North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1333 - 724: Operation Begins

Alejandro Gomez and Carlos Rodriguez arrived at the DEA office in the afternoon. They need Jimmy to give them two days to investigate Victoria's whereabouts, which requires the help of the Albuquerque office and contacting their informants in Mexico.

Alejandro and Steven did not exchange too much, perhaps because there were outsiders present, they didn't want their private relationship to be exposed to too many people.

The information on Carlos Escobar that Jimmy and his team cared about was meaningless to Alejandro's group, so the team split into two to conduct investigations separately. Although Jimmy and Alejandro were both in Steven and Hank's office, their information was completely separate.

Jimmy and Steven wrapped up their information sharing early and left the office. Steven needs to start investigating the case involving multiple deaths because Jimmy said it wasn't him. Steven also needs to figure out if those behind the scenes would contact the agents involved in the shootout, as this concerns his safety and can't be taken lightly.

As for Jimmy, it was simpler; he now has a set schedule and needs to think about the subsequent events. Ruiz assigned him the task of rescuing people, so planning actions based on existing clues falls upon him.

This time, he's not acting alone; he's accompanied by FBI and DEA personnel. According to Alejandro, this operation needs to notify the Mexican government, and it's estimated that their police force will be involved, so arrangements need to be properly made.

The two days quickly passed, and Jimmy received numerous maps and satellite photos of Juárez City from the FBI and DEA; these are full of various marked positions and planned routes. However, without having seen the site in person, he couldn't guarantee the safety of the planned route. Plus, never having been to Juárez before, he only knew from watching the drug dealers' two-year struggle, with official records showing thousands dead, that the environment there wouldn't be too safe.

Even within such a short two years, it has already changed the daily habits of residents in Juárez; people are glued to radios and TV news to find out where shootouts occur, where murders happen, and avoid going nearby. Even gangs have a basic tacit understanding: after a murder, leave quickly and, if possible, take the corpse with them, leaving no trace for the police.

The more one understands this situation, the more unbelievable it seems—Juárez now has a death rate higher than a war zone, and for a single city, nearly two hundred varying gangs fight, meaning no area is truly safe. The usual person would be terrified, and those who continue to live here have likely become anything but ordinary.

Steven is discreetly conducting the investigation into the case, but there's seemingly good news; they don't suspect Jimmy or Steven. They are merely investigating who exactly those three people were, if there was infighting or some mishap.

According to forensic analysis, the person Jimmy eliminated was determined to have accidentally stepped on soap and fell, violently hitting his head on the sink and dying. The twisted neck injury, calculated based on the head injury and his physical stature, should be from hitting the sink, leading to neck rotation and maintaining a twisted position when pressed against the wall.

Based on the condition of the five dead individuals at the scene, they were shot without resistance or retaliation, indicating they were entirely unprepared for the gunman and should have been together.

Ballistic analysis suggests the gunman's position, and based on their last known positions, it's likely they were searching the house for more people after shooting the five in the living room, leading to the conclusion that these victims discovered the man's death in the bathroom.

From various site conditions, one basic conclusion is that these three people who were shot must have known the deceased outside the bathroom, or were invited by him.

In any case, the focus has shifted now, allowing Steven peace of mind; no need to constantly watch the case. When he shared this update with Jimmy, Jimmy expressed relief, glad he took the person's phone to redirect the investigation focus to other areas, which seems effective now.

Jimmy's matters were almost settled; Alejandro, on the other hand, was less fortunate—their informants couldn't ascertain Victoria's exact location, but time had run out, so they had to proceed regardless.

On the FBI side were only Jimmy and Javier, while the DEA had only Alejandro and Carlos Rodriguez from headquarters. Albuquerque provided a six-person SRT team and a Bearcat armored vehicle to support them, with three vehicles departing Albuquerque towards the U.S.-Mexico border.

The convoy arrived at El Paso across from Juárez, paused briefly, and then smoothly passed Customs due to prior arrangements. Mexican Customs cooperated by intercepting other vehicles, allowing them to cut in line and enter Mexico successfully.