Carson Flores joined the security department without drawing anyone’s attention; after all, high employee turnover was very normal for this kind of job.
Carson directly brought several packs of high-quality cigarettes, giving one to each person. In the evening, he also treated everyone to a big meal at Sanwa Diner, and then everyone knew that the newcomer Carson Flores came from a well-off family and was just doing this to satisfy his family’s expectations.
It took Carson merely one day to win everyone over with his straightforward personality, and within two or three days, he had become the most popular person in the security department.
"How come I’ve seen quite a few cars that have been transporting goods out of here lately, and the paperwork isn’t complete?"
"It’s because of the private jobs those high-level execs are pulling off. I bet they’re all a bit panicked since the new president personally came over, and they’re preparing to make one last score."
"Private jobs? If we let those out and something happens, won’t we be in trouble?"
"What does it have to do with us? As long as we have the department manager’s note, it’s their problem if something goes wrong."
"Of course, there’s always a note. We can’t just let anyone go in and haul stuff away."
"I’ve never seen any note."
"They’re all collected by the head of the department."
"With them behaving , the factory is bound to go under sooner or later. Doesn’t the factory manager care?"
"The factory manager is busy lining his own pockets. If only he had half the capability of Manager Howard, the factory wouldn’t have ended up ."
"Manuel Howard, our previous factory manager. He led us all in making the factory thrive. After Manager Roy took over by pushing out Manager Howard, the factory started to decline. But there was nothing we could do, since Manager Roy had connections. He had powerful backers, and though Manager Howard had the skills, he lacked connections and the background, so how could he compete?"
"If Manager Howard came back, would everyone like that?"
"Of course, they would. Actually, our factory wasn’t in the past. When Manager Howard was around, rewards and penalties were clear, and everyone could make money as long as they worked hard. But once Manager Roy took over, he promoted his cronies. Then a bunch of them just leech off the factory, those who mingle with them profit, while the honest workers lose out. Hard work is useless, and over time, it’s become what it is now."
In the evening, Carson laid out Manuel Howard’s information in front of Shirley Miller.
"Here, the manager you wanted."
Shirley Miller picked up the information, surprised, and scanned through it: "You’re pretty fast with this, even gathering all the information?"
Carson smiled and said, "It’s just some superficial information collected from the network, nothing complicated."
Shirley smiled and replied, "Then I’ll pay him a visit tomorrow."
The next day around noon, Carson received a call from Shirley.
"I visited Manuel Howard, and he didn’t agree, or more accurately, he didn’t dare to agree," she said.
Curious, Carson asked, "What is he afraid of?"
Shirley answered, "Roy Jimenez’s brother, Conor Jimenez, runs a pharmaceutical company and keeps a bunch of people on his payroll. When Roy forced Manuel Howard to resign, Conor played a big role by threatening Manuel’s family, saying that if they didn’t leave, he would go after Manuel’s five-year-old daughter, Leila Howard. For his family’s safety, Manuel was compelled to resign."
Realization dawned on Carson, and he immediately said with a smile, "If Conor Jimenez is no longer a threat, would he consider coming back?"
"He probably would, I could tell he has deep feelings for the factory, and he’s quite distressed seeing it become what it is now," Shirley answered.
Carson smiled and said, "Then, I’ll go take care of that problem first. Once we ensure that Manuel Howard is willing to come back, we’ll then clean up the group of vermin in the factory. We have all their different notes here in security. When we start auditing, everything will become clear."
Shirley nodded, "I’ll arrange for the auditors in advance, so when everything is ready, we can make our move together."
After work in the evening, Carson drove to the Shunchang Pharmaceutical Company run by Conor Jimenez.
"I’m looking for Conor Jimenez."
To deal with Conor Jimenez, Carson naturally didn’t need to resort to any plots or schemes; a direct approach would suffice.
Truth be told, Carson’s favorite targets were those who didn’t play by the rules and were advocates of violence. Dealing with such people didn’t require much thought; a straightforward punch was all it took. Once the opponent was knocked down, everything would be settled.
As Roy Jimenez’s brother and the owner of a pharmaceutical company, it was improbable that Conor hadn’t colluded with Roy.
Using Conor as a breakthrough, gathering evidence of Roy’s guilt would be a breeze. Taking down Roy would naturally expose many of the factory’s nefarious dealings, allowing them to trace the web of corruption and catch all wrongdoers in one fell swoop.
Conor Jimenez, in his forties and sporting an LVT shirt and a watch, looked slick all over, yet sported a large gold necklace around his neck that was completely at odds with the rest of his attire, revealing him as a wealthy ruffian of a boss.
Conor was playing cards with a few people and glanced at Carson with a slant eye, nonchalantly asking with a cigarette in his mouth, "What do you want with me?"
Carson replied with a smile, "Manuel Howard is my brother, Leila Howard is my niece. I’ve been in the army these past few years, just got back. I heard that you’ve made it so my brother can’t even be a factory manager, and even threatened my niece, so I wanted to come and see..."
Conor raised an eyebrow, a look of disdain on his face, "Oh ho, looking for trouble, are we..."