Chapter 166: Preparations by All Parties
Hobbs discovered a photo of Letty, who was supposedly dead, in the surveillance footage. He immediately set off for the Dominican Republic, carrying the presidential pardon. But what was Ron doing?
He was getting ready for Christmas.
Yes, you heard that right—Ron was preparing for Christmas.
"Hey, Sheldon, do you and Leonard want to get a Christmas tree together?" Penny knocked and walked in, just in time to see Ron sprawled out on the couch. "Ron, you're here! I was going to ask you to come back to the apartment to help decorate the tree."
"Please, spare me," Ron replied weakly. "You wouldn't believe it, but from yesterday until now, I've already decorated five Christmas trees."
One at Max's place, one at the Gallaghers', one at the office, one at Mr. Towery's, and one at Andy's—the old guy lived alone. Ron had even asked if Andy wanted to join them at the apartment for Christmas, but Andy declined.
Andy said he wanted to celebrate his first Christmas as a free man with his old cellmates. Honestly, if it weren't for Mary back in Texas insisting he spend Christmas with her family, Ron would have liked to spend it with Andy.
Andy's former inmates all seemed fascinating. There was this incredibly charismatic old guy named Hannibal—supposedly he'd been the prison cook and was incredibly wise.
There was also this Black guy who looked like Morgan Freeman and was arguably one of the most distinguished-looking men Ron had ever met.
Ron planned to meet them sometime.
"But you haven't decorated your own Christmas tree, have you?" Penny tilted her head. "Or is that just a Cooper family tradition?"
"No, we don't celebrate Christmas," Sheldon began, but Ron interrupted.
"No, you don't. Actually, we celebrate every year."
"Oh, didn't I tell you it's just a pagan Saturnalia festival?" Sheldon glared.
"Kids, gather 'round. Time for Sheldon's favorite Christmas educational programming." Howard addressed Penny sarcastically, but unfortunately Sheldon couldn't detect the sarcasm.
"In ancient times, before the rise of Christianity, when the winter solstice arrived, the earth became barren..."
Penny's mind went blank. She could only see Sheldon's mouth moving up and down, spewing out word after word. All she could manage when he finished was:
"Okay, thanks for the lesson, but I bought some silly gifts for you and Leonard. I'll put them under the Christmas tree later. Ron, I got you one too."
"Thanks, I've prepared gifts for everyone too. Well, everyone except Sheldon."
"Wait, you bought me a present?!" Sheldon said in shock: "Why would you do that?"
"Because... Christmas is coming?"
Penny was a bit overwhelmed by Sheldon's reaction. Howard leaned on Ron's shoulder with amusement: "Didn't you give the girl you live with the 'Sheldon Operating Manual'?"
"First, we're not living together—we're just roommates. Second, with Penny's intelligence, I'm confident she'll eventually figure out an even more comprehensive 'Sheldon User Guide.'"
Ron had complete faith in Penny. He was about to elaborate when his phone suddenly buzzed.
After reading the text, Ron immediately jumped up from the couch with renewed energy: "Sorry, I need to step out for a bit."
"Hey, are you sure you don't want to watch Sheldon educate Penny about proper gift etiquette?"
"Nope, my Christmas present just arrived. I need to go check it out." With that, Ron happily grabbed his jacket and headed out.
"What a kid—getting all excited over a Christmas present," Sheldon said dismissively, watching Ron leave.
Downstairs, a car was already waiting. Orlov personally opened the door for Ron: "My dear partner, guess what Christmas present I brought you?"
"Unless it's a shoulder-fired anti-tank missile, nothing's going to make this a merry Christmas."
"Uh... like I said, that stuff is really impossible to acquire right now," Orlov said with a slightly embarrassed expression: "But I've got something else for you that I think you'll love. What do you think of this beauty?"
Orlov pulled a cylinder about three feet tall from the car and handed it to Ron. It was surprisingly heavy.
"What the hell is this thing?"
"The RPO-A Shmel personal thermobaric rocket!" Orlov exclaimed with pride. "I went through hell to get just one. It has a massive blast radius and devastating power—meets almost all your requirements. So? Happy with your Christmas present?"
To say he wasn't thrilled would be a lie. This was a thermobaric weapon! Even the portable version packed more punch than all the toys Ron usually played with combined. In terms of raw destructive power, it would obliterate almost every weapon Ron had ever handled!
But Ron played it cool: "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Can this thing take out tanks? At best, it can only handle light armored vehicles, right?"
"But it's incredibly powerful. Besides, what kind of operation would have you facing terrorists in actual tanks? If they had tanks, the Army would handle them without you lifting a finger. At most, you're looking at up-armored vehicles. Trust me, this is more than enough to deal with them..."
Orlov continued explaining the advantages of the RPO-A Shmel, but Ron wasn't really listening.
How could he explain this? There was no way to make Orlov understand. The arms dealer was right—who could imagine terrorists driving tanks through city streets? So Ron would have to figure something else out.
Meanwhile, unlike Los Angeles, in a beachside villa in the Dominican Republic, Toretto was working on upgrading the V8 engine in his ride.
"This all you got from that Brazil job—$100 million and you spend it on this?" Hobbs's voice suddenly boomed from behind him. "You're easy to find, Toretto."
"I'm not hiding." Toretto didn't even look up, continuing to work on his engine.
Hobbs walked around to face Toretto, speaking down to him: "How's life as a retired international fugitive?"
"I like it here. It's peaceful, and best of all—no extradition treaty." Toretto wasn't backing down. "What can I do for you, Agent?"
"Last Tuesday, a crew hit a Russian military convoy."
Toretto paused briefly, then quickly resumed his normal pace: "I don't work in cold weather."
"I know that wasn't your crew, but I need you to help me find the team that did," Hobbs stated directly.
"Why would you think I'd help you?"
"You're not helping me," Hobbs finally smiled triumphantly and placed the file containing Letty's photo in front of Toretto. "I guarantee that after you see what's in here, you'll be begging to help me."
(End of Chapter)
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