Based on information from an informant, the people who assaulted the estate did not exceed three, and they all used silenced weapons, among which was an MP7 equipped with a silencer found at the scene. This is not a weapon commonly used by drug traffickers; it's usually employed by special forces soldiers or agents on specific missions.

Barrio's wife confirmed that among those who raided the estate, one spoke, and it was definitely English, which led them to believe that the assault team had come from the United States. As for the reason behind Barrio being attacked, that remained unclear. In fact, the DEA is now under great pressure, as many have speculated this operation to be a decapitation strike carried out by the agency.

The informant's intelligence was highly detailed, though their conclusions sounded quite far-fetched. However, Lambert had basically confirmed that, eight or nine times out of ten, Jimmy was behind it. The question was, how did he do it?

This was a cross-border raid on Barrio's estate, followed by a timely return to the country, avoiding detection, which is incredibly difficult to do through normal means.

Leaving aside whether Jimmy had the capability to assault the estate, how did he cross the border and come back?

Lambert remembered some speculations Hughes had shared with him, that those capable of pulling off something like this at the border were undeniably related to the CIA.

Those disappearance cases also greatly concerned Lambert; Jimmy was just one man in action, and from all aspects, it seemed he shouldn't possess the ability to handle a dozen or more gang members simultaneously.

Making people disappear is a task with high technical requirements, much harder than simply killing a person. Even though Jimmy was already considered a seasoned agent, one or two people wouldn't be difficult, but with a larger number, it would be impossible to keep them hidden without professional assistance.

Lambert couldn't help but suspect what kind of background Jimmy had that allowed him to achieve so much in such a short time; even the CIA's cooperation might not suffice for so many tasks.

Most of the CIA's operations within the country are clandestine, or they pose as other agencies—making dozens of people disappear in a short period is definitely not one of their strong suits.

Lambert didn't wait for more news; he directly called Hughes. Over the phone, not much could be discussed, so he simply invited him for a meeting in Dallas.

Hughes knew the reason behind Lambert's call, arranged tasks for others, and booked a flight to Dallas for the following day. They met at a club, where the two old men encountered each other.

After exchanging a few pleasantries and lighting cigars, Lambert handed a document to Hughes.

Hughes leaned back on the sofa, looking at the record of times, places, and significant events on the paper, then noticed that these records were essentially consistent with Jimmy's movements.

After reading the records, Hughes turned to Lambert with a frown, "So, all this was his doing?"

Lambert nodded, "There's no evidence, nor any clues pointing to him, but the times, locations... they're mostly Azte people. This should be enough."

Hughes tore up the paper, lit a corner with a lighter, and tossed it into the ashtray. He then methodically destroyed all the scraps, "Who else knows about this?"

Lambert, "No one knows everything, but some have been in contact with Jimmy. It's not out of the question that some keen people may have gathered some information."

Hughes, "Were your people involved? Could there be a leak?"

Lambert waved his hand dismissively, "Our people didn't get involved in this matter here; we only took over a gang leader from Jimmy. The CIA bunch must have participated here. Without saying anything else, the incident in New Laredo is not something ordinary people could pull off."

Hughes stopped talking and continued to smoke his cigar against the sofa.

(Robbing a bank with a note might seem childish, yet there are real successful cases. Released today early so you can read it sooner.)

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