"Five o'clock 321."
As the countdown in the headset finished, a figure stumbled past the alley entrance. Jack, who was leaning against the wall and had been waiting impatiently, didn't even look at him. He swung an old baseball bat he had picked up and hit the other person's knee accurately.
"Whoosh." Fusco, who had been chasing him all the way, was panting like a broken bellows. He watched Jack handcuff the suspect who was rolling on the ground, and his fat face was full of dissatisfaction.
"Why can't Kate assign the job of waiting here to me?"
"Because Detective Fusco had two steaks and 56 French fries for lunch today, the total calorie intake is over 3,000 calories. For your cardiovascular health, you need to maintain adequate exercise."
The royal sister voice of "Machine" Kate came from the headsets of the two.
Fusco rolled his eyes and pointed at Jack. "Is this humanity's tragic future? Ubiquitous surveillance, have you noticed? She even counted the fries."
"You asked Kate to push you to lose weight last night after you stepped on the scale," Jack said speechlessly, lifting the suspect from the ground and handing him over to Doudou.
"But if I don't eat enough, I can't get the required exercise." Fusco patted his belly, a common ailment for middle-aged men, and sighed helplessly.
It's true that you need to eat enough to have the energy to lose weight, right? Jack was speechless at the attack of such a corny joke.
It had been nearly half a year since Kate, the "robot" baby, was freed. Autumn had given way to spring, the Christmas and New Year holidays had flown by, and someone was about to start worrying about Valentine's Day again.
New York was still cold in January, and white steam still rose from manhole covers everywhere. After spending so much time in this metropolis, Jack had developed a certain fondness for it.
Despite the dilapidated public facilities in many neighborhoods, the filthy and smelly environment, the filth and filth lurking in dark corners, and the seemingly intractable traffic congestion, people from all over the world flock here.
Just like this vast empire, while its interior is rotten, its exterior remains radiant, making it at least a fraction better than old Europe.
Europe is now completely flattened, with left-right power dynamics within each country severely dividing society. The "Royal Goose" faction of the Big Mao family, excited by their speedrun of the Second Mao dungeon, is shouting unbearable slogans like "restoring the glory of the Roman Empire."
The Middle East is in even greater chaos. The Persian cat upper echelons want to surrender but are unable to, while the middle and lower echelons still cling to their airs of Persian legitimacy, disregarding even the mysterious Silk Curtain Kingdom of the East. Yet, facing the "Flat Brother," their cowardice is obvious to all.
A new Middle Eastern war seems unstoppable, and now the president has once again stirred up trouble on the Korean Peninsula, directly ordering the US military stationed there to intervene in a bizarre coup.
The six-stick-a-second background music echoed across the peninsula once again, but this time, it wasn't the "one-empty losers" who were deployed, but rather the American soldiers, known as "bodyguards" and a source of pride for the southern peninsula's inhabitants.
The current world situation was utterly different from what Jack remembered, no longer familiar.
Of course, judging by the timeline, the present time had long since passed since his initial time travel, and it was unknown whether the world before his time travel had become even more turbulent.
For the past six months, "Omega" had launched a series of heavy attacks against the "Always Vigilant" group, Jack
's target, dismantling numerous secret bases but failing to apprehend any key individuals. Clearly aware of the "machine," they were constantly switching identities to evade Kate's pursuit.
Unable to ascertain the true identities of the group's key members, Kate couldn't even employ facial recognition technology, as the group's top brass had never revealed their true identities.
However, intelligence provided by some low-level operatives captured so far suggests they are planning a major operation.
Substantial funding from unidentified sources has enabled the group to spend lavishly on recruitment, and they have also procured large quantities of munitions through unknown channels.
Judging from the types of munitions seized during the joint Omega and FBI operation, fully automatic rifles are standard issue. Besides explosives like C4 and grenades, they also uncovered highly dangerous weapons like individual missiles.
While civilian firearms are prevalent in the federal government—some states even have heavy-duty firearms like Lao Gan Ma and even Gatling rifles in their homes—many individual missiles like Stingers and Javelin are subject to strict controls. After all,
civilians can't defend themselves against National Guard tanks and attack helicopters with guns, but these weapons can certainly be used.
However, it's inconceivable that while the FBI has repeatedly emphasized a "constant alert" threat level and requested intelligence collaboration from other federal agencies, including the CIA, the amount of relevant information it has obtained has been minimal.
Because the "machine" continued to output "relevant numbers" normally, the NSA hadn't noticed her real body had escaped, and Jack had expected it wouldn't provide much intelligence.
However, the CIA's response was somewhat surprising.
Normally, the CIA is quite proactive when the FBI requests assistance with domestic counterterrorism missions, after all, they are technically prohibited from operating domestically.
Joint operations with the FBI are one of the few domestic missions they can legitimately participate in as advisors. Even if they don't necessarily benefit their overseas intelligence operations, no one would underestimate the merit.
However, this time, the CIA's response was surprisingly cold, sending a liaison officer to deliver a few official remarks before continuing.
Jack contacted Rossi and Harry to inquire, only to learn that the current president, known for his spies, had recently been slashing intelligence operations, demanding at least 1,200 CIA staff cuts.
The CIA was in a state of panic, with agents deployed worldwide, analysts at military bases abroad, and analysts in offices back home all worried about being unknowingly laid off at any moment.
After the suspect was loaded into the NYPD reinforcement car, Fusco eagerly hopped over to ride on Jack's Mammoth.
Jack still drove his Audi R8 for most of his daily outings. After all, as long as there was a cell signal, Kate could communicate with him via a Bluetooth headset connected to her phone, just as Finch had done before.
But when on a mission, Jack still opted for the Mammoth, as it featured not only a radio but also a retractable satellite dish on the trunk lid.
"You could actually buy one with your current income," Jack said, finding him amused.
Fusco shook his head vigorously, his chubby cheeks twitching. "That doesn't fit with my detective persona. Now that Commissioner Reagan is the Mayor, I don't want to be constantly under the scrutiny of Internal Affairs."
This guy's awareness was rare, and it surprised Jack. He had the impression that most Americans were high-profile and few could withstand the brainwashing of consumerism.
After returning Doudou to the police station, Jack drove out of town, heading towards Washington, D.C.
He had just received a notification from Kate and was here to help Fusco. His main task today was to get to Washington, D.C. before dusk and celebrate Valentine's Day with the two ladies in advance.
(End of this chapter)