Jimmy: "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Frank: "No, thank you."
Jimmy: "Can you finally tell me what happened now?"
Frank looked at Jimmy, nodding: "I've mentioned before that I used to work in a special division, the CIA, and I've been retired for a while. But two days ago, I was attacked at home. I had someone investigate their identities: a CIA assassination team, an independent South African assassination team."
Jimmy: "Go on."
Frank: "That's it, I just need to investigate why they want to assassinate me now, after I've been retired for so long."
Jimmy scratched his head, the CIA's influence seemed inescapable, always popping up wherever there were issues related to them: they attempted to assassinate James in Little Rock, encountered them in Paris while on vacation, and now there's more in New York.
Jimmy: "Are you saying that all these people on the list were targeted by the CIA's assassination squad?"
Frank: "Very likely, though I can't rule out other teams being involved. The independent South African assassination squad that targeted me has been wiped out."
Jimmy: "I just caught the gunmen suspected of killing Joe Matthews this morning, one severely wounded, one suicided. Could they be CIA?"
Frank: "Someone committed suicide? Then he definitely wasn't CIA. They're probably hired from outside."
Jimmy: "Okay, I can't help much with the CIA, but please keep me informed if there are any updates. They might be related to my case."
Frank nodded, "Thanks, Jimmy. You should head back and get some rest; your eyes are red. Did you not rest last night?"
Jimmy sighed: "I had the night shift last night, and I need to work on cases during the day, I haven't slept for over 24 hours. Alright, you go ahead with your work, I need to head back to the station for some rest, I have a night shift tonight."
Jimmy bade Frank farewell, drove out of Chinatown, and headed back to his office where he slept on a fold-out bed. When he woke up, it was already 10 PM, and Chris hadn't woken him when leaving.
After washing up, Jimmy sat at his desk. The information gathered from Frank today indicated that these people were all victims of CIA assassinations, possibly entangled in some special cases, but those basic records were inaccessible, and proceeded investigation would require higher level clearance, which wasn't convenient.
Looking over the list, Jimmy focused on Joe Matthews's case, which they were currently handling. Having Chris dig deeper shouldn't cause any alarm to others.
While reviewing the files, Jimmy's phone from Little Rock rang, another call from an unrecorded number.
Jimmy answered but remained silent; Tom's voice came from the other side, "Aren't you at your apartment? Can you come out?"
Jimmy: "Sure, but it has to be near Federal Square, I'm on night shift."
Tom: "That works, I'll tell you the place in a bit."
Half an hour later, Jimmy received a call, went downstairs and found Tom in a small unmonitored alley. Tom had changed his look; despite being past midnight, he was dressed very gentlemanly, with graying hair, round-frame glasses, a three-piece suit, a trench coat, and a scarf.
"Classy outfit, are you off to some high-profile event?" Jimmy remarked jokingly as he observed Tom's attire.
Tom: "Indeed, just came from a charity dinner. Here, this is for you." Tom took out an ID card from his pocket and handed it to Jimmy.
Jimmy: "All done? Did everything go smoothly?"
Tom: "Still ongoing, but the situation is temporarily stable now, you don't have to worry about James anymore."
Jimmy, puzzled, asked: "Huh? How did you manage that? Is Watson dead?"
Tom: "No, I just had someone tweak James's records a bit, nothing much to say there, at least no problems for now."
Jimmy: "Speaking of which, I have a friend, retired from the CIA, he was just attacked by their own assassination squad."
Tom, looking surprised at Jimmy, sized him up: "You've grown, huh? Never thought you'd have such a friend. What's his name?"
Jimmy: "Frank Moses."
Tom's mouth fell open, and he exclaimed, "Who did you say? Say that again?"
Jimmy: "Frank Moses, is he famous?"
Tom nodded, then shook his head, laughing as he told Jimmy, "Frank Moses was once one of our best secret agents and also a trainer at the agent school. He eliminated drug lords, terrorists, and even rumors say he overthrew a government. He really was a genius, a legend, and he was once my trainer."
Jimmy looked at Tom in surprise: "That doesn't seem right; you're about the same age."
Tom nodded: "That's why I said he's a genius."
Jimmy: "Would he still remember you then?"
Tom shook his head: "Not necessarily, he's trained many people, he might not remember me."
Jimmy: "OK, do you want to meet him? I have his number."
Tom: "Forget it, I'm already a dead man, it's not necessary. Haven't seen him in decades."
Jimmy: "Do you need me to ask him for you? See if he remembers, then decide if you want to meet him. After all, he was your old trainer."
Tom thought for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, you ask him for me, my name back then was Tom Codrsky."
Jimmy: "OK, Tom Codrsky, I got it."
Tom: "Alright, nothing else, that's it for now, I'm leaving."
Jimmy: "Wait, there's an unverified piece of news that might be of some use to you. CIA Paris station seems to be in trouble, involving someone named Jason Bourne."
Tom grabbed Jimmy and slammed him against the wall, staring into Jimmy's face as he asked, "How do you know the name Jason Bourne?"
With his back hurting from the impact and the surprisingly strong Tom, Jimmy looked at him and said, "I went to Paris a while back on a trip, something big happened there, and the police were all looking for this Jason Bourne. Do you know him?"
Tom released Jimmy: "Don't get involved in this, Jason Bourne was part of the same project as your previous identity, only you joined a bit later. Because of my intervention, you weren't assigned overseas but were planted domestically."
"If he gets into trouble and the entire project is scrutinized, you are likely to be exposed, you might be forcefully awakened and transferred to another project or redeployed to another country for a mission. Of course, there's also the possibility of being internally disposed of."
Jimmy: "Hmm, it shouldn't be that serious, should it?"
Tom showed a fierce expression, pointing to his own face: "I'm already dead, remember that? Right now, in front of you is an identity-less dead man."
Jimmy was shocked too, Tom's appearance almost made him forget about it. It'd be a huge loss if he ended up being internally purged by the CIA under the worst scenario.
Seeing Jimmy's expression, Tom knew he had grasped the situation, "I'm going to investigate this. You need to stay away from it and avoid two places in New York, one is the Anti-Terrorism Bureau, the other is the training center at 415 East 71st Street. Got that? No matter what happens, don't go near these two places, you'll definitely be exposed."
Jimmy: "I know the Anti-Terrorism Bureau, Noah Watson works there, but what is the training center?"
Tom: "The place where your predecessor was trained. Many people there have seen what your predecessor looked like, and if they spot you, they'll definitely become suspicious."
Jimmy nodded, "I've got it, don't worry, I definitely won't go."
Tom: "I need to leave now, you should go back too. Don't contact me for a while, wait till I contact you with a new number."
After Tom had left, Jimmy stood in place, lit a cigarette, and thought to himself, "Wow, really a stumbling block plan, Jason Bourne turns out to be a predecessor. Now, to avoid these dangers, I'll have to wait until Jason Bourne has handled those supervisors. But recollecting the movie, there were several parts, and I can't remember how long it covered in total."
One step at a time, Jimmy crushed his cigarette butt underfoot and headed back to the office.
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