Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 160

Angel City (1)

Ten huge GMC SUVs were parked outside the airport, each with two or three burly, menacing-looking Russians standing in front. Marry was probably trying to save face and show her determination by making such a grand display.

Hou Longtao got into a car. “Take me to that store now.”

“No need. I’ve already brought the shop owner here,” Marry said, tapping the driver’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Nearby, in an SBC [Southern Broadcasting Corporation] company maintenance vehicle, several workers were monitoring the situation on a computer screen.

After about half an hour, the convoy stopped in front of a mansion in Beverly Hills. The huge courtyard was scattered with armed bodyguards.

Marry led Hou Longtao and the Xingyue sisters into a meeting room on the first floor and turned on the TV. “This is the security footage from that store. This is the person who used your brother’s credit card.”

The screen showed a convenience store, like a 7-Eleven. A man wearing a baseball cap was taking a pack of cigarettes from the clerk, but his face wasn’t visible.

Three bodyguards brought an old and a young Indian or Pakistani man into the room. “Marry, these are the people you wanted.”

“Did you see this person clearly?” Hou Longtao pointed to the TV.

The old man squinted at the time in the upper right corner of the screen. “I wasn’t there at that time.”

“What about you?”

“Yes… I sold the cigarettes to that person.” The younger one was a little nervous, which was normal. Being held by several Russians with weapons would make anyone nervous, even if they were just asking questions and wouldn’t hurt them.

“Did you see his face clearly?”

“Ah… yes, I saw it clearly.”

“Is it the person on the right?” Hou Longtao took out a photo of himself and Long from his suit pocket.

“Um…”

“Look carefully.”

“Yes, um… maybe, I can’t be sure, probably.”

“Didn’t you say you saw him clearly?” Hou Longtao was getting a little annoyed.

“Definitely a Chinese person, no, no, maybe a Japanese or Korean.”

“What?” Hou Longtao took a step forward.

“Ah… you… you all look the same.”

“Fuck you!” Hou Longtao kicked the man in the stomach. “You damn Indian!”

“Brother Tao,” the Xingyue sisters said, pulling the man back.

“Give them some money and let them go,” Marry instructed the bodyguards.

“Where is their store located?”

“Near Chinatown.”

“Damn it.” Hou Longtao sat on the sofa, pressing his left hand to his forehead, looking very frustrated. He hadn’t really expected to get useful clues so quickly, but the reality was still hard to accept.

The Xingyue sisters sat next to the man, whispering in his ear, “Brother Tao, don’t worry. We will definitely find Long.”

“Yeah.” Hou Longtao patted his beloved wives’ thighs. “Marry, can you help me contact the Chinese community in Chinatown?”

“We have the ability to help you find your brother,” Marry said, with a hint of resistance in her voice.

“You misunderstand. It’s not that I don’t trust your abilities, but he’s my brother. If possible, I want everyone in the world to help me find him. His credit card was used in Chinatown, which is the territory of the Chinese community. If you guys go poking around, it will easily cause unnecessary trouble. I’m not saying you’re afraid of trouble, but I need you to focus on finding him. If I really didn’t trust you, I would have called the police already, wouldn’t I?” Hou Longtao wasn’t really unable to call the police, but if he did, it would definitely show a lack of trust in the Russian mafia, and they would probably quit. Weighing the pros and cons, he chose the all-out Russians over the potentially half-hearted American police.

“Okay, I’ll arrange it for you.” Marry came over and kissed the man…

The next day at noon, Hou Longtao and the Xingyue sisters, accompanied by Marry and a group of bodyguards, arrived at the top floor of a three-story parking lot near Chinatown.

After a few minutes, a large Mercedes drove up, and the driver got out and opened the door.

“Go ahead,” Marry kissed Hou Longtao. “Call my cell phone if anything happens.”

“Don’t worry.” Hou Longtao and the Xingyue sisters got into the Mercedes.

The Mercedes drove three blocks and stopped in front of a quaint Chinese restaurant.

Hou Longtao followed several Chinese bodyguards to the second floor of the restaurant. As soon as he reached the top of the stairs, he suddenly stopped. A faint fragrance wafted into his nose, a fragrance he could never forget, but it was only faint and unreal.

“What’s wrong?” Zhiji came up from behind and tugged at the man, who was looking around.

“Did you smell that?”

“What?”

Hou Longtao took another deep breath, but there was no special smell. Maybe it was his imagination. “It’s nothing.”

“Please come in.” The bodyguard opened the door to a private room.

The round table in the room was filled with dim sum. Several men in their fifties and sixties were chatting there. When they saw Hou Longtao and his group, they stopped talking. “Please sit down.”

Neither side needed any introductions. Marry had already told Hou Longtao about the people attending today. The person in charge was the white-haired old man in the middle, named Tang Heshan. He was the head of the Dragon Tiger Gang, the largest Chinese organization in Southern California. The others were his old partners who had fought alongside him.

The Dragon Tiger Gang had also learned about Hou Longtao.

“What brings Mr. Hou here?” Another old man next to Tang Heshan spoke first. The boss, of course, couldn’t speak right away.

“Call me Longtao. Regardless of whether you are my seniors, you are all my elders.” Hou Longtao was best at expressing his feelings with his face. He looked very humble now, even his eyes were.

“Okay,” the old man nodded. This young man had the manners a young man should have. “Longtao, what do you need us old guys to help with?”

“I won’t beat around the bush,” Hou Longtao put the photos of Long and Tina on the turntable [a rotating serving tray]. “This is my brother…” He explained his purpose.

“If you want to find someone, you should hire a private detective or go to the police. We don’t do that kind of business. Besides, you’re with the Russian mafia, and we have nothing to do with them.”

Hou Longtao understood that the other party really had no reason to help him. “Chinatown is your territory. Whether out of respect or necessity, I can only ask you for help. If you are willing to help me, whether you find my brother or not, I will be grateful. If you can find my brother, I am willing to treat it as a business. Why not make some money?”

“I’ll say it again, we are the Dragon Tiger Gang, not a private detective agency.”

Hou Longtao held up one finger. “If I wasn’t afraid of making the kidnappers desperate, I would have spread the word already, but I’m only telling you. Ten million, US dollars. If you can help me find him, ten million.”

“Your own brother?” Tang Heshan finally spoke. He already knew that Long and Hou Longtao weren’t biological brothers, but he couldn’t help asking.

“My own brother.”

“We don’t promise anything.”

“I understand.”

“Then please leave.”

“Thank you, everyone.” Hou Longtao stood up and nodded respectfully, leading the twin beauties away.

As soon as the three of them left the restaurant, a blue Ford sedan swerved in front of the Mercedes. Two white men in suits got out of the car and flashed their badges. “I’m FBI Agent Glen, this is Agent Long. Are you Mr. Hou Longtao?”

“I am.”

“Please come back to the station with us to assist in the investigation.”

“Assist in the investigation?” Hou Longtao frowned. “About what?”

“Organized crime. Please.”

“Am I under arrest?”

“Of course not,” the agent knew what the other party meant by asking that. “But we strongly suggest you come back with us.”

“How strongly do you suggest it?”

“Mr. Hou, you’re here in the United States to handle your company’s listing, right? If the media finds out you have legal problems…”

“What problems?”

“We’ll have to talk about that at the station.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Of course not, just a strong suggestion.”

“What happened?” The old man who had been talking to Hou Longtao earlier came out, because someone had told him what was happening outside.

“None of your business.” Glen held his hand in front of the old man’s face. “Mr. Hou, are you coming with us?”

“Fine, I’ll go see what the interrogation room of the American police station is like.”

“We’ll go with him.” The Xingyue sisters stepped forward together.

The two policemen exchanged glances. Long shrugged. “Suit yourselves.”

Hou Longtao nodded to the old man and got into the police car…

“Sit down,” Long led Hou Longtao into an interrogation room at the FBI’s Los Angeles branch. His tone wasn’t aggressive. “Why did you come to Los Angeles?”

“You haven’t told me what case you want me to assist in investigating.”

“I’m asking you the questions now.”

“I used to study in Los Angeles. I came back to see it while I was in the United States. Just a trip.”

“It’s not that simple, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

Long opened the file and threw a dozen large photos in front of Hou Longtao. They were of him at the airport when he first arrived in Los Angeles.

Hou Longtao picked up a photo, looked at it, and threw it back on the table. “So?”

Long moved to Hou Longtao’s side, pointing to Marry in the photo. “Who is this woman?”

“Are you asking the obvious?”

“Bang,” Long slammed his hands heavily on the iron table. “Hou Longtao, watch your attitude. You’re in a lot of trouble. I advise you to cooperate with us honestly.”

Hou Longtao stared at the FBI agent in front of him strangely. “You should be the one with a better attitude. I’m a Chinese citizen here to assist you in your investigation. Why are you yelling at me?”

“There’s no need to be so hostile,” Glen walked in, handing Hou Longtao a coffee. “We’re just chatting. Is this woman your employer?”

“You’re mistaken. I do not work for her. I just fuck her.”

“Hahaha, is she your girlfriend?”

“I’m not her boyfriend, I just fuck her.”

“You must know what she does, right?”

“What do you want from me?” Hou Longtao was getting impatient.

“We’ve checked your records. Your background is very clean.”

“I’m also a billionaire.”

“Right, but American law doesn’t give the green light to rich people.”

“Hahaha,” Hou Longtao almost sprayed his snot out. “I know that most Chinese immigrants and tourists have a mindset of trying to avoid trouble and being tolerant, so when the American police cause trouble, they will cooperate unconditionally, even if they are treated unfairly, they won’t say a word. But you’ve come to the wrong person. If you don’t immediately tell me why you brought me here, I’m leaving.”

“Don’t be arrogant,” Long jumped up again. “We have the right to detain you for forty-eight hours for questioning.”

“Questioning for what?” Hou Longtao also stood up. “That’s what I’m asking now. If you don’t know, where do you get the right to detain me?”

“Everyone, don’t get so heated, calm down.” Glen patted Hou Longtao on the shoulder, offering him a cigarette. He was playing the Good Cop Bad Cop routine perfectly. “This Marry is the daughter of Chelyokov, and also Chelyokov’s agent in the United States. Don’t let her young age and beauty fool you, she’s a complete she-devil.”

“Who gives a flying ass?”

“Mr. Hou, being involved with these people is very bad for your social image.”

“As far as I know, Chelyokov is a legitimate businessman who runs an import and export business. His daughter is the president of the American branch. We have normal business dealings. Um,” Hou Longtao gathered his energy. He really didn’t want to waste time talking nonsense with these FBI agents. “Are American police always so inefficient? My time is very valuable. Do you have any substantial questions to ask?”

“We hope you can cooperate with us.”

“What the…” Hou Longtao frowned, looking at the other party in disbelief. “You’re just asking me like this? You’re just directly asking me like this? You want me to be an undercover agent for you? Are you stupid or am I stupid?”

The door to the interrogation room opened, and an older black detective led two white men in. The Xingyue sisters were outside the door.

“We are Mr. Hou Longtao’s lawyers,” one of the white men spoke first.

“Both of you?”

“Both of us,” the black detective nodded. “Different employers, just came in one after another.”

“Perfect timing,” Hou Longtao stood up, putting out his cigarette. “I have nothing else to say, so take me away.” He turned to look at Glen. “No problem, right?”

Neither detective spoke, obviously not happy.

Hou Longtao straightened his suit and swaggered out…

“I told you, bringing him here would only stir up the grass and serve no other purpose.” Glen threw the file on the conference room table.

“Keep an eye on him,” the black officer tapped Hou Longtao’s photo. “He’s our only possible breakthrough.”

Several more agents walked into the conference room, apparently to hold a case analysis meeting.

“Let’s begin,” the black detective straightened his clothes. “Our team has been assigned to investigate the Chelyokov family for over three years, and not only have we made no progress, but we’ve also lost three members. I know that as the leader of the task force, I shouldn’t say things that shirk responsibility, but the fact is that our opponents are too cunning and haven’t left us any clues. I have no reason to believe that this situation will change in the future.”

A room full of men and women lowered their heads, silent. This topic was really heavy.

“The Russian mafia we’re facing is an impenetrable organization, and it may even have the support of the Russian government. We don’t even have a chance to infiltrate it, but now, a possible breakthrough has finally appeared.” The black detective pointed to Hou Longtao’s photo. “Judging from Marry’s attention to this Chinese man, he is very likely to have contacted the core of the Chelyokov family and has a relatively clear understanding of the Chelyokov family’s criminal activities. Although we don’t really know everything about him, we can say that he is the weakest link.”

“Hou Longtao has billions of dollars in business with the Chelyokov family, of course Marry will value him. That doesn’t prove he knows any important information,” an agent offered a different opinion.

“You have a point, but what about today? He represented the Chelyokov family to meet with the Dragon Tiger Gang. Tell me, what conflicts or common interests do the Chelyokov family and the Dragon Tiger Gang have?”

“Drugs.”

“There you go. According to reliable information just received, the Dragon Tiger Gang accepted a ten million dollar deal from Hou Longtao. Ten million dollars. If it’s drugs, everyone involved will get life in prison. If it’s not drugs, what else could be worth ten million dollars?”

A room full of people began to nod.

“Marry certainly knows we’re watching her, but she blatantly let Hou Longtao help her contact them. Why? Because she’s confident, she doesn’t take us seriously, she thinks her plan is foolproof. We brought Hou Longtao here today, not really expecting to get anything from him, but to disrupt Marry’s plan. No one knows what we said to Hou Longtao. If Marry had absolute trust in him before, that trust is no longer possible. Hou Longtao won’t be oblivious either. He’s not stupid, he knows what the consequences of losing the Russian mafia’s trust in the drug business would be. Next, it’s up to our skills. His business is very successful, which is a great condition for us to win him over.”

Glen shook his head in confusion. “Why would Marry want him to be the middleman? He has such a big business, why would he get involved in drugs?”

“Um, I’ll put it simply,” the black detective patted his chest confidently. “I’ve studied Chinese culture, Chinese ideology, and Chinese social reality for many years. I can be considered a China expert. Chinese people are not only cunning, but also suspicious. They don’t trust people of other races. If Marry covets the Chinatown drug market and wants to get a piece of the pie, she must find a Chinese person to contact the Dragon Tiger Gang. But the Dragon Tiger Gang isn’t a supermarket, where anyone can see the manager. Hou Longtao, a businessman with a clean background, is the best candidate. Moreover, it’s safer to find him. Hou Longtao is a Chinese citizen. He doesn’t participate in formal transactions, he’s only responsible for connecting the two sides and passing messages. After his company goes public, he will leave the United States, and the police won’t be able to find him anymore.”

“But why would he do this?”

“There could be many reasons. Chinese people are greedy and lustful, and they are relatively easy to bribe. I forgot to mention that just now? Have you guys seen Marry? Hou Longtao himself said that he fucked Marry. If Marry uses herself as bait for a honey trap [a deceptive tactic using sexual allure], I believe not many people can resist, right? Or use money to buy him off, or threaten to terminate their billions of dollars in business, or simply use violence to force him. In short, there are too many possible reasons.”

“So what do we do next?”

“Keep a close eye on him. Even if he changes lanes without signaling, you have to record it, harass him, and force him to submit.” The black detective slammed his fist on Hou Longtao’s photo…

Hou Longtao was half-reclined in the back seat of the large SUV, reaching into Marry’s shirt, kneading her breasts, and holding her head with his right hand, pressing it towards his crotch. “Um… harder.”

“What did the FBI want?” Marry held the man’s huge dragon root [slang for penis] and licked it fiercely. The power contained there could make all women’s bones and muscles soften.

“Nothing specific,” Hou Longtao pressed the woman’s hard nipples into her soft breasts. “They just asked about my relationship with you and wanted me to cooperate with them.”

“Cooperate? Cooperate with what?” Marry muttered, putting a condom on the fiery penis in front of her.

Hou Longtao grabbed the woman’s buttocks and pulled her body upright. “Maybe they want you to suspect me.”

“Suspect you? You don’t know anything, what do I have to suspect?” Marry took a deep breath, her face with a peach-colored sweet expression, slowly sat down, let the big meat stick slowly fill her, inserted into her abdomen deep, “Ah…Darling…”

“Maybe they think I know something, or maybe they’re just stupid,” Hou Longtao sucked on the blonde beauty’s delicate breast, lifted her skirt, and grabbed her white buttocks with both hands, starting to lift and press her buttocks…

“Okay, thank you.” Tang Heshan put away his cell phone. “Lao Liu called. The lawyer he found said Hou Longtao has left the FBI and there’s nothing wrong.” His second sentence was to a short-haired Chinese beauty next to him.

“Is that so?” The woman looked indifferently at the scenery speeding past the car window. “That’s good. Are you planning to help him?”

“Why are you concerned about this? Aren’t you unwilling to participate in gang affairs?”

“Just asking.”

“Come back and help Dad, what’s so good about being a reporter?”

“Hmph,” the beauty smiled, revealing two cute dimples. “We’ll see. Are you going to help him?”

“Do you want me to help him?”

“It’s nothing to do with me.”

“A ten million dollar reward is attractive to anyone. I’ll arrange for a few people to go.”

“A few people?”

“Yeah, the problem with the San Kou Association hasn’t been resolved yet, so we can’t spread too much force.”

“Oh.”

“Stop talking about him, did you have fun in Italy this time?”

“It wasn’t fun, it was business.”

“Hehe, being a reporter means you have the opportunity to travel everywhere, to Japan and Europe.”

“That’s work.” The beauty smiled faintly again…