When the two arrived at the door of a whiskey club called "The Canyon," it was just after 5 p.m., and a sign still hung on the door saying "Closed," though the hours were stated to be from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Seeing Ma Xidao struggling directly with the ball lock, Jack, feeling a headache, patted his shoulder and motioned for him to step aside. He pulled his wallet from his pocket, took out his lockpicking tools, and in a few seconds, pried the lock open.
It would have been fine without a search warrant, but going in and vandalizing the place would have been embarrassing if they found nothing.
"Huh? I know a little bit about this, actually. I thought the door wasn't locked, just a little rusted," Ma Xidao said, rubbing his nose in an effort to save face. Jack didn't expose his accusation, but opened the door and gracefully gestured, "Then next time, it's your turn. Please come in."
The bar's decor was pleasant, befitting its upscale status. The dim yellow lighting accentuated the wine cabinets displaying various fine liquors, giving it a classy look that didn't betray a place selling drugs.
"Who are you and how did you get in?" A thug wearing a leopard-print T-shirt and a black suit, with thick gold chains dangling from his neck and arms, approached with a puzzled look.
"Police, looking for Boss Zheng," Ma Xidao announced himself.
A sweet voice rang from the inner room, "Junxiu, who's here?"
"Oh, it's okay, sister. I'll send them away right away." A man, roughly the same size as Ma Xidao, but with a more menacing appearance, was blocked by the thug named Junxiu.
"We just have a few questions for Boss Zheng," Ma Xidao said, still acting like a good-natured gentleman. However, the other party's attitude was far from friendly.
"Are you my sister's friend? Are you guys from the same group?"
Junxiu nudged Ma Xidao, then glanced suspiciously at Jack, a foreigner behind him.
Jack shook his head, pointing at Ma Xidao, signaling that he was now the protagonist.
"Get out," Junxiu impatiently nudged Ma Xidao again.
"Let's talk it over," Ma Xidao said, his patience showing.
"I said get out! This isn't a place for people like you, asshole!" Junxiu grabbed Ma Xidao by the collar.
"Ugh," Jack sighed, a little reluctant to watch. Sure enough, the next second, Ma Xidao grabbed the guy's wrist, twisted it with his backhand, and he screamed.
"Brother, calm down. We're the police." Ma Xidao pushed him away, but the guy immediately sloppily stripped off his suit and launched into a flurry of punches.
"Bang!"
"Ah!"
"Bang!"
Ma Xidao ducked, dodging the blow and then punching him, bending him over. Then, another punch to the jaw sent the guy spinning halfway, his butt dangling upwards onto the back of the sofa behind him with a thud.
"I told you we're the police," Ma Xidao patted his perky butt and swaggered back into the room.
A strikingly beautiful woman, standing behind the bar, watched the scene with her hands covering her mouth in shock. Then, she stormed out, her high heels clacking loudly.
"Who are you? How dare you mess around where other people are doing business?" Although it was a questioning tone, the voice was still delicate and coquettish.
Seeing Ma Xidao walk right past her and look around behind the bar, the woman's chest puffed out with rage.
"Who sent you here to cause trouble? This place is under surveillance."
"Hey, I told you it was the police, the police!" Ma Xidao replied impatiently, then began rummaging through the wine cabinets against the wall behind the bar, used to store leftover liquor.
"Are you the boss here? Your last name is Zheng," Jack said, flashing the woman a typical business smile.
The woman looked from Ma Xidao's chubby face to the handsome foreign man in front of her, whose looks could instantly outshine any Korean idol. For a moment, she didn't know what expression to put on.
"Yes, I am. Are you a police officer too?" Fortunately, she was a business owner, after all, and was very good at managing her expressions, so she forced a charming smile at Jack.
"I guess so." Jack was too lazy to introduce himself. He always heard the same surprised question, the tone almost identical. "Someone reported you for running an illegal drug business."
"Me, me, me?" the female boss pointed at herself in panic. "What? What drugs? Don't try to scare me. I'm running a legitimate business here!"
She forced a smile, slapping her chest repeatedly as if frightened, her trembling was heartbreaking.
It was a rare natural product. Jack identified it as genuine at a glance, looking away and saying seriously, "A new drug called 'HYPER.' If you choose to cooperate now, we'll consider putting in a good word for you with the prosecutor." The female boss panicked, not even bothering to continue flirting with Jack. She hurried to the front of the bar, trying to stop Ma Xidao from rummaging through the cabinets.
"Uncle, what are you doing? That drawer is full of expensive cigars. A police officer like you wouldn't even have enough to buy one with a month's salary."
"Why is there only a drawer here?" Ma Xidao expressionlessly rummaged through the drawer.
"So what if there's a drawer here?" The female boss was completely panicked, even changing her address. "Oppa, can we sit down and have a chat? Okay?"
As soon as Ma Xidao opened the drawer, Jack saw the plastic bag stuck to the back of the drawer and turned his palm towards him.
"Found it." Ma Xidao lowered his head and pulled out two large bags of pills.
"Hey." The female boss's body went limp, almost kneeling in front of Jack.
--In the bar booth, four people stared at each other. Jack and Ma Xidao sat on the sofa on one side, and the female boss and her younger brother, Junxiu, sat on the other. On the table were two large bags of pills and several thick stacks of 50,000 won in cash.
"You, do you have a problem? Sit up straight! How dare you wave your fist at the police!"
The handsome little brother covered his bruised chin and leaned weakly on the armrest. When Ma Xidao pointed at him, he was so scared that he immediately sat up straight and was extremely submissive.
"And you, tell the truth." Ma Xidao then pointed at the female boss. She shuddered and quickly straightened her chest.
"Our previous proposal still stands. As long as you tell the truth, everything will be forgiven." Jack played the role of a good policeman and persuaded them. His white face was quite credible in this situation.
Besides, this was not a legal search. In a hurry, they didn't even have time to apply for a search warrant. Prosecutor Jin Junhao was still busy extraditing the second generation of the chaebol and had no time to pay attention to this.
Of course, this was only in South Korea. The two bags of cocaine on the table weighed at least 200 grams. If it were in the neighboring Eastern country, it would be enough to shoot these two people twice each.
(End of this chapter)