Driving around the villa vicinity, it looked quite good here. There were no cameras on the roads, but traces of cameras were found both in front and at the back of Rick's house, making it hard to enter unnoticed.

For someone in a high position like Rick, it's impossible not to have installed surveillance and various alarm systems at home. Trying to sneak in through the doors or windows would likely trigger a silent alarm, and the surveillance main system might not even be in the room but saved remotely in his office or such places.

Jimmy drove away and found a restaurant by the roadside on Rick's way home. While having dinner, he waited, hoping to see Rick's car; if not, he would sneak over at night.

At night, Jimmy parked far from Rick's villa and occasionally observed Rick's villa with a cheap binocular, but there were no lights yet. This was likely not Rick's permanent residence, and Jimmy could confirm that no one was inside now. If he didn't show tonight, Jimmy would have to wait for him at his workplace tomorrow and follow him after work.

It was past ten o'clock when Jimmy finally saw the car lights turn on in front of Rick's villa, and after a while, the lights inside the house were also on. Something's up. Jimmy ate a piece of chocolate, drank some water, then began observing with binoculars from the car. He could see clear shadows moving inside from the window, good, and once midnight arrived, Jimmy could try to break in and disable the surveillance to get inside.

Luck was on Jimmy's side, as within just over half an hour, Rick appeared in the binocular. He opened the door, stretched at the entrance, turned around, closed the door, and began jogging in the community.

Jimmy was a bit dazed; Rick wasn't known for night jogging habits, and he didn't expect Rick to change into sportswear and run after returning home. But this was considered good luck; as the cameras at his home were troublesome, Rick voluntarily ran out, which was perfect for Jimmy to get to work.

Rick's home was on a curving road in the community, running in the direction opposite Jimmy's parked position. But according to Jimmy's investigation of the surroundings, Rick would either circle back and pass Jimmy's car or reach the intersection and turn back. In any case, Jimmy was not in a hurry to act, as there were no people where he was parked, and moving forward would put him in the line of sight of other villa houses.

Looking back, Jimmy soon saw Rick jogging in from behind. It seemed he indeed chose to run a loop around the semicircular road. Good fitness habits, hazardous to personal safety, though this was a high-end community.

Jimmy put on a ski mask, opened the car door, and when Rick was about to reach the back of the car, he pushed open the car door and aimed a gun at Rick, "Don't scream, robbery."

Rick was jogging when suddenly he saw a black man step out from a dark car upfront, aiming a gun at him, causing him to switch from jogging to pouncing sideways. Jimmy didn't give him the chance to dodge and retaliate, firing two shots directly; though silenced, the gun sound was still not low, as Jimmy discovered in the forest previously, so he didn't plan to wait long.

Rick fell onto the lawn beside him. He originally planned to dash behind the flower wall, but with Jimmy's shots, he realized escape was hopeless, having been shot in the leg. "Heh-heh, stop, I surrender."

Jimmy watched Rick raise his hands and walked over, "Don't move." He grabbed Rick's hands, twisted them behind his back, and tied them with a zip tie, then after a quick search, said: "Stand up, get in the car."

Rick limped along with Jimmy to the car and sat in the back seat. Jimmy went to the driver's seat, started the car, and left Rick's home. Rick watched the direction they were leaving, his face turning very bad, "Who are you?"

Jimmy ignored him, "Shut up."

Rick didn't shut up, "Do I know you? Why? Who sent you?"

After telling him to shut up twice more without a response, Jimmy drove north to Maryland, bypassed Bryansburg at the Maryland and Washington D.C. junction, and found a deserted place outside the suburbs. Only then did Jimmy stop the car by the woods roadside.

"Get out." Jimmy took Rick into the woods, ensured no one was around, and only then did he push Rick to the ground. Rick leaned against a tree and sat up, looking at Jimmy: "Now can you tell me who you are?"

Jimmy took off the ski mask, pulled out a flashlight, and shone it on his face, "Remember me now?"

"FXXK! Jimmy, how did you find me? Who told you?" Rick's mood abruptly turned agitated. From the moment he was kidnapped, he was guessing what was going on. After two months of being untouched, he thought Jimmy hadn't discovered them, just speculating past enmities.

Jimmy: "So you know who I am. Tell me, what happened before?"

Rick: "It was just a misunderstanding. After the action, we realized you weren't on the plan, so we halted all follow-up actions. You should know that afterward, there were no attacks targeted at you."

Jimmy shook his head: "You're lying."

Rick: "I'm not lying. Since you came for me, you must already know the content of the Stumbling Block Plan. We targeted just those who entered the experiment, and you were in the control group, never part of our plan."

Jimmy: "Start from the beginning, and try to make your lies more convincing. We have plenty of time, so start now."

Rick sighed: "So, I have no chance, right?"

Jimmy: "Everyone faces consequences for their actions."

Rick: "Fwxk! I knew it." Rick took a deep breath and said: "OK! OK! It wasn't me who wanted you dead. I was just a middleman. The person you should be after is Nick Sullivan. He requested your name be added to the action."

Jimmy: "Who is he?"

Rick: "An intelligence broker; his public identity is as a lobbyist, mainly operative in the Ministry of Defense and DHS, with some ties with the CIA too."

Jimmy: "Why target me?"

Rick: "I'm not sure. You were initially in the Stumbling Block Plan but not involved in our plan. So there was no previous action against you arranged. Later, Sullivan came to me, owing him a favor over something, so I added you to the cleaning plan. But after the sniping failed, we ceased all operations against you."

Jimmy: "How many attacks in total?"

Rick: "Just one."

Jimmy looked at Rick. He was sort of resolved to it now, so what he said might largely be true about that five-member squad ambush...

Jimmy: "Where is Nick Sullivan?"

Rick provided an address and said, "Go on, with all the training you have, taking him down should be no problem. Go for it."

Jimmy: "Any last words?"

Rick: "Go for it."

With a "bang" after the gunshot, Jimmy took out his small folding knife and cut the zip tie on Rick's wrist and took off his waist pouch, returning to the car. He checked the back seat; the wound on Rick's leg had bled profusely, leaving bloodstains on the seat and floor, making the car unusable, requiring proper disposal.

Instead of driving straight back to DC, Jimmy first drove along the highway for a while until he found a small river to stop by and washed down the back seat with river water.

In the night environment, Jimmy didn't need to turn on the car lights or flashlight, rinsing twice before using the flashlight to check, ensuring no visible bloodstains on the seat and floor surface before returning to the road, finding a motor inn, abandoned the car outside, and entered the motor inn to rest.

Laying in bed, Jimmy recalled Rick's words. Nick Sullivan had arranged for Jimmy's relatives and friends in Little Rock and James's surveillance by Roy Nelson, indicating Sullivan as Greg's external contact.

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