Landlord in the Arctic

Chapter 368: Chapter 281: Serious

Paine had already bound the workers’ hands and feet with zip ties.

His movements were practiced and professional.

This ensured the workers wouldn’t be making any sudden moves for the time being.

Once he was done, he allowed them to sit up.

Meanwhile, Frank and Calio were searching the outpost.

They gathered all the scattered firearms, piling them up in the center of the yard. The collection of rifles and handguns was quite substantial.

Yves had just finished his careful interrogation of the workers. After jotting down key information in his notebook, he walked over to Feng Mountain.

"Sheriff, there are eight oil workers and one supervisor at this outpost. They’re all here. According to them, though, the suspect has already flown to Dead Horse Town in Prudhoe Bay."

Prudhoe Bay?

’Isn’t that Jeff’s turf?’

Hearing the suspect’s destination, Feng Mountain relaxed considerably. With Jeff there, the follow-up would be much less of a hassle.

With that thought, he quickly pulled out his phone and expertly dialed Jeff’s number.

The phone had only rung a few times when someone picked up.

Jeff’s cheerful and slightly surprised voice came through the receiver.

"Hey, Feng, how did you know I was on my way to Crown Territory? The gift the Chief sent with me is right here on the plane."

Feng Mountain knew exactly what "gift" he was talking about, but this wasn’t the time for that. He cut straight to the chase.

"Do you have people in Dead Horse Town?"

"Yeah, what’s up?"

"Help me get in touch with them. I need a violent felon arrested. What was his name again?" For a moment, Feng Mountain couldn’t remember the suspect’s name. As he spoke, he lifted his foot and jabbed the supervisor sitting in the snow, his tone impatient. "What’s that bastard’s name?"

"Mick. His name is Mick."

The supervisor didn’t dare try to cover for him now.

He knew perfectly well.

That if what happened today blew up,

he wouldn’t be able to get out of it.

He’d end up in prison dropping the soap for a few years.

So it was better to just answer honestly.

He could only hope that by cooperating, his sentence might be a little lighter.

Mountain was satisfied with his current cooperation. He spoke to Jeff.

"A bastard named Mick. He’s a worker for Finnex Operating, LLC. He should have fled to Dead Horse Town by plane today."

"Got it. As long as that bastard’s still in Dead Horse Town, he’s not getting away. I’ll call you back in five."

Jeff readily agreed.

After hanging up, Feng Mountain slowly squatted down.

He stared at the supervisor, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

Then he pointed at the dazed shooter and asked in a grave tone.

"Listening to him, it sounds like your company has had incidents like this before, and they were all just settled with a payout?"

The supervisor froze when he heard this. ’This is bad,’ he thought.

A flash of anger crossed his face. He whipped his head around to glare at the bastard who’d fired the gun, cursing him endlessly in his mind.

He wanted to eat the man alive.

’You bastard, how could you just run your mouth about everything!’

’This is the company’s dirty laundry, stuff we’ve tried our hardest to bury! If it all comes out, ’disastrous’ wouldn’t even begin to cover it.’

’We’re all screwed.’

’Are you trying to knock God off His throne and take the seat yourself?’

The supervisor was fuming and frantic, but facing Feng Mountain’s piercing gaze, not to mention the hard evidence on video, he didn’t dare refuse to answer. He could only stammer.

But the words that came out of his mouth made everyone’s expression turn strange.

"Er... about that... I’m sorry, I’m not really sure. Maybe... Little Nash would know?"

Little Nash?

’He’s also named Nash?’

Feng Mountain froze. He repeated the name, his face, like everyone else’s, going slack with surprise.

Almost in unison, everyone turned to look at Nash, who was standing behind them, their eyes filled with mirth.

"Nash, he has the same name as you," Yves said, unable to stifle a laugh.

Hearing this, Nash’s expression turned glacial.

He already loathed the guy for shooting at Feng Mountain. Finding out they shared a name now...

...sent him into a rage. Without another word,

he lunged forward with a swift, vicious flying kick.

With a solid THUD, his foot connected with the shooter, sending the man tumbling several times through the snow.

Seeing this, Feng Mountain quickly waved his hands, motioning for Nash to take it easy.

"Don’t kill him. Who here is good at interrogation? Take him and find out how many times this has happened. Get the time, place, and people involved, and record it all as a formal statement. We need to gather complete evidence."

"I am," Bat Frank stepped forward. He walked over, grabbed the shooter, Little Nash, by his clothes, and began dragging him toward the building like a dead dog.

Soon, a series of blood-curdling screams echoed from inside.

"Frank wasn’t in a combat engineer battalion, so how does he know demolitions *and* interrogation?"

Feng Mountain frowned, looking at Yves in confusion. ’Combat engineers aren’t supposed to be skilled at this sort of thing,’ he mused.

Hearing Feng Mountain’s question, Yves gave a smug chuckle. "He was in a special company of the Navy’s 26th Mobile Construction Battalion. The guys in there are all jacks-of-all-trades."

It dawned on Feng Mountain. He paused, then, as if remembering something, added,

"Alright. I think we’re short-handed in Crown Territory. Are there any other trustworthy people we could bring over?"

"Yeah. A lot of the guys are at loose ends after getting out. They’ve hit me up a few times, hoping to find work in Crown Territory, but I didn’t say yes without your approval."

Feng Mountain thought for a moment.

’Road construction is starting soon. In three months, there’ll be a direct route to Crown Territory.’

’Foot traffic is bound to increase. Right now, counting me, there are too few able-bodied men in the camp.’