Chapter 39 Back from Vacation
A group of people had gathered in the bar area of the villa.
Flynn, Samuel, and Corbin sat on the colorful sofa in the center of the room, around a round table set with wine glasses and an ice bucket.
Donovan and Harrison pushed open the door and walked in. The three men who had been sitting there looked slightly stiff and stood up hurriedly.
“Boss.”
Donovan nodded and sat down, glancing at Wright.
Wright stood by the glass wine cabinet on the right, holding a small, ladder-like wine rack in one hand. He admired Donovan’s collection without turning his head. After a moment, he finally turned around.
"Donovan, these red wines are impressive! Do you have any rare vintages?”
Donovan smiled faintly and nodded toward the adjacent cabinet, gesturing for Wright to take a look.
"Then you should look over here. There’s a 1945 Dom Pérignon, a 1945 Mouton Rothschild, a 1947 Cheval Blanc, and a 1969 Lafite. Take whichever bottle you like.”
Wright raised an eyebrow.
"These bottles are worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, each. Aren’t you saving them for a special celebration? Why don't we open a limited-edition bottle today?"
Donovan cast a casual glance at Wright. “The far right column—the Rieslings. You pick the vintage.”
With that, he turned to Samuel. “Go ahead. What’s on your mind?”
Samuel swiveled his computer screen toward Donovan.
"Boss, the Costaléa Military Department contacted us privately. They have a batch of post-war surplus supplies. It's too costly to ship them back, so they’re willing to sell them for 20% of the market price. Should we take it?”
“Show me the inventory.”
Samuel immediately switched the computer screen.
A long, densely packed list appeared before everyone.
"There are over a million rifles alone—it's a massive operation. More than half of them are brand new. They said that if we take the entire lot, they’ll price the used ones by weight.”
Donovan ran the numbers in his head. Once the military base at Voss Harbor was completed, the entire southwestern market would belong to the MG Corporation. This shipment would come in handy then.
He gave Samuel a slight nod, his tone decisive. "We'll take it all."
"Got it. I’ll reply right away.”
Next, Donovan looked up at Wright.
Wright had already poured red wine for everyone. He sat down at one end of the sofa, swirling his wine glass and sipping it with a serious expression as if the unfolding events had nothing to do with him.
Noticing Donovan’s gaze, Wright raised his glass toward him and spoke before Donovan could say a word. "Procuring supplies is such a boring job, Donovan."
Donovan chuckled softly and raised his glass to give Wright a distant clink.
"I wasn't planning on asking you to go anyway." He paused, as if suddenly remembering something. "It seems like it's been years since you've been home. Want to take a break?”
Wright immediately shook his head.
"No. I love it just the way it is. Every day is incredibly interesting. I don’t want a break. As for Costaléa, let's wait until my dad's no longer around."
Donovan took a sip of his drink, dropped the subject, and turned to Samuel.
“How much longer will Jax’s training mission take?”
Samuel replied, "It could be finished in two days. He’s enlisted a few veterans to help, so progress has picked up considerably.”
“Then you’ll go with Jax on this mission.”
“Understood.”
Just then, a crisp message notification sounded.
A new message flashed in the bottom right corner of the computer screen.
Samuel clicked it open and found that it was an anonymous email.
He read it quickly and immediately turned to look at Donovan.
"Boss, it's from Jasper."
“What does it say?”
"He says that Maxwell did something he shouldn't have, and now Silas has personally taken over the matter. Jasper is still recovering from his injuries and can’t find a way out for the time being. He hopes you’ll take good care of his daughter and allow her to study at the Veyra Institute of Design & Innovation.”
“No problem!”
Donovan smiled—it really was a stroke of good luck!
"Tell Jasper I'll definitely take good care of his daughter. Also, tell him that Iris loves it here. She just got back from vacation in Sari today and had a wonderful time.”
“Got it.” Samuel nodded in agreement.
The people around him looked stunned.
“Boss…”
Harrison, standing behind Samuel, sensed something else in the email. He stepped forward and whispered a warning.
"Maxwell is still being controlled by Mr. Sharpe, even at his age. Losing face in front of so many people might prompt him to harm your father. Shouldn’t you go back and check on him?”
Donovan’s smile faded. He fell silent for a moment under everyone’s gaze, then mimicked Wright’s tone with a cold chuckle: “I’ll go back once he’s dead.”
The previously relaxed atmosphere instantly turned somber.
The group drank in silence, and the bottle was soon empty.
Just then, Donovan’s phone on the table suddenly rang. The caller ID showed Kai.
Donovan glanced at the phone indifferently. He set down his glass, lit a cigarette, tossed the remaining pack to Wright, and pressed the speaker button.
"Boss, we've got a new deal. The Kingdom of Isoria—which just repelled the Costaléa invasion—is now in the midst of a civil war. In addition to standard firearms, they need a massive quantity of fighter jets, tanks, and armored vehicles. The total value is in the hundreds of millions. Should we take it?”
“Take it.”
"All right, I'll send the order details to Samuel right away. Please review them."
"Mm-hmm."
Donovan replied briefly, took a deep drag on his cigarette, closed his eyes, held the smoke in his lungs for a moment, and exhaled slowly.
Flynn, however, felt a sudden urge and looked up to ask Wright for a cigarette.
Wright tossed him a pack and stood up to walk over to Donovan.
"Donovan, with things the way they are—both sides fighting—it's a windfall for the spectators, isn't it?"
The moment Kai heard Wright’s voice on the other end of the line, his tone brightened immediately.
"Yo, bro! It’s been ages! This past year without you, this line of work has been a lot less fun. Where are you right now?”
Wright whistled into the phone.
"Whoa! After all these years, are your body parts still in working order?"
A sharp cough, as if Kai had choked on something, came through the phone clearly.
Men like women—isn’t that perfectly normal?
Kai fell silent for a few seconds, then snapped back to reality and pressed him again. “Cut the crap. Seriously, where are you?"
"I'm back in your hometown."
"Then come over and have some fun! It's a top-notch venue with fine wine and beautiful women—it's all set up for you guys!"
“Sure, I’ll be there!”
Wright turned his face toward Donovan, seeking his opinion with a glance.
Donovan’s face remained expressionless as he returned the gaze.
He was thinking to himself: Iris was still running a fever upstairs. She was frail and delicate. If no one watched over her all night, what if something happened?
He crushed his cigarette butt in the ashtray and said, "You two go ahead. I’ve got things to do. Harrison, stay here."
"Alright!"