Chapter 24: An Unsolvable Hazard

Jimmy returned to the police station, turned in his equipment, and packed up, ready to head home.

"Jimmy, come in." As Jimmy walked through the lobby, the Chief called out to him. Jimmy stepped into the Chief's office.

"Are you heading home now? Any plans for the evening?"

"No, Chief. Do you need me to do something?"

"Come with me. Let's get your problem sorted out."

"All right."

Jimmy followed the Chief to the parking lot and climbed into the Chief’s car. They drove in silence. Half an hour later, Chief James pulled up in front of a club.

"Follow me." Chief James was clearly a regular; the security guards at the door made no move to stop them, and they walked straight into the club.

In a private meeting room, Jimmy met the man who had created his identity documents.

"Tom, I’ve brought him. You two talk." After saying this, the Chief turned and left. Jimmy took a look at the room’s layout: only one door, no windows, and no visible back exit. There were two single-seat sofas with a coffee table between them, on which sat two cups of coffee.

"Sit. I’m aware of your situation. It was my oversight, and now we’re going to fix this loophole."

Jimmy sat on the sofa opposite him.

"There are two options for you to choose from. Both are troublesome and require significant funding to execute."

Tom took a sip of his coffee and pulled a stack of documents from the bag beside him.

"This is the Department of Justice’s Federal Witness Protection Program. If you sign this agreement, you will be added to the DOJ witness list. We would need to maneuver to find a suitable case to insert you into that list. Because this program provides witnesses with entirely new identities, it’s safe to say that once the program begins, everything related to your previous identity will be irrelevant. This agreement can solve your past problems."

"And the downsides to this plan? There must be some, right?"

"That’s correct. Being on the witness list means your identity will, to some extent, be exposed to everyone. You also need to find an appropriate federal case under the DOJ. If anyone digs into it, it could get very messy and potentially implicate others. Furthermore, you need to come up with a large sum of money."

"What about the second option?"

"The second option is also quite complicated. It requires finding a small bank to forge your historical salary records and finding a suitable fund to handle the donation logs. Finally, we would need to find a suitable intermediary to contact an IRS state lead—at the very least, a team captain."

"Does this plan cost a lot?"

"Yes, the cost would be extremely high. However, it wouldn’t affect your entire record. If you have plans for advancement later on, these issues won't become dirt that gets exposed at a critical moment."

"I assume you’ve investigated me, so you know I don’t have a large sum of money. The second option is completely impossible. Is there a simpler, more direct way?"

"If you want to completely avoid any repercussions, there is no other way, unless you can find someone within the IRS who has the authority to handle it personally."

"I can’t do either of these; I don’t have the money. Can I ask a question? When you helped me create my identity before, was it an existing identity or was it manufactured from scratch?"

"That is your last question. Stop digging into the identity issue. This identity already existed."

"Was there a real person? Does he have family?"

"No, I can confirm that. This identity is clean."

"Then there’s nothing to be done. Let's scrap both plans. I’ll figure something else out later."

"Fine. Don’t contact me again. Your new ID has been deleted from the database, and no one will be able to trace you from here on out. You can rest easy. Goodbye."

Tom packed up his things, finished his coffee, and stood up to leave.

Jimmy sat on the sofa, reviewing every detail since he entered the room, hoping to discover something. Although Tom hadn't said much, there were clues in his words—especially the last sentence about the new ID being deleted from the database. It certainly wouldn't be a general resident database; it had to be an internal agency database. What kind of agency would hold such identities?

Then there were the plans he offered. The first involved the DOJ and the Federal Witness Protection Program—something he vaguely recalled being handled by the FBI. Combined with the mention of a database, this man was almost certainly from the FBI. His rank was likely high; otherwise, he wouldn't have the authority to manage sensitive information in that manner.

It was also clear that the FBI and the IRS probably didn't have much of a working relationship; otherwise, someone with such high clearance wouldn't be unable to reach a reliable IRS team captain. This likely stemmed from the siloed nature of American government agencies.

Was he trustworthy? Not necessarily, but it was highly probable. He’d said the identity was pre-existing, not brand new, meaning there were records in other systems. That meant there was a possibility of discovering older information; he should find a way to get the corresponding files.

There was one more thing: although Tom hadn't said it, one could infer that this identity wasn't just some disposable piece of information. Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to arrange for someone to inherit it. After all, with so many people going missing in the U.S. every year, a person of Chinese descent theoretically shouldn't even be on their radar, given the generally low status of Chinese Americans.

Therefore, it could be inferred that this identity had something special about it—whether the person was special or had been involved in something special. There had to be a reason why they couldn't just process these records as a disappearance or a death.

Another potentially meaningful discovery: Tom had brought the same type of briefcase both to the police station and today. It had no logo, no trademark, and no unique patterns. It looked like a very ordinary, plain black briefcase, but the fact that he carried it consistently suggested it was issued by his agency rather than purchased personally.

His clothes and shoes were also very plain, with no visible branding. He was clearly very careful about protecting his identity; even the name "Tom" was likely fake.

These details might seem insignificant, but Jimmy carefully recalled and recorded everything. If he ever encountered the same type of person again, he might be able to figure out who they were.

Jimmy finished his coffee and walked out of the meeting room. Chief James hadn't mentioned his location, and Jimmy didn't know if he should look for him. He found a server, asked them to notify Chief James that he was leaving, and then had the club call him a taxi to head home.