Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 792: Chapter 36: Cause and Effect

Popping a throat lozenge into his mouth, and feeling the dryness in his throat slightly recede, Song Haoran, now seated in a black ORDINARY sedan parked by the roadside, began his conversation with his father, Song Tianyou.

In short, he first reported the events he experienced at the theater, and finally asked, “By the way, how did you get the intelligence about Roger’s theater hostage situation, Dad?”

Although the intelligence arrived a bit late, making it quite passive, it was better than nothing. At least Song Haoran was able to leave the concert hall early before the hostage situation unfolded, otherwise the night’s actions might not have been so smooth.

“The batch of bombs that Roger has came from the Fire King.”

In the ‘Iris’ headquarters, Song Tianyou, knowing Song Haoran was safe, spoke more relaxedly. He seemed to take a sip of water before continuing, “The Fire King was also curious about what Roger intended to do, so he had someone follow up. Later, they discovered that Roger’s people had planted the bombs in the theater in advance. Maybe it was your luck, the Fire King approached me during the day, asking for help in shipping goods to Malacca, and then brought up this matter.”

“The old man Fire King, huh? It seems Lady Luck is indeed smiling on me,” nodded Song Haoran.

The Fire King was an extremely established arms dealer on this continent. Many of the ‘Iris’ personnel required substantial ammunition, and they had maintained a long cooperative relationship with the Fire King.

But soon, Song Haoran was shocked and said, “Wait a moment, Dad, does this mean Roger really bought many powerful bombs?”

Song Tianyou asked curiously, “The Fire King’s goods have always been reliable. If he says the power is sufficient, then it is indeed enough. Is there any problem?”

“No,” Song Haoran shook his head.

But in his heart, he wondered… if Roger indeed possessed these bombs, why was it all bark and no bite when he pressed the detonator in the theater?

Since the Fire King’s people saw Roger’s subordinates secretly burying the bombs in the theater, then the explosives inside the theater should logically be from the Fire King.

However, judging from the aftermath of the explosion…

The Fire King shouldn’t have supplied fakes, doing something that would ruin his own reputation. And after acquiring the explosives, Roger would at least have conducted a goods inspection, right?

So… what went wrong?

Unable to figure it out, Song Haoran was interrupted as Lluvia entered from outside, starting the car and saying, “Strategist, time to implement the backup plan.”

“Enough talk for now,” Song Haoran said to the phone before cutting the call with his father, then started the engine, driving away.

Meanwhile, in the trunk of this ORDINARY black sedan, there was a man tied up and placed inside. His eyes were blindfolded, mouth gagged, and remained motionless, seemingly knocked unconscious.

Apparently, this car was snatched on the fly.

As for the so-called backup plan, it was naturally a contingency strategy after the original assassination attempt in the theater failed. Due to the hostage situation, the last name on the death list was still safe.

Song Haoran floored the accelerator, keeping his eyes on the car’s GPS, while pressing a button on his Bluetooth earpiece and saying calmly, “Oni, Third Avenue, bank location, wait for the target to enter your line of sight in ten minutes. I’ll create an opportunity for you. You only have one shot, success or failure, leave immediately.”

“Received!”

…

…

Bucky was fiercely cutting his handcuffs with a large cutter he found from the prisoner transport’s toolbox. Meanwhile, Cage, the driver, had his heart racing as he floored the gas pedal—with several police cars hot on their tail.

Bucky was holding a phone with his neck—the phone was snatched from the driver, Cage.

Furiously, he demanded, “Mr. Markem!! Why did your people try to take me out? What did I do to offend you?”

Markem… that sounded like the warden’s name? Cage stole a glance at Bucky, knowing he couldn’t interject in this conversation between big shots—and at the same time, he couldn’t help but regret.

What on earth possessed his nerves to impulsively help Bucky? No matter how much money, you need to stay alive to spend it!!

“Markem! You better talk to me, damn it!! Haven’t I been paying you monthly? You think you’ve been taking from me for free? It’s all clearly written in my books!! At worst, we’ll go our separate ways!” Bucky continued to roar.

“Bucky, don’t be impulsive… let me think about what to say. By the way, where are you now?”

Bucky glanced around: “On the way back to prison.”

“What?” The other side seemed shocked, then after a pause, hastily said, “Bucky, don’t return! To be honest, there’s someone above wanting your life. I guess they’re using this chance to eliminate you… It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I can hardly protect myself!”

“So I just get turned into Swiss cheese by bullets?” Bucky sneered from anger: “All of you smiling like pigs while taking from me, yet no one speaks up when someone wants to take me out?”

“Anyway… don’t come back!” Warden Markem frantically said, “Someone’s waiting for you at the prison… You, you return to the city, I’ll give you a place to hide for a few days! This is all I can do for you!”

“SHIT!”

Bucky angrily smashed the phone against the windshield, causing pain in Cage’s heart.

My iPhone 7…

“Bucky boss, what should we… do now?” Cage desperately wanted to hit the brakes… should he just surrender?

Bucky picked up a tool knife from the toolbox, held it to Cage’s neck, and said, “Take me back to the city, I need to hide, then contact my men. After I’m safely out of Rio, the things I promised you, not a penny less!”

Seeing Cage’s uncertain gaze, Bucky snorted, “How much money do I send monthly? More than enough to think over! But those bastards, taking but not delivering, but you, proving true in adversity, I’ll certainly repay you well! So, drive properly!”

Take the tool knife off my neck before we talk about feelings, you bastard!!

“Bucky boss, should we… go to the place Warden mentioned to hide?” Cage quickly asked.

“Go? You think I’m stupid?” Bucky sneered, “Since Markem sold me out, he’s surely up to no good! I’d be mad to go there.”

“Then… what now?”

Bucky suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked, “Got any family?”

Cage instantly became nervous, “My wife and kids aren’t here, they’re in the countryside, I live alone… but Bucky boss, they’d guess that right? And send people to wait at my house?”

“Then there’s no choice.” Bucky sighed, “We’ll have to go there.”

“Where?”

“Let’s head to Ninth Avenue first. I’ll tell you where to go from there.” Bucky shook his head and said, picking up the phone he had just thrown and dialing another number.

“It’s me! I’ve been set up here in Rio! I’m not staying in prison anymore. Send some people to pick me up!”

Cage couldn’t clearly hear what was being said on the other side of the call, but he caught a phrase filled with excitement at the end: “Big Brother! Are you finally coming out? The brothers have been waiting, eager for a big showdown!”

Bucky didn’t say much, just quickly said “be here before noon tomorrow” and then hung up.

He looked at the train conductor, Cage, and patted him on the shoulder, though the tool knife remained, encouraging him: “Cage! Now’s the time to show off your driving skills. Didn’t you always brag in front of me about racing on Bread Mountain and conquering those five consecutive hairpin turns back in the day?”

You… you take the tool knife away first, aaahhhh!!!

…

“Crocodile has been taken care of? Good.”

The Minister of Security nodded, but his mood quickly soured when another phone call came in, “Bucky managed to escape? How did you guys mess this up?!”

He yelled into the phone, “Anyway, I’m giving you two hours to deal with this guy too! Otherwise, pack your bags and get out!”

He tossed the phone onto the desk carelessly and sat down, rubbing his head.

Although every year this country sees a large number of successful jailbreaks by prisoners, those small fry escapes don’t affect the bigger picture. The prisons are perpetually overcrowded, losing a few inmates might even save costs.

But Bucky’s case is different; he was a major player captured a few years back with a massive effort, though due to numerous reasons, he was only sentenced to a meager ten-plus-year term. At least he was still within surveillance limits.

The national strategy against the slums was to dismantle these aggressive figures piecemeal and conquer them slowly, and under no circumstances should a breakdown occur in the prevailing policy at this critical moment, taking the country back to the chaotic times of a decade ago.

Luckily, Crocodile has been dealt with, so there should be some explanation for the Senate Speaker. As for Bucky, we can only play it by ear.

The Minister of Security called for his secretary and instructed: “Later on, call the Senate Speaker’s secretary and inform them about Crocodile. I need to head over to the Presidential Palace to report today’s events.”

“Understood.” The secretary, who had been by the Minister’s side for years, had long understood his temperament and promptly replied, “I’ll have the report summary prepared before you arrive.”

The Minister of Security didn’t say much more and exited the command vehicle, heading to another car prepared for the Presidential Palace.

But just as he was getting into the car, the secretary came running over in a hurry, banging on the car window.

The Minister of Security frowned and rolled down the window, “What happened now?” looking at the secretary, who still held the phone.

With a face full of panic, the secretary said, “Minister, there’s bad news! The Senate Speaker… he was shot on his way home!!”

“What!! Poway, he…”

…

“How did it happen? Tell me clearly.”

The Minister of Security hadn’t wholly calmed down yet; he rolled down the car window more and stared intently at his secretary of ten years.

The secretary compromised, “I don’t know the specifics. Reportedly, as the Senate Speaker’s car passed the Bank on Third Avenue, a rogue vehicle veered out of control, causing an accident. The assassination occurred at this point, and according to the driver and guards, a sniper had been lying in wait from afar!”

“Where’s the rogue car now?”

“Nobody was in the car; it’s presumed they jumped out before the crash. But in the trunk, they found the tied-up car owner. It’s suspected that the car was hijacked by the criminal… though confirmation will need further investigation.”

The Minister of Security felt his brain explode, “Where were the police? Why was there no police escort?”

“It’s all too chaotic!” The secretary replied helplessly, “Wasn’t Chief Jose murdered by thugs at the theater? The police department has been in total disarray ever since. You know, the divisions there are fractionalized as well…”

Bang—!

The Minister of Security slammed his fist against the car door and kicked the front seat, his meticulously groomed hair now disheveled from the outburst. He clenched his fist, biting his finger joints, and suddenly remembered another message amidst his jumbled thoughts.

Before the theater hostage incidence, multiple assassinations had occurred within the city, involving gang leaders and prominent figures in business and politics. Could there be a connection among these events?

But among those executed, according to intelligence, there’s no direct link between them; they were unfamiliar with each other, leading the intelligence department into a deadlock in their investigations.

“Could it be… the assassin’s true target was only the Senate Speaker, and all the others were merely diversionary tactics? No, there’s no need for such smokescreens. If the Senate Speaker was truly the sole target, they would have gone directly for him, without the unnecessary killing spree that only draws our attention… but, is there any actual connection among those killed?” The Minister of Security’s contrasting thoughts further tangled his mind.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck in the Minister’s mind, “The perpetrator might have initially planned to act at the theater! It was just that the hostage situation interfered, so they couldn’t succeed… That hijacked car might just be the proof!”

“Minister, what do you mean?”

“I want the complete guest list from the theater tonight!” The Minister of Security pressed his forehead, “Even the employees of the theater, I want them all! The perpetrator is certainly among them!”

“I’ll immediately get someone to prepare… no, I’ll handle this myself!”

“Drive to the Presidential Palace… no, I should ride in the command vehicle instead.” The Minister of Security reconsidered, quickly getting out of the car and heading back to the modified, heavily armored, large business vehicle.

…

…

Traffic had improved a bit, but with the high congestion of vehicles, the taxi was still moving slowly.

“Hmm… still stuck in traffic; no idea when we’ll get back.”

In the taxi, Caroline was chatting with Livia on the phone, “By the way, have you reached that young man’s house yet?”

“What young man? Arno is the most ambitious man I’ve ever met!” Livia seemed displeased with her friend and landlord’s comment.

“Alright, an ambitious man, got it.” Caroline casually replied, her eyes wandering aimlessly out the window at the packed cars, uncertain of when they’d reach the end.

“Caroline, why don’t you come over for the night?” Livia suggested at this point: “Spend the night here; the area might be unsafe right now. It’s so late going back, who knows if you’ll run into danger? Plus, I’ve got a small room I can tidy up for you.”

“Well…” Caroline hesitated for a moment but finally agreed, saying directly: “Driver, may I ask you to drop me off ahead.”