Chapter 81: Jason Statham, is that you?
The FBI quickly relayed the information back. Ron listened to his two agents' discussion while casually flipping through the relevant intelligence. Suddenly, Ron picked up a photo and stared at it for a long time. A dormant memory finally awakened, and even a sense of recognition arose.
Jason Statham! Is that you?!
"Boss, what's wrong with this photo?" Hank asked curiously.
It was a surveillance photo of the deceased Harry during a relationship investigation. In it, he sat with a bald, muscular man. Of course, "young" was relative to the elderly Harry.
Ron rubbed his brow lightly and composed himself: "There's definitely a problem here. Look at this man. I suspect he's the real killer who murdered Harry, then staged the scene to look like a carjacking."
"Him?" Hank was surprised and checked the information carefully, but still couldn't find any useful evidence. "But the intel shows they were just casual acquaintances. Even among the suspects, he's not even in the top ten. These other people are much more suspicious than him.
Why do you suspect him, sir?"
As he spoke, Hank pulled out several photos and placed them in front of Ron, but Ron still stubbornly pointed at the bald man sitting across from Harry.
"I don't have concrete evidence, but I have a strong gut feeling," Ron said seriously, looking at Hank. "Remember, if you ever encounter anyone with that face, be extremely careful!
Aside from that stand-up comedian from Britain, anyone who looks like this is a dangerous operator you can't afford to underestimate. Trust me, you can't handle him alone, so get backup or get out!"
Hank was bewildered by Ron's sudden intensity, but he nodded obediently, following his superior's orders.
Ron's caution was well-founded. This was, after all, a world blending American TV series and movies, and Jason Statham had appeared in countless action films, always playing lethal characters!
Besides Deckard Shaw, who was confirmed to be from the Fast and Furious franchise, Jonas Taylor, whom Ron had encountered during a mission in Southeast Asia, and Arthur from The Mechanic—who knew how many Statham characters were still out there waiting to surface!
Every time he thought about it, Ron got a headache. What was this, some kind of multiverse convergence? Collect seven Statham characters and summon an unstoppable action hero?
"So what's our play now? Are we taking this case? Sir, wouldn't that be working for the FBI pro bono?" It had to be said that ever since Hank received his first IRS bonus, he'd lost all loyalty to the DEA and FBI.
God knows, all the bonuses he'd earned in his nearly ten years at the DEA combined didn't equal his first month at the IRS! Especially with his wife Marie's expensive tastes, Hank felt financially secure for the first time in years.
Ron shook his head, a sly smile playing on his lips. "Of course it's not pro bono. We'll get paid by a different source. You don't really think this deadly professional named Arthur is a freelancer, do you?"
"You mean he's with some assassination syndicate?" Ron's hint finally got Hank back on track, but he still had his usual concern: "But even so, we'd be working against them. How would they pay us?"
"They're not our clients, so why would they pay us?" Ron asked with mock confusion.
"Then it's all for nothing, isn't it?" Hank, who'd gotten a taste for bonuses, muttered. At this point, even Andy couldn't stand it anymore.
"Hank, don't forget what we do for a living. Don't assassination companies have to pay taxes?"
Hank smacked his forehead, which wasn't much bigger than Statham's shiny dome. "Right! Boss, when do we move out? If we score another bonus this time, I can finally buy that new car. Marie's been nagging me about it for months."
"Move out? Move out where?" Ron rolled his eyes in annoyance at his money-obsessed subordinates. "Do you know where their company is located? Come on, my dear Hank, if you can find their headquarters right now, I'll take you to collect taxes immediately. How's that sound?"
Although Hank was much older than Ron, he still got scolded like a kid who'd messed up. He pursed his lips but persisted stubbornly, "So what's our angle on them?"
Ron didn't have a better immediate plan. Usually, assassination syndicates like this would establish operations in major cities under the cover of private security firms, then provide elimination services to clients while maintaining the facade of legitimate security work.
All payments went through security contracts. From an accounting perspective, you could barely distinguish them from legitimate security companies. Hell, if you actually hired their security services, you'd probably get excellent protection.
Though how clients felt when they realized their bodyguards were professional killers wasn't really their concern.
The good news was, as Ron's deeper memories surfaced, he came up with a brilliant strategy.
"Don't worry, Hank. I need you to put this guy under surveillance. But only through public security cameras.
He's probably a top-tier assassin in this organization. I'm betting his counter-surveillance skills are world-class. You'll likely lose him if you get too close. If you spook him, that'll be a problem. God knows how much trouble we'd have tracking him down again."
Hank nodded in understanding.
If Ron remembered correctly, according to the timeline, Arthur would strike again soon, partnering with Harry's son to eliminate another veteran assassin, then get betrayed by his own organization when he returned from the mission.
That would be their opening. And then...
Well, assassination was an extremely lucrative business. Done right, the revenue wouldn't be much less than drug trafficking. Ron could already see another massive bonus on the horizon.
"The only concern is, when we move on their headquarters, will we face armed resistance? That's the real question."
"Should we loop in the FBI? We're talking about an entire company full of professional killers! I think we'll need serious backup," Hank suggested.
"FBI? No, no, no," Ron considered for a moment, then rejected Hank's proposal. While the two agencies were currently in their honeymoon phase of cooperation, the FBI would undoubtedly want a cut of such a juicy operation.
Unfortunately, Ron was used to keeping the whole pie, and he wasn't confident in the FBI's tactical capabilities.
If someone like Brian O'Conner was considered elite by the FBI's standards, you could imagine how underwhelming the Los Angeles field office really was.
"I think we need some heavier firepower," Ron mused before offering his solution.
"Heavier firepower?" Hank glanced at the half-cleaned MK19 grenade launcher on his desk, his mind spinning with questions.
"BOSS, snap out of it. We already have automatic grenade launchers. With our current arsenal, just the two of us could suppress an entire Army platoon. Any heavier and what, you want to requisition an M1 Abrams?"
Ron stroked his smooth chin, his eyes lighting up: "Tank? Now that's not a bad idea..."
(End of chapter)
join patreon for update and advance 40+ chapters
https://www.p-atreon.com/c/Soulforger
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
"If you're enjoying this story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone! Your support keeps me motivated and helps the novel reach more readers."
"100 Power Stones this week = 1 extra chapter release!"
"500 Power Stones = 2 extra chapter release ."