American Tax Officer

"Stop your work and come with me to Los Angeles, Brod."

Elvis felt that since David had said there would be benefits for him, it was probably not a trick to deceive him into going there, so it might be better to just go and listen to what was on offer.

The distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles is about 600 kilometers and the American aviation industry is highly developed. After boarding the fastest flight, it only took 2 hours before they landed at Ontario International Airport.

As soon as they got off the plane, the three of them took a taxi and arrived at the Western Suburb Branch 15 minutes later.

"I was notified by your director to come here. My name is Elvis; could you please let them know I've arrived?"

"Sure, sir, please wait... Follow me."

After the receptionist at the lobby made a phone call to confirm, she immediately took Elvis and the others on the elevator up to the director's office, knocked on the door, and they entered.

"Director Elvis, Jerome, Agent Brod, welcome to my Western Suburb Branch," he greeted.

As soon as David saw them enter, he personally stood up to receive them.

Elvis was unaffected, but Brod and Jerome, possibly due to the lessons of the past, still showed a trace of dread in their eyes upon seeing David.

"It's only been a few months since we last saw each other, David, and you've somehow risen from Chief Tax Officer to Los Angeles district director. It truly is remarkable," Elvis couldn't help but remark again.

Even in front of David, Elvis had to express his admiration one more time.

The CIA and the Tax Office used to have similar promotion patterns until the enactment of the Black Tax Law broke the traditional promotion model of the Tax Office.

But on the other hand, it took him 20 years to rise from a trainee agent in the CIA to become the Station Chief of Bear Country.

Now David, having outpaced his achievements of 20 years in just a few months, would naturally generate feelings of awe in anyone.

David waved his hand and replied, "I'm just benefiting from the updraft of the Black Tax Law."

"Let's leave that topic, was what you said on the phone serious?"

"Of course."

"Let's hear the details."

"Your CIA has deployed many spies in Bear Country, but to my knowledge, the Federal Security Service of Bear Country has planted quite a few spies here as well, haven't they?"

Rodrigozki was currently in Bear Country, and no matter how powerful David and the Tax Office were, they couldn't possibly go to Bear Country to apprehend him.

Therefore, the only solution was to get the officials in Bear Country to take action and capture him to be handed over to them.

David's idea was simple: to arrest a batch of Bear Country spies and use them in an exchange.

Firstly, spies placed by Bear Country in America must be the elite of the elite from the Bear Country Federal Security Service, the cream of the crop.

As for Rodrigozki, to put it plainly, he was just a drug trafficker, an expendable figure for the Bear Country officials, or more severely, he could even be seen as a tumor.

So, if David's plan really worked, capturing a group of spies and proposing an exchange, Bear Country officials would certainly agree.

After all, would the Bear Country officials be fools, not knowing how to choose between their painstakingly trained elite spies and a drug trafficker of no significance to the country?

However, all this required the cooperation of the CIA, and that's why he urgently called for Elvis.

"Yes, even though Bear Country isn't as strong as it was before its dissolution, the Federal Security Service, being the successor to the KGB, is not much weaker than our CIA, so their spies have significantly infiltrated our nation."

"What if I help you catch a batch of them?"

David was aware of the CIA's near-total loss at Bear Country Station, and he could infer from Elvis's tone during their previous call that Elvis had not yet found an opportunity for revenge.

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But this is not the most important thing.

The most important thing is that as the Station Chief of Bear Country, Elvis must take responsibility for such a significant incident.

Furthermore, if we could catch a group of Bear Country spies on our turf, it would not only avenge the Bear Country Station but also give the higher-ups an account with merits offsetting past faults.

Therefore, David was certain that Elvis would definitely agree to the cooperation.

"You want to help me catch a group of people?"

Elvis, upon hearing this, was somewhat displeased. Capturing spies was the responsibility of the CIA and the FBI, not the internal revenue service, which was supposed to focus on tax collection.

Now David was offering to help catch people, which not only seemed like overreaching but also indirectly questioned the competence of the CIA.

"Don't misunderstand, Director Elvis, I'm not trying to interfere with your work or blame you for any inadequacies. I believe you're aware of the Rodrigozki case; I need some leverage to discuss an exchange with Bear Country officials."

David noticed the dissatisfaction from the other party and immediately explained himself.

Hearing this, Elvis finally understood David's intention.

He thought to himself that it was odd how David had approached him offering benefits out of the blue, but now it was clear that this was the real purpose.

Using spies as leverage for exchanging Rodrigozki was indeed a good strategy.

But then again, David was known for being skilled in tax collection, not capturing spies. What made him think that he could be successful in this venture?

With this thought, Elvis, full of skepticism, said, "Director David, you should be very aware that the working methods and expertise of the national tax agency are entirely different from ours at the CIA. Are you so confident that you can be of help to us?"

David detected the skepticism in his reply but did not get angry and instead responded with a smile, "While our working methods and expertise might differ, one thing is the same: we both find people. Director Elvis, do you really think the national tax agency has never gone after spies to collect taxes? I believe Agents Brod and Jerome are well aware of this!"

Elvis was taken aback and immediately turned to look at the two people behind him, and Brod immediately whispered, "The 'Canary' incident..."

Upon hearing this, Elvis suddenly realized the situation.

The reason his two subordinates had been detained by David was that they had been trying to coerce the identity of the spy codenamed 'Canary'.

That spy was not only responsible for the Bear Country Station's severe losses but was also the target they had been desperately trying to capture.

Realizing this, Elvis immediately said, "Director David, if you're willing to give me this person's information, then I will put forth my greatest effort to help you..."

"Wait a moment..."

David cut him off directly, saying, "Director Elvis, first you need to understand something, I called you to discuss cooperation, not for you to help me. Secondly, since this individual has paid taxes and become a taxpayer with our national tax agency, we cannot disclose their information as it would violate the Black Tax Act."

Elvis's face fell, obviously dissatisfied with the response.

"Director Elvis, we can't disclose her information, but you don't need to fixate on her. As I said before, we'll help you catch a group of spies. The merit you could gain from that might not be much less than capturing her."

If it had been earlier, Elvis would still have continued to question. But realizing that David could dig up someone as well-hidden as the Canary, perhaps he could reveal other spies as well.

Due to the Bear Country Station incident, although he was given a chance to redeem himself, there wasn't much time left.

Either he had to catch the Canary or make some other significant contribution; otherwise, dismissal was certain.

Now, if he could reach an agreement with David, it seemed like a no-lose situation for him.

Considering this, Elvis replied, "I'm trying to catch spies to earn a merit, and you want the spies as a bargaining chip to negotiate an exchange with Bear Country for Rodrigozki. It seems there's a conflict there."

"It's simple; of the people we catch, we can split them down the middle. You take your share to your superiors for credit, and I'll take mine to negotiate with Bear Country. How's that?"

Elvis thought for a moment, then said, "That could be workable, but is there anything else you'd need from us at the CIA?"

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