Jimmy placed the rifle in the trunk and the bullet-proof vest directly on the passenger seat for easy access later.
Driving together with Harten, they arrived at the eastern part of Little Rock, close to the airport, a rather secluded area. Harten parked the car by the roadside, and Jimmy also stopped and walked over.
Harten took out a map and said, "This intersection is the last spot where the white van was seen, and there are about four blocks between here and the next intersection with a cara. They could have parked anywhere in this distance. We'll have to search on our own."
Examining the map, Jimmy noted that this area was a mix of industrial and residential zones on a small scale. It wouldn't be easy to find a van here, as such vehicles were likely commonplace in the industrial area.
Jimmy and Harten divided the directions they would each cover, drove away from the intersection, and began their inspection. For safety, Jimmy and Harten had put on bullet-proof vests labeled with FBI, and their badges were already hanging around their necks.
The area Jimmy was responsible for had residential neighborhoods about two blocks ahead, followed by a factory area. He drove slowly along the road, staying close to the houses in the vicinity. The houses here were all one-story, and although not as large as those in villa areas, most families parked their cars directly at the roadside or in front of their houses. Few seed to have garages in the back, but due to the distance, Jimmy could see behind the houses.
After searching two streets and finding no vans, Jimmy drove to a factory at the end of the road. He got out of the car, walked up to the security checkpoint at the entrance, and showed his badge while saying, "FBI Special Agent, can I speak to your security manager?"
A security guard, startled by the sight of Jimmy in his FBI bullet-proof vest, nodded, picked up the walkie-talkie on the desk, and was about to call out. Then he put it down, took out his phone, and made a call instead.
After a mont, a man in a suit ca to the gate and shook hands with Jimmy, "I am Donna, the security manager here. How can I assist you?"
Jimmy said, "FBI Special Agent Jimmy. I am investigating a suspicious vehicle. Could I check the surveillance footage from your factory's main gate?"
Donna asked, "Just to look?"
Jimmy replied, "Yes, a white van around the evening the day before yesterday."
Donna said, "Okay, co on in. The monitoring center is over in the office area."
Jimmy successfully reviewed the surveillance and indeed spotted a white van passing by the factory gate; however, due to the angle of the cara, the license plate was unclear. He requested a copy but was directly refused. Fortunately, confirming the vehicle had passed was sufficient, and the video wasn't necessary, so Jimmy did not insist.
Continuing along the highway, Jimmy lanted the era—without caras everywhere like what would be the case twenty years later when nearly every vehicle would have a dashcam, making things far simpler.
The phone rang, and Jimmy answered, "Jimmy, co over here. There's a suspicious vehicle here."
Jimmy sped toward Harten's location. Upon arrival, he found a van parked by the roadside. Although it matched in size and style, its body was not white but black with a company logo sprayed on it.
Harten said, "Co closer, take a sniff."
Jimmy approached and slled the distinct scent of fresh paint, which did not seem like it had been sprayed long ago. Peering inside through Heart Eye Observation, the van was empty. Harten led Jimmy forward a bit to a roadside auto repair shop.
They were still so distance from the repair shop and took cover by the roadside to avoid being seen.
Harten said, "I've looked around. The most suspicious spot is this repair shop. The van we saw earlier is likely the one we are looking for."
Jimmy asked, "Did you check that license plate?"
Harten replied, "Yes, it's registered to a moving company, consistent with the logo sprayed on the vehicle. However, this is our only finding so we can't rule out other suspects."
Looking around, Jimmy said, "Wait here for . I'll scout ahead."
Harten grabbed Jimmy, "Are you sure? It's too dangerous. I'll call the surveillance team to set up a monitoring point first."
Jimmy, "Don't worry, it's fine."
Jimmy started approaching the repair shop from the side. Fortunately, except for the open space at the front, the back of the repair shop was enclosed by a wall, so Jimmy shouldn't be noticed as he approached.
Using Heart Eye Observation, Jimmy circled most of the repair shop except the front entrance.
The repair shop was mostly shut down now, with only five people in the office area, no one in the repair area. One person near the main gate, and the other four inside the office seed normal. Jimmy didn't notice any surveillance caras around the periter wall.
He turned to look around. His position was safe, early in the morning, with not many people outside, mainly because the area was quite remote. Jimmy began to carefully observe the specific situation inside the repair shop. There was a small basent in the office, and so boxes and things were stored in the basent. This was normal in the United States, especially in buildings from the Cold War era.
Seeing no other abnormalities, Jimmy returned to Harten, "I didn't see anything unusual. I think it's better to go and ask them directly."
Harten nodded. Since no abnormalities were discovered, it was relieving. They just needed to confirm the ownership of the van; their purpose was to find the people from the van.
Harten and Jimmy walked from the front. Jimmy kept an eye on the reactions of the people inside while Harten walked ahead, directly to the main entrance, and said to the person by the door, "FBI Special Agent Harten. Where's your boss?"
"FBI? One mont, I'll go get him." The person at the door turned and entered the office, conveniently closing the door behind him.
Harten couldn't see inside, but Jimmy could. He watched the man go inside, speak to soone next to him for a few monts, and then several people stood up. Two ran toward the furthest room which Jimmy had scouted before - it was precisely the entrance to the basent. The man who spoke took a handgun from under his arm and followed him outside.
Jimmy imdiately drew his revolver, holding it behind his back with his right hand and warned Harten, "Be careful."
However, the person inside paused just before reaching the door, put the handgun behind him, and then opened the door and ca out—a middle-aged white man, clean-shaven, about forty years old, wearing suspenders with so stains on them.
"Hi, I'm William, the boss here," William greeted Harten. "What can I do for you?"
Harten, "FBI Special Agent Harten. I am investigating a van. I noticed you have one parked in front of your facility; is it yours?"
William walked to the door, looked outside, then turned back to Harten, "Yes, a client brought it over to have their company's logo spray-painted. Is there a problem?"
Harten, "When was it brought here?"
William, "Sorry, I need to keep our clients' information confidential. We're just responsible for repainting. If there's nothing else, please leave."
After William spoke, he turned to leave, but Jimmy suddenly spoke up, "I guess you're hoping we co back with a search warrant, right, William?"
William stopped, turned, and looked at Jimmy. "What do you an?"
Jimmy had already noticed his gun, which was in the back pocket of his pants. Although the pocket was fairly large, the handgun wasn't very conspicuous.
Jimmy, "Since we're already here, it ans we have enough evidence. Asking now is just giving you a chance. If we co back with a search warrant, whatever you don't want people to see, none of it will be spared."
Jimmy was just bluffing. According to the clues they had gathered so far, let alone a search warrant, they didn't even have enough reason to go back and bring reinforcents for surveillance. Getting so information out now would be the best outco; if they left now, coming back later would be troubleso.
Another issue was the abnormal behavior of the people inside the building. Up until now, three others were still in the innermost room. They had brought sothing out of the basent - cylindrical-shaped packages. Judging by their nervous behavior earlier, it was likely weapon packages.
If there really was a problem, once Harten and Jimmy left, they would surely disperse. By the ti they might return, they could only find an empty shell.
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