For the next few days, the BAU team didn't leave as usual after the case was concluded. Firstly, Hotchner needed a few days to recuperate. His broken arm wouldn't heal quickly, but the thigh injury had caused him considerable bleeding.
Secondly, it was a rare occasion for everyone to get together. The BAU had an endless supply of cases anyway, with countless case files arriving daily from police stations across the country. As the saying goes, "more debt, less worry." Rossi made the decision for Hotchner: everyone decided to stay in New York for a few more days.
Red and Garcia were probably the happiest of the group. New York was not only the economic center of the United States, but also its cultural center.
There were countless museums dedicated to natural history, and for Red, it was like a mouse falling into a rice jar. One large museum was enough for him to thoroughly explore for three days, not to mention the many historic libraries with extensive collections.
Garcia's happiness was naturally due to Jack's delicious food. According to Chinese tradition, injured soldiers need nourishing food. Plus, with the renovation of the new office complete and the dormitories and kitchen officially operational, he could finally show his talents.
Hotchner was filled with a variety of stews every day. Beef and pork bones were both good for replenishing vitality, and they were mixed with various Chinese medicinal herbs, so there was no repeat for seven consecutive days.
So Garcia and the others also enjoyed a feast, as did Reagan's family, and Cassel and his lovely daughter Alexis, who came under the guise of visiting colleagues.
So the BAU members had a lively week like this before they boarded the plane back to Los Angeles. However, there were only 5 people left when they came, but there were only 6 people when they left. Jie Jie stood beside Jack and waved to everyone with a beautiful smile.
As another hero of the bombing, Danny also took a rare long vacation. This time, he also accompanied Jack to the airport to see him off. As he watched the white Gulfstream business jet take off, his cell phone rang at the right time.
After he hung up the phone with a strange look on his face, Jack quipped, "What? Can't wait to get back to work?"
"Uh, guys," Danny pointed to the now-small Gulfstream business jet. "By the way, can we get them to turn around and come back?"
"Huh?" Jack, Hannah, and Jiejie were all stunned.
New York's Central Park has several public bodies of water. An artificial lake simply called "Lake" and a large artificial reservoir are the park's two larger bodies of water.
There's also a turtle pond with various turtles, a water nature reserve with ducks and various birds, and a large public swimming pool that becomes an ice rink when it freezes in winter.
North of the Sheep Meadow, which Jack had almost completely destroyed, around a small mound called Cherry Blossom Hill, is the artificial lake called "Lake." In the summer, many people go kayaking and pedaling here.
After Jack parked the self-destructing ambulance, it was Danny who drove him north, driving all the way behind Cherry Blossom Hill and near the lake's edge before getting out to avoid the massive shockwave.
When he returned, everything was utterly shattered. Several sports facilities to the south had been severely damaged, including the beautiful carousel Danny had mentioned.
Sheep Meadows was originally intended as a parade ground, but Olmsted, the architect at the time, objected and converted it to a sheep pasture. Of course, sheep are no longer raised there, and even the sheep pen to the west has been converted into a tavern.
Today, the tavern houses a Michelin-starred restaurant, but the blast directly impacted the building, leaving it virtually flattened, with the roof ripped off.
To the right of Sheep Meadows was a shopping street, where tourists usually ply in elegant horse-drawn carriages. Now, it's a shambles, and the cleanup has just begun.
This was thanks to Central Park's lush vegetation; the trees and shrubs effectively blocked the blast wave, but they also left it in disarray. It's said that the New York City government has already allocated the first $60 million in funding for debris removal from the explosion.
However, given that the New York City Department of Sanitation spent $52 million on snow removal alone last winter, the media was pessimistic about the Parks Department's claim to restore Central Park to its pristine state within a year.
Danny's return to Central Park with Jack and the others wasn't just to reminisce about their heroic deeds. The NYPD had concealed his identity from the media, even though the tabloids were already buzzing with stories of NYPD Commissioner Reagan's son saving New York. Overall, the NYPD's public relations department had done their best to keep the situation low-key. Ever since the attacks on Erin Reagan and Danny's wife, Linda Reagan, Frank Reagan realized that his family's excessive fame wasn't always a good thing.
Erin, the Assistant District Attorney, was generally okay, but his two sons, a detective and a patrolman, were on the front lines, already vulnerable to danger in their daily work. Adding the threat of being targeted by someone with ulterior motives would exponentially increase the risk.
Especially since the BAU team was stranded in New York, Frank and Rossi already had a good relationship and had frequent interactions.
It's unclear whether Rossi discussed past cases or analyzed certain serial killers like Jack. In short, while Danny is now a prominent figure within the NYPD, that's about it. He's been promoted and awarded medals, but his popularity outside the NYPD has quickly waned.
After all, not everyone is the glamorous Rick Cassel. Even this renowned author isn't universally known, as he typically hangs out in a high-class circle, interacting primarily with the upper class.
Few people would recognize Cassel instantly from a photo on a novel cover. After all, just because someone likes eggs doesn't mean they're interested in the hen that laid them.
This is part of the nature of the writer's profession. Unlike celebrities who are constantly in the media, even renowned authors have limited opportunities to appear in the media.
Especially since Cassel became a police consultant, constantly following a leggy detective on scene, he's handed over his social media accounts to his daughter and stopped sharing any private information about himself or his family on social media.
After all, he has an FBI friend who constantly tells him tales of terrifying serial killers.
Back to the point, everyone was standing by the lake, staring at each other in bewilderment. Several divers were still working in the water, and three yellow tarps lay on the shore, bearing three bodies in varying states of decomposition.
Jim Aubrey, recently summoned from the Federal Building, was clutching his hand as he poured his lunch beside a fallen tree. Mike Taylor, the chubby-faced, heavily eye-bag-faced head of CSI's New York lab, and his researchers were busy among the bodies.
"All female. No clothing, and certainly no ID," Stella Bonasiella said, raising her hand to greet her bestie Hannah. Her gaze lingered on Jiejie's pretty face for a moment, then she glanced at Jack with a half-smile, then back at Aubrey, who was vomiting profusely.
"It looks like you've got a lot of new recruits."
"Two more are in training at Quantico. We'll introduce them once they arrive. I'll have a party the day the team launches." This time, Jack went to examine the bodies without gloves.
The corpse in front of him was in relatively good condition, having died less than a week ago. One of the other two was already turning into skeletons, while the other was in a state of gigantism, its belly bulging.
A researcher in full hazmat suit was carefully poking the corpse's stomach with a hollow tube to deflate it, otherwise it might explode and spray everyone around with corpse fluid.
A little of this stuff would stink for three days, and even ordinary soap and shower gel wouldn't remove it, even if it peeled off.
(End of Chapter)