To be honest, Jack had become somewhat numb to biochemical attacks like smallpox, anthrax, or hemorrhagic fever.
He even suspected that the global pandemic from his previous life, which was still spreading around the world before he transmigrated—seemingly on its way to becoming the second common cold virus—never broke out because it had been stopped by some "protagonists" from who knows which TV show.
He admitted he had a bit of a troublemaker's streak, but compared to other American dramas—especially the NCIS series—he paled in comparison. Those guys were truly walking, talking Conan-type characters.
Sure enough, neither Callen nor Hanna showed a trace of fear on their faces, not even much expression at all.
Hanna accepted Jack's "greeting gift" and naturally handed half to Callen, then continued, "On our way here, we used some channels to trace Dracula Comescu's recent movements.
We discovered that he had been staying in Pennsylvania for the past three months and had contact with a vaccine research laboratory belonging to an old pharmaceutical company located in Montgomery."
"I thought only the main CDC lab in Atlanta and the Koltsovo biological research center in Russia still had smallpox virus samples." Though Jack said this out loud, he wasn't the least bit surprised.
Callen and Hanna exchanged a glance and simultaneously shrugged, then the bald Black man continued,
"Just a few months ago, a janitor cleaning a refrigerated cabinet in the vaccine research lab found 16 vials. Six of the vials were labeled 'smallpox,' while the remaining ten were labeled 'cowpox.'
Of course, this was discovered only after the CDC and your FBI got involved. The head of the lab tried to cover up the scandal by directly destroying the vials."
"Let me guess, Comescu got wind of it, bribed someone, and secretly swapped out the smallpox vials?" Danny spread his hands as he spoke.
"And only spent six thousand dollars," Hanna said, his expression complex and difficult to describe. "A thousand dollars per vial." His words left both Jack and Danny speechless. Mainly, it didn't feel quite polite to start swearing in front of new acquaintances.
It wasn't until the four of them walked to the car that Danny spoke up again. "Since you know Comescu and have special channels to track his movements, can you predict what he plans to do next?"
Callen stopped in front of the Suburban, thought for a moment, and replied, "Comescu is a businessman, not a terrorist. Everything he does is ultimately to make money, not to launch a terror attack.
I think everything he's doing in Hawaii is an effort to sell the smallpox virus as a biological weapon."
"I would've thought that someone named Dracula would be filthy rich. So this guy is risking a global biochemical disaster just to make a big profit?"
Danny looked at Callen, half-doubting, but the latter responded with a supremely confident expression. "Trust me, I'm very sure."
"Alright then, sounds like you know Comescu pretty well. Mind telling us the story? I heard there's even a personal vendetta involved?" Danny said, glancing at Jack, clearly giving away his source.
Callen lowered his head, thought for a moment, then summed it up succinctly, "Comescu tried to wipe out my entire family."
"What? Say that again?" Danny thought he misheard.
"Blood feud." Callen didn't even bother repeating the full sentence and boiled it down to two words, then looked at him seriously.
"Huh?!"
Seeing his "honorary uncle" frozen in shock, Jack timely placed a hand on his shoulder and made a gesture to the two NCIS agents, inviting them forward.
He had already mentioned there was a personal grudge, but he hadn't expected Danny to dig so deep. Now things were awkward.
Actually, while "blood feud" might sound a bit old-fashioned, it still carried weight in America. You had to have some history to even qualify to use the word "family," let alone prefix it with "blood" to define an unending vendetta between two powerful families.
Hasn't Romeo and Juliet been endlessly remade into various modern versions because of this?
Jack smoothly changed the subject. "We brought two cars. If you'd prefer to drive yourselves, you can take the Suburban for now."
Despite being a musclebound hulk, Hanna, the bald Black guy, had high EQ and IQ. Picking up on the shift, he quickly pointed at Danny's Camaro and said, "Nice car. I'd like to experience the passenger seat."
"OK, then I'll take Jack's car," Callen went with the flow and got into the passenger seat of the Suburban.
To Jack, Callen's face was more familiar. After all, Scent of a Woman was one of his favorite old movies in his previous life.
Though the actor originally only had a supporting role in that film, carried by Al Pacino, he later played Robin in two Batman movies.
And those two films happened to be the peak of the Batman series. The first was Batman Forever, where Jim Carrey played the villain "The Riddler."
The other was Batman & Robin, whose villain "Mr. Freeze" was played by Jack's favorite "Governor Arnie."
They drove in silence and soon returned to the Five-O base. Cheng Ho and Kono were already waiting. Everyone greeted each other warmly and introduced themselves.
Cheng Ho even tried to bond with Hanna. "Steve spoke very highly of you."
Hanna deliberately put on a "bitter" face about Steve McGarrett's absence. "Yeah, I regret he's missing out on this party."
"I don't know how Jack's steak skills measure up, but once this is all over, I'll make sure to treat my partner to a proper meal."
Danny clapped his hands to kick off the next briefing. He pointed to Kono first. "Ladies first. Kono, got any good news?"
"Of course. Our techs have confirmed the owners of the other three phones in the package. They belong to Paul Scully, Terrence Hale, and Luis Salazar. All of them are currently missing.
HPD and CDC have sealed off their residences. No signs of smallpox virus were found, and searches are ongoing. But guess what they found in the medicine cabinets?"
Clearly, progress in the investigation had lifted Kono's spirits—enough for her to throw in a bit of a riddle.
"That experimental antidepressant stuff, right?" Danny guessed immediately. After Kono confirmed it, he smugly rubbed his nose.
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