Chapter 127: Status Upgrade  

That afternoon, in the dimly lit small cell, Steve Owen sat on the floor, watching the sunlight stream in through the high-set small window, casting a patch of light on the ground. 

The sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside. Owen stood up. Sure enough, the footsteps stopped outside his cell, and then the door was opened. 

"Steve Owen, you can come out now." 

A soldier stood at the door and gestured to Owen. Owen obediently got up and followed the soldier out. 

Just a few minutes earlier, Monica had also been taken away. Owen knew that the military must have verified their identities. Sure enough, now it was his turn. 

The soldier led Owen to a room and signaled for him to enter. 

Pushing the door open, Owen saw Jack Bauer sitting in the guest seat. Jack closed the folder in front of him and stood up, shaking hands with a military officer beside him. "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Luther." 

The officer, Lieutenant Colonel Luther, nodded. Owen followed Jack out of the room. 

"How's the situation outside?" 

Before they even left the military base, Owen couldn't help but ask. 

"Not good." 

Jack led Owen to a military jeep, started the engine, and continued, "Since you brought Alex to the base, those guys have vanished. NSA helped us confirm the identities of the last batch of people—they're Montell family private forces, loyal only to the Montell family. But we've lost their trail. Someone must be helping them..." 

Owen hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Jack, there's a mole in CTU." 

"I know." 

Jack drove out of the military base. "Chloe told me. We've come up with a plan to flush them out, but so far, we haven't found anything..." 

"Just you and Chloe?" 

"Yes." 

Owen was somewhat relieved. At least Jack Bauer was professional in this regard. He didn't trust Nina just because of their close relationship. The plan's details were known only to Jack and Chloe—everyone else was a suspect. 

Owen himself wasn't entirely sure if the mole was Nina, but he knew that sooner or later, she would betray CTU, so he always remained cautious around her. 

"What about Alex? What's the FBI going to do with him?" 

"The FBI has already coordinated with the military. Soon, the military will send 200 soldiers to escort Alex to federal prison. These soldiers will temporarily be stationed at the prison until his trial to ensure security." 

Owen nodded, knowing that Alex was done for. 

No mercenary could take on 200 regular soldiers on U.S. soil. Unless he had high-level connections, Alex was likely never getting out of there. 

Outside the base, their Humvee was still parked alone, looking battered and riddled with bullet holes. 

The situation had been critical at the time. After failing to heed warnings, the soldiers opened fire immediately from multiple points, using not just assault rifles but also machine guns from the walls. 

If the Humvee hadn't been bulletproof, they wouldn't have even made it to the gate—they would've been gunned down on the spot. Trespassing into a military base? The soldiers wouldn't have given them a chance to explain. 

No wonder Bryan had insisted they go during the day. If they had tried at night, the soldiers might have deployed heavy weaponry, and their vehicle would've been blown to pieces before reaching the gate. 

Owen exhaled in relief. Looking at the wrecked Humvee, he saw that several bulletproof windows had shattered. If the U.S. military hadn't halted fire when they did, all three of them inside would've been dead. 

The vehicle drove all the way back to CTU. Jack had previously suggested ending Owen's training early, but Owen had stubbornly insisted on finishing it, even disobeying orders. Now that Alex had been successfully handed over to the FBI, Owen officially returned to CTU. 

As soon as he stepped into the main hall, many people looked at him with friendly expressions. Several members of the field team came up to greet him. 

He could clearly feel that the people at CTU were treating him with much more warmth than before. He also saw "Heartbeat," his first partner at CTU. 

"Hey, man, you're famous..." 

Heartbeat pointed at a video. 

Owen was confused at first but quickly understood why everyone's attitude had changed. Simply put, people respected strength. 

Previously, Owen had been a rookie handpicked by Jack. Even though Jack had vouched for him, the team didn't fully trust him. No one wanted to entrust their life to an inexperienced newcomer. 

But now, things were different. Owen was recognized as a top field agent. 

The entire battle between SWAT and the black-masked mercenaries had been captured by a street surveillance camera. 

From the initial car bomb, the casualties, being pinned down, the complete annihilation of Team B, to Owen and Monica's incredible teamwork and counterattack—it was all recorded. 

People finally saw that this young man was exceptional. His only flaw was that he was still a bit reckless, but that could be improved with training. 

Now, pairing Owen and Heartbeat as partners made others envious. CTU's enemies were ruthless, and field agents had an extremely high casualty rate. Having a strong partner like Owen significantly increased survival chances. 

Not every field agent was a "Terminator" like Jack Bauer. For most, this was just a job, and they all wanted to go home and have dinner with their families every night. 

CTU had thoroughly analyzed the weapons and identities of both sides in the gunfight. The most shocking discovery was the SWAT team's body armor. 

Each heavy-duty vest was riddled with bullet holes. Someone counted—the least damaged vest had taken six shots, while the most damaged had been hit eleven times. These guys had survived purely by luck. 

The FBI's SWAT was known for being elite, but in this battle, Team B was wiped out, and Team A suffered over 50% casualties. This showed just how brutal the fight had been. 

CTU also examined the bodies of the black-masked mercenaries. Most of those who had been shot in the head were directly linked to Owen. It was due to his shooting habits. 

Owen's signature "two plus one" shooting method had already gained a reputation within CTU. The technique consumed more ammunition but greatly increased safety, nearly eliminating the chance of a survivor shooting from behind. 

According to U.S. standard combat procedures, once an opponent is subdued, their weapon must be kicked out of reach immediately, regardless of whether they're alive or dead. But there are always exceptions—sometimes, a headshot is simply the safest option. 

Jack Bauer decided to promote this shooting technique within the field team. 

This further confirmed Jack's previous thinking—the field team needed to be stronger. Unfortunately, due to the heavy casualties suffered by the FBI's SWAT, CTU's advanced training program had to be postponed, or they would have to find other organizations to collaborate with.

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