James had blown up in anger and sent Jimmy off to work.
Jimmy, submissive and compliant, slipped out of James's office and finally took a deep breath. During his time in the office, Jimmy had not said a word; it was all James venting.
Once he stepped out of the office, Jimmy returned to normal, He went to the break room, poured himself a cup of coffee, and rested at his desk.
Such scoldings had been rare before—Jimmy usually avoided trouble but wasn't afraid of it either. The key was that not many people could confront him like that and get away with it.
This time, he indeed had been too fiery and would need to be more cautious in the future. It was no problem being tough on lone wolves or other criminals, but with matters clearly involving multiple gangs, it was better to show some restraint, otherwise next time things might not turn out so well.
Jimmy wasn't completely clueless; in fact, he had returned to normal a long time ago without any violent impulses. Although he didn't know exactly why, he guessed that his body retained some of his previous consciousness.
When he left, Roland had mentioned that the original Jimmy was filled with hatred and brutality. Jimmy wasn't an expert in spiritual matters, but reasoning from this, his prior actions of repeatedly killing suspects were somewhat explainable.
Jimmy had nothing else to do today, so after lunch, he returned to the shooting range to continue with the Shotgun training that had been interrupted in the morning.
The range had a simulated 3GN competition area, perfect for training, although it required an additional fee. Jimmy hadn't registered as a 3GN member; he was just practicing the skills necessary for his job and had no plans to participate in grading or competitions.
He used his own 92F pistol, which he had been using for over a year and was very familiar with, with no plans to replace it anytime soon. For the rifle, he directly used the M16 he trained with, and the Shotgun was the Benelli M2 he was currently using.
It must be said, three-gun training, which requires precise control of accuracy and timing, was something Jimmy was not used to. His practice was usually limited to fixed target practice at the shooting lanes; he seldom engaged in this type of action shooting before.
Widely accepted, the 3GN's rules for three-gun are quite comprehensive. Jimmy happily played a few rounds, realizing three-gun was much more physically and mentally demanding than fixed-target shooting.
After a short rest, Jimmy left the shooting range and went back to the police station to rest. He was thinking about heading over to James's house that evening, as James had suggested that there might be something about Tom to talk about.
Jimmy signed off early, went out for dinner, and then headed straight to James's house as it was about time.
Jimmy entered the community relying on his county police badge, then parked his car in front of James's house, straightened his clothes, and knocked on the door.
Mrs. Baldwin opened the door, saw Jimmy, and simply said, "Hi, Jimmy, come in, James is in the study," before turning back to the couch to continue watching her TV shows.
Jimmy didn't hesitate, entered, and closed the door behind him, then walked toward James's study. It seemed James must have spoken well of him to his wife or else she wouldn't have become so familiar all of a sudden.
Jimmy knocked and then opened the door to the study: "Hi, James."
James looked up at Jimmy and said, "Sit," then he opened a drawer and took out a card.
Jimmy sat in front of the desk as James handed him the card.
Jimmy flipped the card over. The back showed the CIA eagle emblem, and the front displayed Tom's name and a phone number, a number different from the one Jimmy had previously used to contact Tom.
Jimmy, "What's this about, James?"
James, "This card is one Tom gave me a long time ago, I've always used this number to contact him."
Jimmy, "And then?"
James: "Tom's family had no idea about this phone."
Jimmy: "It's normal for an agent to have several phones."
James: "But I could get through to this phone a few days ago, but nobody answered."
Jimmy: "Since this phone number is printed on a CIA business card, it must be an office phone, just not reclaimed yet. James, what exactly are you suspecting?"
James: "There was no body at Tom's funeral. They said he perished at sea, and the body wasn't found. Yet, Tom's phone was not shut off, it was still in standby mode. I could get through a few days ago, but nobody answered, and then it was turned off."
Jimmy: "Is Tom still alive?"
James: "I don't know. I contacted a few friends, but nobody had higher connections to access information."
Jimmy: "Hold on, I'll make a call."
Jimmy picked up his own phone and dialed the number Tom used to contact him. The call connected and there was a tone twice before it was cut off. When he tried again, the phone was turned off, it seemed the battery had run out.
Jimmy: "His other number also got through but now it's also turned off, probably battery exhausted."
James: "So something must have happened, he might be in trouble, and even if he's dead, it wasn't a natural death. It's been a long time since he contacted me. I have no idea what he was doing; everything he did was classified."
James stood up, took a bottle of liquor and glasses from the shelf, the same one he had drunk with Jimmy before, only much was gone; James apparently had not drunk little that night.
James poured two glasses of liquor, handing one to Jimmy, "Jimmy, you're young and your mind is sharp, think if there's any information I might have missed."
Jimmy downed his glass in one go, exhaled the alcohol fumes, and looked at James saying, "James, I need to know everything that happened after you arrived in Kentucky. With just two phone numbers not answering, I can't deduce much."
James didn't drink but sat down, recalling his itinerary.
Seeing James deep in thought, Jimmy took the bottle and poured himself another glass.
Once James had finished recalling, he began to describe his itinerary.
"Apart from some details not worth mentioning, my interaction with Tom's family was uneventful.
Three unusual things did occur, however. First, Tom's family had a number they used to contact him, which showed no signal when the CIA notified them of Tom's death.
Second, when the CIA returned Tom's personal effects, it included some clothes and Tom's bank account, without any electronic devices like computers or phones. The money and compensation were still in the bank account.
Third, at Tom's funeral, I saw a black SUV with Virginia license plates, but I thought it was Tom's colleague coming to the funeral, so I didn't note down the license number."
Jimmy: "I think we need to add one more thing. You need to contact Tom's family to find out who informed them of the news, when, and how they were told."
James: "I'll contact them tomorrow."
Jimmy: "Alright, let's start with these three things first."