Then, pointing to the mess on the ground, he said, "Call someone in to clean up the mess."
"Yes, sir!" The secretary quickly nodded in agreement. He knew very well that something extremely serious had happened, otherwise the usually calm and composed Section Chief Sagawa would not have acted so out of control.
Soon, Yuji Imai, who had run all the way over, pushed open the office door and walked in.
"Section Chief, what happened?" Yuji Imai asked cautiously.
Sagawa Taro looked at Imai Yuji with a wry smile on his face and slowly said, "Imai-kun, just now Murakami Keita called to report a big matter."
"What is it?" Imai Yuji's heart jumped. He could tell from Sagawa Taro's expression that this was definitely not a good thing. Come to think of it, nothing good had happened lately.
Taro Sagawa said slowly and deliberately, "Just yesterday afternoon, all 33 members of our five intelligence teams that were infiltrating the Hangzhou area were captured by Chinese agents in one fell swoop, and our intelligence network suffered a devastating blow."
"What? This is impossible!" Upon hearing the news, Yuji Imai could hardly believe his ears. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Our intelligence network, which we've built up over many years, has absolutely reliable identities for every member. How could they all be captured together?"
"There's a traitor!" How could the two of them say this almost at the same time!
Sagawa Taro's face hardened, and he said through gritted teeth, "Such a large-scale exposure can only mean there's a problem at the root! The only one who knows the situation of all the members is Murakami Keita. Your previous guess was correct; he must be the culprit! I managed to keep him calm on the phone just now. Now, you immediately lead a group of operatives to Hangzhou and take him into custody as soon as possible!"
"Yes, I understand!" Imai Yuji bowed and saluted, immediately accepting the order. "But Chief, Murakami is also the most senior agent. Should we use some methods to investigate him? What kind of result do we need?"
Yuji Imai naturally understood that the intelligence network in the Hangzhou area had been completely destroyed, and the serious consequences of the matter were hard to estimate. Even Taro Sagawa and himself would not be able to escape responsibility!
The reason why Sagawa Taro immediately labeled Murakami Keita as a traitor was not only because Murakami himself was indeed highly suspected, but also because someone needed to take responsibility for the whole incident. Otherwise, the military and the Ministry of Home Affairs would definitely carry out a major purge of the Special Higher Police Headquarters, and Sagawa Taro and himself would be doomed.
This is a huge deal; it's not something you can get away with just by resigning.
“Imai-kun, Murakami must die,” Sagawa Taro felt that things had to be explained clearly, otherwise he would be implicated if anything went wrong. “If he doesn’t die, we will both commit seppuku to atone for our sins! There can be no leniency. Besides, our previous judgments all matched his situation. Murakami knew about the defeat in Nanjing, and he was the only suspect in the disastrous defeat in Hangzhou. Otherwise, none of this makes sense!”
Indeed, there are too many suspicious points surrounding Keita Murakami, so many that he cannot deny them at all.
Sagawa Taro's meaning was crystal clear. Imai Yuji nodded and said, "I understand. However, the consequences of this incident are too severe. Just handing over Murakami Keita, the traitor, will probably be difficult to explain to the military. The section chief and I will be seriously implicated. We need to be prepared!"
Taro Sagawa nodded heavily. As the head of the Special Higher Police, he was deeply responsible and would certainly be severely punished this time.
"Section Chief, could we consider closing the net ahead of schedule and retaliating against the Chinese agents on the espionage battlefield in Shanghai, severely damaging the Shanghai military intelligence station? With this achievement, we can mitigate the impact of the disastrous defeat in Hangzhou, and perhaps we still have a chance to turn things around."
"Closing the net ahead of schedule?" Sagawa Taro blurted out, then hesitated before saying, "That's such a pity. If we act hastily, all that preparation will be for nothing!"
Yuji Imai quickly stepped forward and advised, "Chief, let's get through this difficult time first. There's a Chinese proverb that says, 'Where there's life, there's hope!' As long as we stay in this position, our careers as special agents aren't over yet, and we can find opportunities like this again in the future!"
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