Jimmy descended into the basent. The girl inside looked up at him and then lowered her head again. Her hands were tied up to the wall. Although not too tightly, she still couldn't lie down on the ground and could only sit with her hands above her.
Thankfully, her clothes were normal and not too disheveled or bloodstained, which indicated that she probably hadn't been tortured or violated.
Jimmy approached the girl and asked, "Mary? Mary Hogan?"
The girl lifted her head, "Who are you?"
Jimmy: "You're Mary, right? I'm here to rescue you."
"Yes." The girl nodded. Jimmy reached out to untie the ropes binding her hands. As Mary's hands were lowered, her body slumped to one side, and Jimmy hurriedly reached out to steady her.
Mary: "I have no strength left. I haven't eaten anything in more than a day."
Jimmy nodded, placed her arm around his shoulder, and helped her to stand. He all but dragged and carried her out of the basent.
After leaving the basent, Jimmy had Mary sit on the stairs while he went over to the person in the living room and checked their carotid artery again to ensure they were still alive and there had been no accidents.
Turning around to take Mary away, Jimmy then thought better of it and returned.
He searched the person, found a pistol and a magazine— the pistol was loaded and had a full magazine. Jimmy disabled the safety, tucked the pistol behind his back, and slipped the magazine into his pocket.
Jimmy helped Mary up and decided to leave through the back door. Thankfully there were no street lights or similar illumination so no one would see them, making it easy to get back to the car.
Jimmy opened the rear door, settled Mary in the back seat, then he drove straight out of the neighborhood.
While driving, Jimmy was looking around the streets. Mary had gone a long ti without food or drink, and he needed to urgently replenish her energy and water.
It took about fifteen minutes to find a gas station, where he bought so chocolate and biscuits, along with a bucket of water, and returned to the car.
Jimmy drove to a wooded area on the outskirts and handed Mary the chocolate and water so she could start replenishing herself. He needed to step out of the car to contact Mia.
The situation with Mary wasn't over yet— her mother's murder case remained unresolved, and there was no outco yet regarding her stepfather Kevin. If he let Mary go straight ho now, it would complicate matters. Furthermore, taking her to Little Rock wasn't feasible, as Jerry was still a holess man, and it would only add to the trouble if Mary went there.
Mia was a bit slow in picking up the phone, probably because she had stepped into a quiet place before answering.
Jimmy: "Mia, I have rescued the person. Do you have a temporary safe house we can use? I can't take her to a hotel."
Mia: "I'll give you a number, go directly there. It'll cost one Gold Coin."
Jimmy: "Thank you."
Jimmy waited a mont, then a text ca through. He dialed the number from the text, and a female voice answered on the other end.
Lady: "Hello, who are you looking for?"
Jimmy: "Mia sent to you, I need a safe house."
Lady: "mphis Bartlett, Freen Park, call when you get there," and then she hung up.
Jimmy got back in the car and said to Mary, "Mary, I'm a friend of Jerry's, I ca looking for you on his behalf. You're safe now, but you can't go ho yet. I'll arrange a place for you to stay for a few days."
Mary: "Is my father okay? Why didn't he co himself? Can I call him?"
Jimmy: "Of course."
Jimmy took out his phone, gestured to Mary, then got out of the car and called Jerry. Despite being late at night, Jerry answered the phone right away.
Jerry: "Hi Jimmy, any news?"
Jimmy: "Yeah, Mary has been rescued, but there's bad news— your ex-wife has been murdered. I'm not sure if Mary is aware of this yet, I haven't ntioned it to her."
Jerry: "It's okay, can you put through to Mary now?"
Jimmy: "Of course, here, I'll give Mary the phone."
Jimmy opened the car door, handed the phone to Mary in the backseat, then closed the door and stepped aside to smoke. It's best not to eavesdrop on such a father-daughter conversation.
A few minutes later, the car door opened, and Mary stepped out. In truth, Mary was simply famished and dehydrated, which had left her weakened. Now that she'd had a chance to rest in the car, drink so water, and eat so chocolate, her inherent energy had significantly resurfaced.
Mary: "Uncle Jimmy, the phone is for you."
Jimmy reached for the phone, his mind not quite catching up. What the hell, a girl around 15 or 16 calling him uncle. Damn, Jimmy was only 21 himself.
Well, if you looked at it from Jerry's side, it did make sense to call him uncle, since even though there was a big age difference between Jimmy and Jerry, they both just called each other by na like buddies.
Jimmy: "It's all good, I'll take you to a place to stay for a few days, then head back once we get confirmation."
Mary: "Can I go see my father?"
Jimmy: "It's not convenient now, get in the car."
After getting into the car, Jimmy checked the map and plotted a route, heading straight towards Bartlett in the north.
At Bartlett Freedom Park, Jimmy had already reached the road outside the park. He made a call, but the other party didn't answer. Right after, a car parked by the roadside flashed its headlights twice.
The car started moving, and Jimmy followed, continuing onward. He hadn't morized all the terrain and road nas here; he could only follow and take note of a few intersections and directions. The car in front stopped by the side of the road.
Jimmy parked behind it, and a lady got out of the front car. She walked towards a house by the road, and Jimmy, with Mary in tow, followed her out of their vehicle.
Jimmy held Mary with his left hand and pulled out a gun with his right, tucking it behind him as they approached the house.
The lady opened the door, turned on the light once inside, then turned around and gestured for them to co in. Jimmy then quickly took a few steps and entered the house.
After they were inside, the lady shut the door and told Jimmy, "You can stay here; no one will bother you. Rember, you have four days. If you need to extend your stay, please contact in advance, but you can only use this place for up to one week. After that, you must leave."
The lady rubbed her thumb and forefinger together, and Jimmy took a gold coin out of his pocket and handed it over.
"You don't need to contact when you leave. Goodbye."
After finishing her words, the lady turned around, opened the door, and walked out.
Jimmy looked at Mary and slipped the gun he had been hiding back into his waistband. "Go take a seat on the sofa for a while. I'm going to check things out."
It was an ordinary single-story house, no different from the others in the area. Jimmy activated Heart Eye and looked around the bedroom and storage room before returning to the living room and heading into the kitchen.
The electricity was still on here, and there were a few bottles of water and beer in the fridge. The storage room and kitchen cabinets held so vacuum-packed food and canned at that only needed heating. It looked like there were enough supplies for two people for a week.
Jimmy returned to the living room and said to Mary, "Everything here is well-prepared, including food and water. Stay here calmly for a few days. Don't go out, don't contact anyone, and wait for to co back and inform you before leaving.
I need to check on your house, which may take so ti. Everything must be thoroughly prepared.
Rember, don't be impatient, definitely don't leave the house, keep the curtains drawn, and don't respond to anyone who cos, besides . Don't make or answer any calls or contact anyone else. I must ensure you're safe here."
Mary: "Yeah, I got it."
Jimmy was still worried. He went out and checked another nearby house using Heart Eye to confirm that it was empty. Fortunately, the organizers of this safe house had clearly considered plenty of security issues beforehand.
Jimmy drove away from the safe house. This ti he intentionally checked the map in the car against what he had morized to avoid forgetting the location when he returned.
Jimmy had previously considered whether he should eliminate all traces. Although he had killed before, those had been lawful acts of enforcent with valid reasons. This ti, to clear things up as thoroughly as possible, he might actually have to get his hands dirty.
Jimmy didn't go back to the hotel but drove straight to the gang's stronghold not far from the bar. Since the intelligence pointed to the house where Mary was found being the gang leader's, it was unlikely to be guarded by just a single lackey; the boss must have stepped out.
Jimmy had been gone for over an hour. There were two possibilities: either the gang leader had finished interrogating Kevin Hogan and returned to his own house, or the interrogation at Kevin Hogan's was still ongoing.
The two cars that went to the stronghold that evening were very likely the gang leader going there with his crew. Likewise, if the gang leader went there, Kevin Hogan would have certainly been taken there too. The intelligence dealer's information had to be accurate; this had been confird when rescuing Mary.
Although it was night and there were few cars on the road, Jimmy still followed all traffic regulations carefully. He didn't want to make any mistakes in his hurry that would attract the city police, who liked to hunker down in alleys or inconspicuous roadside spots, a fact that could be verified from the LRPD in Little Rock.
If Jimmy made a mistake, all his subsequent plans would fall apart.
Arriving near the gang stronghold without issue, since it was already the early hours, Jimmy didn't park far away. Instead, he drove slowly past the apartnt building where the stronghold was located. It was on the third floor, so even from the road, Jimmy could still cover the room. Observing from outside, he saw only two figures inside—one lying on the bed and another sitting on the couch, likely watching TV all night.
With no sign of a gathering, the gang leader had definitely left.
Jimmy had no choice but to turn towards the hotel where he was staying. After spending the day on reconnaissance and the evening on a rescue operation, he was extrely tired. No matter how the gang leader was dealing with things, it was ti for him to rest.
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