New Gods of North America.

Chapter 711 Unexpected Visitor

Things took a turn for the better than Wayne had anticipated.

The next morning, Brother Merlin led a group back to the cathedral for their usual rest. He wouldn't be able to get a reply to the matter he needed to ask Wayne for until at least the afternoon.
Wayne, who had originally planned to sleep through the entire morning, had to deal with a series of strange and unusual things.

The first to arrive at the temporary base before dawn was one of the remaining leaders of the Sailors' Gang, named Hector, who was probably in his early forties.
This guy was probably the "second" or "third" in the Sailors' Gang. Now that the gang leader is dead, if he continues to recruit, eliminate the two remaining competitors of the same level, and promote and isolate a "strategist" as his deputy, he might become the new leader of the Sailors' Gang.

Surprisingly, he actually "voted".

"Why?" Wayne was genuinely curious.

Hector's reasoning sounded reasonable: "The remaining big bosses in the gang all want to become the new leader. I'm too old, I can't keep up with the young people, and I don't have many men. I might as well spend a few years in prison and live a normal life after I get out."

However, the note Lina handed over didn't say that.

Wayne glanced at the contents of the note and then asked, "I want to hear the truth. Several of your men have been recruiting people these past few days, saying you'll be the new leader of the Sailors' Gang—why did you suddenly choose this time to turn yourself in?"

"I'm telling the truth."

Although the other party wasn't entirely honest, they still knew that when asking for help, one should "bring something": "I know the location where a batch of smuggled goods is currently stored in the gang. It's some spices that can be resold for at least $2000, and the normal market price is even higher."

“Our boss previously arranged for people to accuse you, Mr. Wayne, of murder. Although some of them have recently died, I can still step in and make the one or two who are still alive completely change their stories and identify the real killer for the prosecutor.”

Wayne thought for a moment: "Although a sheriff has been spending a lot of time here lately, our detective agency isn't the real police force. Did you choose the wrong place to turn yourself in?"

The other person shook his head: "Compared to the Richmond police, I trust Mr. Wayne's character more. Judging from your decision not to get involved in gang fights lately, I might still have a chance to avoid going to jail."

Wayne had a rough idea: "That batch of spices you mentioned earlier, you probably don't have it with you now, right?"

Hector didn't hide anything: "Yes, they were taken by another guy in our gang who wanted to take over. Otherwise, I would have sent them over directly."

Wayne didn't believe his nonsense.

With no hope of advancement, he simply surrendered and sought a new path in life?

However, the Sailors' Gang is already severely weakened, and the Detective Agency is also busy, so they'd rather avoid unnecessary trouble.

Wayne quickly made up his mind: "I can let bygones be bygones for what you did in the Sailors' Gang, but the prosecutors are still investigating gang members. If they dig up any evidence against you, you'll probably still be punished, at least you'll have to go to jail for a few years."

The other party readily extended their hand: "Then it's settled?"

Wayne was a little suspicious, but he still shook hands with the other party and said, "It's a pleasure doing business with you."

something is wrong,
This guy seems eager to get away; there must be some other reason behind it.

But now that he has turned himself in, he will definitely be detained temporarily. There's no need to rush things right now; we can let Willie and the intelligence team investigate slowly.

After the morning meeting, Inessa was supposed to take turns returning to the workshop to bathe and change, but she had only been gone a short while when the carriage returned with a young man and woman.

Instead of taking him directly to the temporary base, Inessa had the agent on guard call Wayne to the back door.

After Wayne climbed into the carriage, Inessa gave a brief introduction:

“This is Michael, and this is Michelle. They are the two extraordinary outsiders who were almost caught by the monks of the cathedral last night.”

The two had already removed their hats, and being of similar age, with similar appearances and even their names rhyming, it was easy to tell at a glance that they were twins, only their looks were slightly average.

Wayne looked at Inessa with even more curiosity than when he was talking to that guy from the Sailors' Gang: "You two knew each other before?"

“We traveled together on the ship that left Windsor for a while. When I first boarded, they were still on the dock giving the pursuers the wrong directions,” Inessa added. “But they disembarked at Port Cork, and I never expected to run into them again in America.”

嗐，
So it wasn't someone like a "former colleague" after all.

Wayne had just been wondering if he might have a chance to ask these two guys some questions about the Hunter Association or Inessa's story.
Or it would be helpful to obtain one or two normal Windsor hunter samples, so that the detective agency could understand the average level there.

In those days, a major shipping route between the Old World and the New World started from the coast of the Old World, passed through the Kingdom of Windsor and Ireland, and then headed straight for the east coast of America.

Due to its geographical location, Airland was the last supply station for ships before crossing the ocean on this route, and one of the closest lifelines for damaged ships on the ocean. As a result, several world-famous ports were born in Airland, one of which is Cork.

—This is also one reason why illegal immigrants from Ireland can so easily smuggle themselves into the United States. As long as they don't die in the ocean along the way, it's practically a "next stop" for them.
The situation was similar for the Hans, as they were one of the starting points of this main shipping route. At this time, the Hans had a better relationship with the Windsor people than the Franks, and they were more motivated to immigrate or smuggle themselves into the country.

Wayne turned his gaze to the twins, and just to be on the safe side, he decided to lay out the unpleasant truth upfront:

"Since you helped Inessa before, we will reciprocate with the same kindness. But is this a simple 'change of environment' trip to America, or are you actually carrying other troubles?"

Wayne had just suggested to Brother Merlin last night that they increase "network surveillance" because another extraordinary outsider had tried to smuggle in.
Before they even got there in the morning, Inessa picked them up, making the whole thing seem like Wayne had orchestrated it all.

Therefore, taking them in right now still carries a slight risk for the detective agency.
If helping is too troublesome, or if the other party's background is not clean, then Wayne will have to consider the specific methods.

The one named Michelle seems to have a more proactive and outgoing personality, like the "older sister" among them:
“We haven’t done anything wrong, but a lot of people do cause us trouble. Miss Inessa said you come from the interior of America, and if you can get us out of the hunt or arrange for us to live in the past, we can work for you for a certain number of years.”

Wayne chose to ask the key question first: "Who are the people hunting you?"

"Hmm... Currently, it's mainly the Holy See and the Abyss Society. However, the Church of Windsor and the 'Wisdom Above All' Order may also be looking for us. There's also a group of people from the School of Life; they are fewer in number, but they might be very persistent."

?

No, do you think that sounds like someone who has never done anything wrong?
Lina doesn't seem to have as many enemies as you guys...

Before they could figure things out, Sanders came out through the back door of the temporary base: "Boss, the Secretary of State's secretary is here to visit. Mr. Doug asked me to come and ask for your opinion."

(End of this chapter)