Finally, there was something to do. Jimmy threw down the newspaper in his hands and darted out.

Taking a cab to the destination, Jimmy saw Ruiz's car parked by the roadside, walked over to the passenger side, and knocked on the window; Ruiz unlocked the door and let him in.

Jimmy: "What's up?"

Ruiz: "Come with me to negotiate with them."

Jimmy: "Them? Which gang?"

Ruiz: "MS13. Our surveillance team lost contact an hour and a half ago; they had been monitoring MS13."

Jimmy: "Are they still alive?"

Ruiz: "Don't know. Haven't received any messages, no distress calls, and no ransom demands. The situation is still unclear, but I've contacted SWAT. If necessary, they'll be here in half an hour. You'll come with me to talk to MS13's people, at least to confirm if they're the ones behind it."

Jimmy: "No problem." Ruiz really had a lot of faith in Jimmy, assigning him the role of a bodyguard for direct negotiations. Jimmy felt like swearing inside; such an operation was far too risky.

Jimmy and Ruiz checked their weapons and ammunition in the car to make sure everything was in order, then put on sunglasses and headed to the MS13 stronghold, a nondescript underground bar without a sign.

The outside of the bar looked unremarkable, but once inside and through a hallway, there was a door at the end, guarded by a slim Latin American man. When he saw the two men in suits and sunglasses approaching, he immediately stepped forward, raising his hand to stop them from advancing.

"Stop. We're not open yet."

Ruiz didn't show any ID, simply saying to the man: "FBI. I'm looking for Leopard Cat. Go, let him know we're here."

Instinctively, the Latin American man's hand went behind his back, but Jimmy drew his gun faster, pointing it at him and said, "Don't move if you don't want to die."

Ruiz: "Go ahead and let Leopard Cat know we have arrived."

The Latin American man slowly moved his right hand from behind his back, showing it was empty; he stepped back twice to the door and knocked twice. The door then opened a crack from inside, letting him slip through.

A surveillance camera was mounted on the top left corner of the doorframe, facing the hallway. The people inside must have seen Jimmy and Ruiz.

Jimmy put his gun back in his waistband, standing behind and to the side of Ruiz, waiting for news from inside.

A moment later, the door opened, and the Latin American man who had led them in motioned for Ruiz and Jimmy to enter.

They followed him past the bar's main hall and into an inner room where three people were sitting on a sofa, watching as Ruiz and Jimmy entered. Ruiz went in, but Jimmy was stopped at the door.

Jimmy, looking at the two bouncers, said, "Move aside."

Ruiz waved his hand from ahead, and after he went in, someone inside closed the door. The two bouncers stood on either side of the door, and Jimmy, eyeing them, moved to stand by a high table nearby. In such an environment, sitting wasn't safe, so he rested his left hand on the table, keeping watch on the room.

He couldn't hear the conversation inside. Although the bar wasn't open and there was no music playing, the room was obviously soundproofed. Jimmy could only see Ruiz standing and talking to the people inside.

Minutes later, it was unclear whether the negotiation had fallen apart, but the person sitting on the left drew a gun and pointed it at Ruiz. Jimmy tensed immediately; his right hand was already resting by his side, ready to draw his gun and deal with the two bouncers if anything went wrong inside.

The Latin American who had led them in had already left, so now it was just the two bouncers who had been under Jimmy's watch for a while. His kill plan was all set.

If he took them out, Jimmy could then immediately turn to the position of the other rooms, where six other people were resting, and what seemed to be a surveillance room with two people in it.

Against such scattered enemies, Jimmy was invincible in the complex terrain of the bar.

The person in the room pointing the gun at Ruiz slowly lowered the weapon, seemingly indicating the negotiation hadn't broken down. Oh, the agony of it—if Jimmy couldn't see inside, he might just be a little worried, but right now, he was extremely anxious.

Suddenly, the gunman inside raised his hand and fired a shot. Although there was no distinct sound, Ruiz stepped back and then fell, then writhed to the left and right. Jimmy didn't wait any longer; he drew his Glock and, as planned, took down the two bouncers with a shot to the chest and one to the head.

This was the shooting protocol Jimmy had come up with recently; this technique made it a bit easier to justify later, as shooting someone in the head every time was a bit too brutal.

The sound of Jimmy's gun echoed in the room, putting the people inside on edge. They stood up, went to the sides of the door, and pointed their guns at it, without attempting to come out. Good, these guys were well-trained, not like the mob flunkies in movies who just charge out.

Jimmy drew his revolver with his left hand, and kept his Glock in the right. It had been a while since he had used it, and even though it wasn't as smooth as the revolver, he still had the feel for it.

Jimmy kept an eye on the other rooms while darting to take cover by the side. Three men with guns rushed out from one of the rooms; their first instinct was to aim their guns at the room where the two bouncers had been, before noticing Jimmy hiding off to the side, and gunfire rang out instantly.

Jimmy regretted it; he should have just blocked the door and taken them out. This was too chaotic.

Jimmy took cover behind a pillar, watching the three men and also the two people inside another room. Those two grabbed guns but didn't step out; instead, they aimed at the door, holding their guard. It seemed these two were also quite sharp.

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