"Did Caroline ever mention this dark metal band?" Hanna asked, showing the black angel-wing logo on her phone, which matched the design on the T-shirt Caroline wore during the poisoning.
"You mean that screeching music? Well… I haven't heard it coming from her room for a while, but that might just be because I banned her from listening without headphones. I'm not entirely sure," Mrs. Sabatak replied, looking unsure about her daughter's interests—a typical distance seen between teenagers and their parents.
"Alright, we'll need your daughter's phone, tablet, or laptop to search for any relevant clues," Jack said, opting not to inform her that her daughter was a suspect in the poisoning case. He figured it wouldn't stay a secret for long, but there was no point in explaining now. Besides, they didn't have time for reassurance.
Mrs. Sabatak cooperatively retrieved a laptop and phone from her daughter's backpack and handed them to Jack.
Taking the devices, Jack and Hanna returned to the operations center, where they handed them over to Jubal, who hadn't been idle while they were gone.
"We looked into Caroline's school life. She had a strained relationship with both her teachers and classmates. Last month, a counselor discovered an online poll where students voted her as 'Most Likely to Become a School Shooter.'"
"It's hard to imagine how she managed to go to school every day. Are teenagers really this… dark nowadays?" Hanna said, visibly disturbed.
"More like reckless," Jubal replied. "While school shootings rarely involve female perpetrators, girls are statistically more likely to choose poisoning. Still, it's strange that Caroline chose a Korean deli in the financial district instead of, say, her school cafeteria."
Jack tried to put himself in her shoes but found it challenging. At thirteen or fourteen, he'd been absorbed in martial arts novels—a far cry from poisoning. Meanwhile, Hanna had her own turbulent teenage years in Los Angeles after being taken in by Zoe's parents. She'd struggled, particularly in her on-and-off relationship with Tyler Kelly, but she'd developed her own ways of dealing with bullying.
"I'll handle things here," Jubal assured them. "I'll have IT check if Caroline bought TTX on the dark web. In the meantime, CSI needs you to head over to the lab. The ERT (Evidence Response Team) found a bag with a spray bottle along her route. Mike Taylor wants you to take a look."
Sensing there might be something unusual about the find, Jack and Hanna hurried to the lab.
"This is an olive oil sprayer, but it nearly sent one of our careless researchers to the hospital," Mike Taylor said with a grim expression.
Jack examined the spray bottle encased in a transparent box. "Simply coming into contact with TTX shouldn't be dangerous; as long as it isn't ingested, intact skin shouldn't absorb it. Did your researcher accidentally spray it into his mouth?"
Mike chuckled. "Not quite, but not far off. Let me show you."
He activated a mechanical arm, which pressed the sprayer's button five times. On the fifth press, a small needle popped out of the button.
"It's rigged?" Hanna leaned in, examining the needle, which was barely visible—just a millimeter or so protruding from the button. A small detail that could easily be missed by an unsuspecting user.
"Exactly. This hollow needle pops out on the fifth press, injecting the TTX directly into the user's bloodstream. Caroline poisoned herself the moment she set out to poison others."
"So Caroline was set up?" Hanna's eyes widened in shock.
"Someone manipulated this naïve girl into poisoning others, then eliminated her as well," Jack sighed, choosing his words carefully. The case was getting more complicated.
When they returned to the operations center, they were immediately called into Dana Mojer's office. "Caroline just died. Her heart finally gave out from the TTX. Perhaps that's what her handler wanted."
"Unfortunately, this wasn't suicide," Jack said, unsurprised. He hadn't even considered using his healing ability to save her. Most of his skills and abilities could be explained as intense training, but his healing skill was a different story, and he kept it hidden—even from those closest to him, who assumed his health tricks were some sort of secret Eastern beauty regimen.
Saving Caroline might have provided more direct evidence, but Jack wasn't inclined toward leniency. While Caroline had been manipulated, she wasn't innocent; she knew what she was doing when she poisoned those people. Her crime was severe, likely to inspire copycats, and had cost the lives of many innocent people.
"CSI found a hidden mechanism in the spray bottle used for the poisoning, indicating that Caroline's death was part of her handler's plan," Hanna added.
Dana Mojer's expression shifted to surprise. "That makes more sense. Our next step should be to investigate the anarchist metal band and their followers."
"Sorry to interrupt," Jubal said, popping his head in. "IT found something suspicious on Caroline's laptop. We might need to contact DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and NSA for backup."
Jubal continued, "Caroline used a special browser to access a hidden website daily. While the login page is in English, the logo on it is in Arabic."
A few minutes later, everyone gathered in the main operations room, where a young IT specialist projected the website's login page on a large screen. Despite his youth, he was already balding slightly, adding to his intense focus.
"Dark Jihad," Jack murmured as he read the logo on the screen.
"'Jihad' isn't exclusive to one militant group. It's a term with religious significance, going as far back as the medieval Crusades," he added, thinking out loud.
"Looks like Caroline wasn't just following anarchists. She was working for extremist groups like ISIS," Dana Mojer said, nodding as she settled into a nearby chair.
"I'm relocating my office here until this case is closed," she continued. "Send all intel to Jubal and CC me. Also, notify DHS, NSA, and CIA that we'll need their liaisons on-site to provide intelligence support."
After a brief break, I'm feeling refreshed. The cemetery where my father rests is quite peaceful; I may visit often to chat with him.
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