Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 657 - 631 White Heat

Chapter 657: Chapter 631 White Heat

Only one person from the Special Service Bureau came down. He was wearing a suit, indicating he wasn’t from the uniformed group, but his orders seemed to be the most authoritative at the moment.

Another person, shouting for the police to stop Gao Yi and the others, was from the FBI, but his words didn’t have much effect, because Buck, also from the FBI, was waving credentials, asking the police to let them pass.

Joelson said that CIA people would arrive soon, but they hadn’t appeared yet. However, Gao Yi thought that the person from the Special Service Bureau was likely brought by Joelson as an ally, meant to cover his retreat.

The reason is simple: the CIA lacks law enforcement authority on US soil, but the Special Service Bureau does, and with very high authority. When confronted with the FBI, it’s the FBI that has to back down.

The most bewildered ones now are the police.

The situation is already complex, and it’s unclear whether they should control these people with unidentified identities or pretend not to see them and just let them go.

If handled in the police way, it would certainly involve taking everyone away first, bringing them to the station to slowly find out what’s going on. But now, seeing each formidable agency waving credentials and shouting, how could the patrolling officers handle this?

The Special Service Bureau agent rushed to the front of the police, glanced at the FBI agent waving his credentials, and with a cold face, pointed at the agent, saying, "Who are you, show me your credentials!"

The FBI agent absolutely did not expect the Special Service Bureau to get involved and was very wary of direct conflict with them. Standing still, he quickly put his credentials away, looking like a student caught doing something wrong, at a loss for what to do.

A female officer, looking puzzled, glanced at her superior and quietly asked, "Sir, what should we do?"

Just an ordinary patrolling officer, but now, it seemed all the pressure fell on him. He glanced at both sides brandishing credentials and suddenly said, "I feel like the United States wasn’t this divided even during the Civil War."

Suddenly coming out with this inexplicable statement, the officer stepped aside, saying, "Make way, this matter is now beyond our concern."

It seemed like the Special Service Bureau had taken control of the situation, and by then, another car stopped by the roadside. The car door opened, and Joelson stepped out, followed by someone Gao Yi didn’t recognize.

Joelson didn’t directly greet Gao Yi; he looked at him and then subtly shook his head with an almost imperceptible gesture.

If Joelson had really come to help Gao Yi leave, he should have directly told him what to do rather than pretending not to know him as he was doing.

The person who got out of the car with Joelson seemed equally surprised. After stepping out, he directly questioned the Special Service Bureau agent, "What are you doing here?"

"Why are you here?"

The two of them started an argument outside.

Joelson gave Gao Yi a look, appearing very tense, while the person he brought with him shouted near the car, "I am ordered to be here to protect the President’s appointed candidate. What are you doing here?"

"I am ordered to urgently handle a special security event."

Both of these are Special Service Bureau agents. The first one wasn’t sent by the President but by the Department of Homeland Security. The one who came with Joelson was sent by the President.

The Special Service Bureau has joined the fray, but, like the FBI, is it also divided into two factions?

The Special Service Bureau is an operational unit under the Department of Homeland Security. Before 2003, it was managed by the Treasury Department, mainly responsible for preventing and investigating the counterfeiting of the US Dollar and bonds. After the 9/11 attacks, the United States established the Department of Homeland Security and transferred the Special Service Bureau under its control, making it one of its primary law enforcement agencies.

It doesn’t have the foundation of the FBI or CIA and is much smaller in number, but the authority of the Special Service Bureau now arguably surpasses that of the FBI and CIA, since intelligence and counterterrorism tasks in the US are now under the Department of Homeland Security, which has diverted much power from the FBI and CIA.

Then, the key point comes.

Aside from its mission traits inherited from the Treasury Department era, the Special Service Bureau’s major current responsibility is to protect the President, Vice President, President-elect, Vice President-elect, former Presidents and their spouses, presidential and vice-presidential candidates confirmed 120 days before an election, minor children and grandchildren of sitting and former Presidents, visiting foreign heads of state and government and their spouses, individuals designated by presidential order, and national special security events designated by the Department of Homeland Security.

The emphasis is on the last two points: individuals designated by the President and national special security events designated by the Department of Homeland Security.

If the Special Service Bureau is here to protect a person designated by the President, then it’s the President directly taking action, openly standing with Gao Yi.

If it’s a special security event designated by the Department of Homeland Security, then it indicates that the Department of Homeland Security has made a move, one where friends and foes cannot yet be distinguished.

The situation is certainly chaotic, but not extremely dangerous.

Gao Yi was unsure whether to directly head out and get in the car and leave without regard or to wait a bit for them to argue it out and then leave, or, perhaps, to forcibly push through whoever was blocking the way outside.

Seeing the chaos outside the door, Yuri suddenly warned Gao Yi, "Step back, be careful, I have a bad feeling about this."

Gao Yi only felt the chaos but not any particular danger. However, hearing Yuri, he couldn’t help but feel something was indeed amiss.

Yuri took a few steps back, and Gao Yi followed, stepping back as well until they were completely back in the lobby of the Compaq Building.

Yuri frowned, puzzled, saying, "I always thought I understood America well, but now, what’s happening here is beyond comprehension. Since when could the US Secret Service disregard the President’s will? A battle that’s not meant to be seen is happening openly; has the FBI collectively gone mad?"

Gao Yi muttered, "They didn’t mention the Special Service Bureau would come, only that they’d arrive to support us in three minutes. But why are there so many people from the Special Service Bureau, and why won’t they communicate with us? What does this mean?"

Yuri looked confused, saying, "We don’t have the power to tear the United States apart. The President wouldn’t openly protect us. To be blunt, we’re not valuable enough. Our identities could never compel the US President to take a stand. Suddenly, things have unfolded this way; there must be an unexpected situation."

"Ben’s bounty?"

"Impossible, Ben’s bounty isn’t enough."

Yuri sighed, saying, "Then it can only be an internal power struggle at the highest level in the US. If we suddenly become significant, it means our presence threatens one party. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve been turned into a weapon against the President. It must be like this."