American Tax Officer

"Alright, OK!"

Back at the bureau, it was now a waiting game.

At 5 PM, a message came in from Isidore stating that they had made contact with the Counterfeit Banknote Group and wanted to place another order for fake notes.

However, possibly due to a recent surge in demand, the group replied that they wouldn't be ready until the day after tomorrow.

David had no choice but to put this case on hold until then.

…

Carson City, Governor's Mansion.

Eugene, holding a file folder, walked into Stevenson's office.

"Governor, this is from Special Agent Gavin. It's the investigation report on David!"

But don't think that 'Special Agent' is just an agent.

In the FBI system, a special agent is the highest-ranking official the FBI sends to each state, responsible for overseeing and managing the state's FBI agents and operations.

They are also in charge of coordinating cooperation with local law enforcement, state government, and other federal departments to ensure the smooth progress of the FBI's activities in that state.

The Special Agent Gavin Eugene mentioned was the FBI's top official in Nevada.

Stevenson's expression changed, and he immediately took the folder and opened it, scanning the contents with an expectant look.

But soon, his hopeful gaze gradually darkened, and he ended up slamming the document angrily on the desk.

Eugene, standing by, was also stunned by this reaction.

Since the folder was sealed, and out of respect for hierarchy, he had not dared to open and review it immediately upon receiving it, so he had no idea what it contained.

But now, seeing his Governor's expression...

Could it be...

That after a detailed FBI investigation, they really couldn't find anything to pin on David?

To confirm his suspicions, Eugene slowly reached for the documents, picked them up, and started reading.

As the content revealed itself, his expression soured.

It was exactly as he had guessed.

The FBI had found no dirt on David; even the hoped-for evidence of tax evasion wasn't there.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

More accurately, it was almost there!

According to the file, during David's recent crackdown on criminals, many had offered substantial bribes to the Chief Tax Officer to avoid their monthly dues to the IRS, but David had refused all of them.

But that wasn't even the most outrageous part for Eugene.

The shocking part was, according to the investigation, a money launderer named Lynch had once offered a staggering bribe of $1.6 million to dodge taxes.

Yet, even faced with such an astronomical sum, David still turned it down.

Was this damn bastard actually a saint?

Even Eugene, as the Governor's secretary, couldn't claim he wouldn't be tempted by $1.6 million.

But this son of a bitch resisted such a temptation!

Now, Eugene could finally understand why Stevenson was so furious.

If David had taken that $1.6 million, then this bastard would probably not have enough lives to pay for it!

Too bad it all faded to nothing!

"Alright, if he has no weaknesses, then have Gavin investigate his subordinates or other people in the Lake District Sub-Bureau. I refuse to believe none of them has issues!"

If they couldn't take David down, Stevenson was prepared to target his colleagues instead, as he didn't believe everyone could be as clean as David.

…

Deep into the night, the lights were still bright at the Lake District Sub-Bureau.

"Director David, the people from the Main Street Sub-Bureau have arrived at the entrance!"

"Let's head down, then!"

Apart from Ariel and Selina, six inspectors under David were fully armed and walked down together.

But upon getting downstairs, David discovered that Keanu from the Main Street Sub-Bureau was leading the group, which he found quite surprising.

He immediately went up to him and asked, "What's the situation, Inspector Keanu? You don't need to personally handle a field assignment of this nature, do you?"

"What are you saying, Director David? If you're going personally, how could I not follow suit?" Keanu said, waving his hand in a gesture that suggested David shouldn't concern himself.

"Alright, then let's go," said David, no longer in the mood for idle chatter. It was time to deal with this smuggling case first.

"By the way, Director David, get in my car. You can fill me in on the case on the way," Keanu suggested.

David didn't refuse and got into the car from the Main Street Sub-Bureau as they all set off towards Redwood Valley.

"Director David, are you saying that they use this valley to transport their smuggled goods?"

"Yes," David replied.

"But from what I know, not only is this valley steep, but it's also extremely narrow and so deep that there's no signal inside. It's rare for any vehicle to be able to cross it."

"Fortune favors the bold, right? Maybe it's precisely because of this that you've never been able to catch them."

David's words caught Keanu off guard.

But upon further reflection, it made sense.

If the smugglers had used regular roads to transport their goods, they would have been caught at their checkpoints who knows how many times by now.

And it was precisely because they blazed such unorthodox trails like Redwood Valley that they had never been tracked down.

Forty minutes later, the convoy had reached the vicinity of the Indian Reservation, and then it left the highway and headed directly towards the entrance of the Redstone Mountains on the other side.

Due to the lack of roads here, the journey was bumpy, subjecting David and the others in the vehicle to a bumpy ride.

Fortunately, after half an hour's drive, the convoy finally reached one of the valley's entrance and exits.

It was also the only entrance and exit.

Therefore, all they had to do was stop their cars here and wait patiently until after 2 a.m. for the group of smugglers to arrive.

After getting out of the car, Keanu surveyed the surrounding terrain and approached David, saying, "Director David, if these smugglers see us and decide to forcibly break through the roadblock, that could spell trouble..."

"You're right. Let's do this, we'll park two cars in the middle of the road, turn off the lights, and when they arrive and spot us, even if they dare to run the roadblock, it won't be that easy."

"Then let's do it your way!"

No sooner said than done. David immediately had two of their cars block the entrance and exit of the valley, and then they began to wait.

Soon, the time reached 1:30 a.m.

Nisen, who had climbed up high to act as a sentinel, seemed to have spotted something and called down to the people below, "There are car lights two kilometers away, they're coming!"

David promptly made a hand gesture to his five inspectors, telling them to get ready.

Nisen also made arrangements for his inspectors from the Lake District Sub-Bureau, and then all the lights on the scene were extinguished.

The twenty-some inspectors scattered inside and outside the valley all disengaged the safeties on their rifles, ready for combat at any moment.

At the same time.

Two kilometers away from David and the others, three small Ford vans were bouncing down the road.

In the lead van, the driver was a big-bearded man wearing a duckbill cap, while in the passenger seat, a chain-smoking Curly.

"Damn, my back's nearly broken from this ride. Once this job's done, I'm definitely treating myself to a nice babe to ease these old bones!"

"Heh, kid, it's always like this the first time you take this route. You'll get used to it if you run it a few more times!"

"Forget it, I'd rather man a warehouse than take this damn road again!"

"…"

Curly was clearly on this route for the first time and kept on complaining, while the big-bearded man at the wheel kept comforting him.

"Alright, alright, we're almost at the mouth of the valley, we'll be through soon!"

As the two chatted, they were only about a hundred meters away from the valley's mouth.

But when they were about fifty meters from the valley's entrance, the big-bearded man with the duckbill cap seemed to notice something ahead.

At first, he thought it was just some rocks, but when he turned on the high beams for a better look, he discovered vehicles in front of them.

This immediate realization left him shocked, and he exclaimed, "Not good!"

During the day, the valley was rarely visited, let alone at night.

The appearance of vehicles now meant either they had encountered robbers or law enforcement!

Curly too grew tense and immediately grabbed the handgun from beneath the windshield.

At the same time, inspectors that Keanu had arranged to ambush inside the valley began relaying messages back to Keanu and David at the valley's mouth through their wireless earpieces.

"Target has entered the locking area. Observations show that each vehicle has only one driver and one co-pilot. Awaiting instructions!"

At the mouth of the valley, Keanu looked at David for direction. David nodded his head to indicate it was time to move.

Keanu immediately responded through the earpiece, "Go!"

Upon receiving the order, the inspectors hidden in the bushes turned on the infrared lasers attached to their rifles, aiming at the six people in the vehicles.

The drivers and co-pilots inside the three vehicles, seeing red dots appearing on their bodies, started to panic and dared not even move.

The number of red dots revealed that the opposition not only had formidable firepower but also greatly outnumbered them.

"Don't panic, we are from the National Tax Bureau. As long as you cooperate with us, we won't harm you. But should you resist, lethality is authorized!"

As the six people in the vehicles wondered what to do, a voice through a loudspeaker at the valley's mouth reached them, easing their minds.

They had been worrying that if they ran into robbers, their cargo would certainly be gone, and if they encountered the police or the FBI, not only would they lose the goods, but they might also end up in jail.

The incident with the Indian Tribe had caused quite a stir, so they knew about the Black Tax Act.

Knowing that the National Tax Bureau was only interested in collecting taxes and that as long as they paid the taxes to the National Tax Bureau, there would be no trouble, they found themselves actually relieved to be facing the Bureau instead.