Just as everyone was at a loss, Clay and Hannah arrived at NCIS with Luke Dolan's wife, Jenna, and daughter, Ellie.
Luke's wife, Jenna, looked to be in her late 40s, with noticeable fine lines around her eyes, but their daughter wasn't much older, perhaps just over ten.
It was already past 1 a.m., and the little girl had fallen into a deep sleep, having been carried into the office by Hannah.
"Thank you for your hard work. Was everything normal along the way?" Jubal asked Clay, still a little worried, even though he had seen someone.
"Are you sure no one's following us?" Clay glanced at Hannah, who was next door, helping to comfort the little girl with a pillow.
"Hannah talked to them on the way and seemed to think Luke was a good and responsible father. The separation was due to Jenna's problems. It was a crisis of trust."
"What crisis of trust?" Alice asked, puzzled.
"You know we SEALs all have a 'rabbit hole,' right?" Clay's expression was rather indescribable.
"What hole?" Alice didn't catch it.
"'Rabbit Hole,' a SEAL tradition, carried over to DEVGRU. Team members would establish one or more secret bases, both domestically and internationally, and keep cash and documents there,"
Jack explained. This was somewhat similar to how he had Anna travel around the world to help set up safe houses.
"Luke's wife thought this meant her husband could leave at any time, and she couldn't accept it," Clay said, pouring himself a cup of coffee with a gloomy look on his face.
"Didn't Luke explain to his wife that this was a 'backup plan'? Whether it's the SEALs, the Rangers, DEVGRU, or Delta Force, they all have a retreat plan before every special operations mission."
Jack didn't understand why Luke's wife was so obsessed with this.
Clay took a dull bite of the cake, his tone filled with resignation. "She believes this 'backup plan' doesn't include her and her daughter. Since Luke has made such preparations, he might suddenly disappear from her life one day."
"Uh," Jack said, speechless.
This is a clash of perspectives, but it's not that Luke's wife's thinking is flawed. In fact, such cases are common in the United States.
Due to the relative independence of the various states within the federation, it's common for husbands or wives to suddenly disappear and start over in another state.
Often, simply changing their driver's license in a neighboring state can create anonymity, making them completely impossible to track down. This is why private investigators specializing in finding people are so prosperous.
It's unrealistic to expect the average person to fully understand this behavior. Take Jack's safe houses. The women around him only vaguely know he's set them up, but they don't know the details, let alone inquire about them.
If things ever get so bad that Jack needs to use them, it likely means that most of the people around him are untrustworthy or under surveillance.
Jack needs to retreat, regroup, and then find a way back. At that point, friends and family are an unnecessary burden.
"So how did you and Stella explain your 'rabbit holes'?" Alice asked Clay with interest.
A stern look flashed in Clay's eyes. "I told her that when I went down the rabbit hole, she was either dead and I was trying to avenge her, or
I could just assume I was dead." "Alright, let's figure out how to dig Luke out of his rabbit hole." Jack, feeling the need to continue this conversation unfavorably, forcibly changed the subject.
Gibbs approached quickly, car keys in hand. "No need to dig any holes. Luke has appeared. He kidnapped Vice Admiral Boyd Milgram two hours ago."
—
In a villa in the suburbs of Washington.
"He took my husband! Boyd's head was still bleeding, and that cold-blooded soldier just dragged him out! Didn't the Navy send help? Oh my God! This is horrible!"
Mrs. Milgram, in her sixties, her eyes red and swollen, spoke incoherently as she cried out to the two bewildered police officers.
"Mrs. Milgram, I'm NCIS Special Agent Jethro Gibbs. You need to calm down right now."
Gibbs clearly had no way to deal with this hysterical old woman, and his repeated attempts to soothe her were ineffective.
Jack poured a glass of water and handed it to Jiejie, giving her a wink. Naturally, at this moment, the most approachable and beautiful Jiejie was called upon to step forward.
"Ma'am, ma'am, please sit down and listen to me." Jiejie helped Mrs. Milgram down onto the sofa.
"The FBI and NCIS will fully cooperate to find your husband, but we need you to provide clues now. We need to know what he did and said at the time. These are crucial."
"I can't do it. It's all nonsense. That guy hurt Boyd. God, he's a lunatic!" Mrs. Milgram was still shaking her head desperately.
"No, you can do it. Drink some water first and calm your breathing." Jiejie slowed down her speech. "Yes, close your eyes."
"I can't do it!" Mrs. Milgram screamed.
"No! You can." Jiejie's voice was gentle and firm. "Trust me, close your eyes. We'll know if we try. Listen to my voice and guide you. Relax, relax, breathe. Good, that's it."
Mrs. Milgram took a few deep breaths in rhythm, and her face visibly calmed down.
Gibbs on the side widened his eyes and silently mouthed "Wow" to Jack.
Jiejie continued slowly, "So, let me go back to before everything happened. What were you doing at that time?"
"I was in the kitchen, pouring soda for my husband. Today is our movie night." Mrs. Milgram's speaking speed also became almost the same as Jiejie's.
"Then he broke in, put a gun to my head, tied me up, and pushed me into the living room."
"Then what? What happened? What did he say?" Jiejie asked.
"Where are my real parents?" Mrs. Milgram suddenly opened her eyes. "He asked where his real parents were."
Jiejie gave her an encouraging smile. "You did a good job. Keep talking."
"Boyd said he didn't know this guy at all." Encouraged, Mrs. Milgram seemed to have found confidence and began to repeat the conversation between the two word for word.
"Stop playing tricks. You found someone to replace them, and now those substitutes are dead. All this is because of Operation Drado Falls, right?"
Hearing this, not only did Gibbs' eyelids twitch, but even the FBI exchanged glances with each other.
(End of this chapter)