Chapter 123: You'll Always Pay for What You Did
Night fell.
Haley awoke from the sedation and uttered the words she hadn't finished earlier: "...uck!"
"Haley!"
Diane, who had been monitoring her daughter's recovery, looked at her disapprovingly at her colorful language.
"Where's Chuck?"
Haley ignored her mother's disapproval and immediately looked around for Chuck.
"He's downstairs in the study, talking to your stepfather."
Diane smiled at the mention of Chuck.
She wanted Chuck to feel more integrated into the family.
"I'm going down too."
Haley struggled to her feet, still feeling weak. This unprecedented feeling of weakness made her think, "That tranquilizer dart is incredibly potent!" Then she felt impressed.
Powerful—that's excellent.
Such a small bracelet was far more effective than anything else she could carry.
"Take it easy,"
Diane said, without trying to stop her. It was already evening, and she needed to start preparing Christmas dinner.
Study.
Haley pushed the door open and asked Chuck, who was sitting inside, "How did you do that? That defies physics!"
"What do you know about physics?"
Chuck stood up and looked over. "Do you have a PhD?"
"..."
Haley was stumped and said defensively, "Such basic physics doesn't require a PhD to understand."
"What are you talking about?"
Director McGrath tried to join the conversation.
"Mind your own business."
The rebellious daughter came online and said to her father, "Go help Mom."
"..."
Director McGrath walked away with a grimace.
"Tell me, how did you do that?"
Haley closed the study door and demanded, "Is there some serious flaw in the tranquilizer dart design?"
Chuck had caught the tranquilizer dart she had launched with two fingers right in front of her, which had shocked her.
"Yes."
Chuck nodded without being mysterious. "The concept behind tranquilizer darts is to incapacitate an opponent at close range, not to kill them. Plus, they have to be compact and concealed, so their velocity can't match that of a bullet. Otherwise, they wouldn't just tranquilize the target—a close-range shot would be lethal.
With that velocity significantly reduced, if the target is alert, and their reflexes and speed are exceptional, there's a reasonable chance they can intercept or dodge the tranquilizer dart..."
"How many people can do that?"
Haley didn't want to hear Chuck's subsequent technical calculations, focusing only on the crucial point.
"As far as I know, five people can do it when prepared,"
Chuck said after a moment's thought. "And I'm the only one who can do it without advance warning."
"Perfect,"
Haley breathed a sigh of relief. "You're the only anomaly. That makes it much more scientifically reasonable."
Then she mused, "So the most important factor is deception. Acting convincingly enough to catch people off guard..."
Chuck ignored her tactical theorizing.
The Christmas dinner was rather quiet, thanks to Chuck's reserved nature and Haley's lingering sedation effects.
The next day,
Director McGrath went to the IRS office, and Chuck accompanied him.
"Susan, come in."
After having his assistant notify her, the director immediately introduced the attractive Susan with a smile as she entered. "This is the consultant I mentioned before, Dr. Chuck Wolfe. Chuck, this is Agent Susan Greene, one of our top investigators and the financial specialist leading this case."
"Hello, Dr. Wolfe."
"Hello, Agent Greene."
Susan and Chuck made eye contact and exchanged greetings.
"Chuck, work with Susan."
The director smiled and said, "Susan, Chuck is very capable, but his personality is rather... direct. Please be patient with him."
"Don't worry, Director."
Susan smiled and said, "Being direct is always better than deceptive. I appreciate straightforwardness."
"Haha."
The director laughed nervously and said, "Don't be so confident... But I'm glad you feel that way."
Susan gave him a puzzled look, not understanding his reaction, but nodded and led Chuck out.
Agent Greene's office.
"Please have a seat."
Susan gestured, "Can I get you anything to drink?"
"No, I brought my own."
Chuck pulled a water bottle from his bag, indicating he had water, then pulled out sanitizing wipes and began cleaning the seat.
"..."
Susan was stunned, then had a realization. "Are you a germaphobe?"
"Yes,"
Chuck nodded. "It's both hygiene and security. When you're working in the field, try to only consume what you can control. You might consider adopting this practice—it's safer."
"The world is dangerous, but it's not that extreme."
Susan said, both amused and exasperated.
"When you consume things you can't verify, you could be poisoned, drugged, infected..."
Chuck earnestly listed every possible scenario he could think of, for a full five minutes. Finally, to Susan's bewildered expression, he concluded, "Then you'll wish you'd been more cautious."
Susan now understood why her director had said, "Don't be so confident." Sometimes deception really is the kinder option.
Because brutal honesty can be incredibly irritating.
"Let's discuss the case."
Susan suppressed her internal complaints and said seriously, "Did the director brief you on the details?"
"He simply said you were trying to make an example of drug traffickers."
Chuck shook his head, "No specifics."
"Before we begin, I have a question."
Susan looked at Chuck, "What do you think is the most crucial element in tax collection?"
"Documentation."
Chuck looked at her.
"You're also an accountant,"
Susan nodded, "so are you familiar with the accounting methods used by drug trafficking organizations?"
"Of course."
Chuck said, "Drug trafficking organizations need to process massive cash flows daily, and the procedures for recording, laundering, and managing losses are extremely complex. It's simply beyond the capability of typical street dealers to handle. Professional accounting and auditing are needed to prevent profits from being stolen by people in the supply chain. First, they need to find an accountant they can trust.
Those major accounting firms?
No.
They might not refuse a client with such abundant cash flow, especially in today's economic climate. The world's top accounting firms would compete for such lucrative clients.
But just because major accounting firms don't mind doesn't mean the traffickers are willing.
Major accounting firms can indeed complete audits efficiently, and can even provide considerable operational advantages, but these firms are also capable of quietly embezzling even more assets originally belonging to the trafficking organizations.
At critical moments, they might even resort to outright theft.
The legitimate connections that major accounting firms possess are sufficient to ensure they don't have to worry about retaliation from criminal organizations.
Small accounting firms lack the necessary expertise, and their larger staff increases the risk of information leaks. Therefore, trafficking organizations can only rely on elite accounting specialists with exceptional individual capabilities to handle their audits.
As long as their skills are sufficient to complete the work, and their influence remains entirely manageable, it works.
Elite accountants are already rare. They're generally recruited into partnerships at major firms, earning substantial profits legally without any contact with criminal organizations.
When such an individual does emerge, once they prove their ability and reliability, they become highly sought after by trafficking organizations."
"You really do understand this world,"
Susan stared at Chuck in surprise.
Chuck remained silent.
An elite accountant of his caliber had been courted not only by major accounting firms and law enforcement agencies like the CIA, FBI, and NSA, but also by criminal organizations.
But once they saw who Chuck was affiliated with, they backed off immediately.
"Since you understand the background, let me introduce the target."
Susan pulled out a file, pushed it in front of Chuck, and began to explain: "Our target this time is Francis Stolberg, a legend in the money laundering world, renowned in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and internationally. He has been managing the books for the Gambino crime family for over forty years. If we can locate him and secure his testimony, we can bring down the trafficking networks, including the Gambino family, and collect enormous amounts in back taxes."
"I know of him,"
Chuck said as he reviewed the file. "The fact that he survived so long working for those ruthless criminals proves he's not only extremely skilled professionally, but also highly intelligent. He wouldn't be foolish enough to cooperate with you."
"Why not?"
Susan said somewhat defensively. "As long as he's willing to cooperate, he can enter the US Witness Protection Program. Once those criminals are defeated, he can assume a new identity and start over."
"Do you know the FBI's internal statistics for the Witness Protection Program?"
Chuck looked at her. "According to their data, the overall mortality rate is 63.3%, the mortality rate for major cases is 87.3%, and the mortality rate for witnesses involved in organized crime and high-level figures is 98.4%. He might survive until the case concludes, because the FBI will do everything possible to protect him until then. But after the case closes, he'll no longer be valuable and will likely be betrayed by those hunting him, then tortured to death. The probability is 74.7%. He's a legendary accountant with a keen understanding of numbers. Even if he doesn't know the FBI's internal statistics, he can estimate these odds."
"..."
Susan was speechless.
Because, although she didn't want to admit it, it was the truth.
"It doesn't matter if he won't cooperate. As long as we locate him and create the appearance that he's contacting us and cooperating, that's sufficient."
Susan regained her confidence and said coldly, "The Gambino family won't want to gamble on his loyalty. Once the chain of suspicion is established, if this accountant is truly intelligent, he'll know what he has to do."
Chuck nodded slightly, hearing the cold calculation in Susan's measured words.
Chuck saw nothing wrong with whatever happened to a man who had been working as an accountant for criminal organizations for over 40 years, no matter how cold or ruthless the outcome.
You'll always pay for what you did.
(End of Chapter)
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