North America Gunman Detective

Jimmy: "No need, at home it's all about resting well. Using glass cups for tea is fine; this kind of Kung Fu tea is too much trouble, just suitable for the office."

Nia: "Yeah, add some snacks, and we can have afternoon tea right here."

Jimmy: "Forget about the snacks; after all, this is an office. But it's doable; I'll get some nuts later."

Nia drank two cups of tea and then left, as it was still work hours and there was no need to fish so blatantly.

Jimmy didn't clean up, continued sitting and drinking tea; Nia didn't want to take the case, so that was that, no need to investigate further.

It's just one person missing, New York has too many people disappearing every year, one more doesn't make a difference; the college students' missing case Nia mentioned earlier to Jimmy hasn't yielded results yet.

But Jimmy never expected that having Nia arrange someone to check Annie's home would bring them trouble.

The Jazz Club hadn't been able to contact Annie for days; they sent someone to her home to look for her the day after the patrol officers left, but didn't find her. Neighbors mentioned that the police came around but couldn't find anyone either, so the club directly called 911 to report it; their business partner was missing.

With that, the case returned to the NYPD. After some communication, others found out about Nia's arranged investigation, bringing the missing case back to her.

Nia directly confronted Jimmy when she got home that night. Although not painful, she had to vent.

The missing case isn't a big problem; just based on the current data and contacting family and friends to confirm, and then checking flight information, in most cases, it can be closed even if there are no clues.

But this missing case stemmed from the dismemberment case; Jimmy had suspected earlier that those body parts might be Annie. Ignoring the case was one thing, but since it's taken up, it has to be resolved, meaning the dismemberment case needs further investigation.

Jimmy was initially a bit stunned by Nia's hitting; once he understood the reason, he was speechless. He originally planned to pass the case to Nia only after finding suitable clues and determining the victim's identity and investigation direction. If he couldn't find them, he would just drop it, to avoid making things hard for Nia. But it seems now his plan has gone awry.

Jimmy: "I'll investigate it; I have no cases recently."

Nia looked at him, gritting her teeth: "You caused this, of course, you're on board. What's the plan?"

Jimmy: "You contact Annie's family for confirmation, and if there's no clues, have them come over for a DNA test."

Nia: "What if it really is her?"

Jimmy: "At least we can give them a definite answer, not let them wait for years in vain. As for the dismemberment case, there are too few clues, it may end up nowhere."

Nia: "Okay, that's all we can do."

The next day, Nia contacted Annie Foster's family from the office; Jimmy returned to the office to investigate records, including those of Annie Foster and the club where she performed.

As he prepared for the FBI office, Jimmy saw David just stepping out beside the elevator, with his right arm in a sling around his neck, seeming to be injured.

Jimmy called out to David: "David, what happened?"

David shook his left hand: "A slight accident, injured while capturing a suspect, but it's nothing serious. It looks worse than it is; just fixed it for a quicker recovery."

Jimmy: "Was it that smuggling case?"

David nodded: "Yes, during the investigation three people went missing; one has been found, but the capture encountered an accident. Still, we caught him, now waiting for interrogation results."

Jimmy: "Congratulations; seems like this case will soon be solved."

David: "Yeah, that company's problem seems big; several people in the company have gang backgrounds. The gang used the company's identity to obtain import permits, transported materials and finished furniture from Southeast Asia, with drugs hidden in the wooden frames of the furniture.

We checked their past customers; in one customer's sofa, we found hollowed out wooden frames."

Jimmy: "Was it the Black Diamond Gang?"

David: "Yeah, they're among them. We'll talk more after the case is resolved; I need to get back to work."

Jimmy: "Bye, take care."

David was previously in the Anti-Terrorism Team, dealing with potential terrorists, supposedly his combat skills aren't weak. Now it appears the individual they confronted this time wasn't lacking in capability. Just capturing one person, he injured his right arm; seems like they faced a formidable opponent.

However, Seventeen as an informant seems somewhat unfit. Such a major issue wasn't reported to Ruiz, which was discovered by Jimmy's incidentally handling of the case. If not for the diligent forensics team, they might still be conducting normal smuggling.

Jimmy pondered while driving; this smuggling case seemed odd no matter how he looked at it.

Did Seventeen really not know about the smuggling? The warehouse address wasn't discovered by Louis but by Seventeen during Marco's search, which means Seventeen led Louis to the warehouse.

These are two smuggling cases: Marco's luxury goods and perfume smuggling, and the gang smuggling furniture using company identity. Are both cases connected to Seventeen?

An undercover FBI agent involved in gang smuggling for years, participating in luxury goods smuggling versus drug smuggling is totally different. One might be merely cover identity involvement in low-risk smuggling, the other is outright drug trafficking behavior.

Jimmy parked the car, bought a cup of coffee from a café, stood by the roadside with it, watching the crowd and traffic. Should he communicate with Ruiz? Had they considered this?

It's a tough decision, accusing an undercover agent's direct involvement is extremely serious. If final investigation proves Seventeen wasn't a mastermind or major participant, simply failed to report due to lack of information, that's okay; otherwise, if confirmed, his career ends.

Seventeen would not only face legal accusations, but the FBI would also endure immense pressure. Whether through public opinion or internal investigation, it'd be complicated, possibly dragging Ruiz down, since Seventeen directly reported to him.

Ruiz hasn't officially advanced to his position yet; it's a critical period. If someone causes trouble now, severe chain reactions might ensue.

Jimmy finished his coffee, tossed the cup into a bin, got in the car, and headed back to the office. The missing case and dismemberment investigation can wait; solving the internal dilemma is most urgent.

Jimmy didn't return directly to the office, but while nearby, he phoned Ruiz, "Ruiz, are you free now?"

Ruiz: "I'm in the office, you can come over."

Jimmy: "No, I'm outside, I want to discuss something face-to-face, about Seventeen."

Ruiz: "You don't need to follow the case; David will handle it."

Jimmy: "No, not the case, but his identity and subsequent matters..."

Ruiz interrupted Jimmy: "No need, I understand your thoughts; David will do a good job. Jimmy, trust colleagues' capabilities, although you discovered the case, it's assigned to David now, let him handle it entirely. Any other issues?"

Jimmy, stunned by Ruiz's words, was momentarily speechless, "Alright, I got it. Hope everything goes well for him. Goodbye, Ruiz."

Ruiz: "Goodbye." Saying that, Ruiz hung up directly.