Just as Jack had expected, this was indeed a minor traffic violation. So, while Officer Tony Sanchez cautiously followed standard procedure, his vigilance wasn't particularly high.
The driver, also of Latino descent, appeared unremarkable, merely grumbling a few words in slightly accented English before turning sideways and opening the armrest between the driver and passenger seats.
But then something unexpected happened. Officer Tony Sanchez instinctively took a half step back, shining his flashlight on the backseat passenger's face. In that instant, he seemed to recognize the passenger and issued a warning.
"Hands up! Now!"
But before he could make another move, the driver fired a shot.
"Damn it! Back up! Back up! That's... I'm not seeing things!" Jubal turned and looked at the crowd.
Jack was bewildered, and Hannah and Aubrey beside him shared a similar expression. However, many people in the operations center were already standing excitedly.
"Anthony Vargas, leader of the Durango drug cartel, number 32 on the FBI's most wanted list, and the prime suspect in the murder of an FBI agent seven years ago."
Jubal needed no instructions as the photo, wanted poster, and the photo of the murdered federal agent, Kyle Miller, appeared on the large screen.
"Notify Ms. Moger immediately," Jubal whispered to an analyst, then turned to face the crowd, pointing to the large screen.
"Everyone, especially the new recruits or those who don't pay much attention to the news." His gaze swept imperceptibly over the bewildered faces of Jack and the other two.
"Remember this face. Vargas is Bolivia's largest cocaine trafficker and a cold-blooded terrorist. He enjoys bombings and, of course, like all the drug kingpins we know, tortures his victims before killing them."
Jack had nothing to be ashamed of being looked down upon. After all, he had only been an FBI agent for a little over two years and wouldn't bother looking through the FBI's thousands-long wanted list.
Only those with a lot of free time would look through that stuff, hoping to stumble upon a notorious fugitive and claim a significant victory.
Unlike the official FBI Ten Most Wanted list, as the public perceives it, the actual FBI's wanted list is much longer. Virtually every suspect who has committed a federal felony, especially one with a murderous background, a serious crime, or a large sum of money, is included.
Based on the threat level and difficulty of catching these individuals, the FBI assigns a specific ranking, registers them in the system, and distributes them to police stations based on the suspect's likely last known location. The
so-called FBI Ten Most Wanted list, released to the public through the media and accompanied by a specific reward, is not necessarily the actual top ten.
Only those individuals who the FBI believes can contribute to the arrest of suspects through national publicity and who will not become more aggressive or incite public panic due to publicity, are included on the list.
So it's no surprise that Officer Tony Sanchez recognized Anthony Vargas right away. There was a picture of him on the wall of the break room next to Danny's detective's office, and Jack had only just remembered.
"Anyone seen Vargas?" Dana Moger, wearing high heels and a black evening gown, hurried into the operations center, apparently having been called back from a dinner party.
"Yes, the one who just attacked the officer. He was in the back seat of the Lincoln sedan driven by the attacker," Jubal said, pointing to the big screen.
"I thought this bastard was hiding in Bolivia or Italy, but I didn't expect him to sneak back to New York. Is there any way to track down that car?" The female supervisor glanced at the busy technicians.
"Detective Reagan just sent back the non-real-time surveillance footage from the crime scene. Technicians are combining it with real-time road surveillance to locate the suspect vehicle. I've already notified the SWAT team to be on standby and ready to go as soon as we get any information," Jubal replied.
"You guys should also prepare and be ready to go. If we can capture this guy, it will be the first mission of the 'Most Wanted Squad.'"
Dana Moger looked at Jack and the others. Well, so even the Americans like to get off to a good start, right? Being the 32nd most wanted criminal—that's a big achievement.
"Okay, Hannah, Aubrey, come with me to get the equipment."
Jack turned and was about to leave with the others when he was suddenly interrupted by an excited voice. "We might have found something here," a technician shouted excitedly, then lowered his head to chat with two of his companions. One of them projected the back half of a car onto the big screen.
"Just five minutes after the incident, a Hawkeye camera atop an ATM less than 5 kilometers from the scene captured this black Lincoln sedan. We found the license plate number on the road surveillance at the next intersection: 6KF-C481, which matches the letters provided by the witness."
"OK, can we track it in real time?" Jubal hurried over to their side.
"No, we lost track of the car shortly afterward. It's a mile-long dead-end road that ends at a commercial warehouse complex. We suspect that's their destination."
Without waiting for Jubal and his female supervisor to urge them, Jack and the other two turned and left. Dana Moger shouted from behind, "Be careful! Notify SWAT and bring in the bomb disposal team. Vargas and his men have a history of bombings." Upon arriving at the scene, they were shocked to
discover that the commercial warehouse complex the technician had mentioned covered over 10,000 square meters, consisting of seven or eight small and medium-sized warehouses.
Fortunately, drones were helping with reconnaissance. Two small drones silently took off and quickly locked onto their target.
Led by a SWAT commander, several men ascended to a rooftop. The commander pointed to a dilapidated two-story warehouse across from the building.
"We've found the Lincoln, parked next to the central warehouse, but there's no sign of human activity nearby. The technicians are replacing the drone's infrared lens and preparing to try looking through the windows for heat signals."
Hannah donned Jack's GPVNG18 four-lens night vision goggles. "No need to bother. I can see four heat signals moving inside."
Compared to thick walls, glass is much less effective at shielding infrared signals. It was nighttime, and the drone's humming could easily alert the target if it got too close.
"So what are we waiting for? An arrest warrant?" The SWAT commander shrugged, drooling enviously at the sight of this high-end military hardware.
Jack began to check his weapons. "No, prepare for action. This is an emergency. We already have enough evidence to suggest Vargas might be among them."
Jack, Hannah, and Aubrey had already upgraded their sidearms to Sig Sauer P320-XTens, donated by kind individuals. However, using only pistols for today's raid would seem disrespectful to Vargas, who was ranked 32nd on the wanted list.
So, each of them now had a 10.4-inch short-barreled HK416, equipped with a DBAL-A2 laser designator for night vision.
(End of Chapter)