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“So Ma had his passport. That begs the question of where was it that he got access to it so quickly?” Michael asked.
“And where are the passports of those other guys he lived with?” Laura Lee added.
“My guess is Liu was the area boss, middle management,” Madison said. “I’ve been researching the Triads and their structure this morning. It’s not strictly a hierarchical structure but rather many separate autonomous cells that each have an area boss who runs all the crime in the area. He then reports to a higher-ranking member of the Triad. That’s who I believe is holding the passports, Liu’s boss. He’s also the one who I think gave the order to take out West, Liu, and Geiger.”
“How do we find him?” Brielle asked.
“If the FBI can’t get anyone to talk, the only way will be through cell phone records, emails, and IP addresses. That’s what we need to focus on,” Garcia said.
“Would anyone lower than Liu know who his boss was? In terrorist cells, that information is usually not shared with lower-ranking members to protect each boss and each cell’s anonymity.” Caleb asked.
“The Triads do differ from other terrorist organizations as they are more of a mafia style structure. The members are part of a tight brotherhood and the secret society they all belong to is almost a religion. Their chief income comes from the production and distribution of hard drugs like heroin, MDMA, methamphetamine, and ketamine. They control the trade and their areas through bribery, extortion, and murder,” Madison said. “Their other major crimes include gambling, prostitution, and migrant smuggling. So, unlike terrorist groups that are only looking to kill their enemies, the Triads need business continuity to conduct their business operations should one of their area bosses die or get picked up by the police.”
“So, the short answer is yes, underlings would have knowledge of who the higher-ups are,” Caleb said.
“Yes, and they’d also be scared shitless to divulge any secrets of the Triad because harsh punishments would result,” Madison added.
“So why would they order Liu, West, and Geiger be taken out?” BT asked.
“They probably feared that West and Geiger could be weak links because they were not Chinese,” Garcia said. “They may not even have been members of the Triad but rather outside partners of Liu.”
“So that could mean that Laura Lee and her family weren’t even known to Liu’s boss. They could be safe,” Dupont said.
“It is possible if Liu, West, and Geiger were running a separate side-gig,” Garcia said. “But we err on the side of caution for now and keep your family protected.”
“I’m sure staying at the beach for a few more days won’t be a hardship for my sister,” Laura Lee said. “But it may be for Rich, given that my sister is loving that he is her pretend husband.”
The others laughed. “The funny part is, he doesn’t mind the assignment,” Michael said. “I messaged with him last night and he’s digging this pretend father role.”
“That’s how it starts,” Garcia said. “You fall for the kids and decide you may as well be with the mom.”
“Just stop,” Laura Lee said. “I wouldn’t wish my sister on anyone I know.”
“Okay, back to the case,” Garcia redirected. “Continue cataloguing everything in the phones and laptops. I’ve created a separate page in the joint file to collate email addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses. Smith and I will investigate those in real time as you update the file. Brielle will continue to look at the rental property email to decipher the payment codes and we’ll cross reference IP addresses from the logs accessing those email accounts as well. We’ve already found some commonality. The FBI has given us electronic access to West, Liu, and Geiger’s phones and laptops as well. We’re not sure how valuable they’ll be as everything in them is in code. A different code than the rental property emails.”
“Jeez,” Caleb moaned. “These guys really have their tracks covered.”
“Yes, they do. It’s one of the reasons this network and these crimes have remained undetected for so long,” Garcia said.
Next, they each recapped what they’d found on the devices they were investigating and their impressions of the person the devices belonged to. After Laura Lee had given her report, Garcia handed her Xi Laing’s cell phone. He’d just unlocked it. She couldn’t wait to dive into it.
Of all the reports, she reported finding the most personal content on Xi Laing’s laptop. That further convinced her that he potentially could be flipped. They all returned to their offices and continued their investigations. Angel was in the office, and she’d ordered lunch for everyone, soup, salad, and sandwiches. They gathered in the kitchen on the fifth floor and ate, everyone except for Madison and Dupont, who were officially staffing Ops.
“I see two completely different people in what I’ve read on his laptop and his cellphone so far,” Laura Lee said. “In the emails with his family in China, he’s this strait-laced stereotypical Chinese son. In his creative writing and his text messages with his American friends, he’s this proudly gay man wanting to be just a normal guy. His text messages with the other Chinese men he lived with show someone guarded, who states the facts only. Never any emotion. I almost feel sorry for him, having to live two separate lives.”
“Don’t do that,” Garcia warned. “You can’t make this personal. He’s a suspect, nothing more.”
Laura Lee took a bite of her salad to give her a minute to think about what to say. She felt as though she needed to defend her reasoning. “It’s not like that,” she said. “I’m not making it personal. I’m just trying to understand who he is. I think someone will be able to get through to him if they know exactly what makes him tick.”
“None of them have given up anything. Loyalty is hardwired into these guys,” Garcia said.
“Maybe most of them, but I think Xi Laing is different. He writes about being free. He doesn’t just think about it, he actually writes about it.”
“Just keep your professional distance,” Garcia warned.
“I will,” she said.
After lunch, Laura Lee swung by Angel’s desk. “Hi Angel,” she greeted. “I wanted to let you know that I’ll no longer be staying in the apartment in case someone else needs it.”
