Seeing that the discussion was about to wrap up, Hodgner started assigning tasks.
"Reid and Emily, go with Dr. Kimura to the hospital and question the victims."
"Jack and JJ, stay back for a moment. General Whitworth is on his way. His people will take you to the crime scene—the park. The bioweapons team is already handling the situation there."
Dr. Kimura gave a final reminder, "My team is taking care of the patients. Remember to take the ciprofloxacin that was issued to you."
Reid and Emily followed Kimura out. Rossi, about to leave to meet someone, gave JJ a word of caution.
"That general might not be very friendly towards us. He won't give you a hard time, but when dealing with his subordinates, tread carefully."
"Is this because of the 2001 anthrax case? The one with Dr. Evans, who supposedly committed suicide?"
Strictly speaking, that case remains unresolved, a cold case of sorts. Any FBI agent who has studied at the academy has certainly reviewed the related materials, and JJ and Jack were no exceptions.
Jack had particularly strong memories of the case because just over two years after the attacks, the U.S. launched the Iraq War on the pretext of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction.
The war lasted seven years, and nothing was found, giving rise to the infamous "laundry detergent" meme and the quote, "When someone says you have weapons of mass destruction, you'd better really have them."
That high-tech war was indeed spectacular, though the later stages of the counterinsurgency were a mess.
Back in Jack's previous life, that period was also one of the darkest moments for his home country, with countless defeatists dominating the online discourse.
Returning to the matter at hand, in Jack's view, rather than believing the conspiracy theory that 9/11 was orchestrated by the U.S. government, the idea that the anthrax attacks were staged seems more plausible.
It took the FBI over eight years to tentatively identify a suspect, the Dr. Evans mentioned by JJ, yet they did not immediately arrest him.
Dr. Evans had served at Fort Detrick for 18 years, working on biological defense.
In late July 2008, the FBI issued a notice indicating that Bruce Edwards Evans was about to be arrested. A few days later, Dr. Evans committed suicide.
The FBI then released a statement declaring Dr. Evans as the sole perpetrator of the anthrax attacks, stating that his motive was to promote vaccine production, and the case was closed.
Jack was skeptical because, unlike most of Rossi's cases, which were meticulously detailed and clear in his notes, this case was marked by an overly "official" tone, with too many things left unsaid.
Given that knowing too much can sometimes be dangerous, Jack never sought to investigate the secrets of a certain "president's" wild ideas.
Thus, he never asked Rossi any questions about these overly "official" notes, and Rossi similarly never used these cases to test Jack's analytical skills. The two old foxes had a tacit understanding in this regard.
As JJ hurried off to meet someone, Jack took a moment to make a video call to Garcia, who seemed to be in a particularly relaxed mood today.
Because the higher-ups had assigned the BAU team full responsibility for this case, prioritizing the prevention of further attacks, Garcia, who was in charge of logistical support for the team, was nearly bursting with excitement during the call.
It was her first time "commanding" the OTD (Operational Technology Division) in Quantico and the CJISD (Criminal Justice Information Services Division) in West Virginia, and all the FBI labs under their jurisdiction.
Alright, "commanding" might be an exaggeration, but the ability to get immediate responses and fulfill any request without waiting certainly made her feel on cloud nine.
Fortunately, Garcia was still clear-headed. Despite her excitement, she expressed genuine concern and worry in her own way for her colleagues on the "front line."
"Garcia, when I get back, I'll create a special diet plan just for you. You've been consuming way too much sugar lately."
Jack frowned as he looked at the pile of junk food wrappers on Garcia's desk in the video. He hadn't been gone long, and she had already let herself go like this.
Is this how she copes with worry—by gorging on sweets and snacks?
"Ah!" Garcia quickly tilted the camera up, guiltily waving her chubby arms to clear the junk off her desk, then hurriedly typed something on her keyboard.
"This is the list of victims. The background checks are all complete—they're all ordinary people."
"Anyone who could potentially benefit from this attack needs to be investigated, including those who hold patents on anthrax vaccines."
Rossi leaned into the frame, addressing Garcia.
Hodgner added, "Also, check everyone in university bio labs, apart from Fort Detrick, who might have access to weaponized anthrax spores and those involved in biochemical weapons research."
"And those responsible for the storage of pathogens."
Garcia dutifully noted everything down, double-checked it, and then ended the call.
"Any word from the CIA?" Rossi turned to ask Hodgner, who nodded.
"They mentioned that some overseas terrorist organizations might have the funds and capability to carry this out. They'll handle the international aspect; we focus on domestic."
At that moment, JJ entered the conference room with a short, stocky man in a military uniform, bearing the rank of lieutenant general.
"Right this way, General."
"Thank you, Agent Jareau." The short, stocky man thanked her politely, but when he faced Hodgner and Rossi, his expression immediately changed.
They exchanged brief greetings, followed by a barrage of sharp, barbed comments.
General Whitworth spoke in a straightforward military manner. Just from his expression, it was clear he was there under orders and wasn't happy about it.
"My scientists are decoding the pathogen, but it's clear that our lab didn't have the additive used to enhance the bacterial capsule."
"Have other labs used that additive?" Hodgner asked, maintaining his composure, not showing any special courtesy despite the general's rank.
"No." The general shook his head firmly.
"I need a list of everyone involved in your anthrax research project," Hodgner continued.
"As I said, we don't use that technology," the general replied, his round, chubby face instantly turning grim.
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