"If they take me away, you won't get a single penny of your salary." Andrew's voice rose from behind the door, sharp with panic and desperation. "But once the boss arrives, your salaries and bonuses will all double."
The four bodyguards exchanged glances. Money did what courage could not, and in the next instant, they braced themselves harder against the door as another impact thundered from the corridor.
"Excuse me, could you please move aside?" Roger had already learned from the simulation what would happen if he revealed his identity as a wizard, so he was considering other ways to resolve the matter.
"Little friend, go play somewhere else." A woman with a name tag reading Sophia waved a hand at him, clearly trying to keep him away from the increasingly dangerous scene.
"I'm here to see Andrew," Roger said.
"Hm? Looking for Andrew?" Another woman, Alya, glanced over in surprise and instinctively reached out, wanting to grab him.
"No. I am Andrew's boss." Roger slapped her hand away and announced his identity with solemn dignity.
"You? Andrew's boss?" Sophia laughed despite the tension. "All right, little boss, may I ask you to go somewhere else?"
"This is an adult matter. It isn't appropriate for you to get involved." Sophia's tone remained patient, but there was obvious disbelief in her eyes.
"I didn't want to get involved either, but Andrew got into trouble." Roger shrugged, and the casual confidence in his words made Sophia pause for a moment.
Since they could not break down the door, Sophia finally gave a faint smile and stepped aside. "Then why don't we let you try? Maybe if you shout, he'll let us in."
The adults around them fell silent and made way with strange expressions. Roger walked up to the door, looked at the men crowded around it, and said simply, "Andrew, open the door."
"Don't even think about it—" Andrew began to shout, then his voice changed instantly. "Mr. Roger, get out of the way!"
The door opened in a hurry, and Andrew pushed past the bodyguards before rushing out. "Mr. Roger, you've finally arrived." He nearly knelt on the spot, gripping Roger's hand tightly as his voice trembled with almost tearful relief.
The bodyguards were visibly disappointed. They had imagined the boss would be some important figure from the City, but it turned out to be a little boy who looked as though he had only recently stopped needing a nanny.
"All right, I've got you covered." Roger patted Andrew on the shoulder, comforting him with the air of an adult reassuring a frightened child.
Everyone stared blankly at the strange scene before them. For a moment, they genuinely wondered whether their positions had somehow been reversed.
"Roger, what happened that you needed me so urgently?" Thompson suddenly appeared in the corridor, and several Muggles turned in confusion. None of them had noticed when he arrived.
"Are you this child's guardian?" Sophia asked softly.
"No, no, no." Thompson shook his head fiercely, rejecting the claim with far too much intensity.
"Thompson is my partner." Roger did not bother explaining further. "Since you're here for Andrew, come inside. The person in charge may enter, and everyone else can leave."
His voice was young, but his tone carried an undeniable authority. After a brief hesitation, Sophia signalled the others to wait outside and followed Roger into the office.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Roger Williams. Andrew is my family's asset manager." Roger took the main seat without hesitation, then gestured toward Thompson. "This is Thompson, an employee of a large financial institution."
"Roger, my name is Sophia. I'm with the National Crime Agency." Sophia searched her memory for various family foundations and private offices, but none of the well-known ones seemed to carry the Williams name.
"NCA?" Roger raised an eyebrow. "What does that stand for?"
"The National Crime Agency. We primarily investigate serious organised and economic crime," Sophia explained.
"Serious economic crime?" Roger sat back and looked around the office. "So you believe Mr. Andrew's financial transactions are criminal?"
"They used a small amount of capital to seize billions in profits. We have reason to suspect that there may be transnational criminal activity behind the transactions." Alya's eyes remained fixed on Roger, clearly puzzled by the relationship between this group. "Mr. Andrew must come with us for questioning. You and Mr. Thompson may also need to cooperate with the investigation."
"Our team's operations are absolutely legal and compliant. We can provide proof of the source of funds and the full transaction flow," Andrew hurriedly said, eager to defend himself.
Roger raised one hand, signalling Andrew to shut up. These people had come to cause trouble, and they did not care how many bowls of noodles Andrew had eaten or whether he had paid for them properly.
"Roger, I'll get them—" Thompson started to raise his wand, but Roger shook his head before he could finish.
"May I ask who this lady is?" Roger turned his gaze toward Alya.
"United Kingdom representative of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission," Alya replied sharply.
"America?" Roger frowned, then looked at Andrew with visible reproach. "Can't you even afford a translator?"
The British people in the room burst into laughter. They looked down on awkward American bluntness, but most of them could not afford to offend Americans directly. Seeing someone openly mock Alya with such calm confidence made them feel strangely refreshed.
"My time is precious. Let the Securities and Exchange Commission send someone less unconventional next time," Roger said.
"Unconventional?" Alya shot to her feet, clearly not expecting such a cute-looking child to speak with such malice.
The British officials in the room watched her with undisguised schadenfreude. Their gazes were full of mockery, and though none of them said the word aloud, every look seemed to brand her an outsider.
"You just wait." Alya gave the threat through clenched teeth, then slammed the door as she left.
"Americans always have such long arms." Roger looked at the closed door and spoke without any effort to lower his voice. "This is the City of London, not Wall Street. Though I doubt she would dare act so arrogant there either, barking like a mad dog."
He paused, then turned back to Sophia with genuine curiosity. "So why exactly are you trying to arrest the honest and law-abiding Mr. Andrew?"
"Mr. Andrew is part of a genuinely vulnerable social group." Roger continued before Sophia could answer, his expression becoming sorrowful and righteous. "Are you planning to arrest an innocent citizen, throw him in a dark cell, force him underwater, make him confess to crimes he did not commit, and then send him a bullet so you can pocket the money legally?"
"How can you bear to do this?" Roger asked, his tone full of wounded disbelief.
"Child, I think you've misunderstood." Sophia quickly tried to explain, but Roger did not let her continue.
"A misunderstanding? Madam, if this is only a misunderstanding, why are you here?" Roger leaned forward slightly, and his young face carried a seriousness that made the adults uneasy.
"It's Alya. Andrew's bets were extremely large and caused trouble for certain parties," Sophia admitted, choosing her words carefully.
"Certain parties? The Rothschilds and Morgan?" Roger had heard Andrew curse them through the door, but he had not expected the counterparties behind the bet to actually be those names.
"These despicable capitalists." Roger spoke on Andrew's behalf in the City, a place where capital never slept and pity was rarely profitable.
"I understand the responsibilities of your regulatory departments, but I also ask you to understand the plight of ordinary citizens." Roger's expression became earnest. "They feast on the whole roast, while poor people like us can't even enjoy one chicken leg in peace."
"Please keep your eyes on the powerful and wealthy officials who exploit loopholes in the law, instead of adding to the burden of poor people like us." His tone was sincere enough to sound almost moving.
"Poor people?" The people in the office looked at one another in bewilderment.
Everyone in the City knew Andrew had made a fortune betting against two major institutions. If that counted as poor, then what were the rest of them?
"Andrew, since they don't want us to continue, go find Oppenheimer, Stanley, and the others." Roger's voice turned calm again. "Tell them we're playing bigger."
"Use the remaining funds to speculate against the pound and send that damned currency crashing straight to hell." Roger looked toward Sophia. "Then let the Prime Minister and the Chancellor explain themselves to the voters."
"Mr. Roger, please calm down." Sophia hurriedly stopped him, her expression changing at once. "We are only conducting a normal investigation. There is no need to take matters that far."
"A normal investigation?" Roger's eyes were cold. "But I heard MI5 mentioned. What, is their commander some Soviet spy who graduated from Cambridge? Is anyone who looks unfavourably at the Soviet Union going to be arrested now?"
"That's MI6. We're MI5, and we don't have Soviet spies." A man standing near the door suddenly spoke up, startling everyone in the room.
"Really? Since you're so noble, why don't you go to Wall Street? That is the headquarters of shorting the Soviet Union." Roger slammed his fist on the table, his tone overflowing with sarcasm. "And are you even sure this operation of yours is legal?"
They looked at one another, and none of them dared claim full compliance. They had come because Andrew, lacking obvious powerful backing, had rejected help from several financial giants.
"If you think Andrew is alone, let me tell you this clearly." Roger looked at them one by one. "He has the Williams family behind him."
.....
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