There are two different takes on the so-called old-school police style of the US. One is the style of a cowboy sheriff in the southern states or the Western Region, tough, honest, decisively violent, ready to draw a gun at the first sign of trouble, akin to the town sheriffs in westerns, or the kind portrayed by Clint Eastwood in the likes of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".
The other is the American lone hero, like John McClane from the '80s movie "Die Hard," played by Bruce Willis—the kind of lone hero who, despite facing a multitude of terrorists, boldly takes them on, a true tough guy who never compromises and represents the image of justice.
In reality, it's extremely, extremely rare for police in the US to have either of these styles. To call them scarce would actually be an understatement, but undeniably, they do resonate with the general public.
Mary continued, "Jimmy's first kill of a suspect occurred three months after he joined the force. The suspect was a drug dealer, and according to the record, at that time Jimmy was assisting the chief of the town police department. Due to nervousness or some other reason, the drug dealer was shot six times, indicating that Jimmy had good marksmanship. However, it was clear that he was especially nervous having killed someone for the first time, resulting in a stress response that led him to empty his magazine into the suspect."
Based on my deduction, since the one killed was a drug dealer, the stress response didn't instill in Jimmy any sense of guilt for killing, but rather a sense of justice as if punishing evil. And judging by his later actions, this sense of justice did not diminish over time; it actually grew stronger.
In subsequent cases, the suspects Jimmy killed were either murderers or those who had shot at and injured cops, which, combined with a sense of justice compounded by police solidarity, made Jimmy take a hard line against these serious criminals.
Those who were killed all had related evidence or criminal records, and it's clear that Jimmy wasn't someone who would randomly shoot and kill innocents.
Of course, it wasn't that he couldn't shoot to wound rather than to kill. In fact, in many cases, Jimmy only shot the suspects in the arms, legs, or shoulders, stopping as soon as they were incapacitated.
In later cases where he collaborated with the DEA and FBI, he killed more people in a single case, but these were all identified as serious criminals, and with the backing of federal agencies, Jimmy felt no guilt or remorse when killing them.
Using a somewhat inappropriate analogy, in the scenarios of the time, Jimmy seemed to see himself as an executioner meting out God's justice."
Peter, "Wait a second, executioner, this rings a bell. Let me check the records."
Peter flipped through Jimmy's file, "That's right, Jimmy is a Catholic, with a Cultivator badge bestowed by Father Royte from Little Rock."
Mary leaned back in her chair, spreading her hands to show that her guess was indeed correct.
Peter, "This explains why Jimmy could remain so calm after shooting suspects, without the panic seen in others. Please, go on."
Mary sat up straight and continued, "Jimmy has a near-perfect police record, with a case closure rate of over 80%, having killed more than 20 people in the past two years. He's responsible for providing support across the police department, and he's excelled in this role. Based on his character and behavior, I can assert that the entire department must have a very good impression of him.
If it weren't for his upcoming half-year study at the FBI Academy due to joining the FBI, Jimmy would have at least been promoted to Sergeant by now. There's also a chance he's been so exemplary that other departments might try to poach him.
I've summarized two points from his records. First, Jimmy is an excellent shooter. There are multiple records of him making fatal shots with a single bullet, and as an investigator yourself, you should know how rare it is for cops to achieve this in real cases.
But he favors a revolver. Although he's issued a standard-issue firearm by the police force, almost all his kill records were made with his backup revolver, including the two suspects this time.
Second, Jimmy has his own moral code, which by average standards might be a bit high. For serious criminals, especially those who show a considerable tendency for danger, Jimmy is more inclined to shoot and kill than to arrest. To some extent, Jimmy has cast himself as a vigilante, which is a dangerous sign.
That's all I have. I think this should be enough."
Peter, "Thank you, I really appreciate it, Mary. You've helped me out a lot."
Mary, "No problem, it's been a while since I met such an interesting young man. Contact me if you need anything else. So, goodbye for now."
After speaking, Mary got up to adjust her clothing. Peter also stood, escorting her to the elevator. After watching Mary enter the elevator, Peter turned and went back to his office.
Peter took a blank sheet of paper and transcribed Mary's deductions about Jimmy's police record, reminiscing over their conversation and adding the final touches. Eventually, two hand-written reports were completed.
Peter, holding both the assessment report from Mary and the two analysis reports he had written, walked into Hughes' office.
Jimmy returned to Little Rock, his main purpose this time being to pack his belongings for New York, so he didn't contact anyone else. After getting off the plane, he took a cab to Justin's bar.
Jimmy approached the bar and called out, "Justin."
Justin, busy behind the bar, looked up and saw Jimmy, raised an eyebrow, "Oh, Jimmy, long time no see, wait a minute."
Turning around, Justin retrieved a bottle from behind the bar and prepared a cocktail for Jimmy, sliding it towards him, "Here you go."
Raising his glass, Jimmy said to Justin, "Thanks," and took a sip, "Ah, tastes good. What's it called?"
Justin, "It doesn't have a name, just finalized the mix recently."
Jimmy, "Looks like you're going to have another signature cocktail, nice."
Justin, "How have you been lately? Where are you working?"
Jimmy, "I've finished my studies at the academy and now I'm assigned to Manhattan."
Justin, "Oh, nice place. Looks like you're really lucky. How's the job going?"
Jimmy, "It's going great, new colleagues are really nice, taking good care of me, all good people."
Justin, "Are you back here to deal with a case?"
Jimmy, "No no no, just back to check on you guys, it's been several months after all."
Justin gave a mischievous smile, "I don't think you came back just for us, I bet you've been given a vacation again."
Jimmy raised his glass and downed the rest of his drink.
Jimmy, "Ha, you know me too well. Sometimes I can't hold back. Got a week off this time, came back to see you folks. I still need to figure out where to go next."