Chapter 58 Discovering the Target

Jimmy watched their performance from start to finish. When the other side opened the door, he fired directly at the shadow's chest. Because he was using semi-automatic mode, Jimmy's rate of fire was not fast—just four bullets, and both individuals collapsed to the ground. The man holding guns in both hands might have experienced a nervous reflex, as he fired a few rounds while falling, though nobody knew where those bullets ended up.

The two deceased individuals were a man and a woman. The woman was the one carrying the suitcase, and the man in front was not Jimmy's target, Johnny.

"Suspects down, cease fire, cease fire. Suspects are at the back door, you may enter," Jimmy informed the police officers at the front via his walkie-talkie, then bent down to retrieve the four shell casings. These were evidence and could not simply be left lying on the ground.

Today, after firing his weapon, Jimmy did not hand his firearm over to other police officers according to protocol; instead, he returned directly to his patrol car with the M16.

Jimmy did not drive away immediately but waited in place. When he returned just moments before, he had already spoken with Kagger over the phone, and the officers in charge of this case would come to collect his shell casings later. As for the M16, since they still needed to capture Johnny, he would not return it to them just yet. It was issued by the police department anyway, so he would pick it up after the mission ended.

After dealing with the matter here, Jimmy returned to the intersection. During the time that had just passed, the search team had not yet found Johnny, so he should still be within the perimeter.

Jimmy continued to observe the pedestrians and vehicles passing by at the intersection, focusing primarily on whether anyone had a fractured left arm. The weather was already hot, and many people were wearing short-sleeved T-shirts. For someone with a fractured left arm, it would be extremely obvious and impossible to hide. Even if the plaster cast were broken off, it would still look different from a normal arm. This was a distinct marker; no matter how one tried to disguise it, this point was basically impossible to conceal.

"Feds, we found a broken window glass on the door of a house. Come take a look," a police broadcast came over the walkie-talkie. It had nothing to do with Jimmy and was directed at the FBI agents.

A few minutes later, another call came through the walkie-talkie.

"Suspect Johnny located, officers have fired. 805 Seagren Street, backup requested."

Jimmy started his patrol car again and rushed over. The target had been found; searching at the intersection was pointless now, and all forces would undoubtedly be deployed.

Seagren Street was a major avenue. Jimmy had memorized the local map beforehand, and upon rushing over, he found several police cars already lining the avenue. He immediately made a U-turn and headed toward West Hampton Street, which ran parallel behind Seagren Street, so that he could intercept the suspect in advance if he attempted to escape from the back of the block.

The houses here were arranged in two rows—front and back—with their respective backyards separated by wooden fences. If someone wanted to escape, crossing multiple backyards horizontally was unrealistic. The fastest route was generally to go straight from a backyard into the backyard of the house directly behind it, enter that house, and then run out to the avenue in the rear.

Jimmy remembered that on Seagren Street, they had parked in front of the fifth house, so the rear side should correspond to the same distance. Jimmy got out of his patrol car, walked up to the door of this particular house, and knocked.

"Pulaski County Police, open the door."

A middle-aged woman inside came over and opened the front door, asking through the screen, "What is it, officer?"

"We are hunting a criminal. He is in the house directly behind yours, and I need to go through your backyard to prevent him from escaping."

"Of course. Please come in."

"Are you the only one at home?"

"No, my daughter is home too."

"Take her and leave the house for a moment. Go over to your neighbor across the street to take cover. There might be an exchange of gunfire later, so please be careful."

Jimmy reached the backyard through the back door. The wooden fence was not tall, only about 1.2 meters high, and the visibility was excellent, allowing him to see the surrounding environment of the house where the suspect was located.

Jimmy faintly heard someone shouting warnings at the suspect from the front, but the distance was indeed a bit too far to hear clearly. At the moment, he was the only one at the back door; everyone else was basically concentrated at the front entrance.

Jimmy hid behind a pile of miscellaneous items in the backyard to provide some minor cover, preventing the suspect from spotting him directly if he came out through the back door—this position was far too easy to get shot at and was dangerous. The location where Jimmy stood was a bit too far from the suspect's house, and his psychic perception range was insufficient to pinpoint the suspect's exact position inside the house.

"Feds, I have reached the backyard of the house behind the suspect. Currently, it's just me. Can you confirm the suspect's exact location in the room? Over."

"A few minutes ago, he was by the window next to the front door. Now the curtains are drawn, and we cannot visually track the suspect."

"Okay, draw some fire to create a distraction, and I will approach from the rear."

"Jimmy, stop, wait for me to rendezvous," Kagger's voice suddenly broke in.

"Okay, you can come around the side of the left house to the back."

Kagger also arrived at the backyard. Jimmy motioned for Kagger to confirm his position and provide cover, then vaulted over the wooden fence and entered the suspect's backyard.

Jimmy pressed himself against the back door of the house and used his psychic perception to confirm Johnny's location. There was only one person inside. Judging by his posture, he had not removed the cast from his left arm; one arm was clearly visible resting across his chest.

Johnny's location should be the master bedroom. Right now, he was rummaging through a cabinet. Judging from the shadow, it should be a wall closet containing a shotgun, with some small boxes underneath—presumably ammunition.

However, since Johnny only had the use of one hand, theoretically he could not operate that shotgun effectively; his weapon of choice should still be a handgun.

Jimmy felt the current situation was worth the risk of going inside. He turned and gestured to Kagger, signaling him to provide cover because he was going to enter the house.

Kagger notified the police officers and federal agents at the front via the walkie-talkie, then aimed his weapon directly at the back door.

Jimmy pulled on the back door, but it didn't budge—evidently, it was locked from the inside. He took a small roll of tape out of his pocket, pulled off several strips, and plastered them across the glass window of the back door.

"People at the front of the house, make some noise!" Jimmy pressed his walkie-talkie and instructed the others.

As the people at the front entrance began shouting, Jimmy smashed the middle of the taped glass with his collapsible baton. The entire pane shattered instantly, but because the tape held it together, only a few shards fell to the ground while most remained suspended in the air. He reached his hand inside, unlocked the door, drew his revolver, and stepped into the room.

This back door led into a utility room, and inside the utility room, there was another door leading to the living room. Jimmy locked onto Johnny's position with his psychic perception; the target was still in the bedroom, and based on his movements, he seemed to be loading ammunition into a spare magazine, though operating it with one hand looked very clumsy.

Sure enough, Johnny could not see the door leading to the living room, so Jimmy opened it and stepped directly into the living room. There was a small hallway connecting the living room to the bedroom, and walking straight down that hallway into the bedroom was far too dangerous, so Jimmy chose a safer approach.

Following the tangent line of his psychic sight, Jimmy crept forward, aiming his revolver down the small corridor leading to the bedroom. Once he confirmed his line of fire completely blocked the bedroom entrance, Jimmy shouted loudly, "Johnny Santiago, you are surrounded! Drop your weapon and come out of the bedroom!"