Jimmy: "To be honest, I'm not very confident. I know that your recommendation is mainly because of my track record, but I don't actually have much insight into solving cases. Here at the county police, we primarily handle public order cases. Complex cases are transferred to LRPD and ASP."
Harten: "OK, let me give you some confidence.
All FBI agents nowadays essentially come up through the training at the National Academy. The only difference is the pathway into the academy. The FBI recruits agents from the public every year. Any U.S. citizen, with a college degree, aged between 23-37, and with a normal background can apply. Another way is through recommendation, including recruits recommended by various organizations.
I submitted my application just before graduating from college. Roughly two months later, the FBI notified me that I passed the review, and after that, I entered the Academy for training.
The training lasts for five months, covering a wide range of subjects, including law, intelligence gathering and analysis, case debriefing, tactical movement, combat, weapon use, and car driving, among others. We participated in simulation trainings of various kinds, such as dealing with criminals, bank robberies, and capturing spies.
Trainees are divided into agents and intelligence teams that work together. You are definitely slated for the agent track, and you'll know the specifics when the time comes.
All this training is essential for the job, and the difficulty shouldn't be too great for you. As long as you don't make any serious mistakes, passing shouldn't be a problem.
The National Academy starts training in August and graduates in January. There's only one cohort per year, and the Academy begins to fill out the job positions before graduation, although the final assignments are certainly arranged by the Academy.
Originally, you definitely wouldn't have been able to make it this year, but as you know, there are some special circumstances this year. We need to recruit additional personnel. So if you pass the review, there might be an additional training session scheduled. The starting date for the training is still unknown; no one can confirm it yet. I'm just going to make a recommendation."
Jimmy: "Hmm, I sort of get it, but speaking of which, five months of training is pretty long, huh? Do you provide any subsidy to trainees in advance?"
Harten had a puzzled look on his face, "What are you talking about?"
Jimmy: "Oh, do we get a salary or subsidy while studying at the Academy? Or is it entirely at our own expense?"
Harten: "Um, why do you always focus on such odd things? Training at the Academy is free, so there's no expense. Of course, don't expect to be paid a salary in advance."
Jimmy: "Can't help it; I'm a poor man. You know how low police salaries are here. Although I'm a senior officer, my savings are always insufficient."
Harten: "Hmm, don't worry about it. As long as you graduate and are selected as an FBI agent, the starting salary is about 60,000 a year, which should be enough for you to live on."
Jimmy: "Alright, now that it's decided, go ahead and report it. Remember to let me know in advance when there are any results. I still need time to resign from my current job."
Harten: "Sure, I'll notify you once there are any results. Of course, it might also be the FBI headquarters that contacts you."
After Jimmy finished chatting, he left the reception room. Now that the matter was decided, he began preparing for his future life.
James was also aware of Jimmy's decision by now and had already begun to prepare personnel moves. Once Jimmy left, people would be transferred from other branches to headquarters, with intern officers upcoming to fill in.
Jimmy continued his normal work routine, as he couldn't simply abandon his job without final confirmation. However, he spent quite some time studying, hoping to complete the last part of his credits before the FBI recruitment process—it would be troublesome otherwise.
Upon learning about the FBI process from Harten, Jimmy realized a problem; his education level was high school, while the FBI's recruitment standard required a college degree. His age was sufficient, but his education was an issue.
Perhaps the requirements for internal recommendation might be lower; after all, not all other organizations insist on a college degree. Whatever the case, this was a significant weakness. It would be best to get it sorted out before entering the FBI.
Jimmy started to adjust his own affairs as well. He renewed his storage unit lease to ensure it wouldn't be auctioned off if he were absent for several months. As for his apartment, that was no big issue. There wasn't much of necessity in his house, and it wouldn't be a major problem if the apartment was reclaimed due to his prolonged absence.
However, Jimmy was too optimistic. Although Harten had reported it, the FBI's review results had yet to arrive, leaving Jimmy to continue waiting.
The season was now fall, and the weather was no longer hot. Lately, Jimmy had been particularly well-behaved, not causing any trouble or committing any misdemeanors. It's unclear whether it was the impact of 9/11 being too profound or if the actions of the various police departments scared them, but the professional criminals had also quieted down, and Justin didn't have any assignments. He was just bored, running his bar.
With the current dullness, Jimmy decided to look into the case Harten mentioned earlier. The case was right by the Arkansas River, by the villas. He directly sought the county government for an address list, and then he planned to check out each place specifically.
Theoretically, if it really were a Cult stronghold, there must be some abnormal signs. Cultists often have serious issues in their heads and like to plaster their sect's symbols everywhere, unless explicitly prohibited.
So Jimmy didn't plan to investigate every house—just a glance from the roadside was enough. If symbols like inverted crosses or triskelion patterns appeared, it would be enough to suspect the place, and then he could let Harten arrange for a check.
After discussing the plan with Chief James, considering that Jimmy had nothing much to do, James agreed, but Jimmy could spend only two hours on this per day, while the rest of the time he had to return to the police station for duty.
The Arkansas River is very long, but within Plaskey County, it's not so extensive, as part of it cuts across Little Rock and North Little Rock, which the county police do not manage.
Jimmy drove along the roads adjacent to the Arkansas River, checking all the paths marked on the map that led to the riverbank. Industrial buildings and villas on either side were in his target area.
After examining each villa, he marked it off on a map. It took him a week to cover the entire stretch of the Arkansas Riverbank east of Little Rock. However, his judgement was incorrect; all the villas looked completely normal from the outside.
Disappointed once more, Jimmy's initial assumption was wrong. The Church obviously demanded that its members conceal their presence, leaving no obvious external marks.
What other criteria could he then use to conduct the investigation? Jimmy reviewed his materials again until suddenly, a thought struck him—if this was a Cult originating from Germany, perhaps he should start by checking if the villa owners were of German descent.