Chapter 255: The Legend of the Ace Agent

The crash sent shockwaves throughout the nation, even the world. It became the center of global attention, dominating headlines across media platforms – newspapers, the internet, television, and radio – from that day forward.

One focus was on assessing the damage from both crashes and monitoring rescue efforts and recovery operations. The two impacts resulted in significant losses at One World Trade Center in Manhattan and the Pentagon in Washington. The former was severed in two, with casualties exceeding a thousand. The latter lost a corner, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of military officers and classified personnel, along with dozens of brave firefighters who perished during the rescue.

As Manhattan is a hub for multinational financial firms, One World Trade Center served as the office space for numerous major international financial institutions. The collapse of the building nearly paralyzed financial operations, leading to substantial data loss and a severe stock market downturn. The Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 indexes all dropped by several percentage points, with an estimated loss of over $1 trillion in stock value.

The official estimate of the total damage remained elusive until rescue efforts concluded, but it was clear the losses were immense.

The second focal point of news reports was the successful landing of the second and fourth planes, which had narrowly escaped disaster during the hijackings. This captured the world's fascination.

Particularly, news about the second plane garnered significant attention.

According to major American media outlets, the second plane's escape was attributed to an FBI ace agent on board. He was fluent in Arabic and skilled in interpreting micro-expressions.

A remark made by a troublemaker during takeoff caught his attention, prompting him to immediately approach the flight attendant and captain.

However, the plane had already ascended to 30,000 feet, making an immediate landing impossible.

At this point, the troublemakers launched their attack, using tear gas and pepper spray to create chaos. They also claimed there were explosives on board, coercing passengers to leave the business class section.

In this critical moment, the ace agent took action, swiftly subduing the six troublemakers with his bare hands. He successfully neutralized the threat on the plane and contacted the FBI's New York field office to report the incident.

His information raised high alert within the FBI, prompting the headquarters to reach out to various airlines.

However, time was of the essence. Eight minutes after the field office received the news, the first plane crashed into One World Trade Center.

The crew members of the third and fourth planes, having received the information, initiated defensive measures. Unfortunately, the third plane was unsuccessful and struck the Pentagon, while the fourth managed to land safely.

Some media estimates suggested that without the ace agent's intervention, the second plane would have crashed into the second tower, and the fourth would have also been hijacked, potentially doubling the casualties from the attack.

Numerous news reports strongly affirmed the role of the undercover FBI agent, though his identity remained undisclosed.

The official explanation was twofold: first, for security reasons, as the terrorists were still at large, and second, due to the agent's personal request, as he was part of the FBI's covert operations and preferred to maintain anonymity.

This lack of disclosure fueled intense speculation among the media and the public.

Nearly everyone was guessing who this person might be. Some suggested he was a top-tier agent like James Bond, while others believed he was an FBI spy embedded within the terrorist organization, entrusted with a crucial mission.

There were even those who suspected it was the work of superheroes like Spider-Man, Batman, or Superman. New York was equated with Gotham City, and they were all considered Gothamites. Only someone with their extraordinary abilities could overpower six armed individuals on a plane.

Conversely, some held a contrasting view, suspecting the ace agent was in league with the terrorists. Otherwise, how could he have been in the right place at the right time and single-handedly defeated six opponents? Was he Superman?

In response to such speculation, the FBI officially stated that the ace agent's identity was legitimate and his combat skills were unquestionable. He was traveling in Boston and happened to be on that particular flight.

Amidst the numerous voices, there were also claims that the person in question was the boxing champion, Richard. He had been filming in Boston a few days prior and had boarded that flight on the morning of the incident. He then disappeared for several days, even postponing a boxing match.

Many people dismissed this notion. Richard was a famous boxing champion; how could he become an agent? Moreover, with Richard's flamboyant personality, he wouldn't keep such a feat a secret. He would have been boasting about it to the world.

Richard himself did not directly address these rumors.

"Richard, was it you? Was it really you? It must have been you, right? Haha, Cousin Richard, you're a hero!"

His cousin, Kevin Campbell, excitedly inquired over the phone.

Richard shook his head. "You should ask Frank about this. He's more familiar with the details."

"Frank won't tell me. He's been so busy these days that he doesn't even have time to call," Kevin said.

Richard smiled. Frank had done a commendable job this time. He was transferred to Washington immediately after the incident and was likely to be promoted soon.

"Richard, I know it was you. You're such a skilled fighter. Taking down six guys alone, the newspaper said you did it with one move each, and they didn't even have a chance to fight back.

Even two Franks couldn't pull that off. I can't think of anyone else but you. Alright, alright, I understand you're worried about retaliation, so you can't go public. But we're all proud of you, Richard. You're amazing," Kevin exclaimed.

Richard shook his head, feeling somewhat helpless. After the incident, he had discussed the matter with the two pilots. They agreed not to reveal their refusal to land, and in return, Richard wouldn't expose their identities.

Although the pilots had promised, there were a few passengers on the plane who seemed to recognize him, along with members of the film crew, a few agents, and security personnel. It was difficult to guarantee they wouldn't leak the information.

Richard didn't know how long the secret could be kept, but he hoped it would be for a while. Once he became a hero or a suspect in the public eye, his life would be disrupted.

Now he was having second thoughts. If only he had taken the flight back a day earlier, his life wouldn't be affected like this.

"Kevin, are you still making music? Do you want to come to New York or Los Angeles? I know a lot of singers and music producers, and I can introduce you to them," Richard asked.

"Is that okay?" Kevin hesitated.

"Why not? The music scene in Seattle is too small. If you want to make it in music, you should come to the entertainment capitals. What are you hesitating about? Do you lack confidence in your talent?" Richard laughed.

"Of course not! I'm very confident. Okay, I'll come over in a while. I heard about what happened in New York these days, and I had a burst of inspiration. I'm going to write a song. It's definitely going to be a great song."

Kevin strummed a prelude on his guitar over the phone.

"Sounds great. I'm looking forward to hearing your new work."

"Don't worry, I'll finish it soon. You'll be in my lyrics too."

"Can you not write about me?" Richard said helplessly.

"Don't worry, I won't use your real name. I'll just tell the story of a bad boy. He used to bully his friends when he was young, but he grew up to be a good person. Haha, how's that?"

"Not good! I'll teach you boxing when you come over."

Richard snorted and hung up the phone.

Soon after, several more people called, including Ellie, Norman, and Lewis. They slyly asked if it was him on the plane and said they couldn't believe he was a secret agent.

Richard was annoyed. Even though the official announcement hadn't been made, rumors were spreading. At this rate, his secret agent identity wouldn't remain hidden for long. How could he continue to work in Hollywood then?

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(End of Chapter)