Jimmy: "Then I'll go find Chuck; you guys carry on."

After speaking, Jimmy nodded to Nia and turned to leave the conference room. It was time for case work, so he didn't want to disturb them.

Arriving at Detective Chuck's desk, Chuck was looking something up on the computer.

Jimmy: "Hey, Chuck, how's it going?"

Chuck turned around and looked at Jimmy: "Still waiting for the results. Are you guys at the FBI really that idle?"

Jimmy shrugged, "I'm just interested in this case, alright, seems like you're really busy, so I'll head back."

Chuck: "OK, goodbye."

Well, getting shooed away like a fly, there was nothing Jimmy could do.

Checking the time and seeing that it was nearly the end of the workday, Jimmy left the precinct and went back to his apartment.

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

The next day, Jimmy returned to the office and suddenly found that Chris, who had been missing for two weeks, was there, looking rather pitiful with his left arm in a splint, his head wrapped in bandages, and a piece of gauze on his face. He was slowly typing with his good right hand, seemingly searching for something.

Jimmy: "Chris, what happened to you? How did you get so badly hurt?"

Chris stopped and looked up at Jimmy: "It's nothing, just a little traffic accident. How have you been lately?"

Jimmy: "All's good, no surprises. With injuries like that, you should go back and rest, just let me know if there's anything that needs to be taken care of."

Chris nodded: "I'll head back soon, no worries."

Jimmy: "Is the situation with Vince sorted out?"

Chris: "Yeah, don't worry, that's all taken care of."

Chris continued to work the keyboard one-handed, clicked the mouse a few times, and then shut down the computer. He picked up his clothes from beside him, waved to Jimmy, and left.

Jimmy didn't believe a word of Chris's story. A traffic accident that left him in that state? It reminded Jimmy of the time when Cage was beaten up by some drug traffickers and also claimed it was a traffic accident. Did they really take everyone else for fools, thinking any plausible excuse would suffice?

Jimmy turned on his computer and began to check the newly registered cases. If Chris was hurt like that, it seemed that whatever they had been through was no small thing; there could be some record. Since Chris had returned, it meant things had been dealt with, and now looking into it wasn't about helping but simply scratching an itch to see what they had actually done.

After busying himself to no avail, Jimmy reviewed the recent case listings but didn't find anything special. That made sense; Chris and his team were veteran detectives and would have handled things properly. Thinking back to Cage's way of working, it was somewhat understandable.

Speaking of which, since he had the system open, maybe he could check on Nia? Forget it, that was too sleazy, using the FBI database to snoop for personal details in the name of flirting felt like crossing a line.

Jimmy checked his emails and correspondence to ensure there was nothing urgent, then packed up and left the office, heading to the NYPD again.

Upon entering the precinct, Jimmy went straight to Nia's desk. To be honest, a woman in a uniform looked really sharp, but police uniforms were indeed unfriendly to women's figures; not designed to be form-fitting, they completely hid any good physique.

He was in luck this time. After a day's search and comparison, Nia's team had identified several suspects and obtained some not-so-clear video snapshots. Jimmy's visit was just in time to take back the footage for image comparison.

Chuck approached: "Jimmy, we might need to put this case on hold; we have a new case that needs urgent attention. Nia, get ready to go."

Jimmy: "What case?"

Chuck: "Kidnapping. A family just reported it, and we're heading out now."

Jimmy nodded, taking the images Nia and her team had found and returned to the FBI office. Kidnapping cases were not considered major incidents. Local police were usually sufficient to handle them unless the case involved a person of substantial influence or a federal employee, whether current or former; only then would the FBI take direct charge.

Jimmy called Chris, his access had already been revoked after he finished checking the information earlier, and image comparison wasn't something he could do on his own. Chris had already gone home to rest, but he said he'd call Hughes to request the access be reopened.

Image comparison isn't as quick as it is in the movies, and the criminal database is quite vast. Moreover, matching isn't one hundred percent successful, so after scanning several images, Jimmy left them there to wait for the results.

Hughes summoned him, and Jimmy once again came to his office, this time not only Hughes was there but also a blonde woman.

Jimmy, "Hughes, I'm here. What's up?"

Hughes, "Jimmy, this is Kimberly Rice, in charge of kidnapping and missing persons cases. You are to join her team temporarily to assist with a kidnapping case."

Jimmy shook hands with Rice, "Homicide division, Jimmy. Nice to meet you, please take good care of me."

Kimberly Rice, "Kimberly Rice. Hughes, we'll be off then."

Hughes nodded, and the two left his office.

Rice and Jimmy went downstairs together, and she handed a photo to Jimmy, "Jimmy, this case is a kidnapping, Satty Macar, a signed model with ESS agency, a French national. She came to New York for Fashion Week and disappeared after her show ended the day before yesterday. The agency arranged for a manager to look for her, to no avail. Yesterday afternoon, they received a call from the kidnapper demanding a ransom of five million dollars."

Jimmy, "Shouldn't this kind of kidnapping case be handled by the NYPD? Why has it come to us?"

Rice glanced at Jimmy, "Because Satty Macar isn't just a model; she's also the daughter of a multinational company's owner. Now we're heading to the ESS company."

Jimmy drove behind Rice to an office building in Midtown Manhattan. Rice led Jimmy upstairs where some agents dressed in FBI jackets were installing surveillance equipment.

Rice, "Has the kidnapper called again?"

A surveillance detective shook their head, and Rice walked over to the agency's manager, who was also the one who reported the incident, Bruno Melton.

Rice, "Melton, has Macar's family been contacted?"

Melton, "Yes, we've made contact, but her family is in France and won't be in New York until tomorrow."

Rice, "OK, let's go over the current situation. When was the last time you saw Macar? Did anyone have contact with her?"

Melton looked at Rice, "The night before last, after the show ended. Macar left the backstage area after changing her clothes. She was supposed to go straight to the car waiting at the back door, but we waited a long time and she didn't show up. We contacted our people inside, and they didn't know when Macar left either. What we can confirm is that there was no issue with the show itself. Her last runway walk ended at 9:45 PM, and we got in touch with them at 10:15 PM."

Rice, "Is there surveillance in the backstage area of the venue?"

Melton, "No, there's only surveillance at the main entrance. We were waiting at the back door where there's nothing."

Rice nodded, looking to Jimmy, "Jimmy, you and Ryan go investigate the show venue. Ryan!"

A male detective in his thirties signaled with a raised hand. Jimmy nodded and walked over to Ryan, and the two went to a building next to Central Park.

Ryan appeared to be an experienced detective. He led Jimmy to where Macar had her fashion show. After getting in touch with the exhibitors, they questioned the backstage staff and then followed the path from the service entrance to the main entrance.

They then proceeded with the routine procedure, getting in touch with the building's security staff and, with the manager's permission, accessed the surveillance footage from the main entrance on the night in question.

Eventually, they spotted Satty Macar in the surveillance video. She was seen leaving the building with a man and getting into a car at the main entrance before driving away.

Ryan immediately called Rice, "Rice, the surveillance shows Macar leaving the building with a male. They got into a car and left. The camera angle only captured the man's back, not his face. I'm headed back now."

Ryan asked the on-site staff to copy the surveillance footage and returned to the ESS agency with Jimmy and the video in hand.

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