North American Gunslinger Detective

Chapter 806 Gustavo Forin
It is not so easy for the two federal agencies to cooperate, especially when one is in New York State in the northeast and the other is in New Mexico in the southwest. Normally, there is little communication between them.

But since both parties agreed, the only thing left was to follow the procedures. After waiting in Albuquerque for two days, Jimmy received a notice that he had to go to DEA Albuquerque to assist them in investigating the case in which Hank was ambushed by the killer.

Of course, the FBI is not completely ignoring the matter. The Albuquerque office also received a request for assistance. However, this time Jimmy is in charge of the FBI's case, and they are mainly cooperating with Jimmy.

It was a bit too much to take food from other people's plates, so Jimmy made another phone call to Ruiz, briefly asked about the arrangements, and then completely let go of his reserve.

In the DEA office, a conference room was temporarily cleared and a circle of whiteboards were placed around it. Several boxes were stacked in the middle of the table. Inside were all the case reports that the team led by Hank had investigated in the past one or two years. These were all things that Jimmy needed to investigate.

Hank also came to the conference room in a wheelchair and connected a laptop to Gomez in the hospital. Everyone will complete the case analysis together today.

Hank is the person who is most familiar with his own cases, so of course he is the one who explains the information of each case. Of course, due to time constraints, he will not go into the details of the case, but it is most appropriate for him to communicate the information about the suspects and the forces that may be involved in person.

It was also the first time that Jimmy learned about the daily work of the DEA. He originally thought that they were facing vicious drug dealers, but in fact, most of the time they were facing street thugs and gang members involved in drug trafficking. Moreover, because the scope of DEA's authority is relatively narrow, there is less they can do.

Moreover, if we only look at the current data from the past year or so, Hank and his team have not actually cracked down on many drug trafficking organizations. Most of those arrested were local gang members and some drug manufacturing dens. There was not a single transnational drug trafficking organization.

The DEA looks very powerful, but actually they haven't done anything big. Maybe it's because the drug dealers here are relatively low-key. However, those who are arrested are all local small drug dealers. If the source is not targeted, the effect will really not be great.

However, apart from these seemingly disappointing results, Hank and his team also successfully discovered several locations where drug dealers hid drug money, causing the drug dealers to lose a lot of money. This kind of gain is also considered a big gain, at least a large sum of money will be deposited into the office's petty cash account.

There are some things that definitely cannot be said in front of Hank and the others, but this is indeed what Jimmy thought after reading the information. There is no end to the gangs, whether it is Albuquerque or New York, Jimmy knows this very well. Even in such a powerless situation, Ruiz and others are still trying their best to crack down on those well-known New York gangs. However, the DEA knows that the US-Mexico border is the biggest loophole for drugs to enter and exit, and Albuquerque as an important transit point must be a focus of drug dealers' attention. It is really not justifiable that they are still just doing some simple tasks.

Of course, there is one thing that must be mentioned here, that is, Hank and his team are not responsible for cross-border business themselves. The DEA headquarters is mainly responsible for cooperating with the Mexican government to combat drug trafficking.

However, it was not completely without gain. It was the first time that Jimmy saw the complete information of the two killers. The photo information was much more comprehensive than the one Gomez brought to the hotel last time. There were not only head photos, but also their clothes, personal equipment, and other small bits and pieces. The only regret was that the mobile phones found on them were disposable phones that had never been used. It was obvious that they were very well prepared.

However, it was not completely meaningless. The two men looked like typical Mexicans. In the absence of fingerprints and tattoos to determine their identities, their only typical feature was their shoes. The skulls on the tops of their shoes were obviously specially customized. If enough time and manpower were spent, the corresponding makers should be able to be found in Mexico. But this was actually meaningless because Jimmy did not have the budget for such personnel information. After all, if he had to go to Mexico to investigate, relying on domestic personnel would definitely not be enough.

But at least the clothes on the two men showed that they were not short of money, which meant that they were not mercenaries. They must be high-level killers within the drug dealers, or perhaps even hired killers from some big families. If we have the opportunity to find out, this aspect can also be a direction for investigation.

Jimmy's investigation did not start from the previous cases, but worked backwards from the most recent case. When there was an intersection with other cases, he would skip a period of time and directly take out the previous files to check.

"Has Heisenberg been arrested?" Jimmy looked up at the file in front of him in surprise and asked, "This Heisenberg, is it that Heisenberg?"

Hank shrugged. "Officially, at least, he's the Heisenberg."

Jimmy: “So, how was this fake caught?”

Hank: "We lured a street dealer and then set him up and caught him in the act of dealing."

Jimmy frowned as he looked at the files and photos: "This is too fake. How did they close the case? It was too crude."

Hank turned his head and looked around, his mouth drooping. "Some things were indeed justified at the time. Anyway, he admitted his identity and took all the blame."

Jimmy sighed. There was no need to ask any more questions. There was probably nothing much to talk about except office politics and departmental interests. This kind of thing was common everywhere.

Jimmy threw down the information about Heisenberg and said, "Well, this guy should just stay in jail."

Jimmy: "By the way, how did you get the information about these cases?"

Hank: "Some of it was provided by our informants, but of course most of it was discovered by our own investigation."

Jimmy: "So after you got into trouble, did you ask your former informant? Oh, no, I shouldn't ask you this. Gomez, what about you?"

Gomez opened the video on the hospital bed. Although he didn't say much, he was always there. He didn't turn off the video because most of the questions didn't require him to answer. "Yes, there are indeed many informants. I looked for them after that, but there was no result. They didn't hear anything."

Jimmy nodded: "It's similar to what I thought. Even if this kind of thing was done by their gang, they wouldn't let these people know."

This was the first time Gomez had met Hank in these days. When talking about this topic, he directly told Hank Jimmy's previous guess, that is, the person who leaked the information might be a big shot in a gang, but not the one in power, and might be used by them.

Hank was also confused. Jimmy's inference did make sense, but there was no information on this matter among the people they knew.

Jimmy: "Don't worry about it. This is just a guess at the time. We will have a chance to confirm it later. The most important thing now is to find out how many drug-related gangs there are in Albuquerque. Do you have any relevant information?"

Hank nodded: "We have some information, but it is definitely not complete. Some people are hiding very deeply, such as this Heisenberg."

Jimmy walked out of the meeting room and called Miguel outside, asking him to get the gang information when he came over. Miguel was Gomez's man and was relatively reliable. He was also called to support Jimmy on this mission, so he should be able to get a lot of credit.

Hank: "There's one more thing. A few days ago, a man was killed. A notebook was found in his home. There were a lot of drug-related contents recorded on it. The police suspected that he was involved in drug-related business. However, the case is currently with the Albuquerque Police Department. Tim, the guy you met at my house last time, is in charge of solving the case."

Jimmy: "Drug related? Where's the information?"

Hank: "At my house, but they're all photocopies."

Jimmy thought for a moment and said, "Bring him here so we can have a look. If he is really a drug maker, he might have been caught up in a gang fight, otherwise most people wouldn't bother him. I also happen to have done some research on murder cases, so let's take a look together. But for the time being, we won't cooperate with the police, as it's too easy for information to be leaked there."

Hank nodded, turned his wheelchair and arranged for someone to go to his house to get the information.

In the afternoon, the office suddenly became lively. Hank turned his head and took a look. "Oh, our sponsor is here. Jimmy, do you want to try it? The best fried chicken here."

Chicken Bros. is a fast food chain that is spread across southwestern states, with fourteen stores in Albuquerque alone. It is famous for its taste and quality service. Jimmy had eaten there before, and it is considered one of the best hamburger fast food chains.

Hank introduces Jimmy to the Fried Chicken Brothers, whose boss, Gustavo Flin, is a long-time DEA sponsor.

Yes, as a federal government agency, the DEA has sponsors. In fact, not only the DEA, but other departments including the FBI have sponsors as well. If these agencies only rely on federal funding to survive, it will be difficult for them to grow big. This is a very large topic and I will not elaborate on it.

The fried chicken brothers have a very good reputation. They donate not only to federal agencies, but also local government departments, schools and other public services and other activities. Gustavo Folin is a well-known philanthropist and entrepreneur. He often actively participates in charity and community activities in his own restaurants or other places, providing free food to public welfare departments such as police or firefighters, etc. His most iconic image to the outside world is a good person who is kind and generous.

There were footsteps outside the conference room, and a middle-aged black man brought several employees wearing Fried Chicken Brothers work clothes to the conference room with a few bags. The middle-aged black man was wearing a well-fitting suit and had a smile on his face. He looked very humble, polite and graceful.

Gus smiled and said, "Good afternoon, everyone. You've been working very hard, and I think you might need some delicious food to replenish your energy."

Hank turned his wheelchair to face Gus. "That's great. Everybody, this is Gustavo Forlin, one of the best fried chicken owners in our city and a philanthropist. And this is Jimmy from the FBI, who's been helping us on this case lately."

Jimmy reached out his hand and shook Gus's. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Flynn. At times like this, a little good food can really cheer people up."

Gus: "Just call me Gus. It's my honor to serve law enforcement. Your work protects our communities, and I'm just doing my part."

Jimmy took the bag of food and put it on the conference table with a smile, "Then we should thank you even more. By the way, how did you come up with this idea? Fund the DEA."

Gus: "Well, I'm always concerned about the safety of our community, and I thought it would be my duty to offer some support. It looks like you guys are busy, is there anything I can do to help?"

Jimmy: "That's a great idea. We really need all the help and resources we can get. But forget it. After all, our case is too dangerous. It involves Mexican drug cartels. We can't involve a philanthropist like you."

Gus: "Mexican drug cartels? They are very dangerous indeed, which is why I respect what you do. As long as our community is safe, any risk is worth it. By the way, have you made any new discoveries on the case?"

Hank interrupted the conversation and took over. "Oh, we can't reveal the details of the investigation, Gus. You know, standard procedure."

Gus nodded. "Of course, I totally understand. It's just that as a concerned citizen in my community, I want to do my part."

Jimmy and Hank looked at each other and quickly turned to Gus: "We appreciate your understanding and support, Gus. Now, we'd better focus on these delicious foods. Thank you again."

Gus smiled and said, "You're welcome. Enjoy! And let me know if I need any help."

Gus and his staff left the meeting room. Jimmy stared at Gus's back until they left the outer office. Then he turned around, opened the bag, took out the chicken nuggets and hamburgers and put them on the table.

Jimmy: "Hank, what do you know about this Gus?"

Hank: "Not much. He's a well-known figure in Albuquerque. You want to investigate him?"

Jimmy: "Just a thought, what a coincidence, we just reopened the case and he came to deliver food..."

Hank: "Oh, no, he actually comes here quite often, and a lot of people here get coupons and stuff from his store."

Jimmy nodded. "Maybe I'm overthinking it. I just felt like he wanted to know the progress of our investigation. Let's put it aside for now. Oh, this fried chicken tastes really good. It's even better than what I had at the Fried Chicken Brothers' store."

Hank also took a piece and dipped it in the special sauce in front. "Oh, the taste is indeed different. It seems that they have developed a new type of fried chicken. Maybe I should consider going to his store to have a look."

While Jimmy and the others were enjoying the fried chicken, Gus left the DEA office building. The smile on his face disappeared, and his expression became very serious, with his eyes full of calculation and thought.

(End of this chapter)