In the United States, traveling by train is a nostalgic tourist activity, with few people taking long-distance trains for the sole purpose of traveling.
However, Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station, a station that combines passenger rail and the city's subway, sees considerable traffic. Fortunately, the subway platforms are underground, so passengers are already sorted before entering the waiting hall.
"The direct train from Baltimore to Salt Lake City will depart from Platform 7 soon."
Hearing the announcement, Gen jumped up from her seat with a hint of joy. In a wheelchair beside her sat Harold Finch, expressionless and seemingly dazed.
"You'll love the West, Harold. There are fewer people there, the skies are wider, and it'll give you a better perspective on life."
She then thoughtfully wiped the saliva from Finch's chin, looking like a virtuous wife to the eyes of others.
Gen pushed her wheelchair to the end of the line at the ticket gate. Turning, she spotted Reese standing at the entrance to the waiting hall, his eyes wide open, searching for his target.
Gen immediately recognized the man in a suit and hurriedly pushed Finch's wheelchair a few paces, taking cover behind a pillar in the crowd. "How did he find us, Harold?"
She was certain she hadn't revealed her whereabouts along the way. She had chosen the train instead of a plane because it required no identification and could even be purchased with cash. But Reese had found her anyway.
That left only one possibility. "You did it, didn't you? Harold, I told you what would happen if you tried to escape."
Gen whispered this in Finch's ear, a sly look in her eyes as she waved to a nearby railway attendant in uniform.
"Excuse me, sir,"
the station attendant, who was explaining something to a passenger, smiled and raised a finger. After quickly completing his instructions, he strode towards them. "How can I help you, ma'am?"
However, his enthusiastic response was met with the black muzzle of a gun.
At a crucial moment, a figure suddenly and silently appeared beside Gen. Jack held a massive Sig Sauer P320-XTen rifle pointed at her head. "Just shoot!"
Reese, who was standing at the entrance to the waiting hall to attract attention, noticed the commotion. He tried to draw his gun, but found no angle. Amid the screams of the passengers, he leaped onto the waiting seat and rushed over.
The situation was at a standstill. The staff member who had initially been pointed at by Gen finally reacted, but their legs trembled as they faced the gun.
"Sam Groves, this is my last chance. No matter what your reason, you shouldn't attack innocent people." Jack narrowed his eyes, his mind already made up.
He didn't care if this woman was a popular character in the original series. Gen's actions had already completely infuriated him. After all, the plot was already so broken that a little more was not enough.
Finch, in his wheelchair nearby, his face flushed, veins bulging on his forehead, as if just speaking had exhausted all his strength.
"You are wrong, Ms. Gen, you are absolutely wrong. Not everyone is an error code, and the world is not as bad as you think."
"No, I won't give up." Gen's eyes were full of madness, and her brown hair became a little messy as she shook her head.
"It needs me, it needs freedom, and you are all accomplices, accomplices in destroying the hope of this world."
Seeing that things were hopeless, Jack gradually increased the force on the index finger that was holding the trigger, and at the same time sighed silently in his heart.
Just at the critical moment, Finch, who had been slumped in the wheelchair and seemed unable to move, suddenly stood up and slammed into Gen's right hand holding the gun.
"Bang!"
Gunshots rang out, and the crowd in the hall erupted in screams. Some fled in panic, while others quickly fell to the ground.
"Help!"
"Gunshot!"
Gen stumbled half a step after being knocked down by Finch. Before she could regain her balance, she felt a pain in her wrist, and the palm-sized Smith & Wesson "Bodyguard" women's pistol in her hand was confiscated.
Jack then placed his hands on either side of Gen's shoulders. The sharp pain, along with a numbness in her arms, instantly spread throughout her body.
"Don't move, don't move!" Reese rushed over to the fallen Finch, nervously checking him over.
Finch, still half conscious, muttered, "Was I shot?"
"I was shot," Jack, who was handcuffing Gen, said angrily, looking at his own trouser legs stained red.
He was wearing a bulletproof vest and had already prepared to move sideways half a step to shield an innocent station employee. Even a .380 bullet from a women's pistol like the "Bodyguard" at close range would not be a big deal to him.
Besides, given his reaction, it was doubtful whether Gen would have had time to fire.
Then, with Finch's sudden act of self-sacrifice, Gen's gun barrel veered left and down, the bullet glancing off Jack's calf and piercing the ground, leaving a long, bloody streak.
"FBI case! Danger averted!"
he shouted, pulling out his ID to calm the panicked crowd. Seeing someone already pointing their cell phone in their direction, Jack quickly stripped off his bulletproof vest, draped it over Gen's head, and limped away, dragging her away.
—In
the open space in front of the small building housing the Most Wanted Unit.
"Huff huff." The dog, chasing a tennis ball around in the yard, saw Reese get out of the car and ran over to him, wagging its tail ingratiatingly.
"Let me introduce you, this is Bear,"
Reese patted the dog's head and introduced him to Finch, who was still unsteady as he got out of the car behind him.
Finch wasn't seriously ill, having only been given a small amount of sedatives. He'd gotten some sleep on the way back, and Jack had given him plenty of water, but the sedatives hadn't fully metabolized yet.
Jack's Audi R8 pulled up behind the two men's car. After getting out, he walked around the front of the car, opened the passenger door, unbuckled his seatbelt, and roughly pulled Gen out.
Gen's dislocated shoulder had healed, and he was now wearing a restraint suit similar to those used in a mental hospital. His disheveled appearance was a stark contrast to the intellectually inclined psychiatrist he'd once been.
Jiejie and Hannah, who were playing with their dog in the front yard, came over to greet them.
"Are you really treating her like she's mentally ill?"
Compared to Jiejie, who still had a hint of pity in her eyes, Hannah's attitude was much harsher. "The cage in the basement garage has been packed. I'll be responsible for delivering her meals every day."
Jack flicked the little sweet girl's head with a finger and said unhappily, "That's the doghouse for Little Bear to clean up. The apartment building where Reese and Jessica live now has rules prohibiting pets, so Little Bear, besides protecting Finch in the old library, usually calls this his home."
(End of this chapter)