Chapter 265
“Ms. Wong, I’ve looked through all the documents and records you submitted to this committee regarding your emergency plea for access.” a woman in her 50s with her grey hair in a lob, round face, round glasses sat behind a committee member table and said to Josephine Wong in a slightly high pitched voice and a slow pace: “I notice that this is the only application for emergency plea of access you’ve filed so far every since you became a regional liaison, am I right?”
“Yes, that is correct.” Josephine Wong nodded.
“And this… Jianmen Yu, he’s not collaborated with any agency of the Division before, is that right?”
“Yes that’s right.”
“And have you considered employing members from other departments or sections of the Division instead? This would make sure that the sensitive case information would still largely remain inside the main body of the Division without any extra risk of leaks.”
“Ms. Swanson, though Mr. Yu hasn’t been very friendly with the Division, he and I have a pretty good relationship and I trust him and his expertise in handling the situation with Clearwater Municipal Hospital.” Josephine Wong answered: “He’s the one that helped me resolve the paranormal pollution of a large area in San Francisco, which was marvelously done, I believe the Commissioner could attest to that.” Then she laid her eyes on the Commissioner, who was also a member of the committee.
“Yes, yes, you submitted that in the records.” Ms. Swanson nodded and crossed her arms: “But one could argue that the situation at San Francisco, and the problem we’re facing with the Clearwater Municipal Hospital, can both be assigned to our internal departments. Especially our newly founded internal paranormality quick response units with recruits from our California State Associations of Supernatural Gifts.”
“Thank you for the suggestion Ms. Swanson, I’d take that into consideration for our future missions. But for the current mission at hand and with the extreme volatile situation at the hospital, I’ll have to insist employing Mr. Jianmen Yu, because of the urgency and my past experience of working - and fighting with him.”
“Well, I still think it’s a good opportunity for you...” while Ms. Swanson was still trying to push Josephine Wong to commission the task to her organization, her line of questioning was cut short by another member of the committee.
“Tell me, Ms. Wong, what is your relationship with this Mr. Yu like? How did you know him? How do you know he’s legit?” this was a middle aged man wearing a black and dark blue tie and a suit.
“We got to know each other around several years ago. I could not remember the exact time because we met at a place where the time flow did not flow as our world. He was searching for something, and I was on the run from some enemies of mine.” Josephine Wong frowned lightly and said: “I asked him for help, with a price, and he was happy to oblige. That was the beginning of our cooperative relationship. For all this time he’s also helped me with quite a few official operations and a few off the books business - the job for him did not require clearance until now.”
“And if we measure by the scale of ability with which we measure other contractors and individuals with power and gifts, what would you rank him as?”
“He’s … at least at my level.” Josephine Wong hesitated for a short while, then answered: “But I cannot tell you more. We have a tacit understanding - he would like any discussion and gossip about him and his powers be kept to a minimum and only when necessary.”
“Why hasn’t anyone been notified about him yet?” this was a sharp man with wide shoulders and an eyepatch: “For individuals with this kind of power level, we do have a duty to at least know about him and keep track of him.”
“That wouldn’t be wise, General.” Josephine Wong shook her head: “He is quite… idiosyncratic, to say the least. He’s usually friendly and I would implore you, and other members of this committee, that we treat him as an anonymous asset and do not try to probe too much.”
“And are you sure he can keep a secret?” the General asked: “The Clearwater Municipal Hospital, strange and volatile it is, still calls for all personnel to keep a tight lid on whatever happens during the operation. And from what you have reported back to the Division, looks like whatever lies inside of the hospital would be of great concern and we simply could not have any of the information leaked to the outside world.”
“I guarantee that he is one of the best secret keepers I know. And General, I don’t think your expectation of secrecy would be met - due to various reasons, the records of and about the hospital were mostly missing and damaged. We had to resort to side records scattered in the civilian world to do a lot of our research and investigation. So people are going to be aware of something, and I can only promise that the information we found during the operation would not leak, not if I can help it.” Josephine Wong sighed and said, at the same time silencing that her buzzing phone.
“You have other important business, Ms. Wong?” Ms. Swanson asked Josephine Wong with slanted eyes and an unpleasant tone: “You DO know this is an emergency meeting called just for you, right?”
“Yes, I’m aware. I told my team to only call me if things at the Clearwater Municipal Hospital become too serious or unstable to handle.” Josephine Wong said: “And I would like reiterate the urgency of my request - for now, Mr. Yu is the best and only person that I know and trust to help with the situation.”
“Thus I would like to urge all members of the committee to grant Mr. Yu the emergency access.” the Commissioner voiced his support for Josephine Wong: “I can attest to the quality of work done by Mr. Yu, as I have been to San Francisco myself to inspect the results. And I am beyond happy with it, even a fully formed team with experience couldn’t have done a better job.”
“Wait - I still need to ask you this, again.” Ms. Swanson leaned forward and asked: “Are you absolutely certain, that your plea for this emergency access and clearance is warranted, but also necessary. I would like to stress again, that the quick response team - ”
“Yes, I am very certain, Ms. Swanson.”