novelraw Chapter 1264: 692_2
Chapter 1264: 692_2
At the DC headquarters, Peter saw Jimmy walking in with a suitcase, stood up, and gave him a hug, "Jimmy, welcome to DC."
Jimmy pushed the luggage to the side of Peter's office, "What's going on exactly? Why was I summoned to DC? Ruiz didn't make anything clear."
Peter: "Well, he doesn't know either, we didn't update him on the case. Sit down first, I'll go gather everyone."
He finished speaking, called someone at the door to get Jimmy a cup of coffee, and then left.
Soon, Jimmy arrived at the next meeting room, where Peter at the conference table opened a monitor showing photos of a middle-aged man and a young man, with their names beneath, "These are two agents from the Washington, D.C. office, Alex Becker, Senior Agent, and Benjamin Walker, intelligence personnel, computer expert, who just transitioned to fieldwork."
They went missing during a previous investigation, and the DC office has dispatched other agents to look into the cases and locations they investigated before disappearing but found no leads. Their phones were last located in the southern part of DC, where our people later found several shell casings and some bloodstains; it's now confirmed one of the bloodstains is Benjamin's."
Peter then displayed the location where the blood was found, along with photos of the surrounding environment and the positions of the shell casings.
Peter: "The case they were investigating before their disappearance was this human trafficking case. A victim escaped while being transported by traffickers and reported it in DC. Because it involves multiple states, the DC office has taken over the case."
Peter handed out some printed files to the agents present, and of course, Jimmy got a copy too.
The file wasn't complicated; a 16-year-old girl was kidnapped from Arizona and later trafficked to a small town in Ohio. Because she was kept in a basement, she didn't know the exact location, but she had seen an old newspaper used as box padding, so she roughly knew it was somewhere in Ohio.
You can almost imagine the abuse the girl suffered in such an environment. Months later, she was transferred again and became someone else's slave.
After being transferred three times, she managed to escape this time on the road and made it to a nearby gas station. With the help of the owner, she called the police, and that's when she was rescued.
The file contains several photos. The girl in them looked nothing like a 16-year-old, with dirty blonde hair, a gaunt face, and unnaturally pale skin, lacking the youthful vitality of a healthy teenager.
Besides the normal photos, there were some of the scars on her body. Many had healed, but a few looked fresh, likely inflicted during her transfer.
In retrospect, it's almost understandable; near a year of kidnapping, imprisonment, and abuse—it's unbearable for an adult, let alone a young girl.
Staring at the file, Jimmy couldn't help but grit his teeth. Human trafficking cases in the United States have never ceased; some people get rescued every year, but more often, only corpses are found, and the traffickers remain elusive...
In New York, Jimmy seldom encountered such cases; mostly, they were women controlled by gangs in the sex industry. They suffered, too, but at least their situation was marginally better compared to girls kidnapped and imprisoned.
They could go out, see people; even if their freedom was restricted and they had to sell their bodies, there was still some degree of dignity, and they had some freedom of choice. But for girls kidnapped and trafficked, their only option besides dying was completely losing freedom.
Just by looking at the file, Jimmy was already frowning. This case was grim, and relying on these girls' verbal clues to catch the traffickers and those who handled them was very difficult.
However, this human trafficking case wasn't pursued further. The agents' disappearance case emerged not long after the investigation began, and now their manpower is fully involved in it, but with poor results and few confirmed clues.
The commotion at the DC office alarmed headquarters; an FBI agent going missing is a big deal, especially under the nose of headquarters. Doing nothing was not an option, so Peter was tasked with intervening.
Peter was transferred from New York. While his team had cooperated with him for some time, he wasn't very impressed with their abilities. Remember, Peter used to solve over eighty percent of his cases, while the average agent's rate barely exceeded fifty percent. So when this urgent task came, the first person he thought of was Jimmy, who once had a higher case-solving rate than him, and his expertise made him perfect for this type of case since he previously handled homicides and was proficient in finding clues and locating people.
Peter contacted the Manhattan office in the name of a headquarters agent. Since the case details couldn't be disclosed temporarily, he could only discuss it with Jimmy after he arrived.
Peter's connections at the Manhattan office weren't severed after he moved to headquarters; temporary assignments like borrowing someone to assist with a case is normal personnel exchange. This time, it was urgent, so the Manhattan side didn't obstruct, and Jimmy came over as soon as he received the assignment.
Once everyone had finished reading the materials, Peter continued to present the DC office's investigation findings on the computer, including investigations around the location where the blood was found and personnel statements, the latest surveillance videos, etc., all part of the routine investigation the DC office thoroughly conducted.
All leads were talked through with the agents present. Peter assigned a few to coordinate with the DC office agents, then took Jimmy back to his office, "Jimmy, this time it will be tough on you."
Jimmy: "It's nothing, part of the job. What's the headquarters saying about this case? Any guidance from above?"
Peter: "Find them at all costs, and anyone or organization involved in their disappearance must be apprehended."
Jimmy: "What if something's happened to them?"
Peter didn't continue but took out a business card from the drawer, "Here's your reserved room, booked under my name. Rest first and come to my place tonight; Elizabeth has prepared dinner."
Jimmy took the hotel card and nodded, understanding that some things couldn't be said, only done.
Dragging his suitcase to the hotel, Jimmy checked in, cleaned up, and began inspecting his gear, checking the main magazine, spare magazines, and spare bullets for the revolver, ensuring everything was in order before heading out again to return to headquarters and go to Peter's house together.
Elizabeth was genuinely happy to see Jimmy. Peter must have informed her in advance, and the dinner was quite lavish.
Having finished dinner, Elizabeth tidied up the room, while Jimmy and Peter went to the small backyard, sitting under the light, drinking beer and chatting.
Peter hadn't been idly wasting time during his stay in Washington, D.C. He had been building connections. Although this case seemed tricky, like he was brought on to take the fall, it was actually an opportunity.
In nearly a year here, Peter hadn't handled any major cases. At his level, further promotion couldn't rely on mere seniority; a case he could showcase was needed for significant merit.
Peter was still young, being over forty is considered a key strength within the FBI. He wasn't near retirement yet. Handling only small or routine cases couldn't truly demonstrate his capability, naturally leaving those who appreciated him without an opportunity to advance him.