"Hold on a second." Hannah walked briskly into the command center, holding a tablet, and projected three photos onto the main screen.
"We've identified the three girls who received the poison. Two of them were spotted at school today, and agents are on their way to bring them in. The issue now is with the third girl."
She enlarged the photo of the third girl—a young woman with dark skin and thick lips, revealing her ethnicity. "Her name is Hajima Bass, from Queens. Her mother thought she'd gone to school this morning, but I just confirmed with the school that she hasn't shown up today."
"Got it." Jubal pointed at Hannah and then at Jack. "You two head to her house and see if you can find anything."
He took the tablet from Hannah and handed it to the NYPD liaison. "We need a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) for Hajima Bass, 18 years old, Nigerian descent, five-foot-two, 114 pounds."
---
Jack's Dodge Hellcat roared to life again, but before he could leave Manhattan, Dana Moyer's call came through.
"Hajima Bass's MetroCard shows she took the subway this afternoon. Cameras at the City Hall station exit just picked her up. She's wearing a dark green headscarf, denim jacket, and carrying a black sports backpack."
"Is there anywhere nearby she could potentially target with poison?" Jack turned the steering wheel sharply, switching on the hidden police lights and siren as he made a U-turn toward City Hall Park.
"There's a farmers' market in the park. It's open three days a week, and today happens to be one of those days," Dana replied.
Jack glanced at the map. City Hall Park was less than 500 meters from the FBI's Manhattan office and about the same distance from Police Plaza, the NYPD headquarters.
This is unbelievably bold. She's practically taunting us right under our noses.
With a screech, Jack's Hellcat nearly collided with an oncoming NYPD squad car. Before the car even came to a full stop, Hannah was already out the door.
The squad car door opened as well, and Detective Danny Reagan, recognizing Jack and Hannah, jumped out without a word. Together, they sprinted toward the rows of stalls filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, with the sounds of more police and ambulance sirens approaching in the distance.
"NYPD! Put down any food you're holding! It's been poisoned!" Danny shouted.
"FBI! Put that food down! Now!" Jack added.
The market wasn't large, with around 20 stalls, but it was crowded with people buying fresh produce. Many of them looked at Jack, Danny, and Hannah in confusion, unsure of what was going on.
Some people instinctively set down their salads and fresh produce, while others looked around, bewildered, or even thought this might be a prank show by a television crew.
"Bang! Bang!" Danny fired two shots into the air, holding up his badge in his other hand.
"NYPD! Put down any food you're holding!"
Even if they couldn't hear him clearly, people immediately crouched down or lay flat on the ground.
The chaos began to subside as Jack let out a sigh of relief. Danny's move was a bit reckless, but it was effective. Jack had almost forgotten how "well-trained" Americans were in this regard.
"All food here may be contaminated—don't touch anything! Stay where you are! Medical help is on the way!" Hannah shouted through a bullhorn she'd grabbed from a nearby patrol officer, standing on a table to make herself heard.
"Someone help! He can't breathe!" a voice screamed from near a strawberry stand. Two other people nearby started vomiting and then collapsed.
"Everyone stay put and wait for medical assistance," Jack said, as more police cars and ambulances arrived from all directions.
Jack looked around and noticed at least four or five security cameras. He grabbed his phone and called Jubal. "Can we tap into the nearby security feeds?"
"We're already on it. Hajima stopped at at least eight stalls, and she was careful not to attract attention," Jubal replied quickly.
"She headed south and vanished into the crowd about five minutes ago. I've sent nearly everyone in the office out onto the streets to assist in the search."
"South? There's a subway station that way. Hey! You guys, with me!" Jack shouted, motioning to Danny Reagan and two nearby patrol officers. They sprinted towards the subway station together.
The NYPD and FBI agents split up, running down opposite streets. Before long, the subway entrance came into view, and Jack spotted their target—a young woman in a dark green headscarf. Her appearance stood out against the fashionable crowd of New Yorkers.
"Hajima Bass!" Jack shouted.
The short-statured girl froze and glanced over her shoulder, going rigid as she saw two guns pointed directly at her.
"FBI! Don't move! Hands in the air!"
People around her screamed and scattered as Danny Reagan and the two patrol officers moved to cordon off the area.
"Kneel!" Jack approached, pressing her down and removing her backpack, which he handed to Hannah. He checked her hands.
"No needle marks, no wounds," he noted with confusion. The spray canisters they'd found so far had all included deadly booby traps, but Hajima didn't appear to have been harmed. Did the trigger mechanism fail, or was this girl given special treatment?
Hannah, now wearing gloves, inspected the backpack and found something strange. "Another spray bottle, just like the others we've found. Plus a change of clothes, toiletries… looks like she was planning to leave."
Jack thought back to Khalid Baram's profile and realized something. "Baram is Nigerian too. Looks like we've found the 'bride' he's chosen for himself."
"You think she was on her way to meet Baram?" Hannah began sorting through the items in the backpack.
"Where were you planning to meet him?" Jack asked Hajima.
"This is holy martyrdom!" Hajima replied defiantly, her face set with a determined expression.
She's brainwashed. Jack glanced around, aware that time was running out to apprehend Baram, but with so many people around, he couldn't exactly employ any "enhanced" methods of interrogation.
Just as he was about to ask Danny Reagan to prepare the interrogation room at the precinct, Hannah held up a new discovery.
"Jack, it's a ferry ticket," she said, showing him the slip of paper.
------------------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get early access to chapters by joining my Patre@n!
Find me at: patre@n*com/Mutter
You can read each novel for $5 or get them all for just $15.
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)
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]