It wasn't that Jimmy liked shopping, but he needed to buy more clothes. He hadn't brought many for the trip, and had already casually bought some replacements when he found out he was going to be temporarily transferred to the Dallas office. Now, it seemed he would be staying in Dallas for a while, so he might as well buy more, since he might not even keep up with the laundry at this rate.

Fortunately, nothing out of the ordinary happened until Jimmy returned to his hotel. Ray's car was also safe, which was a relief because if anything had happened to Ray's car, the vehicle manager at the Dallas office would have gone mad, and Jimmy would have definitely been blacklisted.

Watching TV out of boredom, Jimmy's phone suddenly rang.

Jimmy: "Harten, long time no see, how have you been?"

Harten: "Jimmy, where are you now? At work or at home?"

Jimmy: "Resting at the hotel, what's up?"

Harten: "There's something I think you need to know, James had an accident."

Jimmy: "What happened? What's wrong with James?"

Harten: "He was shot. He was gunned down on his way home from work this evening, but don't worry. He's been rescued and is now in the city hospital."

Jimmy: "I understand. There probably aren't any flights now. I'll head back to Little Rock tomorrow. Thanks, Harten."

Harten: "Don't mention it. I know you two are close, so I thought I should let you know."

Jimmy hung up the phone, his face darkening.

James was Jimmy's second benefactor, providing him with a new identity, a new career, and essentially his current life, all of which he owed to James. Although unspoken, James really was like a senior to Jimmy, taking good care of him.

Being shot on the way home from work, although Harten didn't mention it, it definitely wasn't a random shooting by someone with a mental illness. If it were, Harten would have definitely mentioned it. James wasn't just any policeman; he was the precinct head, a high-ranking local official. The FBI would definitely be involved in an attack on him, and even if the FBI wasn't leading the investigation, they would certainly assign people to monitor the progress. Harten might not be the supervisor, but as a local FBI agent, his ability to gather information was unquestionably strong. It looked like he needed to meet with Harten first thing tomorrow.

Jimmy checked the time; it was a little after 8 p.m. He took an early bath and went to bed, making sure he got up early the next day feeling refreshed. He would take the earliest flight to Little Rock. He still had a car parked at the county police station, which he could use directly, though he wasn't sure about its condition. If push came to shove, using his face to borrow a car from the police station wouldn't be a problem.

Early the next morning, Jimmy traveled light, bringing only his ID and a revolver, and caught the earliest flight to Little Rock. Fortunately, there were no issues with the flight. Upon landing, he took a taxi straight to the county police station.

"Hi, Jimmy." At the county police station, the staff hadn't changed much, and they were happy to see Jimmy, though the mood was dampened due to James being shot the day before.

"Hi, Amy, how is James doing?" Jimmy approached Amy directly for the fastest update since she was the most informed person in the precinct.

Amy: "Jimmy, James is fine, he's out of the ICU now and still in the hospital. What brought you back?"

Jimmy: "FBI Agent Harten informed me. Do you know who shot James? Have they caught the person?"

Amy shook her head: "No, we haven't even found a suspect yet. James was driving home from work when someone shot him from another car that was alongside him, then just drove off. It was a call from someone on the road that eventually saved James."

Jimmy: "You haven't found the suspect, but surely the traffic cameras must have captured the shooter's vehicle. No leads?"

Amy: "Cage is investigating that right now. No results yet. You could ask him."

Jimmy: "Where's Cage? Nevermind, I'll just call him. I'm heading out, are my car keys with you? I need them today."

Amy: "Of course, your car hasn't been used by anyone else, it's still in the parking lot." Amy opened the drawer, took out Jimmy's car keys, and tossed them to him.

Jimmy: "I'm leaving first."

Jimmy turned and left Amy's office, calling Cage as he walked toward the parking lot.

Jimmy: "Cage, how's the investigation into James's case going?"

Cage: "You know about it too? I don't know who blabbed. Don't worry, you stay calm in New York, I'll handle it."

Jimmy: "I've already arrived in Little Rock, Cage, tell me the progress, or should I come and join you in the investigation?"

Cage was speechless, "How did you get here so fast? Alright, you don't need to come over, I'm at the dispatcher's center. I've found the road surveillance from that time, but the license plate on the car was fake. The only clue we have now is the surveillance footage of the driver, a man in sunglasses, a bit blurry. I'm checking other intersections' traffic footage to see where his route went afterward."

Jimmy: "Okay, look into it quickly. Also, send a copy of that driver's photo back to headquarters. I'm at headquarters, get me the photo first."

Cage: "Alright, I'll fax it back in a moment."

Jimmy hung up the phone and returned to headquarters, waiting for Cage's fax.

Having received the fax, Jimmy immediately left headquarters and drove to the FBI office in Little Rock. At the FBI office, Jimmy's movements were more convenient. With his badge, he entered the building and went straight to meet Harten.

Harten knew Jimmy was coming to Little Rock today and would look for him, so he didn't leave for other tasks but waited in his office for Jimmy.

Jimmy: "Harten, any good news?"

Harten: "Not yet, I have arranged for people to investigate. Have you been to the hospital yet?"

Jimmy shook his head, "Not yet, I want to understand the situation before going there. Going to the hospital might take a lot of time."

Harten: "You should first visit James at the hospital. Don't worry about the investigation; I've already assigned the surveillance team to help track down the footage and follow that car."

Jimmy handed Harten the photo Cage had faxed, "This is the photo Sergeant Cage got from the surveillance. You should have it too, right? Could you identify him with this photo?"

Harten glanced at it and handed it back to Jimmy, "We got it too, but this person clearly knows our methods. The glasses cover most of his face; with just this much image, we can't do a computer match. Jimmy, you've also undergone training at the academy; you should know these basics."

Harten could tell that Jimmy was somewhat overwhelmed, whether from rushing to Little Rock early in the morning or from his impaired judgment, it was all decidedly unusual. The Jimmy he had known before never exhibited such behavior.

It seemed that James held an extremely high place in Jimmy's heart, not merely a typical boss-subordinate relationship, even surpassing friendship, into a mentorship level; if it had to be described, it might have reached or even surpassed the level of family.

Jimmy tucked away the photo, "Harten, notify me by phone if there are any clues; I'm going to the hospital first."

Harten: "Okay, go ahead. Oh, and have you looked in the mirror? You might want to stop by the restroom."

Harten pointed to a path leading to the restroom. Jimmy narrowed his eyes, nodded, and headed to the restroom. Harten had noticed something but didn't say it directly; Jimmy probably knew his complexion must not look too good.

In the restroom, Jimmy looked at himself in the mirror. Although he guessed his complexion wasn't good, he really hadn't realized his expression could look so gloomy.

Jimmy's physique wasn't particularly handsome, but he always kept fit with a good figure, and his face was chiseled, not overweight, with slightly longer hair from its usual buzz cut, looking spirited and somewhat aggressive. But now, Jimmy's eyes were half-closed, the corners of his mouth drooping, no other expression on his face, but the muscles looked very tense; just one glance made it clear he was in a terrible mood and it was best to keep a distance.

He hadn't noticed before, perhaps it had been the same at the police station, but Amy and the others hadn't mentioned it until Harten pointed it out. If he went to see James with such an expression, it would be too horrifying; it was completely inappropriate for visiting a patient.

Jimmy adjusted his expression in the mirror to look more normal, then dealt with some personal matters and left the FBI building.

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