It was still dark, so Inissa and Lina went down to check if there were any reporters or people following them. Then Wayne did some manual disguise and put on the Fisk family bodyguard uniform and went out. This suit was brought by the old butler along with the ransom money last night, and it was the first time Wayne had seen it. It looks similar to an ordinary British-style suit, but the style and color are specifically matched. It is said that people who are familiar with the Fisk family can recognize it at a glance. The kidnappers didn't leave a specific location or anything, so this is the only way we can meet each other for now. The old butler told Wayne that if the news of the Fisk family's presence in Chicago accidentally got out, then all related matters should be linked to Ian Fisk's gossip, but Miss Olivia must not be mentioned at all. When the sky turns white, Wayne was already waiting in a small square in Burke Park. This is the place everyone chose. It is spacious, conspicuous, and has benches for people to sit on. It is convenient for kidnappers to find the place when they come to trade, and it is also convenient for people who are responsible for surveillance to track them. Wayne was carrying a backpack with two small suitcases inside.
One of them contained nearly 50,000 US dollars worth of genuine goods, and the other contained fake goods that were improvised last night using stationery. In each stack, only the top and bottom two sheets were real. By the way, Lina's hair is also included. I'll decide which one to give it to based on the situation then. When the sun came out, Wayne saw a newspaper boy running over. I knew that today's exercise volume was probably going to exceed the limit. ——Even if the newsboy is an accomplice of the kidnappers, he is unlikely to be a core member. The kidnapper, Ms. Wahana, was once a family etiquette teacher employed by the Fisk family. She was obviously able to anticipate the resources that such a wealthy family could mobilize. So even if she and her accomplices did not intend to harm the hostages, they would definitely find a way to avoid being attacked and retaliated by the Fisk family. I opened the note and saw that it was a handwritten letter. Judging from the appearance, he is a male. His handwriting is uglier than Wayne's, but the ink looks relatively new. The other party was probably afraid that someone was lurking there, so they didn't dare to play the trick of asking Wayne to "throw the ransom into the trash can and come back to get it later." As expected, they chose to lure the tiger away from the mountain first. The other party was really cruel. They asked Wayne to run from one end of the park to an exit at the other end. So Wayne gave the newsboy a silver coin and told him a place and where he was going. Then he quickly followed the instructions on the note. If the kidnappers were as cunning as Lina, they would have arranged for someone to keep an eye on the area to see if anyone followed Wayne and moved quickly. Therefore, the initial plan of the detective agency is to keep their positions in place, with only the pigeons following, and then wait for an opportunity to catch up. Wayne was not in a hurry to run all the way at the beginning, in order to buy time for everyone and to test the kidnappers' reaction. Passing by a new recruit who was pretending to read a newspaper on a bench in the park, Wayne pretended to rub his nose, repeated where he was going, and then continued on his way. According to the information I got at the steam train station, there should be seven kidnappers in total.
We should be lenient with the enemy and take into account that there may be accomplices who will not leave the area for the time being, or they may evacuate in batches, so the number of people may be even greater. But no matter how you look at it, as long as the kidnappers act separately, the number of people in each group should not be too large. In this era when communications were not well developed, all we had to do was use the time difference. According to everyone's prediction, the most ideal situation is that the other party brings hostages, and they exchange money and goods. After that, they don't have to be cautious and can turn their backs on the other party. The worst case scenario is that the kidnappers let a few marginal accomplices take the money and leave a fake location, and in the end both ends might end up empty-handed. Wayne waited for a while at the exit at the other end of the park. First, Doug's parrot flew over and dropped a pile of guano in front of Wayne, telling him that someone was already in place. Then another newsboy came over and brought Wayne a message, "Sir, a gentleman just told me to run to the bottom of that building over there within five minutes." this…… It’s a bit far. The new location given by the kidnappers is estimated to be one or two kilometers away from Wayne's current location. If an ordinary person wants to rush there in five minutes, he will probably lose half his life. Wayne first deliberately made the same gesture, pointing in the direction of a tall building outside the park, and asked again as if to confirm, "Which way?", and then started to run away obediently. The block where the tall building is located is parallel to the edge of Burke Park, and is separated from the park by only a road. Wayne followed the route the kidnappers expected him to take. He first left the park and then ran along the road outside the park in that direction. When you have enough space, you can cross the road and go directly downstairs. Wayne was in good shape, but he didn't dare to slow down. He had only run half of the distance when he began to control his breathing. Fortunately, the kidnappers still had some conscience. A two-wheeled van caught up from behind. When someone passed by Wayne, he knocked on the window glass twice, and then the carriage stopped on the side of the road not far ahead. Wayne opened the half-open door of the carriage and climbed in. Bad news, there was only one man in the carriage. The carriage continued to move, the man held a gun in his hand and stretched out his hand to Wayne, "Give me the money." Wayne asked as he calmed his breathing, "Where are the hostages?" "Once I return safely, someone will release her." "I need to confirm the safety of the hostages first." The man raised the gun and said, "Say it again, give me the money." Wayne didn't like being stared at, so he slightly dodged the target by rummaging through his backpack. Then he thought for a moment and tried again: "I can't explain if I can't see anyone. I'm not a threat alone. I can go back with you and take the hostage with me." "This is not something that can be discussed." The man said without allowing any room for argument, and then his tone slowed down a little, "Don't worry, he's fine."
Wayne hesitated for a moment between the two suitcases, and finally chose to take the suitcase containing the fake goods out of his backpack. The two suitcases looked different. The one used to hold the fakes was the one brought by the old butler. It had a hidden lock and buckle, and was obviously more advanced. The suitcase containing the real goods was actually obtained by Wayne and his friends in the middle of the night after asking the hotel staff. After Wayne took out the briefcase, he opened it and showed it to the man, asking him to confirm that there were indeed five stacks of $100 banknotes inside. The man's eyes showed greed for a moment, and then he retracted his gaze, his expression turned to disdain, "This is all the wealth accumulated by the slave owners through slavery. They don't deserve it at all, right?" Wayne said nothing, but quickly closed the suitcase and locked it. This thing is not very strong. It can protect against gentlemen but not against violence. However, it is enough to delay time. Then the man impatiently took the suitcase, knocked on the wall of the carriage, signaled the coachman to stop, and got out of the car at gunpoint at Wayne. Wayne did not resist and got out of the car waiting for his men to catch up. Lina, who was in charge of leading the pursuit, arrived first with Inissa in her carriage. After Wayne got in the car, he started writing a note, ready to stand Doug up: "The goods they gave them are fake, so we'll go after them first. Just leave Doug and the others behind to cover the rear. If the kidnappers have accomplices watching from behind, we'll try to cut off their contact. At worst, we can go to the police station to get them back later."