Jimmy had three drinks, and although he was sober, he didn't dare to drive himself home. Instead, he hailed a taxi in front of the bar and went home.
The next day, after Jimmy arrived at work, he was still pondering whether or not to call the number Justin had given him.
It was nearly March now, and April was the tax season. He definitely needed to deal with the IRS issues as soon as possible. If this phone call could really solve the problem, it would certainly be very beneficial for him.
The question now was, whether Justin could be trusted.
After thinking it over for most of the day, until the afternoon, Jimmy finally made up his mind. He would make the call first and see. He was a policeman, after all; it was unlikely that someone would shoot him face-to-face. Since there was no animosity between him and Justin, he probably wouldn't hurt him.
Jimmy changed into civilian clothes and drove his own car to a cell phone store, where he purchased a prepaid phone.
Jimmy tore open the phone package and returned to the police station parking lot, which was now deserted. He took out the card Justin had given him and dialed the number with the prepaid phone. (Prepaid phones can refer to the unregistered phones sold by Saul in a phone shop in "Better Call Saul," which are common abroad.)
After a few rings, the call was answered, and a man's voice came through, "Who is this?"
Jimmy, "It's the number Justin gave me. He said you can solve my problems."
Man, "Can this number be reached for you?"
Jimmy, "Yes."
Man, "Wait for my call." Then he hung up.
Jimmy pocketed the phone and walked back into the police station. There was no need to ask; the man was definitely going to confirm his identity, probably getting in touch with Justin. For people involved in such activities, ensuring their own safety was a must. What if it was a setup?
Jimmy hadn't expected the confirmation to come so quickly. He had just reached the lobby when his phone rang.
Jimmy answered the call. The person on the other end simply said, "Meet at the bar at 9 o'clock tonight." Then the call was disconnected.
Jimmy put the phone back in his pocket. It seemed Justin had a very good reputation; the other party probably just needed to make a call to confirm, and even chose the meeting place at Justin's place. Apparently, as a middle man, Justin had sufficient credibility to completely convince the other party.
In a sense, Justin seemed like a broker in the shadows of society. Jimmy had indeed seen such characters in novels and TV dramas before, but this was his first encounter, and he still had to be careful.
In the evening, Jimmy signed out from work, changed his status at the dispatch center, changed into casual attire, and went to the bar. It was only 8:30, and the bar wasn't crowded, with no one at the bar counter.
Jimmy sat down at the bar, called out, "Hey, Justin, give me a drink."
Justin fetched Jimmy's drink from the shelf and poured him a glass, emptying the bottle.
Jimmy took out his wallet and purchased another bottle. Thankfully, the bar was well-stocked, and Glenlivet 18 was not a scarce drink; it wouldn't force Jimmy to switch to a different kind next time.
After a while, a middle-aged man came in and sat next to Jimmy.
"Justin, Bourbon," he said.
Justin grabbed a bottle of Bourbon Whiskey and poured him a glass.
The middle-aged man took a sip from his glass and asked, "Are there any seats inside?"
Justin, "It's empty."
Turning to face Jimmy, the middle-aged man said, "Follow me," and walked towards the door next to the bar with his glass in hand.
Justin gestured an invitation to Jimmy, who also walked over, glass in hand.
The door led to a small private room, not very spacious, with three sofas along the walls and a coffee table in the middle. Jimmy had scanned this space before and had not discovered anything unusual.
Jimmy and the middle-aged man walked in and sat face-to-face on the sofas.
The middle-aged man looked to be in his forties, with short hair, wearing glasses, and dressed plainly. His palms appeared rough, which, if not due to manual labor, could likely be from frequent shooting since Jimmy also had similar calluses, although mostly on his right hand, while this man had them on both.
Middle-aged man, "Now you can talk about your request, and I will give you a quote."
Jimmy, "Any request?"
Middle-aged man, "Any request, I will evaluate whether to take it on."
Jimmy took a sip of his drink, leaned back into the sofa's backrest, and looked at him. The middle-aged man also watched Jimmy, motionless.
After a pause, Jimmy sat up straight and said to the middle-aged man, "I've had some special circumstances before. I've only had a stable income proof since last year, and I haven't reviewed the tax records before that because I don't have previous income proofs and can't let someone check the past tax returns directly, to avoid drawing their attention."
Middle-aged man: "Please give me more details about your experiences before last year."
Jimmy: "There are other issues involved here that I cannot discuss with you. Pretend I had a legitimate job before, but there might not be any tax records."
Middle-aged man: "No, I need to know the exact information to assess the risk."
Jimmy: "Wait for me."
Jimmy opened the door and walked out.
Jimmy: "Justin, you're sure that guy's okay, right? Some things need to be kept secret."
Justin: "No problem, I guarantee it."
Jimmy looked at Justin, nodded, then walked back into the private room.
Jimmy: "My official record shows I was with the State Police's highway patrol until January last year, then I transferred to the county police here. But in reality, I never worked for the State Police, nor do I have any proof of income. I used to be in a special department, and it wasn't until January last year that I took over this identity."
Middle-aged man: "I understand." He then leaned back on the couch and began to think.
Jimmy didn't disturb him and just drank his whiskey on his own.
After thinking for a while, the middle-aged man said to Jimmy: "It can be done. I'll contact the relevant people to check your information in the system confidentially. If your previous records are complete, you only need to pay $50,000 as a consultation fee.
If the previous records are not there, of course, I will show you the search results. Then you need to pay me $300,000, and I will arrange for someone to deal with your past data to ensure that when you file your taxes this year, all previous records will be in place and won't affect you in any way."
Jimmy: "How long will it take?"
Middle-aged man: "If the search turns up normal, then it will only take three days. If data needs to be changed, it will take at least a week. You need to prepay $50,000 to Justin. If data alteration is required, all subsequent funds should also be given to Justin.
Justin, acting as the intermediary, if everything is normal, you will need to give him an additional $5,000 afterwards. If data changes are needed, you'll have to give him an extra $30,000. You'll cover the intermediary fee."
Jimmy did some calculations with his income. He could afford the money, but it would strain him.
The bulk of his own funds actually came from licensing fees. Zhuoyue Lighting had already started expanding the market. In addition to police use, there were opportunities in highway construction, road signage, etc., so Jimmy's current income was good.
He had even considered buying a house before. If he hadn't been aiming for a good house in a good location, he would have had enough long ago.
Now, what he needed to consider was whether it was worth spending so much money to resolve this troublesome issue.
After much thought, Jimmy ultimately dismissed the idea of trying to bargain.
Jimmy extended his right hand, and the middle-aged man did the same. They shook hands and said, "Deal."
Jimmy took a notebook and pen out of his pocket, wrote down his name and social security number, and handed it over.
The notebook and pen were Jimmy's tools of the trade, as all police officers carry them even when off duty.
The two of them, holding their whiskey glasses, left the private room and went back to the bar.
The middle-aged man set down his glass, pressed a $20 bill underneath it, and then left the bar.
Jimmy sat back at the bar, placing his glass on the counter. Justin had already come over with the bottle, pouring Jimmy a glass and adding a few ice cubes.
Jimmy: "Justin, you're certain there's no problem, right? I'm almost bankrupt here if there's a mishap."
Justin: "If he promised, then there's no problem. His reputation is good."
Jimmy: "Who is this guy? I don't even know his name, or his handle."
Justin: "No name; his handle is Cleaner, some people also call him Sol."
Jimmy: "And you? What's your role? Can you at least tell me something now?"
Justin: "Now's not a good time. This place is crowded. Just enjoy life, and come by early tomorrow."
Jimmy: "What about the money?"
Justin: "Come over tomorrow and we'll talk. Don't worry, I'm always here."
Jimmy took his glass and left the bar. After spending nearly all his savings in one night, he was feeling very distressed and needed to relax properly.