"I suspect Hersh was sent by a secret federal agency to clean up the mess. He took all the evidence from the scene of Alicia Corwin's death, including the bullet casing."
Fusco's account impressed Jack. "Why didn't I realize you were so bold before? You actually dared to go after professional agents?"
"Because I know how you guys behave. You're already involved in this kind of thing. If I don't do anything, I'll still be eliminated as an insider, right?" the detective said angrily.
So it all comes down to the desire to survive? Detective Doudou perfectly embodies the saying, "A person's potential is limitless."
Jack patted his shoulder, his voice instructive. "Tell me what you overheard?"
"We got a name, Denton Weeks. He seems to be a very important person. I heard he's missing, and those guys are looking for him."
Fusco approached Jack mysteriously. "The man in the suit went to find your friend in the FBI, and found out this Weeks was once the Deputy Director of the CIA."
Jack was actually fooled by this guy, and his heart moved.
Although he didn't remember the name Denton Weeks, the position of former Deputy Director of the CIA was quite high, which meant that this person was likely one of the people involved in the "Aurora Borealis" project.
"Do you know who Hersh's superior was when he spoke?" Jack asked quickly.
"It wasn't mentioned in the conversation, but I wrote down the phone number. Your colleague said it was from Fort Meade, Maryland."
Fort Meade is the headquarters of the NSA, just like Quantico is to the FBI. In other words, Fusco was tracking an NSA agent, and the agent was obviously involved in the secret project "The Machine".
"So, can we assume that Gen kidnapped Finch and then took Finch to find Denton Weeks?"
Jack knew Gen was after the baby "Machine." She didn't know where the "Machine" was, and neither did Finch. The
entire "Aurora Borealis" project came to an end when Finch's late friend Nathan sold the "Machine" to the NSA for one dollar.
In Jack's memory, the subsequent process of the "Machine" providing "related numbers" and forwarding them to the CIA, FBI, or specialized counterterrorism teams was considered top secret. Perhaps it had various code names for different implementing agencies, but the project itself didn't even have a name.
For Gen to find the "Machine" and set it free, at least two conditions were required.
Someone who knew how to "operate" the program—Finch, the "Machine's" creator—had already been present.
The next step was to find the "Machine," or rather, the server running it.
Denton Weeks wasn't an NSA agent, but as a former CIA Deputy Director and a participant in the "Aurora Borealis" project, he might be the key insider. It seems that's what Gen believes.
"The man in the suit thinks the same thing, so he's on his way to find Denton Weeks,"
Fusco nodded. "To be more precise, he's looking for that guy's mistress, Julie Davenport. I overheard that on the phone."
Jack was completely bewildered. How could another mistress appear?
"After retirement, Weeks still worked as a consultant in Washington, D.C., but he kept a woman and often sneaked off to spend quality time with her."
Jiejie, standing nearby, now understood what was going on. "Let me guess, their love nest wouldn't be somewhere near Wheaton, Maryland."
"Yes, so the man in the suit suspected Gen and the man with glasses were there." Fusco glanced down at the clock. "He's been gone for nearly an hour."
"Get me a car. I need to go along." Jack glanced disdainfully at the plainclothes police car Fusco had driven to pick them up—it was still the same old Ford.
Fusco looked smug, a man with a brilliant plan. "I knew you'd do that. Danny picked it up for you at the repair shop. It should be around now..."
He had barely finished his words when the deep, powerful engine roared in the distance, and Jack's brand-new Audi R8 roared onto the runway.
As the sports car approached the three of them, it did a stunning drift. The door opened, revealing Danny's flushed face. "This thing is awesome, but there aren't enough seats. Linda won't let me buy it,"
Jack muttered, grumbling to himself about the pathetic middle-aged married man. But with a calm expression, he suggested, "You could borrow my Firebird in the basement garage and take Linda to Atlantic City for the weekend. Believe me, she won't refuse when we get back."
The
repainted supercar was incredibly flashy, its black paint dotted with blue stars, seemingly understated yet luxurious.
Jack drove with his sirens and flashing lights, practically treating the highway like the Nürburgring.
It wasn't that he was worried about a former CIA agent whose power fluctuated wildly, but rather that Alice had just unlocked his phone, and Finch's location had finally activated, revealing him at Pennsylvania Station in Baltimore.
Reese had just arrived at the villa that a former CIA deputy director bought for his beloved lover. He didn't find Finch, but he found Weeks' body inside.
The attacker was still as ruthless as ever, shooting him once in the heart and once in the chest. Reese judged that Denton Weeks was tortured for at least a whole night before his death.
Although most American passengers choose to travel by plane, passenger railways are not completely abandoned. For example, the famous sightseeing train "California Zephyr" has been running between Chicago and San Francisco since 1983, covering a total of 2,438 miles.
However, since the old railway line has not yet been electrified, the locomotive still uses a diesel-powered internal combustion engine.
Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station is very beautiful, with a retro beauty. Even the seats in the back car are pure wooden benches.
The first thing Reese said when he saw Jack at the station was, "The next train starts checking tickets in five minutes! Damn it, isn't Amtrak always said to have punctual passenger trains?"
"Calm down." Jack glanced at his phone screen. Finch's location showed that he was still in the station waiting hall. "You should worry about how to prevent Gen from hurting Finch or other innocent people. This woman will do anything when she gets mad." Gen
was a ruthless person who was already using a knife to kill people at the age of 14. Although she was whitewashed in the original series, it doesn't mean that she didn't have the blood of innocent people on her hands. At least Jack couldn't be sure at the moment.
(End of this chapter)