Boss Huang, in his fifties, was somewhat overweight, but his height made him appear rather burly.
Though still showing a worried expression, the boss maintained basic courtesy at this moment.
Gazing at the two almost brand-new military trucks, Boss Huang said with difficulty, "Of course I trust your reputation, Hu Lang, but you see, I didn't expect that 500 guns would necessitate two trucks…"
As he spoke, Boss Huang turned and took a large suitcase from a young man, saying, "I've only brought 3 million US dollars with me. It's all I have, and now it's all yours. I hope you can help me out."
Joe Ga placed the suitcase on the engine of the car, opened it to glance inside, and saw it was filled with hundred-dollar bills.
He took a backpack from the car, meticulously packed it with 2 million dollars in cash, then closed the suitcase and handed it back to Boss Huang, saying seriously, "I am a man of my word, both in life and business. I cannot casually agree to things I'm not sure of, and I can't take your money.
"When you make the delivery, I will be on the lookout in the periphery. If needed, I will definitely help. But like I said, I'm not confident in seizing hostages, so I can't take the money."
Saying this, Joe Ga pointed to the military truck behind him and said, "We're from the same country, and you've bought these guns at a high price. Just consider the trucks a gift from me.
"But you need to leave one pickup truck for me; there are some personal things in the truck that I need to take with me."
Upon hearing this, Boss Huang nodded with some disappointment, Summoned a young man to drive a pickup truck over, then passed the car keys to Joe Ga with a bitter expression, "In all my years in business, I've come to admire people like you the most. But right now, I really wish you would bluff me even just a little, to give me a sliver of hope."
"In fact, things may not necessarily develop in the worst way. 'Jindawei' is crazy, but they have to consider the consequences of harming Chinese people.
Boss Huang, you're a worldly man; surely you have ways to negotiate."
Joe Ga tossed the money into the car, turned around, and called to Karman, "Get our stuff from the truck and load it into the car."
Boss Huang, upon seeing this, told several young men, "Go help out."
A quiet Caucasian man following Boss Huang suddenly stepped forward and said, "I'll help too."
Watching the tall, bald Caucasian stride to the back of the truck and begin unloading boxes onto the pickup truck, Joe Ga asked curiously, "Who is this guy?"
Boss Huang replied, "His name is Dorian, an Italian. He claims to be part of 'Leather Headgear'.
"He was originally a bodyguard for an Italian, but his boss got killed in a hotel attack.
"The guy's out of work and seems to have gotten into trouble because of it, and since I needed help, I brought him along."
Joe Ga was sensitive to 'Italians' and cast a curious glance at Dorian before asking, "His boss is dead, so why is he staying here?
"Can you trust this guy?"
Boss Huang responded with a bitter smile, "How would I know whether he can be trusted or not? Worst case scenario, I die, and losing a hundred thousand doesn't matter. If I live, that hundred thousand will have been well worth it.
"It was only when I fell on hard times that I realized the only people you can truly rely on are those from your own hometown.
"Those young men are folks from the same mining town, and they're the only ones willing to take risks with me."
Joe Ga struggled to understand; who would risk dealing with terrorists for a hundred thousand dollars, especially on such a high-risk task as a hostage exchange?
Joe Ga didn't recall 'Leather Headgear', but the so-called 'Sea Hound' mercenary group he had encountered in southern S.D. included several Italian soldiers.
He later made a point to check, and while the combat effectiveness of the Italian troops was rather ordinary, the so-called 'Leather Headgear' was a special intervention group within the Italian Carabinieri, where the soldiers could indeed be classified as elite.
It's not uncommon for retired members of the Italian Special Forces to work as bodyguards, but Joe Ga was quite interested in the Italian they were protecting.
After a moment of silence, all the items from the truck were moved.
Noticing Dorian eyeing Karman's gear with envy, Joe Ga walked over with a smile and asked, "Your name's Dorian? Why get involved in this messy situation?"
The tall Dorian looked at Joe Ga and said in broken English, "For money."
Joe Ga said with slight amusement, "Your life is only worth a hundred thousand dollars?"
Dorian shook his head, "Alive, it's worth a hundred thousand. Dead, only fifty thousand.
"My former employer is dead, so I can no longer receive the rest of my pay, and I also have to face the employer's family's revenge. I need money to clear my debts and hope for a settlement."
Joe Ga shook his head, "What does his death in a terror attack have to do with you?"
Dorian explained, "The Mafia won't discuss this. The guy who was killed in the hotel was from the Mori family, and he was about to go to Southern S.D. to retrieve his brother's body to take back home.
"Losing two sons in S.D., the Mori Family will see many others suffer as a result."
Upon hearing the name of the Mori Family, Joe Ga became alert; the fact that the guy was preparing to go to Southern S.D. to collect a body confirmed his suspicions.
The Italians' misfortune might have been divine intervention aiding him.
Looking at the troubled expression on Dorian's face, Joe Ga said, "The Mafia is so unreasonable? Then why did you work for them?"
Dorian shook his head with resignation, "Because I owe them a lot of money. I worked as a bodyguard to repay the debt.
"Now that my boss is dead, if I can't pay off the debts, guess how they will treat me and my family?
"Fifty thousand is enough for my family to temporarily leave Sicily and hide in Switzerland or Austria for a while."
Joe Ga nodded, then said with a smile, "You're quite forthright. Why are you willing to tell me so much?"
Dorian shrugged, "If I survive this, I'll need to find myself a new job that pays. You look like an arms dealer or a mercenary.
"Either way, you're going to need someone like me."
Watching Dorian's glance occasionally sweep toward the backpack with money in his car, Joe Ga laughed and said, "If you survive, come talk to me. My name is Hu Lang, and you can get my phone number from Boss Huang."
Curious, Joe Ga asked, "Just one more question, how much do you actually owe the Mafia?"
After a moment's thought, Dorian said, "It started at 50 thousand dollars, then it became 200 thousand. Now, I have to pay 10 thousand every month just in interest.
"I've been working hard to prevent the debt from growing further…"
Joe Ga looked sympathetically at him, shaking his head, "You can't use the money from loan sharks!"