Jimmy brought his own dinner to the bar around 9 PM, when it was quite crowded. Carrying a bag, he entered, greeted Justin at the bar, and headed straight for the private room.
Jimmy had never tried eating dinner at a bar before, and he didn't want to dine in front of a crowd, preferring the privacy of a smaller room.
Once inside the private room, Jimmy set the bag on the table and started arranging his food containers.
Justin, who had found it strange to see Jimmy carrying a bag, greeted the other bartenders and followed him into the room.
Justin was a few steps behind, and by the time he entered, Jimmy had already opened three dishes and a box of rice.
"Oh, this is new, Jimmy. Which restaurant did you get this from?"
"I made it myself. Want to try some?"
"Of course, I didn't know you could cook."
"Can you use chopsticks? I didn't bring any forks."
Jimmy took out chopsticks from the bag and, to avoid any accidents, he had brought two pairs. He handed Justin a pair and a food container lid.
"Haven't used them before, but I can give it a try."
Awkwardly using the chopsticks, Justin was thankful that Jimmy's braised pork was very tender from being cooked long enough in the pressure cooker. When he couldn't pick it up, he simply speared a piece with his chopsticks and tasted it.
"Hmm, this is very good, just slightly sweet. It would be even better if it were a tad sweeter."
Jimmy's braised pork today was made using a technique from an old army buddy from Wuxi. After living and eating together for many years, Jimmy remembered quite a few recipes, though he hadn't had much chance to cook them before.
The pork took him two failed attempts at caramelizing sugar and even after adding sugar during the pressure cooking, it turned out quite sweet.
"Have you had dinner yet? If not, feel free to join me, but you'll need to get your own utensils."
"Really? Thanks."
Justin placed his chopsticks down, left the room, and shortly returned with a dinner plate along with a fork and spoon, sharing a bit of each dish. The two sat down to eat.
Jimmy's appetite was now quite formidable; he went to the gym at least once or twice a week, found time to practice shooting at the range, and had his patrol duties. Certainly, his lifestyle was more regular and busy than many people's.
The exercise was paying off too; at 183 cm tall and weighing 96 kg, he had gained a few pounds, but his body fat percentage was low, appearing lean in clothes and muscular without.
The two men sharing three dishes was no problem since Justin had already had dinner, but having worked for two or three hours, he appreciated the extra food, largely thanks to Jimmy.
Jimmy packed the food containers back in the bag. Justin brought some paper towels from outside, and they cleaned up, wiping down the coffee table as well.
Jimmy asked, "Justin, dinner's done, now can you tell me why you called me here?"
Justin, "Oh, I almost forgot. There's an urgent matter tomorrow that requires your coordination on this end."
Jimmy, "Wait, I'm off tomorrow, not going back to the police station. It's my two days off."
Justin, "Oh, that's tricky. Can't you come in for an extra shift? We need you to coordinate a road closure for about half an hour to an hour."
Jimmy, "Closing the road for that long? Where? In the city or the suburbs?"
Justin, "On the eastern outskirts, Higgins Road, near the airport. Someone has to go there to handle some affairs, it'll take about half an hour, with cleanup probably lasting about an hour."
Jimmy closed his eyes, picturing the map of the area. The eastern suburbs, especially near the airport, were places he seldom visited, as they were usually under the jurisdiction of both the LRPD and the airport police unless there was an unusually tough situation that required his support. So far, Jimmy had never been called out there.
With no clear memory of the place, Jimmy opened his eyes and asked Justin, "Do you have a map?"
Justin stepped out and brought back a small map of Little Rock. Jimmy first located the airport, then headed east to find Higgins Road, which was about ten kilometers east of the airport. The distance meant they needn't worry about airport police, but setting up a roadblock would be trouble since it was still within Little Rock Police Department's jurisdiction.
Jimmy shook his head, "Justin, I can't do this alone, this area is still under LRPD's jurisdiction. I can't block this section of the road by myself, especially not for an hour."
Justin also looked at the map. Higgins Road was a rural two-lane road, primarily serving two nearby warehouses and a factory. The traffic flow was small, but the road was lengthy.
"We just need to block this section, what can you do?" Justin pointed to a mark on the map and marked a small stretch of road.
Jimmy: "Create accidents at both ends of the road, a cargo truck breakdown scattering the cargo is the simplest way. It's far from the city center, and waiting for a tow truck would take at least half an hour. If we could delay the report, or if no one else reports it, we can almost guarantee 40-50 minutes."
Justin: "The timing is too tight; we don't have enough time to assemble a team and make arrangements."
Jimmy looked at the factory's location on the map, his mind racing.
Jimmy: "Justin, can you get someone to cause trouble here?" He pointed to a factory that was closest to their target location.
Jimmy: "If something goes down here, I can come in and block this end of the road with a valid reason. But I can't do anything about the other end, I'm just one person."
Justin pondered for a moment, then pointed to the other end of the road, "Jimmy, you block this end, at least for half an hour, up to an hour. I'll figure something out for the factory side."
Jimmy: "That should work, what about the timing?"
Justin: "From 9 to 10 AM, I'll call you ahead of time."
Jimmy: "And the payment?"
Justin: "One piece, you just need to block this intersection."
Jimmy: "OK, that's settled then. I'll head over first thing tomorrow."
Jimmy picked up his bag and left the private room, deciding not to drink since he had things to handle the next day.
Jimmy drove straight to the police station, changed into his uniform and gear, drove out in his patrol car, and let his own car continue to gather dust in the parking lot.
The next morning, as soon as Jimmy got up, he drove the patrol car straight to the rural area. He didn't notify the dispatch center to avoid being assigned any tasks that might interfere with his plans.
Although Jimmy was still an assistant sheriff and hadn't been promoted, his autonomy at the headquarters was quite high. His position was well earned by his own proven track record. Moreover, although Jimmy had been known to issue many tickets, he had scarcely any complaints, which was a relief when he was a patrol officer.
If not for Jimmy being too young and having joined the police department too recently, his promotion to sergeant would likely have met with no objections, at least not within the county police.
Of course, there was also his educational qualifications; promotions and raises had requirements, and he probably wouldn't have his community college degree until the end of the year.
It was still early, and once Jimmy left the urban areas, he slowed down, driving as if he were just a regular patrol officer on duty, just like old times.
Jimmy arrived near Higgins Road, checked the time — 8:40, not quite time yet. He turned onto Higgins Road and drove forward, scoping out the area in advance.
This area was already rural, with some farmland, grasslands, and small woods around – very peaceful. If it weren't for having to come out here for the job, this was usually a place patrol officers wouldn't normally pay much attention to.
Jimmy saw in his rear-view mirror that two sedans were following his patrol car. They followed the traffic rules well and didn't try to overtake him. Jimmy continued driving forward until he reached a temple where the cars turned and parked in a small square in front of it.
This small temple was Justin's target, a Hindu temple, quite small, lacking the grandeur of those bigger temples, but it had the typical features of a simple Hindu temple, with a pyramid-like structure tapering off at the top and a small statue of a Hindu deity at the entrance.
Speaking of which, Baka, who was arrested last time, was Indian. Jimmy hoped this wasn't his family's place. He had only realized there was a Hindu temple here after looking at the map the day before. If he had known earlier, he would have scouted the place beforehand. Baka's situation still saddened him; he hated this kind of uncertainty the most.
Jimmy drove a bit further, and then Justin's call came.
"Jimmy, the targets have arrived; it's your turn."
"Okay."