"Bang, bang, bang!" Hearing a series of gunshots from upstairs, the two men guarding the "motel" door instinctively rushed inside.
As the first man pushed the door open, he froze in the distance, then slowly retreated. His companion, more shrewd, saw a shotgun thrust into the man's forehead and turned to run towards the car.
Just then, the lights in the parking lot flickered on, and the only two parked cars suddenly started up, blocking the black sedan from behind. Several black gun muzzles peeked out of their windows, pointing at the fleeing man. Terrified, he quickly dropped his gun and fell to his knees.
In the distance, unseen by the others, Jack pointed his gun at the cars passing by on the road. Aubrey nervously used his night vision goggles to scan for any other vehicles attempting to leave.
"Good job, guys." After confirming that no one had escaped, Jack tapped his headset, signaling the end of the job.
"
Bang!" A 10mm pistol round, capable of easily bringing down a wild boar, unleashed its full power at close range. Reacher's single shot shattered the ulna and radius of the man's forearm, leaving only skin and muscle barely attached to his palm.
The sound of the gunshot echoed far into the night sky. Unfortunately, this place was adjacent to a deserted beach, with no residential buildings within a 200-meter radius. Crucially, even if someone called 911, the responding officer would likely be among the "onlookers" at the scene.
Danny stood among a group of FBI agents, looking around. While he had taken Jack to the riverbank to bury someone, that had been merely an attempt to scare the other party. This was a full-blown lynching.
"Ahhh!" Seeing his companion rolling on the ground, holding his right hand, the man who had just run away, shuddering with fear, sweat streaming down his forehead.
"What do you want to know? Ask me!" Seeing Reacher's gun pointed at him, the man clamped his legs together tightly, fearing he'd wet his pants.
Reacher looked at him coldly, then pulled a stack of photos from his pocket and tossed them to the ground. This was Jack's vegetable garden, the porch lights dim, but the faces were clearly visible.
"We've eliminated all the scumbags Langston knew, so we can only send you, former colleagues who were once corrupt cops, to silence them, right? So you must know when and where he's meeting the buyer, right, Grant?"
The photos showed headshots of all the management in New Age Technology's security department, and the man in front of him was among them.
"It's tomorrow morning at 5:00, and I don't know the location. I swear, Langston will only tell us what we need to know. That's all I know. Please don't kill me!" Grant was practically shaking.
"Bang! Bang!" Reacher fired twice, the bullets hitting the man's ears and shattering on the hard concrete steps. The flying bullet fragments shattered half of Grant's face in a bloody mess.
"Anything else?"
"Lanston isn't at headquarters. He's hiding in a research and development facility in Rockland County. I swear to God! That's all I know! Don't kill him!" Grant covered his face and screamed.
"Bang, bang, bang!" Reacher emptied the magazine and shot the guy and the wailing guy next to him.
Jubal, who had been watching from the sidelines, had a slight expression on his face. He glanced at Jack and found that he hadn't even moved his eyelids, as if he had expected this scene. He gave up the idea of saying anything.
He knew everything about this case, including the fact that Jack had teamed up with DHS to implicate a certain senator. He knew that this time was different and the fewer key witnesses the better.
He also knew that Reacher was not bloodthirsty, but was avenging his teammates who had died tragically. If he put himself in his shoes, he would also pull the trigger without hesitation.
——
"Bang." Jack poured a bucket of water and a mop and threw them next to Reacher, muttering with resentment, "Please, this is the FBI office, not some wilderness. Can you please not make things so bloody?"
The large, in-the-wrong man said nothing as he picked up the mop and began mopping.
"There are still five hours until the deal is done. What are you going to do?" Jack leaned against the steps, arms folded, watching Reacher clean the steps in the backyard where they had just begun the interrogation.
The other members of the Special Investigations Unit were removing body bags from the trunk of the plainclothes police car driven by Danny and disposing of the bodies. The two bodies on the second floor had already been taken down, leaving only the two in the backyard.
"I'm going to meet Langston alone," Reacher's words caused the others to stop and look at him as if he were mad.
"Are you crazy? He'll kill you right away," Dixon said, the most excited. He stepped forward and grabbed Reacher by the collar.
Reacher shook his head calmly, clasping his hands together, his large palms enveloping Dixon's. "He won't. He won't dare to attack me unless you two show up together."
"For Swann?" Jack guessed his thoughts.
"Yes, for Swann. He might still be alive." Reacher nodded, and the other special investigators, who had been talking at once, fell silent.
Jack paused for a moment, then attempted a final persuasion. "You know, Langston is the type to leave no room for trouble. And the fact that he hasn't threatened you with Swann means Swann is probably long dead."
"But you haven't found his body yet, have you?" Reacher gave a wry smile. "As long as there's a glimmer of hope, I won't abandon my teammates. I was once their major."
Hearing this, not only the special investigators, but also several FBI agents on Jack's team were deeply moved. Someone willing to risk their lives for just a sliver of hope alone—unexpectedly, there are still such fools these days.
"Okay, then let's plan it out. We can't really expect you to just rush in and kill everyone unarmed." Jack poured a bucket of bleach on the steps and found a mop to help him clean up the bloodstains.
—
"It's a bit of a hassle. Without the SWAT team, we might not be able to handle it on our own." Jubal spread a satellite photo on the hood of the car, circling a large factory building.
It took only 40 minutes for everyone to drive from Long Island to this R&D facility in Rockland County with their equipment. Then, looking at the large area surrounded by barbed wire and electric fences, they immediately felt uneasy.
Including Danny who came to join in the fun and Alice who provided technical support, there were a total of 12 people in the group. They drove the wanted criminal team's command vehicle and two GMC commercial vehicles and arrived at the target location with confidence.
I thought that minus Alice who was waiting in the car and Reacher who was about to enter the target alone, the remaining ten people would be more than enough to form two or three assault teams.
I didn't expect the security here to be so strict. It was just a research and development facility, but the number of armed elements that could be detected by visual inspection exceeded ten.
(End of this chapter)