Jack was feeling down. Someone who could deliver such a cheesy line wasn't usually someone important. He felt around, confirming the man was only carrying a knife, not even a gun, and sighed in disappointment.
He stood up, twisted his wrist, and struck the man's temple with the bent end of the rebar, sending him to a sweet sleep.
Meanwhile, Reacher had finished searching Scar's body, a set of car keys appearing in his hand. "No wallet or ID. Let's search this bastard's car."
"What about these guys?" Negley pointed at the thugs lying on the ground, barely able to groan. Aside from the two Jack had knocked unconscious, most of the others had lost limbs. While they looked miserable, they were actually not in danger of death.
The worst-hit wasn't the one Reacher had broken, but the one who had fought O'Donnell. He had been stabbed twice in the liver and left lung, and now suffered a hemothorax.
Jack didn't bother saving such a thing. If the ambulance hadn't arrived in time, only two would have died. He'd already prepared himself for seven bodies.
Pulling out his phone and sending a message, Jack waved everyone to hurry up. "The New Jersey office will be here to clean up. These guys won't have any contact with the outside world until this is over."
—
"Looks like someone did their homework." O'Donnell pulled out several files from the glove compartment in front of the passenger seat. They contained photos and information about the individuals.
The information was brief, with only a few brief descriptions of their physical appearances. It was obvious that the person who had obtained it didn't have high authority. The introduction only mentioned the individuals' military ranks and that they had served in the same Military Police Special Investigations Unit.
"Cellphone." Reacher fished a phone out of the armrest, glanced at it, and curled his lips. "Anonymous."
He opened it and found there wasn't even a password set. He clicked on the call log and saw that the caller ID was all unknown numbers. Just as he was about to turn it off and hand it to Jack, a call came in.
Reacher glanced at the others and immediately turned on speakerphone. A slightly aged voice came from the other end of the line. "Did you get it done?"
"It's done, but it might not be what you expected," Reacher replied.
The mysterious person on the other end of the line was silent for a moment, then called out Reacher's name. "You've messed with the wrong guy, Reacher. You'll soon find out what's happening to you."
"Then why do you sound scared?" Reacher finished speaking before the other party hung up.
"Is there any way to track him?" Negley had long sensed that Jack was no ordinary FBI agent. While he didn't know his rank, he knew he could easily mobilize a lot of resources.
Jack thought for a moment. "Not right now. The other party obviously has an unregistered phone, but if he calls again, we should be able to track his location."
"Then find a way to continue to provoke him. Maybe that will make him lose his mind and call me on this phone." Reacher understood what he meant.
"Perhaps I can offer another clue." Dixon fished a lost card from the space between the passenger seat and the armrest. "A parking pass."
"New Age Technology? The stamp on it is yesterday morning?"
Reacher frowned. He was certain the SUV that had been lurking outside Franz's house the day before and then following him and Jack was the same one.
So what was the connection between the scarred man driving it and this company called "New Age Technology"? Why would he go there the next morning after their pursuit failed?
"Guys, time to retreat. We have work to do." Negley pointed to the flashing blue and white lights in the distance. The faint sound of sirens could be heard.
O'Donnell, meanwhile, brought over the beer bottles that had been placed on the curb before the group climbed over the wall. "Hmm, they're still cold. We can still drink."
"Can you tell which one belongs to whom?" Negley asked with a slight frown.
"I haven't tried mine yet," Jack happily accepted the fullest bottle.
Like tourists strolling late at night, the group leisurely returned to the boardwalk, beer bottles in hand. Negley, using his phone's navigation system, led them to the offices of Sanchez and Orozco.
Jack unlocked the door once again, and after opening it, O'Donnell reached out and flicked a switch on the wall. The lights flickered on, revealing a familiar mess within.
"Same as Franz's office," Reacher said, picking up a brass-cased Zippo lighter from the floor and handing it to Negley with a grim expression.
Negley's expression suddenly darkened. "Guys, do you recall ever seeing Orozco leave the house without his lighter?"
The expressions of O'Donnell and Dixon, two other investigators from the 110 Special Investigations Unit, darkened. This suggested that Sanchez and Orozco had likely been forcibly abducted from this very office and murdered.
Dixon mused. "Franz and this place have been vandalized, but Swan, the only missing person, shows no signs of being broken into. There must be a reason behind this."
"Perhaps," Reacher said grumpily, lifting a chair that was blocking his path and inspecting the innermost bookshelf.
"Good times," O'Donnell said, picking up a picture frame from the floor with a nostalgic look.
Jack glanced at it and saw that it was the same group photo he and Reacher had found in Franz's office. It showed the nine members of the 110 Special Investigations Unit, all smiling happily, including Reacher.
"So am I the only one who doesn't have this photo?" Reacher said, a little frustrated.
"I do."
"I do," O'Donnell and Dixon replied.
"It's on the bookshelf," Negley said, and the others all looked at Reacher.
Jack spoke the truth, "First you have to have a home, then you have walls to hang pictures on."
Reacher, frustrated again, snorted and fell silent, concentrating on flipping through the bookshelves.
"We're wasting our time. There's probably nothing left to find here." O'Donnell kicked the documents and broken glass scattered on the floor.
"Indeed." Dixon agreed. "Even if there was something important, it must have been taken away by the other party."
"That's what we thought when we were in Franz's office." Jack briefly told the story of the printer.
O'Donnell curled his lips. "So? Do we have to dismantle the printer here too?"
"No, we should find a bar to have a drink now." Reacher pulled out a large photo frame from the bottom of the bookshelf. The glass on it was smashed, but the photos inside were still there.
"Sanchez and this bar girl look very close."
The four photos were all intimate photos of Sanchez and a Latino girl. One of the photos was taken in a bar. The girl was wearing a barmaid's T-shirt.
"Lucky Bar?" Negley opened his phone and searched. "It's on the other side of the commercial street."
(End of this chapter)