The Shadow of Great Britain

287: Chapter 190: London-Paris Espionage Axis (5K4) 287: Chapter 190: London-Paris Espionage Axis (5K4) Arthur watched Tony rush out the door and then glanced at Pinkerton beside him, who was eagerly munching on a sandwich with ham.

He reached out, tapped on the bar, and summoned the bartender, flicking a coin lightly into the latter’s chest.

“Please look after my little nephew for a while.

Whatever he eats, just put it on my tab, and I’ll settle it later.”

The bartender nodded with a smile.

Bending slightly, he said, “Officer Hastings, what are you talking about?

As if I’d worry about you skipping the bill!

You only left Greenwich not long ago, and everyone still remembers you fondly.”

Arthur nodded slightly in acknowledgment and then put on his hat and walked into the alley behind the pub.

Before he had gone far, he heard the sound of punches and kicks.

“Damn it, aren’t you supposed to arrest me and take me back to Paris?

Is it worth your while to work yourself to death for Louis Philippe, that Usurper, just for a meal?”

“If you really took this fat man back, that would be one thing, but you not only failed to take him back, you also tricked my feelings.

Believe it or not, I will throw you onto a ship where not only your gender will be correct, but your nationality will also meet their interests!

I guarantee you, you’ll be very popular!”

“Alright, Mr.

Dumas, Mr.

Carter, go easy on him.

Didn’t Arthur just say?

Spare their lives.”

“Tom, I am not a policeman; I am Royal Navy!”

“Right, I’m not a policeman either; I’m damn French Artillery!”

Arthur lit a cigarette, stood aside for a while, and then exhaled the smoke to intervene, “After all, they are considered members of the French ambassador’s entourage.

You’ve vented enough; don’t make things too difficult for me.”

Upon hearing this, Eld, who was holding someone by the collar, finally let go, but not before he couldn’t resist giving the fellow a fierce kick on the behind, “Tell us, who gave you the audacity to run wild on Scotland Yard’s turf!”

Hearing this, Victor, leaning on a wall corner clutching his sore back, said, “Today I’ve really fallen into a ditch, Mr.

Hastings.

I didn’t expect you to be so unscrupulous.”

Arthur, puffing on his pipe, replied, “I haven’t heard of any rule allowing French police to randomly seize people in London.

Mr.

Victor, you make me feel as if it was not Britain but France that won the Napoleonic Wars.”

Victor, clutching his neck, fished a pipe from under his skirt and put it in his mouth, “Oh, that’s right, I forgot you’ve never been part of the underworld.

But it seems to be the case indeed, you literate folks when you start fighting are far more ruthless than us commoners.”

Arthur, pulling out a match from his pocket and tossing it over, asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Victor lit his pipe and took a puff, “You know, those mixed in the underworld talk about loyalty, and literates talk about principles, and principles are far crueler than loyalty.”

Arthur, hearing this, just laughed, “Mr.

Victor, I think you may have a misunderstanding about me.

I don’t talk about principles, nor do I talk about loyalty.”

Victor, raising an eyebrow at this, asked, “Then what would you like to discuss?

Surely you’re not thinking about throwing us into the Thames River?

Please, it was just a failed kidnapping; I was wrong this time, but there’s still a chance for us to collaborate in the future.

You are interested in my police theories, aren’t you?

Anyway, I’m free these days; how about I do some training at Scotland Yard?

If necessary, I can add some money too.

We’re all just out here trying to make a living; be a bit more flexible with your thinking, don’t be so rigid.”

Arthur, hearing this, nodded slightly, “Mr.

Victor, your idea about paid training is quite creative.

I mentioned to you last time that I am currently leading the Criminal Investigation Department at Scotland Yard, and if you think about it, what we do is essentially the same.

However…

I think you might consider adding something else.

Although I haven’t been working long and am not as experienced as you, the advantage of being well-read is that I know kidnapping someone abroad is no small crime.

You don’t need to tell me that this was actually instigated by the French ambassador Talleyrand.

Even if Mr.

Talleyrand was really involved, I guess he would never admit it.

So…”

Before Arthur finished, Eld ominously added, “Mr.

Victor, you surely don’t want to be sentenced to hang, do you?”

If someone else had said this, Victor might not have taken it so seriously, for it wasn’t the first time he’d been sentenced to hang in his life.

But coming from Eld, Victor had to seriously consider it.

After all, Mr.

Victor always prided himself on looking somewhat presentable in women’s clothes.

He shivered suddenly, then said, “That won’t be necessary; let’s discuss this properly.

How about this?

You hand over Mr.

Dumas to me, and we can split the bounty fifty-fifty.”

Arthur, hearing this, just shook his head, “Mr.

Victor, I think we should forget it.

As far as I know, in the North American colonies, an adult slave sells for only twenty-five British Pounds.”

Eld nodded and added, “That’s right; if you offered thirty, we might consider it.”

“What are you two talking about?” Great Dumas, hearing this, suddenly burst out in anger, “You are actually trying to sell a staunch French republican fighter for thirty pounds!”