Darkstone Code
Chapter 48: Where there are people, there is conflict.

Chapter 48: Where there are people, there is conflict.

In the room, Mr. Fox’s face was as calm as still water. He didn’t appear much different from a moment ago, but only he knew that his scalp was tingling.

People often joke about the Federal Tax Bureau, saying that if you offend them, you won’t even have pants to wear. Few joke about the FBI.

It’s not that there aren’t good jokes about the FBI, nor that they don’t make mistakes. On the contrary, the FBI has numerous law enforcement disputes and even accidents every year, yet no one openly talks about them.

Because everyone knows that while the Tax Bureau might make your life miserable, the FBI might just end it, so no one grumbles or complains about them every day.

The person identified himself, and Mr. Fox’s legs felt heavy and immovable.

He stared at the man for a while. His son and his subordinates had snapped out of shock. Mr. Fox’s stare down with the FBI investigator gave them a sense of backbone, courage, and they too glared angrily.

Mr. Fox knew he needed to take it slow. Otherwise, his legs would buckle, and he might fall to his knees at the slightest movement.

After a while, he took a deep breath, nodded, and said "Okay," turning and sitting down, "I want to see why you think you can shake me."

His performance was splendid, even Mr. Fox’s son felt it was one of his father’s shining moments in life. But only Mr. Fox knew his heart rate had already hit one hundred eighty.

The FBI investigator kept a smile—a confident smile. He raised his brows and pursed his lips with a regretful expression, "You won’t like what I’m about to say..." he paused, "The FBI has had its eyes on you for some time now..."

In another room, an investigator from the Tax Bureau glanced sideways at the FBI investigator beside him, who nodded back with a sinister grin.

There was an issue with that statement, an issue of priority.

Even simple human interactions have their conflicts, let alone the top two agencies?

The FBI and the Federal Tax Bureau, clearly in different domains, yet their powers and functions overlap somewhat.

For instance, the FBI’s financial crimes unit deals with finance-related crimes, which often involve tax evasion.

Criminals wanting to hide their books to avoid discovery leads to tax evasion. The two groups clash fundamentally, albeit subtly and not ostensibly.

With one statement, the FBI’s financial crimes unit investigator claimed all the credit for the Bureau; these recordings would eventually surface in court or even before the media.

"We’ve been watching you for a while" is enough to demonstrate the FBI’s foresight, proving they long suspected Fox and others of money laundering. Yet, it was the foolish Tax Bureau that scared them off and ruined everything.

Fortunately, the FBI came through in the end, corrected everything, brought some shine to the Bureau, and stepped on the Tax Bureau in passing.

Under normal circumstances, the Tax Bureau would send someone to regain ground. But right now, they’re too troubled themselves and must solve current issues first. There will be time to recover their stance later.

Mr. Fox remained silent as if he hadn’t heard. His mind raced, pondering how his unremarkable financial company caught the FBI’s attention. Are they that idle?

The investigator wouldn’t pause due to Mr. Fox’s silence; instead, his pace quickened.

When information comes too quickly for a person to process, their thoughts become muddled, prompting them to misspeak or say inappropriate things.

"Since last month, we’ve noticed your business becoming more active, and your money laundering speed increased..."

Saying last month was actually just a fortnight ago, right when Lynch and he completed their first transaction. The surge of spare change increased his daily income reports noticeably, obviously catching some eyes. Mr. Fox just didn’t realize the FBI noticed too.

He stayed silent while the investigator continued, "Based on our investigation..." He pulled several photos from his clipboard and laid them on the table. There were pictures of Mr. Fox with Lynch and images of his subordinates collecting money, "After meeting Lynch, you reached a series of cooperation agreements, establishing a more advanced laundering process on the existing foundation..."

"Lynch gathered various hard-to-track sources of small change for you and designed a new fee system. This way, you could more swiftly legitimize your financial company’s illicit earnings and deposit them into the bank."

"Mr. Fox, to be frank, you run a financial company earning illegal high interest on the one hand and launder money behind the scenes on the other, regardless of whether it’s a district, state, or even the Supreme Court, your sentence won’t be less than twenty years!"

The investigator nonchalantly stated something that made Mr. Fox’s son and subordinates gasp. Given Mr. Fox’s age, if he went in, let alone twenty years, enduring ten would be tough. They aimed to kill Mr. Fox in prison.

Mr. Fox’s eyelid twitched, "Evidence?" He started speaking quietly, but quickly raised his voice, "You’ve said all this; there must be evidence. You claim I charge exorbitant interest, who’s testifying, let them face me!"

"You say I launder money, all this is my legitimate business income!"

"If you lack evidence, I’ll sue you for defamation!" He said, pulling a business cardholder from his pocket, extracting a card, and handing it to his son, "Go to the door and call the lawyer."

The investigator immediately pointed to the table, "There’s a phone here; you can call from here."

Mr. Fox sneered, "I suspect you might record..." He then looked at his son, squeezing his hand, "Go outside, quickly!"

Mr. Fox didn’t know if his son understood his implication. He winked, signaling his son not to return after calling to avoid getting everyone caught.

Over the years, he had hidden a lot of cash and valuables. If things went wrong, his son could rely on these to escape abroad. Though he might be stuck, at least the child would be safe.

We live our lives not just for ourselves, but also for the next generation, don’t we?

However, sometimes things don’t go as planned. After making the call, Mr. Fox’s son returned, making Mr. Fox sigh heavily and glare at his son, this fool!

The investigator nearly laughed watching Mr. Fox’s son return. He couldn’t require someone without clear evidence of their involvement to stay, but he couldn’t refuse if they stayed voluntarily, right?

He checked his watch, "Hope your lawyer arrives swiftly, or you’ll be spending the night at the FBI..." He shrugged, "The accommodations aren’t nice; it’s drafty, the walls are cage-like, and it smells. The toilet and bedroom are together!"

An obvious threat, anyone would think everything was in hand. Meanwhile, the FBI prepared staff ready to arrest Lynch anytime.

Once they laid out the evidence, Mr. Fox would have to plead guilty. His confession would turn Lynch into an accomplice, whether or not his business was outlawed. Recent public uproar would swiftly turn around.

The investigator cockily crossed his legs and ordered coffee from staff outside. He had to maintain his composure; after all, those handling financial crime investigations must be more reserved, dignified, and gentlemanly than frontline criminal investigators.