Chapter 61: Failed Poaching Attempt

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Agent Eagle Marshall was not the only one curious about Jimmy; the others were equally interested. So, the entire team gathered at an indoor shooting range not far from the police station. After consulting with the range manager, Agent Eagle Marshall arranged for some wooden boards and a walkie-talkie. They first simulated shooting scenarios, creating a small corridor with the wooden boards to mimic firing from behind a door, using this setup to establish ballistic trajectories and pinpoint shooting positions. Then, they placed the walkie-talkie at various points along the shooting line to simulate sound sources. Jimmy was to shoot without seeing the walkie-talkie, as the boards blocked his line of sight.

Jimmy was indifferent; he had his own instincts. No matter how they adjusted the walkie-talkie, it made no difference. Once everything was set, Jimmy fired at the sound directly and hit the chair where the walkie-talkie was placed. After three adjustments, Jimmy consistently hit the area representing the human target where the walkie-talkie was located, thus confirming the feasibility of his killing Johnny with precise shooting.

Agent Eagle Marshall gave Jimmy two thumbs up, then asked the manager to remove the obstacles. Next, Jimmy performed a 15-meter chest-target shoot, firing two rounds of twelve bullets directly into the heart, demonstrating the accuracy of his revolver.

With everything concluded, Jimmy was freed and returned to the station to drive home. As for his gun, it remained as evidence, stored back in the station’s evidence room.

Agent Eagle Marshall hadn’t expected to find such a shooting prodigy in such a small station. Many people can shoot accurately on a range without distractions, but Jimmy had repeatedly demonstrated pinpoint accuracy in real gunfights, his ballistic judgment so sharp it was as if he could see the hidden suspect behind the door—both shots dead center.

“Director James, is it possible that—”

“No, no way. Don’t say it again.”

“I haven’t finished!”

“I know what you’re about to say. He’s my man, one of us here at the station. Don’t even think about it—there’s no chance.”

Agent Eagle Marshall shook hands with the director and left the station. At the parking lot, his colleague could still hear him muttering curses.

“Eagle, you want to take him away?”

“Of course. Such a promising talent is wasted patrolling here all day.”

“Too bad, it’s not up to us. Let’s close this case.”

The two agents got in the car and drove away from the station.

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Jimmy was now on administrative leave again. Since January, in less than half a year, this was already his fourth administrative leave. This time the matter was serious, so the leave would likely be longer. He needed to figure out how to pass the time. Then he recalled a conversation with Kagg about Asian carp in the Mississippi River.

Not a moment too soon, Jimmy picked up the phone and called Kagg to arrange a fishing trip during their leave. As for weapons, they could rent them directly from the club at an affordable price. Although Jimmy had bought a gun, registered it, and purchased a car, he was now broke, but this was still affordable.

Booking the small fishing boat was Kagg’s responsibility; Jimmy only needed to show up, and Kagg would handle the rest. So Jimmy didn’t prepare much, just packed some food for lunch.

Asian carp in the Mississippi River were generally not eaten here. On one hand, locals were not accustomed to eating this spiny fish; on the other hand, a long-standing rumor claimed the fish contained excessive heavy metals.

The rumor went like this: The Mississippi River area was a key industrial hub during America’s early industrial era, before environmental awareness took hold. Numerous industrial wastewaters were discharged directly into the river, resulting in the water and riverbanks being rich in ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and heavy metals—levels far beyond safety standards.

Because of the industrial effluents, the river water became highly oxygenated, spurring rampant algae growth. Someone thought of using Asian carp, which feed on grass and algae, to clean the river and control the algae problem.

So, in the 1970s, various carp species were introduced from Asia into the river. Over the next decade or so, river health improved significantly, with noticeable reductions in algae and aquatic plants. But new problems arose.

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Without natural predators in American rivers and abundant nutrients, Asian carp grew far beyond the modest 20-30 centimeter size known back home, becoming monstrous fish measuring dozens of centimeters and weighing tens of kilograms.

Due to the heavy metal contamination in the river, these fish accumulated high levels of toxins, making them unsafe to eat. Hence, no one wanted to consume them.

This is the legend surrounding the Asian carp.

In fact, the original purpose of introducing Asian carp was to control aquatic plants and algae. It began as a laboratory experiment before spreading beyond the lab.

The Mississippi River’s rich vegetation and countless snails and small shells provided ample food. Without aquatic predators like black bass or snakehead fish, the carp thrived and reproduced rapidly.

Asian carp reach sexual maturity in two years and reproduce far more efficiently than other fish. Their population grew exponentially, squeezing out native fish species. With abundant food, the carp naturally became invasive.

Carp can live up to 70 years. For those introduced in the 1970s, by 2000 the earliest arrivals were only middle-aged, yet they had spawned countless descendants.

This is the history of Asian carp that Jimmy researched to pass the time. Since he never retired in his past life and had joined the fire department at 18, he rarely cooked—certainly never fish. This fishing trip would offer no fresh catch for dinner, so preparing lunch in advance was essential.

When Kagg’s day off arrived, Jimmy drove to their agreed dock. Kagg was already there, having rented a small fishing boat. They chose not to use a speedboat since their goal was fishing, not river cruising.

At the fishing club, Kagg selected a 40-pound compound bow with cams, which delivered great power. They used specialized fishing arrows tied with ropes, allowing retrieval after shooting into the water.

Jimmy had never tried this before. Kagg also recommended a type of crossbow designed for fishing, also with a rope-tied arrow, which was simpler to operate than the compound bow.

The two boarded the boat, and Kagg steered upstream to a more secluded spot. Given the river’s commercial and recreational traffic, it was safer to fish where no one else was around.

As for Asian carp, there was no shortage; after nearly 30 years of breeding, they were everywhere in the Mississippi River.