"Sniper!"
The SWAT team, about to depart, suddenly dropped to the ground.
Although it was summer, the planted forest surrounding the villa had clearly only been planted a few years. Not only were the branches and leaves sparse, but the trunks were barely thicker than an arm, making them barely able to block a single pistol bullet. At the cry of "Sniper," everyone took cover.
Cooper, though he had a vague suspicion that the shooter must have been Jack's agent, to avoid standing out, he also ducked behind the front of his Tahoe SUV.
As he ducked, bullets clattered into the area near the front of the vehicle, sending the dirt road in front of him scattering in a hail of dust. The fire from both G28Es was concentrated on him.
"Fire! Fire!" someone shouted.
Cooper, secretly complaining, was startled. He quickly scrambled to the rear of the vehicle and peered towards the villa. Flames shot up from the inside, and the curtains behind the floor-to-ceiling windows were ablaze.
Finally, when the gunfire died down, Cooper shouted, urging everyone to follow him, "Go get them!"
After a long wait, the gunfire finally stopped, and the SWAT team slowly scrambled to their feet, shields drawn, and each other's backs covering each other as they rushed toward the villa.
"Ahem," the door flung open, and two bodyguards half-dragged, half-carried Alexander Denning, his face covered in grime.
"Where's Frank?" Cooper rushed forward, grabbing the old man. "Are they still in there?"
"Fuck you, you idiot!" Alexander Denning, his previous fearless demeanor gone, slapped Cooper's hand away. "They've already gotten away. Damn it, you're all a bunch of idiots."
—
Jack followed the two old men through the woods for nearly 20 minutes. After passing through a culvert under the road, he saw Victoria and Anna emerge, their G28Es toting them. He breathed a sigh of relief.
In the original story, the woman accompanying the old lady on the sniper hunt was Frank's new girlfriend, who tumbled down a hillside mid-run and was apprehended by Cooper.
Anna's long legs seemed to outlive most people, so a mere few kilometers of hiking through the woods was clearly no problem for her.
"Where's your contact?" Victoria took a few deep breaths and regained her rhythm, which was quite impressive, considering the old woman was definitely over 65, if not 70.
Frank was about to speak when a square-nosed, old Cadillac pulled up from the road above the bridge and stopped behind the group.
"Huh, looks like my timing was perfect," Ivan Shimanov, with his protruding belly, struggled to squeeze out of the cab.
He waved cheerfully at the group, then his gaze became fixed, unable to move away from the two "beautiful women."
Anna ducked behind Jack, feeling uneasy, only to realize the old man wasn't looking at her, but at the old woman beside him.
"Ivan?!" Victoria raised her hand to block the sun, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Long time no see, little bunny." Ivan smiled innocently.
"It's really nice to see you again, Ivan."
Victoria shrugged, her tone slightly distant, but even Frank, who was quite slow in this regard, could hear the excitement hidden in it.
But the bald man was more concerned about Ivan's address to Victoria. "Did he just call you little bunny?"
The old woman rolled her eyes. "Life can be really complicated sometimes. I'll explain it to you later."
—
"Make sure both sides of the chicken wings are fried until golden brown. Add the ginger slices, salt and MSG, a little soy sauce and pepper, and then pour in the cola. Yes, that's right, that's it. Finally, add a little extra boiling water, cover the lid and turn to medium heat. Alright, just wait for the sauce to thicken."
Under Jack's guidance, Victoria quickly completed the series of relatively simple operations.
When the sauce in the pot began to bubble, she turned off the heat, opened the lid, fanned it with her hand, and smelled it. Then, she took the chopsticks from Jack, dipped them in the sauce, and tasted it. A bright, girlish smile spread across her wrinkled face.
"So Chinese food is no more difficult than baking."
Jack didn't know how he combined the words wrinkled and girlish, but the old woman's every move and gesture was impeccable.
He imagined that his sisters would look like this when they grow old.
Everyone returned to the base building on Long Island. Jack spent over an hour preparing a meal with Victoria.
The investigation had progressed to this point, and the situation was largely clear.
Though Bracken Jr. was only a lieutenant in the Army, he had a father who was also a senator.
The truth of the Guatemalan incident had been lost with the largely redacted operational report, but it was clear that Bracken Jr. had led his men in the massacre of an entire Indian village, committing war crimes against humanity.
After Alexander Denning cleaned up his mess, Bracken Jr. retired honorably and became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New York.
Unfortunately, the Bracken family wasn't a long-standing political family, so when the elder Bracken passed away, Bracken Jr., who was about to enter politics, suddenly lost financial support.
He then targeted NYPD detectives John LaGrand and Gary McAllister, who were kidnapping gang members, and extorted millions of dollars from them.
A series of events subsequently unfolded, tying into the murder of Beckett's mother. Apparently, Councilman Bracken, having tasted success in Guatemala, had perfected his art of silencing witnesses.
Beckett's mother and her fellow lawyers who attempted to investigate the case were brutally murdered. Recently, when Beckett reopened the investigation, Councilman Bracken's assassins followed suit, once again silencing those with knowledge of the case.
Meanwhile, New York Times reporter Stephanie Chen somehow uncovered an earlier case in Guatemala. Councilman Bracken's response remained the same, even resorting to the CIA, ultimately targeting Frank.
All of this was predicated on next year's presidential campaign. As the Democratic Party's running mate, Bracken absolutely couldn't afford to expose these scandals at this time.
While many details remain murky, the arrival of Jack's female boss, Dana Moger, provided the final piece of the puzzle.
"The CIA sent us their investigative materials on Cynthia. Guess who recruited her from the FBI to the CIA?"
"Alexander Denning, right? I guess his collaboration with Bracken has actually been going on forever." Jack brought the last of the Mu Shu pork to the table and invited everyone to sit down and eat.
(End of this chapter)