Phoenix Detective: Rebirth In The Flames

chapter 4: The Confusion

Jimmy lay on the cardboard, recalling the miraculous experiences of the day. He was just a high school graduate who joined the fire brigade after graduation. He had been there for over 10 years. Despite being in the fire brigade, he didn't isolate himself from society. He used his time for training and emergencies, but he still managed to watch movies, TV shows, and read novels during his breaks. He never thought he would experience the kind of rebirth that only existed in novels.

Having limited knowledge about the United States, he only knew some news and information from various movies and TV shows. However, movies were exaggerations of art, and there was a significant gap between them and real life.

Dealing with the few people since his rebirth, Jimmy had been cautious. Slowly adapting to their way of speaking, understanding the environment, and getting to know the people at the gathering point was exhausting.

Regarding the next steps, his plans were still preliminary. Firstly, he needed to save some cash to ensure he could return to California. He didn't expect to achieve great success like the predecessors in the novels who became Hollywood stars or wealthy celebrities. At least he was still knowledgeable about the progress in society over the past 20 years, and he believed he could find a way to carve out a path for himself.

Resting for a while, Jimmy got out of the tent. He couldn't rely on Jerry to find solutions for him all the time. He needed to understand the social situation. The quickest way was to read newspapers, but it was hard to find them here. Instead, he decided to check the surrounding residential areas in case someone had left newspapers lying around.

After folding the newspaper back neatly and placing it where he found it, Jimmy returned to his camp. He had come to terms with the fact that this was a different world, so he abandoned the idea of returning to China or trying to capitalize on his knowledge of future societal developments.

As Jerry called out to him, Jimmy stepped out of the tent to meet Jon Woolf, the owner of Wolfhouse, a nearby restaurant, who offered him a job. Despite Jimmy's lack of experience in the restaurant industry, Jon agreed to hire him as a waiter. Jimmy accepted the job, and they arranged for him to start the following day at 5300 Ash Street. Jerry, who had known Jimmy for over 10 years, bid them farewell as Jimmy prepared to embark on this new opportunity.

The next morning, Jimmy woke up early without a watch to tell the time, relying on nearby streetlights and the sunrise. The surroundings were quiet, even the hobos hadn't woken up. Jimmy packed his things, put them in his bag, and headed towards the Wolf House. The route had been confirmed with others the day before, quite far, about 5-6 kilometers, a long walk ahead. He had a bottle of water in a cleaned mineral water bottle as backup, strolling along the road. It seemed early, probably around 7 am, with few cars passing by. People here seemed relaxed, unlike the hustle and bustle from his past life.

He often saw people jogging or walking their dogs, mostly middle-aged, few young people around. Excluding the rare event of early risers for work, most hadn't left their homes yet. Today Jimmy didn't wear a hat, his Asian face standing out in this area. Passing people would glance at him, noticing no other Asians since yesterday, just a couple of Hispanics, a few black individuals, and mostly white people. It seemed like a conservative state, with whites dominating, unless there was a special circumstance in this community.

Jimmy pondered as he walked, wondering if he should inquire about areas where Asians gathered, assuming it would be easier to communicate and get things done there. Following the pre-learned route, he arrived smoothly at the Wolf House restaurant. It was still early, the place hadn't opened yet. Sitting on the steps outside, Jimmy watched the passing cars, waiting for the restaurant to open.

After about half an hour, a police car with flashing lights arrived at the entrance. A police officer stepped out, greeted Jimmy, checked his ID, and left after confirming there was no issue. Jimmy received a business card from the officer and continued to wait, contemplating the safety levels in the US.

Jon finally arrived after a long wait, greeted Jimmy, and led him inside for a discussion. They sat in the manager's office, where Jon explained the job details and assigned Jimmy to shadow Karen for the day. Jimmy was to start delivering meals, with a brief orientation before he would be on his own the next day. He was provided with a uniform and shown around the restaurant, meeting the rest of the staff.

The restaurant had three servers, including Karen and Annie taking orders, Erica at the cash register, and two chefs, Jacob and Daniel. The small team consisted mostly of white individuals, with Annie being Jacob's wife, confirming Jimmy's earlier observation that Arkansas seemed to be a predominantly white, conservative state.

It was close to noon when Karen and Annie started receiving customers. Jimmy sat at the cash register with Erica. When the kitchen finished a dish, they would ring a bell, and Karen would come to pick it up and deliver it to the table, while Jimmy paid attention to the table numbers and Karen's route on the order slips.

During a lull, Jimmy carefully examined the restaurant's menu. The American menu was completely different from the Chinese one. The dishes were mostly named after the main ingredients and cooking methods, such as Deep-Fried Chicken and Bacon Rolls and Roasted Lemon Marinade Chicken Leg with French Fries. The names were long, making it quite a task just to record them.

There weren't many customers at noon, with only four tables occupied at most. It was quite relaxed. Upon inquiring, most customers came in the evening, mainly local residents, many of whom were regulars.

Approaching 2 p.m., as the restaurant was about to close for the afternoon break, two burly men entered. Despite the heat in September, they were still wearing leather jackets, beards, and various studs and chains on their jackets, giving off a menacing aura.

"Jimmy, don't stare at them," Erica patted Jimmy and whispered softly.

"Do you know them?"

"They are from the Hell's Angels. Did you see the tattoo on the bald man's head? It's a winged skull."

"Ah." Jimmy turned towards the kitchen.

"What would you like to eat?" Karen approached the men and handed them the menu.

"Fillet steak with brown sauce, medium rare, mashed potatoes, and vegetable salad. Two portions."

"One moment." Karen returned to the cash register and passed the order to the kitchen.

With only one table of customers left in the restaurant, Karen and Annie also took a break near the cash register, and Jimmy had nothing to do for the moment, so he headed to the restroom.

...

"Ah!" A scream was heard outside, and Jimmy quickly washed his hands and came out of the restroom.

Indeed, the same table of customers had an issue. When Karen was serving the food, one of the men patted her on the backside, startling her and causing her to scream.

Upon hearing Karen's scream, everyone came out, especially Jacob and Daniel, who emerged from the kitchen with a knife and a spatula in hand.

Jimmy rushed to Karen's side, pulling her behind him.

"Calm down, it was just a joke. I'm sorry," the man raised his hand in apology.

"Karen, you go rest." Jacob directed her and then turned back to the kitchen as the lunch service was ending, and they needed to tidy up.

The two men from the Hell's Angels finished their meal quietly, paid, and left. Jimmy followed them and watched as they each got on their motorcycles and rode off.

...

After finishing his tasks, Jacob came out and said to everyone, "I still think there's a problem. Jimmy, go call Jon over."

"OK."

Jon emerged from the manager's office, and Jacob briefed him on the recent events.

"The issue is they were too quiet. Those were Hell's Angels. They did nothing and left just like that," Jacob expressed his concern.

"I'll call James." Jon went to the manager's office to make the call.

"Jacob, who is James?" Jimmy inquired.

"He's the chief of the county police." "Oh."

"Everyone rest. We'll resume business at 5 p.m."

After Jon made the call, he came out, arranged for everyone to rest, and sat at the door waiting for the police to arrive.

Shortly after, a police car pulled up, and the officers came in to speak with Jon while Jimmy lay down on a bench in the staff room, trying to get some sleep.

...

In a daze, Jimmy heard the sound of sirens but paid no attention, thinking it wasn't concerning him.

Suddenly, a loud crash made him jump off the bench. He hurried outside to see a police car and a pickup truck had collided not far from the restaurant, with the police car's front end smashed, and the pickup truck overturned on the roadside.

Jimmy rushed over, opened the driver's door of the police car, and found the airbags deployed, pinning the officer to the seat.

"Hey, officer. Are you okay? Do you need help?" Jimmy lightly tapped the officer, watching him open his eyes and urgently ask for assistance.

"Help me out, pull me." The officer pushed the airbag aside and moved towards the door.

Observing the officer, aside from some blood on his face and mouth, there were no visible wounds elsewhere. It seemed his nose bled from hitting the airbag, but potential head injuries couldn't be ruled out.

Jimmy helped the officer out, but the officer struggled to stand, so he sat on the ground against the police car, panting.

"Do you have any injuries? Should I check you over?" Jimmy offered, but the officer ignored him, picking up the radio to call for an ambulance.

"Officer, it's best to do a basic check. Please cooperate with me." Jimmy held his index finger in front of the officer's eyes, moving it slowly from side to side, checking the officer's reactions.

"Please hand me the flashlight, officer." Jimmy took the flashlight, checked the officer's pupils, which were normal, and found no obvious signs of injury.

"I don't see anything alarming, but you should get checked at the hospital for possible mild concussion."

After a brief examination, Jimmy returned the flashlight to the officer.

"Please check the driver of the truck, thank you." The officer leaned against the police car, unable to move.

"Okay." Jimmy approached the pickup truck, glanced at the driver's seat, and immediately gave up.

"I'm sorry, officer, he might be deceased. We should wait for the medics to confirm."

"Thank you, please wait here. Other officers will take your statement."

...

Jimmy sat nearby, watching the accident in disbelief. He never thought that in this lifetime, his skills from a past life as a firefighter with emergency medical training for fires or traffic accidents would come in handy.

Seeing the accident, he rushed to help without hesitation. Although he was no longer part of the fire brigade, at that moment, he completely forgot that fact.

With over ten years of firefighting experience, some things had become ingrained in him.