nownovels Chapter 176 Scapegoat
Chapter 176 Scapegoat
Chapter 176 Scapegoat
Jonas's unusual behavior was immediately noticed by the seasoned political veterans before him, and Earl Hall personally stepped forward to inquire:
"Did MI9 receive any prior intelligence? Tell us what you know!"
This assassination attempt was far too sensitive. The political figures involved were naturally suspected, and at this point, if one did not stand firmly by Duke Negan's side, one would be drawing attention to oneself.
Even Robert stood indignantly beside Duke Negan, as if he would step in to help block another assassination attempt.
"Before I came to this banquet, I received a tip-off letter saying that someone was plotting an assassination against a bigwig in Backlund."
Jonas was sweating profusely when he suddenly realized that the whistleblower letter might be a setup targeting him.
After the assassination of the Duke of Negan, this letter became evidence of his incompetence and powerlessness, which he could not shake off. No matter how he tried to explain, he would become a target for those with ulterior motives—if someone wanted to find fault, they would always find a pretext.
But he absolutely dared not hide it, because the letter ended very clearly, and an identical letter of denunciation would also appear on the desks of the three major orthodox churches. Moreover, he believed that the letter of denunciation to the three major churches would also end with a note about reporting to MI9.
If all the intelligence gathered reveals that Jonas concealed this matter, then he will be the prime suspect.
King George III, who was his patron, was the first to target him. If he didn't, George III himself would be suspected and unable to explain himself to anyone.
Thinking about this, Jonas felt a cold sweat break out all over his body. He was glad that he had managed to keep a clear head and hadn't chosen the worst option—lying.
"Now that you've received the report, have you taken any preventative measures?"
Robert, as one of MI9's direct superiors, discovered that his subordinates were suspected of dereliction of duty and decisively took action.
He also gave Duke Negan an apologetic look, as if blaming himself for not managing his subordinates strictly.
Sure enough, Robert wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. Back in the day, he was adept at seizing opportunities and adapting to changing circumstances on the battlefield to deliver a fatal blow.
Jonas was not surprised to see his old friend turn against him, but he still felt as if he had been attacked by a venomous snake, the wound was painful and burning, and he understood how his enemy had felt back then.
Now is not the time to think about so many things. The important thing is to clear myself in front of all the big shots, otherwise I will still be regarded as a suspect and be investigated.
Jonas's mind raced. He realized that the whistleblower had deliberately chosen this time to send him the whistleblower letter in order to prevent him from having a chance to respond, thus reducing the number of intermediaries, pinning him down, and leaving him no room to defend himself.
But Jonas is Jonas after all; he not only fought his way up through the bloody battles of Toyama, but also through the struggles within the bureaucracy.
In an instant, he thought of a way to clear himself of all responsibility and minimize the harm this incident would cause him: to shift the blame.
"When I received the tip-off letter, I was putting on the dress I was wearing for today's banquet. My first thought upon seeing the letter was that it was the Earl Green's birthday banquet, where all the celebrities were gathered. So I rushed over and instructed my secretary, Miss Trish, to coordinate with MI9 to strengthen the protection here."
Upon hearing Jonas's words, Duke Negan, Earl Hall, and the others glanced at the police officers who were maintaining order and treating the wounded.
Looking around at the same few bodyguards from MI9, he turned his gaze back to Jonas, silently asking...
What about the increased security forces you mentioned?
Just as Jonas was about to speak again, trying to distance himself from the situation, shift the attention of the bigwigs to his secretary, and pin the blame on Miss Tracy to completely clear himself of suspicion, Robert spoke up once more:
"Something might have happened on the way. After all, assassins can't act alone. There must be meticulous planning, real-time and accurate intelligence, and a huge organizational capacity behind them. They might even have prepared for rescue forces."
Let's wait a bit longer! Once the MI9 reinforcements arrive, we'll know what happened, where the problem lies, and we can't act rashly to prevent a second assassination attempt.
Many veterans with military experience nodded in agreement, finding it very reasonable and strongly agreeing with Robert's words.
Only Jonas screamed inwardly, "What a load of rubbish! The most important thing in assassination is to conceal your identity, and if you miss, retreat immediately. Stopping reinforcements is bullshit! This is how things are done on the battlefield, and it's completely different from assassination."
But seeing that the bigwigs all agreed, and that he was still a suspect, he could only keep quiet.
At the same time, he was also very clear that there would be no reinforcements coming to his aid this time, because he had not ordered any strengthening of security here.
But it doesn't matter. Miss Tracy is just a scapegoat he pushed out. It goes without saying which is more credible: a secretary's plea for innocence or a deputy director's testimony.
Before long, the first to arrive was Cardinal Ace Snake of the Church of Storms. In front of many nobles and celebrities, he was surrounded by a raging wind and fell directly from the sky, landing in front of the heavily protected Duke Negan.
Archbishop Snake glanced around and said:
"The church received a tip-off that the Witch Cult was plotting to assassinate the Duke. I rushed here after learning you were attending the banquet today, but I was too late. What were the details of the assassination attempt? Was it carried out by the witches?"
The main security detail for Duke Negan is MI9, so the Church of Storms doesn't have real-time access to his whereabouts, which is why they arrived a step late.
"I wonder if His Excellency the Bishop brought the letter of complaint?"
Just as Duke Negan was about to discuss the details with Archbishop Snake, Robert suddenly interrupted.
Snake frowned at first, initially displeased, but then, seeing that it was Robert who had interrupted him, he smiled and said:
"I have this letter of complaint with me. Do you want to inspect it?"
He then pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it over. Robert took it, didn't even look at it, and immediately passed it to Jonas, saying:
"Please take a look at this complaint letter. Is it exactly the same as the complaint letter you received before?"
Everyone present was immediately impressed and understood what Robert meant. They all turned their attention to Jonas. Jonas had felt something was off when he heard Archbishop Snake's words earlier. After receiving the letter of complaint sent to the Storm Church, he noticed the difference and couldn't help but curse inwardly!
The letter of denunciation sent to the Church of Storms contained far more information than the letter delivered to him. Apart from lacking a precise location, it directly stated the time and the forces involved in the assassination attempt on Duke Negan.
It is clear from the wording that the two whistleblower letters were indeed written by the same person, and the source of the intelligence should be the same.
But why was the letter sent to MI9 so vague?
There can only be one reason: to frame him and get rid of him, or at least to pin a charge of incompetence on him, to create a target for those with ulterior motives to attack him.
And this "thoughtful person" refers to people like "Robert".
Sure enough, just as Jonas was cursing inwardly, Robert's voice came:
"Deputy Director Jonas, did you notice anything different?"
"This whistleblower letter is much more detailed than the one I received. It basically describes the entire assassination plan, except for the lack of the location!"
In front of everyone, Jonas couldn't lie and could only tell the truth.
Robert took the letter of complaint from Jonas, read it again, and then said to Duke Negan and the others:
"Most of the people present witnessed today's assassination attempt. The assassin was a woman, and the abilities she displayed were consistent with those of a witch."
Generally speaking, the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society are the most suspicious. The whistleblower letter to MI9 was very vague, and it was obviously the whistleblower targeting Deputy Director Jonas.
There's been some unrest in Backlund lately. Deputy Director Jonas is now in charge of some cleanup work in Backlund, mainly targeting the Gnostic.
So, can we draw a reasonable conclusion that the Witch Cult suffered heavy losses due to the kingdom's attack and chose to carry out an assassination to alleviate their own pressure?
And their arch-rival, the Grim Reaper, after learning of this, warned him through a tip-off, and as retaliation, also gave Deputy Director Jonas vague information.
Jonas was surprised that Robert had come to his rescue. He gave him a grateful look and nodded repeatedly. He then introduced his recent work, explaining that he had been retaliated against by his work partner and that it had nothing to do with his job.
Although the political heavyweights didn't understand why Robert had suddenly let Jonas off the hook when targeting MI9, they found Robert's explanation reasonable, as it directly identified the murderer and revealed the truth of the whole incident. Therefore, they all nodded in agreement with this conclusion.
"After all this time, the support forces from the Church of the Night and the Church of the Steam have arrived, but MI9, which Deputy Director Jonas had specifically instructed us to do beforehand, still hasn't arrived. Deputy Director Jonas really needs to strengthen his control over his subordinates!"
Just when Jonas thought the day was finally over, Robert suddenly spoke up again, and his words were like a knife to Jonas's throat, making Jonas feel like he was about to vomit blood.
Because Robert directly characterized him as "lax in managing his subordinates".
This conclusion did not delve into his responsibility for being incompetent in his duties, but instead pursued his responsibility for failing to manage his subordinates properly. The contradiction was shifted, and he was stabbed in the back from a different angle.
Once this qualifier is applied, the label will be stuck on him for life!