When their own department is caught red-handed by outsiders right after a blunder, it's inevitable that some speculation arises, such as whether it's a "setup" or a "setup."
In the past, Jack wouldn't have needed to make a special visit, after all, he truly had a clear conscience; he could have simply asked Jubal to make the call.
However, this time, he felt somewhat underwhelmed. After all, some things seem like minor details, something that can be brushed aside in a typical film, television, or novel, and viewers and readers generally don't take it too seriously.
But that's not the case in reality. Some CIA veterans are incredibly ruthless, and Jack had been cleaning up the mess behind the old guard at "R.E.D."
Reese was a bit better, but without the cover-up provided by the NYPD and the FBI, his identity would have been exposed countless times.
After all, he was merely one of the "protagonists" in this world. Normally, the CSI lab alone was enough for him and Finch to deal with.
While Reese had gradually adapted to cleaning up his own messes without a "support team," influenced by someone (in reality, he used Fusco as a tool),
this time, whether intentional or forced, provoking the ATF significantly increased the risk of his identity being exposed.
While the ATF wasn't as large as the FBI, and because it was once part of the Treasury Department until the millennium, it was under the Department of Justice, a position it had been neglected and subjected to repeated budget cuts.
Still, it was a federal law enforcement agency with over 40,000 employees. If they were to target Reese and Finch, their days in New York would be far from easy.
Jack and Danny, seemingly sincere in wiping the two phones clean and delivering them to their door, actually destroyed crucial fingerprint evidence.
Jack had Alice help erase some important data from the phone that had sent the text message. Although Finch's number was also an anonymous SIM card, he was inside the base building when he received the message.
"At the time, Detective Danny Reagan was assisting me in tracking down two rogue CIA agents. We believe they attacked the two ATF agents in order to obtain their credentials and obtain false identities for future operations.
This information will be recorded in the subsequent report."
As Jack spoke, the expressions of the three ATF officers present, including Director Powell, visibly softened.
The situation shifted from being targeted by other agencies to a sense of shared hatred, a sympathy for the damned CIA causing trouble in the country again.
Jack and Danny didn't stay at the ATF for long. After promising to keep a low profile on certain matters, they took the elevator down to the operations center.
The team was fully armed and on standby, with Clay and Aubrey putting together a set of explosion-proof suits that looked like space suits.
"Bridge cables, spare batteries, electromagnets, a full set of demolition tools, and a signal jammer." Clay recounted his toolbox and nodded confidently at Jack as he entered.
Jack nodded in response, then walked straight over to Jubal and Alice, who were busy at work. "How's the tracking of the ATF's stolen Ford Explorer going?"
Alice answered without looking up from the screen. "The GPS was manually disabled. The license plate search shows the car was last seen in the Holland Tunnel."
"You mean they left town?" Jack frowned. The Holland Tunnel is a cross-river tunnel connecting Manhattan to Jersey City, New Jersey.
Jubal lowered his chin, pencil in hand, and shook his head. "On the contrary, they swapped the license plates, swapping the ATF agent's vehicle's plates onto another Ford Explorer of the same model. The owner didn't even notice the plates had been swapped when they were pulled over in Jersey City."
"So they're buying time. Their destination should still be on the island."
Jack walked behind Alice and looked at the computer screen in front of her. Countless surveillance images flashed across it at a speed indiscernible to the naked eye, comparing the license plate of a certain unfortunate driver.
"Twenty minutes ago, at the intersection of Mercer Street and West 11th Street." Alice typed on the keyboard, directly pulling up the surveillance footage.
The angle of the intersection surveillance camera was perfect, clearly showing the two people in the car. Although their faces were obscured by their peaked caps, everyone could still recognize them as Reese and Mark Snow, wearing jackets emblazoned with the ATF logo.
"It's surrounded by New York University Law School and St. Anthony's Church." Jubal's face looked a little ugly. New York is crowded with tourists all year round. The thought of two people wearing bomb vests appearing in these places made his heart a little overwhelmed.
"No, if Kara Stanton wanted the two to become suicide bombers for revenge, Reese would not give in. Besides, the people associated with the terrorist attack would not appear in the 'unrelated numbers'."
Jack's brain was thinking rapidly, and he kept giving orders, "They are planning to impersonate ATF agents to do something. Alice, check the NYPD's alarm records to see if there have been any suspicious circumstances in the nearby area in the past few hours."
"Yes, there was a bomb threat at 780 Mercer Street an hour ago. The NYPD is evacuating the residents of the building while waiting for the bomb disposal team to arrive."
Alice frowned at the screen and called up the specific information, "It's a commercial office building. It doesn't look special. The main tenants are financial and corporate clients."
She quickly browsed the information, her brows furrowed, "Something is wrong."
"One layer of tenant information is missing." Jack browsed faster than her, tapping the screen with his finger, "The 21st floor is not shown as vacant, but there is no corporate information either."
"It's not vacant. The company renting this floor is called 'Quiet Water Import & Trade,' a name I seem to recognize."
Alice quickly opened a database entry and entered the authorization code. Jack noticed it belonged to the "DOD" (Department of Defense) database.
"Damn, that's a DOD cyber warfare center, and also a computer virus research and development lab."
"Okay, it looks like we at least know what Mark Snow was planning to do with that stolen hard drive."
Jack waved for everyone to move, but then suddenly stopped, as if a thought occurred to him. "Clay, I'll also need a safety rope longer than the height of the building and a rappel device."
Seeing Clay's stunned expression, he whispered, "If Reese believes he's doomed, his first choice will be the same as yours: get as far away from innocent people as possible. Then the rooftop is his only option."
(End of Chapter)