have a relationship with Derec Johnson, Sam's cousin. He wanted to start an investing company, and asked me to give him some money, so I did. I think he is doing pretty well for himself."

Agent Carter raised an eyebrow. "And why was the money sent to Christopher Vanderbilt's account instead of directly to Derec Johnson?"

"Derec appointed Chris as the chief financial officer, so I send the funds to him."

The agents exchanged a look but didn't press further.

I should be safe... shouldn't I?

Mr. Sidorov has connections so deep they practically run the underground. Easily one of the best at forging identities—hell, he'll make sure someone named Christopher Vanderbilt comes up with a spotless background.

Sidorov's family has been perfecting this art for over 200 years, pulling strings for the rich and powerful.

They have connections in the government and in the identity bureau.

They've never been caught, not once.

And even if Immortal Investments gets investigated, it would be unlikely for me to face repercussions because the structure of the company made it so that I was cut off from any direct financial gains.

If I took the money out of the company account and put it in Christopher Vanderbilt's account, then sent it to myself, I would be exposing myself right away.

But I wasn't planning to do that.

I wasn't doing this for money, but for control over the market.

The agents started to gather their things. Agent Hastings stood first, extended his hand to me, and I shook it firmly. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Somnus. We'll be in touch if we need anything further."

Agent Carter followed suit, offering his hand as well. "Yes, thank you. We'll continue our investigation and let you know if there's any additional information required."

Charlotte stood up next to me, accepting their handshakes with a polite nod.

The agents collected their briefcases and prepared to leave, but then Agent Carter paused and cleared his throat. "Sir, as this is a potential international terrorism case, the Secret Service will be deployed to ensure your safety as well as that of everyone related to the case."

"Also, there might be changes in how this country operates due to heightened security concerns." Agent Hastings added.

I opened my eyes a bit wider.

Charlotte looked concerned. "I'm sorry, but what is that supposed to mean?"

Agent Carter offered a slightly uncomfortable smile. "I don't have all the details myself. But the changes will be implemented to assure your safety and the safety of other citizens."

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