"Heh." Jack let out a mocking laugh. He was starting to enjoy this.
"How should I respond?" Alexis asked the team, holding her coffee.
"Show some fear. She's still just a kid, and that's a natural emotion," Hannah advised.
Dana Moyer, with her chin propped on her hand, looked thoughtful. "But she should still make him feel like Tara is willing to go with him. Their ongoing conversation revolves around her leaving the country to become a 'Jihad bride.'"
"Say, 'If I could leave this country with you, I'd give up everything. I don't want to die like Caroline, a virgin.'" Jack, looking smug, took a sip from his teacup, clearly pleased with himself.
Everyone exchanged glances, silently agreeing. Alexis typed up the message and sent it off. In less than half a minute, they received a response.
"If you want to proceed to the next phase, you need to trust me completely. Can you do that?"
He'd taken the bait, and the team looked thrilled. Jack immediately replied, "As long as you can take me to a new world, I'll do anything."
The reply came even faster this time: "Tomorrow at noon, meet me at Lighthouse Park by the river railing."
"He's here in New York," Jubar, who had been casually leaning against the desk watching the big screen, sat up straight.
This was a crucial lead. Until now, they'd speculated that the suspect had used something like a delivery service to get the TTX-laced spray bottle to Caroline. Given that he'd been hiding behind the anonymity of the internet, it was possible he wasn't even in the country.
But if he was indeed in New York, they'd need to act carefully. Although the CDC suspected that, even with the latest synthetic methods, his TTX production would be limited, it remained a dangerous toxin. TTX wasn't as easily dispersed as an inhaled gas, but it was over a thousand times more lethal than cyanide, couldn't be neutralized with heat, and had a delayed onset. Its lethality and lack of an antidote made it a significant threat.
If they couldn't catch him in one strike, he might retreat, increase his stockpile, and eventually release it somewhere like the water supply, leading to more than just panic.
"Wait a minute. Tara said she hadn't sent him any photos. How will they recognize each other?" Hannah, ever observant, pointed out a critical issue.
Dana Moyer tapped Alexis on the shoulder, leaning in to whisper, "Ask him."
Alexis typed, "How will I find you?"
Her message had barely sent when a reply appeared almost instantly: "I'll find you." The response was accompanied by a selfie of Tara.
"Pfft!" Rick Castle, watching the exchange, choked on his coffee.
"Sorry, sorry," he quickly apologized, but no one paid attention to him. They all looked at each other, feeling somewhat exasperated.
Tara had misled the FBI; she had already sent a photo to "Greenbird." However, she hadn't exactly lied; she'd sent an edited photo, with beauty and slimming filters cranked up to the max.
---
"When can we...?" Shagas asked impatiently as Jack and Hannah entered the conference room, but Jack raised his hand, cutting him off.
"You lied to us earlier!" Hannah slapped a printed copy of the selfie onto Tara's desk.
"This is the picture you sent to 'Greenbird,' isn't it?"
"I... I didn't know the rules back then. I was still learning." Tara stammered, trying to explain.
"This has nothing to do with rules." Jack felt exasperated; things had gotten more complicated.
"Wait, what are you even talking about?" Shagas looked completely confused.
"We've confirmed that the 'Greenbird' contacting your daughter is an ISIS operative. He manipulated Caroline into killing thirteen innocent New Yorkers. And your daughter knew about it," Jack accused, delivering the blow in one swift move. Shagas was dumbfounded, struck silent by the revelation.
"We need to catch him, but you've created a problem by sending that photo. Now you'll have to meet him in person."
Hannah took another look at the picture on the desk, then pulled out a mirror and held it up to Tara. "Tell me, how exactly are you planning to make yourself look like the girl in that picture?"
---
Beauty-enhancing phones really were a menace. Jack looked on helplessly as the FBI's makeup artist began practically plastering Tara's face. He had more complaints than he knew what to do with.
"Sorry, I did my best. This is as close as I can get." The middle-aged makeup artist stepped aside, revealing a still-chubby face.
Jack held up the photo for comparison, ignoring the differences in jawline and chin. If you squinted hard, you might see a slight resemblance in the eyes, but that was about it.
What a joke. Hannah herself would look closer to the photo than Tara did.
Even if the brainwashed girl stayed calm and cooperative, Jack had little faith that "Greenbird" would recognize her based on that photo alone.
If the meeting were scheduled for evening, they might have been able to hide some of the differences. But the time was set for noon, and tomorrow's forecast called for clear skies. How on earth could they pull this off?
Making a small face appear bigger was easy enough—high-tech facial prosthetics could handle that just as well as any beauty filter. But making a chubby face appear thin? Liposuction wasn't exactly an option.
Jack's mind raced as he considered options. Sending a new, unedited photo? That would look suspicious. Re-scheduling for dusk or evening? He was mulling it over when the conference room door opened. Hannah had her hands on Alexis's shoulders, pushing her into the room.
"What do you think of this?"
What a twist. Jack instinctively glanced between the photo and the newly styled Alexis. Remarkable—they'd managed a seven or eight out of ten resemblance.
A few minutes later, in the operations center, Rick Castle was anxiously watching his daughter, clearly wanting to say something but unable to find the words.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to her—I promise. Tomorrow, I'll be her sniper backup," Jack reassured him.
The mention of a sniper seemed to make Castle even more anxious, but before he could object, Alexis threw her arms around his arm in a playful hug.
"I'll be fine, Dad. It's the FBI, after all. Plus, don't you need some inspiration? How about a story about a teen girl agent? She could be just as cool as Nikki Heat," she teased.
Castle still looked worried, but Jack interrupted with a grin, "If your dad doesn't write this character, I'll make my next novel 'Teen Agent Alexis's Grand Adventures.'"
Castle glared at Jack, gritting his teeth. "Don't you dare steal my muse."
------------------
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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