Chapter 55: Price and Favors
Mark shook hands with Liang Xi and said goodbye, saying he was glad to meet Liang Xi today. After hugging Mary in the living room, he got in the car and headed to a warehouse of the former mint. Mark also learned about what happened in the car.
Yesterday, Mark had no other choice but to use his agents to forcibly transport the goods from the distribution warehouse to the mint warehouse. An hour ago, the police received a call saying that there was a gunshot in the warehouse. When the patrol arrived, they heard the gunshot, so they called for support and broke into the warehouse. Unexpectedly, it was a prank. Someone used a small external speaker to play the sound of a gunfight in a movie on a loop.
The patrol officer called the headquarters to cancel the support, but was intercepted by four fully armed members of the anti-powder team as soon as he walked out of the door. After searching the patrol officer to verify his identity and entering the warehouse to check, the anti-powder team immediately contacted MI5. MI5 people did not know that this warehouse was the place where the sand dune materials were stored, and denied it. The alarm system installed by the sand dune team was triggered by the anti-powder team and the patrol officer, so they did not dare to make it public, and only informed the supervisor Mark after the patrol officer and the anti-powder team left.
…
Mark arrived at the warehouse, which was empty, with nothing in it except a hole in the ground. The exit of the hole was at the iron fence five meters away. It was obvious that someone had sneaked into the warehouse through the hole and moved all the supplies away.
"What did the drug enforcement team say?" Mark remained calm and lit a cigarette, but his hands were shaking and he failed several times.
The agent replied: "Captain Liu Zhen of the anti-powder team said that she received a call from a man named Jinfa Xia, asking her to keep an eye on the materials transferred from the distribution warehouse. Because Jinfa Xia believed that bad guys were eyeing these materials. Liu Zhen sent a team to take turns to stake out, and they mistakenly thought the patrol officers were disguised gangsters."
Another agent said, "Do you want to talk to Bobby?" They knew that Bobby was the so-called Blond Man.
Mark didn't answer.
This batch of goods includes weapons, but generally speaking, they are defensive equipment and supplies. For example, scanning sunglasses look no different from ordinary sunglasses, but they can automatically capture faces, take hundreds of photos per second, and have an effective range of 50 meters. Through data connection, real-time facial comparison can be completed in the database.
The more sensitive one is a laser bug. Ordinary laser bugs can eavesdrop on the sounds in the house through the vibration of glass. This laser bug is an experimental product and has not yet been officially put into production. The biggest difference between it and ordinary laser bugs is that it can accurately record the sounds in a moving car. It is the most advanced equipment specially allocated by MI6 to the Dune Team in response to the Dune Project.
Other cameras, scanners, etc. are nothing compared to this bug. Although it is not a big deal, it is still a big deal when added together. Thousands of pounds in cash, five submachine guns with silencers and no gun serial numbers, and a pistol etc.
Mark was more worried about a side issue. MI6 handed the bug to the Dune Team, but the Dune Team did not clean it. This meant that the bug was likely to have fingerprints of MI6 agents left on it. Considering the danger of MI6's work, Mark had to consider this issue.
The detective said, "Boss, Bobby and Liang Xi are very suspicious. Should we detain them for questioning?"
Mark said, "There's an ace lawyer on one side and a shady guy on the other. Even if they did it, it's not easy to get the truth from them. Do you know why the criminals left a speaker?"
The detective asked, "Mocking?"
Mark said, "That's right. The criminals not only stole our things, but also laughed at us, which means they are confident in fighting us. Would someone with such confidence be unable to deal with our detention?"
The agent asked, "Boss, what are you going to do?"
"You guys find a way to recover the supplies, as much as you can. I'll take care of catching the thief." Mark made a phone call: "Liang Xi, it's me, Mark, is it convenient for you to come out?" Regardless of whether Liang Xi is a bad guy or not, since Liang Xi is a detective, he can let Liang Xi handle this case. Whether it's indirect attack, secret observation, or warning, it's much better than detaining Liang Xi. From the handling of the case, we can also know how capable Liang Xi is.
Liang Xi asked back: "Is there anything wrong?" Even if he wanted to find a corner to draw a circle, he had to consider the number of guests.
Mark said, "I want to ask you, the detective, for a favor."
Liang Xi said, "I'm not free today. Let's do it tomorrow, if the price is right."
Price? John would not discuss the price with me. Although I would apply for a bonus of more or less for John afterwards, John never mentioned money on his own initiative.
Mark said patiently, "Is it okay today? Come over first, half an hour."
Liang Xi said: "Mark, you don't have any talent, why are you looking for me? Is it possible that the goods you put in the distribution warehouse are lost?"
Mark was stunned. You are too easy to reveal your cards.
Liang Xi was a little curious and asked, "I asked Bobby to tell Captain Liu Zhen that someone would steal something within 72 hours. Didn't Liu Zhen keep an eye on it?" Liang Xi guessed that there was something wrong with the goods. Considering that the target of the distribution warehouse that he and Bobby had offended was MI5, Liang Xi already knew that the identity of the Blond Man could not be concealed. MI5 did not arrest him and Bobby, but it did not mean that they did not track down and pay attention to this line.
Mark asked back, “How do you know this?”
Liang Xi replied: " Mark, I run a detective agency, not a charity. If you have any questions, you have to pay me."
Mark asked seriously: "Liang Xi, do you know that you are suspected of committing a crime?"
Liang Xi replied, "I am very sure that I have not committed any crime. These problems are not my problems, but yours. I can't do anything if you want to be a hooligan. To be fair, you must pay me to provide you with services. In view of your attendance at my birthday party today, I will provide you with a piece of information for free: at the distribution warehouse, we did not know that the goods were yours. As for how I knew there were goods and how I knew someone was trying to steal them... Mark, the money is not yours. John has always taught me that the most generous people are the government, because they are in charge of the money that they cannot get and does not belong to them. Pink Owl still has to risk his head to make money. The government can increase taxes at the drop of a hat. Who else should we tax? It's our first cooperation, so be casual, 20,000."
"Twenty thousand pounds?" Mark asked in shock, "Are you serious?"
Liang Xi said, "I don't really want to deal with you. If you want to do it, do it. If you don't want to do it, forget it. If it doesn't work, you can ask Bobby. He's easy to please. Think about it yourself. I'm not afraid of wearing shoes barefoot, but I'm afraid of being poor." The young and frivolous Liang Xi was so arrogant. Don't blame Liang Xi for not giving face to Mark. Since John was killed, Mark, as John's friend and the director of MI5, has not come up with a more reasonable investigation conclusion and result. When talking to Mark about John's case, Liang Xi found that Mark was not very concerned about John's murder.
When analyzing John's murder case with Mark, Liang Xi had already determined that Mark knew something about John, and his speculation was likely correct. In view of this, being polite to Mark was just a courtesy, and not scolding Mark was already giving him face. Since the core issue of money had been discussed, it was up to him to do what he wanted. Mark had no favors at all with Liang Xi.
