novelraw Chapter 1319 - 717: Infiltration (Part 2)
Chapter 1319 - 717: Infiltration (Part 2)
Hank didn't speak; he waited for the waiter to leave after bringing their coffee before saying: "I'm not familiar with this kind of case. I've never handled such a case before, but... if the person you're looking for is indeed inside, I imagine she has no way to get any message out, and if something unexpected happened, no one would be able to find her."
Jimmy: "Hope, what's your opinion?"
Hope didn't look up and continued reviewing the files: "I think we might not have any other clues, but it's not as if we got precise information. Also, this situation might not connect with what's going on over in Utah. If something unexpected happens, it could cause a lot of trouble."
Jimmy let out a long breath. He picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, then after thinking for a moment, looked at Hank, "Do you guys intend to take any action against Carlos Escobar?"
Hank: "Oh, not for now. In fact, we haven't found any evidence of Carlos Escobar operating in Albuquerque... Ah, I get it, you want to initiate a joint operation?"
Jimmy nodded, looking around to ensure no one was near. He whispered, "The lead came from an informant. When cooperating with an FBI investigation, you discovered that Carlos and his crew from Mexico's Juarez cartel have infiltrated Albuquerque's underworld. As Juarez drug traffickers, you have a legitimate reason to suspect they're involved in drug trafficking and money laundering in Albuquerque... I think such a justification might convince your superiors to authorize a special operation, right?"
Hank considered this, "Possibly, but a special operation might not be approved. However, deploying technical means and intelligence personnel for reconnaissance should be feasible. I'll need to go back and think it over."
Jimmy: "Of course, just please notify me of the result as soon as possible. If you don't participate, we'll need to rearrange things on our end as well."
Hank finished his coffee in one gulp, took the files from Hope's hand, said goodbye to Jimmy and the others, and left.
After Hank left, Hope said to Jimmy, "Yang, this is totally different from what we've dealt with before. The clues are very vague and non-specific. Directly investigating this club might not convince others, especially since we still need assistance from the Albuquerque office."
Jimmy: "No, this is the only lead we have now. If we choose not to pursue it, we might as well pack up and go home; this case would be over. Do you want that outcome?"
Hope: "Of course not, but if there's an issue with the procedure, you and I will both come under scrutiny."
Jimmy pointed to where Hank had been sitting: "That's why we need others' help. With their involvement, OPR would have a hard time investigating. It's not easy to get DEA folks to cooperate, but if we get any gains in this investigation, I think they'd take the fall willingly for us."
Hope leaned back in his chair, frowning. Unlike Jimmy, who often came up with some head-scratching ideas, he mostly acted within the rules and didn't often collaborate with other federal agencies. He couldn't imagine how DEA would cooperate with him; he had to write the final case report. If these things weren't thought through in advance, the final report would be disastrous.
This time, their case report clearly wouldn't circulate only among Peter and the immediate bosses, because they had already engaged offices from Missouri, Utah, and New Mexico. It was a massive operation, and there would be many people and departments interested in their case. Any anomaly in the report would be seized upon for investigation.
The gun incident had been a tough enough mishap to handle before, and now, based on some vague clues, they planned to take action against a drug-dealer-controlled underground club. How would they explain that later?
Jimmy tidied up a bit: "Let's go back and think it over slowly."
Returning to the hotel, Hope continued pondering the report, while Jimmy made a call to Roland in the room, confirming there was still no signal, and then contacted Peter. For the best, there should at least be some slight authorization from above, even just a notification, which was better than acting arbitrarily; it provided an excuse when passing the buck.
Upon hearing Jimmy's rationale, Peter fell silent. Tackling domestic city gangs and Mexican drug dealers were two entirely different concepts. Gang members might at most carry a handgun or a couple of shotguns, whereas drug dealers made life-threatening money, so their equipment was clearly of a higher grade, raising the risk considerably.
Out of trust for Jimmy, Peter finally agreed with their investigative direction, only urging him to be cautious, which could be seen as obtaining upper-level authorization from the procedure.
Jimmy communicated his received feedback to Hope, relieving Hope from his dilemma.
Progress on Hank's side was swift. Just a day later, he contacted Jimmy again; the DEA would join forces with FBI headquarters agents and the Albuquerque office to investigate the suspected Mexican gang headquarters.
With everything in place, two surveillance vehicles were parked on either side of la noche club, though at a slight distance to avoid detection. One vehicle belonged to the DEA, the other to the FBI. Of course, members from both sides had to enter the club, with Jimmy alone from the FBI for safety reasons, and Steven Gomez replacing Hank on the other side.
As a Latin American, Steven Gomez wouldn't stand out in such a place. Though Jimmy was quite conspicuous, people trusted his capability and wanted to protect Steven, as they didn't have much confidence in others.
To help Jimmy fit in with the vibe, he even changed his outfit and put tattoo decals on his shoulders and neck; together with an informant outside, the two went into the club.
Despite lacking exterior signage, being an underground club, one would find the interior well-furnished upon entry. The lighting was dim, but complemented by soft light around, creating a hazy ambiance more appealing than a brightly lit environment.
The bar and furniture featured a brown and black color scheme, paired with dim yellow lighting and a low background music, which wouldn't offend guests, coupled with alcohol and drug stimulation, raising some people's desires. As soon as Jimmy and the others sat at the bar, they already saw many people embracing each other.
Steven clearly wasn't a saint either; his current identity wasn't as a DEA Senior Agent, so he appeared quite relaxed.
After sitting for a bit, Jimmy and his team left the bar to wander elsewhere in the club. In a nearby room was a small casino; Steven roamed by a few tables in the casino, using the micro-camera button in his shirt to capture everything around, while Jimmy headed to other rooms.
Being a club, it couldn't be like Jimmy's single-bar pub. This was a five-story building, and from Jimmy's observations, it had two basement levels, with quite a substantial total area.
Apart from regular staff and guests, many people stood or sat in key rooms, with guards at every corridor corner, indicating its strong security presence.
Jimmy made mental notes of some special locations; some individuals in the rooms indeed seemed peculiar, but without witnessing their actions firsthand, he couldn't report anything.
After taking brief notes, Jimmy came to Steven's side, signaled him to a corner, and the two headed down a corridor, turned into a restroom, exchanged a few words, then exited, glancing around, and entered a nearby room. He subdued the person monitoring inside, proceeding to infiltrate other corridors and rooms for inspection.