Mahong and the others went back, but Jimmy was slightly late. He tidied up the room before leaving the apartment for the office.

All night, Jimmy had pondered who this person was and why they had come, but he couldn't figure it out. Now, he was sure that the ends of the matters he had handled recently were tied up well and should not have left any loose ends.

The mole in the bureau had been caught too, so even if information were to leak out, theoretically, it should not be as precise as before. Now, someone had reconnoitered his apartment in advance and invaded in the middle of the night—not a good sign. Not understanding this situation, Jimmy wouldn't sleep peacefully in the future.

Upon reaching the office, the news Jimmy received ultimately disappointed him. The gunman's fingerprints confirmed his identity—he had indeed served in the military, but he was listed as MIA years ago, with no records afterward. (MIA, missing in action, refers to personnel who are unaccounted for in combat.)

With no records, but a person declared missing was alive and showing up in his apartment, Jimmy suddenly had a bad feeling. This scenario often happened in movies and TV shows, typically involving some agency, like the CIA he had just visited yesterday.

Was it Caitlin? Was she out for blood because he declined her mission?

No, that didn't seem right. He had just confirmed his identity and met Caitlin yesterday—it would be too soon for someone arranged by her to familiarize themselves with his apartment and launch a midnight attack.

From this perspective, Caitlin really seemed unlikely to be involved.

If it wasn't Caitlin, then who could it be? He supposedly had not encountered anyone else in the CIA since he had just received the verification call yesterday. Who in the CIA would have a grudge against him? The only connection could be with the Anti-Terrorism Bureau, but both Watson and Kerry from the bureau had somewhat friendly relations with him, having dealt with them several times without anything remarkable occurring.

Recalling his communications with Watson, the only possibly negative interaction was when he eliminated a rogue agent for them a few months ago, but that had been over half a year ago—why would it cause trouble now?

Jimmy sat at his desk, pondering what the problem might be that brought about this unidentified gunman, and he really wasn't in the mood to care about anything else, while Mahong was now somewhat worried.

Upon arriving at the bureau in the morning, Mahong had already called Hughes, asking him to come to the bureau early as there was something that needed to be discussed in person.

After Hughes arrived, Mahong shared with him the incident of Jimmy being attacked at home, and Hughes's expression could have been straight out of a movie scene. What a mess! They had just resolved a bunch of previous issues and only one mastermind remained to be uncovered. Yet, before Hughes could even finalize the investigation plan, this major troublesome event occurred.

The cell number previously given to Jimmy by Hughes was owned by the mastermind. After obtaining the call records from the Anti-Terrorism Bureau, Hughes had also spent a lot of time listening to them, but the records were not helpful, and they couldn't just rely on those recordings to identify Josh.

The cell phone location tracking was basically ineffective. Although Albany was not highly populated, the coverage area of the cell towers was still extensive. They could only pinpoint a general area, and without a photo, name, or information, finding Josh based on just a cell number was extremely difficult.

Hughes also synchronized the intelligence information with Mahong, informing one more person about the mastermind, but it was of little use. If Hughes's team couldn't identify Josh, Mahong certainly had no better ideas.

Now, Jimmy was worried about who was pulling the strings behind the scenes, uncertain whether it was Azte or the CIA. Mahong was worried that if they couldn't handle this attack properly, his group might as well give up handling other cases and just wait for more trouble. Hughes was also worried—it would be too embarrassing if word of this got out.

The Manhattan office's reputation had taken a hit. As the agent with the best combat record, Jimmy had been attacked three times in a short period. Although he was unscathed each time, with the gunmen either dead or injured, they still hadn't resolved the issue, and there was no guarantee there wouldn't be a fourth or fifth time. Were they supposed to just wait passively?

Hughes sat in his office with a grave expression. After a long consideration, he finally decided that this issue needed to be resolved from the root. Hughes got up from his office and headed toward the bureau chief's office.

After Mahong returned to the office and saw Jimmy leaning back in his chair in thought, he recalled what he had considered at Jimmy's house earlier today. Although it seemed that Jimmy was alright, it might still be best to let him rest for a bit. "Jimmy, do you want to go back and rest for a few days? You're not in condition to handle any cases right now."

Jimmy turned his head to look at Mahong, thought for a moment, and said, "No need for rest, I'll go out and look for some clues."

Jimmy got up, grabbed his suit, and left the office. Whatever the case, sitting in the office was definitely not going to help find any clues.

Jimmy got into his car, drove out of the office, and aimlessly circled the streets, contributing his insignificant effort to Manhattan's traffic congestion while pondering where to start.

Jimmy took out his phone, flipping through the contacts while driving, searching for Torsten from the DEA's Dallas office.

Jimmy, "Torsten, this is Jimmy, the Jimmy from FBI Manhattan."

Torsten, "Jimmy! It's been a long time since I heard from you. Have you arrived in Dallas?"

Jimmy, "No, I'm still in New York. Are you still with the DEA?"

Torsten, "Of course, what's up?"

Jimmy, "Do me a favor, check on Azte's second-in-command, Tim Spark."

Torsten, "I can't right now, I'm on my way to a mission, and I can't get to it until tonight. Why? Does he have any connection to you guys over there in New York?"

Jimmy, "No, it's a personal grudge. Just check whenever you get a chance, I'm not in a hurry."

Torsten felt a bit speechless. You say it's a personal grudge, and you're not in a hurry? Who are you kidding? However, Torsten had a good impression of Jimmy, and his character seemed decent. Helping him out with a little information probing wasn't a big issue.

Torsten, "No problem, I'll get back to you tonight. I'm still driving; take care."

Jimmy, "Thanks, stay safe, goodbye."

Jimmy ended the call and placed the phone in the center armrest. Knowing more people has its benefits; a gang like Azte's would definitely have comprehensive data with the DEA in Texas, especially as they major in cross-border smuggling.

Jimmy continued to use up fuel and wear down his tires on the road. The mobile number Hughes had given him was used by someone behind the scenes, but now he just couldn't pinpoint precisely who it was. Should he specifically watch the number for a while? Unfortunately, the number was in Albany, the capital of New York State. Although it was only over 200 kilometers away, it wasn't exactly in New York City. Staying there long-term would be unreasonable.

Previously, he had thought that the assassin could be a CIA agent, but Jimmy had no acquaintances left in the CIA. He had barely talked with Watson, but now he certainly couldn't just go and ask Caitlin, "Why did you send an agent to assassinate me?" That would be a direct provocation. Regardless of whether it was Caitlin who arranged it or not, if Jimmy questioned her so directly, she would definitely blow up.

Jimmy mulled this over while checking his rear-view mirror. Something wasn't right; there was a car behind him that seemed very familiar. Jimmy had been circling around Manhattan, and theoretically, there shouldn't be anyone following him for an extended time; at most, they'd only tail him for a short distance.

Jimmy took out his cell phone from the armrest and called Mahong, "Mahong, I'm driving around the city, and there's a car that keeps showing up behind me. Black Ford Explorer, New York license plate. I only see the driver, can't see the back seat. He's either Caucasian or Latino, male, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses."

Mahong, "Keep driving him around, try to get closer to the office, and we're coming downstairs now. Philicia, move out."

Jimmy, "Understood, I'll do my best."

Jimmy understood Mahong's intentions; he wasn't supposed to confront the follower but rather bring him into a trap, to capture him alive.

Jimmy didn't change his driving style as if he hadn't noticed him, turned at the next intersection to head back to the office, but the car behind him didn't follow Jimmy and continued straight.

Jimmy kept an eye on the rear-view mirror, a bit baffled by the situation. Had he guessed wrong?

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