As if oblivious to his boss's utterly sullen expression, Cooper continued, "Someone's pulling all this strings. It's not that simple, but the most urgent thing is to prevent Frank's plan from succeeding.
He told me a bunch of nonsense on the phone, about arms dealers colluding with politicians, purging and silencing witnesses, and finally saying he'd put an end to it all by killing Senator Bracken."
Cynthia's face flickered back and forth several times before she managed to maintain her expression. Though she remained stern, her tone had long since lost its usual aggressiveness.
"Protecting the presidential and vice presidential candidates is the responsibility of the Secret Service, but technically, Senator Bracken hasn't been formally nominated yet; he's still just a senator."
Senators are generally not protected by the Secret Service unless specifically designated by presidential order, such as due to concerns about political retaliation.
Typically, only presidential and vice presidential candidates confirmed within 120 days of an election, along with their children, spouses, and family members, are included in the Secret Service's protection responsibilities.
Fortunately, there was a rule in place. Otherwise, if Jack were to help Frank kidnap Bracken right under the Secret Service's nose, he'd be in a real bind. After all, Jack Reacher's older brother, Joey, was now the Deputy Director of the Secret Service.
"The Senator's security team, with or without the Secret Service, wouldn't be able to stop someone like Frank. Can you find a way to insert me?" Cooper asked.
"Of course," Cynthia nodded in agreement, then tentatively asked, "How do you plan to do that?"
Cooper smiled mysteriously, opened the folder in his hand, and pulled out a copy, which contained Cassel's information.
"I found out through some connections that Frank actually has a secret illegitimate child. Coincidentally, this person is a writer, but in the past two years he has been harassing a female detective from the NYPD in the name of inspiration. This female detective seems to have some unknown grudge with Councilman Bracken.
What's even more coincidental is that this writer just spent $5,000 yesterday to gain admission to Bracken's fundraising dinner."
Cynthia tried hard to hide the surprise in her eyes, and praised with a fake smile, "Wow, Cooper, it seems I have to apologize to you for what I said before. You are still so outstanding.
So, how do you plan to deal with this Mr. Writer?"
"Catch him on the spot, keep him under strict supervision, and cut off his contact with everyone. Whether Frank shows up or not, he will become our most important bargaining chip to lure out this dangerous person."
Cooper spoke the lines according to the script agreed upon last night, and he had been secretly observing Cynthia's expression, sneering in his heart. He didn't believe the intelligence Jack told him ten percent, but at least eighty or ninety percent.
While the CIA was still scheming, Jack and his companions had already arrived in Chicago.
Jack rented a Ford F150 under a fake identity and, under Frank's guidance, came to a warehouse rental company.
Some retired agents looked down on the arsenal of the Most Wanted Criminals team, thinking that the weapons inside were either too new to be used or too weak to be used properly.
After opening the warehouse's rolling door, Frank cheerfully gestured for them to come in. Anna, who came with Jack, couldn't help but open her beautiful eyes, and then gently hit Jack's shoulder.
"I've said for a long time that we should also prepare some of these weapons in the safe house."
These rental warehouses with uniform specifications are all about the same size, about five or six square meters, and are filled with all kinds of weapons and ammunition, making it difficult to even turn around.
Jack shifted his gaze from the smoke and stun grenades on the small table in the middle to the various guns hanging on the wall. He curled his lips, "Some of these things might only be found at a World War II military museum."
Before Frank could object, Marvin had already pushed his way through the crowd and entered the warehouse. He reached out and plucked a submachine gun from a rack on the wall and puffed it.
"'Swedish K,' this thing is really exciting."
It was an M45 submachine gun produced by the Carl Gustav Rifle Factory in Sweden. It was widely copied by the US military during the Vietnam War, earning it the name "Swedish K."
As a submachine gun manufactured in neutral Sweden at the end of World War II, the "Swedish K" was a culmination of all the submachine guns of the war.
While it looked very similar to the famous junk Sten submachine gun, it shared the latter's advantages of simplicity and ease of manufacture, and its overall performance was quite good.
Besides this antique, Jack also spotted the AUG assault rifle Frank had used in Paris, a Mossberg 590 shotgun, and a Belgian-made FN/FAL automatic rifle.
These were all from his grandfather's generation, or at least his uncle's generation.
The weapons and equipment in the warehouse not only dated from the end of World War II to the Cold War, but were also primarily manufactured internationally, a fitting trait for Frank's espionage.
The massive weapons hanging on the other wall made Jack understand why Frank looked down on his own arsenal: the AT4 rocket launcher, the SMAW rocket launcher, and the Browning M2HB heavy machine gun.
Some weapons, like "R.E.D."s like Frank, looked old but still deadly.
The Browning M2 heavy machine gun, commonly known as "Lao Gan Ma," entered service with the US military in 1921 and, with countless subsequent variants, remains a remarkably effective weapon on battlefields around the world.
Marvin lifted a large bundle of C4 like he was going on a grocery run, making Jack's eyelids flutter.
"I love you, Frank! I think the Senator will love this." The crazy old man patted Frank's shoulder a few times and extended his hand to Jack and Anna to help.
--
"I don't recommend you kill Bracken directly. That would cause a big backlash within the Democratic Party. After all, he's already been recognized as the Democratic Party's running mate for the next presidential candidate, even if he hasn't been officially nominated yet."
Although the conversation was not harmonious, Zoe's voice on the phone remained gentle and calm.
Jack, who was talking to her at the time, was wearing a cheap white shirt and black suit, driving a Rolls-Royce Phantom that perfectly matched his outfit through the streets of Chicago. The reason for this description was that he was playing the role of a professional driver.
"We'll see what happens when the time comes. This situation is difficult to resolve." Jack glanced at the rearview mirror. The two beautiful women in the back seat were retouching their makeup.
Zoe sighed. "In any case, be careful. If your identity is exposed, things will get very complicated."
(End of this chapter)