As Jack had anticipated, this was indeed a minor traffic violation. While Officer Tony Sanchez followed standard procedures cautiously, his level of alertness wasn't particularly high.
The driver, a Latino man, showed no suspicious behavior and merely complained a bit in English with a slight accent before turning sideways to open the armrest compartment between the driver and passenger seats.
However, the unexpected happened at that very moment. Officer Tony Sanchez instinctively took a half-step back, shining his flashlight onto the face of a passenger in the back seat. In that instant, he seemed to recognize the passenger and immediately issued a warning.
"Hands up! Right now!"
But before he could make his next move, the driver raised his hand and fired a shot.
"Damn it, back up! Back up! That's… that's… I didn't see it wrong, did I?" Jubal turned to look at the others.
Jack looked baffled, as did Hannah and Aubrey, but several people in the operations center had already stood up, visibly agitated.
"Anthony Vargas, leader of the Durango Cartel, ranked 32nd on the FBI's Most Wanted List. He's also the prime suspect in the murder of an FBI agent seven years ago."
There was no need for Jubal to issue further instructions. Pictures of Vargas, his wanted notice, and the photo of the murdered FBI agent, Kyle Miller, all appeared on the big screen one after another.
"Notify Ms. Morge immediately," Jubal said in a low voice to an analyst nearby. He then turned back to the room and gestured to the screen.
"Everyone, especially those of you who are new or don't follow the news much," he began, his gaze briefly sweeping over the bewildered faces of Jack, Hannah, and Aubrey.
"Remember this face. Vargas is Bolivia's biggest cocaine dealer and a cold-blooded terrorist. He has a penchant for bombings and, like most cartel leaders we know, enjoys torturing his victims before killing them."
Jack didn't feel particularly embarrassed by the implied criticism. After all, he'd only been an FBI agent for a little over two years. It wasn't as if he spent his downtime combing through the FBI's multi-thousand-person wanted list. Only those with a lot of free time would do that, hoping for the slim chance of encountering a notorious fugitive and scoring a major career achievement.
Contrary to the public perception of the FBI's "Top Ten Most Wanted" list, the real wanted list is far longer. Essentially, anyone who has committed a serious federal crime—especially those involving murder, significant negative impact, or massive financial stakes—ends up on it.
The FBI ranks fugitives internally based on their threat level and difficulty of apprehension, recording this in the system. They also distribute alerts to local law enforcement based on the suspect's likely location.
However, the fugitives featured in media campaigns as the "Top Ten Most Wanted" aren't necessarily the actual top ten on the list. The FBI selects those they believe publicizing nationwide will help apprehend without inciting panic or emboldening the suspect.
It wasn't surprising, then, that Officer Tony Sanchez had instantly recognized Anthony Vargas. A photo of Vargas was likely pinned to the wall of the break room in Danny's detective office. Jack himself only remembered this after the fact.
"Someone spotted Vargas?" Dana Morge entered the operations center hurriedly, wearing a black evening gown and high heels. It was clear she had been pulled away from a formal event by a phone call.
"Yes, in the case of the recent assault on a police officer. He was in the back seat of the Lincoln sedan driven by the attacker," Jubal explained, gesturing to the screen.
"I thought this bastard was either hiding in Bolivia or laying low in Italy. I can't believe he'd sneak back to New York. Can we track the car?" Dana glanced at the busy technicians.
"Detective Reagan just sent over non-realtime surveillance footage from near the crime scene. Our techs are cross-referencing it with live traffic cams to locate the suspect vehicle. I've already alerted the SWAT team to stand by for deployment," Jubal replied.
"You three, prepare to move out. If we catch him, let this be the first big win for the 'Major Fugitives Task Force,'" Dana instructed, addressing Jack and his team. It seemed even Americans appreciated the idea of starting off on a strong note. A fugitive ranked 32nd on the list would be a major accomplishment.
"OK, Hannah, Aubrey, let's grab our gear," Jack said, turning to leave with his teammates. But their steps were interrupted by an excited shout.
"We may have something here!" A technician exclaimed, then conferred briefly with two colleagues. One of them projected the rear half of a car onto the big screen.
"Five minutes after the incident, an eagle-eye camera above an ATM less than five kilometers from the scene caught this black Lincoln sedan. We cross-referenced the plate—6KF-C481—with witness reports, and it matches."
"Can we track it in real time?" Jubal asked, stepping over to the group.
"No. The car vanished soon after, heading down a dead-end street about a mile long that ends in a cluster of commercial warehouses. We suspect that's their destination."
Without waiting for further prompting, Jack and his team turned to leave. Dana called after them, "Stay safe. Notify SWAT to bring the bomb squad—Vargas and his men have orchestrated multiple bombings in the past."
When the team arrived on-site, they were stunned to discover the warehouse cluster spanned over ten thousand square meters and included seven or eight medium to small warehouses.
Fortunately, drones were available for reconnaissance. Two small drones silently took off and quickly locked onto a target.
Guided by a SWAT commander, the team climbed onto a rooftop, where the commander pointed to a dilapidated two-story warehouse opposite them.
"We found the Lincoln. It's parked beside the central warehouse, but there's no sign of activity around it. Our techs are switching the drone's infrared lens to scan for heat signatures inside."
Hannah put on Jack's GPVNG18 quad-tube night vision goggles. "No need. I can already see four heat signatures moving inside."
Unlike the thick walls, glass did little to block infrared signals. Since it was nighttime, bringing the drones closer risked alerting the suspects.
"So, what are we waiting for? A warrant?" the SWAT officer quipped, eyeing the military-grade equipment enviously as he shrugged.
Jack checked his weapon. "No need. Let's move. This is an emergency, and we have sufficient evidence to suggest Vargas is inside."
Jack, Hannah, and Aubrey had swapped their sidearms for SIG Sauer P320-XTen pistols. But for today's operation, relying solely on handguns seemed inadequate for someone ranked 32nd on the most-wanted list.
Instead, each of them was now equipped with a 10.4-inch short-barreled HK416 rifle, complete with DBAL-A2 laser modules to pair with their night vision goggles.
(End of Chapter)
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