North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1317 - 716:

The two people rescued from the reservation were also young girls around 20 years old, so the gang information they found was mostly about those with relatively fixed locations and high-end venues. They dismissed the small gangs controlling street sex workers, as the quality was too low and didn't match the age of the girls.

There are indeed many gangs in New Mexico, but the FBI information here is hard to meet Jimmy's requirements. Back in New York, whenever Jimmy asked for it, Ruiz could always find him suitable information, especially about the big gangs, their strongholds, and the industries they controlled. In contrast, Albuquerque seemed much simpler. Maybe they were unwilling to share a lot of information with Jimmy, but based on the information currently available, Jimmy almost suspected that the local anti-gang unit was somewhat negligent.

This situation made Jimmy quite frustrated. He took Hope out of the office for a smoke and a chance to vent about the lack of cooperation here. Hope felt the same way. Wherever they went, the cooperation from the local offices was pretty poor.

In fact, Jimmy's thinking was a bit biased. He came from the New York Manhattan office, which has one-sixth of the FBI's senior agents and is one of the three largest divisions in the country. It also supervises cooperation with the United Nations and international offices. Their human resources and team configurations were unmatched by other divisions.

Hope had come from the headquarters, and having no experience working in such remote offices, he naturally compared the resources to what he previously had. The difference was indeed significant, so their feeling that the support from the division was insufficient was justified. But this is also the strength disparity between divisions, and it's unavoidable.

Yet this situation wasn't too far beyond Jimmy's expectations. At least he still had Hank to help investigate. Although most of their information was about drug traffickers, most of these traffickers in the city, except for the few operating solo, were tied to gang backgrounds. It could count as a source of information.

After cross-referencing the FBI office's information, they didn't find suitable cases. However, the local agents promised to help them scope out one or two venues first, which wouldn't require Jimmy and his team's involvement. The office would plan and execute it.

This was an acceptable result, after all. Jimmy had brought a fairly significant gift to the Albuquerque office — the rescue of two young girls counts as their accomplishment. This unearned credit naturally needed acknowledgment.

Jimmy arranged to meet Hank the next day, then returned to the hotel with Hope to rest. Anyway, he's sure to stay in the room resting; as for what Hope might do is unknown. He hoped Hope would be more cautious this time, as another mishap would leave him beyond saving. They had already constructed a cover story, using the controlled women to find the lair, and fortunately stumbled upon an internal conflict, rescuing two captive young girls.

Though there were still some loopholes, as long as no one above pursued it, they could just let it slide. It depended on how Hope would write the report.

The next day Jimmy had not left when Hope came knocking: "I found some clues at a bar last night. There's a club in the south of the city that offers some... as those scumbags called it, exciting activities, and they frequently change newcomers."

Jimmy: "Oh, not bad. But we can't do anything for now. After all, this is Albuquerque; there are too many clubs in the city. It's hard to determine that's our target. Let's go find Hank first; he said he could help us think of something."

Hope nodded: "Okay, let's put it as a backup clue for now."

Reuniting with Hank, Hank was a bit taken aback seeing Jimmy and Hope in suits, "Can't you change your clothes? You're too conspicuous like this."

Jimmy looked at Hope and then at his own clothes. Fine, dressing like this in Albuquerque is indeed a bit striking. After all, this isn't a financial city. Normally, if you see someone in a suit on the street, they're probably from a special department or are lawyers – special professions. They were just used to it before.

Jimmy: "Okay, where's the mall? We'll get changed now."

Hank sighed, "Follow me; let's get you a change of attire first."

After changing into casual wear, Hank drove Jimmy to the south side of the city and parked near a motel. He came to Jimmy's car, "You guys just wait here for a bit. You'll probably see her soon. Jimmy, come to my car."

Jimmy nodded to Hope, got out of the car, and Hope moved to the driver's seat just in case. They were familiar with this routine, knowing this was not a good place. Just while they parked, they saw several people sneaking back to their hotel rooms. Judging by their behavior and tattoos, none of these people were clean.

Jimmy dodged various litter and used condoms on the road as he got into Hank's car, "Who are we meeting here? What a crappy place."

Hank: "We call this Crystal Palace, a dirty, loathsome place."

Jimmy smirked; Hank's informant certainly wasn't picky. This place probably only had junkies, the homeless, and low-end street workers to converse with.

After a long wait, Hank patted Jimmy, "There she is." He rolled down the window and shouted out, "Hey, hey, you, princess, come here. Don't make me get out."

Jimmy turned to look; a frail woman was buying a drink at a vending machine. Hearing Hank's call, she walked over, "Hi, I have no goods."

Hank: "Don't put your hands on my car. I need some information from you."

The woman stood up straight, ready to leave, "No, no information."

Hank: "Hey!... "

Jimmy patted Hank, "Calm down! You, come over here."

The woman heard Jimmy's words, looked over, and then walked to Jimmy's side, taking a banknote from his hand, "Okay, what do you want to know?"

Jimmy shrugged at Hank; this woman surely wasn't Hank's legal informant. Using US Dollars directly paved the way more effectively. He turned to the woman, "What's your name?"

Woman: "Wendy."

Jimmy: "OK, Wendy, I want to know where I can find people like you, young girls, who has such goods?"

Wendy's expression changed, "I don't know, I'm leaving."

Jimmy: "Wait."

Wendy saw another twenty appear in Jimmy's hand and shook her head.

Jimmy reached into his pocket again and pulled out a few bills, "Last offer."

Wendy snatched the money from Jimmy's hand, "La Noche, Carlos Escobar's territory." With that, she turned and left.

Jimmy looked at Hank, "Do you know the place she mentioned?"

Hank's expression was not good, "Carlos Escobar, a Mexican, has a decently sized gang, Los Reyes Negros. Didn't expect that club to be his property."

Jimmy: "Where's that club?"

Hank: "It's downtown, an unmarked underground club. Let's go, I'll go back and check the records."

Jimmy: "A Mexican, then he likely has some connection to drug trafficking."

Hank: "Hmm, a Mexican gang boss who's long been registered. He's supposed to be in Juarez, should've never entered the country. I need to verify this thoroughly."

Jimmy nodded, opened the car door, and got out, letting Hank return to the DEA office to check the information.

He returned to the car, told Hope to follow Hank's car to the DEA, but they didn't go inside, instead finding a nearby café to sit and have coffee. Meanwhile, he updated Hope on the information he gathered.