(Sorry for any inconvenience caused by the previous chapters. I will be restructuring them in the next few days, and I will let everyone know to revisit them once the modifications are complete. The first part of this chapter connects to the last one, and the rest will follow suit in the restructuring. My apologies again.)

Watching others ski is fascinating, but for Jimmy, a total newbie to the slopes, the situation was rather grim. He didn't prepare any ski gear at all and needed to rent everything from the club. For safety, he also had to hire an instructor to teach him for 2 hours, and today, he could only play around on the beginner slopes.

Ski boards, ski boots, ski poles, snow boots, ski suits, helmets, goggles, gloves, and most importantly, knee and hip protectors—just the thought of all this equipment was headache-inducing. It seemed like even in the United States learning to ski would require quite a bit of preparation.

Standing, walking, gliding, turning, and falling to the side—these basic moves all required constant practice. Jimmy could only look on enviously at others taking the cable car to the intermediate and advanced slopes while he slowly slid around on the flat ground with another first-timer.

After a simple run down the beginner slope with the instructor and a return to the club via the adjacent ski lift, Jimmy called it a day and went to rest. After lunch and some rest, he would be able to ski alone on the beginner slopes in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance. At lunchtime, Daniel and Emilian came over again; this time, to invite Jimmy back to Marseille for a celebration prepared by the police department in their honor. Of course, the main reason Jimmy was invited was to thank him for his help in rescuing Emilian.

As for those who had been shot by Jimmy, Emilian gladly took credit for them. Those deeds were commendable, and wasting them would be shameful. No matter how much they investigated, the bullets that hit them were fired from Emilian's gun. As long as the three of them kept silent, no one would know.

Though reluctant, Jimmy returned all the rented equipment, packed up his suitcase, and followed Daniel back to Marseille.

The celebration at the Marseille police department was indeed unique. Back when Jimmy was with the county police, they never held any celebrations; it was always just a small gathering. In Marseille, however, they organized a small banquet hall and many important figures attended. It appeared that the police commissioner had a very extensive network.

Initially, that's what Jimmy thought, until he was proven wrong. The highest-ranking person at the event was a general, but he wasn't invited by the commissioner; he was invited by Daniel. Who would have guessed that this rough man had a father-in-law who was a general? And yes, his wife was very beautiful.

After a joyful banquet where both guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, Jimmy rested in Marseille for one night before heading back to Paris the next day.

To show his gratitude, Daniel personally drove Jimmy to the Paris airport. A journey of over 700 kilometers, which normally takes 7 hours, was somehow completed in just 3 hours. Of course, Daniel's car plate was still a fake, so there was no worry about getting a ticket.

Just last night at the banquet, Jimmy found out that Daniel didn't have a driving license—not that he simply didn't have one with him, but he was permanently revoked from holding a license.

No wonder Daniel drove so wildly; with no license, a car with fake plates, and no one able to catch up, it was a perfect loop.

"Daniel, remember to look me up in New York if you get a chance to visit the United States," Jimmy said, having gotten used to Daniel's driving. Now, when the car stopped, he only felt uneasy in his stomach without feeling the urge to vomit.

Daniel: "Of course, if we travel to the United States, I'll definitely let you know."

Jimmy: "Great, it's a deal. Goodbye." Jimmy took out his FBI business card from his wallet and gave it to Daniel. Such a card is not something he gives out to just anyone; he rarely distributed it.

After getting his luggage from the car, Jimmy headed straight into the airport. He had booked his ticket by phone the night before, and his midday flight would land in New York in the afternoon.

Luckily, there were no incidents on the flights between New York and Paris, and Jimmy arrived in New York smoothly. Once home in his apartment, he dialed the number Tom had texted him from before, but unfortunately, there was no answer. This was the only phone number Jimmy had to contact Tom, so now all he could do was wait for Tom to reach out. Tom still had that CIA ID card.

Come to think of it, Tom changed his phone numbers quite often; Jimmy didn't even know how many burner phones he had gone through.

Jimmy switched on his FBI phone, which he hadn't brought with him to Europe. Since he was on vacation, of course, he wanted to relax without the distraction of work messages—that would be a loss.

It seemed he had overthought things; as a new FBI agent, nobody was going to contact him during vacation. After powering up his phone, there wasn't even a single text message.

On Christmas Eve, Jimmy headed to the bureau in the afternoon, as he had the night shift. Since he was working at night, Jimmy rested during the day and would maintain this night shift lifestyle for the following week.

This was the price to pay; when he had taken leave before, Chris only mentioned that he would have duties on Christmas. He hadn't realized that meant a night shift. When he returned from his vacation and went to the office, that's when Chris gave him the schedule. He felt utterly taken for a ride. In hindsight, it would have been better to work during the day without taking any time off.

During his shift, Jimmy was no longer part of the Homicide Team but instead acted more like a Support Team member—going wherever needed, completely at the mercy of the higher-ups' decisions. It felt like he was back in his county police days, sitting in headquarters waiting for the dispatch center's notice to respond to calls. Only now, the dispatch center had been replaced by the leaders of other groups, such as Ruiz, who was currently in front of Jimmy.

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