"They forced to do this! Help... help !"
The adrenaline surged, preventing the two severely injured n from even passing out. Jack ignored Baker, keeping the old man alive only as evidence for Stevenson and Finlay. Only by seeing and hearing it firsthand could they solidify their stance. This proved effective; Stevenson, who had initially shown so reluctance, now had eyes practically spitting fire.
Jack grabbed Dawson, dragged him to the kitchen table, and shoved a kitchen knife next to his ear.
"I promise you, if you answer my questions honestly, you'll be taken to the hospital. Otherwise, I'll cut off your balls and make you swallow them, just like you did to the others."
Dawson jolted awake. His initial fear of certain death faded, replaced by a desperate will to live.
"You swear to God you'll let go."
Jack grew impatient, grabbed the kitchen knife, and with a swift movent, cut Dawson's belt.
"I swear by God, if you tell everything you know, I guarantee you'll go to the hospital."
"Tell , why didn't Kleiner show up today?"
The interrogation didn't take long. The reason Kleiner didn't show up was that the counterfeit money shipnt was scheduled for tonight, or more precisely, 3 a.m. tomorrow.
The Kleiner father and son were indeed planning to escape. The Venezuelan rcenaries weren't just there to help, but also to expedite the shipnt.
Because of the Coast Guard's six-month-long blockade, the Kleiner family's counterfeit money had been unable to be shipped out in bulk, and the South Arican buyers' patience had run out.
Now that the blockade was finally over, if they couldn't send out enough goods in a short ti, the Kleiner father and son would probably be the next ones nailed to the wall.
The counterfeit money, accumulated over six months, had a total face value of nearly five billion, weighing over 50 tons including packaging, and was planned to be shipped to the port in three container trucks at once.
To prevent any accidents, Kleiner had also specifically hired an FBI agent to escort the shipnt. After the counterfeit money was shipped out, they planned to burn down the entire ranch to destroy all the evidence.
Realizing Finlay was unaware that his old FBI friend was the mole, Jack forced Dawson to reveal the FBI agent's na.
"Picard, that's all I know they call him."
"I actually considered him my friend!" Finlay cursed.
Jack smiled. "At least he advised you not to co to this town, didn't he?"
He then pulled out a silenced FK 7.5mm and shot Dawson in the head. Seeing this, Braxton in the living room also shot and killed the dying Baker.
"Didn't you swear to God?" Finlay exclaid, startled.
"You're swearing more and more these days." Jack glanced at him sideways. "I swore to God I'd get him to the hospital, but I can't guarantee I'd get him there alive. I'll sign his body donation form later."
He then looked at Stevenson, who had a complicated expression beside him. "Sorry for making a ss of your kitchen, but I don't think you'll be staying here for long. Once this is over, get out of this town as soon as possible."
Stevenson nodded blankly. "We've already decided to move to my parents' house in Tupelo. The education there is better."
Jack watched them move the bodies, then took out his phone and called Reacher. Before he could speak, he heard good news from the other end.
"You really found Paul? That's great. It's nothing, just letting you know you don't need to go to the mayor's house. He's with the Kleiners right now. They're going to do a big deal today."
Jack hung up and called Ray King to tell him the situation had changed. The raid was now imminent and had to be carried out, otherwise, before dawn, all the evidence would be destroyed in a fire.
"Would you like to co with us?" Jack asked Stevenson, who was holding his wife, after putting his phone away.
The young small-town police officer gritted his teeth, glanced at his wife in his arms, and gripped his shotgun tightly.
"I'll go with you. I'm going to kill these sons of bitches."
Jack quickly waved his hand. "Don't get wrong, you don't need to risk your life. It's just that you and your wife need to co with us and be actors with the Hubble family."
This guy had such a big flag hanging over him, and he died a horrible death in the original series, so Jack wouldn't dare team him up. Bringing the couple along was just to make the kidnapping story more believable.
After briefly explaining their plan, Stevenson looked at his wife with concern, still sowhat hesitant. His wife grabbed his arm and readily agreed.
"Charlie's my cousin. It's so good that she and the children are alright. I've been calling her and Paul these past few days. You saved us; we can't just do nothing."
Are pregnant won's emotions really this volatile? Jack was a little confused. Just a mont ago she was pale with fright, and now, with the sll of blood still lingering in the room, she'd already mustered the courage?
Fortunately, this saved them so talking. After redistributing the vehicles, Jack continued driving his Firebird, this ti Finlay sat in the passenger seat, and the Stevensons got into the GMC the assassins had brought. The pickup truck full of corpses was handed over to Braxton.
The three vehicles headed towards the Kleiner family's ranch.
Zoe and Hannah were hiding behind a small hill, about a kiloter from the ranch's factory, but the distance shortened to nearly 300 ters after climbing to the top.
This was the closest Hannah could confidently use her Barrett M82A1M in the low light conditions of night.
To avoid detection, Zoe and Hannah waited by the roadside on the other side of the hill after surveying the terrain.
The two girls were still dressed in the sa black bodysuits as last night, but today they were wearing bulletproof vests.
Jack got out of the car and greeted the two, then was surprised to see Chris in a wheelchair and Dana pushing him.
"The one at the hospital is being protected by his female subordinate and girlfriend, and Ray King's n have arrived too. I can't just take a shot for nothing; I have to give sothing in return."
Chris lay with his knees on the ground, holding an HK417 sniper rifle fitted with a suppressor and scope. With a 20-inch barrel, the accuracy of this assault rifle was barely acceptable.
"Whatever makes you happy." Jack was speechless. Anyway, the hill wasn't high, and with Braxton there, plus himself, getting him up there wouldn't be much trouble.
"Really, you don't need to go? I feel like I'm in great shape lately." Old Hunter also put on his bulletproof vest, his Python revolver nimbly spinning on his finger before being holstered. Behind him, Dee Dee was protecting the Hubble family mother and her two daughters.
After Jack had persuaded the old man to give up the idea of returning to the battlefield, Reacher and Roscoe finally arrived with Paul.
It was still early, not yet midnight. While the Hubble family and Stevenson embraced and reunited, the rest of the group gathered around Jack's car to discuss specific tactics.
Worried that the information they got from Dawson might be wrong, Jack pulled Paul in as well, having him draw up the layout of the factory's interior while also listening in for corroboration.
"There are about 50 people inside, about a third of whom are workers. Although more than 30 South Arican rcenaries ca, we've already taken out ten of them yesterday and today."
"Including the Kleiner family's n, we have about 30 ard n to deal with, oh, and that includes an FBI agent."
Zoe added to what she and Hannah had just observed.
"Their security is quite tight today. I saw at least six groups patrolling outside the factory, two people per group, changing shifts every 20 minutes. Their weapons are mainly Uzi submachine guns and UMP45s."
Braxton was still using his rcenary mindset. "We can't get into close combat; the submachine gun firepower is too intense. Could we set a fire to drive them out?" His suggestion was imdiately rejected by Reacher.
"It's full of flammable materials inside. Those chemicals used to clean the ink could easily cause an explosion. If we burn all the evidence, the IRS will have a hard ti cleaning up the ss."
"We should try to engage at dium to long range, but we can't set a fire to force them out. The factory is too big, and we don't have enough smoke grenades."
Jack was also at a loss. The ranch was vast, and the surrounding area was deserted, so there was no need to worry about the noise of a battle. But dragging it out wasn't a good idea either, especially with an FBI agent inside. If it dragged on until dawn, who knows what kind of trouble might arise.
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