American tax officials

Chapter 23 What a grand gesture!

Police departments and the IRS are both law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Both sides will give each other some face, so the chances of reaching an agreement will naturally be greater.

"I wouldn't say I'm sure, but I think that anyone with a normal personality would like money!"

"Alright, then go ahead and talk to him!"

Miyano Masashi gritted his teeth and said those words, while his heart was bleeding.

I just hope the IRS won't ask for too much!

Having received permission, Wade said no more and walked up to David and Barker with a friendly expression, extending his hand and saying, "You're from the IRS, right? I'm an officer from the Las Vegas Lake District Precinct. My name is Wade, and this is my partner, Balker."

"My name is David, and this is my partner, Nison!"

Although he knew the other person was a corrupt cop, as the saying goes, "you can't hit a smiling face," so David shook hands with him in a friendly manner.

"Shall we chat over there for a bit?"

"Can."

The four of them went to a tea table inside the factory and sat down.

Wade expertly poured David Nison a cup of tea and said slowly, "David, Nison, I didn't mean to interfere with your IRS enforcement, but I think this might be a misunderstanding..."

David narrowed his eyes upon hearing this, but he wasn't too surprised.

Although he couldn't hear what the other party and Miyano Masato were talking about, he figured that since they had accepted protection money, they couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Although these words were spoken rather tactfully, both David and Nissen could tell that the other party wanted them to back down.

David pretended not to understand and replied, "Misunderstanding... what do you mean?"

Wade took a sip of tea and said, "It's not easy for those islanders to make a living in Las Vegas. They're usually quite cooperative with our police department and can be considered semi-good citizens. So what I mean is, maybe we can talk this over. They're willing to pay a price..."

David was amused by these words. A group of car thieves had become half-good citizens?

So, as long as criminals pay you protection money, you can enjoy the same treatment as good citizens?

"What price are they willing to pay?"

This time, it was Nissen who asked the question.

Wade turned to Nissen and said, "Let me make it clear first, I'm just a messenger; the rest is none of my business!"

Since he didn't know the temperaments or backgrounds of the two people in front of him, he wanted to be on the safe side and clear his name first. He didn't want to give them any leverage over him.

Tell me about it.

"Here's the thing, they said they're willing to pay $3. Could you please let them off the hook?"

After saying this, Wade stared intently at David and Nissen, trying to see how their expressions changed.

But he soon noticed that when Nison heard the $3 offer, he seemed a little surprised, while David gave a playful smile, but neither of them seemed particularly interested.

Wade frowned slightly and continued, "They might not be unable to accept $5!"

They thought the price was enough to entice the two men, but although there was a hint of fervor in Nissen's eyes, David remained unmoved, which made Wade's brows furrow even more.

Based on the information he had received earlier and the current conversation, he had come to realize that David was the decisive person among the IRS representatives.

If we can't handle him, then this matter is probably not going to work out!

"A flat price of 100,000 is the maximum they can accept!"

This was certainly not the maximum limit given by Miyano Masano; it was just that Wade wanted to see how much David really wanted.

Or perhaps... you simply don't want it!

"Tsk tsk... 100,000, that's quite a sum!"

To be honest, if it weren't for the cheat system, David might have actually been tempted.

That's $100,000! That's no small sum!

However, now that he has a cheat code, as long as he doesn't make any big mistakes or give others any leverage over him, his meteoric rise to power is clearly visible.

Compared to this, $100,000 is nothing at all.

Moreover, if they accepted the money, it would be tantamount to giving the islanders and Wade and Balk a handle against them.

He wanted to climb the ranks, so naturally he couldn't leave any loose ends.

Wade sensed a hint of sarcasm in David's words and asked tentatively, "So, what does Inspector David mean?"

"Officer Wade, do you know that openly bribing an IRS inspector is punishable by at least 20 years in prison under IRS law?"

It's important to know that even for murder, the minimum sentence in the United States is only 10 years.

Bribing IRS auditors, however, carries a minimum penalty of 20 years, illustrating the severity of the IRS mandated by the Constitution.

Wade was completely stunned. Are there really people in this world who don't like money?

That's $10!

You two probably won't earn that much even after working hard for half a year!

But soon, Wade's face darkened as he came to his senses.

Open bribery?

Are there other people here?

If you don't want it, then you don't want it. Why scare me like this?

Although he was very unhappy, he still didn't dare to turn against them and could only explain, "I said before, I was just relaying their message, it wasn't a bribe at all!"

"Alright, Officer Wade, since you say you were just relaying a message, then I won't pursue this matter further..."

Hearing this, Wade felt a little helpless. He had already realized that David was really an oddball who had no interest in money at all!

In that case, he doesn't have any good way to help the people of these island nations!

Just as Wade was about to get up and tell Miyano Masato what had happened, David's voice rang out again: "However, there are other things we must investigate!"

Wade stopped what he was doing and asked, puzzled, "What do you mean? What have you done that you're going to hold us accountable for?"

"I know you have a special relationship with these island nations, and we've found out that they pay you a certain amount of asylum fees every month. Our IRS used to ignore these things, but as you know, the Black Tax Act is in effect now, so..."

David had originally intended to deal with Sheriff Smith, but since that guy hadn't come, he decided to take care of his two men first, as a way of making an example of them.

Wade wasn't stupid; he understood the implication immediately and flew into a rage, retorting, "Inspector David, I respect the IRS, but don't think I'm someone to be trifled with and dare to slander me like this!"

"Inspector David, we haven't received any protection money. Don't think that just because your IRS has a lot of power, you can slander our police!"

Balk, who was standing to the side, couldn't sit still any longer. He had come all this way today and not only had he not gained any benefits, but he had also gotten himself into trouble.

This is absolutely outrageous!

(End of this chapter)