Jones didn't know what to do; he had never seen Jimmy's file. He was just a minor member of the team, and aside from Peter, no one else had the authority to view others' information.
Jones handed a camera to Jimmy from the car trunk, "Then you keep an eye on this place. I'm going back for a bit, need to check the traffic footage at the dispatch center."
Jimmy took the camera and nodded. He had already found a spot to take photos: a café diagonally across the street, with two tables and parasols outside. Jimmy went over, ordered a coffee, then placed the camera on the table, aiming it at the apartment building where Si Man was located. He would take pictures of anyone entering or exiting.
Soon it was dark, and Jimmy called Peter to report on his surveillance, then took a taxi back to Jones's apartment.
Jimmy had also asked around about the apartment rental prices on Jones's side: a one-bedroom apartment cost over $2000, and a single room in a two-bedroom apartment cost $1500. To make things easier, Jimmy rented a single room apartment with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, similar to his house in Little Rock, Arkansas, albeit much smaller— this one seemed to be only 40 square meters.
Unfortunately, Jimmy couldn't move in immediately; he had to wait a week as the current tenant had not yet vacated. Luckily, the apartment manager mentioned that the place would be available in at most a week, and Jimmy had only paid a deposit.
The next day, Jimmy arrived at the bureau and transferred the photos from the camera. Indeed, by then, they were already using digital cameras equipped with long-range lenses, producing very clear pictures.
In the conference room, Jimmy projected the photos for the others to identify, to see if any faces were familiar. Since Jimmy hadn't been involved in the inquiries about the staff and Rachel, he hadn't fully recognized all the relevant people.
Jones: "Wait, go back to the previous person."
After Jimmy adjusted the photo, Jones said, "That's right, it's Parker Denley. Wasn't he only supposed to return to New York today?"
Diana: "Do we have other pictures of Parker?"
Jones: "Give me a moment." Jones pulled up earlier investigation photos from the computer for everyone to see, showing Parker Denley's ID picture. Comparing it to Jimmy's photo, they confirmed it was indeed him.
Peter: "There's a problem. Si Man is just an ordinary employee; why did Parker go directly to him after his return, and why did Parker come back early?"
Jones: "I suggest we focus on monitoring Si Man and Parker; they're suspicious."
Peter: "Diana, you come with me to find Parker for routine questioning. Jones, Jimmy, you continue monitoring Si Man. Take the surveillance van. Move out."
Jones, Jimmy: "OK."
Jimmy and Jones headed downstairs to the parking lot; Jones walked straight to a van and Jimmy followed.
Jones entered the van first, checked inside, then Jimmy sat in the passenger seat, and Jones drove away from Federal Square.
Arriving outside Si Man's apartment building, Jones parked the vehicle about twenty to thirty meters away. At this distance, Si Man would have difficulty spotting the van from his window.
Jones then started changing clothes, putting on a T-shirt and shorts for a jogging look, and jogged towards Si Man's apartment. After about ten minutes, Jones returned; he had installed surveillance cameras outside Si Man's apartment and at the entrance because he had heard someone inside Si Man's apartment, making it impossible to install a bug. Thus, they ended up placing the equipment outside.
After Jones returned, he grabbed something that looked like a handheld antenna from the vehicle, aimed it towards Si Man's apartment, put on a pair of headphones, and began to tune in.
Truth be told, the FBI's specialized surveillance vans are well-equipped; during his training at the academy, Jimmy didn't get to use as many gadgets. Back then, they only used cameras and bugs.
Of course, the main reason was that Jimmy's original role was as an agent, not an intelligence analyst, so he did not take part in many of the courses.
Currently, it appeared that Jones was trained as an intelligence operative, as he was very familiar with the equipment and managed everything without Jimmy's involvement.
Jimmy, out of boredom, studied the equipment in front of him. He picked up a pair of headphones from the side, put them on, and listened to the sounds coming from the hallway. The screen in front of him showed the stairway of Si Man's apartment building; now, no one was passing by.
Jimmy: "Jones, I'm going to buy two coffees." After saying this, Jimmy walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and stepped out.
A bit about the structure of the surveillance van: there's a passageway between the driver's seat and the passenger seat that leads to the van's back, with a door that can be shut to prevent anyone from seeing inside the van from the front. The back door of the van can also be opened, but doing so makes too much noise, so Jimmy chose to exit from the passenger side.
Jimmy returned with two coffees from the same café he had sat at the previous day and handed one to Jones.
Jimmy: "Any movement?"
Jones didn't speak, just shook his head.
Jimmy couldn't do much; surveillance was boring like that. He put on the headphones again and continued to watch the screen.
After more than half an hour, Jones's phone rang. Jones answered the call, uttering a couple of affirmative responses before hanging up.
Jones: "Peter has already communicated with Parker. He agrees with our assessment from this morning; Parker is likely a problem. He and Diana are keeping an eye on Parker."
Jimmy acknowledged, and they continued the dull surveillance work.
Once more, Jones's phone rang. After taking the call, Jones told Jimmy, "Parker's on the move. Peter and the others are following him. By the looks of it, he might be heading our way."
Jimmy perked up; having stared blankly during the surveillance for so long without any findings was altogether uninteresting. It was hard to comprehend how intelligence operatives had the patience for monitoring.
After a while, a black Mercedes-Benz stopped near the entrance of Si Man's apartment. A young man, who looked no older than thirty, got out and entered the building, while the back door of the surveillance van was knocked. Jimmy got up to open a crack and took a peek outside before opening the door to let Peter and Diana in.
Peter: "Have they met yet?"
Jones: "Just knocked on the door."
Peter picked up the headphones previously worn by Jimmy, took his seat, and started watching the surveillance and listening to the audio.
Si Man opened the door for Parker, glanced around, and let Parker into the room. Since there was no visual surveillance, they had to rely on a bug placed above the door to listen in. However, due to the wall barrier, the sound was very unclear. This was where Jones stepped in, pulling out the antenna again and aiming it directly at Si Man's room.
Not long after, Parker exited Si Man's apartment and went back to his car, driving away. Diana immediately jumped out of the back door of the van and followed in her car.