In the dead of night, the two bosses went out on a date, and naturally, the soldiers dispersed. Hotchner still had some questions, like why Jack had shot the paramedic so decisively. At the time, Hotchner was still suffering from a concussion and minor blood loss, and he hadn't recovered much, so he wasn't fully aware of what had happened.
However, Jack always struck him as someone with a keen eye. While his kill count far exceeded that of the average detective, his decisiveness in shooting was always consistent with procedure, or perhaps justified by a compelling reason to kill the criminal. Hotchner, of course, didn't know that Jack had intentionally damaged a body camera during his time as an LAPD patrol officer, but he was generally overly cautious, and even when he felt he couldn't quite get his way, he always tried to play by the rules.
Since there was no immediate rush, Hotchner, accompanied by Emily and Red, returned to the hospital. He needed some rest while Joyner finished the surgery.
In fact, if one were to strictly follow procedure, Jack's shooting was a bit of a violation, as the EMT hadn't given away much of a veneer, nor had his behavior betrayed any threat.
But Jack had to shoot, because Joyner was in his possession, and he had already suspected something was wrong with the ambulance. Any hesitation could have led to irreversible tragedy.
Results often judge heroes, and this achievement was so significant that even if he made some mistakes in his report later, no one would find fault.
Furthermore, it was only a minor procedural flaw. From the appearance of the man who remained at the explosion site, disguised as a civilian and approached Hotchner and Joyner, to the arrival of the "volunteer" EMT, everything was a pre-planned conspiracy.
When Jack learned from Joy Reacher that the Secret Service was protecting the current president of Bolivia, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place.
The reason the terrorist, disguised as a civilian, approached Hotchner after detonating the bomb, pretending to be a concerned citizen, was to confirm the severity of their injuries and allow his accomplice, disguised as an EMT, to successfully present themselves to the injured FBI agents in an ambulance loaded with explosives.
This was a safeguard. Regardless of whether the police connected the previous random shooting to a terrorist attack and suspected the emergency personnel at the scene, leading to a lockdown at the explosion site,
they had to ensure their own ambulance, packed with explosives, arrived first, along with an FBI agent.
This person also served as a backup. If Hotchner and Joyner were both seriously injured, or even died while the other was injured, he could simply don a uniform and become the EMT driving the vehicle.
While the ambulance might still be stopped by Secret Service agents at the hospital, the presence of a dying FBI agent in the vehicle, coupled with a shot of nitroglycerin, created a sense of imminent death, making it highly likely that they would be able to circumvent the lockdown and enter the hospital.
However, all of this was disrupted by Jack's timely appearance. Even though Joy Reacher wasn't the Secret Service's supervisor on duty today, preventing him from learning that the Secret Service's target was the current president of Bolivia, when Garcia later told him that the number they'd been tracking had been near the ambulance, Jack didn't hesitate to subdue the paramedics and inspect the vehicle.
Now, it was simply a matter of writing a few words in the report, perhaps noting that he noticed something was amiss with the paramedics' expressions and that they were behaving in a threatening manner toward Joyner.
In reality, Jack was quite confident in his cheat. How could Joyner still be in danger after using the healing spell? The fact that they were trying to rescue Joyner when he opened the car door was the biggest flaw.
The next day, when Jack emerged from the operations center refreshed and refreshed, he was met with the wistful gaze of Jim Aubrey. Jubal had assigned him to NYPD headquarters as a temporary liaison the previous night, before the first explosion.
If he had been with Jack then, his promotion to senior agent this year would have been a sure thing. He had barely finished writing a report for half the morning when Rossi, leaning on his waist, appeared at Jack's office door, informing him that the NSA and DHS had, with remarkable success, apprehended the final member of the "Dark Jihad" involved in the terrorist attack that morning.
Thirteen individuals were involved in the attack, and the mastermind was none other than the bald man disguised as an EMT who had been killed by Jack. He was the only member of the Durango cartel to appear in New York and a demolition expert. He was responsible for the explosives in the ambulance and the collar bomb that had been attached to Alice's neck. The NSA was still investigating his true identity, but it was believed he was a member of the Venezuelan Special Forces and had served as an instructor at the somewhat legendary
"Hunter School."
In his past life, Jack had seen a military action film called "Escape from the Amazon." He wasn't sure if the "Hunter School" in this world's Venezuela was as impressive as the film, but judging by the bald man's performance, he was definitely quite capable.
This information was just incidental. Rossi had come to tell Jack, "Early this morning, the ADX Florence Correctional Facility in Colorado reported that Anthony Vargas had died in his cell from a heart attack."
"That's quite interesting! A guy who couldn't even watch a bomb explode through a glass window died of a heart attack in his cell," Jack said, his tone tinged with sarcasm.
"Perhaps it was just a delayed onset?" Rossi's smile was equally ironic.
"This incident has nothing to do with us. Perhaps it's just a coincidence, or perhaps someone doesn't want to be associated with terrorism because of what happened last night."
Jack shrugged. "I hope that's enough. At least for the time being, I don't want to deal with any more cases involving bombs or terrorist attacks."
"Then be careful when you're selecting wanted criminals to pursue. I have some good news." Rossi smiled happily this time, a genuine smile.
"You will receive an FBI Medal of Valor, and all members of the BAU task force will receive an FBI Shield of Bravery."
Why did he suddenly feel like he was being chosen? Obviously, this wasn't an official decision. The FBI's bureaucratic process would take at least a month before the official announcement of such medals.
The FBI's Medal of Valor is second only to the FBI Star, which is usually awarded to agents who are bravely injured in important missions. Above that is the Memorial Star, which can only be received by family members because it is only awarded to fallen agents.
(End of Chapter)