Chapter 933 The fate of idealists
Everyone went home, and Jack arranged for Reacher to stay upstairs in the office of the wanted criminal team, and the room was opposite him.
"This place is very secret and safe. The outside world has always regarded it as an insurance office." There are not many things in the guest room, but it is usually cleaned and can be checked in at any time.
Reacher took out his only luggage, a toothbrush, from his pocket and placed it on the sink in the bathroom, with a slightly confused expression.
"You are still engaged in intelligence work? Why are you so cautious?"
"No, just think of it as my quirk." Jack roughly talked about his house that was bombed into the sky, and then explained his set of security concepts about the importance of protecting the people around him.
"Whether it is drug lords or terrorists, I don't hesitate to speculate their behavior with the greatest malice. Even the industrial zone in Margrave Town has now set up a factory protection team just to prevent those South American drug dealers from making a comeback."
Reacher subconsciously opened his mouth when he heard a familiar place, but didn't know how to respond.
"You haven't been back to see her, have you? Roscoe is still single now." Jack teased, taking out two bottles of beer from the refrigerator, which were Clay and Jubal's stock.
Reacher took the beer and chose to remain silent. Jack smiled and didn't continue the topic. The big guy's personality was actually quite awkward. He was obviously a man of loyalty and righteousness, but he chose to wander around the world alone.
"Who died in the car accident?" After a long silence, Reacher suddenly asked.
"It should be the oldest one among you, Larry, who died in a car accident in Montana two years ago. Did the army really hurt you so badly that you completely cut off contact with your former colleagues in the army?" Jack asked curiously.
"Of course not, I just hate the army's rules and regulations and want to enjoy a completely free journey, but I didn't expect them to not notify me." Reacher directly unscrewed the bottle cap with his hand and poured himself a sip of ice beer.
"Without an address or a phone number, do you think everyone is as good at finding people as our FBI?" Jack's tone was slightly sarcastic.
"Do you know if there are any gangs nearby? I need a gun." Reacher took the initiative to change the subject.
"I don't think you plan to spend money to get an unnumbered pistol." Jack curled his lips and waved him to follow him.
The two came to the garage downstairs. A part of it was converted by Jack into a small indoor shooting range, and it was also the "arsenal" of the wanted criminal team.
"These guns are not numbered, and the ballistic data does not exist in any database. You can use them with confidence." Jack stuffed a brand new Glock 20, two spare magazines and a box of 10mm AUTO bullets to Reacher.
"I like this gun." Reacher grinned, picked up the gun and checked it briefly, raised his hand and shot at the target in the distance, hitting the bull's eye.
Guessing that he would do this, Jack hurriedly put on the noise-isolating earmuffs while handing him the gun, and shook his head speechlessly at this scene.
After Reacher put the gun in his waist with satisfaction, the two returned to the first floor. Jack opened the back door, and each of them sat on the rocking chair under the porch with a bottle of beer and a cigar, and began to stare at the small vegetable garden behind.
After a long while, Jack broke the silence, "It seems that you still enjoy your life now."
"Free enough, it's good. I don't need to work now, and I don't need to deal with my superiors. You know, those companies are no different from the army. It's like putting people in cages." Reacher's expression was indifferent.
Jack shrugged, "It seems that each of us has a different definition of freedom. I think I am quite free now.
It's been several years. I'm surprised that you haven't gotten tired of this hobo life. You should have traveled all over the country, right? It's a pity that Greyhound Bus doesn't have the mileage accumulation business like airlines."
Reacher smiled, "Arkansas is my last stop in the southern states. If you hadn't come to find me, I might have jumped on the train to the north by now."
"You have also been a 'Bos'?" Jack was a little surprised. He learned this term from a railway policeman (Chapter 416).
"Yes, it was very frequent for a while, until one day a freight train I was riding accidentally derailed, and I gradually gave up this unsafe way of travel and switched to hitchhiking and continuing to take Greyhound buses." Speaking of this, Reacher's face was still a little lucky.
"It sounds more unsafe." Jack muttered, "I mean, for those drivers, aren't they afraid of you, a big guy?"
"In fact, sometimes they are quite interesting, and even share food with me." Reacher grinned.
"You're lucky." Jack said with a sly smile. There are too many Americans with unique tastes nowadays. It's not only beautiful girls who hitchhike that are in danger.
But this guy has reached the highest level of "poor travel". Most people can't live so freely.
Jack also talked about his experience in the past two years, the various cases he has taken over, some of which are happy to repay the favor, which make people feel very relieved, and some are tragedies that make people uncomfortable and unhappy.
While he was talking, he observed the expression of the big guy. Although Reacher just listened quietly most of the time, he could occasionally catch a trace of yearning and longing from his eyes, but it disappeared quickly, making people suspect that it seemed to be just an illusion.
Jack had a flash of inspiration and a smile on his face, "If you travel all over the country one day, are you interested in visiting other countries?"
Reicher raised his eyebrows, as if he was very interested in his proposal, "What do you want to say?"
"For example, the University of North Carolina, Mexico in the south, or the American countries further south, and in the future, Europe, Africa and even Asia."
Reicher looked at him suspiciously, "What do you want me to do for you?"
"Just buy some small industries, such as buying a small house in a big city in some countries, hiring people to maintain it regularly, which won't waste too much of your time. Later, it will be managed by several companies. You only need to be responsible for some of the preliminary work."
This is what Jack planned to ask Anna to do before, but based on the principle that eggs should not be put in one basket, he planned to give this matter to different people.
"I hate wearing a suit and dressing up as a business person to deal with people."
Reicher's words surprised and delighted Jack that the big guy didn't refuse at the first time.
"You just need to wave checks and sign contracts. You don't need to wear a suit. I need to build some safe houses for emergencies, just like this one, so that my friends and I can have a place to sleep peacefully when we are on a mission.
And you don't need to report to me all the time. You can go wherever you want. Just call me when you pass by some big cities."
"If I want to go abroad one day, I will consider your suggestion." Reacher didn't say it firmly.
"OK, tell me when you think about it. I know you advocate a minimalist life, but there is no need to really treat yourself as a homeless person. At least when you can't find a motel, you can also consider an ordinary hotel instead of sleeping on an unattended boat at the dock."
Jack really admires the big guy. Such a "free" life usually only appears in the works of novelists. It sounds romantic, but only those who have lived it know.
The two who haven't seen each other for a long time chatted until late at night. Jack also asked about the reasons and consequences of the dissolution of the 110 Special Investigation Team.
It's a cliché story. They investigated a case in which someone in the military used a transport plane to smuggle drugs into the country. The special investigators found out by calculating the fuel consumption of the transport plane and found that someone had hidden the drugs in the spare tire of the Hummer.
Just when they were about to close the net, they encountered obstruction from the upper level. A colonel who was about to be promoted to general and transferred to a Korean base to enjoy life did not want the case to involve too many people, so he directly ordered Reacher to close the case to cover up the scandal.
Reacher and his subordinates chose to disobey orders, and the result was that the case was solved, the scandal was reported in the newspaper, and the 110 Special Investigation Team was disbanded on the spot for disobeying the orders of the superiors, and everyone including Reacher was forced to retire.
"How did you find such a group of idealists for yourself in this era?" Jack was a little curious.
"I personally selected and trained them." When mentioning his old subordinates, Reacher's expression was a bit rich, the most of which was guilt, but no regret.