As luck would have it, early this morning, Clay and Aubrey obtained two fake IDs from the Denver office and drove to the New Age Technologies manufacturing facility.
Federal agents impersonating others to conduct investigations is commonplace, and the FBI itself is a frequent victim. Those CIA bastards often masquerade as FBI agents during domestic operations.
But when they arrived and inquired, the shift supervisor gleefully informed them that they were late; the last batch of 650 "Little Wing" missiles had just been shipped out half an hour earlier.
Hearing the number 650 was a shocking blow to Clay and Aubrey. They drove in pursuit while alerting Jubal.
Just as Jubal contacted the Denver office, requesting reinforcements, Clay and Aubrey encountered a group of armed men en route.
They had already killed the truck driver and escort, then swapped the two sides of the container truck with an identical truck.
The group of seven militants, four of whom were armed with Uzi submachine guns and wearing body armor, caught Clay and Aubrey off guard.
Fortunately, although they had flown to Denver, they had borrowed two assault rifles from the local office before arriving at the factory as a precaution. With Aubrey's help, Clay, a former Navy SEAL, was able to dispatch five of the attackers.
They saw two trucks parked on the side of the road. Aubrey, who was sitting in the passenger seat, asked Clay to stop so he could get out and investigate. As soon as he opened the door, he was attacked by several militants, who were pretending to be repairing a truck with their backs to them.
Fortunately, the boy was obedient, having been constantly reminded by Jack not to overly trust the bulletproof vests and to always install the plates whenever possible.
Several 9mm rounds pierced the car door, leaving only a few bruises on his stomach. Sensing the danger, Clay shifted into reverse and stepped on the accelerator, putting some distance between them.
But by then, both front tires of their Suburban had been blown out, making it impossible to escape. Clay, with a determined heart, parked the car, and with Aubrey desperately shielding him, he reclined his seat, climbed into the trunk, retrieved his assault rifle, and launched a counterattack.
Poor Aubrey, struck down, thought he was doomed. He yelled at the enemy, emptied his magazine, and lay there, waiting for death. After Clay finished dealing with the enemy and tore open his bulletproof vest, he realized he was fine.
When they called Jack, they were still waiting by the roadside for reinforcements from the Denver office. A police helicopter had already been dispatched, but their chances of immediately locating the stolen container truck were slim.
Denver, the capital of Colorado, is a renowned industrial city in the American Midwest, boasting a robust military, energy, and machinery industries and a dense network of roads.
The roads were filled with large, seemingly identical container trucks, and the enemy was clearly well prepared. While five men remained to hold Clay and Aubrey accountable, the other two had already made their escape in a truck with swapped compartments.
They had just inspected the truck bed that remained. The enemy's original plan was likely to spoof the real goods, replacing them with containers of bricks weighing the same weight.
Because the cargo was military equipment, it was impossible to open the boxes for inspection. According to the manifest, the missiles and launchers would be shipped to Los Angeles and then directly loaded onto a ship bound for South Korea.
Normally, shipping from the Port of Los Angeles to South Korea would take at least three or four weeks. And given military practice, the boxes might remain in storage until they were ready for scrapping, only to be opened and discovered to be amiss.
"So, according to your theory, the top management of New Age Technology, including the board of directors, may have been unaware of this, and the real perpetrator was a mere security director?"
Joey Reacher, who had rushed in upon receiving the news, was also seated in the conference room. Hearing the full story, he was somewhat incredulous.
"It's not entirely innocent. Our guess is that the missiles were likely just a bunch of showpieces that looked good but didn't work." After some deliberation, Jack laid out their findings from last night.
"The top brass at 'New Age Technologies' created a bunch of sham products to defraud funding, while the people below somehow contacted 'AM,' an international arms dealer, hoping to replicate the scheme and pocket a lucrative pension. While we have no concrete evidence implicating Congressman Lavoie, I'm sure he's already received word that two posing FBI agents have visited his subordinates. I wonder if the DHS is interested in this Congressman as a potential culprit."
Joey glanced at his silent brother, then at the young FBI agent who shared his brother's name, rubbing his brow in a state of annoyance.
He was originally the Director of the Secret Service's Office of Investigations. After the massive counterfeiting operation in Margrave, he was promoted two levels and now holds the rank of Deputy Director.
In addition to overseeing his original financial crimes duties, since the Secret Service was incorporated into the DHS after 9/11, he also served as a consultant on counterterrorism matters within the DHS.
In other words, Joey can get involved in any terrorism-related matters within DHS, as long as it has something to do with money laundering and various financial instruments.
But counterterrorism seemed to be a relatively unimportant part of the case. Jack made it sound easy to take down a senator, but politics was anything but simple.
Technically, the 100 senators in Congress and the factions they represented were the true masters of this country. If a private investigation of a senator without proper justification were discovered, even he would be in big trouble.
"What's your FBI stance on this case?" Even though the man before him was his lifesaver, having even saved an entire Secret Service team and the Bolivian president they were protecting during the New York bombing,
Joey still decided to play it safe. It wasn't that his promotion had made him an ungrateful political freak.
He was simply worried that Jack, driven by his youth and impulsiveness, coupled with his fearless younger brother, might cause things to get out of hand.
Because there were two DHS agents present, Jack could only give a vague hint, "My superior, Ms. Moger, followed up on this case throughout. Here is her phone number."
After Jack finished speaking, he handed him a business card, but it was not Dana Moger's, but David Rossi's.
Joey took a quick glance and understood immediately. He put the business card directly into his pocket, nodded slightly and said, "How do you plan to collect evidence? DHS will fully cooperate." "
Don't touch the 'New Era Technology' factory in Denver for the time being. Just file a case of ordinary carjacking and investigate the person in charge of the factory privately. The other party must have an insider to be able to accurately intercept the truck halfway.
According to a legislative director, these missiles are just hardware, and the chips are produced in New York. This may be the reason why 'AM' went to Denver first and then to New York.
After all, it is a deal worth up to 65 million. Both parties need certain guarantees. It sounds more reasonable to deliver the missiles first and then pay when the chips are delivered."
Jack stretched out his hand after he finished speaking, "As for the senator, give me one of your eavesdropping devices, and then send a monitoring car to follow us. Reacher and I plan to go for a walk outside."
Joey looked at the two DHS agents after hearing this, and the two immediately understood and left the office.
"I'll contact David Rossi and Ms. Moger. If you can obtain concrete evidence, I'll complete all necessary legal procedures. But the prerequisite is that you don't let those weapons fall into the hands of terrorists, even if they're just for show."
"That won't happen, because we'll kill all of Lanston's gang." Reacher's murderous words made Joey frown again, and he waved his lawless brother away.
--
"Swan was made a scapegoat. Clay and Aubrey found his digital signature on the bill of lading found at the scene." Jack said in a casual tone, gazing at the Washington Monument in the distance and the Lincoln Memorial to the west.
"So he might still be alive?" Reacher, who was surveying his surroundings, was slightly startled by the words.
"It's only a possibility. You should have seen a lot of biometric verification devices in the New Age Technology office. His digital signature shouldn't be that easy to forge."
Jack was also observing his surroundings. He was very pleased with the DHS's cooperation this time. He didn't know if it was because of Joey's personal arrangement, but the DHS surveillance car wasn't a van that would be easily spotted.
He hadn't even noticed that the ice cream truck parked on the roadside had a hidden agenda.
"Although, all of this is based on prior evidence, and it can't completely rule out the possibility of Swan's involvement. I hope you're prepared."
Jack really didn't understand the situation this time, so he gave Reacher a heads-up.
"I said, I will never doubt Swan," Reacher's tone remained firm.
The two of them strolled along the National Mall for less than half an hour. Just as they crossed the street next to Constitution Park, two black GMC vans with government license plates suddenly appeared and stopped beside them.
The doors opened, and two people in black suits, a man and a woman, stepped out and stood in front of Jack and Reacher.
Reacher scoffed mercilessly. "Let me guess. Government license plates, official cars, official uniforms. It took Congressman Lavoie this long to figure out who harassed his subordinate last night."
The two men in black suits exuded a typical military demeanor, especially the woman. Her aura, cultivated from long-term command, made Jack feel as if he were witnessing a gender-transformed Reacher, despite the vast difference in height and appearance between the two.
(End of the chapter)