Chapter 839 The Traitor on the Ship
The American side is actually quite magical.
Chinese public intellectuals constantly exaggerate the integrity of American civil servants. They're not wrong, as the US nominally has a very strict set of anti-corruption laws. As Mattis said, the annual gift limit is $50. This means Xiao Peng could be arrested and investigated just for treating Mattis to a meal.
So are American civil servants really that honest? Those who believe it are naive. Their corruption is carried out openly in broad daylight. And they use more than one method.
Just like the "training fees" and "speech fees" that Xiao Peng gave to Director Huber of the French RDSD, this method is the most common. In addition, there are the so-called "political donations" from politicians: those politicians will collect political donations from various sources before the election, saying that they "represent the will of the people." In fact, less than 20% of the "political donations" come from the voters, and most of the "political donations" come from the rich. The so-called election is actually a "rich man's game."
In addition, there is a magical profession in the United States, which is the "lobbying system" that Chinese public intellectuals highly praise. There are a large number of professional lobbyists in the United States. Their job is to present their views to lawmakers and officials, hoping that these views will be accepted and implemented.
Moreover, these professional lobbyists are also different and can be roughly divided into three types. One is various associations such as the Farmers Association, the Manufacturing Association, the Gun Association, etc., which directly express the interests of members in the form of associations; the other is those public relations companies, law firms, and lobbying companies; the third is those so-called "independent think tanks."
But no matter which type, their characteristics are the same: they take money to do things, and they speak for whoever pays them. In simple terms, each interest group pays people to do things for them in order to benefit themselves.
The most famous is K Street north of the White House, which is simply the center of international politics. The street is full of lobbying groups, think tanks, public relations companies, non-governmental organizations... To put it bluntly, they are all professional lobbyists who specialize in lobbying.
These professional lobbyists come from prominent backgrounds, almost all of them politicians. Many high-ranking officials take up this kind of work after leaving government. Even Trump, known as the "worst Secretary of State in history," joined such a firm after leaving the White House and began his career as a professional lobbyist.
Despite the strict laws governing civil servants in the US, campaign spending and financing are not considered corruption. Dispute donations are a form of free speech, and lobbying itself is not considered corruption. Furthermore, there's no cap on lobbying spending. This is why officials can travel to Scotland to play golf or Japan to eat sushi without worrying about the cost.
Xiao Peng directly told Mattis to find a lobbyist for him, and his meaning was obvious: I'm going to give you money.
Mattis thought about it and asked, "Mr. Xiao, I'd like to know what policy you want to lobby for?"
Xiao Peng said, "I'm a peace-loving person. I believe safety is the top priority. But as you can see, although Atlantic City is bustling and prosperous, the public security here is really problematic."
"Speaking of public security, I have something to say!" They both turned around, and it was Heath who spoke. "I hope you don't mind me interrupting your conversation, but Mr. Xiao, I have something to tell you."
"Of course I don't mind. I'm basically full too." Xiao Peng said, "Officer Heath, the fact that you're bothering me so urgently must mean something important."
Heath said, "In fact, there is indeed something important. Mr. Xiao, you remember telling us that the alarm system on your ship was tampered with, right?"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Yes, my ship has independent security equipment. Logically, I should have been alerted before the robbers even approached the ship, but the alarm system on my ship did not do that. I suspect that there are accomplices of the robbers on my ship... Although I don't want to think so, I have to suspect so."
Heath said, "Well... the results of the investigation into your feedback are out. I'm afraid they're a little different than you imagined."
"What do you mean?" Xiao Peng asked puzzledly.
Heath asked, "There are several maids on your ship, right?"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Yes, there are six people in total."
Heath continued, "Your ship has been docked in Puerto Rico for some time, right? These six people are on board, right?"
"Sometimes I get off the boat for fun. My boat is a yacht, not a prison," said Xiao Peng.
Heath said: "Mr. Xiao, there are some things I don't know how to tell you."
"What can't be said?" Xiao Peng frowned and said, "Are you saying that someone among Evelin and the others is colluding with the robbers?"
To be honest, among the people on the boat, he only suspected the six maids and Ma Xiao. The rest had been with him for a long time. After all, Ma Xiao had just come on board, so it was natural for him to be suspicious of him.
And to be honest, Ma Xiao was more suspicious because the switch for the ship's security equipment was in the cockpit, making it easier for Ma Xiao to shut down the system.
But from the bottom of his heart, Xiao Peng did not want to doubt Ma Xiao. After all, they were compatriots and he was indeed a capable captain. Xiao Peng had put him in charge of the "Calypso", but this happened.
Now that Heath mentioned his maid, Xiao Peng breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that the problem was with one of the six maids.
Heath said: "According to our investigation, there is a large amount of body hair left in your room."
"Body hair?" Xiao Peng was stunned.
Heath said, "From your maids. According to our investigation, they had a great time in Puerto Rico. They secretly brought people aboard your ship several times. It is said that you are a careless person and never take inventory of the things on the ship. The butler followed you here, so..."
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "That's impossible. There are always people on duty on my ship!"
Heath said, "Mr. Xiao, even though there are always people on your ship, it's not difficult to sneak onto it without an alarm. Your maids took advantage of this and would disable the alarm system every day while cleaning, then disable it again the next day. As a result, they didn't have time to disable the alarm system when they suddenly came to Atlantic City, and this happened."
Xiao Peng was dumbfounded: "Officer Heath, is there anything wrong with your investigation?"
Heath said, "If we can't investigate this matter clearly, then we shouldn't have this job. According to the inspection report, at least twenty people entered and exited your room within fifteen days. As for your bed sheets, there's even..."
"Stop talking!" Xiao Peng interrupted Heath directly: "Let's stop here. I just finished eating and I'm afraid of vomiting."
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