mijobooks Chapter 59: Blow up both the money and the people.
Chapter 59: Blow up both the money and the people.
"Everyone, back to base."
Gu Qiu, his face ashen, issued the order.
The officers quickly evacuated the ward, leaving the body of the black man who had been placed in the ward behind, waiting for the forensic doctor to come and clean it up.
Gu Qiu walked at the very back, looking preoccupied.
Lu Yiming deliberately slowed his pace, falling a few steps behind, and tentatively asked, "Director Gu, may I see that letter?"
"no."
Gu Qiu refused without even thinking.
Lu Yiming's lips twitched. Sure enough, secrets that can't be brought to light shouldn't be shared with others.
Too bad, you old fox, I already know.
He strode forward, stood close to Gu Qiu, and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"I know about your affair with Mr. Rockefeller."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Qiu stopped abruptly, slowly turned her head, and stared at Lu Yiming with an incredulous look.
His first reaction was disbelief. Lu Yiming was bluffing him!
How could that old man possibly tell such a secret to an outsider?
Immediately afterward, he heard Lu Yiming continue, "Those numbers on the book are the amounts and accounts you received, right? Mr. Rockefeller showed me that ledger."
Gu Qiu's pupils contracted sharply, and her mouth involuntarily opened slightly.
He really knew!
How could that be? How did he know?!
Suddenly, a piece of gossip circulating within the police station flashed through my mind.
—This guy has a very ambiguous relationship with Mia.
Mia, on the other hand, is the only daughter of Belloc Rockefeller and his deceased wife, and the sole legal heir of the family.
...Could it be that this kid is going to marry into the Rockefeller family?
No wonder he had access to such classified information.
In an instant, Gu Qiu's doubts vanished.
If he is to become the future son-in-law of the Rockefeller family, it is perfectly reasonable for the old man to expose him to these inside stories in advance so that he can take over this vast network of connections in the future.
"Cough cough."
Gu Qiu coughed twice to conceal the turmoil in her heart, and gave Lu Yiming a smile.
That expression seemed to say, "Since we're all in the same boat, let's not be strangers."
"It's alright if I show it to you."
Without further hesitation, he handed over the letter.
Lu Yiming took the letter and rubbed it between his fingertips.
The paper is rough; it's ordinary, cheap paper that you can buy anywhere.
The handwriting was crooked and there were several spelling errors, indicating that the writer had not received much education.
The upper half of the paper contains the bribery record, which is of very low resolution and was clearly taken with a mobile phone and then printed.
Finally, there were only two lines of hastily written words:
"Prepare four million US dollars, or at least consecutive old bills. Otherwise, we'll leak this to the media."
"Put the money in the trunk before midnight tomorrow and park the car next to the abandoned container on the southernmost side of the Greyhound Freight Station in the West District."
There was no name at the end.
After reading it, Lu Yiming stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Greyhound Freight Station? That's the no-man's-land in Fremont's West End, a proper gang territory.
Few police officers dared to approach that area.
But he was an exception; last time at that shady bar, he played "American Roulette" with the gang leader, Butcher.
The fat pig not only didn't kill him, but also voluntarily gave him his private phone number. It seemed he intended to befriend him.
Of the three thieves who saw the ledger, one was killed by Rockefeller, and the whereabouts of the other two are unknown.
Even if the old man is confused, he would never easily hand over such a death warrant.
This doesn't seem like the tactics of a political enemy. If a political enemy got their hands on something like this, they would have already ignited public opinion. How could they possibly only extort a mere four million?
A hypothesis formed in my mind.
This letter wasn't sent by that professional assassin.
One of the thieves who stole the ledgers has already been killed.
Two others managed to escape. Is it possible that they photographed the ledger beforehand to extort money from the victims?
If that's the case, then things become much simpler.
Lu Yiming calmly returned the letter to Gu Qiu, keeping his suspicions to himself for the time being.
"What are your plans?"
Gu Qiu took the letter, her expression unchanged. "Give them the money. They don't want much."
Lu Yiming's heart skipped a beat. Good heavens.
Not much? Four million US dollars is not much?
How much did you embezzle?
"But they specifically requested cash. Perhaps we should contact Mr. Rockefeller?" Lu Yiming suggested.
In his mind, only the Rockefeller family in Fremont could come up with such a large sum of cash in a short period of time.
Gu Qiu glanced at him and smiled.
Oh well, since this kid is the Rockefeller family's prospective son-in-law.
We might need him to pull some strings in the future.
"I can't tell Mr. Rockefeller; if he finds out about this, it will make me look incompetent."
"I have four million in cash at home."
A few words, a simple and understated description.
Lu Yiming was taken aback, recalling a certain Director Zhao who "ate a mouthful of noodles and a mouthful of garlic, and dared not spend a single penny."
You, a dignified police chief, have millions of dollars in cash hidden in your home?
Is this to evade an investigation by the IRS?
Is your refrigerator filled with nothing but bright green Franklin?
"Lu Yiming, I can only entrust this matter to you."
Gu Qiu patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "I have to deal with a press conference tomorrow to appease the media and public opinion, so I can't leave."
As he spoke, his eyes turned cold:
"I'll plant explosives in the car delivering the money beforehand. Once you've confirmed you have the ledger copies, blow them up along with the money. Leave no survivors."
Holy crap? That's four million US dollars!
You may not care, but I do.
Lu Yiming started to make his own plans.
The butcher is the absolute tyrant of the West Side slums.
Last time, we found that gang of thieves with ease.
If the butcher had found the two thieves earlier...
So, this four million US dollars... hehe.
The meat is better off flowing into my pocket than rotting in the pot!
……
After leaving the hospital, Lu Yiming found a street corner and dialed the butcher's number.
The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.
"Feed...my friend..."
The receiver picked up a muffled voice, with background noise including a woman's giggles and the sound of dice rolling.
The butcher was either high on drugs or drunk.
"Friend, I need your help with something," Lu Yiming said bluntly.
The butcher let out a burp. "Friend, you wouldn't let me work for nothing, would you?"
The implication is clear: he's willing to help, but he has to be compensated.
"No problem. I need to know the new hideout of that gang of thieves from last time, or you can just bring them to me directly."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of people chugging alcohol.
"Okay...no problem, my friend."
The butcher seemed to perk up, and his voice became clearer.
"However, I have two conditions."
"First, I want 80! I'm a bit short on cash lately. Your bastards just ransacked the casino, and my men are waiting to eat."
"Secondly, you need to do me a small favor..."