Jack initially thought finding their target would be challenging. After all, phone location tracking only gave a general area, and while the map showed a small circle near an intersection, it encompassed several stores and apartments. Searching every building would have taken considerable time.
However, luck was on their side. As soon as Jack sent the NYPD's plainclothes officers to fan out and search, and before he, Hannah, and Aubrey had even taken more than a few steps, they spotted their target.
Lorenzo Santos was standing outside a convenience store, speaking in hushed tones with a young man who couldn't have been older than 17 or 18. The younger man appeared to be Latino as well, tall and broad-shouldered, but with a sickly pallor and a faintly gaunt look.
"I knew bringing a rookie along always brings good luck," Jack said smugly. "It's the same principle as fishing—beginner's luck."
Aubrey, observing the two from a distance, noted their nervous glances and the way Lorenzo handed a package to the younger man. "They look like they're dealing drugs."
"I'll handle Lorenzo Santos with Aubrey. You take care of the kid," Hannah said, nudging Jack with her elbow.
"Okay, stay safe." Jack nodded. He understood that Hannah also wanted to observe Aubrey's skills, as they would likely be teammates in the future.
Jack quickly crossed the street, intending to flank them. However, before he could get into position, Hannah's voice came through his earpiece in a low but urgent tone. "They're about to split. Move now!"
Jack sped up, closing in on the young man, who was now briskly walking toward him. Jack unzipped his jacket to reveal the FBI logo on his bulletproof vest and flashed his badge.
"Hello, FBI. I just have a few questions—"
Before Jack could finish his sentence, the young man bolted, darting into a nearby alley. At the same time, Jack heard Hannah and Aubrey shouting warnings in the distance—Lorenzo Santos had made the same decision to flee.
If they were chasing Jackie Chan through a furniture store, Jack might have been more cautious about getting ambushed. But on flat ground, even if Usain Bolt were his target, Jack was confident enough to let him get a 50-meter head start and still catch him over a three-kilometer run.
The young man, however, didn't even have the stamina for that. After barely 200 meters, he was already wheezing, his pace slowing dramatically. Jack, growing impatient, picked up speed, caught up to him, and tripped him with a swift motion. The young man went flying.
Oddly enough, no "loot" was dropped. As the suspect lay on the ground groaning, unable to get up, Jack felt something was off. He placed his foot on the man's back to handcuff him, and a faint metallic tang hit his nostrils—blood.
"You're injured?" Jack asked, pulling the man to his feet and beginning a quick pat-down. He found no weapons, but in an inner pocket of the man's jacket was an envelope containing a stack of $100 bills, totaling about $2,000.
"That's my money!" The young man didn't answer Jack's question but began struggling fiercely as soon as he saw his cash in Jack's hands.
Jack's suspicions deepened. The smell of blood was growing stronger. He pulled the man upright and pinned him against the wall, lifting the hem of his shirt. There, crudely wrapped in gauze, was a wound on his lower back. The gauze was completely soaked through with fresh blood.
Carefully peeling back a corner of the gauze, Jack saw a newly stitched incision. The wound had begun to reopen, likely from the young man's earlier exertion, and blood was steadily oozing out.
"Didn't the doctor tell you not to engage in strenuous activity after surgery? I'll call you an ambulance."
Jack's casual remark caused the man to break down in tears. "No! Don't call an ambulance! That money is mine—I earned it myself!"
"Lorenzo Santos gave you this money, didn't he? Selling drugs isn't exactly a legitimate business. Be honest with me, and I might consider driving you to the hospital myself," Jack said, though even he felt a bit bad about the implicit threat.
The young man sobbed even harder. "It's not drugs... I sold my kidney!"
"What?" Jack blinked, a giant question mark practically floating over his head. Was this kid seriously talking about selling a kidney? He hadn't heard of any new iPhone launches recently. Besides, wasn't the old saying that you could just work a few shifts at a diner to afford one?
In the end, the ambulance came anyway. The young man's face had grown increasingly pale, and by the time they exited the alley, he was on the verge of passing out. Jack, in an uncharacteristically generous mood, told the paramedics to send the bill to the FBI and returned the money to the kid's jacket.
While selling his kidney for an iPhone had been Jack's first thought, the truth was far more grim. According to the young man, he had been coerced by a street gang. They'd convinced him to sell his kidney for $2,000, leaving him with no choice due to his desperate circumstances.
Jack called over two NYPD officers to accompany the young man to the hospital, then turned to the sheepish-looking Hannah and Aubrey, who were walking toward him.
"Lorenzo Santos didn't just slip through your fingers, did he?" Jack asked.
Hannah looked mildly embarrassed, but Aubrey's face was pale, and he kept his mouth firmly shut, as though afraid to speak.
Eventually, Hannah pointed toward a nearby intersection, where the sound of sirens was still blaring. "He ran across the street without looking and got hit by a semi-truck. I don't think I'll have an appetite for days... Can we switch to vegetarian dinners tonight?"
"How about Mapo tofu and scrambled eggs with tomatoes?" Jack shot them an exasperated look. "What happened to beginner's luck? This is what we get?"
"Shut up!" Hannah snapped before suddenly gagging. She dry-heaved audibly, and Jack figured her weight-loss plan was probably going to succeed now.
Before returning to the office, Jack's curiosity got the better of him, and he walked to the crash site. After seeing it, he felt a little bad for being so harsh earlier.
Lorenzo Santos had collided with a massive 18-wheeler, the kind with ten wheels even without a trailer. He hadn't stood a chance. The scene was so gruesome that city workers would need shovels to clean it up.
Back at the operations center, Hannah still looked a little pale, but Aubrey had bounced back quickly. He was already munching on a piece of cake with impressive composure. His strong stomach was earning him some respect, though Jack suspected it had something to do with the fact that Aubrey came from Bones, a show full of gruesome cases.
Jubal had covered the big screen with photos and documents. As soon as the three of them walked in, he launched into a summary of the latest findings.
"The kid who sold his kidney is named Pedro. We just received his statement from the hospital. He sold his right kidney yesterday. While he was blindfolded during the entire trip to the surgery location and couldn't provide an address, he identified the two doctors who performed the procedure: Lucas Caldwell and Terrence Nelson.
Their side hustle was illegal organ transplants. The motive for the kidnappings is now clear—last night, Terrence Nelson, who acted as the anesthesiologist, was severely injured in a car accident. Lucas Caldwell couldn't perform the next surgery alone, so the kidnappers abducted Nicole Wright as a replacement."
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