Chapter 1174 Interrogation (Part 1) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

In a somewhat dimly lit room, from the walls to the desk, to the desk lamp on the refrigerator, everything was blinking with a cold metallic luster.

Clearly, this was not a comfortable guest room, nor was it a slightly business-like company office. The oppressive atmosphere of the environment was artificially created, and its purpose was to bring greater pressure to the person.

The entire room is divided into two parts, with a long counter in the middle. On one side is a single chair, and on the other side are several simpler chairs, indicating that the person sitting in the single chair will be sitting here for a long time, but the people behind the counter will be rotated frequently.

It looks a bit like an interrogation room, but there are no iron bars like in a police station interrogation room. The desk, chairs, and counter are all very close together, making it more like a hospital examination room.

With a "click," the light came on, and standing at the door was a black man wearing a U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation uniform, with an ID badge around his neck.

Behind him stood a female staff member, her attire slightly different, looking like a field officer, with an investigator's ID badge on her chest and a handgun holstered at her waist.

Behind the two of them was a bespectacled, suit-wearing, well-mannered white male who did not appear to be wearing any credentials, looking more like a scholar than an agent.

The black agent walked into the room, sat down in a simple chair on one side of the counter, took off his ID badge around his neck, and then took out his credentials from the pocket on his chest, opened them, and showed them to the figure sitting in the single chair.

"Hello, Professor Rodriguez, I am Jimmy Andrews, a member of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Anti-Violence Crime Investigation Team, instructed by the U.S. Department of Justice and commissioned by the New Jersey Higher Education Commission to investigate the seven potential violent crime charges against you in the previous public accusations."

"This is my colleague, Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Information Collection Team, Angela Dodge. Ms. Dodge will provide assistance in the collection of criminal investigation information for this investigation, and this gentleman..." Jimmy gestured to the bespectacled white man sitting to his right and said:

"William Denechette, an investigator from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Commission's Anti-Corruption Investigation Team, who also serves as a psychology and behavioral science training lecturer at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Agent Selection and Education Center."

William pushed up his glasses and said to the figure on the single sofa, "It's an honor to meet you, Professor Rodriguez. I will provide a behavioral science analysis report for this investigation and make a reasonable assessment of the results based on behavioral and psychological aspects. I hope we can work together pleasantly."

The black Jimmy nodded to William, then looked at Angela, and then took a piece of paper out of his briefcase, quickly glanced at the content, put down the paper, and looked up at the Schiller sitting on the single sofa.

This Professor was identical to the photo on his personal information form, with no discrepancies in physique, appearance, or attire. Jimmy then handed the information form to the nearby Angela, and Angela picked up another piece of paper and compared it to the personal information form, then looked up and said to Jimmy, "The signature and fingerprints are normal, confirming that this is the person being investigated."

Jimmy placed his hands on the desktop, looked into Schiller's eyes, and said, "Professor Rodriguez, we will now ask you basic questions about the charges against you. During this time, you can only answer the questions directly and positively, and then we will give you time to defend yourself."

It was clear that Jimmy was being very cautious. Although the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's style of doing things is often criticized, it must be acknowledged that a superpower conducting investigations and trials of anti-violence activities has its own advantages.

First, for all publicly accused criminals, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is under multi-party supervision during the investigation and trial process, especially when investigating and trying individuals with sensitive identities, they are usually very cautious.

At the same time, under the supervision of multiple parties, they can also mobilize multiple departments to cooperate, and obtain theoretical support from talents and think tanks in various disciplines from all sectors of society, with high efficiency.

Schiller glanced at the situation across from him. In addition to Jimmy, Angela, and William, there were two recorders, one of whom was likely a clerical staff member of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the other from the Department of Justice. These two recorders were facing Schiller, with the purpose of recording Schiller's words and actions.

And behind Schiller stood another recorder, facing Jimmy and the other Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, with the purpose of recording their words and actions.

So many people crammed into a small room, in addition to ensuring the correctness of the trial process, also creates a sense of being on an isolated island for the accused, which is a very common means of adding pressure during interrogation.

Schiller looked at Jimmy and nodded slightly. He could see that this middle-aged black agent had a lot of experience, but the other two people sitting next to him were quite interesting.

Schiller's gaze did not linger on the other two for long. Angela, sitting next to Jimmy, looked at the documents with a cold tone and said, "Your answers and attitude in the following questions will largely determine the assessment result. You must answer 'truthfully', and later we will conduct a criminal investigation lie detector test on your every word and action, for which you will be fully responsible."

"Alright, let's begin."

"Since you started teaching at Gotham University, up until the investigation, have you engaged in any illegal infringement activities against psychology students or other students?"

"No."

"During the above time period, have you ever murdered any students at Gotham University?"

"No."

"Have you ever illegally detained any students?"

"No."

"Have you ever incited students to commit crimes?"

"No."

Schiller's series of denials did not surprise or anger the people behind the desk. The purpose of this interrogation was not to get the accused to acknowledge, but to observe his attitude and behavior.

Next, Jimmy began to ask some details, and before asking, he said, "In the following questions, if you have any doubts about any judgment criteria, you can ask."

"In your teaching career, have you ever had any physical contact with students against their will?"

"No."

"Have you ever verbally harassed any students against their will, either orally or in writing?"

"No."

"Excuse me, may I interject?" William, who was sitting next to Jimmy, said, and Jimmy nodded. William looked at Schiller and said, "Have you ever used any instructions to punish them?"

Schiller shook his head, and William continued to ask, "Have you ever verbally humiliated them in public or private?"

"What is your definition of humiliation?" Schiller asked for the first time.

William and Jimmy exchanged a glance, and William gently rubbed his lips and said, "According to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Act, any form of verbal abuse towards students is not in compliance with the regulations."

"But I have also taught at the university, and the boundaries between discipline and humiliation are not so clear. To urge students to learn, harsh or even slightly intense language can be understood."

"Well, let's imagine a scenario. Suppose I am your student, and I am making a lot of noise in the classroom, disrupting the teaching order. What would you do?"

William stood up from behind the desk, with one hand in his suit pocket, and Schiller also stood up from the single chair. When their eyes met, William instinctively took a step back.

"Mr. Denechette, is it? I hope you can keep quiet in my classroom. If you can't, please leave."

The stenographers sitting on both sides of the table began to write furiously. William nodded and said, "If I choose not to leave, and continue to make noise after sitting down, repeatedly disobeying, what would you do?"

Schiller looked at him, but then shifted his gaze away, looking at the empty space and said, "Mr. Falcone, I don't want this Mr. Denechette to stay in my classroom anymore. Please help me persuade him to leave."

William narrowed his eyes, looking at Schiller and asked, "Who is this Mr. Falcone, and what is your relationship with him?"

"He is another one of my students."

"But how can he..."

Jimmy reached out and tugged on William's sleeve, whispering to him, "He is the son of the old godfather Carmine Falcone, the boss of the Twelve Families Gang in Gotham."

William had a speechless expression on his face. He lowered his head and then said again, "Okay, then this scenario is set in your office. There is a student who often doesn't turn in assignments, and you have called him to your office. How will you educate him?"

"Normally, I won't call students who don't turn in assignments to my office," Schiller shook his head slightly. "The first time they don't turn in an assignment, I'll tell them that learning is their own business, and if they don't work hard enough, they can't get out of their current situation."

"If they do it again, I'll call them to the podium after class and ask if they have any special reasons."

"What special reasons can be accepted?" William asked.

"Busy family affairs, too tired from part-time work, injured in a gang shootout, assignments too difficult, assignments too simple, don't like psychology or don't like me," Schiller paused after each reason, as if thinking.

William acutely noticed the key point, so he looked at Schiller and said, "Is it acceptable for students not to do their assignments because they don't like you?"

Schiller sat back down in the chair, placing his hands in front of him, and nodded, saying, "I try my best to teach according to the students' individual needs, but I accept the fact that not every student likes my teaching style."

"Because I am a psychologist, I can understand that the aversion to someone's appearance, temperament, and behavior can lead to questioning everything about them, and even taking rebellious actions to resist, which is very normal, as humans are emotional animals."

"If he fails his studies because he doesn't like you, what will you do? Will you persuade him or give up on him?" William asked further.

Schiller's expression rarely had some fluctuations, as if he was lost in memories and thoughts. After a while, he said, "In fact, I don't know, because there are differences due to the individuality of the students."

This time, without waiting for William to ask, Schiller took the initiative to say, "Not everyone has the talent to learn this subject. Underperforming students are usually divided into a few types."

"If they work hard but have no talent, I will try my best to help them pass, and suggest they learn some livelihood skills to have a better life."

"If they have talent but don't work hard, I will honestly tell them from my perspective that they have very strong talent, and only need to make a little more effort to achieve success. But if encouragement doesn't work, I will try to be as strict as possible with them, because I don't want to see their talent wasted."

"And if they have neither talent nor effort..." Schiller leaned back in his chair, pursed his lips, and showed a helpless expression, then said:

"In the spirit of a teacher's duty to educate, I will make a certain degree of persuasion, and then give up, not wasting too much time on them."

"But perhaps... there are exceptions."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 1175 Questioning (Middle)