North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1420 - 766: Up the Stakes 2

Jimmy: "Hmm, but it'd be best to speed things up. I've been out for a month now, and this case has been dragging on for quite a while. Once too much time has passed, it gets really hard to investigate."

Dave: "I've told you before, some cases are destined to be long-term investigations. Plus, you've settled down, and you need to allocate some time for your family."

Jimmy: "Of course, I understand. I was just a bit anxious before."

Dave nodded. Jimmy was smart; there were some things that really didn't need to be fully articulated.

After business was done, the two chatted for a while longer, and Dave gave his opinion on Jimmy's next step in the investigation. The Los Angeles office hadn't given full authority; their people would initiate the initial investigation, and if there was any overlap with Jimmy's side, they would call Jimmy over to form a joint task force.

Jimmy was definitely unwilling. He agreed to go to Miami back then only after getting prior permission to be in charge of the entire case himself, without others interfering. The key issue was that if others were involved, many of his methods couldn't be implemented.

After negotiating with Dave, there was nothing Dave could do. This was one of the biggest divisions, just like the New York office, with a high level of authority. Unless Dave could connect with headquarters to get their authorization, they could only communicate privately with the Los Angeles side. But the person who died was an important figure within the California faction, making many things difficult to handle.

After talking enough, Dave directly asked Jimmy to drive him back to the airport. He needed to return to New York as soon as possible, and the matter here was left to Jimmy to continue investigating. He just needed to be careful and avoid causing any disputes with the people from the Los Angeles office.

After sending Dave to the airport, Jimmy returned to the hotel. Dave's visit had disrupted his plans, and with the Los Angeles office starting their investigation, it might affect his plans. He originally planned to go back directly, but now he realized he might need to stay here a bit longer to prevent this group from disrupting the prisoner's dilemma he had painstakingly set up.

Especially since he had just told Dave that he planned to make this big party even bigger. Those people were from the donkey party, and if they added the elephant party crowd, the scene would be huge. The key was that the two parties didn't have many common topics. As long as they didn't communicate deeply, they would never suspect that the one causing trouble in the middle was the FBI.

Dave had agreed to let Jimmy call on the technology department to track these people via their phones. In case of any mishaps, Jimmy could quickly get over there. After all, these individuals were either important faction members or key financiers; big or small, they were all somewhat connected.

Jimmy's request would normally be inappropriate, but given that two people had already died and Mrs. Harriton had even been in a car accident requiring surgery, no one could guarantee other people's safety. Jimmy's rationale managed to pull Dave's thought process to his level, influencing him with his extensive experience, and Dave genuinely agreed.

This was a big help for Jimmy. His current task was to investigate the case, so he must ensure that all his recorded information was compliant and authorized, leaving no one able to pick faults and preventing anyone from suspecting his real intention of locating these people was to cause chaos.

The Los Angeles office acted swiftly. The day after Dave left, Jimmy restarted his plan to meet these people, only to regrettably find that just a few were available, with all others, including Mrs. Harriton and Lester, missing. Their companies couldn't reach them, and Jimmy's calls went unanswered, almost making him doubt if he'd sleepwalked out at night and taken them all out.

Jimmy flipped through his contacts, found Sebastian, Mrs. Harriton's attorney, and called him. The result was unfavorable; the other party declined Jimmy's request to meet Mrs. Harriton, citing inconvenient circumstances.

That was a flat rejection, leaving Jimmy discontentedly hanging up. Now wasn't the right time; he'd wait for news from Dave before investigating further.

But he couldn't just give up. Los Angeles was still relatively convenient for him. He simply went to a few second-hand shops, bought some clothes and gear, waited until nightfall, and drove away from the hotel towards Mrs. Harriton's estate.

To avoid revealing his whereabouts, he parked several kilometers away in a parking lot and then navigated through various secluded paths on his way to Mrs. Harriton's estate.

He'd been to this estate before and naturally remembered the path from the entrance to the villa, thanks to his habits. But this time, sneaking in required a side or back approach to enter the estate. Luckily, despite the wide lawns, there were plant dividers offering cover to conceal his movements.

Since it was his first time entering from the side, he was unsure about the surveillance positions and could only be extra cautious, avoiding places where cameras might be installed.

This time, he wasn't here to kill. Mrs. Harriton was a key figure in this case, and her cooperation was crucial for what was to follow. Despite anyone wanting her dead, it definitely wouldn't be Jimmy.

His main goal was to rattle her a little and create some chaos. So his task was simple: approach the main building, enter if possible, alert the security, and then escape.

No matter if Mrs. Harriton was at the estate or not, triggering the security would ensure someone informed her that someone was causing trouble at the estate. Regardless of who was behind it, someone coming there late at night was definitely up to no good.

The plan was solid, but when he was still over thirty meters from the central villa, he suddenly noticed several people moving quickly inside, with two already positioned by the window.

Uh-oh, there were hidden alarms he hadn't spotted here, probably infrared cameras or motion detectors, and they'd pinpointed his location.

This was the United States, and security personnel at an estate like this would certainly be armed, with a substantial number of automatic and semi-automatic weapons at their disposal. It wasn't even impossible that they had flashbangs or similar special equipment. Being discovered beforehand was really not a good thing, and it left Jimmy in a tough spot halfway through.

Thinking it over, Jimmy decided to retreat. Engaging them here wasn't worth it. Just thirty meters to go, and it should be fine. He glanced back at the road he came from, thought a bit, pulled out his Glock, and fired a shot into the air above the estate, calculating the bullet would go over the wall and not leave a trace.

With the sound of the gunshot, he immediately got up and sprinted back the way he came. As he ran, he grabbed two spikes at the top of the spiked fence, flipping over headfirst, landing quickly, and changing direction repeatedly, stealing glances behind to ensure no one was following him.

As he climbed the fence earlier, he confirmed that the security inside the house had started moving the moment the shot rang out. By the time he reached the wall, they'd already started chasing, but their speed clearly couldn't match his. Jimmy had sprinted a few hundred meters, and still saw no one behind him.

Though things hadn't gone as planned, he'd confirmed that Mrs. Harriton had to be in the villa. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many security personnel inside. When he first came, there were only two suspected security members, but now he'd seen five.

Jimmy weaved through various routes, running several kilometers back to his car. After a quick change of clothes, he drove off, stopping along the way to discard his used clothes and shoes in several garbage bins, only then returning to the hotel to rest.