Lambert: "At least I have nothing to refute; I've had too little contact with him to judge. What about you?"

Hughes shook his head: "For more than two years, except for the recent incidents, I've never doubted that he was a good kid."

Lambert: "I feel like we might be overthinking this. He said he'd handle it; let's give him some time."

Hughes: "We're not unaware of how those people at the CIA operate; it probably won't be easy for him to leave there. Moreover, I'm particularly worried about something: the attack he experienced could very well have been orchestrated from within, meaning he is essentially a bomb, not knowing when he might be detonated."

Lambert: "Has it been figured out?"

Hughes: "No, but DHS has interfered; the clues they provided are problematic, meaning that someone from their ranks, or pressure from other departments, is involved in the attack on Jimmy. This doesn't necessarily relate to DHS, but the person in charge of this matter will undoubtedly hold a high rank."

"I'm not clear on what about a young man like Jimmy would justify such significant action. Jimmy might be involved in other matters, or possibly people."

Lambert: "Then let's find out; if it really doesn't work out, we'll have no choice but to give up. But honestly, I think this kid is really good. If we can confirm he's no longer involved in other matters, it would be better for us to keep him."

"Though it doesn't sound great to say, someone who can make it out of the CIA agent training camp is certainly much stronger than anyone we recruit and send to Quantico for training. Plus, I now understand why his record is so impressive; ordinary people simply can't compare to such elite agents."

Hughes nodded: "Back when he was with the county police, he's already killed dozens of people. If someone wasn't supporting him from behind, he would have been kicked out of the force by now. I think the people supporting him from behind are likely from the CIA, and at a high level too."

Lambert: "Right, have you considered talking to his former boss? The sheriff from the county police."

Hughes thought for a moment, nodded, "I'll think about it. Do we keep this kid with you for now, or should we give him some time off?"

Lambert: "Time off? Is that necessary?"

Hughes: "I believe his current state might not be suited for continuing on cases. Just a few days ago, he killed dozens of people, and we still can't let others know, not even for psychological intervention."

Lambert: "Hmm, if it were someone else, they might be on the verge of psychological collapse by now, and they could possibly turn into a serial killer."

Hughes nodded: "He is different. I had several psychologists assess him before, and he possesses psychological resilience far beyond his peers. Now, it seems the training he received early on has turned him into a steel warrior. People like him generally don't have psychological issues, but if they do, it could end in a great tragedy."

Lambert: "And maybe a threat to us as well."

Hughes: "We can't just look at the threats. With him, our case-solving rate has greatly increased and the likelihood of injuries to others has decreased a lot. In critical moments, he can even save others. Sometimes, watching him on a mission, you'd really think he could take on an SRT squad single-handedly."

Lambert: "You've thought through the pros and cons, so you decide."

Hughes nodded: "Let's do that; I think giving him a long vacation is the better option."

Lambert: "No problem."

-----------------

Jimmy returned to the hotel, took a shower first, then leaned on the headboard to ponder today's events.

He hadn't planned on laying his cards on the table so soon. Before Lambert had told him Hughes was looking for him, and it was Hughes who arranged for Lambert to bring Jimmy over, he knew that Hughes must have started to doubt him and wanted him to temporarily leave Manhattan so he could investigate.

Now, with Hughes's return to Dallas, it was clear that his investigation had yielded results. Although Jimmy didn't know how much he had unearthed, he must have confirmed Jimmy's secondary identity or at least narrowed down the possibilities.

Jimmy had already reached an agreement with Caitlin to re-enter dormant status, but this actually did not free him from this identity.

Whether Caitlin could keep her promise was something Jimmy was completely unsure of, the only thing he could be sure of was that Caitlin was frightened by his combat abilities, including her unannounced departure from New York and the special trip to Houston to give him the investigation results, all of which proved this point because an ordinary agent is not worth a supervisor doing so much.

Moreover, he always had a fire burning inside him. Rick from the National Analysis Group in Washington, D.C., for some inexplicable reason, wanted to target him for elimination, and although Rick stopped afterward, the two previous assassination attempts had been arranged by him, this man was a constant menace to Jimmy as long as he remained alive.

But Rick was in Washington, D.C., and whether Jimmy was in Dallas or back in Manhattan, he was too far from Washington, D.C., to reach. Moreover, regarding Rick, he only had a smattering of information provided by Tom and Caitlin; he would need to conduct a lot more investigations, all of which would take up a great deal of time.

Jimmy himself had not undergone CIA agent training; his intelligence investigation capabilities were actually severely lacking because he had previously mainly relied on FBI databases and support from "friends," with few opportunities to investigate on his own.

Apart from Tom, he had no other way to learn how to investigate someone like Rick, especially in a manner that prevented discovery by using special channels. Rick was not an ordinary businessman or gangster, he was a member of a federal agency. If Jimmy were to investigate through the FBI or other databases, it would be easy to leave traces, be discovered, and thus expose himself.

Now that Rick had given up on action, but if Jimmy were to expose himself because of the investigation, he would easily become suspect to Rick, and judging by the armed force previously dispatched to attack Jimmy, the next time, it might at least double.

There was still much Jimmy had to do to have a clear understanding.

The next day, Jimmy returned to the FBI Dallas office anyway; Ray's investigation was still ongoing.

Jimmy, "Ray, has the thief been found?"

Ray, "No, we've sent video snapshots to the police station, hoping they can help with the investigation. If this person really is a local, the police might get some results."

Jimmy nodded, "OK, then continue the investigation."

Jimmy and Ray continued to process various tip-offs, in addition to other cases that Ray had on his hands, which were also making progress. As mentioned before, with only just over half of the bank robbery cases being solved, it would be acceptable for them if they really didn't find anything in the short term.

Jimmy did not get involved in Ray's other cases; he was just on temporary assignment and didn't need to go through all the cases. He focused on handling the ones he had at hand or waited for Ray to actively hand over the information.

In the afternoon, news came from the police station.

Ray, "Jimmy, we have a lead, let's go."

Jimmy picked up his suit and followed Ray downstairs, while Ray said while walking, "Someone recognized a person who looks a lot like the one in the video, we're going to verify it now."

Jimmy, "Who is it?"

Ray, "A street thug, no official job."

Ray drove ahead with Jimmy following in another car; both headed straight for the northern suburbs of Dallas. The suburbs weren't all inhabited by middle-class people; a significant part of the poor also lived on the outskirts, and the person they were looking for was one of them.

Ray drove to the local police precinct, and an officer came out to get in Ray's car, directing them to the scene.

At the target location, Ray and Jimmy got out of their cars along with the officer, who pointed to an opposite building that looked long neglected, "Your target lives there."

The three approached the front door, where Jimmy could already see two people inside; a police officer at the front knocked, "Dallas Police, Jeff, open up."

"He's not home," a woman's voice came from inside the house, as Jimmy saw the two inside separating; one slowly headed towards the door, while the other ran towards the bedroom, hiding in the closet.

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