Jimmy had just handled a police issue and returned to the station when he found that John had come again and was sitting next to his desk, reading a newspaper.
Jimmy, "Hi, John, haven't you finished the investigation yet?"
John looked up, saw Jimmy, casually placed the newspaper on the desk, and stood up.
John, "Yeah, this is a big case, but I think it's almost over. Are you done with your assignment?"
Jimmy, "Yes, I just finished and came back. Is there something?"
John, "Since that's the case, come with me. A leader has arrived and needs to talk to you."
Jimmy raised his hand to his forehead and said, "Give me a break, it's been over a week, I've already attended three inquiries, isn't that enough?"
John shrugged, "It's not for me to decide. Come on, let's go to the FBI branch."
Jimmy pointed to his gear, "Wait for me a bit, I'll change my clothes."
John shook his head, "No need, bring it with you, we're leaving immediately."
Jimmy and John left the office and got into a black Chevrolet Suburban that John had driven over; this vehicle seemed to be their standard vehicle, as the Vice President's motorcade had been mainly composed of these when the Special Service Bureau was involved.
The FBI building in Plaskey County, Jimmy was visiting for the fourth time this week. Jimmy and John entered the building where John's USSS credentials proved very useful again. This time, the attack case was particularly frustrating for the FBI—they hadn't detected the attacker beforehand, and afterwards, hadn't found the mastermind. Although their role was supportive, the relevant personnel still got a scolding from their superior.
Jimmy and John walked into the meeting room, where four suit-clad leaders were sitting on one side of the conference table, and a clerk, who was taking meeting notes, sat at the far end. Jimmy sat across from the four leaders, removed his hat, and placed it on the table, while John sat at the edge.
Jimmy looked at the four people in front of him, recognizing only one of them, an FBI leader, while the other three were new faces.
"Assistant Sheriff of Plaskey County, Jimmy Yang, please describe in detail the process of the security check and your itinerary a week prior to the incident."
Jimmy repeated what he had mentioned several times before, the only difference being that this time he needed to additionally supplement his weekly itinerary.
Since Jimmy's leave had been canceled, he had been constantly at the police station providing support, with his daily check-in and check-out times and task assignments from the dispatch center, all of which were officially logged and thus unproblematic to discuss.
However, it was the weekend solo driving to familiarize himself with routes, as arranged by Director James, but with no accompanying witnesses. They kept cross-verifying the routes Jimmy drove, then asked him to wait outside the meeting room.
Jimmy picked up his hat from the table, nodded to them, put on his hat, and left the meeting room. He saw a familiar face outside; Harten was at the door, nodded to Jimmy as he saw him come out, and then entered the meeting room.
Jimmy stood at the door of the meeting room; he didn't find a place to sit and rest, not knowing when he might be called inside again. Standing wasn't particularly exhausting anyway.
The soundproofing of the meeting room was strong; though he stood by the door, he could only hear a buzzing sound and couldn't clearly make out what was being said inside.
A few minutes later, Harten came out and told Jimmy to go inside, while he left directly.
Jimmy sat back down at the conference table, where a copy of the meeting minutes had already been placed in front of him.
John to Jimmy, "Check it, and if there are no issues, sign to confirm."
Jimmy flipped through the meeting minutes, the content was essentially the same as what he had given, so he signed directly and then pushed the document forward slightly.
A suit-clad leader said, "John, take Jimmy and leave."
John and Jimmy stood up, left the meeting room, and exited the FBI building. John was also supposed to take Jimmy back.
Once in the car, John started the vehicle and left the parking lot, while driving he said, "I didn't see it coming, Jimmy, your record is really impressive."
Jimmy, "Haven't you seen my file before?"
John, "Yes, Director James had shown me your information when he recommended you, but that file didn't include all those takedown records."
Jimmy, "Are you saying that the FBI provided new information just now?"
John, "Yes, the FBI has some additional data. Your issue should be over now, and you don't have to worry about us coming to find you anymore."
Jimmy, "Thank God, it's finally over. Meeting with you guys is more troublesome than facing bandits. By the way, John, any new clues on the suspect? Can you tell me?"
John, "There's nothing that can't be said as long as you don't tell the media. We've already identified one of the two people involved in the bombing attack: an Iraqi who arrived in the United States a few years ago and has since obtained a green card. Now ICE is looking into his connections, to see if there are other potential threats.
The person caught on the road is Middle Eastern-American; he is currently being interrogated, with no final results yet."
The two chatted casually as John drove Jimmy to the police station, then left directly. Jimmy returned to the station, finally able to relax.
After work, Jimmy changed and went to the gym. He had been worried about the investigation for a while; besides work, Jimmy had strictly stayed home and refrained from doing anything that could potentially trigger further investigations.
Not exercising for a long period, Jimmy needed to get used to it. After gradually increasing his workouts at the gym, he stayed only an hour before leaving.
He couldn't exert himself too much, as he had to work again the next day, and any muscle injury could potentially hinder his ability to respond to police calls.
After returning home, Jimmy took a shower, sat on the couch, and watched TV, though he wasn't really paying attention to it. Instead, he was considering the information John had provided.
The wars in Iraq were also a reality in this world, with the Gulf War in 1991 ending quickly within just over a month as Iraq was nearly destroyed.
Despite the outbreak of the war, the United States hadn't completely banned Iraqi entry, so it wasn't entirely unbelievable that Iraqis could enter the country years later and obtain green cards.
If the attacker's motive was revenge, it didn't quite hold up; it had been 10 years, and if they had intended to assassinate a political figure, they would have acted sooner.
Moreover, the Middle Eastern connection gave Jimmy an uneasy feeling. It was now July 2001, not far from that significant day. Since this was a different world, whether the same event would occur here was still uncertain, but as a deeply impactful incident, Jimmy was always waiting for time to confirm whether this world would witness the same major event.