Chapter 10 — The Night of Power Failure on the 17th Floor

Below is an old river that has turned black, the banks are filled with waste stones. At 5:17 p.m., under the protection of plainclothes police, Khuong Hoa went to the third pier of the bridge. An An sat in a car on the bridge, looking at her through the railing in the distance. Captain Dien's people had already cleaned up the scene in advance. But it's still unusually cold underneath the bridge. Khuong Hoa squatted, followed the map, and pried open the third loose brick next to the bridge pier. Behind the brick there is an iron pipe covered with oilcloth. Captain Dien put on gloves and took it out. There are no books in the iron pipe. Also no money. Inside is a list. Nineteen names. After each name there is a date and amount. Luong Thua Vien is in the first row. The banker is in the seventh row. The apartment complex manager is in the twelfth row. When Khuong Hoa saw the last line, his breathing suddenly stopped. The last line is not a name. Which is a saying. In the next purge, police officer Dien Minh Vien will be dealt with first. Almost at the same time, Captain Dien's phone rang. He looked at the incoming number, his expression changed slightly. After the call was connected, a woman's voice was crying and trembling inside. "Mr. Dien, someone came to school to pick up our son." "He said he sent it." "He even knew the boy's home name." 10 Captain Dien's face changed in just a moment. The next second, he took the phone away from his ear and turned on the speakerphone. On the phone, the woman's crying voice was still shaking. "Brother Dien, say something." "That person is at the school gate, he said if he can't pick up the child, he will go find me." Captain Dien did not immediately ask what the other person looked like. He only asked one question: "What color shoes are you wearing today, son?" The other end of the line stopped. The woman choked up. "Red." Captain Dien's fingers slowly tightened. Khuong Hoa saw his eyes darken. Captain Dien's son never wears red shoes. This is the code the couple agreed upon before. If she just answers one detail in life wrong, it proves that there is someone next to her or the call is being monitored. Captain Dien's voice was very steady. "Don't panic." "Do as he says." "Don't hang up." After speaking, he used his other hand to write four words on paper. Phone is controlled. Police Officer Ha immediately turned around and contacted his colleagues near the school. An An sat in the car, her face as white as paper. She heard the words "home name". That feeling is very familiar. It's not just about being watched. It's that the opponent has already placed each person's weakness on the table, then flipped each card out in turn. Khuong Hoa held her hand. But An An looked down at the bridge again. "Mom, we can't let Captain Dien leave here." Khuong Hoa was stunned. "Why?" An An's voice was very low. "They are forcing him to leave." "As soon as the thing under the bridge was taken out, they immediately took action on his son." "If he leaves, the Nam Kieu bridge will be chaotic." Captain Dien heard. He looked at An An but did not praise, just said to police officer Ha. "The matter at the school is left to the second team." "This side will not withdraw." "Seal the evidence on the spot, do not transport it along the usual route." Police officer Ha nodded. But just as he was about to put the iron pipe in the box, An An suddenly said. "Don't use the box you brought." Everyone looked at her. An An pursed her lips. "Last time, they knew what we said in the testimony room." "This time, they can also know how the evidence will be transported." Captain Dien did not object. He asked someone to bring the dredging worker's old tool bag under the bridge and let the two policemen wear it

Plain clothes brought the empty evidence box and left first. Khuong Hoa looked at the empty box being put into the car, her heart rate gradually increased. Ten minutes later, as soon as the truck carrying empty boxes left the east side of Nam Kieu Bridge, a motorbike suddenly rushed out from the alley. The person sitting on the back of the motorbike raised his hand and threw a glass bottle. The bottle hit the car's front cover, causing fire to immediately flare up. The driver hit the steering wheel hard, causing the front of the car to hit the roadside railing. Two plainclothes policemen rolled out of the car and immediately called out loudly. Khuong Hoa's legs under the bridge were soft. If real evidence was in that car, it was stolen. Captain Dien's face was very ugly, but he still did not move. He said softly. “An An guessed right.” On the bridge, chaos became apparent. Passersby shouted and backed away. Someone took advantage of the chaos and ran down the bridge. That person wore a gray baseball cap, was not tall, and walked very fast. As soon as Khuong Hoa saw it, his heart almost stopped beating. "Gray hat." Captain Dien raised his hand. Two plainclothes policemen rushed out from behind a pile of waste stones to block the road. The person wearing the gray hat turned and ran. He did not run to the main road but crawled into the sewer next to the bridge. Police Ha immediately chased after him. An An suddenly pushed the car door. Khuong Hoa immediately held her back.