Jimmy waited in the conference room for a few minutes before Tim brought in a man around 40 years old, a Caucasian male with short black hair, slightly taller than Jimmy, probably in the range of 185-190 cm.
Tim, "Jimmy, this is Senior Agent Peter Bullock, head of the Elite Investigation Team. Peter, this is Jimmy Yang, just graduated from Quantico as an intern agent."
Jimmy, "Hi, I'm Jimmy, Jimmy Yang, nice to meet you."
Tim lifted the folder he was holding and handed it to Pete, "Peter, Jimmy had excellent grades at the academy; he's been assigned to intern with you."
Peter took the folder from Tim's hand, "Jimmy, you'll be working with me in the Elite Investigation Team for the next six months. I'll introduce the other members of the team to you in a moment."
Tim, "OK, Jimmy's all yours now; I'm heading out."
Peter nodded his head, and after Tim left, he closed the conference room door. "Take a seat."
Jimmy sat opposite Peter, who looked over his file and said, "Jimmy, did you just arrive in Manhattan? Let me see, all the way from Little Rock, that's quite a distance."
Jimmy, "Yes, I just arrived last night and came straight to report today because I wasn't sure of the work location, so I haven't looked for an apartment yet."
Peter, "Well, you'll have enough time to find a place to live. Real-world case test A+, very good. That's all for now. Just leave your suitcase here; I'll introduce you to the other members."
Peter closed the folder, stood up, and Jimmy also got up, following Peter out of the conference room.
Arriving at another office on the other side, Peter led Jimmy to the office door and clapped his hands; several agents turned their heads towards them.
Peter, "This is intern agent Jimmy Yang, who will be interning with our team. Jimmy, this is Clinton Jones, responsible for electronic devices, tracking, monitoring, and such; this is Diana Beggen, who handles everything I don't. You'll start by familiarizing yourself with our reports and files under Diana's guidance."
Clinton Jones, an African American male, appeared to be in his early 30s with very short hair, almost bald, broad-shouldered and well-built but not overly so, which seemed typical of FBI agents who were robust but not overly fat, unlike the stereotype of policemen who are sometimes overweight.
Diana Beggen, a young-looking black woman with long hair, appeared to be under 30 years old. Of course, she was older than Jimmy, who was actually 22 but had a driver's license age of 26; he looked very youthful, and his Asian descent made him look even younger.
Peter introduced Jimmy to the two team members, then told Jimmy, "Our team specializes in high-IQ crime cases, mainly dealing with art forgery theft and business crimes. You can start by looking at some documents with Diana. Let's leave it at that for now."
Peter then spoke to Diana, "Dian, arrange a desk and office supplies for Jimmy. He will be working with you."
Diana, "OK, boss."
Diana then led Jimmy to collect office supplies, mainly related to documentation, and the computer would have to be handled by the IT department.
During a break, Jimmy asked Diana a few questions, "Diana, my driver's license is still from Arkansas, do I need to go to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to get it changed to New York State?"
Diana chuckled, "You don't need to bother with that, just apply directly through the administrative department, but it's best to wait until you've rented an apartment."
Jimmy, "Speaking of apartments, are there any cheaper single apartments nearby?"
Diana, "I wouldn't know about that, you might want to ask an agent. I would suggest staying not too far from here, as Manhattan's traffic is terrible. If you live too far away, it might affect your commute time, and it could be difficult to assemble quickly in an emergency."
Jimmy, "OK, I'll go look after work today. Looks like I'll be staying in a hotel for a few more days."
Diana handed Jimmy a cellphone, "This is a work-issued phone, you'll use this from now on."
Jimmy, "What's the phone number?"
Diana, "It has a SIM card inside, note down your number; I should be able to get you a business card by tomorrow."
Jimmy, "Thank you. What should I do now?"
Diana, "Sit down and take a look at this case, which we are currently following."
Diana picked up a folder from her desk and gave it to Jimmy, then sat back down at her own spot.
Jimmy's seat was at the front, behind him sat Diana Beggen, and further behind was Clinton Jones, who appeared to have seniority over Diana based on their office seating arrangements — not just anyone could sit anywhere.
The layout of the Elite Team's office is loft style; Jimmy, Jones, and Diana sit at the positions by the office entrance, and behind them, there is a mezzanine office floor with a staircase leading up to Peter's office and the conference room, next to which is the office of the assistant agent in charge, which of course Jimmy hadn't seen before.
Their office outside has two elevators, directly accessible to downstairs.
Jimmy opened the folder; first was a candid photo of a man with a big beard and bald, Caucasian, indeterminate age — okay, age was Jimmy's weak point. Sometimes, it's really hard to guess the age of foreigners, especially with such thick beards covering their faces.
Vince Gade, from New Mexico, a double master in Chemistry and History, a lecturer in History at New York University, primarily teaching American history. One wouldn't think such a person could be an intellectual from just the photo, looking more like a Southern redneck — and Jimmy had seen his share of such people back in Arkansas.
The market saw several antique books appear two years ago, including two editions from the Samorano Collection from 1881: Horace Bell's "A Ranger's Memories" and William Heath Davis's "Sixty Years in California" dated 1889.
Sold through underground auctions, buyers who purchased these books and had them authenticated discovered they were forgeries but couldn't trace their sources. After notifying the police, the case was transferred here to the FBI, and cases involving historical artifacts were handed over to Peter's team.
Currently, both of these well-known books are stored in university libraries across the country, confirmed by the FBI as not missing.
The case had now become a significant challenge, with no direct leads pointing to Vince, although informants could confirm Vince was the expert forging these books, but without direct evidence, they couldn't charge him.
Jimmy was completely baffled; he hadn't encountered such a case in the two years he'd been with the bureau. Who knew how to investigate this? Damn, were all cases at the FBI of this caliber? What had he been before then? A public security officer? A traffic cop? Or maybe even part-time SWAT?