America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 436 The Governor's Determination

It is a very normal thing for things to be stolen from the factory.

But there are very few people who steal explosives.

Even Xiao En, a leader in the theft world in the west, has only stolen twice in his life.

Both times were with Chen Jianqiu.

the reason is simple.

Stealing other things means being caught and beaten or squatting in the "Dragon Field" for a period of time, but stealing explosives is likely to directly send you to heaven.

Moreover, on the eve of the strike, the theft of explosives is definitely not a good thing.

"Hawley, do we want to delay the strike?"

As a seasoned detective, Duncan knows all too well what it means if explosives fall into the wrong hands.

Holly shook his head.

"It is impossible to postpone the strike. Everything has been prepared. If it is stopped at this time, not only will the goal of linkage with Chicago be lost, but the effect of the strike itself will also be affected!"

Holly said after thinking for a moment.

"Well, you tell Hanif about the situation and let the Border Detective Agency handle it."

It was already midnight when Duncan arrived at Hanif's apartment.

Usually at this time, Hanif has already washed up and gone to bed.

But Hanif has been restless today.

Tomorrow is the day of the general strike.

Chen Jianqiu gave him a task to ensure the smooth progress of the strike and Holly's personal safety.

Although the undercover agent has been caught, Hanif always feels that the old goblin Hellman will give him some kind of moth.

Hanif stood at the bar of his restaurant, drinking whiskey and looking at a map of San Francisco on the bar.

There was a knock on the door.

Hanif raised his ears to listen, and quickly recognized from the rhythm that it was Duncan who knocked on the door.

The door was opened.

Duncan looked at Hanif, who was wearing pajamas and holding half a glass of whiskey, and frowned slightly:

"Can't sleep?"

Hanif swung his neck to finish the wine in the glass, and beckoned to Duncan to let him in:
"Yes, tomorrow you will go on strike, and the boss will take the assignment, so I won't be able to sleep!"

Among the three undercover agents, he and Duncan have known each other for the longest time and are also the most familiar. In addition, it may be due to the reason that they have been in a one-way relationship, the conversation between the two has never been the tone of the superior and the subordinate.

"Then when you hear the news I bring you, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep even more." Duncan looked at Hanif playfully.

"Oh no!"

Hanif put down the empty glass in his hand, covered his face with his hands and let out a wail.

I'm going to die, I'm really afraid of something!
Duncan was taken aback.

Why did he feel that Hanif's mental state was a little abnormal?Is it because of the alcohol?

"Let's talk." Hanif ran to the bathroom, wiped his face with a wet towel, and turned to the labor union officer.

"Several bundles of explosives were stolen from the California Dynamite Factory," Duncan said.

"It's over!" Hanif sat down on the sofa.

The explosives in the explosives factory were not thrown away sooner or later, but at this time, he didn't believe that there was no handwriting by Pinkerton's gang.

Who took the explosives?

It's unlikely that Halton took it. The Pinkerton detectives didn't have to steal it. They had plenty of ways to get the explosives.

Did the workers take it themselves?

Hanif's back was covered with cold sweat.

As we all know, whether it is the Knights of Labor or the trade union, its members have always had differences on how to fight for their rights.

Some are conservative and some are radical.

Hawley is generally tolerant of these ideas.

Chen Jianqiu once told him a sentence: Don't persuade others to be kind before they suffer.

As a worker leader, he only needs to stabilize his base and win the support of the majority of people.

But at this juncture, as long as an activist goes to the scene with a bomb, and then throws it out when the workers on the site confront the police.

That would be a disaster!
Bombs of this era are extremely unstable.

Not to mention how many innocent people would be harmed at the scene, the police also had a reason to shoot and arrest people.

If he took the opportunity to plant the blame on Holly again, it would be troublesome.

"Did the people from the explosives factory call the police?"

Hanif paced back and forth in the room.

He originally wanted to take people to the explosives factory to investigate, to see if he could find out who stole the explosives in the first place.

But it happened so suddenly.

Without entrustment, they have no way to sneak into the explosives factory to investigate.

Not to mention catching a thief overnight.

"It should be called the police. I guess the police station is also full of bags now." Duncan said, "Everyone knows about the strike tomorrow, and the police in the whole city should also be dispatched. I don't know what countermeasures they have."

Now, Hanif couldn't sleep at all.

He put on his coat, then walked to his desk and took out a paper bag from a drawer.

This paper bag was used by Heilman to bribe him before.

Hanif took some dollars out of the paper bag and stuffed them back into the drawer, then tied the bag and put it in his coat pocket.

He walked out the door quickly.

"Duncan, you go back to the union first and tell Hawley that it's really not possible. Before the strike starts, check the items carried by each worker."

Hanif closed the door and hurried downstairs while speaking to Duncan behind him.

"Let's do our best." Duncan said with a wry smile.
There will be tens of thousands of people participating in the parade tomorrow. It is too difficult to find the person with the bomb in this way.

Half an hour later, Hanif appeared outside Sheriff Porter's home.

He hurried up the steps and slammed on the door.

"What? What? Dead?"

The door was opened, and Sergeant Porter appeared at the door in pajamas with a kerosene lamp, his face was full of anger.

But when he saw Hanif standing at the door, his anger immediately subsided by half:
"Hanif? Come in, come in, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

After all, when the God of Wealth comes, he cannot be turned away.

However, before Sergeant Porter fully opened the door, Hanif squeezed in sideways.

The sheriff had to close the door behind him.

"Sheriff, is there going to be a general strike tomorrow?" Hanif asked in a low voice.

"Huh? Did you know about the strike?" Sergeant Porter looked surprised.

But he thought about it.

The Border Detective Agency is now the largest private detective and bodyguard organization in the west, and they have an extremely powerful intelligence network.

Sometimes I have to rely on them for help.

So it is not surprising that Hanif knew about the strike.

"Now the old lady who sells bread on the roadside knows about it." Hanif said angrily,

"I have several commissions in hand now, and some factory owners have asked us to protect their factories tomorrow."

He paused and continued:

"But I haven't seen you greet me until now, so I came over overnight to ask you what's going on."

He didn't say a word about the explosives factory, for fear of arousing suspicion from the sheriff.

Sergeant Porter probably didn't think it was proper to talk to Hanif at the door with a lamp in his pajamas.

He patted Hanif on the arm and motioned for him to follow him to the living room.

After coming to the living room, Sergeant Porter turned on the big lamp next to the sofa, and while sitting down on the sofa, he motioned for Hanif to sit down too.

He crossed his hands and put them on his stomach, then said meaningfully to Hanif:
"As a long-term partner and friend, Hanif, I would like to give you a suggestion. It is best for you and your detective agency not to interfere with tomorrow's affairs."

"That's an advice," said Inspector Potter.

Hanif heard something in the sheriff's words, so he asked:
"why?"

Sergeant Porter stared at Hanif: "I remember you never asked "why". This seems to be the professional code of your detectives."

"Fuck the professional code, if I remove my people now, the liquidated damages alone will pay me to death!" Hanif cursed.

"You don't need to evacuate people, just stay in the factory and don't come out, just don't act rashly." Sergeant Porter said, "Don't worry about things that shouldn't be dealt with."

Hanif took the paper bag out of his pocket and threw it to the sheriff opposite.

The sheriff opened the paper bag, and when he saw the US dollars inside, he smiled happily.

"800 dollars." Hanif rested his chin in his hand, "Buy one and understand, it's okay."

Sheriff Potter tucked the paper bag between his pajamas and the sofa.

He coughed and lowered his voice again, even though there were only Hanif and him in the room:

"The governor has made up his mind to give the Knights of Labor a little color, which he feels is meddling in politics."

"We have received an order that tomorrow near Union Square, as soon as the explosion is heard, all the police will shoot at the striking workers!"

(End of this chapter)