novelhk Page 302
Page 302
"And these three..."
“A friend of Godfather Williams.”
"Okay, the Godfather is in his office on the second floor. Let me put the umbrellas away for you."
"Well, good evening, Cedric the butler."
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
......
They returned to that familiar office, but this time, they didn't climb up through the window.
A knock came at the door, and a slightly aged but still strong-willed man responded from inside...
"Please come in."
The group then opened the door and entered Godfather Williams' office. It was largely unchanged from the last time, except that the material of the windows seemed slightly different...
Behind the table, the man who was typing on the typewriter looked up, took off his glasses, wiped the lenses a few times with the white cloth, and then put them back on. Before long, he regained his usual composure.
"Good evening, Miss Lena and Miss Dean, and these three are......"
45 slightly raised her hand, introducing their "new identities" to Godfather Williams.
“Tilsana (Tilsana), General and Bodyguard; Lothric (Lothric), Advisor; Insievert Thomson, Godfather; and Miss Dean (M16), she is the second-in-command.”
This was Luo Fan's first time meeting this godfather, or rather, his first formal meeting with a member of the underworld, yet he felt no nervousness.
After all, the other party was a very good business partner, and they had a firm grip on the other party's weaknesses, so he had nothing to be afraid of...
The godfather paused for a moment, and everyone noticed that his Adam's apple bobbed unnaturally during those few seconds.
He was clearly surprised by the visitor's identity.
He picked up his coffee, took a couple of sips, and then smiled and said, "I never expected that the second-in-command of a family would come to find me in person. I am very sorry for my disrespect."
“No, it’s nothing, Godfather Williams. I value our partnership more.”
M16 shook his head, then pulled out a chair from the side, just enough for each of them to sit down.
Ti knew very well that she shouldn't say anything at this time; she should just observe and wait for Luo Fan's instructions.
But she was unaware that the current situation was one of complete dominance for them, to the point that the steel claws in her hand were already poised to pierce the throat of the aging godfather before her.
Even so, they still did not let their guard down completely. After all, the other party had been in the underworld for more than 20 years, and they didn't know if he had any tricks up his sleeve.
"So, what do you intend to talk to me about?"
He glanced at the security camera footage again, making sure his child was still safe, even though the previous footage had deceived him—it was just to reassure himself...
Luo Fan didn't hesitate and placed his briefcase and suitcase in front of the godfather.
"We'd like to discuss in-depth cooperation in the coming period..."
P.S.: I know there are many roles, and I know you're in a hurry, but please don't rush.
There's plenty of time; the sweet moments can be given slowly. This book is still a very, very long way from being finished.
442 Exchange and Cooperation
Then, as planned, number 45 opened the briefcase and suitcase.
Neatly stacked among them were brand-new banknotes and medicine boxes. Williams recognized the packaging; it was the new drug that Gray Biotechnology Co., Ltd. had launched in the past week.
“We already have a drug distribution business relationship, don’t we?” Godfather Williams said. “This seems to be no different from our normal business. How do you plan to deepen our cooperation?”
As the apparent advisor, Luo Fan was responsible for explaining the upcoming plans. After all, although Tom and 16 Pigeons were the operators of the family business, the core plans and direction were decided by Luo Fan...
He smiled, casually took out a wad of banknotes from his briefcase, counted them, and handed them to the other person.
"We hope that you can increase the fees and costs for all other drugs that want to enter the market through your channels, except for ours, which means raising the threshold price."
......
This is no small matter.
The Godfather, abandoning his usual composure, pulled himself up from the back of his chair.
"...I hope I misheard."
"No, you heard me right. Our goal is to reduce the distribution volume of all other pharmaceutical companies and then increase our market output in the short term to achieve efficient competition. Of course, our cooperation with Umbrella can continue as usual."
Lofan himself was well aware that this was undoubtedly a crazy idea, but if it was successfully implemented, it would save a lot of detours and directly become the second pharmaceutical giant after Umbrella.
"No, I'm not worried about the cooperation with Umbrella..."
The godfather loosened his bow tie and then poured the coffee back into the mug.
"Excuse my bluntness, but why do you think that if I raise the bar for other pharmaceutical companies and reduce the distribution volume, you will definitely gain an absolute advantage in market competition? What makes you stand out from other pharmaceutical companies?"
Coincidentally, they actually did have...
But Lovan didn't intend to reveal too many details: "Of course there are. I can assure you that the quality of our drugs is enough to make us the second Umbrella. And if you are worried that the implementation will reduce your income, then we will become your biggest customer and your primary source of supply. We will form our own independent supply chain. You just need to make sure that there will be no obstacles in the distribution of our drugs, and the rest is up to time. Within six months, you will see a completely different result."
Perhaps six months is the latest possible scenario. With the outbreak of a biohazard crisis, the demand for drugs will only increase. In the bidding for new drugs in the coming period, they only need to speed up their research and development and supply them in a timely manner according to market demand. Naturally, the market will choose them.
Breaking Umbrella's near-monopoly in the pharmaceutical market is only a matter of time, but by then, there will be two monopolistic giants...
When the time was right, Lovan opened a box of medicine and handed the pill, which was no more than 5 millimeters in diameter, to Williams.
"You said the last robbery was caused by your employee being bribed. We choose to believe you and are once again demonstrating our sincerity and willingness to cooperate. I hope you can live up to our expectations. In return, you will receive just as much benefit..."
......
Perhaps Williams needs to reassess these young players...
As a strategist, Lothric was skilled in rhetoric. Although the idea was crazy, the conditions he offered were tempting enough to make it a plan worth taking a gamble on.
Most importantly, even if they fail, they won't suffer any losses. After all, the initial cooperation with the other party has already made him a fortune. Even if he loses a little, it won't affect him at all. He just needs to gradually lower the threshold, and everything will return to the way it was before. At most, it will be a matter of reputation, but no one will point fingers at a godfather who has been in the business for more than 20 years.
The young women around the staff officer all looked very young, at least for their position, they were exceptionally young. If you were to ask when it would be common to see several Mafia members in their twenties or thirties, it would probably be around 1950, not to mention they were the family's godfather, second-in-command, and general, and all women...
Perhaps their relationship isn't as simple as it seems...
"Give me three days to release the news..."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Godfather Williams. The rest of the time, please leave it to Ms. Thomson."
Luo Fan didn't need to confirm whether he agreed or not, since he didn't have much of a choice anyway. And now that he had received a positive response, he could leave the rest to Tom. After all, it would be quite embarrassing for the Godfather to remain silent.
Luo Fan nodded slightly, then took out a lighter and lit a cigar for Tom Cruise beside him.
Even though there was no prior rehearsal, the actual performance was surprisingly convincing.
Williams, naturally not daring to underestimate her, spoke first: "Ms. Thomson, I have never heard of your family before, may I ask..."
Tom Cruise started acting like a big shot, taking a deep drag of his cigar, exhaling a smoke ring, before slowly opening his mouth...
“We are a family that has only recently established ourselves in New York, ‘river watchers’ on the Hudson River, but I have experience in this field, and I think Mr. Williams knows what I mean.”
Of course I understand. To become a godfather, one must have risen from the ranks of a soldier to a gangster, and his experience is certainly no less than mine. Even though he looks so young, his aura and skills are not much weaker than mine.
"As Losrick just said, this medicine and money are a small gift to you. We will need your help to establish ourselves further, and we hope you can be lenient and help us develop. In return, we will give you sufficient benefits."
Williams nodded and then poured the other person a cup of coffee.
"Of course, I think our partnership can definitely go even further. After all, Miss Dean's methods are truly swift and efficient..."
M16 simply shrugged, acting as if it had nothing to do with him.
Unless necessary, these pointless "exchanges" are utterly boring to her.
443 Threat
"She's not very talkative, so don't worry about her."
Tom Cruise smoothed things over, and Williams naturally had to give her face as well.
If she's not very talkative, then what happened when she threatened me last time...?
"It's alright. So, is there anything else we need to discuss?"
This conversation was one-sidedly disadvantageous for him; he just wanted to end it quickly so he could see his child.
Having to deal with several people who constantly have dirt on you, and none of them being kind, is incredibly torturous.
"Of course, it concerns the arrangements for subsequent operations in the quarantine zone."
This was a plan that Luo Fan had already devised on her way back to New York, but since Tom Cruise was here, it would be better to let her godfather say it.
All Luo Fan needed to do was observe and watch as Tom relayed his plan...
Upon hearing this, Williams became interested, and his deep, cloudy eyes brightened considerably.
Seeing that the other party had adjusted his state, Tom Cruise continued reading from the "script".
"Do you or any of your family members have any involvement in the gold jewelry industry or other jewelry businesses?"
“Of course.” Williams nodded. “Every family gets involved in the jewelry industry to some extent, and I’m no exception. After all, it’s a very lucrative business, and it’s generally sluggish with very few losses.”
At least in his memory, he had never heard of any family losing a lot of money in this industry. Everyone basically earned their share, behaved themselves properly, and kept to their own business.
"But what does this have to do with your actions in the quarantine zone?"
"Of course there are..."
Thomson pushed up his glasses and silently flicked the ash from his cigar into the ashtray on the table.
Her rather aggressive smile slowly appeared, making Williams feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Since you have connections in the National Guard and can get us in, surely arranging a few contacts under the wall shouldn't be a problem, right?"
He considered it carefully for a few seconds, and after confirming that there were no immediate problems, said, "Of course, what are your plans, ma'am?"
And that's the key arrangement for the next step...
Thomson tossed aside his cigar, sat up from his chair, and his pearly white teeth were on full display in his smile.
“After our people go in, they will find an opportunity to retrieve the items from those jewelry stores, then contact your contact person to have your people take these jewelry items out, clean them to remove any issues about their origin, and then resell them with new labels.”
"Sounds good, but how is this any different from selling regular jewelry?"
Williams frowned slightly, becoming skeptical of this seemingly unremarkable plan.
"Of course, we'll prioritize gold jewelry, since it's a hard currency that won't depreciate. If we're lucky, we might even find some high-purity gold in some shops that hasn't been refined yet. If we find that, we'll be rich. Then we'll move on to other jewelry."
The woman seemed unaware that her smile was somewhat aggressive; she simply crossed her arms in front of her and continued...
"In addition, it's not just gold jewelry, there are other things too. We just need to take them out, put a label on them, and say that they are good stuff brought out from the quarantine zone. Then we can raise the price and resell them for a profit. We can even record the whole operation with a camera to prove its authenticity. In any case, as long as the label is put on, there will definitely be people who will buy it. After all, these high-end luxury goods have no shortage of market."
"We cannot disclose our plans for the future at this time, but we can tell you that stockpiling gold in advance will come in very handy if something happens in the future."
Indeed, the biggest advantage of gold is that it is a hard currency and will not depreciate. No matter what, as long as you hoard it, it is money. Even if an economic crisis occurs, you can rely on gold to keep going.
Wait, does making them hoard gold in advance mean they have even more dangerous plans in the future?
......
Indeed, that was the case. Luo Fan's plan was not just about making money. After all, the trouble he was going to cause in the future would only get bigger and bigger. Telling the other party to hoard gold in advance was just a piece of advice given out of consideration for their partnership.
No one can guess what his plan is; they can only speculate from snippets of information. His plan will bring great risks to the White Eagle...
But they're the mafia; making money is their top priority.
"Hmm, that's a good plan. Are you all ready?"
Williams agreed, after all, it would be good to ease his relationship with these threatening people, not to mention that he could also make a profit together.
This is a win-win situation, both in terms of the partnership and the benefits.
Thomson was naturally very satisfied with the other party's performance and continued, "Of course, as long as we go in, you should have your men on standby at any time, waiting for our signal. When the time comes, we will bring the goods out, and your men can then take them out."
Even now, she still has that smile on her face, and if you disregard the effect of that smile, she seems to be trying to express goodwill to the other person.
"But I must warn you in advance..."
His tone shifted abruptly, his smile turning icy, and the threat in his words sent a chill down Williams' spine.
"Be careful, keep your men in check, don't let them have any other ideas. We could forgive them last time, but if it happens again, we should consider whether they've truly been bribed by Umbrella, or if this is just an excuse you made up to protect yourself..."
Thomson already had similar experiences, and she was even more furious after learning from the documents provided by 45 that they had been betrayed during the handover.
As a member of the family, what I hate most is being betrayed by a business partner...
Now, she chooses to respect Luo Fan's wishes and give him another chance, but there will be no next time.
Believing no one was watching, Williams swallowed hard, then said in a low voice, "This time I'll use people I trust, including my confidants. I'll make sure there won't be a next time."