Chapter 172: Stirring the Waters

Chapel shook his head, still unsure of his judgment, and kept watching the video intently.

Sades didn't disturb Chapel, instead instructing the security personnel to slow down the playback several times. By the time the footage showed William walking to the back of the car, it was already slowed down more than tenfold.

Fortunately, William had a storage space, and he stood behind the car for only two seconds. The video didn't show him touching or holding the declaration, which frustrated Chapel. Was his judgment wrong?

Sades asked anxiously, "Did you find any clues?"

Chapel, looking at William's calm face, couldn't discern any anxiety or panic and could only shake his head at Sades. "No."

This disappointed Sades, who angrily complained to his subordinates, "Why didn't we get any intelligence from the special service beforehand? This is negligence."

At this point, a special agent hesitated and made a sound. Sades immediately turned to him and asked directly, "Agent Hunter, what do you have to say?"

Hunter, looking nervous and stuttering, said, "Uh, well, we did receive a report two days ago about someone planning to steal the Declaration of Independence."

Sades, excited, asked, "Do you have information on the informant?"

"Sorry, sir, we thought it was nonsense at the time, so we didn't file it," Hunter stammered.

Sades was so angry he almost spat blood. "Do you still think it's nonsense now, idiot? Don't tell me this is all you have. If you're lying, I'll lock you in the darkest cell."

Hunter, sweating, hurriedly said, "The informant was this person," pointing at Ben Gates in the video.

Sades grabbed Hunter's arm. "Go on."

"Ben Gates and another person reported that an Englishman named Ian's gang would steal the Declaration."

"Wait, an Englishman?" Sades turned to William. "Is he your man, Mr. Devonshire?"

"Wow, no, no, I don't know them. These people are with Ben Gates. I didn't know them before," William quickly denied.

Sades was surprised. "What? Ben Gates has been in contact with those people all along?"

Seizing the opportunity to confuse the situation, William immediately said, "Of course. That guy named Ian is Ben Gates's sponsor. I heard from Riley that they've been together for two years. You might find something from that."

Sades nodded and told his subordinates, "Did you hear that? I want to know everything about Ben Gates in the past few years. Find his address and close relatives immediately."

A female agent nearby said, "We've already found Ben Gates's address and sent people to check it out. We should get news in a few minutes."

Sades quickly shouted, "Wait, if Ben Gates has other accomplices, the agents going to check could be in danger. Call in the SWAT team. We'll go too."

Everyone agreed. If Ian and his people were at Ben Gates's house, a few agents would indeed be in great danger. "Understood, I'll call the SWAT team right away."

As they were about to head to Ben Gates's house, William suddenly asked Sades, "Can I use the restroom? You know, it was a party tonight, and I drank a lot of champagne."

"Robert, Caesar, you two follow Mr. Devonshire to the restroom. Don't let him out of your sight, and get someone to check if Mr. Devonshire has anything hidden on him," Sades ordered.

After instructing his subordinates, Sades told William, "You have two minutes, William. We'll wait in the hall. Hurry up."

Agent Caesar used an instrument to check William thoroughly, then nodded to Sades, indicating there were no issues. Sades grunted in acknowledgment, and William, accompanied by two agents, went to the restroom.

Entering the restroom, the two agents checked the cubicles before allowing William in, standing guard at the door.

"God, you don't intend to watch me, do you? Guys, you've checked the cubicle. For God's sake, don't be so weird. Sades only gave me two minutes. If I'm late, you explain it to him."

Reluctantly, the agents turned their backs. Once the door was closed, William took out a spare phone from his storage space and sent a text to John Wick, who was following Ben Gates.

Ever since he saw Chapel, William had been planning how to respond. With little time, he could only let John Wick act first to snatch the replica from Ben Gates, stirring the waters to buy himself some time.

After sending the text, William didn't wait for John Wick's reply. He put the phone on silent and threw it into his storage space. Washing his hands, he hurried back to Ben Gates's house with the others.

Over ten minutes later, Sades, his men, and William arrived at Ben Gates's house in Washington. Downstairs, a fully armed SWAT team was waiting.

After briefing the SWAT team on the situation and precautions, a twelve-man team slowly moved up according to the action plan. A few minutes later, the radio in Chapel's hand transmitted the word "safe."

Chapel cursed silently, "Damn it," realizing Ben Gates and his group weren't there.

Following Chapel inside, William exclaimed, "Look at this. It seems Ben Gates was really intent on stealing the Declaration of Independence. Look, he even prepared the detection equipment and environment, a dust-free environment, EDS equipment, an air particle filtration system. And what's this? Lemons?"

William was puzzled by the lemons but suddenly understood. "Ha, Ben Gates is quite the genius, thinking of using citric acid."

The agents, puzzled by the lemons, looked curiously at William.

Not keeping them in suspense, William explained with a smile, "What was the Declaration of Independence written on?"

Chapel thought for a moment. "It should be parchment."

"Exactly. Over 200 years ago, parchment was soaked in lime water during the production process to remove hair and fat. Lime water is alkaline, and lemons can neutralize the alkalinity on the parchment. Just heat the parchment, and the hidden secrets will be revealed. Ben Gates is quite the talent. This method is simple and doesn't damage the paper."

Seeing the only female agent, Lily, wearing gloves and picking up a stack of documents, William curiously asked, "What are these?"

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