Jack had never seen someone so severely fainted from the needle that they collapsed unconscious after being hit. While it might seem unkind to chuckle at such a moment, it was still quite comedic.
Jack helped the fluffy Deeks to a chair and pinched his Ren Zhong point. He quickly regained consciousness and appeared to be fine. Otherwise, they might have been facing a loss of manpower before the operation even began.
Leaving Agent Deeks and his partner, Kensi Bly, on standby at headquarters, Jack contacted Tim and asked him to take the veterans from the Wilshire branch to Venice Beach and cordon off the hotel suspected of being Broadman's residence.
The reason for coordinating Tim's deployment was naturally because Jack trusted the veterans of the Wilshire branch, who had experienced a biological and viral terrorist attack, more than the local police department. It was also to prevent premature leaks.
While leaks were inevitable, given the commotion at the airport yesterday, their priority now was to solve the case before the media got hold of the key words "smallpox virus."
Venice Beach has long been considered one of Los Angeles' finest beaches, with a long breakwater protecting a recreational pier and a boardwalk lined with unique boutiques.
It's also known as one of LA's best surfing spots. Every summer, the surfers navigating the waves and the bikini-clad women playing beach volleyball on the beach are a constant draw.
Of course, there's also a year-round popular sport: street basketball. The "VBL" (Valley Ball Basketball League) hosted there is a nationally renowned streetball league.
In Jack's previous life, a pandemic left Venice Beach with thousands of homeless people encamped. The Los Angeles City Government launched several cleanup operations, but by the time he traveled through time, the cleanup efforts seemed unfinished, and the beach had completely collapsed.
This world is clearly much better. Although the temperatures in Los Angeles aren't particularly high in January, the beach is still bustling with tourists in floral shirts and board shorts, and you can even see some serious sunbathers.
By the time everyone arrived, Tim and John had already cordoned off the hotel with the LAPD's hazardous materials team, but they were unsuccessful. Broadman wasn't in his room; only a suitcase containing his clothes was found.
The good news was that hotel surveillance confirmed that Broadman had indeed stayed there the previous night, and the CDC quickly arrived and confirmed the room was clear of virus contamination.
"Another good news: Sharon Walker, who died on the plane, was diagnosed with arsenic poisoning, not smallpox as we'd assumed. Based on this, Broadman's motive for stealing the virus wasn't to spread it, but for money."
Karen, who had just contacted headquarters, put away her phone. She said "good news," but her expression was anything but joyful. With their only lead gone, Broadman had likely vanished into the vast sea of people.
Jack and two NCIS agents stood outside the hotel, watching the ordinary people on the beach, unaware of the dark side of the world. They lost interest in talking.
"Shall we lift the cordon?" John approached Jack with a dejected look.
Before Jack could reply, Tim Bradford, also in uniform, and Angela Lopez, in business attire and long hair, appeared before him.
"Wow, Angela?" Jack was startled. This was the first time he'd seen the usually carefree Angela dressed like this. The air of a married woman was overwhelming.
"It's the weekend, and Wesley and I have a date after work. Sonya's willing to babysit for us for the night."
The Sonya she was referring to was the young maid the Wolf brothers had brought back from Mexico (Chapter 485). Maria, the cook, was now Justin's stepmother, but Sonya seemed to have made housekeeping her career a goal.
Angela was clearly pleased with Jack's slightly exaggerated reaction. She was a tomboy, sure, but she was also a woman who loved beauty.
The women around Jack were all star-level beauties, and she could impress him. Her vanity was simply overflowing.
After a brief moment of elation, Angela's smile faded, and she said seriously, "I just spoke to the hotel manager. Broadman hasn't had any visitors. He only booked the room for one night. He's very low-key, so almost no one noticed him."
The two men from Five-O were also walking back from the beach boardwalk. Danny was stunned when he saw Angela, a kind of "chat-up" smile that Europeans and Americans all know.
"This is..."
"This is my former LAPD instructor and partner, Angela Lopez. Her husband, Wesley, is also a friend of mine, so please hold your tongue, Uncle Danny."
Jack then introduced Poker Face Tim to the group. Danny rubbed his nose awkwardly and stood aside. Cheng Hao, who was chuckling nearby, took over the conversation.
"We just asked the vendors around here, but there's no clue. But a woman told us she saw Jesus fishing on the pier yesterday."
"Welcome to Los Angeles, the vacation destination for all the crazy people," Karen teased.
Tim, who had been silent the whole time, raised his chin towards Jack and said, "What should we do next? Although it's not the peak tourist season yet, it's not easy to find a specific target in the crowd in a short time."
"Maybe we need a little luck." Jack was thinking, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind and looked at Angela, "Brodman's suitcase is still in the room. Did the hotel manager say that he has checked out?"
Everyone immediately understood what he meant. John quickly turned and was about to call the police officers he brought with him, "We need to remove the blockade quickly and let the police car leave temporarily. Maybe he will come back."
"Wait, maybe our luck is better than we think." Karen looked towards the seaside boardwalk and saw a hurried figure appear in the crowd, walking quickly towards the group with his head lowered.
"Is it him?" Cheng Hao looked back at the police car parked behind him, a little bit incredulous. Such a big commotion here didn't alarm the other party, and he just came right to his door?
"I have a way to confirm it," Angela said, flashing the badge at her waist. From a distance, she shouted at the figure, "Garold Broadman, LAPD!"
Broadman, head bowed, was about twenty or thirty meters away from the others when he heard the shout, frightened and frozen in place. He looked over, bewildered, then realized something was wrong.
"Looks like it's him!" Seeing the man turn and run, Jack stood still as four figures darted out from beside him: Cheng Hao, the dark-skinned Hannah, John, and Angela.
"Five dollars, who are you betting on?" Hearing Jack's words, the others who had also stood still searched their pockets for change.
"Cheng Hao."
"Sam (Hannah)."
Danny and Karen both bet on their partners. Tim, who had been keeping a straight face, pulled out a ten-dollar bill and grinned, "I'm betting on the LAPD."
"You're cheating. You can only bet on one," Jack said, taking out a five-dollar bill himself. "I'm betting on Angela."
(End of the chapter)