novelraw Chapter 1349 732-1_2
Chapter 1349 732-1_2
The entire investigation process was quite bumpy, mainly because Jimmy encountered three robberies in one day, two of which involved stealing his own motorcycle, which was quite embarrassing. He had to take one person to the orthopedic hospital, beat up a few others, and then find a restaurant to eat and cool down.
In this lousy place, if you're not somewhat capable, wandering the city is akin to courting death. Luckily, it was broad daylight, and Jimmy didn't fire his gun; otherwise, he'd probably be having a harder time investigating, ducking the police and all.
Right in the alley behind the restaurant where he was eating, he saw several people gathered together. From their movements, counting money and handing things over, they were probably making an underground deal. They looked like street retailers conducting business, quite normal, as he had seen this many times. Just when they separated and hadn't gone far, a gunfight broke out; two people came running from the other end of the alley and started shooting.
Jimmy slapped the table, paid the bill, and left. A gunfight broke out here; it would be troublesome if the police stopped him to investigate later.
Apparently, he was overthinking. After leaving the restaurant, he was eating a sickly sweet small cake in a nearby dessert shop when half an hour had passed since the gunfight, and only then did he see a police car drive by, without flashing lights or siren. He seriously suspected it might just be part of a routine patrol; meaning no one called the police, or the report had been suppressed.
This really challenged Jimmy's professional instincts and made his impression of the recent chaos in Juárez City even clearer.
Returning to the two sites he had not checked before, he squatted at the perimeter for a while before suddenly two cars drove over, honked their horns right into the alley. Jimmy immediately perked up; their driving style was pretty wild. If this wasn't their habitual way, then they must be in a hurry, meaning this might be a territory for mid-to-high-level management personnel?
Jimmy immediately got up, walked to his motorcycle, lit himself a cigarette, and kept an eye on the alley using his peripheral vision. After more than ten minutes, the people inside seemed to have exploded into action. Within a short while, three cars and two motorcycles had already emerged, and among the two cars that had entered previously, one remained inside, indicating they might be executing some major operation.
After waiting patiently for a while, once the earlier car left as well, Jimmy started his motorcycle and followed them, slowly weaving through streets and alleys, until he found their gathering spot — a standalone two-story small building at a corner of a crossroad in the southern part of the city, with an alley separating it from the houses behind.
Looking at the little building from the other side of the crossroad, Jimmy didn't stop but turned around to leave some distance, parked his motorcycle in a small alley, and approached the building from behind.
This building had also been remodeled, with more than a dozen people inside, some resting while others seemed to be moving boxes. There was a basement below, not very high, from which people were moving boxes or bags out, appearing quite busy.
Looking at the surroundings, Jimmy grabbed the rainwater pipe of the nearby house and climbed up, peering through a second-floor window to try confirming personnel information, but he failed; the angle was wrong, and he couldn't see much.
This situation seriously puzzled Jimmy. He wanted to find Carlos Escobar, not to bust their gang but because he needed evidence of child trafficking and smuggling. Clearly, there were no detained individuals here.
After staking out all day with no gains, Jimmy could only pin his hopes on one last chance. These people gathered here surely had a specific agenda, perhaps he could confirm if Carlos was here by watching the entrance. If he achieved nothing this time, then tomorrow he would have to leave Juárez.
Until nightfall, Jimmy really couldn't wait any longer. He was staking out near their base; if it weren't for his alertness, he would have been noticed at least twice. On one occasion, two gang members even came to the downstairs door; had there been anyone in the house, they would have gone to the roof and discovered Jimmy.
The dozen or so people inside weren't coming out to work, just took things then stayed inside, which made Jimmy extremely impatient. After nightfall, he had no idea how long he had to wait, so he decided to quit.
Sliding down the rainwater pipe to the ground, Jimmy found his motorcycle still in good shape, evidently some advantage of having a gang hideout nearby — other gangs wouldn't mess around here. Meanwhile, the people in the building hadn't come out to check, so Jimmy's motorcycle survived.
Turning the motorcycle around, Jimmy had just stepped on it ready to start when suddenly he noticed the people inside the little building also began to get up. Soon a bunch of them came downstairs, boarded different cars and began to leave.
Confirming Carlos Escobar wasn't among them, Jimmy checked his watch, then followed them at a distance southward until they left Juárez City.
Soon, they arrived at a farm; it looked like it should be a ranch. Though the surrounding environment wasn't great, he could clearly see some neatly stacked things. Jimmy circled around to confirm they were haystacks, likely prepared fodder.
Most of the people outside the farmhouse entered except for a few who stayed outside, while Jimmy, not yet using the cover of night to approach the house, saw them coming out of the house, beginning to arrange people to disperse and set up a perimeter around.