North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1372 742: Familiar Face (2)

Faced with this mess, Jimmy felt helpless. He's no longer a county police officer, nor a CIA agent. If he leaves the FBI now, what else can he do? Should he let his father-in-law arrange for him to join the NYPD and handle cases all day? Everyone else is moving up, does he have to step back from a federal agent to become a city police officer?

With a disgruntled look, Jimmy left the bar directly. He wasn't in the mood to chat with Woody, so he walked home. However, before entering, he had adjusted his mood and decided not to burden Nia with his troubles.

Time passed quickly, and the Christmas holiday soon ended. Jimmy checked the three guns on him in front of the mirror, touched the dagger behind his waist, adjusted his suit and tie in the mirror, grabbed his long coat from the side, and left home once he was sure everything was in order.

A new year, a new position; he already knew the result in advance, and Jimmy had fully accepted the arrangement made by Ruiz and his team.

Arriving at the homicide team office, Jimmy was still the earliest to arrive. He glanced at his desk first; even though he hadn't been here for a while, it was still clean, with everything in place. Obviously, Mark and Julia would tidy it up when they had nothing to do. Having younger folks around is nice, but that would soon be over.

Jimmy hung up his coat and began to clear his desk. How many times had he tidied up his desk? He had lost count.

Since joining the FBI, he's been in several teams and departments, having to organize his desk each time. Fortunately, he didn't have much stuff, and two boxes were enough for him.

Mainly, it was his various honors, photo frames, and spare bullets in the drawer. As for the files, there weren't many, and most were case files or copies from the office - he'd shred them soon at the shredder or pass some to Mark or Julia.

Before he finished packing, Julia pushed the door open, "Yo, Jimmy, good morning... What's going on?"

When Julia saw Jimmy, she initially smiled happily, but upon seeing him packing up his desk items, with familiar cardboard boxes nearby, she couldn't help but raise her voice to ask.

Jimmy replied with a smile, "Good morning, Julia, how was your Christmas?"

Julia came to Jimmy's desk, "I went on a short vacation with my family. Why are you packing up your stuff? What's happening?"

Jimmy: "Oh, just a little thing. I might be moving to another office, but it's not announced yet. I've got it; don't worry, it's good news."

Julia originally wanted to help, but Jimmy waved her off, assuring her he could do it himself. Julia looked surprised, wondering why Jimmy was suddenly being reassigned after being away for over two months.

Back at her desk, she placed her phone down, didn't make a call, but instead sent Mark a message. Though Jimmy noticed what she was doing, he didn't explain further, figuring that once Mark arrived, he'd explain, or perhaps Ruiz would announce it by then.

Relocation doesn't happen immediately post-announcement; Jimmy was just preparing early. In fact, he should still be in this position for a few days to facilitate handover. However, if Ruiz was particularly urgent, he'd relocate as soon as someone came to take over.

As it turned out, Jimmy's guess was quite accurate; Ruiz soon arrived. Jimmy was still talking to Mark and Julia when Ruiz walked in, prompting him to pause the conversation.

Ruiz didn't say much; he just announced Jimmy's reassignment and promotion. Afterwards, he mentioned someone else would take over soon, saying Jimmy could move to his new office after completion of the handover.

Promotion to SSA is certainly a cause for celebration. Jimmy accepted the order and then offered to treat everyone to afternoon tea. Subsequently, Ruiz left the homicide team office, just a procedural affair, a mere formality. Jimmy accepting it with a smile was enough.

The handover was expected to take a week. Although it's an out-of-town appointment, who will take over remains unclear to Ruiz, but there should be news in the next couple of days.

As Jimmy said, a promotion is good news, even if it's a transfer to a less powerful unit, the rank isn't fake. So his mood was pretty good during the afternoon tea, not just for their office but also for the nearby white-collar group and admin department.

The inclusion of the admin department was because Jimmy negotiable an independent office soon after Ruiz left. He persistently lobbied Tim Dunn for it, so now he didn't have to share a cubicle in the hall, even if this so-called new office was previously used for storage.

It wasn't easy, considering Jimmy's previous independent office was merely a partitioned space in a large office at Public Affairs, but now it's a proper standalone room, and he can even put up a plaque. It's already good, though the downside is there's no window. But it doesn't matter much, and as for the stored items, there are enough days for Tim Dunn to find a way to move them out.

However, unexpectedly, that evening he received a surprising call, "Good evening, Manager Lambert. Long time no see. How have you been lately?"

Lambert, the agent manager in Dallas, for whom Jimmy had worked several times when he visited Dallas. At that time, Lambert was merely an assistant agent manager like Hughes, but last year he got promoted to be the agent manager at the Dallas office. When Jimmy heard the news, he even called him.

Lambert spoke in a relaxed tone, "Hi, Jimmy, it's been a while. When will you come to Dallas to visit me?"

Jimmy chuckled, "I've been too busy lately, always out on assignments. When I get a break, I'll come visit you guys. Is there something up?"

Lambert: "Just a small favor. Ray will be joining your Manhattan office in a few days, look after him for me."

Jimmy: "Really? That's great news. Don't worry, we're old friends, it'll be no problem."

Lambert: "Okay, he'll get in touch with you later. That's it, drop by Dallas sometime."

Jimmy: "I will. Goodbye, Manager Lambert."

Jimmy smiled after hanging up, but the smile gradually faded from his face.

Why would Lambert take the trouble to call?

Ray Hope was the agent who teamed up with Jimmy during an assignment in Dallas. They had worked on a case together where Ray ended up severely injured and hospitalized, but it wasn't due to lack of competence - just sheer bad luck. Any agent thriving in Dallas couldn't be just a driftwood.

Taking care of a familiar face newly arrived in New York would pose no issue, but Lambert calling just to openly bolster his former subordinate seemed slightly overboard, didn't it?

Wait, it might concern himself. Ray is likely to oversee the homicide team once he arrives.

Jimmy grasped the gist—looking after Ray would entail more than just casual errands but likely involve job matters. Had it been a different department, even if they wanted to intervene, it would be difficult. It must be to assume his role. For Ray to quickly adapt, he'd need to get along well with Jimmy's former subordinates; Jimmy was the keystone here.

Jimmy helplessly chuckled and shook his head, glanced at the time, and directly dialed Ray's number, "Ray, congratulations, congratulations."

Ray: "Hi, Jimmy, I was planning to call you tomorrow. I just got the news, too."

Jimmy: "Have they confirmed your position?"

Ray: "Yes, it's proposed that I'll handle the homicide team. The official notice should be out in a couple of days."

Jimmy: "Great, I'll introduce you to your future colleagues when you're here. They are all good guys; I'm sure you'll get along well."

Ray: "Thanks, Jimmy."

Jimmy: "Alright, we'll talk when you get here. Goodnight."