Police in America

"Wow, how does she do that?" Emily, who was watching Zoe's grand entrance with a group of admirers from afar, suddenly became excited, her eyes full of envy.

"What's the matter?" asked Jiejie, who was standing beside her, somewhat puzzled.

Emily grabbed her arm, her eyes filled with jealousy and admiration. 

"That's Zoe Anderson! She's 37 this year, and she dares to face the camera with just a bit of lipstick."

"Oh, really? You know her?" Jiejie pretended to be clueless. Back on that little island, Jack had briefed her on all his female friends.

"Come on, she's the female politician who has appeared on fashion magazines the most this year! Look at her, not a single crow's foot, and those apple cheeks—her expressions look so natural, without any signs of surgery."

While Emily, who was just a few years younger than Zoe, was fuming with envy, Zoe, along with Hondo and his superior Jessica Cortez, had already greeted each other and turned to face the panicked Ash Jones.

"Hello, Mr. Jones."

"Hello... respected Congresswoman. What brings you here?"

Ash Jones felt that something was terribly wrong, but he had to force a stiff smile in front of the media.

"I'm working on passing a bill that will compel private prisons to completely withdraw from California within five years."

Zoe's words left Ash Jones utterly shocked.

"In your prison, inmates are forced to work more than 10 hours a day, with only one day off per week, and they are frequently punished with the excuse of canceling their rest."

"And their pay?"

Zoe paused, taking the documents handed to her by Hannah, who was always by her side.

"Less than two cents an hour! Are you treating them as plantation slaves?"

The journalists behind Ash Jones were in an uproar. Although most of them weren't as righteous as they appeared, they knew how to position themselves in the right place at the right time.

"Mr. Jones, I heard that the guards working in your prison are hired without any training and are paid only—"

Tyler Kelly, a local news anchor from Channel 8, had accompanied Zoe to the event. She had recently gained fame for her exclusive coverage of a legendary plane crash, rivaling the fame of some top Hollywood stars.

As she moved the microphone closer to Ash Jones' mouth, the other reporters quickly woke up and crowded in.

"This is a prison, not a country club! The people in there deserve what they get!" 

As soon as Ash Jones blurted out these words, a stunned silence fell over the scene. The reporters held their breath, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

Everyone was waiting for more politically incorrect statements from this clearly unhinged man. While the Pulitzer Prize might be out of reach, tomorrow's headlines were a sure thing.

Realizing his slip-up, Ash Jones quickly shut his mouth, disappointing the crowd.

But Zoe had already achieved her goal. She tilted her head slightly, her long hair falling gracefully on her shoulders, and smiled charmingly.

"Mr. Jones, I hope when you're the one in prison, you can maintain that same attitude."

Zoe came and went quickly. Under everyone's gaze, she didn't even have time to chat with the BAU team, including Jack. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she got into her car and left.

However, Tyler Kelly stayed behind, seemingly busy with the ongoing interviews at the LAPD scene, while her eyes kept darting towards Jack and the others.

"What's up with that pretty news anchor? Is she also...?" Jiejie quietly asked Hannah.

"Hmph, she wishes! This one's mine to handle. Remember our agreement? You're only in charge of dealing with trouble when we're on a mission together."

Hannah, pouting in frustration, looked somewhat cute, but she didn't realize that her quiet scheming had been overheard by someone with heightened senses nearby.

Sure enough, the two girls had formed some kind of alliance in private. Jack could only shake his head helplessly.

Anyway, as long as they could get along peacefully, he was already thankful. He had no interest in courting more girls. After all, only children want everything—they know adults can't handle it.

After the brief scare, it took less than a week for the BAU team's armory to be completed at lightning speed.

First up were several Noveske N4 carbines using .300 BLK caliber rounds, the latest favorite of special forces.

This new AR-series rifle could use subsonic rounds paired with a suppressor for covert operations, or supersonic rounds for enough muzzle energy required in high-intensity combat.

Jack was quite impressed with this rifle. Having used the AR-15 during his time with the LAPD, he was quite comfortable with the AR series.

His only complaint was that as a patrol officer, he had only ever used the 5.56mm model, which was clearly insufficient in power when facing threats like the one in the supermarket incident.

The so-called .300 BLK round is actually a 7.62×35mm bullet, intentionally written as .300 BLK to avoid confusion with the 7.62×39mm caliber used by AK rifles.

Hotchner seemed to really like this rifle, spending several days at the shooting range with one. Perhaps Jack's earlier performance had sparked his competitive spirit, and he wanted to regain his old FBI SWAT skills.

The sniper rifle also arrived—a Barrett MK22-MOD0-ASR, accompanied by a bunch of caliber conversion kits and precision sniper rounds for each caliber.

This rifle was an extended version of the Barrett MRAD that Hannah had used in Chicago, or rather, an upgraded version. It could switch between 7.62×51mm rounds, .300 Lapua Magnum, and .338 Lapua Magnum rounds by changing the barrel and other components.

In theory, this modular next-generation sniper rifle could switch between seven calibers, but since this one came from the military, it only came with the three mentioned above.

So if Jack wanted to try other calibers, he'd have to order the corresponding barrels, magazines, and bolts from the manufacturer.

However, there was a problem—the effective range of this sniper rifle was 1,500 meters, but there wasn't a single qualified shooting range with such a long distance near Los Angeles.

Helpless, Jack turned his attention to the Wolf brothers' small farm.

After all, even a small farm could clear a 2-kilometer shooting range, and the brothers had chosen the location precisely for its remoteness, allowing them to freely play with their beloved big guns.

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