Jimmy had just completed the support mission and returned to the county police headquarters. He needed to write a report on the case. Although he could write it on-site or in the car, it was more comfortable to write at the police station. He was not in a rush nor was he on patrol.
It had been a week since James had left, and Tom's funeral must have been over, yet James still hadn't returned to work.
Although Jimmy really wanted to make a call and ask, he could only hold back since after all, James was their boss, and it was best not to disturb him at such a time.
Ten days after James left, he finally came to work.
Jimmy went to James's office as soon as he could.
Jimmy, "Chief James, was there a problem with your trip? Why was it delayed for so long?"
James, "Nothing major, I just took the opportunity to see a few old friends. Is there something you need, Jimmy?"
Noticing that James didn't seem very enthusiastic and looked tired, Jimmy shook his head directly, "Nothing much, just that you were away for quite a long time. I thought there might have been a problem at Tom's funeral. Well, I'll be leaving then."
James nodded, and as Jimmy turned to leave the office and was about to close the door, James suddenly spoke up, "Jimmy, come back."
Jimmy turned around to look at James, then went back into the office and closed the door behind him.
James, "Come to my house at 9 o'clock tonight, we need to talk."
Jimmy nodded, "Alright, Chief James."
Jimmy was mostly working day shifts, with the occasional night shift. As long as he didn't have to work overtime, he would definitely be able to make it to James's house by 9 p.m.
James, "That's all, you can go."
Jimmy turned and left the chief's office, returning to his own desk.
Having already made plans to meet in the evening, Jimmy dealt with some things and then went to the shooting range. Recently, he had been practicing with the shotgun, especially the reloading movements for IPSC competitions, which looked very cool. Watching others demonstrate it twice, Jimmy had taken a liking to it.
For this reason, Jimmy even asked the shooting range to get him a competition version of the Benelli M2 shotgun, with an extended magazine tube, changing it from 5+1 to 7+1, making loading for IPSC smoother. (For reference for IPSC movements, consider the gunfight scene with Wick in the Continental Hotel in John Wick 3βit's incredibly cool, although, of course, in the last round of the movie, he fires 10 rounds from a 5+1 shotgun, which is a bug that can be ignored.)
However, just as Jimmy had started practicing shooting, his phone rang. It was Assistant Chief Amy calling.
Amy, "Jimmy, come back quickly, James is looking for you, and he seems really angry."
Jimmy, "Do you know what it's about?"
Amy, "I don't know. He came out looking for you right after taking several calls in his office, so it's definitely not good. Hurry back."
Jimmy, "Okay. I'm on my way."
Jimmy returned the weapons and ammunition and drove back to the police station. As soon as he entered the main door, he saw James standing by the office door, staring intently at the entrance.
James gestured for him to come, then turned and went back into his office.
The receptionist watched Jimmy and smiled, which confused him. He pointed toward the chief's office and spread his hands, "Do you know why the chief is so angry?"
The girl laughed and shook her head as Jimmy had no other recourse but to follow her into the chief's office.
As soon as Jimmy entered the office, James pointed at him, "Close the door."
Jimmy obediently closed the door and then sat in the chair in front of the chief's desk.
James slammed the desk with his hand, and then pointed at Jimmy as he burst out, "I was only gone for 10 days, 10 days, and you've gone crazy again, huh?
A routine shooting incident, 4 of them, you killed 4, do you think our lives have been too easy?
Do you know how many complaint calls I received today because of your damn mess?
They were just ordinary gang members, was it necessary to shoot them dead on the spot?
What on earth were you thinking?"
James ranted, and it seemed that what Jimmy had done in the past few days had indeed been a bit excessive.
In fact, under normal circumstances, there is an unspoken understanding between the police and gang members. Usually, they confront each other for a couple of hours, then the gang members send someone to contact the police and show submission, and come out and surrender.
They first spend some time in detention, then go through the legal process with the help of a lawyer, and after pulling some strings, they pay the bail and get out, that's it.
The gang members gain notoriety within their circles, the police get a boost in performance by closing a case, the courts process a case, lawyers earn their fees, prisons gain some extra free labor, and the local finances get a bit of revenue. It's a result acceptable to all parties and the standard procedure.
But they were unlucky this time, running into Jimmy, who had been particularly irritable these days and not in the best of moods. He blatantly disregarded the usual protocols, and after issuing the so-called final warning, he kicked down the door and gunned down 4 in one go, effectively quelling the remaining gang members. People in the other rooms capitulated screaming for surrender, not willing to joke with their lives.
In Jimmy's case, from a procedural standpoint, he had followed proper police protocol by escalating to force after warnings had failed, but he just pushed past the unwritten rules and went for the kill.
But for others, especially the local gangs, this was unacceptable. Normally, there is a tacit understanding between police and gangs, and now this understanding was completely ruined by Jimmy alone.
Once they regained their senses, all manner of monsters and demons started to leverage their connections. Local gangs are intricate and many have various kinds of backing and support.
Initially, they thought the SWAT teams were the ones lacking martial virtue, but after receiving the specifics, they were stunned.
Especially after learning about the track record of the "Butcher," they were truly terrified. They weren't afraid of a formal SWAT unit constrained by rules, but a lone wolf like the Butcher, who can be too much to handle when he decides to ignore all limits.
A society without gangs, without gang members, is unthinkable, as these people, scattered throughout society, would cause greater harm, so the unwritten rules are crucial.
Now, with various parties applying pressure, James's phone was blown up with calls immediately upon his return.
Jimmy didn't say a word, just waiting for James to simmer down.
James, having just attended the funeral of a good friend, was surely not in a good mood when he returned to face this issue. But since Jimmy hadn't broken any rules but had just been too harsh, he couldn't really pressure him to leave the force; at most, he would be cautioned to be a little less aggressive in the future.
But James also couldn't completely disregard the other stakeholders, and he was certainly feeling suffocated now.
Once James had calmed down, Jimmy would lay low for a few days, then James would get back in touch with the various backers, share a meal, have a drink, and this incident would pass.