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Heir of the White Lotus (Web Novel) - Chapter 2153: Contingencies
Chapter 2153: Contingencies
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
Adam’s nerves were on edge.
Still, it didn’t take long for him to make his way to the records section.
Thankfully, the original Garrick Voss wasn’t much of a talker. The people at the headquarters didn’t seem to expect him to engage in conversations, either. Junior Watchmen saluted him as he passed, while his superiors barely spared him a glance.
Just as Adam hoped. Still, he could barely prevent his heart from thundering inside his chest. One wrong move, and he would be found out. Not to mention, the building contained countless powerful men and women far stronger than him.
Calm down. Breathe.
He kept repeating those words inside his mind as he made his way down several flights of stairs, eventually reaching one of the underground chambers where the City Watch stored its old records and evidence.
He also made sure to observe his surroundings and get a layout of the building. It would come in handy if things turned south.
The air was cold and musty. Shelves lined the walls, filled with boxes, sealed containers, and stacks of documents dating back countless years.
Behind a wooden desk sat an elderly man with thinning hair and round spectacles perched on his nose. He glanced up when Adam approached, taking a few moments to recognize him.
"Lieutenant Voss? What brings you down here?"
"Looking for an old case file," Adam replied casually, his voice flawlessly modulated to match Voss’s.
"How old?" the elderly man asked.
"A decade or so."
"That narrows it down to several... thousand documents." The old man sighed as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Do you have a case number, Lieutenant?"
Adam’s mind worked with all kinds of excuses. He replied, "No. But do look for keywords: Leto Morgan and Havel Norwood."
The old man stared at him for a few moments.
"Many people been looking for that fellow’s records lately," he said. "That was quite the case. Famous author and explorer, wasn’t he?"
"So I’ve heard," Adam replied flatly.
He noticed something strange about the man’s tone.
Inwardly, he thought with all seriousness: People are looking for Morgan’s records? Here? And that too recently? Just what in the nine hells is going on?
The records keeper studied him for a moment before shrugging.
"Well, I can’t promise you’ll find much. Some of the older records have been moved around over the years. But the arrest records should still be here somewhere."
"Just point me in the right direction," Adam said.
The elderly man squinted at him. For a moment, Adam’s heart leapt to his throat as he wondered if he’d given something away. But then the man simply gestured toward a series of shelves in the back.
"Third row, bottom shelf. Look for the records from that year. You’ll have to sort through them yourself."
Adam nodded. He did not thank the man. That wasn’t what Voss would do. He simply turned and walked toward the shelves.
Only after he had put some distance between himself and the old man did he allow himself to breathe a little easier.
So far, so good.
He crouched before the designated shelf and began examining the labels on the boxes. One after another, he pulled them out and searched through their contents, carefully returning each document before moving on to the next.
Minutes passed. Then almost half an hour later, he finally found it. A record from almost a decade ago. The day of Leto Morgan’s arrest.
The file contained far less information than what Michael had managed to gather. Adam flipped through the documents, his brows gradually furrowing.
What the hell?
It seemed Michael had really gone above and beyond in his investigation. The official records in his hands presently offered little insight into the circumstances surrounding Morgan’s arrest. Important details seemed to be missing, and the information that remained was frustratingly vague.
It was almost as if someone had deliberately ensured that nobody could find anything related to Morgan on that particular day.
How convenient.
Adam’s expression slowly darkened.
He carefully returned the documents to the file and continued searching through the records. Fortunately, he managed to find something useful in the list of persons of interest.
Havel Norwood.
Adam studied the information attached to the name. There wasn’t much, but it was enough to give him a direction. The man had gone missing around the time of Morgan’s arrest and had never been found since.
It states that Havel Norwood went missing only two days prior to Morgan’s arrest, he thought.
The former Known Lord’s grandson might have simply vanished for unrelated reasons, but given everything Adam had learned so far from Morgan, he was inclined to think that something far more nefarious was at play.
Morgan said it was his close friendship with Havel that got him arrested.
The two were supposed to meet the night before Morgan’s arrest, but Havel never appeared.
Where did he vanish? And for what reason did the two want to meet?
Adam carefully memorized what little information there was on Havel Norwood before returning the file to its original place.
Finding Havel Norwood was his next objective. At least, now Adam had somewhere to start looking.
Having fulfilled his goal, he prepared to leave. Just as he was about to leave the chamber, the doors opened, and two mean-looking Watchmen entered.
Adam froze. They were looking right at him.
"Garrick, what’re you doing here?" One of them asked, his tone oozing with suspicion
The other kept glancing between Adam and the records keeper.
Dragonshit! Adam cursed inwardly.
Did I end up giving away something, after all?
The fact that one of the men kept switching glances between Adam and the elderly record keeper further confirmed his suspicion.
"Thought it would take you a couple of days, at least," the second man said.
Adam had a flat look on his face, displaying just a hint of annoyance in his eyes. "What do you want?"
The two newcomers exchanged glances, something very subtle passing in between them. Catching that exchange, Adam’s heart sank.
"Nothing," the second man said.
"The Captain’s looking for you," the first man added, leaving no room for refusal. "Let’s go."
Adam nodded. "Very well, lead the way."
The three soon left the underground chamber.
Everything in Adam’s vision slowed down. One of the men was leading the way, while the other trailed behind. He was sandwiched in between.
Adam’s worst fears had come true.
They know!
As they climbed the stairs, Adam quickly reviewed all the contingencies he had planned before infiltrating the City Watch’s headquarters.
He knew there was a high risk involved in entering and leaving one of the most secure buildings in the city. Yet he had chosen to go ahead anyway. And there was a reason for that.
Adam spotted the chamber where the men and women of the Watch trained. Its entrance was twenty meters away from the staircase, and right beside the training room lay one of his contingency plans.
"I’m going to go to the restroom," Adam said. "Wait a minute."
The two men exchanged glances again.
But Adam had already entered the restroom.
One of them tried to stop him, but the other held him back. He shook his head and whispered in a low voice, "There’s no other way out except this door. We’ll keep watch. He has nowhere to go."
The two stood guard outside the restroom entrance. One of them brought his bracelet to his mouth and issued a command:
"Send in the others. We have a possible intruder."
