Know Your Enemy

After Jack goes back home. He tells Keith that he is not going to invite him up to his apartment. Keith says it's fine. He will wait in the car. Keith wants to take Jack out later. And Keith says he will go with him to the NYPD headquarter to quit his cop job.

Jack washes his face.

Of course he's not going to quit. This guy is crazy. And he keeps calling this other girl nuts.

Why does Keith want him to be the one to find this girl and kill her? What's her name again, Nitte? Does it ring any bell? And she works for Senator Eleanor Abbot? Jack is not interested in politics at all. He doesn't even know what senators are out there. He's only heard of Eleanor Abbot because she's in the news a lot. Also that other one, err...., Rick Powes? That guy is in the news a lot, too. But he doesn't know what these two politicians do.

Jack is sure his own apartment is not bugged. So he calls Bob.

"Hello?" Bob answers.

"Hello Bob, so, did you find anything yet?"

"No. Keith Hutchins has no criminal records, it seems like." Bob says.

"I think this guy is a former military guy. Green Beret. Military legal records are separate from our records. Do you think you can look that up?"

Jack doesn't really know how to look up military records, but he just knows Bob always has a way to find information.

"OK, I'll try. I'll let you know. So what does this Keith want?" Bob is always so calm.

"He wants me to kill a girl named Nitte. Don't ask me how to spell her name, I don't know how to. Keith says he wants her out of his way. Because Nitte is helping another politician that is in competition with his politician that he works for. And Keith doesn't like Nitte, keeps saying she's crazy and such. Even though I think he's pretty coo-coo himself."

"OK. Nitte. I'll look that up, too."

Jack starts to laugh, because he just remembers something:

"Geez. I've been dealing with a lot of former military guys."

"Oh, that's right. The guy that took hostage and threatened to blow up a house in Flushing is also an ex-military guy. The guy that made you famously suspended from your job." Bob laughs, "Hum..... I wonder if Keith and that guy know each other....?"

Jack gasps, "Shit. That's a good point, don't you think? Maybe Keith f*king knows that guy."

Bob laughs, "Good that you are making the connection. Just ask Keith then."

"I will. He is waiting for me outside of my apartment. He wants to take me out."

Bob laughs again, "Wow. Already friends, huh, maybe I should join you guys. I'm just kidding, I won't. But that's good. Get to know him." Bob then pauses, his voice now much serious:

"Remember, Sun Tzu says: Know yourself and know your the enemy."

Jack listens, and liking the quote.

Bob always quotes some ancient words for him, even though Bob is younger than him. Bob always acts a lot older than he looks.

Jack thinks every time Bob speaks in a serious tone, words always get registered in his head. That's why he wants to be Bob's friend. He doesn't care that Bob is younger. Bob is wiser than a lot of people Jack knows.

"OK. I'll talk to you later. I'll try to text you, Bob." Jack hangs up the phone.

*** ***

Bob is back at his home from work. Bob now turns to a glowing bottle on his desk. Bob is smiling. He then taps on that glowing bottle:

"Hello, wake up. Time to help me find out some information."

*** ***

On the other side of the city, Jack walks out of his apartment and walks over to Keith's car.

"So you'll give me a ride, I hope. You just told me my car is too easily recognized by anyone."

"Of course. Sure. I didn't expect you to drive. Hop on in." Keith makes a gesture to wave Jack in.

Jack gets in and immediately starts a conversation, "So you seem to know a lot about me already?"

Keith smiles, "Not really. I just knew what you did in the dark alleys a little bit-- You break felons and parolees arms, you teach them a lesson, you tell them to not ever repeat their crimes. I think it's cool. But I don't think that's worth your time. Those are really small crimes you are preventing. And then thanks to my powerful friends in the government, I get to use some technology to track you. That's all. I don't know all that much. Where are you from?"

Jack doesn't like that Keith now tries to learn more about him. Jack is the one trying to learn about Keith.

"I'm from around here, New York. How about you?"

"I'm kind of from New York, too." Keith taps on steering while. "Oh, I was going to ask you, do you only beat up awful people in New York? Because I might want you to help travel places else where."

Jack shakes his head, "Um, no, I don't do anything outside of New York."

"Well, you should." Keith smiles.

"So where are we going?" Jack asks.

"Let's go to a bar."

"On a Tuesday night?"

"Good Lord, Jack! You are not a child who needs to go to school tomorrow, are you?"

"No."

"Then come on."

As they are driving out of Manhattan, Keith starts to list things he wants Jack to do.

"Like I said, I'd like you to help find Nitte. Then, before you kill her, figure out what Nitte is up to. I suspect that she's not just working for Eleanor Abbot. I'll do this with you for a bit, but then I'll go back to be part of the security detail for Powes."

Keith speaks quite fast like he's just giving a command. Keith is such a stereotypical military man. Jack makes a noise to show that he hears it. But he's not agreeing to anything.

"You can also come along with me to Washington D.C. if you want." Keith adds.

"No thank you. I don't like to travel."

Keith continues, "If you prefer to hang around here, that's just boring. I'd like you to go out to the Midwest soon, since that's where my boss, Rick Powes, needs us. We need to secure the pipelines and oil wells. Especially the oil drilling rigs."

"Don't they have security there?"

"Well, this is a little tricky. Someone seems to have a plan to attack the pipeline that Rick Powes want to secure. I wonder if it's from Nitte's plan. Like I said, I think she's working for more people than just Senator Eleanor Abbot."

"Hmm," Jack is curious.

They take a long time to find a bar. Keith seems to have a specific bar he wants to go. Jack believes they are now actually in the neighboring state, New Jersey.

"So this is where I think Nitte likes to hang out around. Let's see if we can spot her here tonight." Keith says as they get off the car.

Jack thinks this is strange. If Keith knows where Nitte usually hangs out, then it's not that hard to find her. Then why can't he just find Nitte himself? Why does Keith want Jack to be involved in finding Nitte?