Hotchner had a plaster cast on his arm and looked very dusty. If Red hadn't brought him an emergency kit and asked him to change his clothes, everyone would probably still see the bandage on his thigh.
Jack's image was not much better than his. His suit jacket was covered in dust, and his whole body smelled of gunpowder. He even looked more embarrassed than Hotchner because he hadn't changed his clothes.
"Is Joyner okay?" Although he knew it, Jack still wanted to show some concern.
Hotchner's face looked a little strange. "She's still in the operating room, but the doctor said there's no danger to her life. It's just that the wound on her face will cause some trouble in the future."
Someone rushed over to save people and didn't notice it in a hurry. But looking back, Hotchner's posture when he was kneeling beside Joyner didn't look like he was doing artificial respiration. After all, when Jack arrived, Joyner was just in a coma but didn't need cardiopulmonary resuscitation. So after eliminating all the impossible options, there seemed to be only one answer.
Joyner, believing herself to be dying, likely said something that caused Hotchner to bend down and kiss her, leading to her falling into unconsciousness as she wished.
It seemed she'd have to ask Garcia for a copy of the footage from the scene; the Hawkeye camera, with its best angle, must have captured something.
Meanwhile, the screens in the operations center and conference room were blaring emergency news from various channels, looping helicopter footage of Central Park.
Fearless reporters, wearing helmets, rushed to the scene, using the firefighters battling the blaze as a backdrop for the live news.
Jack had been looking around since he sat in the small conference room, his mind racing. He tried to distract himself, but to little avail.
Hannah and Jiejie's perfume smelled delicious beside him. Emily had a nice figure. The female boss still had some charm. Garcia's chubby face was adorable. He
pinched his thigh hard, the sharp pain finally driving the chaotic thoughts out of his head. Rossi's voice finally reached his ears.
"So, the Dark Jihad's true goal wasn't to stage a series of multi-target attacks like the London bombings, but rather a single-target bombing with expected casualties comparable to 9/11. To that end, they prepared... well... no less than 1.5 tons of C4 and chromate explosives."
"That's my rough estimate based on the explosive power. Besides C4, they also used chromate, various peroxides, perchlorates, chlorates, and red mercury to increase the impact," Red added, stroking his stubble.
"Perhaps they felt the C4 they had wasn't enough to completely destroy the entire hospital building, so they added these materials. According to the ATF (Agency of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives), they already have some clues."
"So, where did the C4 come from?" Jack was used to second-guessing things, but he was curious about where the Durango cartel had gotten so many military-grade explosives. Could it be connected to the CIA again?
"According to previous intelligence, the C4 in the Durango Cartel's possession originated from the Bolivian military. Anthony Vargas has yet to reveal their smuggling channels since his arrest.
According to intelligence just provided by certain agencies, they're likely smuggling C4 into the country mixed with cocaine." Dana Moger's expression was subtle.
Jack was speechless. Smuggling C4 mixed with other substances was common, but this was the first time he'd heard of C4 being mixed with cocaine.
"Some people think they control the rules and can do whatever they want. This time, they'll pay the price," Rossi said, with a hint of meaning.
So it's not that no one knows about the Durango Cartel's drug smuggling channels, but rather that there's something else going on. It's unclear whether it's the CIA or the DEA, but those two are the most likely suspects.
This scene is a bit exaggerated. Someone must be held responsible. Thanks to the FBI's New York office, otherwise, the consequences wouldn't just be a new artificial lake (pond?) in Central Park.
Even so, the economic losses from the explosion were substantial. Nearly a quarter of Central Park was severely damaged, severely damaging numerous culturally significant statues and rare plants.
Given American standards, restoration would likely take years and cost tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.
Furthermore, the shockwave damaged surrounding buildings. Central Park is a long, narrow park, stretching four kilometers north to south but only 0.8 kilometers east to west, and its east and west sides are lined with historic buildings.
Just now, there was a news report that a wheel hub had smashed out the window of an apartment about 1.3 kilometers from Central Park, frightening a young couple in their bedroom.
Furthermore, as is customary, the deafening explosion also caused unrest in some less-than-safe areas, with several gun battles breaking out between overly enthusiastic black residents and the NYPD maintaining order.
I guess tomorrow we'll hear a black woman with a rap accent on the news defending her son. She'll say things like, "He was a community lifer, a warm-hearted neighbor."
"If you knew him, you'd see he was a good man, a good husband, a good father, a good friend. He was a loving person who would do anything for you. We don't know why he did it, but he didn't deserve to be treated this way
We need the truth. "
Anyway, the NYPD will be very busy tonight. After the explosions that resounded throughout the city, the sirens will probably continue all night.
"So, who was inside St. Barclay's Hospital? Who was it that necessitated the USSS's protection, and made the entire hospital a target of 'Dark Jihad'?" Jiejie asked.
As an eyewitness, Hotchner knew the whole story best, but Jack and Joey Reacher were communicating over the intercom at the time, so he only heard Jack's questions and not his responses.
"The President of Bolivia." Jack revealed the final answer to the mystery. "According to Rossi's previous intelligence, the only thing hindering Anthony Vargas's extradition is the power of the president of this country.
So the target of the Durango drug cartel has always been the Bolivian president who came to the United States for heart surgery. They blew up the entire hospital and turned the whole thing into a terrorist attack that shocked the world. In the end, 'Dark Jihad' was responsible.
In such a major event, no one would doubt that the president would become collateral damage. It has to be said that the guy who planned this has a genius brain.
The Durango drug cartel provided money and materials, and 'Dark Jihad' provided people and fame. Both sides got what they needed. This guy's imagination is quite wild."
"So we were completely fooled by them." Emily was a little indignant.
"Everything that happened before was an act. The random shooting of eight innocent passers-by on the street, the hacking into the NYPD system, the car bomb attack on Hotchner and Joyner, all of this was a cover.
The ultimate goal was to rescue Anthony Vargas with the help of a terrorist attack. Damn it, who could have thought of this."
Reid was still analyzing from the most rational and objective perspective, "So our profiles were always wrong. Fortunately, the other party superfluously directed a drama in which the murderer committed suicide by the hands of the police.
Otherwise, we would not be able to link the early shootings to terrorism, not to mention the responses made in advance."
Hotchner continued, "Thanks to Jack. If he hadn't been alert enough, you would probably be searching for Kate and my bodies in the ruins now, and even until the end you wouldn't be able to link the entire incident to the Durango drug cartel.
Because in the end, when you reverse all the clues, everything will point to a long-planned terrorist attack, not an assassination."
"But without your profiles, we wouldn't be able to stop all this in the end." The female boss smiled.
"St. Barclay's Hospital is a comprehensive hospital with a 22-story main building. If that truckload of explosives had exploded underground, it would have been the worst terrorist attack New York has suffered since 9/11.
So thank you to everyone in the Behavioral Analysis Unit for your assistance, and of course our brave and fearless Agent Jack Tavola. Without you, thousands of families in New York would have been plunged into pain and despair tonight."
"Although," Rossi said, somewhat dissatisfied with her old lover's tone. "Strictly speaking, Jack is still a member of our BAU."
"Yes, yes." Dana Moger chuckled and took his arm, gently as if coaxing a child, "Why don't we go out for a drink? Tonight is a bit too exciting, isn't it?"
(End of this chapter)