Noah had not received any of the reports that he was expecting. He was supposed to get them a while ago, but all he got was a call from an unknown number. He instinctively knew something had gone wrong.
“This is a line from BT&T (Bell Telephone & Telegraph), sir.”
It was the telecommunications firm where the Jonathan Group was the largest shareholder. Since it was in the hands of Jonathan Group, it was difficult to track the location of the caller or request for wiretapping.
Moreover, Noah had sent cleaners after the Asian boy who was the real owner of the Jonathan Group, so it wouldn’t be a coincidence that a call came through the line that was affiliated with them.
Noah said, “I guess they failed.”
The man’s face stiffened at Noah’s words. He was the guy who had cleaned up the Morgan family’s trash for more than a decade, so he knew the drill. The first thing he did was order his subordinates to remove the traces of this incident. Basically, these were instructions to commit another murder. He had even hired backup agents in case the event had to get dealt with in court. However, it stayed quiet.
“There have been no reports so far. The same goes for the hotel.”
The man spoke as if it was a bigger issue, and Noah felt the same way.
“Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Time went by. The occasional phone calls they received were from important figures of the family who worked hard at this late hour and not from the NYPD[1]. There was a lot to be done, but Noah couldn’t focus on his work. The cleaners had vanished around a premium hotel that had tight security, and the target was someone whom they should have killed instantly.
But why did they fail?
The family’s cleaners were at the top of their field. Furthermore, Noah was overly confident that the Asian boy either had some kind of a physical or mental issue as he had hidden his identity despite his status and financial state. Also, he had confirmed that there were no bodyguards accompanying the boy.
There was no reason for the assassins to fail. In fact, the plan was that there was supposed to be a headline on the news the next day that a Korean boy had been victimized by an armed robbery in a hotel. Then, the world would be in an uproar over the inheritance of the unprecedented property after the Jonathan Group lost their commander.
Noah walked away from his desk without completing his task and called the man, “Let’s assume that the real owner had a bodyguard whom we couldn’t identify. So, let’s say that one of our agents was interfered with by the guard.”
The man immediately responded, “What I can guarantee is that no one would have opened their mouth.”
Since the cleaners had completed the highest level of Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape course, they knew how to resist and endure torture.
The man added, “And they are aware of the repercussions of opening their mouths better than anyone else. They would never betray the family. You already know that.”
“What if the owner forces them to drink an interrogation drug that makes them open their mouth?” Noah asked, but the man shook his head.
“This is not a warzone, sir. I don’t think the Jonathan Group even has it.”
“You are quite certain.”
“We are ashamed that our agents failed. That’s all.”
“You would know that there’s no second chance since we have been exposed. I’ll pretend that this never happened.”
Their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had disappeared. Noah thought that the Asian boy would hire more bodyguards for his safety and be extra careful from now on.
“The problem arises when your conviction is wrong. If we suppose that the Jonathan Group also has cleaners…”
Oh my gosh.
Noah gave a hollow smile. This situation made him feel like he was in the Middle Ages when people fought with guns and sent assassins to eliminate political opponents. Nowadays, people handled conflicts through communications from computer to computer. Noah put himself in the shoes of the Asian boy and thought that he would also send hired guns to the person who had targeted his life.
Ah, I can’t believe that I need to worry about the assassin the boy’s sending.
It wasn’t funny at all. An unpleasant irritation began to cover his entire body.
“Thanks to this, I need to cancel all my appointments.”
“I’m sorry, but there’s no need to do so, sir.”
He snapped, “That’s why I’ve repeatedly told you not to fail. Strengthen the security of the mansion to the highest level.”
Despite all his precautions, Noah truly thought that the Jonathan Group didn’t have any fixers on hire.
***
Noah suddenly opened his eyes and realized that he had actually fallen asleep for a while. It wasn’t surprising because he had been exhausted from planning the legal countermeasures and calculating the currency war against the Jonathan Group. He did this under the assumption that the man’s conviction was wrong. It was bright outside the window.
He picked up the phone to check if there were any cases filed to the NYPD while he was asleep. Then, he heard a voice which sounded similar to his family’s cleaners from behind him.
“He said it was you, Noah.”
Noah stiffened with terror. He felt like his soul had frozen for an instant. Silence filled the room, and he barely managed to restrain himself from turning his head. In a situation like this, he knew that he should never look at the person’s face or show the person his trembling body. He had to pretend that he was confident and respond as if he was handling a business story.
“I’ll give you three times your current salary, and I’ll protect you from your employer,” Noah said.
Meanwhile, his mind was racing with questions. The Jonathan Group didn’t need cleaners as they weren’t an unwieldy group that was formed with hundreds of blood relatives who caused nasty problems. There were only two rulers of their empire: Jonathan and the Asian boy.
“Three times?” the guy asked emotionlessly.
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible,” the guy replied coldly.
“Just tell me. I’ll transfer the money right here.”
“Three times… then, it’ll be six trillion dollars.”
For a moment, Noah had a throbbing headache. He wasn’t sure, but there was probably a gun pointed at his back. The assassin sent by Jonathan Group was playing around with his life.
However, it was good news on the other hand. If the assassin was a top-notch pro, he would have already pierced a hole in Noah’s head without giving him a chance to talk.
But how did he break through the security of the mansion?
Noah decided not to think about that now as he was in an emergency.
“Are you saying that my life is worth two trillion dollars? It’s an honor, but tell me the truth. Look, I’m prepared. I just have to type on the keyboard a few times,” Noah said.
“You’ve got it all wrong. I’m saying that it costs two trillion dollars to deploy me.”
The man’s voice was cold, and he didn’t laugh at all although he was joking. Then, he added another stipulation, “Only in cash.”
The assassin’s voice was filled with certainty, so it felt sincere. This was why Noah had never personally interacted with the cleaners in the past. He could fire them any time as he was their employer, but the cruel violence that was latent in them couldn’t be controlled. Their jokes weren’t funny at all.
Noah had started all of this, but he couldn’t understand the situation. Logically, he knew it was possible, but his heart couldn’t accept it. It was an assassinaton battle. Something that could only happen in the Middle Ages was about to happen.
“Six trillion dollars only in cash? That’s impossible,” Noah continued calmly. “Sixty million could be doable. Isn’t that an opportunity to change your life? The money has been perfectly laundered. You can even live like royalty in the Caribbean. And as I said, I’ll protect you from your employer.”
“My employer…”
“Jonathan Investment and Finance Group. All they can give you is money, but I can even create a new identity for you. They’ll never know.”
But why the hell is everyone so quiet? Why!
Noah had strengthened his security to the highest level. Even if everything had been breached, the air should have been noisy with the sound of helicopters that carried SWAT[2] teams by now.
When Noah glared at the closed door, the man responded. His reply was what Noah had been waiting for.
“I’m not satisfied with that offer, but I should still get paid for my trip here.”
“Ah, now we can start an actual conversation,” Noah answered.
“But, sixty million is not enough. Raise the number to billions.”
“…Six billion dollars?” Noah asked tentatively.
“Yes.”
“You know that’s a number that is only dealt with in astronomy, right?”
“I think I deserve that as you interrupted my night here. Isn’t this the Morgan Family?” the man asked sarcastically.
“Fine.”
Noah clenched his teeth, and his brain sped up while the laptop booted. His life came first. Six billion dollars wasn’t the scale the assassin could launder, and of course, it was easy to trace. Noah was determined to provide him with the amount and retrieve it later after he overcame this crisis.
However, things went wrong from the very beginning. Noah pointed to the number on the monitor.
「 9,132,923,000 ＄ 」
“Check it out. I’ll transfer you six billion from this, but I hope you remember that up to six billion was our deal. Give me your account information.”
The man snorted, “What are you doing with AP Morgan Group’s Proprietary account[3]? You have money that has been laundered outside the country. Do you think I’m that easy to fool?”
Noah was bewildered. The assassin didn’t just have murder skills like his family’s cleaners but also financial knowledge.
Gulp.
The saliva that filled his mouth went down his throat.
“It was a mistake.”
Noah hesitated, then made a decision. He opened another account, and this time, it was one of the family’s slush funds warehouses that was established in tax havens.
「 23,000,000,000 ＄ 」
“I changed my mind. Transfer me the entire amount there.”
The man changed his demand, and this was why Noah was reluctant to show him the account. It was natural that the assassin, who was controlling the situation, would change the transaction amount when he saw a large amount of money. Also, Noah had no choice but to do as he was told.
I… I can retrieve the money once I get out of this safely.
Noah didn’t know when it became like that, but he suddenly noticed that his shirt was soaked in sweat and was stuck to his back. A drop of sweat that was hanging under his chin also fell on the ground.
“Okay, give me your account information.”
A small piece of paper flew over Noah’s shoulder and fell in front of him. There was no verbal answer. Noah picked up the paper and saw lines of Japanese mixed with Chinese characters in the back. It wasn’t the account number as Noah could read simple Japanese. He quickly skimmed through it, and the meaning was short but impactful. It meant that the owner of this paper was Yamaguchi-gumi, one of Japan’s largest gangs. Also, the name and seal of the person believed to be the boss of the gang was stamped as if they were warning those who accidentally found this paper.
All of a sudden..?
Noah flipped the paper with his shaking hands. There was a barcode on the front, and he couldn’t stop himself from saying “shit.” He knew the barcode was the secret account of a Swiss bank. As soon as he transferred money there, there was zero way to track it. In other words, the money would be stuck in that account forever.
Noah swallowed his tears as he had no choice.
1. New York Police Department ☜
2. Special Weapon and Tactics. A police force that was highly trained to handle dangerous situations; for instance, hostage-taking and riots. ☜
3. A company’s appropriation account is used to invest its capital ☜