Mahong wasn't exactly thrilled to come to Manhattan this time, considering he had everything figured out in Chicago. Adapting to a new environment was bound to be a hassle, but it wasn't like he was particularly resistant to the idea. After all, despite both being regional offices, a move from New York to Chicago was still a promotion in terms of hierarchy.

What surprised him, though, was that he'd assumed the caseload in New York would be overwhelming. Now it seemed like the NYPD was really stepping up, intercepting most of the cases. Just last time, Jimmy, a junior agent, had wrapped up a homicide case by himself.

With nothing to discuss that night, the next day Jimmy arrived at the office and soon got a call from Ruiz. After letting Mahong know, he left to meet with Ruiz.

Seeing Jimmy come in, Ruiz said, "Close the door."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow—"This must be serious. What's up?"

Ruiz: "Razor is an asshole! Who knows what tricks he used to rip off a shipment meant for Trinidad from Azte. Now I know why they declared war on him so directly. That bastard didn't spill it until last night, and I had to move him again."

Jimmy: "Fuck, so we're accomplices now? What about the shipment?"

Ruiz: "Razor hasn't said. He claims it's his last bit of leverage to stay alive. I don't know how much is in the shipment, but Razor says it's worth over a million. Azte and Trinidad are going to lose their minds this time."

Jimmy: "That doesn't make sense. If they were just after the shipment, they should be capturing Razor for interrogation. But they came with six guys, all set on silencing him."

Ruiz: "Yeah, definitely a silencing job. The loss of the shipment will just make life hard for them; it won't shake their foundation. But Razor—they have to kill him because he got his hands on Azte's shipping routes. If they lost once, they can't be sure the subsequent routes will be safe."

Jimmy: "Razor is a real piece of work. Did he stumble upon this by luck, or did he have an inside man?"

Ruiz: "I didn't press him for details. We've got him, and there's plenty of time to grill him. I called you in to give you the lowdown so that you'd understand why someone is so relentlessly trying to kill him."

After a moment's thought, Jimmy asked with a smile, "How about... I have a chat with Razor? I've repaid my debt to him, and if he wants to stay alive, he's going to have to pay a price."

Ruiz truly hadn't expected Jimmy to come up with such a sly idea so quickly. He pondered it for a while, and eventually agreed, giving Jimmy the address.

As Jimmy was about to enter the elevator to leave, he suddenly remembered he had a boss now. Better follow the protocol, he thought, turning back to report to Mahong. Indeed, having a boss was not as convenient as before.

For now, Mahong hadn't interfered with Jimmy's affairs, merely nodding his head and then letting him go.

Jimmy drove off, swung by Chinatown to pick up some food, and with half a dozen beers in tow, he arrived at Razor's third hideout.

Razor was surprised to see Jimmy: "Didn't expect you to come again, I can smell the food, thanks."

Jimmy flashed the bag in his hand: "You must be tired of pizza by now, switch it up a bit, I bought this especially from Chinatown."

Jimmy set the food on the coffee table, handed Razor a beer, and then grabbed a cola for himself.

After eating a bit, Jimmy started: "So Razor, you should be safe now. You must guess who those six guys belong to."

Razor nodded his head: "You've talked with Ruiz, huh? You want in as well?"

Jimmy: "Looks like you get what I'm saying."

Razor shook his head: "Jimmy, it's not that I'm not giving you face; this is my last chance to turn things around."

Jimmy: "I get it, you're not at your last step yet, you're still alive. Drink up."

The two clinked their bottles together, and Jimmy took a sip of his cola before continuing: "You've looked into me, right?"

Razor nodded, an admission that wasn't hard to make. Being thorough was all about considering all escape options carefully—if he didn't even know who Jimmy was, how could he have chosen him as his final ace?

Jimmy said with a smile, "You can investigate me all you want, I don't care. I'm easy to talk to, as long as you're not excessive, I have no interest in wiping you out. But do you know what kind of person I hate the most?"

Razor looked at Jimmy. Although he was smiling, the atmosphere felt off.

Jimmy, "I have only lived a little over two decades, but the people I hate most are the drug dogs. Not a single drug dealer who fell into my hands has ever successfully made it to court."

Razor suddenly shuddered, realizing that his trump card was about to be exposed.

Jimmy put down his chopsticks and leaned back on the sofa with a Coke, watching Razor, "I actually don't care what trump card you have. You did me a favor before, and I owe you one, I can guarantee your safety once. It's all possible.

You become a witness for Ruiz in exchange for his protection, then safely get away and start over somewhere else. I truly don't care, really. But you must hand over the batch of goods you have, and you can't touch that stuff ever again."

Razor, cherish our friendship."

Razor put down his chopsticks and beer can too, looking at Jimmy, his thoughts unclear.

Jimmy slowly finished his Coke, crushed the can, and threw it in the trash, "Take your time and think about it. Don't worry, I said I'd spare you and wouldn't break my word now. I'm off, good luck! Razor."

Jimmy stood up, left the apartment, and casually closed the door behind him. The door across opened and a slightly familiar agent nodded at Jimmy, then closed the door again. This time, Ruiz had arranged for a small team of three to live across from Razor, transferred from those in charge of other gangs, at least a bit more reliable. That team previously assigned to handle Trinidad and Razor couldn't be moved yet.

Jimmy returned to the office to slack off. Before the day was over, Ruiz brought good news: Razor had agreed. He revealed the batch of goods and the previous drug trafficking routes of the Azte gang in exchange for a witness protection deal and a new identity to start over after testifying.

That Razor, he's got something! Jimmy truly felt Razor was ruthless, smart, and when reality threatened him, he could decisively abandon his plan to rise again. That's a kind of bravery.

After work, Jimmy didn't go out for drinks with Mahong. Instead, he went straight to meet Ruiz, who had already taken people to clean out Razor's mini storage, which needed thorough sorting.

Jimmy arrived within the cordoned area, Ruiz stood at the warehouse entrance, the smile on his face never fading, "Look at that line, all here, not a single one missing."

Inside, a box had several tightly wrapped bricks laid out on top; the packaging was intact with no openings and no leaks, seemingly they hadn't been touched since being transported.

Jimmy, "Any other findings?"

Ruiz, "Some news about Azte, got a few more leads. Their behind-the-scenes boss, Borsa, is now confirmed to be an old white man living in New Mexico, although Azte's main business area is in Texas. Razor wasn't clear why it's like that."

Jimmy shook his head, sighing, "Too bad, it's a bit too far to reach."

Ruiz, "You really want to go toe-to-toe with them? We just need to take care of our side. I'll archive the information later and give them a busy time."

Jimmy, "Forget it then. Think about combating them? Just take our local drug sources, for example; most of them come from there. Dixie Family wants to open up routes, Azte gang wants a piece, and the southern border is a mess. They haven't taken out many, and just cleaning up on our end isn't enough if we can't block the source."

Ruiz shrugged, "Blame the DEA, we're not specialists in this."

Jimmy, "Any other gains? Oh, and what was Razor's final demand?"

Ruiz, "An identity, a fee for being an informant, and compensation. I agreed to it."

Jimmy, "Smart people are easy to deal with. He knows his place."

Ruiz, "What did you actually tell him?"

Jimmy glanced at Ruiz, "No drug dealer I've dealt with has ever successfully made it into a courtroom."

Ruiz, "Got it."

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