The gunshots that lasted for most of the night did not stop until dawn. By then, the outside of the Japanese community was already surrounded by reporters and onlookers, but they were all stopped outside the cordon by the police who were there to maintain order.
The mayor of São Paulo and some government officials also rushed to the scene early in the morning. Mayor Mercati Scalia instructed the staff around him to calm the emotions of the citizens and reporters while rushing to the scene.
Mayor Scalia was very angry. The police did not inform the city government before taking action. He was awakened by his secretary in the morning and learned that the Japanese community was surrounded by the police and an action was launched. Gunshots rang out in the middle of the night. He had no idea what was going on, which made him very angry. Therefore, he did not go back to the city government to work, but rushed to the scene angrily to ask the police chief what was going on.
When he arrived at the scene and saw the bodies scattered all over the floor, he was even more shocked, especially when he saw many police officers dead or injured. He saw Police Chief Hodges and a group of police officers gathered in a living room, so he rushed in and said, "Hodges, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly attack the Japanese community? Don't you police officers need to report such a large-scale operation to the city government? Don't forget, I appointed you as the chief."
Chief Hodges, who was checking the information stolen by the Japanese with the police, was startled when he heard the scolding behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Mayor Scalia. He quickly stepped forward and saluted. After all, this was his immediate superior and he was also the police chief appointed by him. This time, he was indeed acting on his own accord and did not communicate well. He quickly said:
"Mr. Mayor, this matter is really urgent and there is no time to deal with it. I was planning to finish dealing with it last night and then come to explain the situation to you early this morning. As a result, things went wrong and the original plan was disrupted. Please come over here and I will explain it to you." As he spoke, he directed the mayor to a pile of evidence.
Mayor Scalia could only temporarily suppress his anger after hearing what Director Hodges said. He followed him to the table and saw many things on the table, including a radio and documents, some of which had been partially burned.
"Last night, Captain Blackwell of the garrison came to me and told me that a combat hero of the expeditionary force returned to our Sao Paulo yesterday. When he went to pick him up, he heard him say that he suspected that the Black Dragon Society, a gangster organization in the Japanese community, might be engaged in espionage activities. Their garrison wanted to take action. However, considering that Sao Paulo belongs to my jurisdiction, they can't take action directly without going through me, so they came to inform me. But it was already very late at that time. In order to avoid more trouble, the captain and I had no time to inform you, so we could only arrange people directly to start taking action against these little Japanese. As a result, I didn't expect that these Axis bastards actually had spies in our police station, so they discovered our actions in advance, and the sneak attack they had prepared turned into a violent attack, so we caused a large number of casualties. And the two leaders escaped. I am really sorry, please punish me!"
Director Hodges reported the incident in detail to Mayor Scalia, but the incident of seeking justice for the war hero was turned into the war hero suspecting the Japanese of espionage.
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Mayor Scalia was shocked when he heard this and said, "These Japanese are spying in Brazil. Do you have any evidence? The Japanese population in Sao Paulo is quite large. If you act without any actual evidence, it will cause strong dissatisfaction among the people. Do you understand? There are already many citizens and reporters outside who want to know the truth. How do you want me to explain your police actions?"
"Mr. Mayor, please look, all the evidence on the table is from the Black Dragon Society's hall, as well as their high-power radio. These Japanese spies stole a lot of information, and a lot of it was destroyed when they resisted. From the information we rescued, we found the deployment map of our Brazilian Navy and the timetable of transport ships between us and the Americans. Obviously, these people have been active in Brazil for a very long time, and have penetrated us deeply. Even our police station has their spies. Therefore, I would like to use the escape of two Japanese spies this time as an excuse to place all Japanese people under surveillance. Because the Black Dragon Society alone cannot collect so much intelligence, I seriously suspect that there are a large number of Japanese in the entire Japanese community who provide information and cover for these spies."
"These damn Japanese actually dared to engage in espionage activities in Brazil and infiltrated the police station. How can you be the police chief? Others have already entered your home, but you still need to be reminded. I need you to give me a written report, and you must catch the spies in your police station within two days. Now bring all the evidence with me to hold a live press conference outside. We need to give an explanation to the citizens." After understanding what happened, Mayor Scalia could only appease the citizens first and then trouble Chief Hodges.
Our Chief Hodges was a bit at a loss when he heard that he was asked to find the spy in the police station within two days! After all, solving the case is not his forte! Flattery is fine, corruption is fine, but asking him to find a scapegoat is better than asking him to investigate the case.
But the mayor had given the order, so he had no choice but to go ahead. Soon the police led the reporters to the Black Dragon Society's hall, and the mayor began to exaggerate the espionage case, explaining how long ago the police had discovered the clues, how they had conducted a thorough investigation, and how they had obtained enough evidence before launching a surprise attack on the spy den. However, because the spies had all received strict training, the police suffered heavy losses.
He affirmed the excellent performance of the police in cracking this major espionage case, and expressed his determination and confidence in maintaining the security and stability of Sao Paulo. Finally, he condemned the Japanese espionage behavior and expressed his indignation at all Japanese expatriates who provided convenience and intelligence to the Japanese intelligence department. He also said that he would report to the president and list the Japanese as an unwelcome group in Sao Paulo. If it weren't for the fact that Brazil belonged to the Allies and Japan belonged to the Axis Powers, and the two countries were now in a state of war and had no embassies to each other, he might have protested at the embassy.
Finally, he called on all São Paulo citizens to capture the fugitive spies and promised that the city government would offer a reward of 5,000 US dollars for the two spies.
Then, Chief Hodges gave a speech, repeating almost what the mayor said. He even said, "Please pay attention to the Japanese around you, as they may be spies of the Japanese." He also ordered the police to put all Japanese under residential surveillance until the end of the war.
The reporters below were all indignant as they looked at the evidence in front of them and the number of Japanese who had exchanged fire with the police. In just one night, the Japanese in Sao Paulo would have difficulty taking a single step in Sao Paulo. I believe that with the passage of time, the continued coverage in the newspapers, and the high bounty offered by the city government, the Japanese will become street rats in Sao Paulo for quite a long time to come.
Fang Lang had never expected what was happening here. He had never thought that things would develop to this point after Captain Blackwell, who sent him home, approached the police chief because of Colonel Teach's words. However, Fang Lang was definitely happy to see this happen.
After Chief Hodges dealt with the situation at the scene, he returned to the police station and met Captain Blackwell who came to see him. The captain already had a general understanding of what happened last night. He regretted it in his heart. If he had known that this organization was a spy organization, he would not have been so idle as to give the credit to Chief Hodges!
He had to participate no matter what, but now that the matter was done, Captain Blackwell had to see if Chief Hodges would behave himself. Even if he couldn't get any credit, he had to get some actual benefits!
"Chief Hodges, I gave you such a big gift, I wonder how you are going to thank me!"
"Brother, I will definitely not forget you for this kind of thing! Don't worry, I have already reported this matter to the mayor. It was you who discovered the abnormality. We launched the operation together. Because your people are soldiers, it is not easy for them to show up directly. They are all wearing our police uniforms. So, don't worry, you will definitely get a share of the credit."
Hodges was also in a bitter mood! If it weren't for the spies in the police station who let the Japanese know in advance and caught all the spies in one fell swoop, he would not have shared his credit! However, because two of the spies escaped and the operation was leaked, he was also worried that he would not get any credit and would be punished. He could only drag Captain Blackwell with him. It was also a good choice to drag the captain to share the risk when writing the report.
Although some of the credit might be shared, it was also very good to be able to share the risk. Moreover, this case was originally discovered by the Captain when he suggested that he teach the Japanese a lesson, and it was discovered by accident.
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