"Yesterday, I took two jobs for fifty bucks each. MLGBD, business has been so bad lately. If someone offers me a hundred, I'd let them skip the raincoat," came a clear but crude sentence in Mandarin.
Finally hearing some standard Mandarin in the midst of this chaos, Jack instinctively rubbed his ears as if to clear them of the vulgarity. Without a word, he walked back to Danny.
"Well?" Danny asked, full of anticipation.
"Nothing useful. No one could tell me Mintai's last name, where she works, or where she moved to. Most of these people have just recently snuck into the country, and these 'gong xi fong' are just temporary landing spots for them, like the 'Fat Ding Plaza' in Los Angeles," Jack replied, shaking his head.
"These people are terrified of the police, but they fear the gangsters even more. On their journey here, they've already been stripped of so much—money, dignity, even basic humanity."
This place was making Jack physically sick. The living conditions here were even worse than the basement where trafficked Ukrainian women were housed. At least in that basement, every person had their own mattress.
What disgusted him most, though, was how willingly some of these women had come here. For them, this place was still "heaven."
Yes, heaven. Jack couldn't tell if it was self-hypnosis or something deeper. But as he, with his white male face, tried to converse in deliberately broken Mandarin, he kept hearing the same thing over and over again: this was heaven.
No matter how dire their living conditions were, no matter how many of them had endured abuse and humiliation while traveling here, their answers didn't change.
They painted vivid pictures of the "hell" they had escaped—places without freedom, full of despair, where even breathing felt impossible.
Jack, a trained psychologist, couldn't tell if they had simply memorized this narrative or if they genuinely believed it.
Interestingly, the girl from Hualien, Yi-Jun Liu, seemed the most "normal." As a member of Taiwan's Indigenous Amis tribe, she'd been lured to New York by deceitful relatives.
Her native language was Amis, and she only became fluent in Mandarin and English after arriving in New York. Even her name had been changed after she got here.
By day, she worked at a restaurant in Chinatown. Jack noted down her contact information before bidding Danny a temporary goodbye and heading back to the FBI office in the Federal Building.
Partnering with Danny on NYPD cases was just part of Jack's workload. After the joint operation in Mexico, he had submitted a mountain of reports. But the paperwork didn't stop there—many of those reports were sent back for revisions, and there were countless emails from other departments waiting for responses.
Jack was busy, to say the least.
When he arrived at the office, he stopped by to chat with Jubal for a moment. After working all night, it was now just the start of the workday. As Hannah walked into the office, looking fresh and professional in her business attire, her arrival prompted excited whispers from the female analysts nearby.
Hannah had always been popular with her coworkers, particularly the women, whether at LAPD, the Los Angeles office, or now in New York.
And after spending more time with Jack, her past aversion to men had significantly faded—at least on the surface, it was almost unnoticeable now.
The analysts chattered in hushed tones, gushing about how radiant she looked. How does your skin look so amazing? It's like you're glowing! Is love really that magical? someone whispered. You're not even wearing much makeup. I need to get into a relationship too!
Their chatter was cut short when Dana Mosier walked into the office, her mere presence silencing the room. Jack, who was planning to sneak away, was immediately called into Dana's office.
Inside the office, a red-haired woman in her forties sat nervously. She was unremarkable in appearance but visibly tense, standing up reflexively when Dana and Jack entered.
"This is Special Agent Ryan from the Washington D.C. office. Jack, this is Special Agent Tavore," Dana introduced them curtly, her face stern.
"Is this about a new assignment?" Jack asked, sensing the odd tension. Ryan looked overly anxious, while Dana's expression was stone-cold.
Taking her seat, Dana wasted no time. "Agent Ryan, I don't care if your orders came from the Justice Department or some other agency. Conducting a secret investigation of the NYPD without informing the New York office is unacceptable."
Wait, what? Jack, who had just sat down on the couch, was stunned. A secret investigation of the NYPD? And bypassing the FBI's New York office? What kind of nonsense was this?
But the real shocker came next. As Ryan nervously began explaining herself, Jack felt his head spin. Not only had they bypassed the New York office to investigate the NYPD, but they were also tied to the death of Danny's brother, Joe Reagan.
"We suspect that there is an internal gang within the NYPD connected to a series of crimes, including money laundering, stealing drug seizure assets, and contract killings. This group calls itself the 'Blue Templar.'
"Joe Reagan didn't die in a drug bust, as the official story goes. He was silenced. We believe he was killed by someone within the NYPD," Ryan explained.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Jack interrupted, waving his hands to stop her.
"Are you telling me that not only did you bypass the New York office, but you also secretly approached Joe Reagan to have him go undercover and investigate this so-called 'Blue Templar,' without informing NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan?"
Ryan hesitated, casting a guilty glance at Dana before lowering her eyes.
Jack felt a wave of frustration so intense he had to physically restrain himself from swearing.
What is wrong with these people? He finally understood why Dana was so furious. What kind of brain-dead reasoning led them to suspect Frank Reagan of being involved, distrust the FBI's New York office, and then recruit his son as an undercover agent?
And then they got him killed.
Jack couldn't even imagine the fury Frank Reagan would unleash once he learned the truth.
"Do you really think that just because the 'Blue Templar' is an NYPD issue, Frank Reagan won't hold the FBI responsible for his son's death?" Jack asked sarcastically.
It was clear now why this investigation had been conducted so secretively. Whether the case succeeded or failed, the fallout would land squarely on the New York office, while the D.C. agents could wash their hands of it.
But then a horrifying thought struck Jack. He looked at Ryan incredulously.
"Don't tell me... you approached Jamie Reagan, too? Last night, he was inexplicably in Chinatown and got caught up in an attempted kidnapping. Does that have anything to do with you?"
Ryan turned her head, avoiding Jack's gaze. That was all the confirmation he needed.
Jack's hand twitched instinctively, tempted to grab his gun.
What kind of grudge are you holding? Are you trying to wipe out the entire Reagan family? Jack thought furiously. Frank Reagan isn't some pacifist monk—he's the head of the largest police force in America. Are you seriously trying to provoke him like this?
Dana's face darkened further as she realized Ryan had also dragged Jamie into this mess. If Joe's death wasn't enough of a disaster, involving Jamie could turn this into a complete catastrophe.
After a tense half-hour, Ryan left Dana's office looking utterly defeated. Jack and Dana exchanged weary looks, both letting out deep sighs before simultaneously rubbing their temples.
"We can't keep this from Frank any longer," Dana said, her tone grave. "If we take the initiative to inform him, there might still be a chance to repair the damage. Otherwise..." She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.
Jack nodded grimly, understanding the stakes.
------------------
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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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