After a few more questions for Marlo Burns, everyone couldn't help but sigh at the cruel twists of fate.
Due to limited access, even Shane Langston, the Head of Security and mastermind behind the illicit arms deal, had no idea that the missiles themselves were defective. That's why he went to such lengths to stage this elaborate "inside job."
He fabricated "faulty" chips, intercepted working ones bit by bit over more than six months from regular production runs, bribed personnel at the Denver missile plant to install a GPS tracker on the transport truck, and arranged for AM's people to hijack the shipment mid-route.
It was a carefully crafted operation—one that would have gone off without a hitch, if not for Tony Swann, a diligent former Army CID investigator, who just so happened to have a team of capable ex-teammates.
AM—the one man who could not be exposed—was identified by Calvin Franz, Sanchez, and Orozco through their investigation.
But lacking official protection as civilians after discharge, they were easy targets. Langston, a former NYPD commander with plenty of pull in New York, eliminated them effortlessly.
Jack still didn't know what mistake Swann had made that tipped off Langston, but clearly, at first, he had treated it like a run-of-the-mill case of corporate espionage.
That much could be inferred from their recent findings—Franz encrypted the investigation files simply out of professional habit.
Sanchez and Orozco were equally unaware of the danger until, through connections, they learned AM's identity from DHS. That was when the alarm bells started ringing.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. Before they could alert anyone else, Langston's hired killers had found them.
Negley—whether by bad luck or sheer good fortune—had missed Franz's final email because she'd been out on assignment. With her quick instincts, she might've survived and brought Reacher into the loop early. Maybe then the others could have been saved.
But that kind of what-if was pointless now. Hearing how many had already died because of this, Marlo Burns was truly shaken.
"So Swann isn't missing… He's probably already—"
"Hard to say," O'Donnell interrupted. "We found his digital signature on the hijacked missile shipment's delivery order. It's possible Langston is keeping him alive somewhere to pin everything on him later."
O'Donnell, ever the emotional and hopeful one among the special investigators, still clung to that possibility.
"Let's hope so. Langston's been a cop for over thirty years. He's methodical—always ties up loose ends. Right after Swann went missing, he called me into his office, put that bag of money on the table, and threatened me to cover up what Swann had uncovered.
I didn't dare refuse. Otherwise, I'd be 'disappeared' too," Marlo said, arms crossed, clearly still shaken.
"How complicated is it to install the chip running the 'Little Wings' program into the missile?" Reacher, who had been quiet and deep in thought, suddenly spoke up.
"For someone with no knowledge, it'd take an engineer to demonstrate a few times, but the process itself isn't complicated. A regular person could do it," Marlo replied, puzzled by the question.
Jack already knew what Reacher was thinking. "Do you know which engineer was working with Langston?"
The stolen missiles were still missing. DHS and the FBI had traced them to a small airport, but the trail ended there. The entire container was likely loaded onto a small private plane.
With the density and busyness of small airports around New York, following up would take time—something they might not have.
According to DHS's timeline, AM should be arriving in New York any time now—if he wasn't here already. For all they knew, the missiles were already in his hands, just waiting for the chips before being shipped overseas.
And this was New York Harbor—one of the busiest in the world, handling nearly ten million containers a year. Finding one specific shipment without any leads would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
If they could identify the engineer, they might learn when and where the handoff would take place. After all, bearer bonds required face-to-face exchange, and installing the chips and training the buyers would be part of the deal too.
Unfortunately, Marlo's answer was a letdown. "I don't know. There were more than twenty engineers involved. Swann didn't have time to find out who was working with Langston."
That left them with only two options:
Either the FBI and DHS could strike tonight and raid New Era Tech's headquarters.
Or they could wait and continue surveillance, hoping to catch Langston and AM during the transaction.
Neither option was ideal. If they only caught Langston and his crew, it would likely alert AM, who would flee with the 650 missiles.
The missiles lacked chips—but that was just software. Hardware-wise, they were still dangerous.
Sure, the effective range was short and the warheads small—for aerial targets. But no rule said man-portable anti-air missiles had to be used against aircraft.
If modified into rockets and sold on the international black market—or worse, leaked within the U.S.—even a minor incident would land all the blame on them. And they were talking about 650 units.
And Reacher definitely wouldn't be happy about turning this over to DHS or the FBI. He wasn't bluffing when he told his brother he'd kill every last one of Langston's crew to avenge his friends.
As for surveillance… well, Danny's awkward expression said it all. NYPD had taken that job, but Langston, sly old fox that he was, hadn't left New Era HQ in days.
After the earlier break-in attempt, New Era had seriously ramped up security. Neither NYPD plainclothes nor FBI agents could get inside easily.
While everyone was stuck for ideas, Jack kept glancing between Marlo Burns—still softly sobbing—and Reacher.
"Maybe we can…" The two locked eyes and spoke at once. Jack gestured for the big guy to go ahead.
Reacher paused, then said, "Ms. Burns, if Langston is as cautious as you say—someone who always eliminates loose ends—then I need you to call him."
——
"Marlo? Where've you been these past few days? I've been so worried about you," came Langston's old, raspy voice on the other end of the line.
"I had to leave town for a bit," Marlo said, her tone laced with the nervousness Jack had scripted for her. "A very strong man showed up with some people asking about Swann. After that, I realized someone was following me.
Two nights ago, they broke into my home—threatened me and my daughter."
"What did you tell them?" Langston's tone sharpened.
Jack scribbled a few words on a notepad. Marlo glanced down, gave a slight nod, and continued, "I made up a bunch of stuff. But they knew about the 'Little Wings' project. I'm afraid they'll realize the truth and come after me again."
Langston tried to sound reassuring. "Remember what I told you from the start? If you do what I say, you'll make a lot of money—and I'll make sure you and your daughter are safe.
I'm a man of my word. So where are you? I'll come pick you up myself."
______
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