Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 114 I have ten thousand ways to kill Milton, ten thousand ways
Quetzaltenango.

A Sikorsky S-76 luxury helicopter slowly landed on the helipad in the yard of a villa with a private swimming pool.

Wearing a shirt and sun pants, and sunglasses, Lopez stepped off the helicopter with two women in his arms, lay down on a beach chair by the pool, and took a sip of champagne.

"Phone, bring me the phone."

The two women, laughing as they took off their clothes, returned to the helicopter and retrieved the bulky mobile phone.

"Mr. Congressman, your phone is ringing!"

Lopez put down his glass, clicked his tongue twice, and muttered to himself, "What time is it now? The 'investigation team' should have already started their operation, and if all goes well, it should be over by now, right?"

"Heh, a mining accident that kills a dozen or even dozens of people can be packaged well, and Milton can only obediently wait to die."

A woman next to him asked, "Mr. Congressman, you have such a great influence in the military and you also have a private army, why don't you just raze Milton to the ground? Those big metal hulls of yours look terrifying."

Lopez had chosen a tank as the venue for a party before, so this woman knew that Lopez owned a tank.

“That’s called a tank, not a big sheet of iron,” Lopez corrected. “Because I need votes. I want to be a member of Congress, and maybe even become president someday.”

"Of course, force can solve the problem, but have you considered how much it would affect my votes? In the propaganda, Milton is a hero—do you know how much prestige that fire earned him?"

Although there was no clear evidence that Milton was responsible for the arson, and the authorities strongly condemned the incident, the public did not feel the same way.

In the minds of many, especially the victims, "Hell Tax Collector" Milton is a hero who challenges corrupt judges.

The woman was still puzzled, so she hugged him and asked, "If anyone opposes you, just beat them all up!"

“War requires money, people die, and the public will harbor their anger. I also have political enemies.” Lopez chuckled and shook his head. “I personally intervened, spent money to send troops, and used force to eliminate Milton, which resulted in not enough votes for him to be elected as a member of parliament.”

"Then I had to spend another sum of money to drive tanks into the streets and stick cannons into voters' homes to force them to vote for me."

"I might have to spend another sum of money to eliminate my political enemies as well... From now on, in order to prevent these people who hold grudges from retaliating against me, I will have to increase the investment in security and police force?"

"I heard that in South Korea, there was a Major General Jeon who also liked to use force. He successfully became president, but what happened in the end? Wasn't he overthrown?"

“Remember, don’t let others hate you, but find a way to make them hate your enemies. Don’t let my voters hate me, make them hate Milton who caused the mining disaster but did nothing, and then the ‘investigation team’ found all sorts of evidence of his crimes.”

"You can make voters live in misery, but you must never let them find out that you are the one who caused it all."

“You need to keep creating targets of their hatred, telling them that these people are the ones who stole their bread, telling them that everything will be better once you come to power, and then they will support you and follow you against your enemies… For example, Black people, or Jews. If all else fails, you can find an excuse like illegal immigrants…”

"Of course I can promise them freedom! But just as criticism is meaningless without praise, what is the point of freedom without oppression? I'll find them some oppression first, then promise them freedom, so I can win the election and make a lot of money."

“Right now, Milton is perfectly suited to sit in this hated position. It’s pathetic, isn’t it? Milton must hate me, hate me for destroying his mine, yet he ends up being part of my vote.”

“Aren’t those foolish voters pathetic? I’m the one working with the Sinaloa Group, I’m the one taking their money, yet they’re immediately turning their backs on Milton, who has nothing to do with them.”

Lopez said it with great pride.

This is why he left the army; he wanted to control the civil service.

Having a superior status and intelligence, and the feeling of crushing others, is far more satisfying than simply having the biggest fist.

The woman was only half-confused, but could only nod and say, "Mr. Councilor, you're amazing!"

“Give Moke a call. At this hour, he should be either counting the spoils or executing the miners,” Lopez said casually. “Hopefully they have fun, but don’t forget the important stuff.”

With that, Lopez dialed the number.

However, the phone line was busy.

This means someone is using the phone.

Lopez chuckled: "You even have time to make phone calls? You must be contacting other people, is it Lyman's checkpoint or the Mendoza gang? Very good, it looks like the battle is going very smoothly."

Only after the battle is over will Moke have time to contact these people and come together to hype up the "mining disaster".

"Since you're busy, let's wait a bit. I'm not in a hurry anyway."

López Obrador's approval rating is now very high. All he has to do is wait for the election in two months and then win a seat in Congress.

Milton was just a very minor incident.

Not long after, Lopez's phone rang.

"You're here? Aren't you going to stay a little longer?"

Lopez shook his head and answered the phone.

However, the voice coming from the other end was not Moke's, but that of the checkpoint chief, Lyman, who sounded somewhat urgent: "Mr. Lopez, is this Mr. Lopez?"

Lopez frowned immediately: "Lyman? Why are you calling me? Shouldn't you be at the mine right now, cooperating with Mok and the others?"

Lyman's voice was filled with fear: "Sir, something seems to have happened at the mine."

problem occurs?
Lopez's smile faded slightly, and he sat up a little straighter: "Tell me slowly, calm down. What happened? Where are you now? How is Mok?"

An unexpected incident occurred!

Lopez's mood soured considerably, but he didn't lose his composure—he had prepared for failure in his contingency plan.

Since Milton was able to take down the checkpoint and Van Conn's gang, and even manage to get a helicopter to set fire to the courtroom, it proves that he must have the ability.

Failure is normal.

“Forget it…” Lopez waved his hand. “So what if we fail? I’ll plan another attack in a few days. I can attack him every few days and send people to cause trouble at the mines every few days. Can he maintain such a high level of defense every day? Does his mine still want to make money?”

"Lyman, tell me, how many men did Mok lose? Where have they retreated to? Do they need any backup?"

Lyman's voice was still filled with fear: "Councilor, Mr. Councilor... Moke, Moke and the others, it seems they've been captured alive, all of them, all of them have been captured alive!"

Lopez jumped up from his chair: "What?!"

"What did you say, capture them alive?!"

"How can an eight-man combat team be captured alive when they launch a surprise attack on a mine far from Milton's headquarters?"

"Isn't this kind of attack and defense all about death or escape? How could they be captured alive? How could everyone be captured alive?!" Lyman had never seen Lopez so angry. He quickly smiled apologetically and comforted him, "Mr. Congressman, it's not that serious. You should find a way to cut ties with them, and it shouldn't affect you too much..."

Lyman's idea was simple.

These people are undoubtedly from López Obrador's faction. If their identities are revealed, it will certainly raise doubts among voters and may even lead to a drop in his approval rating.

But since it wasn't Lopez personally taking action, as long as the cuts are swift and shameless enough, he can still get through smoothly.

perhaps?

Lopez immediately retorted, "Are you out of your mind? You know your enemy is Milton, yet you don't even bother to learn more about him?"

"Since Milton was able to capture that good-for-nothing Moke alive, it means that Milton must have had a plan and received advance notice!"

"Do you think Milton, given his style, wouldn't record the whole thing? Tell me, wouldn't he?!"

Lyman broke out in a cold sweat: "You, you mean... Mok and the others will identify you?"

“Otherwise?” Lopez said coldly. “Or do you think these guys are tough nuts to crack?”

"What should I do?"

“What else can we do? Cut it off, throw money at it!” Lopesk suppressed the urge to roar. “Besides, Milton’s actions have blocked my future plans to cause trouble at the mines… Even if I were to cause a mining accident, he could just call it a terrorist attack! Ha, Milton!”

"Smarter than I thought!"

Lyman asked hesitantly, "So, Mr. Congressman, what should we do next? Are you planning to attack them by force?"

Armed attack...

To be honest, for a fleeting moment just now, Lopez really wanted to call the commander of the war zone directly, call his personal guard, and send armored units to raze the town of Malacan.

But the boast I just made in front of the woman is still fresh in my mind!
Moreover, there are too many mountains and the terrain is quite complex... Again, the cost is too high, and he doesn't want to lose a few tanks because of a mere Milton.

It's important to know that these tanks were all smuggled by Lopez himself during the collapse of the Soviet Union; they were his personal guards.

Even the regular army doesn't have tanks, but López's own armed forces do!

"No!" Senator Lopez gritted his teeth in anger. "Why would we need to deploy the army to deal with a mere Milton?"

"Underground bounty!"

"Didn't the Sinaloa Group offer a $500 million bounty on Milton's team and a $200 million bounty on Milton himself? I'll add another $200 million, $100 million for Milton and the other $100 million for his team members!"

Lopez didn't want to take matters into his own hands because of the impact on the votes, but he could have easily done it indirectly by offering a bounty.

There are plenty of desperados and mercenaries willing to do this job.

The $700 million bounty is enough to drive countless people crazy.

Can Milton hold out?

Lopez looked at the phone, took two deep breaths, and continued:

"Also, I need to blockade him! Contact the Sinaloa Group, contact the Mexican gangs, contact everyone you can reach, and tell them to rob any transport vehicles on Milton Road!"

"I'd like to see if you starve to death."

“Lyman, I will ship you some more powerful weapons. You only have one thing to do: steal business, steal Milton’s business.”

"I want to suffocate him completely."

"Play with me, and I'll play you to death! I have a million ways to kill you!"

Lyman was pleasantly surprised and said repeatedly, "Okay! Mr. Congressman, no problem, I promise I won't let you down."

"Go."

After hanging up the phone, Lopez sneered and called over his confidant Iker, instructing him: "Send some men... um, have the military send men to set up roadblocks and shut down the road from the town to the big city."

"So that Milton, that madman, won't do anything crazy again."

Iker bowed his head: "Yes, sir."

“And another thing.” Lopez stood up and poured the expensive bottle of wine on the table directly into the pool. “Contact our arms procurement channels in Russia. I need to buy some man-portable air defense systems… Let’s see if Milton still dares to bring his helicopter over.”

"Yes, sir."

“Very good, you’re busy…Grey, come with me.” Lopez walked into the villa and called over a woman dressed as a housekeeper. “Milton will definitely make a big deal out of this mining disaster, just like before, trying to suppress the public opinion. I can approve more funding for you.”

This housekeeper wasn't like those prostitutes at the swimming pool who knew how to pose seductively or be pretty, but she knew how to manage public opinion.

With López Obrador's current high approval ratings, his ability to win a congressional seat at such a low cost is largely thanks to Grace.

Grey nodded. "Yes, sir."

“I need to make a trip to the US... to see if I can buy some better weapons, or find a way to get them to allow the import of certain weapons.” Lopez frowned, sitting on the sofa. “Milton’s equipment is a bit too good. Where did he get his smuggling channels?”

To be honest, the best way to harass and threaten Milton is to send in the air force.

But the Guatemalan regular army's air force is really terrible... It was fine before there weren't any high-threat enemies, but after seeing the Milton courthouse fire, Lopez thought they should try to buy some planes, not necessarily the best ones, even the old, retired ones would do.

Just as Lopez was about to make contact with various channels to prepare for a big "spending spree," his phone rang.

Only a handful of people knew his phone number, so Lopez didn't think much of it and answered the call directly.

He simply stated his identity: "Lopez".

"Dear Congressman López, hello! It's a pleasure to get through to you. I've heard of you for a long time, but I'm so sorry it took me so long to get in touch with you."

Lopez paused for a moment, not recognizing the voice, and asked, "Who are you?"

“I am Milton.”

(End of this chapter)