Kapitel 60: Chapter 60: Just Lock Him in the Trunk
Neela Harper asked, "Can we confirm that only Corey Valance's accomplice is left among the terrorists planning the attack?"
"No," Zoe shook her head.
"There is at least one more. Surveillance footage shows someone went to the station to meet them."
"Alright," Captain Grey prepared to end the meeting.
"This case is extremely sensitive. Under no circumstances can we risk leaking information and causing public panic. That said, you are allowed to notify your families to stay away from densely populated areas, but do not disclose any details."
"Does everyone understand? Good, now let's move."
All the officers in the room breathed a sigh of relief. No one here was foolish; being allowed to inform their families was a sign that they were being put at significant risk, a concession likely fought for by their superiors. Phones were pulled out, and calls were made.
Watching his colleagues call their families, John and Jack, both without local family ties, exchanged glances. Jack thought for a moment and decided to call the Hunter couple, advising them to stay home and avoid going out.
After the flurry of activity, the patrol officers mobilized, and Jack drove the police car with Angela out of the station.
Seeing Angela hesitating with her phone in hand, Jack casually asked, "So, not planning to give Wesley a heads-up?"
Though Angela and Wesley were in a complicated relationship, they would eventually get together, and it seemed wise to give him a heads-up.
Angela frowned, "I want to call him, but I can't be sure he'll keep it to himself. You know how he is."
Jack, thinking of her lawyer boyfriend who always talked about civil liberties, felt his head ache and started to suggest a bad idea.
"If you can't trust him, you could message him to find out where he is, and we can just pick him up and lock him in the trunk."
"Otherwise, if something happens, you'll feel guilty."
Angela shot Jack a look, sighed, and began typing on her phone. "We were supposed to have dinner together tonight."
A message notification dinged on Angela's phone, and Jack peeked at it, grinning.
"Perfect, have him come to us."
Twenty minutes later, as Jack and Angela were leaving the house of a person under investigation, Wesley's car pulled up in front of them, and he greeted them.
"Hey, what's going on? I've seen cops all over the city."
Angela walked over to talk to her boyfriend.
"I have something to tell you, but you must promise not to leak it, not to tell anyone."
Wesley shrugged, his tone light, "No problem."
"We're trying to prevent a bioterrorist attack. You need to leave the city immediately or stay away from densely populated areas, okay?"
The rich lawyer's face changed dramatically. "No, that's wrong. Why aren't the police issuing an emergency evacuation order? People have the right to know they're in danger."
Angela looked at Jack, her expression saying, "I told you so," while Jack rolled his eyes, thinking she had chosen a naive boyfriend.
"Then cause a panic with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing? Let the terrorists escape in the chaos and reorganize?"
Angela tried to reason with her boyfriend.
"Catching criminals is your job, but the public has the right to know." Wesley began citing legal clauses.
Jack spread his hands, suggesting they really should lock this guy in the trunk.
"This is why I hesitated to tell you. I knew you would say this. If it weren't for Jack convincing me..."
Angela took Wesley's phone, handed it to Jack, and then pulled him out of the car and handcuffed him.
"Wait, you're really arresting him?" Jack didn't expect her to be so decisive.
"I'm arresting you. You have the right to remain silent."
Wesley looked astonished, "On what charge?"
"Attempting to disrupt public order. Stay put in the back." Angela pushed him into the back seat of the police car.
"That won't hold up in court!"
"It doesn't need to. As long as you can't contact the outside world until we solve this, it's fine. Unless you plan to sue me."
Angela glared at Wesley, their faces close.
"That's more like it. Your hesitation earlier was painful to watch."
Jack, laughing and joking, got into the driver's seat and drove to the next address of a person under investigation.
By the afternoon, having found nothing, they received a message from the command center, with both good and bad news.
The good news was that John, the main character, had found a lead. A bus passenger they interviewed had been sitting in front of Corey Valance and his accomplice, and a selfie on his phone revealed the accomplice's identity.
Jimmy Roskin, age thirty-one, had been arrested eight months ago for a hate crime but was not prosecuted. However, the local contact who had picked him up was still unidentified. The contact drove a blue BMW with stolen plates. Based on road surveillance footage, the FBI temporarily located the suspect in a residential area.
Patrol officers, including Jack and Angela, were being sent there to conduct a search.
The bad news was dire. When Tim and Lucy went to investigate a bus passenger, they found that this passenger had mistakenly taken the deceased's travel bag.
While checking the travel bag, the passenger accidentally broke a vial and cut his finger, becoming the first infected person.
Tim, upon discovering the situation while inspecting the passenger's bedroom, realized something was wrong and locked Lucy outside.
Now, Dr. Morgan from the CDC had arrived on the scene and quarantined the entire house. However, the infected person was already symptomatic and critically ill. Tim had been splattered with the infected person's blood, and the vaccine was still in transit, an hour away.
After compiling the information, the command center updated the investigation's progress. It was now certain that the terrorists had a backup plan. Jimmy Roskin, Corey's accomplice, was carrying another virus package.
He had already met with his local accomplice and could use a nebulizer to disperse the virus in crowded places at any moment, launching a bioterrorist attack. Considering it was the eve of Christmas, any large supermarket or shopping mall would have large crowds.
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