Straight to the Lab

At 13:51, Smith and Stevens arrive at the New Jersey Regional Police Laboratory. The facility is busy, with its car park full and additional vehicles lining the surrounding streets.

After presenting his FBI credentials, Smith requests access to evidence recovered from the Ridgeway murders. Reception confirms that two New Jersey State Troopers have already visited regarding the case and directs the agents to wait for lead pathologist Dr Kenovich.

While waiting, Stevens approaches a civilian who appears to be watching the agents from behind a magazine. The man claims to be collecting unspecified results and introduces himself first as Chip, before eventually providing his name as Charlie and giving Stevens his telephone number after the pair connect over their marital issues.

Understaffed and Underprepared

Dr Kenovich arrives accompanied by New Jersey State Trooper Thomas Blanet. Kenovich explains that Blanet has insisted representatives from local police, State Troopers and the FBI are present before the autopsies proceed.

Smith recognises Blanet's name as a Friendly identified by the operation handler. Although Blanet's demands are procedurally legitimate, Smith concludes that the delays have likely been deliberate to ensure the agents are present before evidence is processed.

With all relevant agencies now represented, Smith requests that the autopsies begin immediately. Kenovich confirms that staffing limitations will allow only one examination that day, with Michael Wei selected as the priority.

Rummaging Through the Evidence

Kenovich escorts Smith and Stevens to the physical evidence recovered from the case. Nine boxes contain the personal effects of the deceased, accompanied by crime scene photographs and the original camera SD cards.

Stevens examines the Remington 870 used during the murders. The weapon is old but well-maintained, carries the serial number 2022998, and shows no immediately unusual physical characteristics.

Smith instead begins examining the electronic devices belonging to Wei and the Ridgeway family. Michael Wei's possessions include his mobile phone, Fitbit and Apple Watch.

Michael Wei's Phone

Wei's messages primarily contain correspondence with Molly Frank and Billy Desjardin, alongside an older call from an Uncle Neil. More significantly, Wei received a call from a withheld number at precisely 22:28 every night for thirteen consecutive days, ending on 11th October.

An unfamiliar application named Logiqa is also installed on the device and protected by a passcode. Public information identifies the application as software used by researchers working within the Fu Institute.

Smith is initially unable to access its contents.

The Comings and Goings of Wei's Dorm

Back at Columbia University, Sandy Beeman provides Dellaroche with the requested dormitory access logs. Dellaroche asks her to cross-reference ten recipients of THE LAQUEUS SOLUTION against university records.

He also requests contact with Molly Frank after discovering that she previously possessed access to John Jay Hall. Her access was revoked near the end of the previous month.

Anderson continues investigating Mersenne prime numbers, gaining a basic understanding of their mathematical significance.

Analyst Note: Agents have been advised to limit further research into the mathematics related to the operation.

Tracing the Murder Weapon

Dellaroche contacts Stevens and requests the serial number from Wei's shotgun. Using 2022998, he asks a CIA weapons contact to trace its history.

Records establish that the weapon was sold to the State of New York during the summer of 1959. It was subsequently assigned to the 24th Precinct as a utility weapon.

The discovery coincides with Anderson's research into the nearby police precincts. Dellaroche and Anderson travel to 151 West 100th Street, home of the 24th Precinct.

The Unhelpful Arm of the Law

Dellaroche identifies himself as CIA and requests information regarding a potentially missing police weapon. Desk officer Sergeant Goodman eventually meets with the agents and maintains that no weapon is currently recorded as missing from the precinct.

Dellaroche escalates the matter by obtaining the home telephone number of Chief Kelvin Milwright. He reports Goodman's refusal to cooperate and awaits a response from the Chief.

Audit into Agent Whereabouts

During the investigation, Dellaroche discovers that his usual access to CIA systems has been subjected to additional scrutiny.

His supervisor, Donna, explains that an internal audit has raised questions regarding the autonomy granted to certain operatives, including Dellaroche and his unexplained reassignment to the Ridgeway investigation.

Following Wei's Movements

At the Hammond laboratory, Smith examines location data recovered from Wei's Fitbit. In the days preceding the murders, Wei spent increasingly little time attending classes and instead undertook several prolonged walks through Manhattan.

On 3rd October, Wei's route forms a series of numbers when traced out: 151.

On 6th October, another route forms 019

Followed by 31 on 9th October.

Each evening at precisely 22:28, Wei's movements place him within Morningside Park. The repeated time corresponds directly with the withheld telephone calls recorded on his mobile.

Wei's movements on Friday 11th October provide a further connection. At approximately 18:00, he travels directly to the 24th Precinct.

Accessing Logiqa

Combining the numbers encoded through Wei's walking routes produces 15101931. Smith enters the sequence as the password for Logiqa and successfully gains access.

The application contains an extensive quantity of stored programming data and code.

Directive from IAPETUS

While awaiting further contact from the 24th Precinct, Dellaroche receives a call on his secure phone from the operation handler. The handler confirms that the Organisation has completed its investigation into the BFMcGill@gmail.com address recovered from Wei's mailing list.

Brandon F. McGill remains secure and accounted for. Any connection between the current investigation and FULMINATE must therefore be either coincidental or evidence that an outside party possesses knowledge of previous Organisation operations.

The origin of the email has been traced to an address outside Manhattan. Other mailing list recipients located outside the United States are considered secondary concerns and are removed from the agents' immediate priorities.

The operation handler instructs Dellaroche to locate whoever is operating the Brandon F. McGill address and resolve the situation. Preventing further dissemination of information concerning previous Organisation operations is designated an immediate priority.

Psychological Evaluations

Standard agency procedure to track how operations are impacting agents in the field.

Jackie Stevens – Continues to demonstrate confidence during unconventional investigative work and remains attentive to individuals displaying unusual interest in the operation. Personal disclosure during interaction with an unidentified civilian noted; no operational compromise currently identified.

Malcolm Smith– Demonstrates increasingly effective recognition of patterns within unconventional evidence, successfully connecting Wei's movements, communications and research activity. Operational judgement remains sound.

Marcus Dellaroche – Continues to utilise institutional authority and personal contacts aggressively in pursuit of investigative objectives. Increased scrutiny from his parent agency may affect his ability to operate independently; continued monitoring recommended.

Thomas A. Anderson– Continues to operate effectively within established disinformation parameters. Published theories remain sufficiently speculative to undermine genuine disclosures, though the distinction between deliberate misinformation and Anderson's genuine conclusions is becoming less clearly defined.