fictionpage Chapter 28 The Greedy
Chapter 28 The Greedy
Titus pointed to one of the monitors and said:
"A perfume shop in Florence, look here! At 14:23 PM, there's only a one-second shot. He pays great attention to detail, choosing the afternoon when the customer traffic is at its peak. I almost misjudged him."
Starling looked over in surprise.
In the surveillance footage, Hannibal Lecter, dressed in a light-colored casual suit and wearing a sun hat, is seen bending down to smell a perfume, and the camera captures his profile.
This guy crossed the Atlantic and went to Italy on the other side.
Titus dialed the local police station in Florence, and the video was transcribed and sent by an officer named Per.
"Hello, this is the Florence xxx Police Precinct."
"Hello, this is FBI Agent Tytus. I'm looking for Officer Pell."
"..."
"Officer Pell is out. What can I do for you?"
"We'd like to know some details about Officer Pell's transcription of the videotape. May I ask who you are?"
"Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi. Well, I have an appointment later, so I have to go."
"Wait, it'll only take you two minutes..."
Titus sensed something was wrong. Damn it, this dog shit is having a date so early in the morning!
He pressed the microphone and asked Starling to look into this Rinaldo Pazzi.
"We discovered a dangerous wanted criminal in the videotape—Hannibal Lecter."
"Yeah?"
"He was seen in Florence."
"I'm not quite sure."
"Wait, you don't know him? Hannibal Lecter?"
"I don't know, should I know about him?"
By this time, Starling had already retrieved some information about the Florence authorities and Rinaldo Pazzi, especially regarding the FBI's internal network.
"But I saw here... that you repeatedly browsed Hannibal Lecter's information in the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list."
"Oh, maybe other colleagues saw it."
Titus sneered inwardly. He had deliberately said "you," and this guy had taken the opportunity to respond, clearly having something to hide.
"But the browsing history I found is on your home computer."
"..."
The call fell into a brief silence. Titus instantly understood: the FBI's bounty on Lecter was $25, while the civilian bounty on Hannibal was $300 million. Titus had specifically investigated the person who placed the bounty, and unsurprisingly, it was Mason Vijay.
Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi chose not to report the crime in order to secure the $300 million reward.
"Are you going to find him alone, for that bounty?"
"Inspector Patch, I think you understand, Lecter is an extremely dangerous cannibal!"
"He has killed 14 people in a row."
"...beep beep beep"
Inspector Patch hung up the phone!
That damn bastard! That greedy scoundrel!
Even I could see right through him within minutes of meeting him. He'll definitely be devoured by that cunning old man Hannibal!
It's practically free!
Titus hung up the phone and immediately said:
"Starling, this is a matter of life and death! We need to report to Crawford right now and fly to Florence!"
……
Let's go back to yesterday, to Florence.
Inspector Patch arrived at the public phone booth and nervously dialed the number listed in the unofficial reward notice.
"...beep beep beep"
The damn phone call seemed to be pounding on his conscience again and again.
He knew the right thing to do was to report the information to the FBI, not to act out of his own greed...
He waited for about seven or eight seconds, but the call didn't go through.
He took a deep breath; the phone call hadn't gone through, but he felt much more relaxed.
Pazzi straightened his collar and was about to leave when the phone in the public phone booth suddenly rang!
The sound was like Pandora's box, repeatedly pounding on his desires!
FUCK!
0.01 seconds later, Patch used his teleportation skill to answer the phone, his tone rapid:
"Is this the one who put a bounty on Hannibal? I can provide clues about him!"
"What? You need to provide his fingerprints to confirm it's him?"
"No, sir... wait, you said you'd get a $10 advance payment for the fingerprints, and then give me another $300 million after you catch him, and I wouldn't even have to catch him myself!"
"No problem! One day, I only need one day!"
That afternoon, he followed Lecter to Street A, where he came into contact with Lecter's disguised identity—a museum curator.
In Florence, nobody knows Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal; they only know Phil, the erudite museum curator.
While following the route, Patch came up with a plan and bought a spotless, reflective sterling silver bracelet.
He then easily discovered one of Florence's defining characteristics—street pickpockets—and chose one who wasn't particularly skilled.
When the pickpocket gets close to Hannibal, Hannibal will definitely notice and then grab his hand. And the guy happens to be wearing a large silver bracelet on his wrist, so his fingerprints are on the table!
Tried and true illegal tricks!
Pazzi witnessed the pickpocket's crime. After he finished stealing, Pazzi easily pushed him into an alley and coerced him into taking his fingerprints.
Under the police inspector's authority, the pickpocket had no choice but to agree, and everything proceeded as Pazzi had planned.
The pickpocket was about to get close to Mr. Lecter!
Amidst the surging crowd, the scents of Tuscan berries and bay leaves mingled. Lecter and the pickpocket crossed paths for a fleeting moment, and then Detective Pazzi saw the pickpocket kneel down. Lecter quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Blood gushed out like a fountain. The pickpocket pressed hard on his lower abdomen, and Patch rushed over to help him to a secluded spot.
"Help me... I think I can still be saved."
Under the pickpocket's pleading gaze, Pazzi slowly pulled away the hand that was pressing against his wound.
In the end, the pickpocket died from excessive blood loss, and Dr. Lecter, with precise and swift movements, severed his carotid artery.
I've got the fingerprint sensor!
Detective Pazzi took the silver bracelet and washed the blood off his hands with the spring water in the street. The crimson crime seeped into this international city famous for its art, Florence, along with the spring water.
As agreed, the employer paid Patch $100,000. Looking at the box full of green Franklin, Inspector Patch once again suggested that he personally arrest Hannibal Lecter.
Because this way he could earn extra money, the employer readily agreed.
……
Back to today, after Inspector Pazzi hung up on Tetus, he quickly called his employer to discuss the arrangements for his pick-up after the deal was done.
According to his sources, Lecter will be holding a study session on Dante at the museum.
He knew his chances were numbered; the FBI would soon be there, and everything would be over.
The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish!
Pazi gritted his teeth and stepped into the museum alone.
Meanwhile, when Titus landed in Florence, they learned from the local police station that Inspector Pazzi had gone out on a field mission without reporting it.
An officer told them that Pazzi had recently been seeing a lot of people, including a museum curator named Fair.
Realizing something was wrong, the two asked for the museum's location and rushed there.
Throughout the journey, Titus used the FBI's internal network to find Patch's private phone number and kept calling him.
Before long, they arrived at the museum in a police car.
Just as he got out of the car, Titus dialed the number one last time. The call was still pending when suddenly the sound of liquid and soft material falling from the sky rang out!
He looked up and saw Inspector Patch hanging in the street like an animal on the upper floor of the museum, his abdomen cut open, with soft, sticky things falling down and shattering into pieces!