Concerned about the photograph, Reacher visits a RadioShack to test the quality of cell phone cameras, confirming that an image would be clear enough to identify him by his distinct size and shape. To substantiate his bluff to the investigators, he purchases a USB memory stick, placing it in a pink sleeve to make it appear as if it belonged to a woman.

Reacher then goes to a subway station and lets nine trains pass to ensure he is not being followed. While waiting, he sees a poster about “subway surfing,” the illegal act of riding on the exterior of a train car. Finally, he boards a train and travels two stops to Union Square.

At a large bookstore near Union Square, Reacher researches Congressman John Sansom, the political candidate the private investigators mentioned. Reacher finds Sansom’s biography, Always on a Mission, which portrays a conventional story of a man with a humble background who achieved military and business success. Reacher learns that Sansom served in the army from 1975 to 1992, rising to the rank of major in the elite Delta Force and earning several of the nation’s highest medals for valor.

Inside the book, Reacher finds a well-known historical news picture that Sansom reproduced, showing politician Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 1983, captioned: “Sometimes our friends become our enemies, and sometimes our enemies become our friends” (95). Most significantly, Reacher notices that the book is extremely vague about Sansom’s actual missions, downplaying his achievements instead of exaggerating them, which strikes Reacher as highly unusual for a political autobiography.

After taking a circuitous route to avoid being followed, Reacher meets Jake at a coffee shop. Jake reports that campus police confirmed his nephew, Peter, left a bar four nights earlier with an attractive older woman and has not been seen since. Believing Peter is simply having a good time, Jake chooses not to worry.

Reacher recounts his confrontation with the private investigators and his new theory about John Sansom: that Sansom is deliberately concealing details of at least four secret missions, which would explain both his impressive medals and the vagueness of his biography. He concludes that Susan, as a clerk, could not have accessed sensitive Delta Force files, meaning the information being sought must relate to a different aspect of Sansom’s life.

Overwhelmed, Jake decides to abandon the investigation, stating that nothing can bring his sister back. He leaves to arrange her funeral and drives off, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

Outside the 14th Precinct, Reacher sees Detective Lee emerge with two men in suits. Lee points Reacher out to the men, whom Reacher identifies as federal agents. They cross the street and question Reacher about any potential Canadian contacts, which he denies, before warning him to forget the incident on the train.

After the agents leave, Reacher asks Lee for an explanation. She tells him that Susan Mark’s car was found in SoHo with a crumpled note inside bearing the code “600-82219-D.” The agents believe it is a Canadian cell phone number, but Lee suspects it is a file or serial number.

Lee confirms that the official case on Susan’s death is closed. Reacher informs her that he plans to visit Washington, D.C.

Reacher takes a train from New York to Washington, D.C., wary of being recognized but arriving without incident. He heads to the Cannon House Office Building, correctly guessing it is the location of Congressman Sansom’s office.

At the security desk, Reacher confirms Sansom is inside. Unable to enter, he writes a note addressing Sansom by his military credentials and stating that he saw a woman mention Sansom’s name before dying. He proposes a meeting in one hour on the steps of the Library of Congress. After leaving the note with a guard, Reacher goes outside to wait.

At the appointed time, Reacher meets Sansom’s wife, Elspeth Sansom, and his head of security, a man who introduces himself as Browning. Elspeth initially treats Reacher like an extortionist, but he insists he only wants to understand why the woman died. Elspeth agrees to a meeting with her husband that evening at 7:00 pm at an Afghan restaurant on Dupont Circle.

Reacher arrives at the designated restaurant on Dupont Circle at 7:00 pm, but Browning intercepts him and reveals the location was a decoy. Browning drives Reacher to the Watergate complex and leads him to an office for a company named Universal Research. He instructs Reacher to enter the office alone while he waits outside. Inside, Reacher is surprised to find the three federal agents he previously encountered in New York.

The lead federal agent plays a recording of Reacher’s earlier statement that Susan Mark told him nothing substantial, then contrasts it with Reacher’s note to John Sansom claiming she died saying his name. The agent accuses Reacher of lying to federal investigators. Reacher retorts that since they never formally identified themselves, he committed no crime. When Reacher mentions he heard Sansom’s name from private investigators, the agents turn tense and silent. Reacher goes on to reveal he deduced Sansom’s secret missions simply by reading his biography.

The agents warn Reacher to stop his inquiries or face imprisonment or death. Reacher denies that Susan ever mentioned Sansom, and the agents let him go. Outside, Reacher realizes Elspeth Sansom deliberately set him up.

Reacher returns to the Afghan restaurant on Dupont Circle, only to learn that Congressman Sansom has already departed for a fundraising breakfast in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Undeterred, Reacher immediately boards a late-night bus and travels south, sleeping through the journey. He arrives in Greensboro at approximately 4 am and finds a diner to wait out the early hours. Reacher learns that confirms John Sansom’s fundraiser is being held at the O. Henry Hotel. He takes a taxi there and bluffs his way past the front desk by pretending to be a guest. Finding Sansom’s suite on the top floor, he knocks on the door, which is answered by Elspeth.

To avoid a public scene in front of media, hotel staff, and the police officer guarding the hallway, Elspeth allows Reacher inside.

Reacher meets Congressman John Sansom. Sansom, already briefed by federal agents, confirms he did not know Susan Mark. When Reacher explains that Susan’s son is now missing, the news clearly disturbs the Sansoms. Sansom insists that at Susan’s clearance level, there was no way she could have had access to any information from his Delta Force career. He adds that anyone knowledgeable enough to want Delta records would know to look elsewhere, and therefore concludes this cannot be about Special Forces at all. He claims his record is “spotless” and that he has nothing to hide. Before leaving, Reacher asks if Sansom knows the name Lila Hoth. Sansom denies it, but Reacher senses he is telling a half-truth.

Leaving the hotel, Reacher passes Sansom’s security chief, who has changed his alias from Browning to “Springfield,” and begins the long trip back to New York by bus and train.

Reacher mulls over his conversation with Sansom, concluding that the congressman admitted to questionable but not criminal actions during his secret missions and remains confident the details are secure. Reacher wonders about where Susan was going before she died and finds it hard to reconcile the logic of Peter going missing as blackmail for information she had no way to access.

Back in New York, Reacher disembarks at Penn Station with his usual level of caution.