Chapter 377 - Error in Judgment, and Smiling Tiger
These parents were rude and vulgar, and preferred to talk with their fists than with words.
When Luke spoke to the constable, two men glared at him. “Who are you? Are you a reporter?”
Luke smiled and fished out his badge. “I’m responsible for security in this camp. Shall I kick you out to the road?”
The two men fell silent.
They were standing at the camp entrance, which was under Luke’s jurisdiction.
The constable secretly gave Luke a thumbs up, before he went over to sort out the next course of action.
Otherwise, if they went up the mountain and some of the parents went missing, search parties would have to be sent out.
The constables hadn’t sent anyone to look for the kids because the FBI had already issued a notice.
Now that the six kids were confirmed dead, the constables certainly wouldn’t waste their time, but the parents were unwilling to let it go.
Looking at the quarreling group of people, Luke shook his head.
If they were really that worried about their kids, why didn’t they do anything earlier? The fact that they went up the mountain to plant weed and kill people wasn’t something that could be explained away with one or two days of negligence.
Luke detected a familiar scent on this group with his Sharp Nose.
Weed! And after it was processed, too.
The thick scent confirmed that these people hadn’t just come into contact with the weed in passing
Narrowing his eyes, Luke remembered that the kid he had questioned had said in the end, “It’s our job.”
At that time, he thought that the kid was talking about how the brats had divided up the work, but it now looked like that wasn’t necessarily the case.
Sneering, Luke returned to the campsite with no intention of watching this shitty performance any longer.
Looking for their kids? More likely they were looking for the weed farm!
After Luke went back, a few black SUVs appeared in the distance.
A few minutes later, the SUVs stopped at the camp entrance, and Big Nick got out.
Looking at the middle school students, he cursed in a low voice, but still obediently stubbed out his cigarette before he walked into the camp.
A moment later, Big Nick felt slightly amused when he looked at Luke, who was enjoying tea and basking in the sun by the lake.
He had called Luke in the middle of the night partly to get back at Lucas Barton, who had planned to frame him for the officer’s murder, and partly to return the favor when Luke had helped him catch the bank robbers.
Big Nick wasn’t exactly a clean officer, but he paid attention to detail, and didn’t feel comfortable owing Luke a favor.
The main thing was that Luke felt too clean; he felt like a completely different type of police officer.
Even if they weren’t enemies, Big Nick subconsciously didn’t want to owe Luke anything
In the end, the FBI sent out a notice later that night.
Six officers, including Lucas Barton, had been killed by unknown criminals; Wade Davis was dead, and so were six kids that had been out camping
And… Luke was absolutely fine.
Big Nick wasn’t some good person. He had threatened the owner of the motel before he came here.
The owner confessed everything without hesitation. He no longer wanted to have anything to do with the conflict between the county police and the young man. He just wanted to run his motel in peace.
After hearing the motel owner out, Big Nick was silent for a long time, before he resumed his journey.
Lucas Barton had fallen just like that, and since he was dead, there was no chance of him making a comeback.
Furthermore, it was actually the FBI that had closed the case and cleaned up the mess. This changed Big Nick’s opinion of Luke, and was what prompted him to meet Luke again.
They might not become bosom buddies, but Big Nick didn’t want to become enemies with Luke either.
It was a good thing that the call he made last night hadn’t been in vain.
Putting down his teacup, Luke looked at Big Nick and rose. “Let’s go. There are too many students here.”
They walked along the lake and talked for several minutes.
Nick was here to meet Luke and ask him about Lucas Barton.
Naturally, Luke said that he didn’t know the details, but Big Nick got it from Luke’s expression.
Even if it was by sheer luck that Luke was able to kill off Lucas Barton and his party, Nick still didn’t want to piss him off.
After they were done speaking, Luke walked Big Nick to the camp entrance. Big Nick hesitated for a moment, before he suddenly said, “If you ever run into trouble in Los Angeles county, you can look me up.”
This was a clear olive branch.
To Nick’s surprise, Luke nodded with a smile. “Great. As it happens, there’s something I hope you can do for me.”
Not far from where they were standing at the entrance, the parents had finally decided to get going again after a heated argument.
Luke said something, and both he and Big Nick watched the parents drive off.
Two minutes later, Big Nick waved goodbye and jogged back to his car. He was already issuing an order as soon as he opened the car door. “Let’s go. We’ve got things to do. Follow those cars.”
As he spoke, he looked at Luke, who was still patrolling the campsite, and cursed in a low voice. “Sh*t! I was wrong. That guy’s a smiling tiger!”
His subordinate couldn’t help but ask, “What about Lucas Barton and his crew?”
Various emotions crossed Big Nick’s face. “Just believe whatever the FBI says, unless you want to avenge them?”.
His subordinate cackled and didn’t say anything else.
Big Nick was obviously implying that it was best not to piss off this young man, or the next deaths the FBI announced might be their own.
According to the notice that the county police received, there were fourteen victims in this case, including six county officers, but there was no media coverage on it, and even the county police higher-ups hadn’t said anything.
Big Nick and his crew had been sent here because they were used to cleaning up messes, but their backer had explicitly told them not to look into the case too carefully.
“Why aren’t you driving yet? Don’t you want to get back to your girl tonight?” Nick spat out the car window and lit a cigarette as he cursed his subordinate.
His subordinate started up the car and said, “Boss, aren’t we just here to pretend?”
Big Nick casually slapped the back of his head. “Just drive.”
Then, he said in a low voice, “Someone told me that those guys have been secretly planting weed on the mountain for a long time and selling it.”
His subordinate was blank for a moment, before he perked up. “Are we going to clean them up?”
Nick grunted in agreement, but then said, “Don’t ruin all the weed. We need to keep some as evidence. I promised my source that I would put those guys in prison for several years.”
His subordinate chuckled. “Then we won’t touch the weed that’s still in the ground. As for the rest…”
Nick thought for a moment, then nodded. “We can do whatever we want with the rest. Also, that bunch must have a big stash of dirty cash after illegally selling weed for so long. That’s the key.”
