Chapter 156
When I saw who had come, my heart settled down.
In front of me stood a man in his forties. He wasn't especially tall, but his calm, assured presence naturally drew respect.
His clean, well-fitted suit didn't have a single wrinkle, and his somewhat thinning hair was neatly combed. Looking at my tightly pressed lips, a slight smile appeared on his face: "Sorry for the sudden invitation. I hope you don't mind, Ms. Wilson. Please, come in."
I returned his smile: "You're too kind. I'm wondering what's so important that you specifically asked me to come here?"
He got straight to the point: "Ms. Wilson is a smart person, so I won't beat around the bush. As you probably know, your situation with The Brown Family has now dragged in other people. These people—you can't afford to offend any of them. So what you need most urgently right now is to find someone to back you up."
My expression remained calm as I looked at him and asked: "How do I tell who's my ally and who's my obstacle?"
He showed no sign of annoyance: "You're not wrong. It's our first meeting, so it's normal that you don't trust me."
He paused, then continued: "Aubrey, Benjamin, Ralph, Eugene, Geraldo McGinnis, Delbert Loomis, Zach—these people have been colluding between government and business for years, monopolizing the market. The organization has wanted to bring them to justice for a long time, but unfortunately we've never found solid evidence. Ms. Wilson, I know you must have something. If you can hand it over to me, name your terms."
The names he mentioned were the people in that group photo.
"Can you actually make that call?" I asked, though I was pretty clear in my mind that the man before me was no small player.
Sure enough, facing my challenge, he chuckled: "I never go back on my word."
I raised an eyebrow and nodded with a smile: "Alright, you said it, and I believe you. I'm sure you can guess what kind of request I'll make. I can give you what you want, but can you guarantee that SoftGlow Biotech won't be affected before you guys take them down? After all, I just got a phone call telling me to delete everything online within a deadline."
He nodded casually: "That's easy. Your newly opened companies have already been listed as key support projects for Silverlight City. The paperwork is on my desk right now. Even if someone wants to make things difficult for you, they won't be able to interfere."
This assurance I was asking for wasn't really about getting benefits from him. My ultimate goal was to borrow their power to take down people I couldn't handle myself. So who was the prey and who was the hunter,that was still hard to say.
I took out a USB drive from my bag and handed it to him with a smile: "I'll wait for your good news, Commissioner Otha Soderberg."
The smile on his face paused for a moment, then quickly returned: "So you know who I am. I should have introduced myself when you came in. Having you expose it like this makes me seem too cautious. Alright, it won't take long—I'll treat you to a proper meal."
This place wasn't far from our company. It was just getting off work, so there were more people and cars on the road. I walked along the sidewalk in my heels. On the shaded side of the green belt beside me, I could occasionally see patches of unmelted snow mixed with dirt, no longer pure white.
I pulled out my phone and pretended to check my reflection. In the dark glow of the screen, I could instantly see several men in black who hadn't been quick enough to get out of the way.
Otha moved fast, but I didn't expect their moves to be just as quick.
I put my phone back in my bag, and my hand quietly gripped the folding stun baton at the bottom of my bag. In my mind, I calculated my odds against these men.
I was counting on the fact that they wouldn't risk snatching someone in the middle of the day.
I quickened my pace, trying to get back to the company before they decided to make their move. Once I got there, I'd have a chance to deal with them.
When a box truck slowly pulled up in front of me, I knew something was wrong. The increasingly rapid footsteps behind me made my heart skip a beat. Just ahead was a corner,once I turned it, I'd reach the company. I broke into a light run, trying to shake off the people behind me.
But it was too late.
A pair of hands reached for me and landed on my shoulders.
As I turned around, I whipped out the stun baton and pressed the switch, jamming it hard into his body.
The man trembled and suddenly collapsed. The people behind him acted as if they couldn't see, and seven or eight of them surrounded me directly.
I wanted to call for help, but the hurrying pedestrians only glanced this way. The moment they saw them pull out knives, they quickly moved away.
I wanted to buy time—surely someone would call the police—but they gave me no chance at all and rushed at me together.
The stun baton did help a little, but not much. After taking down the third person, a sharp pain shot through my wrist. My clothes were slashed by a knife, and a long cut appeared on my wrist.
The stun baton nearly flew from my weakening grip. Just as I tightened my hold again, someone kicked me in the knee. My body pitched forward uncontrollably, my high heel twisted, and I fell to the ground.
A cold sensation touched my wrist, followed by a click. My hands were twisted behind my back and locked in cold handcuffs.
So they weren't just thugs?
Soon, I was thrown into the cargo box of the truck ahead. Four people quickly climbed into the box. The vehicle barely stopped before the door was swiftly closed. Before my eyes—only darkness.
I'd been kidnapped!
The people who kidnapped me were official.
This was an obvious fact.
My hands were twisted behind me awkwardly. It hurt, it was uncomfortable. The vehicle seemed to be going fast, driving on smooth roads for a long time before it started getting bumpy.
I tried to stay calm and think about how to save myself next.
My captors clearly weren't fully prepared either, or they wouldn't have grabbed someone on a public street. Or perhaps they knew someone was contacting me—like Otha.
They were afraid what I had would fall into that person's hands, which proved from another angle that I was right to give it to him.
I struggled to touch the button on my clothes with my chin. It could send my location to Oscar's phone. He'd quickly track down this vehicle and find out who grabbed me. As long as I could buy enough time, I'd be safe.
"Stop moving, or don't blame us for not being polite," someone said to me in an icy voice.
In the darkness, I heard the sound of a gun being loaded.
I could only try to maintain my current position and said coldly: "Tying me up like this is too uncomfortable. My hands are about to break."
"Deal with it," they said emotionlessly.
I said nothing more, curling my body with effort until my chin finally touched that button. Message sent. Only then did I quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
After the bumpy ride, the vehicle finally slowed down. I don't know how much time passed, but after the sound of brakes, the cargo box slowly opened. Blinding light poured in. Against the light, I gradually made out the person's face.