Chapter 148 Special Weapons from China

Jessica took her phone out of her bag, snapped a photo, saved it to an encrypted folder, then closed the folder and rubbed her temples. "Should we arrest Vinnie Caruso first?"

"No rush. He's the middleman; arresting him directly serves no purpose for us right now."

"We need to fish. Let Vinnie think he hasn't been discovered so he keeps in contact with Derek, and then we can lock onto Derek by monitoring Vinnie's calls and transaction records."

"Does Tom have anyone at the Police Department capable of technical surveillance?" Mu Xin looked at John.

"Yes, he has a veteran criminal investigator under him who was poached from the Cincinnati Police Department and has been doing technical surveillance for over a decade."

"I'll have Tom arrange it immediately; we can have Vinnie's phone and bank accounts under surveillance by the end of the day."

"Good." Mu Xin stood up. "There's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Hand these captured people over to Tom for case filing according to standard procedure."

"But before handing them over to Tom, make each of them sign a confession statement clearly detailing who hired them, how much they were paid, what the mission was, how many vehicles were involved, and the license plate numbers."

"Once signed, send a copy to Derek so he knows that the people he sent confessed within five minutes of their cars being smashed."

John was stunned for a moment. "Send it to Derek? Doesn't that just tell Derek that we have leverage on him?"

"That's exactly what I want him to know." Mu Xin stood up and walked to the screens, looking through the monitors at the thugs handcuffed to the chairs.

"Derek thinks his greatest advantage is that the police can't find evidence, but this time, I don't need the police to investigate."

"I just need him to know that the evidence is in my hands and that I will use it at the most appropriate time."

"Let him lose sleep, let him think every stranger he sees is coming for him, and let him drive himself crazy."

John looked at Mu Xin, remained silent for a few seconds, and then nodded.

...

Back in the office, Mu Xin stood before the whiteboard, circled Derek Warren's name, and drew three lines underneath.

The first line read, "Electricity Cartel Network — Victoria to continue digging."

The second line read, "Assault Instigator — Confessions secured and handed over to Tom."

The third line read, "Final Solution — TBD."

He stared at the third line for a long time. "Final Solution"—the words were easy to say, but hard to execute.

Derek was not a street thug; his network of connections was far more complex than it appeared on the surface. The three investigation reports that the Police Department couldn't crack were just the tip of the iceberg.

He wanted electricity prices in Cincinnati to remain above $3,200, but Mu Xin's $245 directly shattered that price structure.

Mu Xin picked up a marker and added a line under the third point, "Final Solution": "Must make my own force strong enough that Derek dares not have any ulterior motives again."

He thought of the equipment in Ramaswamy's hands. If these things were parked at the Oxford Town security company's base, Derek would have to think twice the next time he wanted to make a move.

Not thinking about whether his cars could crash into a cadillac escalade, but whether his own life could survive a real military-grade counterattack.

Mu Xin didn't like this feeling. He was a Chinese international student studying mathematics and statistics, not a warlord.

But Derek's attack today made him realize one thing: in this country, when your business reaches a certain scale and your existence threatens the interests of certain people, you have no way back.

Either arm yourself to the teeth so that no one dares to touch you, or be swallowed whole by those who are already armed to the teeth.

He dialed Ramaswamy's number.

"Mr. Mu, you're late." Ramaswamy's voice carried his usual mockery.

"We agreed to meet in the afternoon, and now it's almost evening. Did your convoy run into some trouble on the road?"

"You know?"

"All of Cincinnati knows." Ramaswamy laughed out loud. "Four Siennas crashed into one cadillac escalade; the Siennas were totaled, and the cadillac escalade lost a bit of paint."

"Mr. Mu, everyone in the gray power circle is telling this as a joke now. Derek has completely lost face because of you."

"By the way, I sold all the Japanese cars I had. They really aren't safe."

"Whether Derek loses face or not is irrelevant." Mu Xin's voice was cold. "What's important is that he won't send Siennas next time."

"He will send professionals next time, and the equipment I currently have won't be able to stop professionals."

"Everything you have that's usable: Black Hawks, Mi-17s, BTR-80s, and light weapons."

"You mentioned last time that you had a batch of inventory that came over from Kazakhstan. I want it now, as soon as possible."

"This stock isn't cheap. Black Hawks go for two to three million through official auction channels, and the Mi-17s and BTR-80s depend on their specific condition. With the weapons included, it will come to over ten million dollars," Ramaswamy said.

"Money is not an issue. I'll be at your place tomorrow afternoon. Lay out all the usable equipment."

"Alright." Ramaswamy's tone became crisp. "Tomorrow at 5:00 PM, at that warehouse in Beatty Town."

"I'll have Sergei bring a few newly refurbished power modules over for you to look at, and we can chat about the Derek situation while we're at it."

"There's nothing to chat about regarding Derek," Mu Xin said.

"On the contrary." Ramaswamy's voice lowered slightly. "Mr. Mu, Derek has lost so much face; he won't let it go."

"He sent Siennas today and they were smashed by you; the day after tomorrow, he'll send people with RPGs to wait for you in the cornfield."

"What you need right now isn't defense; it's to let everyone watching you know that the price of touching you is one they can't afford."

"And this..." He paused. "Is something I can help you achieve."

Mu Xin hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, looking at the sky outside the window. Ramaswamy was right; although Derek's attack failed, it sent a signal.

Someone was willing to pay to hire eight desperados to intercept a billionaire's convoy in broad daylight, and these eight people weren't homeless drifters unable to find work. Judging by their ambush formation, at least half of them had received some training.

Derek had people like this at his disposal; next time he just needs to switch to better vehicles, and he couldn't count on the opponent driving Siennas to crash into a cadillac escalade every time.

From this moment on, law, business, and politics became insufficient when dealing with people like Derek Warren.

Derek didn't care about the law, business rules, or political maneuvering; he only cared about one thing: whose fist was harder.

Mu Xin now needed to let his opponent know that he wasn't someone who could be ambushed on the side of the road at will.

It was time to use a special weapon from China!