r18novel Chapter 5 When you're traveling, you have to give yourself your own identity.
Chapter 5 When you're traveling, you have to give yourself your own identity.
"My friend wasn't feeling well, so he asked me to come and see what was wrong and to pick him up," Chen Yisen explained, trying to appear innocent. "He probably wasn't feeling well when he checked in, and he hadn't moved for most of the day, so people thought he had passed away."
When facing powerful agencies that hold the truth, sometimes you have to take the initiative to offer a way out.
Sure enough, the other two officers also lowered their guns. Although they remained alert, their tense nerves had relaxed.
A good omen.
Michaela, who was in charge, was clearly encountering this situation for the first time, and was shocked and somewhat bewildered.
In order not to appear weak, we could only begin the questioning as usual:
"What is your name and occupation?"
Although he tried his best to keep his voice steady, he had already lost a lot of momentum.
"Ethan Chen, licensed physician at Gotham Health Morrisania Community Centre Clinic," Ethan Chen said, slowly reaching for his collar. "I'll take out and show you my credentials, but I won't give them to you."
This is the standard procedure for dealing with the police. Even if it's a black guy with dreadlocks, as long as he clearly says this in front of the body camera, the risk of being subjected to American-style interrogation can be greatly reduced.
Not to mention that he is an Asian.
Then, he took out his ID pouch from his inner pocket, opened the page with the hospital system ID card and the medical license miniature card, and held it up to eye level with the police officers opposite him.
Although Chen Yisen was reassigned from Bellevue to a community clinic, his employment relationship and ID card still came from NYC H+H, which is equivalent to being a direct municipal employee.
The doctors' council system behind it is even more powerful and difficult to deal with than the PBA (New York City Patrolmen's Union), to which most police officers belong.
Therefore, apart from Michaela at the front, who remained unfazed, the other uniformed New York police officers had already begun to back down.
They are facing a role that is of high social standing, knowledgeable in the law, and has access to good lawyers.
If things really come to a head, Michaela can simply pack up and go back to Washington, but the real trouble will fall on the poor frontline officers.
Besides, everyone here is trying to make a living in the Bronx, and Morissania's clinic is the largest in the entire South District and is an FQHC (Federal Quality Health Center). Who can guarantee that their relatives and friends won't fall into the other party's hands in the future?
The two officers then put their guns back into their holsters.
Seeing that the groundwork had been laid, Chen Yisen withdrew his identification and his tone hardened: "I understand that the police need to conduct investigative questioning of citizens' information during the course of their mission, and I have already provided my identity and proof of occupation. If you still insist on causing trouble for me and my friend, then please call your supervisor immediately, or you can call my lawyer."
His own identity was absolutely solid and without any problems, but Joey, who was next to him, was still out on bail and could not withstand close scrutiny.
Therefore, it cannot be delayed for too long.
Since Michaela is leading a group of NYPD officers on a mission, it suggests that she is most likely just a liaison officer for the FBI's New York office, not a real federal agent, and has limited internal status and resources to mobilize.
And it seems that these New York police officers aren't entirely on her side.
At least the two guys closest to Chen Yisen, who were the first to put their guns away, already showed obvious sarcasm and impatience on their faces.
Therefore, when the facts are irrefutable and Chen Yisen has not shown any flaws, the lawyer's threat is equally effective.
Pressure can amplify existing cracks.
Sure enough, before Michaela could even speak, a plainclothes policeman walked past her from behind and went straight to Chen Yisen.
He first saluted, then said in a very official tone, "I am Sheriff William Gerson of the Bronx Detective District. Thank you for your cooperation with our investigation."
Chen Yisen knew that this was not because the NYPD had suddenly become more civilized, but because they wanted to characterize the incident in front of the body camera and shift the blame to poor intelligence.
Sure enough, after hearing this from their direct superior, the other officers relaxed even more, adopting a posture of preparing to watch the show.
Now that things had come to this, Michaela could see that even if she wanted to do something more, she simply couldn't give the order.
The command chains of federal and local police are parallel, and if orders conflict, all officers will definitely side with the local sheriff.
She could only take a deep breath in frustration, turn around and leave with an unhappy expression.
"Fall back!"
Sheriff Gerson chuckled, then leaned halfway out and deliberately raised his voice, asking, "Agent Sims, what's that guy outside...?"
"Release them!" came a woman's voice filled with impotent rage from the corridor.
……
After confirming that the police had indeed left the hotel, Chen Yisen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He slowly left the room, sat down by the stairs, cleared his mind, and calmed his heartbeat.
Until a voice rang out from the side.
"Damn, that's awesome, buddy." The Latino guy, who had survived the ordeal, came up to Chen Yisen, his tone full of admiration. "You managed to get that guy back? You're not messing around with that FBI girl, are you?"
He was stunned by the three blows as soon as he came up, and he had been held back outside the room the whole time, so he had no idea what had happened inside.
Seeing that Chen Yisen remained silent, he took the initiative to introduce himself:
"My name is Dave Barnes. I work in the old docks area doing loading and unloading, and of course... I occasionally take on other jobs too."
He then took out his phone and typed a string of numbers on the screen:
"This is my phone number. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything."
Chen Yisen still didn't make a move.
It's not that I look down on the other party.
It's just lingering fear.
My whole body feels limp; I can't even lift my arms.
But remaining silent wasn't a solution, and he also wanted to get some answers from the other party.
So he could only sigh and say mysteriously, "I warned you long ago that things are complicated here, and you can't handle it..."
"Yes, yes, you're right." Dave said ingratiatingly, then sat down next to him quite familiarly. "What's your name, brother? Where do you work?"
In just a few words, they had already established a brotherly relationship.
"Ethan Chen, a community doctor from Morissania."
Chen Yisen had already revealed his identity, so it didn't matter whether he showed it or not. Anyway, the list of qualified doctors was on Gotham Health's official website, and anyone who wanted to could find it in one night.
Unexpectedly, after he honestly revealed the truth, Dave didn't believe him and nodded with a grin:
"I know, it's about covering our identities, those who know, know."
Chen Yisen secretly rolled his eyes, inwardly cursing, "What the hell do you know?"
However, on the surface, they still had to pretend to be experts, so they simply neither admitted nor denied it.
Unexpectedly, Dave continued his imaginings even after he didn't call a halt: "I heard someone say that there's a powerful middleman in the South Bronx who can get access to underground medical resources. It must be you, bro, right?"
Chen Yisen: "..."
The original owner of this body had only been sent to the community for a little over a month, and he himself had only been reborn for a few hours, so he had no idea how to proceed.
Seeing that things might get out of control if they continued like this, they had no choice but to change the subject:
"You work at the old docks, how do you have time to travel so far?"
The so-called "old piers" refer to the Red Hook Pier and Bush Pier in southwestern Brooklyn, which are quite far from the northeastern Bronx, where the Rusty Hotel is located.
"What else can I do? There's no decent work to do." Dave's answer was quite straightforward. "I haven't been working long, and the dockworkers' union leaders are a bunch of Eastern Europeans. They naturally give the good jobs to their own people first. We only get a chance when there's a real shortage of manpower, or when we come across something dirty and tiring."
"Why can't we just approach shipping companies or cargo owners to find work?" Chen Yisen continued to try and build rapport with the other party.
"Hey, it's normal for you doctors to not understand since you sit in offices all day." Dave ran a hand through his hair in frustration and explained, "The goods and people at the docks are unstable. Big companies don't have the energy to find people one by one. They usually negotiate the money and work with the union, and then the union assigns the work and pays the salary."
Chen Yisen hadn't understood this area before, and was somewhat shocked after hearing it: "Isn't that just labor dispatch?"
"What kind of labor service?"
Dave clearly didn't understand the technical term.
Chen Yisen waved his hand: "It's nothing, it's just that this system is really rigged..."
This remark drew nods of agreement from Dave beside him: "It's a real rip-off. Everything is decided by a few Polish people on the council. Some of my brothers went to the dock operator to reason with them about this, and guess what happened?"
Clearly, he already considers Chen Yisen an acquaintance.
Chen Yisen was naturally happy to satisfy the other party's desire to express himself: "What?"
"The carrier told us to go to the union." Dave laughed out loud when he mentioned it. "But the problem was with those Gabacho (white devils/foreigners)... Anyway, nothing came of it, and I could only run errands for Chicano and stuff."
Finally, I managed to extract some useful information.
"The Chicano Gang?"
"Well... it's a small street gang, it's normal if you haven't heard of it," Dave explained. "It's a branch of the Latin Kings gang, you should at least know that."
"Yes, I've heard of it."
Actually, Chen Yisen knew nothing.
But Joey, whom he had just awakened, was a boxing promoter he had contacted through this gang, and his last wish was also related to them.
"So, your gang sent you here?"
"Actually, I'm not a gang member. I just get jobs through their middlemen... As for who's behind them, I never ask, and they would never tell me..." At this point, Dave glanced at the police car speeding away towards New York City on the highway in the distance. "Damn it, this time it's probably a mission assigned by the higher-ups that got them targeted by the cops. If you hadn't been there, bro, we would have been in deep trouble."
"Good to know." Chen Yisen was completely immersed in his role. He stood up, patted Dave on the shoulder, and said, "Alright, you can go back now. I have something to do..."
So much had happened that night that he had no idea how to deal with Joey, who was still lying in room 317, so he could only try to get Dave out of there.
Dave, who had been completely assimilated by Dillian, naturally agreed without hesitation: "Alright, I'll take my leave now. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask..."
After descending two steps, he turned back and added, "If there's ever a chance to make money, remember to take my little brother along..."
Chen Yisen thought to himself, "I'm about to be killed myself, and I'm still going to help you make money..." But he still nodded sincerely, "Don't worry, I've memorized your number. I'll call you when it's ready."
That's true.
Dave is such a straightforward guy, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the opportunity God gave him.