A few days later.
Ethan looked at the contact name on his phone with a speechless expression, pressed the send button, and sent a message.
Tom: "I've met the arms dealer, Max. I'm going along with the plan to get the CIA agent list and pretend to sell it to her to get information about the mole, 'Job.' Can you provide any help?"
Morin looked at the message he had received on his phone and replied.
FBI Employee: "I think you already have a plan, don't you?"
"Tom" was the contact name Morin had given Ethan, and "FBI Employee" was the contact name he had preset on the phone he had given to Ethan.
Things that could become evidence, of course, had to be protected, and the contact name was no exception.
"Tom" goes without saying, and probably only Morin knew what it meant. As for "FBI Employee"... everything is a job for the FBI, so that was perfectly fine.
Ethan frowned, thought for a moment, and sent another message. "I do have a plan, but with your help, my mission can be much simpler and easier."
Instead of not knowing when Morin would get involved, it was better to just have him involved from the start. This way, at least he would know what to expect.
That was Ethan's plan.
"Before that," Morin replied, "recruit your helpers. When you get to Langley, send me a message, and we'll talk."
Ethan looked at the message on his phone, completely confused.
How did he know?
Ethan couldn't help but look around, wondering if Morin was hiding somewhere nearby or had planted some kind of listening device.
FBI Employee: "Don't worry, I haven't planted any surveillance devices, nor am I hiding nearby listening. Go recruit your helpers. I'm already prepared and just waiting for you."
Ethan: "..."
I don't think I told you any of that, did I?
And you say you're not monitoring me? Do you think I'm an idiot?
But Ethan didn't have time to search for where Morin had hidden a listening device or if he was disguised and listening in.
He was currently on a train, in a private compartment, preparing to interview the two helpers he had found.
In reality, these two "helpers" came from a CIA internal "discredited list."
In truth, this list was a record of people with special skills who had also committed crimes.
The CIA would monitor and update information on these people. Whenever they were needed, or if they committed another crime, the CIA could find or catch them!
Every intelligence agency had a similar list.
As the saying goes, different strokes for different folks. Sometimes, people who were not officially trained were better at certain things than those who were.
When used correctly, these people could sometimes be incredibly useful and cost-effective.
Ethan had used this to his advantage, picking people from this list to ensure his mission had some technical support.
After all, he was going to break into CIA headquarters and steal the most crucial list of agents from the most heavily guarded main server room!
Such a thing required a lot of caution. Not being careful would not only be a disrespect to his own life, but also a disrespect to the CIA.
After all, they were a top American intelligence agency!
Although what Ethan was about to do couldn't really be called respectful...
...
A few days later.
Tom: "I'm in Langley."
FBI Employee: "Okay, tell me a location. Let's meet."
Soon, Morin drove to the location Ethan had chosen, a cafe.
"It looks like you've been having a comfortable time," Morin said, sitting in the seat in front of Ethan.
"Did you find a rich sugar mama?"
"Are you talking about Max? I guess you could call her that. An arms dealer who can spend ten million dollars can definitely be called a sugar mama."
Ethan looked out the window, glancing around habitually. After not finding anything out of the ordinary, he looked back and said, "I thought you'd bring some people with you?"
"Is that necessary? Why would I go to all that trouble to get you to Langley, just to let the CIA set up a net to catch you?"
Morin ordered a mocha, gave the waiter a tip, and waited for them to leave before saying, "If I really wanted to, I would have caught you in Prague."
"You're right," Ethan took a deep breath. "I looked into you and found that you really are an IRS employee, and a top agent at that. You've been... "
"Did I come here today to listen to you repeat my past experiences?"
Morin shook his head, interrupting Ethan directly. "That's all just public information. I'm sure you know how many other things I've done beneath the surface."
"Yes," Ethan nodded. "Which is why I'm wondering why you didn't just act back then?"
"With the power the IRS has, and you being a top agent, you could have just arrested all of us without much evidence and then slowly interrogated us for the proof."
"You're right, I could have done that, but I never do," Morin said, speaking in a slightly confusing way as he leaned back in his chair. "Do you know why?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be here," Ethan said, spreading his hands.
The morning sun shone through the window, illuminating their faces and creating a perfect line of light and shadow in the middle.
Two different kinds of handsomeness blended together, like a perfect painting.
Men could also be as beautiful as a painting, and a truly masculine one at that.
"Because..." Morin raised an eyebrow and waved his hand, signaling to the female waiter who had just brought his coffee and was staring blankly at them.
After taking a sip and the waiter had hurried away, Morin said, "There wouldn't be enough profit."
"What?" Ethan tilted his head.
"Profit," Morin repeated. "Money."
"..." Ethan was silent for a moment. "That's so direct?"
"What else?" Morin smiled, put down his coffee, and leaned back in his chair again. "What do you work for?"
"..." Ethan thought for a moment and said, "In the past, I would have said I enjoy the thrill of it. But now, after my team members were killed by a mole on the team... I feel like it's meaningless."
"That's your answer. For me, it's about the money. Only with money and a good life can you have the time to think about other things, like... ideals," Morin said. "That's my answer."
Of course, that wasn't the real reason. He was only doing it to get experience points from the system to get stronger... but that didn't stop him from making something up to feed Ethan some kind of chicken soup for the soul, whether it was poisonous or beneficial.
"So... you're going to embezzle?" Ethan frowned. "That ten million dollars?"
"Yes," Morin said, nodding bluntly. "Ethan, I'm curious. If I told you that in the past year I've kept more than ten million dollars, and you know what I've done, and you have the power to stop me."
"For example, if you were the director of the IRS, what would you do?"
*****
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