In a blink of an eye, autumn had arrived.
As a coastal city, the autumn wind in Binhai City carried a unique damp chill, especially when it rained. The icy rainwater, driven by the cold wind, transformed into surgical knives made of ice, cutting into people's bodies with a bone-chilling cold.
The continuous cold rain fell incessantly, staining the dark gray iron gate a deep black.
Floyd Lawton and his assistant stood under the porch, expressionlessly watching the rain curtain outside. A young man without an umbrella sprinted down the road like a headless fly, using his briefcase to shield himself. As he passed the street corner, his foot slipped, and he fell backward onto the ground.
The rainwater soaked his newly bought suit, leaving large stains. Seeing the young man, Floyd inexplicably thought of himself.
This was his tenth visit to the Xiao family estate.
Within five days, he had called nine times and been rejected nine times, not even getting a warm cup of coffee to hold.
Floyd didn't know if those damned yellow-skinned monkeys had received any etiquette training. His tolerance had reached its limit.
"Hongmen, Xiao family, Young Master Gang, Young Master Xiao..."
Floyd gritted his teeth, pondering what methods he would use to deal with, or even eliminate, the Young Master Gang if a conflict broke out. The Eye of Heaven wasn't a third-rate organization; it represented the military, the government, and was one of the highest power institutions in the United States. No one could flaunt their power in front of it.
Luke Xiao, this is your last chance!
Floyd took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
Fifteen minutes later, Aunt Li, holding two umbrellas, opened the door and smiled at the two men.
"Mr. Russell, right?"
The assistant nodded, "That's us."
Aunt Li handed them the umbrellas. "Come with me, Young Master wants to see you."
The three walked through the garden, filled with various flowers and plants, and followed a path beside the artificial lake to a Chinese-style garden villa. Passing through the corridor, they immediately entered the reception room.
A somewhat immature-looking young man sat in the main seat of the reception room. The young man was about seventeen or eighteen, with handsome features, but his demeanor carried a composure that was unsuited to his age. His light green eyes stared straight ahead, exuding an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Floyd stepped forward.
"Luke Xiao?"
Luke pointed to the chair opposite him. "Sit."
Floyd no longer stood on ceremony and sat down with his assistant in the guest seats. Aunt Li poured two cups of hot coffee, placed them down, and quickly left the room, closing the door behind her.
Floyd glanced at the cup. "Kopi Luwak. No wonder it takes ten visits to get a taste. The Xiao family's coffee is indeed extraordinary."
Luke smiled faintly. "Kopi Luwak is for first-time guests. Regulars drink tea!"
With that, he raised his black tea, clinked it in a distant gesture, and brought it to his lips, savoring it slowly.
Floyd snorted coldly and gestured to his assistant. The latter took out a document and placed it in front of Luke.
"Mr. Xiao, do you have anything to explain regarding the contents of this document?"
Luke opened the document, casually glanced at it a few times, shaking his head with a smile. After finishing, he casually tossed the document into the trash can. This action instantly infuriated Floyd.
"Luke Xiao, I'm warning you one last time. I represent not only the military but also the U.S. government. If you don't want to spend the rest of your life in prison, you'd better show me some respect."
"What if I choose not to?"
Luke put down his teacup and asked curiously, "If I don't respect you, what can you do?"
"Come on, tell me your thoughts."
"Assassination? Kidnapping? Poisoning? Framing? Or finding some trumped-up charge to send me to jail? All these methods are good. Which one do you plan to choose, or perhaps the full package?"
"You..."
Floyd's eyes widened in anger, and his temper immediately flared. But remembering the Vice President's instructions, he could only swallow his disgust, sitting in his chair, sullen and silent.
Luke shook his head with a laugh. "A few days ago, someone else came to see me with the same document you have.
Her name was Amanda Waller, and she claimed to be the head of the Eye of Heaven. You must know her, right?"
Floyd said word by word,
"She was the former head. The Eye of Heaven is under my command now."
Oh!
Luke's face showed understanding. "So, you're also one of Dick Cheney's people."
Floyd was stunned for a moment, not expecting the other party to know that the Vice President was the mastermind behind the Eye of Heaven. This was a White House secret. How did he know?
His information was off, and his expression changed.
Luke continued, "Since Vice President Cheney sent you, tell me, what conditions did he offer? How are his preparations for my demands coming along? When will I get an answer?"
Floyd: "..."
Conditions? Demands?
Seeing his bewildered expression, Luke couldn't help but frown.
"Don't tell me you don't know my demands."
Floyd: "?"
"Amanda didn't tell you?"
Floyd: "..."
Luke immediately found this amusing, scrutinizing him with a strange look, as if he were looking at a pig being played by a monkey. He raised his hand and slapped the table.
"Aunt Li!"
"Young Master, you called me."
Luke pointed to the two "bewildered brothers" on his left, saying helplessly,
"Show them out."
Aunt Li walked to the table and made a "please leave" gesture.
Floyd's face was taut, changing from white to red, red to green, and green to purple. In just a few seconds, it changed more than a dozen times. After a long while, he took a deep breath and hissed,
"I'll be back."
With that, he and his assistant left without looking back.
Not long after, Carol came to the reception room and asked curiously,
"What did you talk about?"
"Nothing at all."
Luke shook his head speechlessly. "He's an idiot... an idiot who knows nothing."
...Floyd wasn't stupid. His IQ was over 130, placing him in the upper-middle range, smarter than most people in the world. However, due to his experiences, his emotional intelligence was somewhat lacking.
After being "asked" to leave by Luke, Floyd was filled with rage. But this time, the source of his anger wasn't the Young Master Gang, but Amanda and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Both of them were privy to the negotiation process, including the demands and conditions. Yet, one chose to conceal, and the other chose to ignore, neither telling him the truth. It was because of their actions that Floyd suffered such immense humiliation.
"Amanda!"
Floyd gritted his teeth as he uttered the name. The first thing he did upon returning to the base was send people to search for her. The result: phone off, no one home, she had vanished into thin air.
Along with her disappearance were database records, key members of the Eye of Heaven, and three combat squads under its command.
"Bastard!"
Floyd kicked the wall. Only then did he realize how weak his control over the Eye of Heaven was. He had been tracked, monitored, and followed by his own people.
"Damn it! They're all bastards!"
"I'm the head appointed by the White House. How dare they treat me like this?"
Floyd roared in anger, like a furious horse-faced monkey.
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