Chapter 588: Shot (2)
Hughes: "You're investigating your friend behind his back."
Jimmy: "I need to know what's going on so I can decide how to help him! Some things have to be nipped in the bud."
Hughes started pacing again, but this time he thought faster; after just two rounds, he sat back on the sofa: "No, you can't investigate. Many people at the station know about your relationship; it won't work. Go back to the office now, and pretend you weren't here today. I'll find someone to ask about the situation."
Jimmy: "There's one more issue. I called Ruiz before coming here, saying I wanted to discuss Seventeen with him. He probably already figured something out and declined my invitation to meet. Now, the smuggling case is being investigated by David. He took the previous arson murder case records from me and combined the cases for investigation."
Hughes: "That's not a problem, just pretend you don't know anything."
Jimmy: "Alright, I'll head back then."
Hughes saw Jimmy to the door, turned around, and made a phone call, changed his clothes, and went out as well.
According to Jimmy's speculation, they might have a big problem this time, but it can't be made public. The reason for not letting Jimmy get involved remains that his rank isn't high enough to connect with the right people for this matter, and passing the investigation back and forth is likely to result in a leak, which would be even more troublesome.
Though Hughes is retired, he has been the field supervisor at the Manhattan office for many years and has enough connections to complete the investigation while ensuring that the people he finds are safe and reliable, something Jimmy can't do at all.
Jimmy's plan for today was originally to help Nia with her case. He looked up information in the morning and then went out, but ended up thinking of Seventeen and Ruiz when David got hurt, and he spent time asking Hughes to help locate a phone, thus wasting his time.
After checking the time, Jimmy had lunch outside and returned to the office, when he suddenly received a call from Kevin: "Jimmy, Nia's been shot, at the Elder Council Hospital."
Jimmy was taken aback: "How is she now? What happened?"
Kevin: "I'm on my way to the hospital; there's no further news yet."
Jimmy: "I'm on my way."
Jimmy hung up and immediately grabbed his coat and went downstairs, pushing thoughts of Ruiz aside.
Jimmy hadn't driven far from the Federation Building when he turned on the hidden police lights and siren, heading straight for the hospital. With their help, he sped up quickly, and cars in front that were driving normally turned on their right indicators or hazard lights and moved aside.
Activating the police lights and siren without being on duty is indeed a violation, but it's much more convenient. As for getting caught on camera or complaints, he'll just deny it or find another excuse.
Jimmy drove all the way to the parking lot of the Elder Council Hospital. As soon as he got out of the car, he called Kevin and quickly reached their floor, where a uniformed officer was waiting with Kevin outside the operating room.
Seeing Jimmy arrive, Kevin stood up and waved, "Over here."
Jimmy: "What happened? How did she get shot?"
The uniformed officer spoke up: "This morning, we were on foot patrol when we spotted two young men. One of them had his hand in his pocket, and when he pulled it out, a handgun fell to the ground.
After a warning from my colleague, they picked up the gun and ran. During the pursuit, a shootout occurred. Detective Miller drove by and noticed the shootout, got out of the car and backed us up. Both gunmen were shot dead, and Detective Miller was hit; we rushed her to the hospital."
Jimmy: "Where was she hit?"
The uniformed officer: "Right shoulder, no life-threatening injuries."
Jimmy nodded and sat down on the bench next to Kevin, waiting for the surgery to end. Kevin arrived earlier, so he must already know the situation. Since he's not saying anything now, it means there's probably nothing behind the incident.
Even knowing it was just a shot, and in a non-life-threatening place like the shoulder, Kevin and Jimmy were both anxious. Kevin had never been shot, so he lacked the experience. Jimmy had been shot before and was somewhat experienced, but Nia was his fiancée, so naturally, he was tense. He absentmindedly pulled out a pack of cigarettes, ready to light one when he remembered he was in a hospital.
Kevin glanced at the cigarette pack in Jimmy's hand and gave him a light slap. Leaving the uniformed officer to keep watch, they went outside the hospital, to a hidden spot to smoke a cigarette. Now wasn't the time to be picky between cigarettes and cigars.
Kevin: "I want Nia to transfer to another department."
Jimmy nodded: "The Detective Department really is a bit too risky. Anywhere good to transfer to?"
Kevin: "I'll check when I get back. Finding a spot from someone retiring soon shouldn't be too much of a hassle."
Jimmy: "This really was an accident. Was she investigating a case?"
Kevin: "Yeah, I asked another detective. They were investigating a missing singer case, conducting a full-scale investigation of the singer's friends in New York. The shootout happened while they were returning to the station at noon, and they actually stopped to assist the patrol officer."
Jimmy: "Assisting was right, but how could so many officers battling two armed thugs still end up with someone getting shot? Nia—or rather, you police officers—really lack practice."
Kevin shot Jimmy a glance; only he could say something so blunt. Truth be told, putting anyone else in Nia's place wouldn't likely yield better results, excluding those from the military.
Kevin: "They're just patrol officers; they aren't like you."
Jimmy: "True, though Nia was lucky this time. Good that it was an accident. If someone had ambushed her..."
Jimmy shook his head. The police profession is still too dangerous, especially since there are so many people in New York and a high number of gangsters and other criminals. With so many illegal guns around, no one can vow they are completely safe.
Kevin took a drag from his cigarette: "It seems to be an accident. They were just passing by, not specifically targeting anyone. Besides, I've never heard of her crossing someone, so it shouldn't be targeted."
Jimmy: "I might just be overreacting, but hearing she got shot was enough to make me nervous. Let's head back up."
Kevin and Jimmy stubbed out their cigarettes and tossed them into a trash can. By the time they got back to the operating room, the surgery light was off, and the nurse came out pushing Nia.
Kevin moved in: "Doctor, how is she? When will she wake up?"
Doctor: "The surgery went smoothly; she should wake up in about an hour."
Afterward, they pushed Nia into a room and transferred her to a bed. Kevin and Jimmy didn't go into the room but looked in from outside through the glass window. They had just had a smoke; best not to go in just yet.
With a sense of relief, Kevin looked at Jimmy: "Let Nia recover at home. You've still got work; it won't be convenient."
Jimmy nodded: "No problem, home would be better. Want to call first?"
Kevin looked at the room: "I'll make the call."
Kevin stepped away from the room and called Nia's mother. Nia would need to stay in the hospital for two days, needing someone to take care of her.
Jimmy looked at the anesthetized, unconscious Nia inside with some worry. He still didn't know who killed the two suspects; if it was Nia, then it would be a bit problematic.
Now, Jimmy wasn't the same as when he first came; in his initial encounters with suspects, he wasn't greatly affected mentally by the original owner's influence within him. After, he took down several people without much emotional turmoil, thanks to that influence until he underwent exorcism in Dallas and settled into normality.
Later he was more or less like, "Oh, shot one more suspect, used to it." So he didn't feel much distress after incidents.
But Nia is different. In her early police career, she rarely had to fire her weapon. If she truly killed the suspect this time, she might need a lengthy psychological intervention afterward.