21 I Am Really An IRS Officer

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"The certificate is the real deal, buddy. Let's get straight to the point. Time is running out." Jack said.

Ethan looked at Jack skeptically, trying to gauge the authenticity of his claims.

"What do you mean by time is running out?" Ethan frowned, unsure of what Jack was trying to say.

"There's a traitor in your team," Jack replied, his eyes narrowing, "and I know it's not you. You've been framed."

"Why?" Ethan asked, feeling like he was asking "Why" a lot today.

"Because of....," Jack rubbed his thumb over the tip of the index finger and middle finger. A universal gesture for money.

"And the traitor wants to blame you for all his crimes. There is certainly a lot of evidence created against you, and the problem is that they're so engrossed in the process that they made a naive move." He added.

"A huge sum of money was transferred directly to your parents' account," Jack continued, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I really don't understand what the traitor was thinking. To make such a huge mistake... If you were truly a traitor, would you let the money be transferred directly to your parents' account?"

"Of course not," Ethan replied, his tone more relaxed.

"I would have it transferred to an untraceable black account. Then funnel it through various cash withdrawals and deposits to turn it into legally obtainable income or spend it untraceable ways."

"That's the point. The money came in too straightforwardly. It will be a slap in the face to my intelligence if I missed such an obvious fact," Jack said with a shrug.

"And I think your boss agrees with me. Even though they may still suspect you of being a mole, they haven't acted on it yet because of that. But the major reason for the suspension is something else. Do you know?"

"I know," Ethan replied, his guard lowering, "because I was the only one who survived."

"Exactly," Jack said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"You're the only one who survived, and that's what your agency is basing their suspicions on. The money is an added bonus, not a strong enough reason."

Jack snapped his fingers, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Now listen up, Ethan. Your team hasn't lost all its member."

Ethan's eyes widened in shock. "What? What are you saying?"

"They're not stupid. That's why they set up this plan to make it seem like everyone in the team was killed, except for you." Jack continued,

Ethan quickly put the pieces together. "Those bastards."

"That's right," Jack nodded, spreading the documents on the desk.

"Here is detailed information on every member of your team. But now, we can eliminate a few."

Jack picked up a copy and tossed it aside. "First, the technician. He died a miserable death, but at least the CIA gave him a proper funeral."

Another copy was discarded. "Sarah died too. Her body was recovered by the CIA."

A third copy was thrown away. "And Hanna... the car explosion was cleaned up by the CIA, but there was only her body in the wreckage."

Ethan leaned forward, eyes narrowed.

Jack handed him the remaining three documents. "My rule is simple: If you are dead, I want to see your dead body. If not, then you ain't fooling me."

Ethan skimmed through the papers. "Me, Jim, and Claire... Jim is dead. I saw him being shot and falling into the water. And Claire, I remember she was in the car when it exploded."

"As long as you control the direction of the bullet, even a shot to the abdomen is just a hemorrhage," Jack said with a shrug.

"Jim fell off the bridge and disappeared, and as for Claire... she was never in that car. The only body in the wreckage was Hannah's."

Ethan sat back in his chair, a mixture of shock and rage racing through his veins.

"Impossible!" Ethan exclaimed, scrunching up his face in disbelief. "I saw it with my own two eyes."

"If you saw it, then there must be something off," Jack countered, shaking his head.

"I only trust in solid evidence. Death is confirmed by seeing the body, but right now, there's no evidence to prove that those two are actually dead."

Ethan was at a loss for words for a moment before finally asking, "What exactly did you mean by 'time is running out'?"

"If my hunch is correct," Jack continued, walking over to Ethan's dining table,

"and those two are actually in the process of escaping for good. And both are traitors, or only one is actually the traitor. And time is running out for us to figure out who it is and to stop them."

Jack reached under the table and pulled out a minor bug, showing it to Ethan.

"According to our intel, your team was supposed to meet at 4am. But now, it's 3:30am, and it's time for me to leave."

"When your team members return," Jack said firmly, "you need to play it cool and pretend like nothing's wrong. Can you do that?"

Jack handed Ethan an encrypted mobile phone.

"This phone is secure and has only one number - mine. You can use it to contact me. If any of your team members are back looking for you, the enemy has bigger plans, and they'll use you to achieve them."

"So I need to play along, cooperate, and find the traitor?" Ethan asked, examining the phone.

"It's not just playing along," Jack corrected.

"You need to do what you were originally going to do - find the traitor. Just pretend our conversation never happened. I'll be there, providing you with help when you need it and collecting evidence."

"Evidence for what?" Ethan asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"You're not really an IRS agent, are you?"

"Come on, man. Why can't you accept the fact that I am actually an IRS officer." Jack said, a bit frustrated.

"Okay, calm down, Jack. I believe you." Ethan said with fake honesty.

"But why are you here to collect taxes from the traitor," Ethan asked with a blend of confusion and suspicion.

"As long as it's income, whether it's legal or not, it's within the scope of tax payment," Jack said with a smirk, putting on his overcoat and gathering his materials.

"And our IRS agents are always friendly. As long as... you don't evade taxes. If you do, pray that we don't find you."

"No way, this can't be true..." Ethan murmured to himself, feeling a mix of disbelief and surprise.

Of course, Ethan was well-acquainted with the IRS and its duties. But the fact that this IRS agent knew about the CIA's internal traitor left him dumbfounded. He couldn't imagine how this information was leaked.

But then, Ethan remembered the tiny bug that Jack had fished out from under the dining table. He quickly put two and two together and realized that the IRS agent probably knew all the confidential information because they had been bugging their secret base.

Shaking his head, Ethan decided to stop speculating and focus on the task at hand. He turned to his computer and started researching the traitor's trading partner that Eugene had mentioned.

Meanwhile, Jack was busy contacting his superior, Chris. After a quick evacuation, he reached his safe house and dialed Chris' number.

The phone rang for a few moments before Chris picked up.

"What's the matter?" Chris asked, sounding a bit tense. "Who are you planning to arrest this time?"

"Hey, can't a guy just call to say hi?" Jack retorted, making a playful gesture.

"Yeah, right. Every time you call, it's because you've caught a big fish," Chris replied, scratching the top of his balding head with a chuckle.

"Just don't cause any trouble, and don't try to get my hopes up."

"Come on, man. I'm not a workaholic," Jack protested. "I just like to enjoy the little things in life and have a good time."

"Okay, okay. So who are we arresting this time?" Chris asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"A traitor of the CIA," Jack replied with a smirk.

"What?! You're going after the CIA now? Last time you caught an FBI agent, I had to clean up the mess!" Chris exclaimed in shock.