Chapter 54 Summary
Robert Jackson is waiting for Joe Carter to arrive at the Thai restaurant. As time passes with no sign of Joe, Robert grows concerned. After calling Joe’s phone and receiving no answer, he orders food to go and leaves the restaurant, returning to his safe house. On his drive back, he notices emergency vehicles racing toward the FBI building, sparking his curiosity.
Back at the safe house, Robert finds an urgent email from Janet Faber asking why he hasn’t logged into the Quest system. Still awaiting word from Oliver Franklin about a secure connection, Robert leaves Franklin a voicemail and then calls Tracy Cummins to formally ask her to cover for him during his renewed Quest assignment. But their conversation takes a chilling turn when Tracy reveals that a man was found dead in a car outside the FBI building earlier that day.
Oliver Franklin returns Robert’s call with devastating news: the deceased man was Joe Carter. Franklin says paramedics suspect a heart attack, but Robert is deeply unsettled. He recalls that Joe had insider knowledge about Quest — including Robert being flagged as a potential national threat — and worries Joe may have been silenced before he could warn him.
Robert shares with Franklin that Joe learned about Quest from National Security Advisor Brent Powell and had warned him cryptically, “This can cause you all kinds of hurt.” Jackson believes the timing of Joe’s death, coinciding with their scheduled lunch and his sudden reassignment to Quest, is too suspicious to be a coincidence. He considers backing out of the project entirely, but Franklin counters that the only way to uncover the truth is from within.
Though terrified, Robert agrees to continue — but only remotely. As they hang up, Jackson mourns Joe’s loss and realizes just how dangerous his return to Quest may be.
