Jones took the equipment and left to track Gary, while Peter and Diana went back to their respective positions to deal with their tasks. Jimmy sat at his desk awaiting John Butler. John had already called him that morning and was supposed to arrive at Federal Square around 10 a.m.
Fortunately, as a member of the Special Service Bureau, John had no trouble coming upstairs. Jimmy didn't need to go down to meet him.
As John entered the office, he saw Jimmy at the front, "Hi, Jimmy."
Jimmy looked up and saw John, who, today, wasn't wearing his uniform but a suit and was holding a silvery-white case.
Jimmy stood up and shook hands with John, "Hi, John, long time no see. Let's go to the conference room to talk."
John followed Jimmy upstairs to the conference room.
On the way, Jimmy grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the pantry for John. "John, what brings you to see me this time? The Special Service Bureau must be very busy."
John replied, "Yes, indeed, there is something, but for you, it's good news."
John placed the case on the table, opened it, and took out a picture frame, handing it to Jimmy.
John said, "Thank you for your help in the last assignment. I apologize that we initially intended to invite you to Washington, D.C., to receive this award, but due to certain reasons, it was delayed."
Jimmy glanced at the award certificate inside. It was addressed to Jimmy Yang in appreciation of his outstanding contributions to the Special Service Bureau of the United States. The certificate was signed by Brian Stafford, the director of the bureau.
Jimmy said, "Thank you for making the trip specifically for this."
Jimmy placed the award certificate on the conference table and addressed John, "I suspect you didn't come all this way just to deliver an award certificate, John."
John replied, "Yes, mainly because some things are difficult to discuss over the phone. Regarding the incident involving the Vice President in Little Rock, you haven't mentioned it to anyone else, have you?"
Jimmy thought for a moment, "I don't think so, except for James. You know, I couldn't possibly hide such a major issue from the director."
John said, "If it's just James, then it's fine. If you haven't told anyone else, don't do so in the future either. Here's a confidentiality agreement I need you to sign."
Jimmy signed a confidentiality agreement, and John collected it and stored it back in the case, then closed it and placed it beside the chair.
Jimmy asked, sounding concerned, "The way you speak sounds very serious. It's been almost a year now, can you share the specific details? That was my first encounter with an explosion case."
John replied, "Yes, now that you're with the FBI, I can tell you. You must have learned about explosive site analysis at the FBI Academy, right? The attack on the Vice President was very peculiar. Their initial setup and their final ambush were solid, but the two bombs were grossly imbalanced. At that range, our men were unharmed, and the bombs had such little power that we immediately suspected something was wrong."
Jimmy admitted, "I didn't feel it at the time, but after learning about explosives later on, I also didn't believe that two explosions at a distance of 20 meters would leave their target especially unscathed."
John continued, "We began investigating this anomaly initially, and the probe into the scene in Little Rock and related investigations there ended quite early. We then verified some information with our intelligence system, and then the September tragedy occurred afterward.
Joint investigations into the September tragedy by multiple agencies revealed a problem. Several clues linked a number of other explosion cases, namely the World Trade Center bombings in '93 and '96, the hijacking in '98, and the Vice President's attack last year."
Jimmy exclaimed, "That many? Were they all carried out by people from the Middle East?"
John explained, "According to the clues, yes. But we continued tracing based on those clues, only to discover some flaws in our intelligence system. Now that it's mostly resolved, your award was delayed by half a year and has only now been issued."
Jimmy remarked, "Oh, it seems the case behind this is quite complex, but I appreciate you sharing this with me."
John concluded, "Had you not eliminated the suspect at the time, the consequences could have been far worse, and it was indeed a close call. All right, my task here is completed, and I need to return to D.C. quickly."
Jimmy and John stood up, shook hands, and then Jimmy escorted John to the elevator.
When Jimmy returned, Peter and Diana were already in the conference room, with Peter holding Jimmy's award certificate.
Peter asked, "Did the agent from the Special Service Bureau leave?"
Jimmy nodded, "Yes, he came to deliver this and also to have me sign a confidentiality agreement."
Peter acknowledged, "It seems like a very important matter. Alright, now that you've met with the person you were waiting for, quickly get in touch with Jones and head out to monitor together."
Jimmy replied, "Yes, sir." He took the framed award certificate from the table, set it on his desk, and then left the office.
Since Jimmy didn't have a car assigned to him, he took a taxi to Jones' location and then entered the surveillance van.
Jimmy inquired, "Jones, how's it going?"
Jones answered, "The target is confirmed. Gerard Dousset. We are just tracking him now; he just entered the gallery ahead."
Jimmy responded, "OK." Jimmy also picked up a headset and started focusing on the surveillance monitor.
The next day, during the case analysis meeting.
Peter began, "Jones, give us an update."
Jones reported, "Gerard Dousset, a French-American, his main business involves high-interest lending. He issues loans using his company's funds, and if you can't pay back on time, he will burn down your office.
Yesterday, Gary met with Gerard, and other times, he was at a securities firm, not seen with other people. We speculate that Gary probably owes Gerard money and used that painting as a repayment."
"The person Gerard brought with him, Joshua, a former soldier, matches Juliana's description exactly. He is likely the one who stole the painting, and then he was discovered because Juliana came back early. There are bruises on his face, likely inflicted by Juliana."
Yesterday, Gerard was shuttling between various high-end galleries. I spoke with someone at one of the galleries, and Gerard was hoping to sell a painting to them, it just happened to be a Hausstenberg, but he didn't specify the painting's name."
Peter inquired, "Did you find Gerard's base? Any trace of the painting?"
Jones responded, "No."
Peter concluded, "It seems we'll have to force him to reveal the painting himself. OK, that's all for today. Let's think about how to draw him out."
Peter took his mobile phone and, while browsing through it, walked back to his office.
In terms of connections, Peter was truly impressive. Within a short span, Peter found someone willing to help—a procurement officer from a gallery who could contact Gerard Dousset.
Under Peter's arrangements, they finally contacted Gerard. They convinced him to bring the painting to the gallery under the pretense that a wealthy buyer was interested in purchasing it.