Two hours later.
"Damn it, we've been played for fools again!" Thomas Wilson was so angry that he stamped his feet. He had led a group of fully armed policemen in an ambush for a full two hours. In the end, not only did they not wait for the "Ghost", but they were also informed that they had fallen into a "luring the tiger away from the mountain" strategy. This made him feel extremely suppressed.
James Morrison, surprisingly, was very calm. He turned to look at Sebastian Gray. "Margaret can't be allowed to move around outside any longer. As long as she, the 'cash cow', is out there, the 'Ghost' is like having an accomplice. It will be even more difficult for us to catch him if we want to."
Sebastian gave a bitter smile. "On what grounds can we arrest her? She said she missed her deceased husband and went to the graveyard to pay respects in the middle of the night. Because she was too scared, she dropped the bag and ran away. Is there anything wrong with that? She saw that her brother was short of money, so she withdrew hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash from the bank and then gave the money to her brother when he came to visit. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Then let's arrest her brother, Michael Brown!" Thomas said resentfully.
Sebastian curled his lip. "That's even more ridiculous. He missed his sister and went to his sister's house as a guest. Are you going to arrest him just for that?"
"But he delivered money to the 'Ghost'!"
"Do you have any evidence?"
Thomas actually understood all this, but he was just too angry. After hearing this, he stopped talking and sulked on his own.
After a long time, James said in a low voice, "Margaret must be arrested. If there's no charge, we'll just make one up."
Sebastian flatly refused. "Absolutely not."
"If something goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility." James was firm in his attitude.
Sebastian sneered. "If you dare to do this, do you believe that I can get you removed from your position right away? James, I'm telling you, we are policemen, not bandits."
Sebastian, who was usually mild-mannered, had an especially cold look in his eyes at this moment. Even Thomas beside him couldn't help feeling a little scared when he saw that look.
Sebastian left, and James sat there with his head lowered.
"James, Sebastian is right. We shouldn't have such an idea. We are policemen," Thomas whispered in an attempt to persuade him.
"I know. I was just muddled for a moment earlier. I won't have such a thought again in the future."
"Don't hold it against him. He's doing it for your own good."
"I know. You go and get busy first. Let me be alone for a while."
When there was only James left in the office, he looked out the window with mixed emotions.
After being a policeman for more than a decade, he had seen too many criminals getting away with their crimes. He hated that feeling – knowing clearly that someone was a criminal but not being able to arrest them. That sense of powerlessness drove him crazy.
That's why he lost his temper and said those words.
In fact, over the years, such thoughts had come to his mind more than once. But in the end, he always held onto his bottom line because he knew that he was a policeman.
On Sebastian's side, after coming out of the office, he left the police force directly.
Sitting in the car, he smoked while looking at the night sky.
He still remembered that two years ago, he had asked his father the same question.
" Dad, why can't we arrest some people even though we know clearly that they've broken the law?"
"Because according to the rules, we can't arrest them."
"But isn't it our duty as policemen to arrest criminals? Since we're sure that the other person is a criminal, why can't we use some means?"
"Do you know what the rules are? The rules are the bottom line. If we, the people who are supposed to protect the people, don't abide by the rules and don't hold onto the bottom line, then why should others abide by the law? Also, once the bottom line is broken once, there will be a second time, a third time, and eventually, there will be no bottom line left. Think about it, what would the society be like if we policemen had no bottom line? It would be the end of the world! So, even if we have to let some criminals go, we must hold onto the bottom line. Do you understand?"
He understood the reasoning, agreed with it, and was sure that he would act in accordance with it. However, at this moment, Sebastian just wasn't feeling good and felt stuffy inside.
He wanted to drink, but he couldn't think of anyone who could accompany him at the moment.
For some reason, at this time, he suddenly thought of someone and felt that the person was very suitable. After all, that person talked little and was very good at listening.
Coming out of the bathroom, Victor Black plopped down on the sofa. He was in a very good mood. The money was already in his hands, and next, he could carry out his plan.
However, the difficulty and complexity of this "hunt" were a bit higher than the previous two times, but it was still within an acceptable range. As long as he operated properly, it could still be almost perfect.
Just then, the phone suddenly rang. Looking down, he was surprised to find that it was Sebastian!
"Could it be that he suspects me? That shouldn't be the case," Victor frowned.
It wasn't that he was overly suspicious. It was just a bit too coincidental that Sebastian called right after he had just gotten the money from Margaret.
Anyway, he decided to see what it was about. So he picked up the phone.
"Hahaha, it's so late, and you're still not asleep. How about coming out for a few drinks?"
"Sure."
"You're so loyal! I'm at the entrance of your residential compound. Come out."
After hanging up the phone, Victor quickly got dressed and went out. He had to find out what Sebastian's purpose was for looking for him.
A moment later.
"Am I not disturbing you?" Sebastian asked with a smile while sitting in the driver's seat.
Victor got into the passenger seat and replied indifferently, "I can't fall asleep for now. It's okay to have a drink."
"Alright, let's go then."
More than ten minutes later, the two of them entered a tavern and ordered some drinks.
Victor kept an eye on Sebastian's expression. He found that this guy wasn't paying attention to him at all and seemed to have something on his mind. Only then did he relax a bit.
"Cheers."
"Cheers."
After finishing two whole bottles of wine, Sebastian finally spoke. "Ha! Great! I say, buddy, how do you feel about being a teacher? Are you happy?"
Victor nodded and gracefully put down his wine glass. "It's not bad. I quite like it."
"That's great! It's so lucky to have a job you like. I'm the same. I've wanted to be a policeman since I was a kid, and I love this job. Come on, let's toast to the careers we love!"
After downing another glass, gradually, the two of them started chatting freely.
"I tell you, my sister has a best friend, and she's so silly. Once, we had a dinner party in a restaurant. In the middle of it, that silly girl went to the restroom, but she didn't come back for a long time. So, we went out to look for her. And you know what? That silly girl was sitting in a corner crying. We were really scared at that time and thought she had run into some bad guys. But it turned out that she got lost because she couldn't find the restroom, and she was so desperate because she really needed to pee that she cried. Hahaha. She was already 22 years old at that time, hahahaha!"
"Are you talking about that Lily White?"
"Eh, how do you know her?"
"Oh, didn't we go to the center of London last time? At that time..."
"So that's how it is. I'm telling you, in a few days, I'm going to ask that silly girl to come to the police force and be my assistant, mainly to make coffee. I can already imagine how many funny things she'll do. Just thinking about it makes me laugh, hahaha!"
Just like this, the two of them drank and chatted. Before they knew it, it was already 2 o'clock in the morning.
At the entrance of Yuanmeng Residential Compound, Victor got out of the car.
Sebastian let out a breath and smiled slightly. "Thanks."
Victor waved his hand. "Be careful. Next time, it's my treat."
The moment he turned around, the smile on his face became even brighter.