If the number of people was greater than expected, they would need additional personnel, but it was unrealistic to ask all the county police officers on night duty to come over; it was better to seek some other support.
Jimmy: "Cage, you wait here. I'll go and scout out the situation. I'm much more agile than you."
Jimmy stood up, dusted off his pants, and walked toward the settlement.
The parking spot was only a few dozen meters from the settlement, but several rows of trees blocked the view, making it difficult to spot the police car parked by the roadside unless one was deliberately looking.
Jimmy walked straight over, with his Heart Eye Ability fully activated. The image in front of him changed from the barely lit environment under the moonlight directly into a black-and-white screen. As he approached the campsite, Jimmy could already see inside the trailers.
This settlement had around a dozen trailers parked with three tents set up in the middle—large tents that could serve as temporary houses, not the small two-person tents used for camping.
After carefully walking around the campsite, Jimmy had a rough idea of the situation. He continued to observe the specific conditions inside the trailers and tents, which was also a way to train his Heart Eye Ability, distinguishing what objects were inside based on the black and gray lines.
After a while, Jimmy started walking back and returned to Cage's side.
Jimmy: "Cage, I walked around the campsite. Apart from the three tents where I couldn't see the interiors, I've checked all the other trailers. We can't handle this on our own; there are a total of 12 people, spread out inside five trailers and trucks.
Even if we call all the brothers on night duty, it would be tough. For safety, I didn't check their weapons just now, but I'm sure there are armed individuals inside. We need additional support."
Cage looked up at Jimmy; he was deflated, his mind seemingly unable to function.
Cage: "Jimmy, you decide. I don't know what to do."
Jimmy: "Cage, what exactly did your informant tell you?"
Cage: "The target will go to the trailer camp in the suburbs tonight to pick up the goods. It's the biggest shipment recently. I tracked a vehicle based on the information he provided, and that vehicle entered this campsite and hasn't come out. Our position is the only exit of the campsite."
Jimmy: "Got it, let's find external support."
Jimmy reached out and took a flashlight from Cage's belt, and pulled a pen and paper from his shirt pocket.
Patrol Officers often need to verify driver information. Sometimes, if the driver's license isn't present, they need to jot down names, birthdates, addresses, etc., and go back to their vehicle to contact the dispatch center for identity verification. Pens and paper were definitely always at hand.
Jimmy drew a map of the campsite directly in Cage's notebook, detailing each trailer and truck's position, as well as the three tents.
He marked on the map how many people were in each trailer and truck and handed it to Cage, who checked the position and the number of people.
Jimmy: "Cage, how many people do you think we need to surround this campsite?"
Cage thought for a bit and drew several circles on the outskirts, also marking a few triangles next to the three tents.
Cage: "To be safe, we need at least 8 to 11 people. We need 4-5 people on the periphery, and at least 4 to control the three tents inside; better to have 6 or more. The area is a bit large, and if there are too few people on the perimeter, we won't be able to chase them if they try to escape inside."
Jimmy: "Let's err on the side of safety and call more people. Over 15 should be enough."
Jimmy took out his cellphone, not caring what time it was, and called Torsten directly.
It was nearly 2 a.m., and Torsten was not working overtime at the DEA today but was asleep at home when Jimmy's call came.
Torsten picked up the phone without opening his eyes. "Hello, who is it?"
Jimmy: "Torsten, it's me, Jimmy. Are you resting at home or working overtime in the office?"
Torsten became alert; a call from Jimmy at this time was no trivial matter. For people like them, waking someone up in the middle of the night just to pee was definitely out of the question.
Torsten: "I'm at home. What happened?"
Jimmy: "Tory, I remember you mentioned last time that the office on this side of Little Rock was having some trouble, right?"
Torsten: "I never said that. Everything is normal over there."
Jimmy: "Come on, do you have your own people in the Little Rock office? I have a great opportunity here, needing about 15 people."
Torsten: "Are you sure? It's 2 a.m. now, this is no time for jokes."
Jimmy: "Yes, I'm sure. If you don't have enough people, you could contact the ATF or another agency."
Torsten: "No need, we have enough people. Give me the address, and someone will contact you shortly."
Jimmmy gave the location, then hung up the phone and smiled at Cage, "See, it's all set. That was easy."
Cage was speechless at Jimmy's move. He also had Torsten's number, but his relationship with Torsten wasn't close enough to call for support at 2 a.m. Jimmy really was a lucky charm.
As the situation turned around, Cage's spirits gradually recovered. The two sat on the ground, casually chatting and smoking, making sure to turn away from the camp to prevent the light from their cigarette butts from being noticed.
About half an hour later, Jimmy's phone rang. He had previously turned the ringtone volume down very low, otherwise, in the silent wilderness, the people at the camp would definitely have heard the phone ring.
Jimmy answered the call, walked to the roadside, and flashed his flashlight a few times in the direction they came from. Shortly after, three sedans and one van parked next to Jimmy. All the vehicles had their lights off, relying on the scant moonlight for the last stretch of the road.
The people from the four vehicles all got out. Thanks to his Heart Eye ability, Jimmy could clearly identify their gear. Wow, more than half were wearing Bullet-Proof Vests and carrying MP5s and M16s, and the rest also wore Bullet-Proof Vests, with pistols on them.
The leader from the first car walked up to Jimmy and shook his hand.
"Jimmy? I'm Ted, the team leader for this operation. Fill me in on the situation."
Jimmy turned and waved Tory over. Tory had been keeping an eye on the group, and seeing Jimmy's signal, he walked over, handing over a notebook with diagrams that Jimmy had made.
Jimmy handed the notebook to Ted, covering the flashlight with his hand to leave just enough light shining on the notebook.
Jimmy: "This is our target for the operation. We got info from an informant that someone came to this camp yesterday to pick up a shipment. It's the largest haul since our last operation. We followed the courier here; they went inside and haven't come out, their vehicle is still parked in the camp."
Ted listened to Jimmy while looking at the diagrams.
Ted: "You're sure they haven't left, right?"
Jimmy: "Yes, I'm sure. We've been watching them since 11 p.m., and they definitely haven't left."
Ted: "This might be troublesome."
Jimmy: "Why? If everyone is here, can't we just round them up?"
Ted shook his head, "It's not as simple as you think. I need to make some arrangements first."
Ted turned and briefly communicated with his team. A few got in their vehicles, turned them around, and drove off, while others started dispersing towards the settlement camp. However, instead of encircling it along the trail, they seemed to head directly to the back of the camp.
Ted returned to Jimmy with two others, "Jimmy, if your intel is solid, we indeed could catch some big fish this time, but now there's a problem. We don't know if their shipment has arrived yet."
According to your informant, the pickup person has already entered the camp but hasn't come out. That's not the dealers' usual style. The only possibility is that the delivery person hasn't arrived yet, so the pickup person has to rest at the camp, waiting for a notification from the delivery person."
You two should leave in your vehicle now. We need to stake out here."