In a large tiered auditorium, Jimmy noticed a familiar face—Mahong from the Chicago office—who nodded at him as he approached. Then, Jimmy and Mahong stood next to the podium, silently waiting for others to enter.
Without a doubt, the attendees this time seemed extraordinary. Apart from a crowd dressed in black suits, there were also several military personnel, although Jimmy, not familiar with military ranks and branches, couldn't identify their departments.
When most of the audience had gathered, a makeshift emcee took the stage. Jimmy couldn't think why one would choose a Mediterranean old man as a full-time emcee without announcing his name and position, but he guessed the man was no minor character.
As the lead investigator of the case, Mahong was the first to take the stage. Clearly well-prepared, he gradually unfolded the case, projecting various evidence collected from the residences and other locations of the suspects killed by Jimmy, as well as testimonials from their families, friends, and neighbors.
In meticulous detail, only the presentation of relevant content took nearly an hour. Now Jimmy finally understood the full extent of what had happened.
When the FBI had previously disclosed the case, it was announced under the guise of antisocial elements trying to replicate 9/11. In reality, their motive was money. Yes, just money. The hijacking was planned and executed by three individuals: the hijacker who entered the cockpit, a passenger who fell into a comatose state from overdosing on drugs, and the person who alerted a flight attendant to the unconscious passenger.
Through a detailed investigation, all three suspects turned out to be cancer patients who had met in a support group. After enduring long periods of suffering from their illnesses and life pressures, they finally resorted to committing insurance fraud. Of course, to receive a larger settlement, they did not opt for a common traffic accident but instead targeted a wealthy airline and its insurance company.
The hijacker who entered the cockpit had prepared a composite ceramic knife in advance, attaching it to the back of a mobile phone. Although not very long, it was still sufficient to threaten the pilots.
The unfortunate flight attendant was completely well-intentioned but made a critical mistake. She was originally supposed to approach the cockpit alone but was persuaded by the hijacker to take him along, allowing him access to the cockpit.
How the pilot and flight attendant were to be penalized was a matter for the airline and the TSA. Eventually, it took the FBI two weeks to thoroughly untangle the case and bring it to a close.
After completing the case presentation, Mahong went on to describe Jimmy's response to the terrorist attack on the plane, including the ballistic analysis diagrams prepared by the Chicago office.
Jimmy did not share the presentation duty. He was merely a mascot and an actual participant, appearing on stage only during this segment to meet everyone.
Naturally, the loudest applause came when Jimmy took the stage. Mahong, using cabin blueprints from Boeing Company and ballistic analysis, explained Jimmy's optimal reactions under the emergency conditions, his quick deducing of the most probable connections to the cockpit, and the precise shooting in a slim window of opportunity, which utterly stunned everyone in the room with various simulated data projected on the screen.
After the presentations, everyone passing the podium shook hands with Jimmy, offering words of congratulations and thanks. Jimmy felt his face might cramp from smiling—are dozens of people, after all. This amount of handshaking and interaction not only made his hand hurt, but his mind went numb in the end; he couldn't recall who these people were.
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