This time Jimmy needed intelligence; he needed to know exactly who had shot James, so these people couldn't die. This time he shot solely at their torsos, ensuring hits but not instant death.

"Harten, call for backup and an ambulance, there's still one person in the house, be careful."

Jimmy aimed at the person on the ground, carefully shifting his body to stand up. He had clearly seen that the person inside had no weapon and hadn't planned on coming out; he had hidden in the corner after the gunfire.

Harten continued to watch the four on the ground, and after confirming they had all been shot, he returned behind the pillar to make the call.

After standing up, Jimmy began to move towards the four people, kicking away the guns near them, one by one, far from the shooters, to ensure safety.

Harten had finished making the call, and in addition to FBI personnel, he had also coordinated a team from LRPD (Little Rock Police Department) to come and secure the scene. Harten too, with his pistol aimed at the office door, said, "You in the office, drop your weapon, put your hands up, and come out to surrender."

"Don't shoot, I surrender." The person who had been crouching in the office corner had already stood up, slowly walking out with his hands raised high. Jimmy kept his gun aimed at him while Harten took handcuffs off his belt and went to cuff the man's hands behind his back.

As the only suspect onsite unharmed, he was made to sit against the wall on the side, hands in view of Jimmy and Harten to prevent any danger. As for those lying on the ground, neither Jimmy nor Harten had carried a first-aid kit; the only kit was in Harten's car.

"Harten, go get the first-aid kit, I'll watch them."

Harten turned to leave, feeling confident that Jimmy could control the situation alone with ease; there was no problem.

When Harten came back, the sirens were already blaring, the nearest LRPD officers had arrived, and they took their first-aid kits from the cars, joining Harten in administering emergency treatment. As for Jimmy, he kept his gun pointed at the people on the ground, on alert.

When the backup arrived, the injured four were taken to the hospital by ambulance, accompanied by FBI agents and LRPD officers, ensuring that the four suspects wouldn't escape.

The surveillance team also sent two people over to assist with the search, and the repair shop's office was thoroughly investigated, revealing a basement inside.

With everything settled, evidence collection was handed over to the intelligence professionals, allowing Jimmy and Harten to finally return to the FBI office.

The operation had yielded significant results; the surveillance team discovered a complete set of monitoring equipment in the basement, not much different from what they used themselves. After emergency treatment of the suspects, they could proceed with the interrogation; this group was definitely a big catch.

As for the man who didn't have a gun, neither Jimmy nor Harten paid much attention; with four gunmen involved, this only person who did not participate in the gunfight was very likely just a civilian, probably knowing nothing. They would simply take him into custody and interrogate him slowly.

Harten suggested that Jimmy take a rest, saying he would handle things from here. Jimmy accepted his advice graciously. Even though he was FBI, he was from the Manhattan office, and certain things were better handled by the locals. If other matters were involved, it would also make their job easier. For Jimmy, as long as he could determine who the shooter was, nothing else mattered.

Feeling good about the successful operation, Jimmy decided to take a shower and then went to Justin's bar.

In Little Rock, perhaps nothing relaxed Jimmy more than Justin's place; it was safe, and he felt at ease. Jimmy asked Justin to mix a Rainbow cocktail he had never tried before and gradually, he relaxed, his mood lifting—both had been somber the past few days, and only now did he feel settled.

Feeling loose, Jimmy felt spirited enough to step onto the small stage and sing along with the resident singer. Justin's bar was designed after the bar beneath the InterContinental Hotel in New York; naturally, the resident singer and the band here had expertise in blues and jazz. With the soothing music and the stimulation of alcohol, it was a great spot for those who favored tranquility.

Jimmy sang one song before stepping down, where Justin was already signaling to him. They moved to the lounge, and Justin asked, "Jimmy, did you guys have an operation today?"

Jimmy's drunken haze lifted suddenly, and he squinted his eyes, "Hm? Justin, what news did you get?"

Justin motioned with his hand to calm down, "Don't get worked up; it's just normal dissemination of information. Do you have any leads pointing towards them?"

Jimmy: "What's their background? Are they related to you?"

Justin shook his head, "Don't worry, I'm just checking with you. They're a small group that sometimes goes out to do some business. Our cooperation with them is only to hire them for monitoring and gathering intelligence when needed; they're not our people."

Jimmy: "Then don't get involved. Once the FBI has finished interrogating them, they won't be able to escape."

Justin: "Yeah, I know. They have quite a few cases on them; once they're caught, it will all come together."

Jimmy: "I can't manage them now, the FBI's Little Rock office has taken complete control. Only cases involving James get synced up with me. They're probably the observers tasked with monitoring James's movements and notifying the gunman."

"If you're thinking anything unsavory, I advise you best dismiss that notion. If they don't come clean about what they know, I won't let them off."

Justin nodded and walked out of the visitor's room. Jimmy watched Justin leave, knowing that their relationship from now on would probably run into problems. Although it wouldn't turn antagonistic, getting back to the way things were before seemed unlikely.

He wasn't a criminal, at most operating in a gray area, and he might not mind helping Justin and his associates in matters unrelated to himself. But with the arrest involving the gunman who shot James, he wouldn't let them off easily until the matter was settled.

Jimmy slapped his cheeks, letting the muscles of his face adjust, then went out to sit at the bar and continued drinking, trying to look as normal as usual. Justin was even better at acting, returning to the bar behaving just like before.

After finishing his drink, Jimmy put down some paper money, turned, and left the bar to go back to the hotel to rest.

The next day, Jimmy woke up with no news from Harten; it seemed they hadn't obtained any useful confession yesterday. Jimmy got up, tidied himself, and called Cage before leaving the hotel for the county police headquarters.

Upon arriving and waiting a bit at the headquarters, Cage arrived, fully armed. They embraced then sat in the office, eating breakfast together while discussing the current progress.

Jimmy told Cage about the several people the FBI had raided and caught, indicating that Cage no longer needed to follow the van lead. Since Harten had previously rejected Jimmy's request to merge their investigations, Cage had to conduct his inquiry alone. Now, he had pinpointed the last known location of the gunman's car—it had left Little Rock and entered North Little Rock, then disappeared from the traffic surveillance cameras. Cage planned to conduct a field investigation that day.

Having nothing else pressing, Jimmy drove along with Cage to North Little Rock.

Arriving at the last intersection where the gunman's sedan was spotted, Cage started driving slowly, examining the vehicles parked along the road, hoping to find the same model. After passing through several blocks, Cage and Jimmy arrived at the Arkansas River, where two cranes were stationed and a boat was moored on the river.

Cage and Jimmy got out of the car and inquired. They learned that someone in North Little Rock had reported a car plunging off the road into the Arkansas River two days ago. North Little Rock police investigated the scene but found nothing unusual; today, cranes were scheduled to retrieve the submerged vehicle.

The boat was there to transport divers to the site, who would then dive down, secure the vehicle, and the crane would then lift the sunken car. Seeing the retrieved vehicle, Cage and Jimmy's faces soured—they checked the license plate and confirmed it was their target.

The gunman really knew the police procedures well, avoiding surveillance and sinking the car to escape. With the current monitoring capabilities, it was impossible to continue the follow-up investigation.

Cage contacted the North Little Rock Police Department, and the involved vehicle was towed to the county police headquarters parking lot. The car would undergo a thorough search in hopes of finding any traces the gunman might have left behind, although the prospects weren't great.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.