Jack understood Dana's intention immediately—this ticking time bomb had to be defused, and it had to be the FBI's New York office that took the initiative to do so. Naturally, Jack was the best person for the job.
After a moment of thought, he shared his plan: "Agent Ryan and her team need to have their actions and communications temporarily restricted. They'll also need to hand over all the case files they've been working on.
"Once we have a full understanding of the situation, I'll contact Commissioner Reagan. We'll form a joint task force to investigate this 'Blue Templar' organization together."
Dana nodded weakly, acknowledging that these were small steps in the larger scheme of things. Her efforts to establish cooperative projects with the NYPD were meant to lay the foundation for long-term FBI operations in New York. To see it all jeopardized by an unanticipated disaster was naturally disheartening.
What made it worse was that if this mess had been orchestrated by a rival, at least she could rally herself to fight back. But knowing that it was caused by the reckless actions of subordinates left her with no outlet for her anger.
By the time Jack finished sorting through the chaos, it was evening. Despite their grievances, Ryan and her team begrudgingly handed over their phones and case files.
When it came to hierarchy, Dana Mosier—an Assistant Director—outranked Ryan's direct supervisor by several levels. While she didn't lash out at the junior agents, her icy demeanor was enough to unsettle them. Their supervisor and, more importantly, their supervisor's patron in Washington were now the ones who truly had reason to worry.
Jack, on the other hand, couldn't care less about the brewing storm. Even a Category 5 hurricane wouldn't impact him—the unfortunate grunt tasked with cleaning up the mess.
After reviewing all the files and recordings, Jack sat down with Agent Ryan for a second conversation. When it became clear that things hadn't spiraled completely out of control, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, let me get this straight," Jack began, summarizing the situation for Dana later that evening. "Jamie Reagan is smarter than I gave him credit for. When Agent Ryan met with him last night and tried to recruit him for an undercover role, he flat-out refused."
Dana frowned, mulling over Jack's explanation. "You're saying that Ryan first approached Jamie about this two months ago, yet he only just refused last night? Is it possible..."
"You're worried that he might've been investigating on his own and gotten himself into trouble?" Jack nodded, understanding her concerns. "That's definitely a possibility. But as of now, he's still just a rookie officer. There's a limit to what he can investigate on his own."
Jack continued, "And besides, I've already given him something else to worry about. After his meeting with Ryan last night, he stumbled into that attempted kidnapping case.
"Although the two incidents aren't connected, one of the suspects he chased down ended up getting hit by a taxi and killed. Since no weapon was found on the suspect, Jamie is now under investigation by the NYPD's Internal Affairs unit."
Dana looked puzzled as she reached for a newspaper on her desk and handed it to Jack. "That's already the headline in today's Daily News. What does this have to do with you?"
Jack glanced at the paper, where the front-page headline read, 'Police Official's Son Involved in Chase Leading to Gang Member's Death.' Below the headline were large photos of Frank and Jamie Reagan.
Grinning, Jack placed the newspaper back on her desk. "A helpful witness mentioned to Internal Affairs that they saw Jamie having a long conversation with a red-haired woman near the scene last night.
"With public scrutiny being what it is, Internal Affairs will definitely pursue that lead. And since Jamie can't risk exposing Ryan's identity, he'll be too tied up with the investigation to dig into this 'Blue Templar' business—for now, anyway."
Dana couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry at Jack's unorthodox strategy, but she had to admit it was effective. "Just to be safe, I'll assign a team to keep a 24-hour watch on Jamie. We can't afford any more accidents."
Jack agreed with a nod. "Better safe than sorry." He admired her foresight, even if it meant he was promptly shooed out of her office with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
After handling Ryan and her team, Jack headed straight to the NYPD headquarters. For now, Jubal and Hannah would take over the investigation into the Blue Templar. Jack couldn't approach Frank Reagan with half-baked evidence and incomplete materials, especially when the FBI's prior efforts had yielded nothing after more than two years.
First, the attempted kidnapping case needed to be resolved. The case was already dominating the news cycle, and the public outrage made it a top priority. Once Jubal and Hannah had made some progress on their end, Jack would revisit the matter with Frank armed with something more substantial.
When Jack arrived at Danny Reagan's office, the detective was sitting in front of his computer with a dark expression, flipping through files. A cold takeout box of chow mein sat untouched on his desk, filling the room with an unpleasant smell. It was clear that Danny had hit a wall after a fruitless day of work.
"Here's what I've got," Jack said, dropping a stack of photos on Danny's desk. "This was taken last night at 11 p.m. by a traffic camera at the corner of Houston Street and Avenue C. It's a Subaru WRX, matching the one your brother described."
He added, "It's not the same neighborhood, but it's close. The timing lines up, so it's probably the same car. The owner's name is Nelson Zhou. Care to join me for another trip to Chinatown? I hear there's a restaurant with amazing salt-and-pepper lobster."
"Alright, my treat," Danny said, immediately grabbing his phone to call Jamie. "Hey, Jimmy, it's Danny. Got a minute? Meet us in Chinatown later. Yeah, see you there."
"One pound of char siu, one soy sauce chicken, one roast duck, four servings of red-cooked pork knuckles, and four orders of salt-and-pepper lobster. I'll be there in ten minutes to pick it up."
Danny's face turned slightly green as Jack rattled off the lengthy order in Mandarin. He didn't understand a word but could tell it was a lot. His hand trembled slightly as he reached for his wallet.
"Relax, I'm just messing with you. That's my takeout order," Jack said, paying the bill himself.
Danny let out a sigh of relief. Jack was well aware of the detective's financial strain—raising two growing kids was no small feat, and much of Danny's income went toward their education fund.
This frugality extended to the entire Reagan family, which Jack admired. Despite having two police commissioners in the family, they lived modestly. Even Danny's wife, Linda, dressed plainly on her daily outings.
And those articles romanticizing how Western parents make their kids financially independent at 18? Pure fiction. Plenty of young adults still relied on their parents. In a traditional Irish Catholic family like the Reagans, where values of support and togetherness ran deep, this was even more true.
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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