American Tax Officer

"No, you guys must take action, with everything all set up like this, otherwise it would all be wasted. As for why we've come to you, rest assured that as long as you're willing to pay taxes, we will pretend we know nothing!"

As long as these guys successfully pulled off their job this time, it would mean another batch of tax revenue for the IRS, and David certainly didn't want them to back out now.

The four of them suddenly looked at each other in dismay.

An official government institution like the IRS inciting them to commit crimes? No matter how one heard it, it sounded absurd.

But in any case, David had approached them and even knew about the crimes they had committed, so putting up a strong resistance was out of the question.

Not to mention the forcefulness of the IRS, just getting this matter into the hands of the police or the rightful owners would be enough trouble for them.

It seemed that the best option now was to bite the bullet and pay up to avert disaster!

After a long silence, Camilla spoke, "If we agree to pay taxes to your IRS, what's in it for us?"

David replied, "I've already said that as long as you're willing to pay, we'll act as if today's incident never happened. We won't disclose any information about you, not even if the FBI or the police come to investigate!"

Camilla seemed somewhat unsatisfied and retorted, "That's not much of an advantage!"

"Then what kind of advantage are you looking for?"

"If we pay you the taxes, I hope you'll protect us. Say, if one day we end up in the hands of the FBI or the police, you could step in!"

Camilla's words immediately won the agreement of the three MacDonalds.

Although they were meticulous in their actions, they could not guarantee that they wouldn't make a mistake one day, ending up in the hands of the police or the FBI.

And they certainly knew full well the might of the IRS.

If they were captured by the police one day and the IRS could step in to help them, they would surely be able to escape the situation.

In this way, paying the taxes would be something they were not only willing but also saw as worthwhile.

David and Nisen exchanged looks, unable to help but burst into laughter before David turned his head to address them, "You sure have a pretty picture in mind. Is our IRS some kind of underworld organization that takes protection money? Just because we take your money, we should protect a bunch of criminals like you?"

The four, who were initially full of expectation, instantly turned grim upon hearing this, and resentment began to swell in their hearts.

Your IRS, with this kind of behavior, how are you any different from the underworld?

In fact, you're even worse than the underworld!

After all, those in the underworld are openly nefarious, whereas the IRS is supposedly upright on the surface but rotten inside!

Camilla tried her best to suppress the indignation in her heart and said, "If we get caught one day, then wouldn't you lose the taxes from us?"

Her words implied that as long as the IRS protected them, they would never lose the taxes they paid.

It would be a win-win for everyone!

"Indeed, but if you get caught, then you just have to accept your bad luck, and so do we. If we at the IRS choose to protect you, then what's the use of the police and the FBI? They'll be out of a job!"

The Black Tax Act was already shocking and unprecedented.

After all, among more than 200 countries worldwide, not a single nation's tax department would opt to interact with criminals.

Only America was an exception to this.

Of course, collecting taxes from criminals is one thing since the money collected is used to benefit the country and its people, so it's a proposition that is beneficial to all and harms none.

But, if they chose to shield these so-called tax-paying criminals, then they would be standing against the law itself, and nobody would allow that.

The four had nothing to say, remaining silent for a while. After exchanging glances and reaching a consensus, Camilla gritted her teeth and said, "We'll go back and get the money ready!"

Having said this, the four of them prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute..."

David stopped them again and asked, "According to the information we have, it seems you have another accomplice."

"If you already know, why bother asking?"

Camilla retorted with a trace of complaint in her tone.

"Why isn't he here?"

"He's a technician, he doesn't need to be involved in the action, no need to come!"

"Technician..."

David suddenly thought of scenes from certain movies.

For instance, a gang that wants to break into some place to steal things would consist of an action team, a lookout team, and the so-called technicians.

These technicians would be responsible for hacking into the security system or surveillance system of the place to ensure that the group leaves no trace at the scene.

Wait a minute...

Hacking into the security system...

David's expression changed, and he then asked Camilla, "So, your accomplice, he's a hacker?"

"A hacker?"

Camilla pondered for a moment and nodded, "You could say that, yes!"

"Where is he now?"

Camilla's eyes showed a hint of wariness as she asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Nothing much, just want to see how good his skills are, maybe ask for a favor!"

Regarding that hacking case, there had been no clues over the past few days, and Nisen had come up empty. Just now they had come across this person, and he wanted to see if he could try his luck.

Camilla didn't answer, but her expression somewhat consented, and then she made to turn away, only to be stopped by David once more.

"This is the 56th floor. Did you really think to walk down? Come back and take the elevator!"

It finally dawned on the four that, in their haste to flee, they had thought the stairs would be quicker. But now that they had come to an understanding with David, there was no longer a need for secrecy!

The group exited the stairwell and returned to the 56th floor's elevator lobby to wait.

'Ding...'

The elevator doors opened and out walked a white man, dressed in a suit with sunglasses on, exuding a certain charisma, flanked by two assistants.

Due to their almost face-to-face encounter, and because the man had a significant presence, David couldn't help but give him a second look. But the next second, his expression dramatically changed.

[Name: Lynch Aldridge.]

[Occupation: Businessman, Antiques Money Laundering Member.]

[Monthly Income: Three Million US dollars.]

[Income Details: December 6th, cleaned Three Million US dollars for a client by inflating the price of a medieval European dagger, earning a 10% commission of Three Hundred Thousand US dollars. December 12th, laundered five million US dollars for a client with a Song dynasty Chinese painting, again through price inflation, and earned a 10% commission of Five Hundred Thousand US dollars…]

[More Details: …]

[Tax Owed: One Million Six Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand Two Hundred US dollars.]

"So he's the host of today's collection display. To think his real identity is an antiques money launderer!"