North America Gunman Detective

The possible options are just these three, we can't just throw someone into the field office to get myself back on fieldwork, right?

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Having been busy for a while, Jimmy took Nia for a drive out of New York to Kazaki Mountain for a weekend getaway.

Kazaki Mountain isn't far from New York, just a few hours' drive away. The timing wasn't ideal—if it were summer, Jimmy would definitely choose to camp at the National Park, but since it's already cold, opting for a hotel or a log cabin is better.

Nia had previously stayed in a cabin over in Alaska, but ultimately decided to stay at the park's log cabin campsite.

Hiking along streams and lakeside, appreciating the natural scenery and the vast view of the lake was their goal. After being busy for a long time, relaxing and wandering like this was definitely the perfect nearby travel destination for the weekend.

Looking at the calm lake in front of him, Jimmy suddenly felt an unexpected urge. He picked up a flat stone from the ground, examined it carefully, then bent over and threw it sideways across the lake, the stone skipping a few times on the water before sinking.

"Oh ho~" Jimmy exclaimed, then looked down to find more stones. He threw several in succession but couldn't find any stones of suitable size; those on the ground were either too large to be useful or too small to feel right in his hand, so he could only sigh regretfully and give up this childish behavior of an adult boy.

He turned to look at Nia, whom he had been ignoring for a while, and she was watching Jimmy and laughing with her arms crossed. When Jimmy finished, she pointed to the lake, "Go wash your hands."

Jimmy glanced at his hands and obediently washed them by the lake. He took some tissues from Nia to wipe his hands. Nia reached out and hugged Jimmy's arm, "You actually like this, just like a kid who never grows up."

Jimmy shrugged, "I didn't mean to, just had a sudden urge to throw some. Sigh, it's a shame, the stones by the lake aren't suitable. I'll definitely have to find one that fits later. I only made a few skips; it's not enough! I want to make twenty skips."

Nia rolled her eyes and pulled him along to continue walking by the lake. Jimmy kept looking at the ground while walking, "You know? There's even a stone skipping competition and a world record for it, but I don't remember it."

Nia: "You guys are just too much. This kind of game even has a competition."

Jimmy: "How could there not be a competition? No boy can say no to stone skipping on a lake! Especially when competing with a group of people! I used to be a stone skipping expert back then."

Nia: "When was that?"

Jimmy: "Uh, probably in elementary school, I don't quite remember. Haven't played for many years. Wow, wait for me a moment."

Jimmy freed himself from Nia's hand and ran to the side. There, an oval stone less than ten centimeters long lay on the ground. Jimmy picked it up, dusted off the dirt on it, went to the lake and threw it with force at an angle, "Wow, twelve. YES! It turns out it was the stones earlier."

Nia was speechless. Jimmy had never been this childish, and she had never played this game before. She didn't see what's so exciting about throwing stones.

She looked down, casually picked up a small pebble, and imitated Jimmy's way of throwing it, "It's not hard, you see."

Jimmy was instantly speechless. Nia only randomly picked a stone to throw, yet it skipped ten times before sinking into the water. This... where's the logic in that?

It was a big blow. Jimmy and Nia washed their hands in the lake and continued hiking along the edge. Stone skipping, after all, should be something to do alone later.

In the evening, the two returned to the log cabin. Jimmy and Nia cooked dinner together and while resting in the cabin's living room after dinner, Jimmy brought up his previous idea again about whether they should buy a house as their new home before getting married.

With a few months left, buying a new house should give them enough time to renovate it according to their preferences. If it's delayed any further, they might not be able to move in immediately after the wedding.

Nia didn't have any particular thoughts. In fact, if not considering the increase in population in the future, their current Upper West Side apartment already met their daily needs, especially since it's close to work.

Based on their current work situation, staying close by is better. They discussed a few options and then the requirements for the house, planning to choose carefully once they returned to New York.

Jimmy still had the phone number of the real estate agent who had worked with the FBI office before, and it was even easier for Nia. For Kevin, the small spud, finding a reliable real estate agent was really easy, and those agents wouldn't dare pull any tricks. They're counting on developing well in New York. Offending a big shot in the NYPD would be suicidal.

The two-day weekend ended quickly. Jimmy drove Nia back to New York, dropped her off at her home, and then went back to his apartment to rest.

Back at the office, Jimmy first went to find Isabel. Previously, he had disclosed information about Senator Terrance Pratt's murder as a spokesperson, and later he went on vacation, so he hadn't had a chance to check the media's attitude towards him.

Isabel gave Jimmy a pretty good evaluation, stating that most of the media didn't focus on the spokesperson but rather on the senator, as the case was too serious. Surprisingly, this allowed Jimmy to avoid potentially receiving praise or criticism.

Being a spokesperson isn't easy. Saying something wrong or an inappropriate demeanor can be magnified by the public. Therefore, typically, government agency spokespersons are either department leaders or from dedicated publicity departments and go through significant training.

Making sure he had no issues, Jimmy returned to his office. He hadn't finished going through the relevant materials when the phone on his desk rang. Jimmy picked up the call and then went to Mrs. Mason's office.

Jimmy: "Mrs. Mason, is there something you need?"

Mrs. Mason: "Well, sort things out over these days and hand over your tasks to Isabel."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow, then quickly returned to a normal expression and asked, "Has it been decided?"

Mrs. Mason nodded, "Rest assured, it's just that we're not sure where you're going yet."

Jimmy: "Got it. Thank you, Mrs. Mason, I appreciate your long-term support."

Mrs. Mason waved her hand, and Jimmy turned to leave her office.

At noon, Jimmy ran into Mahong, who was going out for lunch downstairs, coincidentally just in time for a meal.

During lunch, Mahong shared some news with Jimmy. Supervisor Karaway had already held a meeting with the department that morning, indicating she would end her position as the Manhattan office's field supervisor that week and move to the DC headquarters.

As for who will take over, no arrangement has been made yet. Peter had finished his prison stint just last week and is currently resting at home, expected to return to the office next week.

During Peter's incarceration, the White Collar Unit was temporarily led by the Little Black Kid Jones, just like when Jimmy was in the Homicide Team before Mahong's arrival, Jimmy was solely responsible for the Homicide Team.

The White Collar Unit is the most troublesome right now, and Jimmy has only just found out that another key member of the unit, Diana, is already pregnant and has a noticeable belly, making field operations unsuitable for her. Currently, the only field agent in the White Collar Unit is Jones, along with Neil Cavrey, the art consultant, encompassing their entire personnel.

Last week, Jimmy also considered who would take over the White Collar Unit, but now it seems, later when Peter leaves Manhattan for DC, the White Collar Unit will undergo a complete transformation.

Jimmy did not mention the arrangement from Hughes to Mahong. Although Mahong was transferred here by Hughes from Chicago, he's only been at the Manhattan office for one or two years, which is still too short, and it was unclear if he truly belonged to Hughes' camp.