Chapter 4141: When the Pumpkins Ripen (Part 34)

A black-haired girl walked out of the room next door. She was petite, with a youthful face, but her eyes were very lively. Barry recognized her immediately; it was Jenna from the Wonder Twins.

He couldn't help but cover his forehead. Jenna was very powerful, that's true, but you already suspected that the person who stole the research materials was an alien, and now you go to find another alien to investigate this matter, you really deserve to be Amanda.

Of course, Barry knew Jenna was trustworthy. It's just that he was only a small employee of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, and his thinking wouldn't have any effect. But Amanda was different; she was the head of the Federal Shield, and suspicion was sometimes a good quality in a leader.

But since Brainiac didn't express any opinion, Barry naturally wouldn't ask more. So he said: "Hello, Miss Jenna, long time no see."

"Long time no see, Mr. Allen. I heard you joined the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit."

"Yes, I am now a formal agent of the BAU. I read the articles you submitted before, which gave us a lot of inspiration, thank you for your help."

Amanda on the side immediately showed a proud look, but neither Barry nor Jenna paid attention to her. Jenna thought for a while and said: "This theft incident is unusual. If there were no martial law, I would want to go to the accident site to see, but since it's not possible now, looking at photos is also fine. I'll go to the office with you."

"Wait," Amanda said, "This matter is now the responsibility of our Federal Shield, the investigation naturally has to be completed in our office."

"We don't have the responsibility to unconditionally satisfy your desire for control." Jenna spoke first. "The Federal Shield's office is still very imperfect, especially the clerk's office for professional technical work. And the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit already has a very mature work system. There are all the professional equipment I need there, and I can also have professional discussions with technical personnel, which can greatly improve my work efficiency. If you are dissatisfied with this, you should further improve the Federal Shield's guarantee capability in professional technical work, instead of making unreasonable demands that I must stay here."

"Besides, this is the first official task Brainiac gave you, I think compared to specifically where to work, it's more important to produce results as quickly as possible. Only with results can the Federal Shield be saved from its current awkward position and chaotic situation. I think any smart leader would take this as a goal, don't you think?"

This remark left Amanda speechless. Barry couldn't help but chuckle on the side. Sometimes it's a good thing for employees to be smart, but if they are too smart, it's inevitable that they will appear a bit stupid.

Fortunately, their boss in the Behavioral Science Unit only hung a name, and generally didn't come to interfere with their work. They were self-governing most of the time, and currently, they were cooperating very happily.

Thinking of this, Barry couldn't help but think, if only Jenna could be pulled into the BAU. Her talent for psychoanalysis was excellent, and one paper helped them find the murderer of the child kidnapping case. If she joined, work would definitely go more smoothly.

But just at this time, Brainiac suddenly spoke: "Currently, it is during martial law, personnel movement should not be too frequent. Just conduct the investigation in the Federal Shield's office, the required data and personnel will be sent remotely by the FBI's office."

Barry frowned slightly, this request sounded quite normal. But thinking about it carefully, it felt wrong. After all, it was precisely because they didn't want personnel movement to be too frequent that they wanted to go to the FBI's office, which had more complete equipment and personnel. Otherwise, the Federal Shield's office had nothing, if they really needed any equipment, wouldn't they have to send someone to deliver it? Wouldn't the movement be even more frequent?

Besides, these two places were not far from each other, and there was no saying that one side was safe and the other was not. Except for Amanda, no one would want them to stay in the Federal Shield's office. And Amanda was not a professional, and it didn't involve any work attitude issues. Why did they have to stay here?

Barry and Janna exchanged a glance, realizing almost immediately that there must be some hidden story behind this. Only Amanda was smug; she shrugged and said, "I didn't tattle to Brainiac; this was his own decision. As a super artificial intelligence, he naturally understands the importance of unified power and responsibility better..."

The two had no time to listen to her rambling here. Jenna immediately said: "Let them send the site pictures to me, I need to look at the site situation first, and then give me the transcript of the first person who discovered this matter. If there are other witnesses, let them prepare for the connection, I need to ask them personally."

Barry immediately set out to prepare. Amanda took Jenna to the office next door. Although the Federal Shield had an entire building, this building was not big to begin with. The 1st and 2nd floors were reception areas, the 3rd and 4th floors were converted into training rooms, the 5th floor was Amanda's office, and there were only two empty offices left on the same floor. Just as Jenna said, the Federal Shield seemed to be planning to completely abandon clerical work.

What's more outrageous was that this building didn't even have an elevator, and there was only one staircase. Amanda chose the office furthest from the stairs as her office, while the remaining two offices were on the left and right of the stairs; anyone who came up could hear the movement in these two offices, and she seemed to be planning to completely abandon confidentiality work as well.

"Which office do you plan to choose?" Amanda asked.

Jenna stood between the two offices, speechless: "What's the difference between these two offices?"

"Actually, there's no difference. The one on the east side has better lighting. The one on the west side is colder. But overall, they are two good offices."

Jenna was even more speechless. She didn't know that the evaluation standard for an office was whether the lighting was sufficient. Especially since the Federal Shield was an organization of an agent nature. For some reason, Amanda seemed to have never considered the confidentiality needs of the Federal Shield, and even this building was just an incomparably ordinary mansion standing on the city streets.

Regardless, Jenna walked into an office at random. It couldn't even be called simple here, it could almost be called desolate. Except for a table and a chair, there was that large floor-to-ceiling window that looked a bit luxurious. She had to take back her previous thoughts, this wasn't even a matter of confidentiality anymore. She dared to be sure that every move she made while sitting in the chair would be seen clearly by the newspaper delivery boy or the milkman passing by on Green Street.

And at this time, the investigation data about the crime scene of the theft case that Jenna requested from Barry had also been sent over via personal communicator. But there wasn't even a decent image analyzer here, let alone high-definition projection equipment. Jenna covered her forehead, standing in the middle of the room, quite helpless.

"You really have to come over, Barry. By the way, bring the professional equipment of the Behavioral Science Analysis Unit. Otherwise, even if I stay here until next year, it's impossible to see any problems. After all, I'm not Brainiac, and I can't analyze the information I need directly from the pixels of the bitmap."

Amanda seemed to be completely unaware of this; she didn't hear the sarcasm in Jenna's tone, nor did she think there was anything wrong with this office. She just stood there looking at the room, seeming to be very satisfied with her decoration arrangement.

When Barry came, he also brought lunch for Jenna. The two had no interest in tasting food. They finished the food as quickly as possible, poured themselves a full cup of coffee, and then started working in full swing.

After all, this was on Amanda's turf, and Amanda was watching behind them; you never know when she would find something for you to do, and it was the kind of stupid thing that had no benefit to the current situation.

Barry mourned for the equipment he brought. In Amanda's hands, they probably would never see the light of day. Amanda herself was a civil servant, but she seemed to have no understanding of the importance of clerical work. She seemed to be overly obsessed with super-powered people; I don't know if this was a kind of love born from hate.

Although Barry and Jenna received the only task currently owned by the Federal Shield, Amanda seemed very busy. She didn't even have time to stay here and give a few more instructions; seeing them immersed in work, she left in a hurry.

She hadn't left for long when Barry heard movement at the top of the stairs. He wanted to go out and see, but was called back by Jenna. Jenna said while looking down at the photos: "It's useless for you to go now. The eavesdropper won't write his name on his face. Since Brainiac and Amanda have no objections, as subordinates, why must we correct all of this?"

"You're quite open-minded." Barry sighed and said.

"If it were the previous child kidnapping case, I would definitely argue on grounds. But the theft case of scientific research materials? They neither tell us what they are researching, nor can they provide any clues about the thief, and they don't even value the investigation process. Since even the biggest victim, Brainiac, doesn't care about this matter, we don't need to rush—never be anxious for your boss."

Barry nodded, accepting this statement. He began to gradually change his mindset. Looking at the two empty coffee cups by the table, he said with some regret: "If I had known, I would have taken it slow. I really like the coffee here."

"Then go buy two more cups, my treat." Jenna smiled and winked at him.

"That won't do, I won't be able to sleep if I drink too much."

"Can't you shake off the caffeine even if you run so fast? I don't mind, an alien's metabolic ability is much stronger than a human's."

Only then did Barry remember that he was a super-powered person. Although he wasn't sure if his Speed Force could shake off caffeine, at worst, he just wouldn't sleep tonight. Anyway, this work wasn't important, and it was the same to sleep during the day.

So he immediately turned and went out, then said: "Then I'll go buy two more cups. Do you still want a latte?"

"Give me a flat white, add more sugar. Anyway, I'm not afraid of getting fat. Bring another donut, I'll eat while watching."

Barry gave her an "OK" gesture, and then went out. Just after walking out, he heard movement at the safety door leading to the balcony in the stairwell below. It seemed like someone had rushed to hide there. But he didn't care at all.

Although the Federal Shield's equipment was simple, Brainiac didn't put fewer cameras here. Everyone's every move was under Brainiac's nose, and there was no space for sneaking around at all. If there really was, it must have been allowed by Brainiac.

And regarding why Brainiac let them stay in the Federal Shield, which had such simple equipment, and let people come and go in the stairwell without worrying about information leakage, Barry had certain guesses, but no evidence. However, based on these guesses alone, he wouldn't be suspicious and fearful anymore.

So he slowly came downstairs. The ancient buildings on Green Street were submerged in the golden leaves of maple trees, as if returning to many years ago when this was the most prosperous commercial street. The rich walked in groups, laughing and talking, walking under the same blue sky, stepping over the same golden fallen leaves. Banknotes were scattered from the roof, and jewelry was scattered all over the ground. In the era of extravagance, autumn was always particularly colorful.

And now, people who stepped on this street again didn't need to have any guilt for such beautiful scenery and memories. Because the children were running and laughing in the warm corridors of the East End, playing hide-and-seek between the bouncy castles, and the laughter almost melted this forest of reinforced concrete.

When Barry pushed open the door of the coffee shop again, he smelled a rich pumpkin aroma. ===== CHAPTER 4142 =====