Chapter 962: Lure the snake out of its hole (Part 1)

Everyone asked Marlo Burns a few more questions, and in the end they couldn't help but sigh that fate was playing tricks on people.

Due to insufficient authority, even Shane Langston, the security director who planned this private arms deal, did not know that there was something wrong with the batch of missiles, so he carefully designed such a drama of self-defense and self-stealing.

Deliberately manufacturing fake "problem" chips, intercepting enough chips from the normal production process little by little over half a year, and bribed people at the Denver missile manufacturing plant to install GPS positioning on the transport truck, and then let "AM" The human half-way intercepts the missile entity.

This series of arrangements is not without subtlety, but they meet Tony Swann, a dedicated former Army Military Police special investigator, and he also has a group of outstanding former teammates.

"AM", the middleman who must not be exposed, was actually investigated by Calvin Franz, Sanchez and Orozco.

But because they lacked the protection of their official status after being discharged from the army, they were easily silenced by Langston, a former "superintendent" who was quite powerful in New York.

Jack didn't know what mistake Tony Swan made and Langston discovered the flaw, but it was obvious that he initially investigated the matter as an ordinary industrial espionage case.

This can be judged from their recent investigations. Franz encrypted and saved the investigation data purely out of professional habit.

Sanchez and Orozco were also unaware of the risks until they learned the identity of the middleman "AM" through DHS through their connections.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Before they could alert others, the professional killers sent by Langston came to the door.

Nigli didn't know whether it was good luck or bad luck. She happened to miss Franz's email because she was working on the case. Otherwise, she might have been able to escape with her cleverness, allowing Reacher to intervene in advance. In that case, perhaps There was still time to save a few people.

Of course, it is completely meaningless to make this assumption now. Marlo Burns was really frightened to hear that so many people had died because of this matter.

"So Swann is not missing, he is probably gone"

"It's hard to say, but we found that the manifest of the hijacked missiles had his electronic signature. Maybe Langston locked him up somewhere so that he could come out and take the blame."

O'Donnell, the old man, is the most emotional and optimistic of the remaining special investigators.

"I hope so. Langston has been a police officer for more than 30 years. He is very cautious and never leaves anything behind. Shortly after Swann disappeared, he called me to his office and placed the file on the table. bag of money, threatening me to help cover up what Swann revealed.

I dare not accept the money, otherwise I will also become a missing person. "Marlo Burns crossed her arms, looking frightened.

"How complicated is the operation of installing the chip with the 'Little Wings' program into the missile?" Lei Che, who had been silent for a long time, as if he was wandering in a world, retracted his thoughts and asked thoughtfully.

"For people who don't know anything about it, engineers need to demonstrate it several times, but there are no complicated operations and ordinary people can complete it." Marlo Burns looked a little confused and didn't understand why he asked this.

Jack had already guessed where Reacher wanted to start, "Then do you know the identity of the engineer who colluded with Langston?"

The whereabouts of the missing anti-aircraft missiles are still unknown. DHS and the FBI traced the clues to a small airport and concluded that the entire container was loaded onto a small private jet.

However, given the density and busyness of small airports around New York, further tracing will take a lot of time.

But how much time do they have? According to the whereabouts of "AM" previously investigated by DHS, calculating the travel time, he should have arrived in New York. Maybe the missiles have already fallen into his hands at this moment, and they will be sent directly overseas just waiting for the chips to be in place.

You must know that the Port of New York is one of the largest seaports in the world, with an annual container throughput of nearly 10 million. You can imagine how difficult it is to accurately intercept one of such huge amounts of container cargo without any clues.

If the identity of the engineer can be confirmed, he can know the time and place of the transaction between the two parties. As the saying goes, the bearer bonds must be traded face-to-face, and the same goes for instructions on chip installation and how to use those anti-aircraft missiles. .

Unfortunately, Marlo Burns' answer disappointed everyone, "I don't know, there are more than twenty engineers involved, and Swann didn't have time to find out who was colluding with Langston."

As a result, it seems that there are only two options left for our own side, or we can simply let the FBI and DHS take action directly and raid the "New Era Technology" headquarters tonight.

Or continue to wait, closely monitor the movements of Langston and his men, and catch them while they are dealing with "AM".

The problem is that neither option is very good. Simply capturing Langston's group may alert "AM", causing him to escape with the 650 missiles in his hand.

Although these missiles do not have chips, it is just software after all, and there is no big problem with the hardware itself.

The effective range is too short and the warhead power is too small. It is aimed at the target aircraft. No one stipulates that portable air defense missiles can only attack air targets.

If these missiles are modified and used as rockets and appear in the international arms market, or even simply dispersed in the United States, any damage caused will be counted on everyone. You must know that there are a full 650 missiles.

And if it is left to the FBI and DHS, Reacher will definitely not be happy about it. The harsh words the big guy said in front of his brother were not just words. He really intends to kill Langston and his gang. To avenge his friends.

As for surveillance and tracking, you can tell by looking at Danny's embarrassed face at this time. The NYPD had taken over this job before, but the cunning Langston had been hiding in the "New Era Technology" headquarters and never showed up.

After being forcibly broken in by someone, the security intensity of "New Era Technology" has been increased more than a little. Neither the NYPD's plainclothes police nor the FBI's undercover agents can easily sneak into it.

Just when everyone was at their wits' end, Jack's eyes kept wandering between Marlo Burns, who was still sobbing, and Reacher.

"Maybe we can." The two people's eyes met and they spoke almost at the same time. Jack made a please gesture, indicating to the big man to continue.

Reacher paused and spoke again, "Ms. Burns, since Langston acts cautiously and never leaves any trouble, then I need your help to call him."

——

"Marlo? Where have you been these days? I've been worried about you." Langston's old and hoarse voice came from the other side of the phone.

"I had to go out of town for a few days, and a particularly strong man led someone to find me a few days ago and asked me about Swann. After that, I found out that I was being followed.

They even broke into my house the night before and threatened me and my daughter. "Marlo Burns said the lines that Jack had prepared for her in a somewhat panicked tone.

"What did you tell them?" Langston's voice raised slightly.

Jack wrote a few words on the paper. Marlo Burns nodded slightly to show understanding, and continued to talk to the phone, "I told a lot of nonsense, but they know about the 'Little Wings' project, and I'm worried about them." Sooner or later something is wrong and it comes back to me."

Langston pretended to be relaxed on the other side of the phone and said, "Remember what I told you when I first came to you? As long as you do what I say, you will make a lot of money, and I will ensure the safety of you and your daughter.

I'm a man and I keep my word, so where are you? I will come to pick you up myself. "