A standard flexible explosion-proof canister can completely withstand the energy generated by a 1.5-kilogram TNT-equivalent explosive and effectively control the shockwave and fragmentation generated by a 3-kilogram
TNT-equivalent explosive. The collar bomb Jack threw in, though slightly over the standard, was still within controllable limits. Four pounds of C4 had the power of nearly 2.5 kilograms of TNT. The escaping blast cracked several panes of glass near the main entrance, but that was all.
Even before the fire trucks' water jets could suppress the black smoke from the explosion, the crowd erupted in cheers. The reporters and photographers at the scene were overjoyed. Tonight's news and tomorrow's newspapers had their heads turned.
Vargas was taken to the hospital and was expected to be alright. As Jubal and two agents uncuffed him, the previously seemingly ruthless drug lord's legs gave way, and he was eventually carried away by his arms, one on each side.
"You told me this job is much safer than being on the battlefield. It's hard for me to imagine the hell you go through every time you're deployed overseas."
Stella hugged her husband tightly, sobbing breathlessly. Clay, amused and sobbing, hugged her back. "Actually, I haven't seen such exciting scenes in my military career very often."
Hannah seemed much more resilient than the emotionally agitated pregnant woman. Only Jack noticed the nail-pierced palms and the teeth marks on her lips.
Dana Moger, the highest-ranking officer on the scene and the calmest-looking one, was directing the public relations agents to contact the media one by one, apparently planning to hold an impromptu press conference directly on the scene.
In less than two hours, the FBI raid killed the killer of the NYPD officer, seized a staggering amount of drugs, and unexpectedly captured drug lord Anthony Vargas. Of course, there was also the bomb threat at 26 Federal Plaza. Any of these news stories would have made headlines in New York City that day.
Amidst the media frenzy, no one noticed that several individuals involved quietly vanished from the scene, escorted by a phalanx of FBI agents and NYPD officers.
A week later, Jack personally drove Clay Spencer and Alice Taylor to Quantico. Two or three months later, when they returned to New York, the new Most Wanted squad was officially established.
Jack had initially worried that Stella, having witnessed her husband's dangerous actions, would oppose Clay's joining the FBI, but fortunately, his concerns were misplaced. After all,
not every pregnant woman would fall prey to irrational, hysterical emotions; only films and television deliberately re-enact such stereotypes.
Of course, Stella, a former military family member, wasn't so much a heartbreaker as Jack's last-minute request for Clay to leave, which deeply touched her and convinced her that Clay had made the right choice.
After being released from the hospital, Anthony Vargas was sent directly to the highest-security federal prison in New York State. Although his final performance was somewhat disastrous, the bomb threats he provoked still kept the FBI on edge for a long time.
Fortunately, the Durango Cartel only had a significant presence in Bolivia. As an upstream supplier, they had no presence in the US, and were quickly eliminated by the FBI, in collaboration with the DEA and CIA.
However, rumors circulated that Anthony Vargas had connections to terrorist organizations in the US, but that was the responsibility of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the NSA (National Security Agency), and the FBI could do little without solid intelligence.
Soon after, official appointments were issued, and Jubal and Jack were promoted. The former became a full-fledged Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC), and the other was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent (SSA).
However, Jack was still in charge of preparing the new team, as Jubal had to hand over his duties to the new Operations Center Commander, a beautiful British woman with a pure Union Jack accent.
Kate Joyner, a dual British and American citizen who previously worked at Scotland Yard (London's Metropolitan Police Service), joined the FBI a few years ago and rose through the ranks at lightning speed, becoming Assistant Director in just a few years.
Even Jubal couldn't help but tinge with sourness when he spoke of this, considering it had taken him a full decade to reach that position.
However, the person who truly disliked this British beauty wasn't within the FBI, but rather Detective Danny Regan at NYPD headquarters.
Whether it was a natural clash of personalities or simply an instinctive aversion to the British as a man of Irish descent, he had complained to Jack about Kate Joyner more than once.
Jack could only express his frustration. As far as he knew, the British beauty was a paratrooper and not one of Dana Moger's preferred candidates. Instead, she was personally appointed by the Director, reportedly at the suggestion of a senator.
To be fair, this woman was actually quite capable. Aside from her incompatibility with Danny and her slightly out-of-touch nature, she was perfectly capable of her job.
To Jack, a bit of a scoundrel, he found it quite enjoyable to occasionally watch Danny and her bicker.
With spring drawing to a close and early summer approaching, and the renovations for the new office nearly complete, Jack could finally relax for a while. After all, braving the daily traffic from Manhattan to Long Beach was a real test of his patience.
Thinking of the hours he wasted on the commute and how much he could have slacked off and typed, Jack became extremely irritated. More importantly, he hated the subway, especially the stinky, rat-infested New York subway.
So, early that morning, as he had just retreated into his office and turned on his computer, he heard Danny and Joyna arguing outside.
"I thought you were used to the joint investigations by the NYPD and the FBI. What's wrong? Is your pride so strong that you don't want to be ordered around by a woman with a British accent?"
"I didn't refuse the FBI's involvement. In fact, it's a good thing to have some help, but don't expect you to really be able to order me and my men around. Never!"
Jack opened the office door and waved to the two of them. "Hey, guys, do you mind coming to my office for a cup of tea?"
Seeing the two guys, who were almost 80 years old in total, making as much noise as kindergarten kids, Jack rubbed his brows with a headache and made each of them a cup of jasmine tea to cool down. "I say, can't you two just be quiet for a day?"
(End of this chapter)