Inside, the presidential speech on television had ended, and the camera switched to a view of Capitol Hill, where smoke was lingering.
Although it was late at night, the disaster site was still brightly lit. Several drones imported from Seres hovered in the air, dragging long cables, providing ample lighting for the search and rescue operation.
From time to time, people carried stretchers out from the rubble. Almost every stretcher that appeared in front of the news helicopter camera was covered with the American flag.
The three intruders who had broken into the White House were tied to chairs, their backs to the television.
Jack had removed their masks. The short one was an Asian with single eyelids and a curvy hairstyle. The tallest one was black. The last one to be taken down was white. The skin color combination was quite striking.
All three had their mouths stuffed with the smelly socks Jack had removed from their feet. Except for the Asian who looked a little terrified, the other two wore expressions of fearless defiance.
"Tell me, what organization do you belong to? Who's the leader?" Jack's knife pressed against the filthy Asian man, causing him to shake his head and whimper.
Seeing his pants soaking wet, Jack let go of him in disgust and squatted down in front of the white man. "Tell me the truth, or you'll spend the rest of your life in prison."
The white man held his head high, glaring fiercely at Jack. He almost screamed for help the moment he took off the smelly socks.
Unfortunately, Jack was quicker, stabbing his knife into his ribs and twisting his lungs. The shattered lungs silenced his cries.
The excruciating pain made the man twitch uncontrollably, like a crunchy catfish on a chopping board about to be chopped into sashimi.
The four chair legs scraped harshly against the ground as he struggled, but Jack immediately stepped on them.
Jack didn't immediately draw the dagger. Instead, he waited for blood to slowly fill his lungs before slowly pulling it out halfway, gently prying the blade to allow blood to flow out.
Smirking at the other man, Jack subconsciously touched his lower abdomen. There was a small, inconspicuous hole there, where he had nearly joined the corpses in the hall above just hours earlier.
This man was about to die, a gruesome death. Nerve signals sent the muscles around the wound contracting frantically, sealing the wound while also slowly filling his lungs.
But he still had a long way to go before he suffocated and died. Jack's precise cuts were so measured that the blood in his lungs didn't accumulate quickly.
Bubbling blood gushed out of the man's mouth and nose, making it impossible for him to utter a sound higher than a cough. The scene was both despairing and terrifying.
When the sock was removed from the black man's mouth, and he faced Jack, who still smiled, his previous defiant expression vanished. He even wisely held his breath, not daring to gasp loudly.
"Looks like you're willing to cooperate now?"
Before Jack finished speaking, the other party nodded vigorously, even forcing a pitiful smile. His large white teeth, which were quite distinctive of his ethnicity, were very conspicuous in the dim indoor light.
Jack moved their chairs so that he was face to face with the Asian face that had been scared to death before, and then he repeated his previous question.
"My name is Benjamin, and I'm a member of 'Always Vigilant'. Our boss is Michael Collier. This yellow monkey belongs to President Seres' security team."
The black man's words made Jack frown. He reached out and took the sock out of the mouth of the wretched Asian man facing him and asked doubtfully, "Did you tell him you were from Seres?"
"This Neg is an idiot. He has no idea about us, the Great Han people."
Jack understood immediately and stabbed him in the thigh with a knife. The moment he screamed in pain and opened his mouth, he stuffed the sock back in. He turned around and motioned for the black man to continue, "Tell me what you know."
"We, 'Ever Vigilant,' are the embodiment of justice, standing against the tyranny of the Federation."
Jack yanked the dagger from the Asian man's thigh and pointed it at the large black man, who immediately shut up.
Jack was somewhat surprised to hear the name "Ever Vigilant" from this man.
Over the past six months, "Ever Vigilant" has been quite active, not only spreading rumors online about the NSA's various "crimes" of surveillance but also relying on vast sums of money from unidentified sources to aggressively recruit personnel and even procure a significant amount of munitions.
However, previous joint operations between "Omega" and the FBI have revealed that while the identities of this organization's leaders remain somewhat shrouded in mystery, the organization's lower ranks are generally well-organized, even to the point of being a mixed bag.
While militia groups are numerous within the Federation, most are largely makeshift organizations. After all, the FBI is no pushover, and those with a genuine agenda and organizational structure have long been targeted, such as the once-famous "Black Panther D."
The "Ever Vigilant" group wasn't particularly prominent among extremist groups. If it weren't for the surprisingly powerful munitions discovered during a joint operation, it wouldn't even be listed on some lists.
"So, what's your relationship with Decima?"
Jack asked, staring intently at the dark man. To his disappointment, the man's bewilderment didn't seem fake.
"Then tell me why you attacked Washington, D.C."
To Jack's surprise, the dark man's explanation only added to the mystery.
Benjamin, according to him, was a logistics sergeant in the Union Army. After retiring, he lived in the suburbs of Memphis, Tennessee. Unable to bear the poverty of his life, he chose to work as a mercenary in South Africa.
However, upon arriving in South Africa, the private security company he had contacted declared bankruptcy. Having spent all his savings on a return ticket, he found himself homeless upon landing in Port Elizabeth.
Three months later, Michael Collier, the self-proclaimed leader of "Ever Vigilant," approached Benjamin, who was ready to take on a bank robbery.
Not only was he familiar with Benjamin's military experience, he also seemed to be well-informed about his current situation. He ultimately offered him an offer he couldn't refuse—$500,000, with a down payment of $100,000.
Initially skeptical, Benjamin received $20,000 in cash and a bank card with $80,000 in it, and without hesitation, he followed Collier to a strange local training camp.
The camp housed around a hundred men, nearly all American soldiers as downtrodden as himself, with a single objective: to practice attacking a three-story building.
During the training, they were given a dedicated "brainwashing" program, which consisted largely of the same exercises Benjamin had just subconsciously recited.
Naturally, some noticed something was amiss. After all, the building, while not painted white, was a near-life replica of the White House.
However, those who harbored dissent, engaged in shady plots, or attempted escape were quickly identified, thanks to surveillance cameras throughout the camp, even in the toilets and bathrooms.
Benjamin didn't know where those people went after that, but every time someone was taken away, new people were brought in, and the size of the entire training camp always remained around a hundred people.
Five months later, Collier showed up again, bringing a group of Asian people to train with them.
(End of this chapter)