The investigation was in trouble, with no leads to go on. After their high-profile investigation, the criminals were sure to flee if they had any sense. As for the artwork, they could toss it into any room and no one would find it. This just about guaranteed they wouldn't catch anyone.

Mahong was very unhappy, but there was no other choice. He could only contact Ruiz to help push ICE a bit more. Customs data was basically independent, and the FBI had to apply. If it were the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), it would be much easier since their systems were directly connected.

Ruiz was not Hughes; he didn't have many connections on the other side yet, which was really unfortunate. So now, they could only follow the standard procedure, at most just hurry things along a bit.

But this wasn't Ruiz's fault. Hughes had been an agent and supervisor for many years, and Ruiz had just grown out of the anti-gang unit, so it was normal for him not to have connections higher up.

Moreover, Hughes and others were really grooming Peter before, so they naturally didn't teach Ruiz much about related matters. Given some time, Ruiz would surely make up for these shortcomings, but for the current case, progress was still not smooth.

Jimmy missed an important clue while handling the murder and robbery cases. When he got the call, his mind went blank.

Torsten: "Jimmy, sorry, your matter might need to wait a bit longer."

Jimmy: "What happened?"

Torsten: "I got shot. I'm in the hospital now. Two days ago, there was an accident when we were investigating a crime syndicate; they found out."

Jimmy: "How's your injury? Is it serious?"

Torsten: "I'm okay, just hit by three bullets, none of them fatal. But a buddy of mine might have to retire."

Torsten's tone wasn't good, with a hint of sighing.

Jimmy: "Send my regards to your buddy. I hope he gets better soon."

Torsten: "Thanks. If you're not in a rush, let's continue your investigation after I get out of the hospital."

Jimmy: "Wait, do you think... it's possible this injury was their doing? You know, they're major cartel figures, and maybe they caught wind of something."

Torsten fell silent, as he hadn't considered this possibility before. Gunfights during an investigation were typical; it had happened before, and nothing had seemed particularly special about the process until now.

Now that Jimmy mentioned this possibility, he suddenly realized he might have gotten a bit lax during this time.

Torsten: "Thank you, Jimmy. Give me some time to think about it. I'll contact you. Goodbye."

After that, Torsten hung up the phone. He really needed some time to sort out recent events.

Jimmy hung up, a bit worried about Torsten's safety. For a regular drug dealer investigation, it wouldn't be a problem. In the United States, most drug dealers wouldn't go to extremes against DEA agents since they still needed to survive here, and if they went too far, they'd face serious consequences.

But for high-level cartel figures, killing a DEA agent to eliminate the threat was quite worthwhile. If planned well, leads would be severed, and no one would be able to connect to the cartel.

Jimmy's thoughts were just speculation for now. Moreover, Torsten only got shot during a gunfight, with no one coming back to finish him off. Did this mean Jimmy's guess was wrong?

Jimmy just sat there in a daze on the couch. After he hung up, Nia didn't say anything, nor did she disturb him. She just got up, grabbed two cans of beer, placed them on the coffee table, opened one, and handed it to Jimmy.

Jimmy took a sip from the beer. Nia asked, "What happened?"

Jimmy: "An old friend of mine, a DEA agent. He got shot while investigating a case and is in the hospital now."

Nia: "Is it serious? Should we visit him tomorrow?"

Jimmy: "He's not in New York, he's in Dallas."

Nia: "Is it that Hank? Quite an adorable chubby agent, oh, and his wife is really pretty."

Jimmy was amused by Nia's comment and shook his head, "No, it's not him. You're talking about Hank Schlader. He's a Senior DEA Agent in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The one who got injured this time is Torsten Marcus, a DEA agent in Dallas, Texas, also a Senior Agent."

Nia was speechless, "Why do you know so many DEA guys? Even across states? What about the DEA in New York?"

Jimmy: "Uh, I really don't know the ones in New York. They're all people I worked with before..." As he spoke, he suddenly paused, gesturing for Nia not to speak. Jimmy took a gulp of his beer, realizing he might have missed some clue before.

New Mexico is adjacent to Texas, and it's normal for a Texas cartel to be connected with New Mexico. I only informed Torsten; could Borsa be in New Mexico? So Torsten's investigation hasn't progressed and instead triggered their alertness?

Then Borsa arranged this attack on Torsten. Although he wasn't killed, being hit by multiple bullets means at least two months of recovery, halting the investigation against Borsa.

If Borsa were in Texas, he might not have opted for such a light approach. Simply injuring DEA wouldn't make his life easier. But if he's in New Mexico, and Texas isn't his turf, then it makes sense.

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