"Seems in a hurry?"
Upon hearing these words, a hint of confusion appeared on Inspector Richards' face in the office of the West City State Tax Bureau.
What exactly had David said to these two commissioners to make them so anxious?
After pondering for a while to no avail, Inspector Richards could only reply, "Forget it, just come back!"
40 minutes later.
The office door was knocked.
Inspector Richards, who was dealing with documents, said without looking up, "Come in."
The next second, Pope pushed the door open and entered with a shocked expression, saying, "Tax Chief, the police chiefs from both the East and the West City have come to us."
"What!"
Inspector Richards, startled, quickly asked, "What are they here for?"
"They've come to pay taxes, and the chief is personally receiving them now!"
"Pay taxes!?"
This phrase caused Inspector Richards's brain to twitch.
He knew that these two commissioners had just spoken with David and was aware of their hurried departure.
Could their so-called hurry be because they were rushing to pay taxes?
But what exactly did David say to these two men that managed to get both police chiefs to come over and pay their taxes so obediently?
Could it be... that David had something on them?
But then again, wasn't David supposed to be dealing with Adelaide and the deputy mayor in charge of city hall? How did he end up involving these two?
Unable to figure it out, Inspector Richards had no time to think further; he quickly rushed out of his office to the chief's office door and knocked.
"Come in!"
After getting permission, Inspector Richards immediately went inside.
Indeed, Commissioners Randolph and Lancelot were already sitting there, while the tax bureau's staff counted the funds on the table.
"Tax Chief Richards, you've come at the right time. Commissioners Randolph and Lancelot were actually looking for you; I just invited them over first," said Director Hopkinson of the West City State Tax Bureau, leaving Inspector Richards stunned for a moment, but he quickly recovered.
The so-called search for him... must be arranged by David!
He promptly pretended nothing was amiss and replied, "Commissioners, I'm delighted that you could come and 'visit' our West City branch!"
"Tax Chief Richards, we hope for your 'continued support' in the future!"
Hopkinson put his excitement aside, eager to know how it all happened.
Richards felt a bit embarrassed; after all, it wasn't him who had taken care of it, but it seemed that David wanted to keep a low profile, so Richards wasn't in a position to explain the details.
He could only reply indirectly, "Director, it's a bit of a long story... I think I'll tell you about it later..."
He planned to first consult with David's opinion before deciding whether to elaborate on the matter.
"All right then."
Although curious, Hopkinson didn't press further, seeing that Richards had put it that way.
"Then, Director, I will go handle some matters."
"Go ahead!"
Richards immediately left, returning to his own office, only to discover that all eight Inspectors of his team had already arrived at some point.
Seeing Richards walk in, every one of them had an anticipatory look in their eyes, clearly already aware of the $370,000 tax matter.
"Divide this tax revenue among your teams!"
Upon hearing that, the eight of them immediately became excited; they had just lost over $400,000 on a jewelry case that morning, and now they had nearly made up for it.
"Oh, Tax Chief, I just found out about Deputy Mayor Bitcher's whereabouts and have sent the information to Director David!"
Pope reminded him.
"Mm, good!"
After thinking for a moment, Richards decided to pick up the phone and dialed David's number.
Meanwhile.
On a road leading to East City, David picked up the phone and answered, "How is it, Tax Chief Richards? The little 'present' I sent you, not bad, right?"
"The two Police Chiefs being put on the record, this is no small gift, Director David, you really have a way with things!"
David smiled and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Our Director wants to know how I did it; is it alright to disclose that?"
"Let's wait until I've taken care of the next steps."
"Okay, then, is there anything else I can do for you?"
Before, Richards was just holding his nose for the sake of the $500,000 in taxes to arrange a series of things for David.
But now, it was more a matter of respect.
"Just make the necessary media arrangements!"