Tom Boppach: "OK, everything's checked. Jimmy, you'll be in charge of the side door on the left corner of the banquet hall. This is our third exit route. Please hang up your badge."

Jimmy: "OK." Having said that, Jimmy prepared to leave to check out the location in the banquet hall.

Tom Boppach: "Hold on, you look familiar. Which department were you in before?"

Jimmy: "Assistant Sheriff in Plaskey County, Arkansas."

Tom Boppach's eyes lit up, "I remember you; we worked together a couple of years ago." Seeing Jimmy looking puzzled, he continued, "I was with John Butler, the bomb case, remember?"

Jimmy suddenly realized, "Oh, I remember now. You two came to our police department to get help with route reconnaissance. Sorry, it's been so long, I didn't recognize you."

Tom Boppach laughed heartily: "It's really fate, isn't it? I didn't expect you to join the FBI."

Jimmy: "Yeah, at the end of the year before last, the FBI Academy just started a new training session, and I signed up. Speaking of which, I saw John Butler a few days ago; he's been transferred to the White House."

Tom Boppach nodded, he certainly knew about John's transfer, it seemed that Jimmy and John still had some personal connections. "OK, let's not chat now, you go check your position. I still need to continue with the inspections here."

Jimmy: "OK, goodbye, Tom. Oh, give me your number."

Speaking of Tom Boppach, he didn't have much of an impression of him; he looked very ordinary, not having the distinctive angular face like John Butler that leaves a strong impression. Recalling the time, he had even joked about their names, John and Tom, which sounded like made-up names, but it turned out both were real.

Jimmy and Tom Boppach exchanged phone numbers, and Jimmy got a walkie-talkie and a headset from Tom Boppach, clipped them to his belt, pulled the headset over his shoulder to wear on his right ear, then took out his FBI badge chain and hung it around his neck, and went upstairs into the banquet hall. The walkie-talkie was already set to the right frequency, so he just needed to turn it on to connect with the Special Service Bureau's channel for easy communication.

The banquet hall wasn't very large; on the side, there was a main door, walls on either side of the podium had a side door each for access, and the podium also had a side door leading to the backstage corridor, which was the entry corridor for the Vice President, who was about to speak at the podium, guarded by the Special Service Bureau. Jimmy, being an outsider, could only observe from the corner.

Jimmy opened the side door he was responsible for, looked around the back corridor, and of course, used Heart Eye to check for any potential dangers. Fortunately, a hotel selected for the Vice President's dinner was obviously top-notch, and with parts of the area cordoned off by the Special Service Bureau, the area Jimmy was responsible for was very safe.

After the check, Jimmy found a corner with a chair to start resting, as the dinner was set to start quite late, in a few hours, and standing all that time would be too tiring.

In the evening, all the security guards and agents mobilized, and guests with invitations began entering the hotel one after another. Jimmy could only stand by the side door, zoning out as he watched the elite greet each other. It seemed like this was Jimmy's first time physically participating in a high-profile gala dinner. Although he was just standing on the side, he considered it full participation.

Among those attending the dinner, Jimmy saw two familiar faces, Ivan and Victoria. Their plan had indeed begun, but Jimmy didn't know exactly what they were going to do, as he wasn't involved in the planning phase, and the elderly men and women had not detailed the plan when discussing it; they had only outlined it roughly.

When the time came, the people on the stage introduced and invited Vice President Robert Stanton. Speaking of which, the Vice President's appearance was really impressive, looking very stately, a man in his forties with meticulously groomed hair. He greeted everyone briefly and then announced his upcoming presidential candidacy.

There was a dance before the dinner. As it was concluding, Ivan suddenly went berserk, shouting "Gas!" and causing a panic. Then he activated the fire alarm on the wall. At that point, chaos completely erupted as people started frantically running in every direction while the Vice President, under the escort of Special Service Bureau agents, ran towards the first evacuation exit, the main door of the banquet hall.

Jimmy had noticed earlier that Victoria had left through the main door, not giving it much thought at the time, but now it seemed she had planned her exit. The Vice President and the agents reached the door but couldn't open it. From behind, Jimmy saw that something was wrapped around the door handle, although knocking the handle off with a few strong hits could have been an easy way out. Unfortunately, the agents didn't linger and instead chose a second evacuation route, an adjacent side door, while many guests escaped through the same side door where Jimmy was.

Seeing the Vice President and his party leaving the banquet hall, Jimmy also began to evacuate. He had observed beforehand that the chaos was only in the banquet hall; there was no actual gas leak, let alone a fire.

Following behind, watching the surroundings while occasionally looking back to avoid being followed, Jimmy reached the underground parking garage. Special Service Bureau agents shoved the Vice President into an armored car, preparing to leave. Unfortunately, Jimmy had no place in these vehicles, so he could only stand by helplessly as they drove away. They hadn't gone far when a Browning M2HB heavy machine gun opened fire on the convoy. The armored car withstood the heavy gunfire, but the vehicles of the other agents were not so lucky.

The agents and the Vice President got out of their vehicles to take cover. Just as a second armored Cadillac limousine pulled up, it suddenly exploded. Seeing that the backup vehicle was also compromised, they had no choice but to return to the hotel through a small door in the parking garage, taking another route to exit the building. Luckily, Jimmy was able to continue following the Special Service Bureau agents, avoiding the range of the machine gun fire. He quietly kept up with the Vice President and his group.

Upon crossing the kitchen, the Vice President's group was shot at. The gunfire came from a single person using an automatic weapon, likely a submachine gun rather than the M14s or M16s rifles they were accustomed to. Jimmy moved forward a few steps, keeping his distance as Special Service Bureau agents were ahead; he just needed to stay in the corner to avoid stray bullets.

It was here that he could see the shooters, two figures, one firing and the other loading magazines before passing them to the shooter. Judging by their body shapes, it appeared to be Victoria and Marvin. They were truly reckless, the two of them trying to hold off a group of Special Service Bureau agents.

The Vice President and his party didn't stay put but moved out of the kitchen through a side door after returning fire. A SWAT team had already followed the Vice President's route and reached the kitchen. Jimmy didn't follow the Special Service Bureau agents but instead moved with the SWAT team.

The SWAT team was effective; they pinned down the two at the corner of a wall, preventing them from popping out. While out of others' sight, Jimmy saw Victoria leaning against the wall, holding her waist, apparently having been shot.

The taller Marvin threw several smoke grenades from around the corner, followed by a burst of smoke, which the SWAT team fired into as they advanced. Jimmy assessed their situation and felt pessimistic about Victoria's chances of escaping. With so many SWAT members and Victoria wounded, dodging the kitchen was one thing, but escaping the hotel would be quite another.

Following behind the SWAT team, constantly ensuring whether they had escaped, Jimmy saw Victoria and Marvin split up in a corridor. Victoria ended up in a dead-end, blocked by some object, and it seemed SWAT would spot her just around the corner.

Jimmy was getting ready, but before they arrived, someone appeared behind Victoria and swiftly swept her away. Luckily, it seemed he wouldn't have to intervene.

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