Jimmy didn't get up to leave; his coffee had just arrived, and standing up to leave right away would seem unusual, not to ntion a waste. Although it was getting late and coffee might affect his sleep, Jimmy slowly finished his coffee while casually reading the newspaper that was beside him.
When Si patted Jimmy's shoulder, he used considerable force, a clear sign that his mood wasn't as relaxed as his expression implied. Jimmy could roughly guess his intentions. Si might have misunderstood that he didn't want to disrupt Jimmy's case by taking revenge according to their criminal world rules. Now, the favor fell on Jimmy to return.
After finishing his coffee and watching the waiter clear away their cups, Jimmy stood up to leave. At the door, Jimmy took out a cigarette and a lighter, lit the cigarette, and then set the map piece on fire, dropping it on the sidewalk to watch it turn to ash before heading to his car.
During his two visits, Jimmy had checked: the café and its entrance had no surveillance, and there weren't many waiters. Since Si had chosen this place for their eting instead of sowhere outdoors, it spoke of the café's inherent safety.
It was very late already, definitely not a ti for inquiries. Jimmy thought for a mont, then decided to find a nearby hotel to stay in so he could start fresh in the morning.
The timing of this lead was terrible, coinciding with Nia's return and completely upsetting Jimmy's plans. However, that was typical in a case—nothing ever went smoothly.
The next day, Jimmy, with his gear packed, checked out of the hotel, drove out of the parking lot, and headed to the block marked by Si. The road wasn't long, and Si had marked only about six or seven apartnt buildings in the middle, significantly narrowing the target area.
Jimmy didn't go from door to door to investigate; instead, he first took a walk around the block, observing the people inside. Those familiar with New York apartnts from TV shows and movies would recognize the place—not very tall or wide, but Jimmy's target area was a bit extensive, making observation a bit cumberso.
But since it was dayti, many people had likely left for work, so there weren't many people in the houses.
After making the rounds, Jimmy suddenly realized his foolishness. Although it was safer during the day, and there wouldn't be any hoodlums causing trouble, most people were at work—what could he possibly observe? At best, he was just scouting out the place.
Jimmy went back to his car and took out a newly printed photo, starting his checks with the nearby unmarked buildings. If the person was indeed in one of the other marked apartnts, directly asking might expose and alarm him. Furthermore, residents in adjacent apartnts might have seen him.
The biggest problem for Jimmy today was working alone in an area with many rooms. Although many people had gone to work, the efficiency was still too low. The photo wasn't very clear. After asking around two apartnt buildings with no one having seen the person, he theorized that if the person really lived nearby, they would not never go out.
Jimmy thought it through - if, by chance, he encountered an acquaintance of the suspect, they would surely notify the suspect. Being alone, if the suspect packed up and fled without his knowledge, it would be better not to stir up unnecessary attention.
Jimmy decided to pull back for the mont and called Hughes to request a surveillance team. His authority wasn't sufficient. Previously, when Kerry applied for a surveillance team, he could directly contact the monitoring group while Jimmy had to make requests through higher-ups, reaching out to the field operations leader for arrangents.
Jimmy waited over an hour in his car; finally, a black surveillance van arrived—and why was the spray-painted logo that of a cleaning company? So bizarre.
After communicating with the surveillance personnel and establishing the monitoring target, Jimmy left. The surveillance team was truly useful, all professionally trained. Although they didn't have the law enforcent powers of field agents, they had so firearm and hand-to-hand combat training—certainly more capable of self-defense than the average person.
The law-enforcent capable monitoring groups were usually staffed by agents serving double duty as monitors, like Peter's group where black Jones, a specially trained external agent, could enforce the law and also directly engage in monitoring and surveillance operations when necessary.
Jimmy called Nia, who had just applied for leave—that was good. Jimmy went ho to change clothes and then drove to Nia's apartnt.
Nia, dressed in casual clothes, ca outside, and they hugged before getting into Jimmy's car. As they drove away, Jimmy asked, "Nia, who was that man who ca downstairs with you just now?"
Nia: "Who? There was no one with ."
Jimmy: "A man, he followed you, stopped in the lobby."
Nia thought for a mont: "Middle-aged, blonde, wearing glasses, about 180cm?"
Jimmy nodded. Nia grimaced: "Could be my father, I didn't even notice him following behind."
Jimmy: "Then there's nothing to worry about. I was afraid he might be a bad character; his expression didn't look too good."
Nia: "Never mind him, just a stubborn old man. Where are we headed?"
Jimmy: "Fifth Avenue, just wander around."
Wandering around Fifth Avenue was a great way to pass the ti, the only issue being that, before Jimmy knew it, he was carrying several bags. They chatted and strolled around, forgetting when they had purchased the items; luckily, they were not far from the parking lot.
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