On the drive back to Forrest City from Little Rock, JJ couldn't stop grimacing.
She had long since become accustomed to the hypocrisy of so-called "high society," but today's events—especially Judge Arthur Hobbs' parting words—left a particularly bad taste in her mouth.
Seeing her shift uncomfortably in the passenger seat, Jack found her irritation amusing. He reached over and ran his fingers through her long blonde hair.
"Still upset about Judge Hobbs' not-so-subtle hints?"
"Hints?" JJ scoffed. "Jack, he wasn't hinting—he practically begged us to kill Roark.
He just kept repeating how 'unfortunate' Roark's fate would be in prison, how 'awful' things would turn out for him… He might as well have said it outright—'just put a bullet in his head and save us the trouble'!"
Jack chuckled. "Isn't that a good thing, in a way?
At least we don't have to worry about anyone in the system getting upset if Roark… you know, accidentally dies during his arrest."
He smirked. "He's lost all his allies—even his old colleagues want him gone. At this point, they'd rather erase him than let him tarnish their reputation any further."
JJ exhaled sharply, still annoyed. "I just hate how phony he was about it."
Then, before Jack could react, she leaned over, unbuckled her seatbelt just enough, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Ma'am," Jack said in a mock-stern tone, putting on a deadpan expression. "Please behave yourself—we're on duty."
"Howard Roark has been a criminal court judge for seven years now. That means that after losing his only shot at an appellate court position, his entire career is dead in the water.
And next year, he's up for reelection.
After his messy divorce, his reputation is already in the gutter. And with his wife's family being one of the most powerful in the state? He could actually lose his seat on the bench.
For someone as ambitious as Roark—someone who's desperate to climb but completely incompetent at it?
This is worse than a death sentence."
Jubal let out a low whistle.
"Damn," he muttered. "Man had every advantage, and he still screwed it all up."
Unlike federal judges—who were appointed for life—state and local judges had to play by state rules.
In Arkansas, county judges like Roark had to be reelected every eight years.
But if he had somehow managed to get onto the appellate court?
That seat was a governor-appointed position. No elections, no hassle. Just a straight ticket to a higher court.
Now?
Roark had burned all his bridges.
And that was why he had snapped.
Still, something wasn't adding up for Aubrey.
"So… he killed Kathryn Sloan because she humiliated him. And he murdered Skip Hardy out of jealousy.
But what about the other two prosecutors? Were they really just collateral damage?"
"The JNE questionnaire," Hannah said suddenly, eyes widening. "They must have been part of that anonymous evaluation!"
She quickly moved to Alice's side, peering over her laptop.
Alice immediately started searching through the Arkansas court database.
A few moments later, she found what they were looking for.
"Bingo." She tapped her screen. "Johnny Mo and Peter Hill both completed the JNE evaluation. And both of them trashed Roark in their reviews."
But then, she frowned.
"Wait a second… These records are supposed to be anonymous. How the hell did Roark get access to them?"
Jack sighed. "Same way you would, Alice.
A hacker."
"Can we check for unauthorized access?" JJ asked.
Alice's fingers flew across the keyboard.
She worked in silence for several minutes before shaking her head.
"This is going to take some time," she admitted. "There's a lot of illegal activity in this database."
"That's fine," Jubal said. "As long as we have the results by tomorrow morning."
Then, rubbing his stomach, he added, "Now, let's eat."
FBI agents had had it up to here with greasy diner food.
While Jack and JJ had been driving all over the state, the rest of the team had taken a slight detour—a supermarket run.
Clay even dug out an old, grimy grill from the bar's storage room and spent an hour scrubbing it clean.
Now, as the sun set, a proper meal was finally being prepared.
Pork ribs sizzled on the pan, the air filled with the rich scent of bourbon-flambéed meat. Thick-cut steaks crackled over charcoal flames.
Crisp lettuce leaves were laid out, ready to wrap around perfectly seared pork, paired with a fiery Mexican chili sauce.
No beer tonight—everyone was still on duty—but after days of garbage food?
This was heaven.
By morning, Alice finally cracked it.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she turned her laptop screen toward the group.
"Samuel Gray. Hacker. Currently on probation for previous hacking offenses.
And guess who sentenced him?"
Alice rubbed her temples, exhausted.
"Roark."
Jubal drained his coffee in one gulp and stood up.
"Good work, Alice. Go get some damn sleep."
Then, he turned to the team.
"Aubrey—you're with me. We're paying this hacker a visit.
JJ, you and the others keep in touch with ASP."
He glanced at the Arkansas State Police report in his hand.
"Last night, an over-speed camera picked up Roark's black Tahoe near Crystal Mountain.
ASP is already searching residential areas nearby.
But something feels off.
Why the hell is he heading toward Little Rock?
Why isn't he running?"
As Hannah and Clay loaded a crate of gear into the back of the GMC, she said, "Maybe he's not done yet.
Who else could be on his hit list?"
Jack exhaled sharply.
"Not many.
And I don't think he has the ability to take them out.
His ex-wife's house has tight security. Her staff won't recognize him as 'their master' anymore.
And Little Rock's appellate court?
That place is locked up tighter than the governor's mansion."
Jack shook his head.
"Honestly, Roark might be the weakest fugitive we've ever gone after."
"Don't get complacent," Jubal warned.
"He's still armed. He's still dangerous.
And he still has that Uzi."
That thought sent a chill through the group.
Clay muttered, "You don't think he's planning a public attack, do you?"
The idea made everyone's blood run cold.
Arkansas might be rural, but there were still places with crowds.
If Roark was about to go full rampage mode—
If he wanted to take as many people down with him as possible—
Then they were running out of time.
(End of Chapter)
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