Peter didn't go on the stakeout with Diana this time, instead, he continued to watch the surveillance from inside the van.
Peter, "Jones, did you hear anything?"
Jones, "No, they're probably not talking in the living room, but more likely in the bedroom inside."
Peter, "Keep listening."
Jones and Peter were both wearing headphones to monitor the surveillance, while Jimmy sat bored beside the back door, fiddling with his revolver and playing with the bullets.
Such lengthy surveillance was not taught during academy training and tests, which were mainly to familiarize agents with the equipment. The extended duration made Jimmy slightly restless, he could only relieve some of his irritation by practicing with his revolver.
Unbeknownst to Jimmy, Peter, while listening, occasionally glanced at him; his way of loading bullets was really too flashy. Others wouldn't typically load each chamber of the revolver one at a time with a single hand, especially not at the speed he managed—loading six bullets in two seconds was a bit too much.
After loading the bullets, Jimmy tucked the revolver under his arm and said to Peter and Jones, "I'll take a look. I don't know what Si Man is doing in there. Jones, give me a bug; I'll see if I can slip inside."
Jones handed Jimmy a miniaturized listening device, very small. "Press the switch when you insert it."
Jimmy, holding the bug, opened the door and left the surveillance van.
Jimmy leisurely walked to the apartment building, glancing upward at Si Man's room as he ascended. Si Man was busy in the bedroom where the paintings were kept, seemingly preparing for some action. He was moving paintings from the corner to the bed, stacking them in two piles.
Jimmy tried the door handle. It was locked. He hadn't learned how to pick locks yet, so he gave up. The only certainty now was that the paintings were indeed inside this room; what Heart Eye saw was Si Man stacking the paintings one by one—that was quite clear.
Jimmy looked up at a hidden camera, shook his head, then turned and walked downstairs, first buying three cups of coffee from a coffee shop, and then returned to the surveillance van. "Sorry, the door was locked, couldn't get in, couldn't plant the bug."
Jimmy returned the listening device to Jones, then handed Jones and Peter a cup of coffee each. Not knowing their preferences, he had bought three identical lattes.
Jimmy knew Si Man was about to make a move. The actions he just saw arranging the paintings clearly indicated a subsequent move; now it was a matter of watching what he would do.
Half an hour later, a van parked below Si Man's building. The surveillance showed Si Man carrying a stack of paintings downstairs while the van driver also got out and opened the side door.
Peter took off his headphones, drew his gun, and said to Jimmy, "Let's go."
Jimmy opened the back door and followed Peter out, then they slowly made their way toward Si Man's villa. Si Man was on the fourth floor; it would take him some time to descend, while Jimmy and Peter were over twenty meters away from Si Man's apartment, giving them enough time to approach leisurely. Jimmy activated Heart Eye in advance, watching for Si Man descending the stairs, and encountered him right at the door.
Peter shouted, "FBI," and without finishing his next sentence, Si Man let go; the paintings crashed to the ground, while Si Man turned to run back into the apartment.
Jimmy stepped forward, grabbed Si Man's clothing, and pulled him down, "Stop. FBI."
As Jimmy went to grab Si Man, Peter reached out to support a painting frame, but still couldn't save them all; two had fallen, with their frames coming apart.
Peter inspected the paintings, "Highly similar to Rachel's work, Seyman Meis, I suspect you're involved with the Dengli Gallery theft. We're arresting you now. Jimmy, cuff him."
Jimmy took out the handcuffs from behind his waist and secured them on Si Man. To Si Man's average and slightly slim figure, Jimmy was already a burly man; resistance was futile.
Jones followed them, camera in hand, capturing photos of the paintings that fell, as well as those Peter steadied.
Peter picked up the paintings, "This isn't all of them; there should be more paintings inside the room. Jones, take the suspect back to the office. I'll go apply for a search warrant. Jimmy, guard the entrance to Si Man's apartment; don't let anyone in to compromise the scene."
He placed several paintings back in the surveillance van and then took a cab away, while Jones, controlling Si Man, got into the surveillance van, locking him in the passenger seat.
Jimmy had it easier; he only needed to keep an eye on Si Man's apartment. However, turning his head, he noticed the van driver was still there. The driver hadn't run off during the earlier confusion, which was convenient.
Jimmy thought for a moment, then walked over to the driver and made routine inquiries. It was a moving company's vehicle. After recording the driver's ID, phone number, and license plate, Jimmy let the driver leave. With this information, any follow-up could be made directly; if the driver fled, an arrest order could be issued immediately.
Just when he thought it was over, the driver gave him a surprise. The driver provided an address, the destination for the delivery, a mini storage by the Hudson River.
A lucky find indeed, Jimmy let the driver go. He wasn't in a hurry to tell Peter about this, there was no rush to deal with the storage until after obtaining the warrant. That Parker Denley, the gallery owner, definitely had issues; it was just unclear whether Peter's subsequent interrogation would be able to link him to the case.
With several paintings as evidence, it was easy for Peter to apply for a search warrant. This time he also brought a few members of the tactical unit and a forensic expert.
After clearing Si Man's apartment, they found the other paintings in another room, ten in total, all present and accounted for.
Having returned to Federal Square, Peter didn't immediately arrange to notify the artist Rachel and gallery owner Parker. Recovering the paintings wasn't enough; according to previous leads, it was clear that this employee was not the ultimate boss; someone was still behind the scenes.
Peter didn't interrogate Si Man in the interrogation room but in a conference room, with only him and Si Man inside, Jimmy didn't know what was talked about.
Regarding the address of the mini storage that the van driver provided, Jimmy had already relayed it to Peter, confident that an old agent like Peter would know how to use that information.
Jimmy was at least somewhat gloomy; strictly speaking, this case had little to do with him. Although he determined that there was a problem with Si Man and even took the photos, others could have made the same judgment just as well, based on the few employees they had. Going back and summarizing the information, it would naturally become evident that Si Man seemed tense at the time, saving maybe half a day at most.
This pure intellectual analysis of clues, monitoring of suspects, and finally capturing them was a bit too torturous for Jimmy.