Jimmy finally wrapped up the lengthy case, and although it wasn't a public trial, it was a big deal within the FBI. Jimmy also became well-known at the Manhattan office. Many people were very nice to this young Chinese-American, greeting him frequently, even though Jimmy often couldn't remember their names.

Actually, until the case was over, Jimmy still had some regrets, because the mastermind Nuer wasn't captured. They still couldn't determine which country or organization had planned the terrorist attack, despite Abdul coming from the Al-Qaeda network; the identities of the others were too complex to tie them to any one affiliated group.

Gordon's words also came true—there was insider gossip from the DC headquarters that this year's unified annual awards would be supplemented with an additional mid-year ceremony for the case agents. This news came from Gordon, who sneakily gave Jimmy a call to give him a heads up.

Soon after, Jimmy received notification from Hughes to accompany him on a trip to DC, a sure sign good things were coming his way.

At the FBI Washington headquarters, Jimmy, donned in a black suit and shiny leather shoes, followed Hughes inside. They entered a small conference room that had been decorated in advance, with the FBI emblem and the American flag already in place.

Jimmy and Gordon sat in the first row, with Hughes by Jimmy's side, and next to Gordon sat someone completely unknown. In fact, Jimmy didn't recognize anyone in the entire meeting room. For some reason, Jimmy always felt that this awards ceremony didn't seem very official—just a few people sitting in the audience, none of Gordon's subordinates were in attendance.

FBI Deputy Director Colin Loll took the stage and read from a script full of praise for the bombing case resolution and reiterated the FBI's responsibilities. A photographer on the side was taking videos, while another was snapping photos.

After the awards were read, Gordon was the first to step up and received the FBI Shield of Bravery. Holding open the medal box and the certificate, he posed for a photo with Deputy Director Colin Loll, then Jimmy went up and went through the same process, displaying the medal and posing for a souvenir photo.

Quickly after the very brief ceremony, Jimmy was sent back to New York by Hughes, who remained in DC. Sporting a puzzled look, Jimmy headed to the airport to fly back to New York, curious why his trip to headquarters was just a half-day visit, feeling like a puppet who had been manipulated into completing the award ceremony.

There seemed to be some shady dealings going on, Gordon hadn't given him any warning, and Jimmy felt it was awkward to call and ask, so he just had to return for now.

He definitely would take the Shield of Bravery medal back to the office; having it on the desk was a big boost to his reputation. It was Jimmy's first FBI medal since joining the agency, and it felt good. In the future, if he had the chance, he would consider getting a few more.

Three honors already adorned Jimmy's desk: a Plaskey County Honorary Sheriff badge, a Distinguished Merit Medal he received at the same time, and a Secret Service Award Order for his act of bravery in protecting the Vice President when faced with danger. The third was the FBI Shield of Bravery. Lined up on his desk, Jimmy felt it wasn't enough, and thought it would be better to get more and eventually hang them on the wall instead.

Hughes returned the next day, and everything was prepared on Deputy Director Dave's side. The award ceremony photos obtained from headquarters were arranged to be sent to that TV station, the complete video footage from T14 scar-face was also provided to the station, of course, omitting the part where Jimmy and his colleagues cleaned out the warehouse next door.

The TV station was already handled by Dave's team, who were experts at guiding public discussion. The same video that had initially framed someone as a murderer now showcased the heroic FBI agents and rising stars among minority groups, without any problems, in fact, the topic was even more compelling than before.

Of course, all of this was happening without Jimmy's knowledge, as the superiors were only focused on results, not really caring whether Jimmy was on board with their actions.

While Jimmy was dozing off on the office couch at noon, his phone rang. To his surprise, it was Nia calling, which was quite strange since after the case ended, and Jimmy enjoyed some rare leisure time, the few occasions they met up were initiated by calls he made.

Jimmy: "Hey, Nia, did you take the day off? Shall I come to see you?"

Nia, seemingly caught off guard by Jimmy's greeting, replied, "You're in the news again. Just go watch it yourself," and then she hung up.

Alright, he thought she had become proactive. Turning on the TV, Jimmy flipped through several channels but didn't find any news about himself. That's right, Nia just mentioned 'in the news again,' so it was probably a follow-up to the previous video. Jimmy wasn't overly concerned; if it came down to it, he thought about requesting a press conference from the higher-ups to explain.

With the TV on, Jimmy lost any sleepiness, stood up, and flipped through FBI files, but unfortunately, he didn't come across any relevant news about himself until it was time to leave work. The lack of playback functionality in TV compared to the internet era annoyed Jimmy.

After work, Jimmy didn't go home but drove straight to the police station. "Hey Chuck, how's it going? Nia, are you free tonight?"

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.