"Uh-oh, three names, one address—they live together." Garcia let out an excited cheer.
"Are there any others at that address?" Jack asked.
"Nope, just those three. Go get 'em, knight. Show them what you've got."
"At your service, my lady."
After hanging up the phone, Jack looked at Boyd. Their job was done; now it was up to the Chicago police.
"Don't look at me like that. All the city's cops are busy dealing with the rioters. I've only got a few guys available. Anyone here want to lend a hand?"
Now that the suspects were identified, Boyd was in a great mood and jokingly extended an invitation. With the skilled officers he had, capturing three identified suspects wouldn't require FBI assistance.
Perhaps because he was used to it, or maybe because Boyd's smile seemed particularly "genuine" this time, Jack felt that his weathered face didn't look quite as menacing as before.
"Just buy us another drink," Rossi said, glancing at Hotchner. For once, he made a decision on his behalf in front of others.
This case had frustrated everyone. The killer's brazen behavior, the brutal methods, all while managing to stay hidden right in front of them.
The most embarrassing part was that this outcome wasn't something the killer had intentionally engineered; it had simply fallen into their mental blind spot.
If John hadn't called Jack, by tomorrow, there might have been several more victims beaten beyond recognition in the area.
So, there was no way Hotchner would refuse Boyd's invitation. His hesitation had a reason, just as he explained to Boyd at that moment.
"What do you think someone like them would do once they realize they're surrounded?"
This analysis didn't require any advanced knowledge of criminal psychology or sociology. Boyd had seen every type of criminal.
"They'd probably use the police to end their lives. They're not gang members, and prison would be hell for them. Even if they stick together, they're no match for the prison gangs."
"Especially in a maximum-security prison, where there are no weaklings to prey on. On the contrary, they're likely to become the targets."
"So, I hesitated earlier because I don't want my team to become tools for their suicide." Hotchner candidly explained his thoughts.
Driving, Jack quietly smirked. He didn't mind, although it was indeed frustrating.
"You want them alive?" Boyd's expression soured. He wasn't the type of commander to gamble with his subordinates' lives.
In law enforcement across the nation, emptying a magazine wasn't about brutality; it was about protecting their lives.
"No, just like Shakespeare wrote in *Romeo and Juliet*, Act 2, Scene 6, 'These violent delights have violent ends.'"
Hotchner's sudden literary reference made Jack awkwardly clear his throat. He wasn't into Shakespeare. Whether it was Western opera or the Chinese opera of his homeland, he couldn't appreciate such "highbrow" art.
But he had heard that quote before—in the sci-fi series *Westworld*, it was the line the rancher said to Dolores.
The FBI's Suburban stopped two blocks away from the suspects' residence, where Boyd's team, fully armed, was waiting.
"An emergency search warrant from the judge," Erin Lindsay handed Boyd a piece of paper.
There were a couple of new members in the on-site intelligence team. One was a baby-faced young man with a bit of Jack's good looks, named Jay Halstead, a detective. The other was a huge Black guy, as tall as Jack but at least twice as broad, with a somewhat innocent face. He was a patrol officer named Kevin Atwater.
Everyone was dressed in plain clothes, with bulletproof vests and plates, long guns, and sidearms fully equipped. After brief introductions, Jack opened the Suburban's trunk.
The BAU team also suited up, though only Hotchner and Emily took long guns.
"Need to borrow a couple of spare guns? We're up against some seriously dangerous people," Boyd's teasing gaze swept over the remaining FBI members.
"No need. Usually, it's just me who has to get physical; they do the thinking," Jack said as he opened the bottom gun case. To everyone's surprise, he pulled out a Barrett MK22 sniper rifle.
After attaching the suppressor, the full form of this powerful weapon was revealed.
"Can I touch it?" Jay Halstead, a former soldier, instinctively reached out, but quickly pulled back under Boyd's stern glare.
Ten minutes later, a slightly run-down bungalow was surrounded, and a drone circled the area.
"Looks like there are only three people inside, all standing by the windows. They're holding... crowbars and a nail gun?" Jay Halstead pointed at the screen.
One of the side windows hadn't had its curtains drawn, and the drone captured everything clearly.
Jack reluctantly packed up the Barrett MK22, handing it over to JJ.
He'd hoped for a chance to break in his new rifle, but it seemed there wouldn't be any action. On the bright side, they'd get to capture them alive, which was something. At least those scum wouldn't get what they wanted.
The rest was uneventful. A few tear gas canisters were tossed into the windows, and the three suspects were quickly driven out of the house. The 21st District intelligence team members and Jack rushed them.
Beanbag rounds, tasers, and rubber batons all came into play, leaving the three suspects utterly incapacitated. Jack was particularly brutal, smashing a baton into one suspect's knee and stomping the arm of the most resistant one into three pieces.
The rest of the BAU team then entered the house for a brief search and found they didn't even need to interrogate the suspects.
These guys had filmed their entire crime spree on their phones, saved the video files on a computer, and even set them to heavy metal music for repeated viewing.
Unfortunately, Illinois, where Chicago is located, had long since abolished the death penalty, and this case didn't involve federal charges. Lifetime imprisonment without parole was likely the final sentence for the trio.
But all of this no longer concerned Jack. The BAU handled cases involving the most heinous criminals, but he couldn't just go around executing every one of them.
He had to respect the system and reality. The country was what it was, and Jack couldn't change that. Besides, with Boyd's "influence," these criminals usually didn't meet a pleasant end.
At the very least, with Boyd's methods, he could ensure these three ended up in a particularly "comfortable" prison.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [www.p@treon.com/Mutter]
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]