Mahong's investigation was still ongoing, and Jimmy was about to endure the most painful week of his life. His wound was both numb and itchy, which wasn't a big deal, but the real challenge was the liquid diet—it was becoming unbearable for an otherwise healthy young man.
Although the food was nutritionally balanced by a dietitian specifically for Jimmy, to replenish all necessary energies and elents, it tasted bad and lacked satiety. It was manageable for the first day or two, but as days passed, his body started to protest, craving so normal food.
Jimmy had visited the hospital to check his wound and change his bandages, then drove to the office.
Jimmy, "Mahong, how is it going?"
Mahong looked up at Jimmy, "What are you doing here? Is your wound okay?"
Jimmy nodded, "Walking is fine, but I can't do any vigorous exercise, and the food I've been eating lately isn't sustaining enough for that."
Mahong took a folder from the desk and handed it to Jimmy, "There's nothing much here, you should go back and rest. Here is what we found on Scott Coleman, a middle-aged man with kids."
Jimmy took the folder, "Haven't you continued checking?"
Mahong, "Right now, we're fully tracking the five-man team that attacked you and a suspected sixth person, pursuing their historical movents. These are the most direct clues."
Jimmy gave a snarl, "Actually, this Scott is also very suspicious. Those people could have been rcenaries paid by him."
Mahong looked at Jimmy, sowhat speechless. His desire for retaliation was quite strong, "Based on his previous capabilities, getting a few people from Azte there was almost his limit, he likely couldn't have arranged for such a rcenary squad."
Jimmy, "Look into it when you have ti. I can't get out much yet, and by the ti you're done investigating, I should be able to head out."
Mahong nodded, "You go back first, we'll handle things here."
It seed Mahong was a bit irritable. Jimmy had no intention of irritating him further and left the office with the folder in hand.
When Jimmy returned, he first stopped by his apartnt, where workers were fixing the bedroom, his study was locked and sealed, which though not very significant, was sowhat reassuring.
Back at the hotel, Jimmy began reviewing the files on Scott Coleman. In his view, these people were easy to investigate, those with normal jobs could be mostly ruled out. According to Hughes, Scott was a politician's frontman, handling the dark side of things, which ant he definitely wouldn't be in roles like a repairman or truck driver.
Based on their professions, at least half could be directly eliminated. As a frontman, he'd likely hold a position like a company executive or a consultant at an institution like a think tank, where the lack of fixed working hours or specifics made it easier for him to engage in unsavory activities.
Thus, Jimmy imdiately focused on two Scotts in Albany, because a phone number obtained by Hughes through other ans was located there. The phone, however, had not been used in recent days.
Several days had passed, and Caitlin, acting director of the Anti-Terrorism Bureau, hadn't shared any updates. Although Jimmy sowhat doubted the likelihood of her involvent, he still found the lack of any communication from her side slightly problematic.
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Caitlin was also feeling the pressure, having just beco the acting director of the New York Anti-Terrorism Bureau without any accomplishnts, a serious responsibility had suddenly fallen on her. If she hadn't been sure she hadn't done anything, just from the two assassination attempts Jimmy encountered, she would have suspected there was a problem within the Anti-Terrorism Bureau itself.
At the request of DHS agents, their command center was also investigating the source of the gunn, but just like the FBI, they had no results yet. However, considering the situation with the gunn at the scene, she was quite certain that the ambush had to have been organized with the backing of a powerful intelligence agency, if not the CIA itself.
She had contacted acquaintances at Langley headquarters to investigate the ard groups collaborating with the CIA, but given the agency's peculiar nature, with many of those in charge having their own agendas, it was hard to know exactly how many ard groups had relations with them, making it difficult to confirm if any groups had gone off-grid.
The only certainty now was that a high-level user had accessed system data, tracing Jimmy by directly retrieving the GPS information from his FBI vehicle. Based on Jimmy's route to the Anti-Terrorism Bureau, they assud he would later return to the FBI office, so they set up an ambush not far from the bureau.
Eliminating the possibility of hackers directly hacking into the FBI database to take control, only a few agencies with direct access to FBI data existed, but whether it was the Ministry of Defense or DHS, conducting an internal investigation would be even more challenging. Although suspicion was possible, proof was not.
What worried Caitlin the most was Jimmy's combat effectiveness. He was currently recuperating, and based on Jimmy's character, it was reasonable to assu he was waiting for the results of the investigation. However, no one could guarantee how long Jimmy would wait. If he acted recklessly, she might need to arrange one or two squads for protection to avoid Jimmy taking lethal action.
He had been lying low, causing no trouble and making no demands, relying solely on himself. Yet, trouble seed to find him whenever he surfaced. Who could stand such a situation?
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