Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 193 - 192: Follow Me

Chapter 193: Chapter 192: Follow Me

The apartment building had twelve floors, with eight apartments per floor, adding up to a total of ninety-six units.

By the time he reached the seventh floor, Yang Yi had inspected the gas in twelve apartments and recorded each inspected household in his notebook, noting those whose homes were empty because no one was there.

At last, he arrived at the first of the eight rooms on the two floors he needed to check.

Yang Yi knocked on the door, then listened carefully for any sounds from inside before knocking again.

After knocking for longer than he had at other places, but still with no one answering the door, Yang Yi moved on to another apartment.

Out of the eight apartments on the seventh and eighth floors that were most likely used for surveillance of Charles, only two were opened—one with an entire family inside, two children and two adults, and another with a woman in her sixties.

All the necessary checks had been made, but none seemed suspicious.

Yang Yi inspected the rest of the apartments, then left the building and returned to the car.

"No one’s monitoring."

Brian did not ask any questions, but Paul asked in a serious tone, "Are you sure?"

"There were only two with people in them, and I looked carefully inside; they wouldn’t be CIA agents."

Paul looked at Brian and said solemnly, "If there were surveillance personnel inside, they would have to have opened the door."

"Yes, they’d have to open the door. No one answering means there’s no one inside, definitely no CIA inside. So, the best surveillance spots are empty."

After Brian finished speaking, he took a deep breath and frowned, "That’s not right. Could it be that I’m no longer under surveillance?"

Paul, with a stern look on his face, said, "If someone’s surveilling Charles, then someone’s been keeping an eye on you. If someone is always watching you, then it’s most likely that they are the mole. But if there’s nobody who still remembers what happened twenty-six years ago, then it means they truly no longer care about you."

Brian nodded, then made a gesture and said to Paul, "CIA wouldn’t pass up an ideal surveillance spot. If it’s empty, then they’re not watching Charles. We can take a little risk. Go find Charles yourself."

Paul checked his watch, then nodded and said, "It’s best if I can see Charles when he returns. If not, I’ll have to risk making a call."

Brian shook his head and said, "If you don’t find him, we’ll wait till tomorrow. Calling is the last option. We’re in a hurry now, but it’s not time to risk a monitored call; wiretapping is easier than physical surveillance."

Paul nodded, then said in a low voice, "I’ll wait for him outside and see him when he shows up. Should I lay everything out, or should I bring him to you?"

Brian exhaled and said, "Bring him to me. I’ll talk to him personally."

Paul went off alone. He was going to Charles’s regular route to wait for his appearance.

That’s why spy work is considered dull, tedious, and also dangerous, exemplified by what Paul needed to do.

The boredom and tedium are easy to understand, as no one likes waiting for others, especially not knowing how long the wait will be. Dangerous, because if Charles truly was under surveillance, then Paul’s situation would obviously be risky, considering Yang Yi only confirmed that the most ideal surveillance spots were empty.

Moreover, Yang Yi was still a novice.

Watching Paul get out of the car and leave, Yang Yi couldn’t help saying, "I have a question."

"You may ask."

"Why send Paul to meet Charles after just checking that the best places for surveillance are empty? Aren’t we continuing the counter-surveillance?"

"It’s not that there’s no need to continue counter-surveillance, but for the CIA, to not make use of the best surveillance spot, there can only be two possibilities. One is that the commander is a complete idiot, which is possible, but it wouldn’t happen in matters related to me. If the CIA really wants to bring me in, they wouldn’t assign an idiot. So, there’s only the second possibility, they’re not monitoring Charles."

Yang Yi nodded, then spoke in a low voice, "Is this a guess, or is it a judgment based on the CIA’s way of doing things?"

"Guess? We never rely on guesses as a basis for action; so, of course, it’s the latter."

Yang Yi nodded and was about to ask another question when Brian suddenly said, "Get out, find a place where you can observe from a distance, the farther the better."

"Why?"

Brian said in a stern voice, "You’re of no use here, but if Charles really is being monitored, staying here could expose the risk to you."

Yang Yi thought for a moment, compliantly put the clothes he had been wearing into a bag, and then re-armed himself with the knife and pistol he had put aside during the inspection, before getting out of the car with the bag.

Time ticked away, from afternoon to evening. Yang Yi sat at a café corner, watching the car from afar.

Suddenly, Yang Yi saw a sedan parking opposite Paul’s large SUV, then Paul and another man got out of the car.

Brian sat behind the wheel, watching Paul and another person, then he let out a sigh of relief.

Paul opened the car door, while Brian was still sitting in the driver’s seat. Paul stepped back, while the person he had brought stood by the open door.

Brian said quietly, "Hello, Charles."

"Hello, Boss."

Brian looked Charles in the eyes and said solemnly, "I’m sorry."

"It’s alright, I forgave you long ago, really."

Brian said in a low voice, "But I didn’t betray anyone; I took the fall for someone else, to cover for the real KGB mole."

Charles, looking a bit surprised, said, "Oh, is that so? Bill always said that was the case; he was convinced of it."

"Now I need help. Will you come with me?"

Without any hesitation, Charles said, "Of course. I’ve waited a long time for this day."

Brian waved his hand and smiled, "Need to pack any belongings?"

"No need. I’d never leave important things here. I don’t need to bring anything; let’s just go," Charles replied while opening the car’s back door and getting in.

Watching from a distance, Yang Yi saw all this, but he didn’t know what exactly happened, so he naturally didn’t know that Brian had convinced Charles to get into his car with just a few words, unlike with Paul, who had been beaten first.

Seeing Brian waving towards him, Yang Yi knew it was a signal that it was time for him to leave.

Yang Yi left the café and started walking towards Brian’s location, but he soon stopped in his tracks because he saw Brian and Paul almost simultaneously firing at a speeding car passing by.