Chapter 32 Commission
Bang, bang, bang—
There were knocks on the door of the reception room.
Luo Shan looked up from chewing bread, a hint of embarrassment on her face. "Could it be the captain coming back? No, if it was him, he wouldn't knock on the door."
She looked at the touched lunch in front of Angel, blinked, and muttered as if to convince herself.
"Come in, the door is unlocked." Klein put down his fork and responded to the knock on the door.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and a gorgeously dressed woman walked in. Along with her came a soft female voice: "Excuse me, is this the Blackthorn Security Company?"
Seeing three people sitting around a table in the reception room with half-eaten lunches in front of them, a trace of guilt crossed her slightly plump face. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt your meal?"
You've disturbed me... Angel said secretly. She put the bread she hadn't eaten yet back into the lunch box, wiped her hands with a napkin, and changed her sitting position on the sofa, facing the lady at the door.
"This is Blackthorn Security Company. What can I do for you?"
Hearing the affirmative answer, the lady breathed a sigh of relief and put on a smile again on her face: "I have a commission. I would like to ask you to find a lost item."
Entrust?
When Angel heard her words, his first reaction was to find it a little funny. The Night Watchmen were an extraordinary armed force of the church, under the jurisdiction of the church, and usually accepted commissions from local police agencies, but they were not a civilian organization like a private detective agency or a mercenary gang. This lady might have come to the wrong place.
But she immediately realized that the other party was most likely coming for the "Blackthorn Security Company" brand.
Seeing the expectation in the lady's eyes, Angel did not respond, but turned his gaze to Luo Shan, wanting to see how the "security company" would deal with such an accidental client.
Luo Shan had already stopped eating when the visitor pushed open the door and entered the reception room. She didn't panic when she heard the commission had come in. Instead, she replied in a businesslike tone, "The fee for finding lost items varies depending on the difficulty and the required timeframe. We require detailed information about the item. If it's stolen, we also need the time and location of the loss. The more detailed the information, the greater the chance of finding it."
"The commission fee for lost and found items requires a 20% advance payment, and the balance will be paid upon successful discovery. However, we cannot guarantee that the item will be found. If the commission cannot be completed, only half of the advance payment will be refunded."
That is to say, regardless of whether the lost item is found or not, the client must pay at least 10% of the commission fee... Angel listened to this slightly harsh request and moved his eyes to the lady, but saw that she not only did not show any dissatisfaction, but a smile appeared on her face.
"That's a very reasonable request. Can you take the commission now? I can sign the contract immediately."
Luo Shan seemed caught off guard by the other party's straightforwardness, and her expression froze for a moment. However, her professionalism took over, allowing her to quickly adjust. "Please wait a moment while I draft a contract. You can discuss this with our security personnel here first."
She reluctantly left her lunch and quickly walked around the partition at the back of the reception room. Then she heard the crisp sound of a typewriter.
The lady came to the sofa that originally belonged to Brett and sat down gracefully, looking at Angel and Klein, as if evaluating who was the leader between the two.
Klein took the initiative to ask, "What's your name? What kind of item are you looking for?"
The lady answered quickly, as if she had already prepared a response. "Just call me Mrs. Green. I'm looking for a gold ring. It originally belonged to my husband, but it was stolen a week ago. This ring is very important to me, and I hope you can find it as soon as possible."
"Well, the gold ring... was stolen a week ago..." Klein nodded and repeated the key points of Mrs. Green's words. "What other characteristics does the ring have? If it's convenient, it would be best if you could explain its significance in detail so we can analyze its possible whereabouts."
"The ring isn't pure gold; it's harder than other gold rings. It's about this wide in diameter, flat on one side, with the word 'Green' embossed on it." Mrs. Green gestured to the size of the famous ring. "No need to analyze it. I know where it is. Just help me find it."
Listening to Mrs. Green's description, Angel's mind gradually formed the shape of the ring. It looked very much like a ring-shaped seal. But after hearing the last sentence, she couldn't help but interrupt:
"You know where it is? Then why do we need to look for it?"
Mrs. Green pulled a folded paper from her handbag and handed it to Angel. "This is the report the private detective I hired gave me yesterday. He has found the whereabouts of the ring."
Angel took it, unfolded the thin paper, and spread it flat on the coffee table. Klein also came over and looked at it curiously.
This is an investigative report issued by the "Jules Detective Agency", which describes in detail how they investigated more than a dozen witnesses and suspicious persons within three days, identified the suspect of burglary, and then determined the method of selling the stolen goods based on the suspect's confession.
Angel frowned when he saw the last part of the report: "Location of stolen goods: Dockside Labor Mutual Aid Association", "Average time to sell stolen goods: ten days", and the red note "Suspected to be a gang organization".
She raised her head, looked at Mrs. Green with expectant eyes, and asked:
"Since we've already found the suspect and the whereabouts of the items, why not just call the police? I think the Tingen City police would welcome a case like this with clear evidence."
"The police won't care. These gangs have been around for so many years, don't you think they'd be unaware of this?" Mrs. Green clearly had a deep prejudice against the police. Then she changed her tone and said, "Besides, I don't want the police involved. They always act in a high-profile and inefficient way, yet they still cause a stir."
"Originally, I wanted to have Detective Jules retrieve the ring, either by stealing it or negotiating with them to buy it back. But he refused to continue after this stage of the investigation, even my offer of an increase in compensation was of no use."
It makes sense. Since this so-called "Labor Mutual Aid Association" has a gangster background, the private detective must not want to get into trouble. Investigating and collecting evidence is one thing, and direct contact or even stealing things is another. The difficulty and risk of the latter are far greater than the few gold pounds that can be obtained.
The same was true for the "Blackthorn Security Company". When Mrs. Green first spoke, Angel thought the task was to find clues to stolen items, check suspicious persons and the like. Unexpectedly, these things had already been done by "Detective Jules", and the remaining step was the most troublesome one.
From Cole Granger's memories, he learned that while Tingen City didn't have the overt gangs of major cities like Backlund, various "mutual aid societies" and "industry associations" had monopolies or semi-monopolies on certain industries and low-end labor, forming quasi-gangster organizations that were legal on the surface but actually engaged in various underworld businesses. They usually collected membership fees, took commissions, organized labor services, upheld industry codes, and even provided security. When they encountered illegal businesses with high profits, they would pounce on them without hesitation and take a big bite.
The lack of police force has caused the Tingen City police to turn a blind eye to this gray area. As long as no one is killed and no high-ranking officials are implicated, they will not bother to deal with this mess.
Seeing Angel's hesitation, Mrs. Green said anxiously, "I know this last step is a little difficult. How about this? I can double the commission amount to one hundred pounds, as long as you find a way to get the ring back."
One hundred pounds—that's almost two years' salary for an average person... Even if the ring were pure gold and diamond-studded, it wouldn't be worth that much, let alone an impure gold ring. It could only have other value, like a seal, and Mrs. Green desperately needed it. Otherwise, the loss would be far greater than the one hundred pounds.
Angel did not rush to answer Mrs. Green, but scanned the information in front of him again and again, analyzing the feasibility of this commission.
"That's a very high commission. How did you find us? Were the detectives referring you?"
Klein asked from the side.
Mrs. Green gave an awkward smile and answered hesitantly, "Actually... Detective Jules did recommend several security companies. He believes that missions involving mafia organizations are more appropriately entrusted to capable security organizations."
Judging from her vague answer, I'm afraid the detective's recommendation did not include this place. Is it that the operation of "Blackthorn Security Company" is too unsuccessful, or is it too successful in hiding?
"But those security companies are completely out of manpower to take on this kind of mission. There have been several serious crimes recently, including murders and disappearances. The wealthy people in Tingen City have hired out all the private detectives and security personnel. I came to you with the mentality of giving it a try."
No wonder the lady accepted the harsh demands without hesitation when she heard that Luo Shan was willing to take on the commission, agreed to sign the contract immediately, and even raised the price on the spot.
Unfortunately, the hundred pounds wasn't so easy to earn. It might have been fine if it was just to find a lost cat or dog, but a commission like this, where the stolen goods were already in the gang's pocket, could easily lead to disputes and even deaths. Angel wasn't sure what Captain Dunn, or the Nighthawks, thought of such a high-risk commission, so he didn't dare to agree rashly.
"Mrs. Green, we have accepted your commission. Miss Luo Shan will bring out the contract later. The commission will take effect after you sign and pay the advance."
Um?
Angel looked at Klein in surprise. The latter had stretched out his left arm at some point, holding a silver chain with a yellow crystal tied to the end.
"If your information is correct, you should be able to get the ring tomorrow."
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