"Agent Tavola, Agent Jean, you are younger than I thought." The
white-haired old man stood straight, but rather than having a military demeanor, he gave people the feeling of a rather dignified university professor.
"Hello, Agent Gibbs."
The two shook hands with Jethro Gibbs respectively. Jack's eyes swept across the open office behind him and was surprised to find that the seats were empty.
"That's why we handed the case over to the FBI." Gibbs saw his surprise, turned around and made a gesture of invitation, then led the two to the small meeting room next to them.
"As you can see, the manpower problem has been plaguing the NCIS field team recently. My team is now investigating a drug case on a warship deep in the Atlantic."
"Glad that we can help." Jie Jie said politely after sitting down.
"These are Adam Weiner's files. As you can see, he was once the commander of a Navy SEAL team. It was out of concern for certain groups that we contacted you as soon as we learned of his death.
Unfortunately, it appears that things are developing in a direction no one wants."
Seeing that the files were proactively provided by the Navy, Jack and Jiejie breathed a sigh of relief. Before arriving, they had already mentally prepared themselves to continue their journey to JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) to retrieve the files.
While Clay's "DEVGRU" is also known as the SEALs, the two SEAL groups are completely different. The former is affiliated with JSOC, and while its personnel are selected by the latter, it does not directly answer to the Navy's command.
Adam Weiner's unit is officially called the Naval Special Warfare Group, abbreviated "SEAL," which is the true origin of the name. SEALs
are affiliated with Naval Special Warfare Command. While SEALs can be considered the T2 level of US special forces, they are actually the main force doing all the dirty work.
"We've ruled out the issue of Senarlock for now and will focus our investigation on Adam Weiner's family and comrades."
Since the Navy was so cooperative, Jack naturally reciprocated and shared his side's intentions.
"Do whatever you wish. NCIS will fully cooperate. I heard you have a nice command vehicle, and the parking lot here is spacious. I'm here for you if you need me."
Gibbs' words were a bit euphemistic, but his meaning was clear: if the case truly involved the Navy, NCIS was willing to open up their jurisdiction to the Most Wanted Squad.
"Thank you very much." Jack was about to stand up and say goodbye to Jiejie when he met Gibbs's half-smile.
"There's someone who's probably looking forward to meeting you. Aren't you going to talk to her?"
—
"Oh my God! Poor Jack, you must be possessed." The
goth girl with a spider web tattoo on the back of her neck, high twintails, and odd black lipstick let out a scream upon seeing Jack, then rushed over and gave him a big hug.
"Abby, calm down." Jack grabbed her wrist, stopping her from prodding her pecs with her fingers.
"You're not cute anymore. Of course, I'm only talking about your figure." Abby struggled, finally giving up the idea of pinching his glutes.
If Jack were still the skinny, weakling he was before, he'd probably be thankful for having her as a backup girlfriend.
While it was a rare reunion for old friends, it wasn't the right time. After a brief chat, Jack and Jiejie had to hurriedly leave the Navy Yard because of a phone call.
A tragic incident occurred in Harrisonburg this afternoon: an elderly couple was found dead in their home. Neighbors who heard the unusual noises called the police.
Harrisonburg
is less than a half-hour drive from Charlottesville, so when Jack and Jiejie arrived, the Most Wanted Squad's command vehicle was already parked on the main road in front of a house.
"Are you sure it was our suspect?" Jack asked, frowning after greeting Alice, who was still in the command vehicle.
"Yes, the suspect's name is Luke Dolan, the family's son. The neighbors across the street saw him fleeing the house after hearing unusual noises."
Alice showed Jack the call logs she had. "I found his name in the call logs for Senarlock. Also, the files show that he and Adam Weiner served in the same unit." "
This is terrible," Jack almost cursed. What he feared was coming true.
Adam Weiner's service records had been redacted for confidentiality reasons. If the murderer, Luke Dolan, was a comrade, he was likely a Navy SEAL.
He'd killed his former comrades and then his own parents, meaning they were most likely dealing with a psychopath versed in special operations.
"Here's Adam Weiner's SEAL file, along with the contact information for NCIS Special Agent Jethro Gibbs. Contact him immediately and request Luke Dolan's file.
Also, tell him we really need to use the NCIS parking lot." Jack handed the files to Alice and hurried out of the car.
"Huh?" Alice obviously didn't understand what he meant by the last sentence.
"He means we'll be busy all night tonight." Jiejie shrugged and got out of the car.
Jack stepped onto the lawn in front of the house, his eyes fell on the row of flower pots under the eaves. It can be seen that the owner here takes good care of these plants.
The tulips haven't bloomed yet, but the buds are already very full. The irises, daffodils and some unknown species of orchids are in full bloom, swaying gently in the breeze.
"Jack?" Seeing him stop, Jiejie called softly with a little worry.
Jack sighed, "I'm fine, but I'm very upset about this case."
At this time, there was someone in the house who was even more upset than Jack, "He obviously had the most perfect life, why did he destroy it all with his own hands?"
Clay, who was raised by his grandparents since his parents divorced, and had never experienced what parental love was, had tears in his eyes.
Jack winked at Aubrey. "Why don't you check the other rooms, including the garage?"
"Come on, man, that's our job." Aubrey patted Clay's shoulder and dragged him by the arm, forcibly leading him out of the bedroom.
The bedroom closet, which served as a wardrobe, was open. Two bodies lay inside, covered in multiple gunshot wounds. Jubal and Hannah were crouching over them, examining them.
The closet door was also riddled with bullet holes from 9mm pistols. The bodies' hands were tied behind their backs, indicating that the elderly couple had been imprisoned inside when they died. Luke Dolan had emptied the magazine of a submachine gun directly into the closet.
"Was it really their son Luke Dolan who did it? Is there a possibility of frame-up?" Jack asked again.
"There's no evidence pointing to this possibility right now. The cameras on the porch and garage door captured Luke Dolan entering and leaving the house. He opened the door himself with his key.
It's a pity the cameras don't have a recording function, otherwise we would know exactly what happened."
Hannah handed the tablet in her hand to Jack. It clearly captured the moment Luke Dolan entered the house. There seemed to be a bruise on his forehead with a small Band-Aid on it.
There was an old-fashioned tape recorder on the bed in the bedroom. Jack put on gloves and pressed the play button, and deafening heavy metal music suddenly filled the room.
Turning off the recorder, Jubal pointed out the window, "This should be used to cover up the sound of gunfire. The neighbors across the street said they vaguely heard unusual movements here, and after feeling something was wrong, they hesitated to call the police."
"Maybe. Don't you think it's a bit strange? Why lock them in the closet instead of just killing them?" Jack asked.
"You mean he wants to force some information out of the two old men?" Jubal was a little puzzled, "What exactly does he want to know?"
"Oh my God!" Alice walked into the bedroom with the tablet and covered her mouth in surprise.
Although she had been to many scenes with the wanted criminal team, the scene before her still shocked her.
"Did you find anything?" Jiejie took the tablet from her hand.
"NCIS hasn't sent Luke Dolan's file yet, but I found some information about him after he retired from the army."
Alice introduced, "He left the army three years ago and is now the vice president of a biological company. From a work perspective, he has no intersection with the 'Senalock' company.
Luke Dolan's wife and he separated more than a year ago, and he currently lives in Frederick with their daughter."
"Maybe this is the stimulus? It triggered his PTSD symptoms." Jiejie speculated.
"No, it's been too long, that might be one reason, but there must be something else, something we don't yet know about, that triggered his outburst.
And while PTSD can lead to impulsive killings, it's usually overreacting to excessive stress and self-defense, rarely a planned murder like this."
Just as Jack was racking his brains to recall the criminal psychology files he'd read, Clay reappeared with a photo frame.
"It's not PTSD, but traumatic brain injury from repeated exposure to blast shockwaves. I've seen similar cases at the Veterans Service Center."
—
"The house is full of photos of the Dolan family, from before he joined the army, during his leave, and more recently." Clay showed the frame to everyone.
Inside was a close-up photo of Luke Dolan and his parents. The elderly couple's faces were filled with happy smiles, embracing their son between them.
Although Luke Dolan had a beard and a rather awkward smile in the photo, the happiness of a middle-aged man still being doted on by his parents seemed to overflow from the frame.
"As early as ten years ago, researchers at the Department of Defense Laboratory in Maryland noticed a persistent, never-before-discovered type of brain damage among some special forces members.
These soldiers would experience severe insomnia and headaches, memory confusion and blurring, loss of coordination, and irritability when they were around forty years old."
Clay's expression was somewhat sad as he recounted this, as if he had uncovered some past events that he did not want to recall.
"Initially, doctors diagnosed soldiers with these symptoms as mental illnesses, ignoring the underlying physical damage, and categorized them all as PTSD. That's until someone compiled statistics on the SEALs who had committed suicide over the years.
The families of these soldiers spontaneously organized themselves and sent their loved ones' brains to a laboratory. A doctor discovered a line of damage within these soldiers' brains.
This was an unprecedented pattern of damage. Unlike boxers, this damage was caused by the repeated concussions of the shockwave from the explosion.
High-intensity shooting training, the shockwaves from door-breaking explosives, and the frequent battlefield experiences of these soldiers were the culprits.
My former friend, Brett Swanney, the legendary DEVGRU, committed suicide because he couldn't bear the pain. After his death, I personally sent his brain to the laboratory.
The researchers found the same symptoms in his brain, and only then did the military take the condition seriously."
Although Clay's second half of his speech was a bit brief, it was clear that convincing the stubborn military to acknowledge the existence of this condition was no easy task. One can imagine the effort he put in.
"That seems like a promising avenue for investigation," Jubal said to Alice, patting his shoulder, not knowing how to comfort the somewhat depressed Clay.
"But it still doesn't explain how insane he must be to have attacked his own parents," Hannah sighed.
Aubrey's voice rang from the doorway, "Guys, maybe you should check out the garage."
Leaving Jubal and Hannah to search the bedroom for clues, Jack and the others followed Aubrey to the garage, pulling out their phones and calling the all-knowing encyclopedia Red.
"This condition is called 'interfacial astrocyte scarring,' and it's difficult to diagnose unless you open his brain. The brain damage Clay describes is indeed present, but the line of damage is difficult to detect with standard examination methods.
Furthermore, this condition develops gradually, gradually worsening, but it's unlikely to escalate without cause. I suggest you investigate whether he's been injured. Traumatic schizophrenia is relatively common."
Reed's suggestion immediately reminded Jack of the small wound on Luke Dolan's forehead in the surveillance video, and his gaze fell on a red Chevrolet parked outside the garage.
"Alice, check the license plate number on this car."
There was also an older Cadillac parked in the garage, and Jack suspected the Chevrolet with the smashed headlights might belong to Luke Dolan.
Clay leaned forward and observed for a moment before concluding, "The damage is very recent. The accident was recent. This isn't the Navy's style. I wouldn't drive a car like this on the road without fixing it myself."
As Alice wrote down the license plate number and hurried toward the command car, Aubrey pointed to a pile of junk in the corner of the garage and said, "Look at these cardboard boxes. I noticed they've been rummaged through when I was checking the garage."
Jiejie squatted down and rummaged through them, pulling out a few notebooks and exclaiming in surprise, "These are Luke's memos and diaries from his time in the army. We were right; he was indeed a SEAL."
"So Luke Dolan isn't just here to kill his parents. He's also trying to find something, something from the past, perhaps related to a secret mission he once carried out."
In addition to mental illness, Jack also had to consider some conspiracy theories.
(End of Chapter)