A Trip to Chinatown. Since their departure from Paris, Bald Frank has returned to his home in Cleveland, Ohio, where he continues to live a semi-secluded life.
The "half" is added because Jack knows he's still secretly monitoring him and Cassel through various channels.
During the previous battle in New York with Big Reacher and his 110th Special Investigations Unit, Frank Moses had repaid Jack with a favor through former FSB agent Anna, delivering an international arms dealer to his care.
So, Jack wasn't entirely surprised by the bald man's appearance, believing the retired agent had finally gotten tired and was ready to help his son.
However, he didn't expect this to directly trigger the plot of "Red." Frank's Cleveland house was broken into in the middle of the night and, after a fierce battle, was reduced to ruins.
After completely eliminating the intruders and realizing the attack might be connected to his former CIA identity, he immediately rushed to the home of Sarah Ross, the only woman connected to his current identity, and forcibly abducted her.
As the saying goes, when things are out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on. If Jack remembered correctly, Frank's lair in the original series was raided a few days before Christmas, and it wasn't even August yet.
Although he couldn't yet deduce the connection between Frank's attack and their current situation, the coincidence of their encounter inevitably sparked some thoughts.
"So, that's why you came to New York and asked if I was familiar with Chinatown?" Jack took the information Frank handed him and briefly scanned it.
It was about a South African hit squad, the same ones who had stormed Frank's house and were completely wiped out by him.
It mentioned that this same hit squad had recently been implicated in the murder of a New York Times reporter named Stephanie Chen, whose mother lived in New York's Chinatown.
Jack wrote down the address and led Frank to the room where the killer was being held. "I'll handle the Chinatown stuff. You'll be interrogating the guy inside. Make sure you don't kill him."
The bald man glanced at the gunman handcuffed to the interrogation table and nodded expressionlessly. "I need a roll of wire."
Jack pointed to the tool room in the basement garage. "You can find any tools you need there. Also, this room has a separate circuit and no electric shock protection."
Returning to the first floor with Cassel, who was a little apprehensive about what was about to happen, Jack called Danny over and was about to go out with him, but was stopped by Sarah Ross, who had brought Frank with him.
"Can I go home now?"
The older woman, with her unusually large, beautiful eyes, looked at Jack with a clarity that belied her age.
"You are the FBI, right? These are the NYPD, so you can definitely help Frank solve the problem, and what happens afterwards has nothing to do with me, right?"
"Uh, I'm sorry, Ms. Ross, I think it's safest for you to follow us or Frank now, at least before we find out the identity of the person who is chasing you."
Jack was not surprised that she could guess that he was from the FBI. This was the base of the wanted criminal team, and the FBI logo was posted everywhere on the walls.
Inside the room, Beckett, Danny, and the Stooges were all wearing their NYPD uniforms from the funeral. Cassel, aside from his author identity, was the only one wearing the black suits common to F.D.A.s.
Perhaps it was the presence of only police officers and F.D.A.s that gave them a sense of security, and with it, unrealistic fantasies.
Jack knew she was just an ordinary woman, a woman who spent her days bored in her office, reading spy novels and daydreaming of meeting her Prince Charming and experiencing a life of excitement.
Fortunately, he didn't need to comfort her. After handing that task over to Cassel, Jack arranged for the Stooges to return the hearse to the funeral home and bring Kevin's wife along.
As for Cassel's mother and daughter, Alexis, they were already packing their belongings at home. Jack would bring them back after his visit to Chinatown. Jack wasn't bragging
to
Frank; he truly knew New York's Chinatown like a champ. Even his favorite Chinese kitchen knives, ironwood cutting boards, and various condiments like cinnamon, star anise, and thirteen spices were all sourced here. Similarly
, Chinatown's vegetable market vendors, grocery store owners, Cantonese delicatessen staff, and even several hotel chefs were impressed by this handsome, young, white-skinned foreigner who spoke fluent Chinese and was generous with his money.
Along the way, Jack greeted the eager elderly men and women trying to sell him fresh vegetables in various dialects, including Cantonese and Sichuanese. Under Danny's quizzical gaze, Jack arrived at a Chinese medicine shop and glanced at the address on the slip in his hand. "This is it."
Inside, a slightly wealthy, yet sorrowful Chinese woman sat silently weeping. A waving fortune cat sat on the counter, but behind her, where the altar should have been dedicated to the God of Wealth, was now occupied by a white candle and a photo of a young girl.
"Mrs. Chen, long time no see." Upon hearing Jack's voice, the elderly woman, who had been bowing her head, finally looked up and subconsciously wiped her red and swollen eyes with an embroidered handkerchief.
"Ah, hello, Mr. Jack. Long time no see. What could you buy this time? We have some new American ginseng."
"Just call me Jack," Jack said, greeting Mrs. Chen and introducing her to his companion, Danny. "This is Detective Danny Reagan from the NYPD. He wants to talk to you about your daughter's case."
With just these words, Mrs. Chen burst into tears. "My poor daughter, sob."
It took a long time to calm her down. Jack also switched back to English, which Danny could understand. After explaining his purpose, he supported his arm and sat down.
"Mrs. Chen, Detective Reagan is a very capable detective. If you have any questions, you can talk to him without hesitation. He will definitely get to the bottom of it for you."
Mrs. Chen spoke fluent English without an accent. She must be at least a second-generation immigrant. "My daughter's death was truly unjust."
She looked quite angry as she spoke. "The police said it was a burglary, but there was nothing valuable stolen from her house."
"I discovered something fishy about this case while reviewing the files, so I wanted to talk to you about it. Jack is my friend. If you have any questions, you can talk to him without hesitation. We should be able to help," Danny said in a cooperative tone.
(End of this chapter)