No one knows Mark Snow's final thoughts.
Perhaps Reese's final warning had helped him face the reality of his impossibility, leading him to choose to perish alongside Kara Stanton.
Reese felt this approach was consistent with his impression of his former superior.
Jack had initially worried about a scheme, perhaps Kara Stanton faking her own death to escape.
However, these suspicions were dispelled after the DNA test results from the CSI lab came back.
Reese had DNA samples from both men, and Jack had obtained Mark Snow's blood from his gloves, as the two had engaged in a fight in the lab.
The source of Kara Stanton's DNA sample was one of the reasons for Jessica's jealousy, as was the strawberry mark on his neck and the hair left on his clothes.
Although he claimed to be married at the time, Reese was free to sleep with whomever he chose.
But regarding their encounter at the airport terminal, where she had expressed her feelings and offered to wait as long as he asked, Reese still chose to back down, making a choice she supposedly "thought was best for both of them," it's hard to say Jessica didn't harbor any resentment.
Fortunately, a beautiful engagement ring finally allayed Jessica's frustrations.
Jack still had a considerable stock of gemstones, including some beautiful tanzanites he'd brought back from Africa and some hidden gems he'd secretly hidden while fighting drug traffickers in Mexico with Seal.
After a satisfying melon feast and instructing Jessica to take care of Reese, Jack headed to the old library to find Finch.
Before the explosion, Finch had mentioned intercepting a recording of a call between Kara Stanton and someone, but after it all ended, he seemed to have forgotten about it and didn't mention it again for several days.
But his silence didn't mean Jack would ignore it. Furthermore, he had been studying the hard drive Kara Stanton had used to load the virus for several days, so it was time to get Finch to come clean.
"The encryption level of what Kara Stanton uploaded was quite high. I haven't been able to fully decrypt it yet. I can only tentatively confirm that it's a new type of attack software."
After receiving another "treatment" from Jack, Finch took the initiative to talk about the hard drive.
"Targeting the 'Machine'?" Jack didn't bother beating around the bush and got straight to the point.
"You previously admitted that after Nathan's death, you deliberately leaked a laptop computer containing a virus program specifically targeting the 'Machine's' core code. The 'suicide mission' that Reese and Kara Stanton undertook was to retrieve that laptop."
Jack had already sorted out the entire incident over the past few days, and now he just needed Finch to answer a few key questions.
"However, that mission actually failed. Although the Intelligence Support Operations Division, which was responsible for the Aurora Project, carried out the silencing operation, it was infiltrated by Decima itself, so I can reasonably guess that the program eventually fell into their hands.
Decima obtained the program and rescued Kara Stanton, and the attack software you see now is actually the complete version of the program you leaked."
Seeing Finch's mouth half open, Jack just smiled and shrugged, "Kara Stanton's phone call before she died should have been from Decima, right?"
"Your keen intuition has always been impressive." Finch complimented, limped back to his computer, sat down, and clicked on an audio clip.
The recorded call lasted less than a minute, and the conversation was simple: Kara Stanton reported a mission accomplished to someone, then demanded they fulfill a promise.
The voice on the other end sounded young, with a hint of an African American accent. "The man who sold the computer that led to your 'unfortunate journey to Afghanistan' was named Harold Finch.
But I'm afraid the only name I can give you is one. He doesn't exist in any database, and that's all Decima found before its demise.
I wish you continued good luck, Ms. Stanton. We need people like you right now, and our cooperation agreement will remain in effect."
The call ended, but Jack frowned. What did Decima mean by "Decima" was gone? Then what faction was this person Kara Stanton was talking to?
"I don't know. Don't look at me like that, Jack. I admit I planned something, but even the 'machine' isn't omniscient, let alone me."
Finch stood up, limped over to a bookshelf, and took a book from it.
"Ghost in the Machine," by Arthur Koestler. Jack curled his lips at the title. He had always shied away from philosophical
and psychological works, and his only recollection of this book was that it had been borrowed from an anime. "Ghost in the Shell," created by Shirow Masamune in the late 1980s, was titled "Soul in the Machine," exploring the relationship between body and soul and paying homage to this book.
Finch flipped to the last page of the book, revealing a photograph tucked inside. It showed two young men.
One was handsome and had a bright smile, while the other looked a bit dorky, wearing round glasses. If he'd changed into a wizard's robe, he could have been a Harry Potter
cosplay. Jack recognized it as a photo of Finch and his good friend Nathan. He flipped it over and found the words "The Beginning" and the initials of Nathan Ingram.
"I know you were friends in college." He looked at Finch with a puzzled look, confused as to why he was showing him this photo at this moment.
"This is just a souvenir. Please give me a hand, Jack." Finch reached out and tried to move all the books on this shelf.
Jack helped him put the books aside. Finch pulled open the panel at the back of the bookshelf, revealing a hidden safe.
"My last secret is hidden in here." Finch turned the combination lock, and after a slight "click", he took a half step back, indicating that the next step would be handed over to Jack.
"Are these all Nathan's belongings?" Jack took out a stack of enlarged ID photos from inside. There was a sticky note on each photo with a social security number written on it.
"Some of them were put in later by me. These are the people Nathan and I tried to save but did not survive."
Finch picked out a photo with a wry smile. It was Jessica on it. "Of course, you can help return this photo to Mr. Reese. You successfully deceived me that time, but it's a pity that others were not so lucky."
He finally reached into the safe, took out a map from it and said to Jack, "This is the answer you need."
(End of chapter)