Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 258 Intimidation
Concordia.

In a heavily guarded villa, with bodyguards everywhere but no apparent disturbance, Coca-Cola's sales manager, Marco, was watching television with a very grim expression.

One piece of bad news after another has been coming recently, and Marco's gray hair has become visibly more abundant.

Not long ago, Milton and Vic declared war on the local Coca-Cola company without any reason, and Brandon, who contacted them, took arrogance to the extreme, threatening to fight at the slightest provocation.

The television stations of Quetzaltenango and Tapachula have taken turns declaring that the next step is to remove the "cancer" from Concordia.

But just when many people decided to put up a fight, spent a lot of money to hire people, and waited for Milton's army to come to the border, Milton did not come!
Just when everyone thought Milton was about to attack Concordia, he launched a surprise attack on Tustra, where the 31st Brigade rebels were stationed!

Badr was reduced to only a few hundred guards. He first headed north to Veracruz, and then there were rumors that he fled to Jalisco...

Milton has successfully taken military control of Chiapas’s main cities and announced that he will hold elections for governor and state legislature in accordance with the constitution.

As for Concordia, which was being constantly criticized not long ago, it seems to have been forgotten now.

They used to make threats, but now they've completely cut off all contact.

Coca-Cola also called, but no one answered, not even a simple "go back and wait for our notification".

This indifferent attitude is far more intimidating than a direct threat of force.

Threatening with force at least shows that the other party still considers you valuable and thinks it's not easy to control you... But if you are completely ignored, it means either you have no value to the other party, or the other party thinks that they can easily control you by taking unilateral action.

In either case, this is an extremely dangerous signal.

This means that, at least in Milton's view, Coca-Cola has lost all its bargaining chips.

As the manager of the sales department, this man, for the first time ever, turned on "Pan Madre TV," a channel he would never have glanced at before. He watched everything from entertainment programs to the weather forecast and the news broadcast, just to see what Milton's attitude was.

On the color television screen, a news anchor is reading his script.

"The 'Law Protection Army' completely defeated the rebels, drove them out of Chiapas, and reached a reconciliation with the Zapatista insurgents. On November 23, the Chiapas civil war was declared completely over."

"In order to restore order as soon as possible, the parliamentary elections and gubernatorial elections will begin tomorrow, November 24th, and Chiapas will welcome a new governor around Christmas..."

"There are currently three competitive candidates: the former mayor of Tapachula, who defeated all drug dealers, made preparations in advance, weathered the economic crisis, and led the city to prosperity; and Vic, who launched the 'Law Protection Army' to uphold the Constitution!"

"He announced that he would bring Chiapas, a state that controls the borders, the water resources, and the rich oil resources, back to its rightful place, and would bring wealth, security and health to every household in Chiapas."

"Everyone can afford clean water and medical care, every child can go to school, and every drop of oil can bring profits to the local people."

“Every campaign promise he made was fulfilled in Tapachula.”

"If candidates wish, they can cast their sacred and solemn vote at their local polling station."

"The other candidates are... and... their policy platforms are currently unknown."

"..."

"The DEA, in collaboration with local law enforcement, apprehended a dangerous drug trafficking ring of 20 members. According to official sources, all of them were armed with automatic rifles and engaged in a fierce firefight with police, displaying extreme ruthlessness. However, 17 of them were killed and 3 were arrested while attempting to flee to other states... The law enforcement records will be released at the trial."

"Reports indicate that a large number of members of the group hold U.S. citizenship, but there has been no response from the U.S. authorities."

“Agricultural experts on Vic’s campaign team claimed that there is widespread dishonest behavior that violates fair competition in the local market, and that if he takes office, he will push through legislation as quickly as possible to change this situation.”

"..."

There's been a lot of big news here lately, and this news broadcast was exceptionally long.

But Marco never saw what he wanted to see.

"Dad, have you finished watching? It's my turn to watch now. The latest episode of 'When the Police Lights Turn On' is coming up soon. You promised I could watch it after I finished my homework!"

"Hey, why are you watching this TV channel too? Didn't you always tell me to watch less of it?"

Marco was extremely annoyed. He threw down the remote control and waved his hand, saying, "It's been a lot of trouble outside lately. You're not allowed to go out, and you shouldn't go to school for the time being either. I'm going to the company again to find out some information."

Before leaving, Marco repeatedly told the security guards to keep a close eye on his son before getting into the car and having the driver take him to the company.

As soon as I got off the bus, the atmosphere of melancholy was so thick it was impossible to shake off.

From security guards to frontline employees to management, everyone looked anxious and uneasy.

Marco went to his office and stared blankly at his desk, the fear of the future constantly assaulting his senses.

He sat in his office until night, then lay on the sofa, having nightmares about being caught by Milton and turned into snacks, and was awakened in the early hours of the next morning.

As soon as he got up, Marco couldn't wait to turn on the TV to see how the gubernatorial election was going.

As expected, Vic completely outperformed the other two names that most people had never even heard of, with his approval rating approaching 80%!

Just hours into Election Day, the choice of governor seems to have been completely decided.

Marco sighed, took his ballot out of his desk drawer, marked Vic's name, carefully hid it, and went straight to his boss's office, the sales manager.

The sales manager, an American, was on the phone. He sighed several times before hanging up and looking at Marco.

"Marco, what's wrong?"

Marco gave a wry smile: "Minister, I just saw the news and I'm very worried about the company's situation... Vic is to our south and Milton is to our north. They have completely taken control of the local administration. What are we going to do?"

"Their attitude towards us was hardly friendly."

People who are not well-informed about the inside story are spreading rumors that Milton is about to launch a military attack on Concordia and bombard the area with artillery shells.

Those who have inside information believe that this is likely not a rumor.

The so-called 20 vicious drug dealers mentioned in the news were actually CIASAD special forces. No one knows exactly what they did, but judging from the result, Milton was furious and captured them regardless of the cost.

Nominally, it was the DEA that was carrying out the operation.

Many people previously believed that Milton would not take unilateral action against Coca-Cola, and that it was impossible for him to actually send them flying with an aerial bomb.

Now that this has come to light, many people think that Milton might actually do it.

Although Milton had killed CIA agents before, that was a long time ago, and the entire operation started and ended quietly at night, so the impact was far less intense than this one.

This time, Milton reportedly blew up the highway, used artillery, and dispatched fighter jets, completely disregarding any attempts at mediation. In front of a CIA official, he cruelly blew up his men and captured the remaining survivors.

Such a crazy person, what's wrong with blowing up a Coca-Cola?
They might even dare to bomb the World Trade Center.

The sales manager rubbed his forehead and said, "Well... the vice president is already actively communicating with them, and Coca-Cola headquarters is also paying attention to this matter. Maybe things will take a turn for the better."

Marco finally couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Boss, I think... the conditions Brandon mentioned before aren't entirely unacceptable."

The minister thought he was hallucinating: "What did you say?"

“I’ve thought about it carefully. All they want is to take back the reservoir, stop our monopolistic practices, and make us more transparent,” Marco said. “Coca-Cola’s supply chain has already reached its limit. Even in fair competition, it would be difficult for anyone to beat us.”

"We've already recouped our investment thanks to our monopoly on the reservoir. Giving it back now doesn't seem like a big deal, does it?"

"And that joint venture thing, I don't think there's anything wrong with it... Coca-Cola was originally in a joint venture with Finsar in Latin America, and I heard that it's also in a joint venture with a state-owned enterprise in China. Now, if we change it a little and form a joint venture with Milton, is that okay?"

"It's better than us losing this reservoir, losing this market, getting nothing, and then getting bombed, right?"

The minister finally looked surprised: "You, is that really what you think?"

To be honest, similar ideas were not uncommon in the area—especially after the fall of Tustra and Milton’s complete victory.

This is especially true for the local Mexicans.

Although they are beneficiaries of the system, and although they are reluctant to admit it, most people believe that Vic and Milton did the right thing.

Moreover, Milton only expelled those who should have been expelled. Even foreigners were retained as long as they held technical positions; there was no purge.

Such behavior is accelerating the disintegration of Coca-Cola from within.

At least many locals are no longer opposed to Milton's arrival. "Yeah, at least it's better than being completely destroyed, right?"

Just as the minister was about to say something, an employee hurriedly knocked on the door and said, "The vice president wants everyone to go to the conference room for a meeting. It's very important!"

After saying that, the employee hurriedly left to notify the next person.

"Let's go," the minister said without further ado. "Let's see how the big shots decide."

The two quickly arrived at the conference room.

Because the situation is indeed very urgent, if Vic is elected with this approval rating, he will not face any resistance in parliament.

His policy bills are probably already drafted, and if elected, they could likely be passed within a week.

A solution must be developed as soon as possible.

At the meeting, everyone was almost divided into two distinct factions.

One faction consisted of locals, who almost all leaned towards surrendering and agreeing to all of Milton's demands; the other faction consisted of Americans... most of them also leaned towards surrendering, but still felt that Milton's terms were somewhat harsh and that further negotiations were necessary.

Both sides held their own version of events, and for a time the argument became quite heated.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the conference room door, breaking the somewhat awkward atmosphere.

The vice president turned around somewhat rudely and asked, "What is it?!"

"Yes, I have one for you, uh, a souvenir, it just arrived."

The vice president was very dissatisfied and rebuked, "What souvenirs? Is this really that important? Can't you see we're in a meeting?"

“It was sent by Milton.”

"..."

The scene fell completely silent.

The vice president was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure it's not a bomb?"

"no……"

Nuclear waste?

"It's not..."

"Then put it here, I'll check it later."

"Ok."

The employee placed the fairly nicely packaged box on the table, turned around, and quickly left.

The vice president took a deep breath, reached out, and curiously opened the gift box, glancing inside... Inside was a poorly made bone knife.

It looks relatively new.

What's even more remarkable is that there was a letter hidden under the bone knife!
Milton, who wouldn't answer the phone or meet them in person, actually sent them a letter.

The vice president, who had been under immense pressure, relaxed considerably and laughed heartily: "See! I told you, once Milton takes over the government, things will become more civilized. See, I said it before, things aren't as serious as you think."

Seemingly to prove his point, the vice president took the bone knife down, gave it a boastful speech, and then opened the letter and read it aloud in front of everyone.

The letter was very short, which was very much in line with Milton's personal style, but the vice president felt a great deal of sincerity and respect from it.

"I deeply apologize for my previous rudeness to everyone due to the war..."

"Here's a local specialty for you: a human bone knife... Look how sincere this is... Wait? What kind of bone?!"

"The materials used to make it are very precious. You have probably all heard the story of 20 vicious drug dealers. Yes, that story is true. We caught three of them."

"The materials used to make this bone knife were taken from his body... After it was finished, we used this bone knife to end his life and packaged it as a gift for everyone as a memento..."

Upon reaching this point, the vice president finally couldn't read another word.

Damn it, this bone knife is made of CIA bones?!

Milton, that madman, that devil!

This is no "apology" you're talking about; it's a blatant threat—I can kill CIA agents and turn them into souvenirs, so don't even mention you guys.

The vice president silently put down the souvenir: "Let's talk about surrender... let's talk about the new contract with the new government."

"..."

……

night.

Tustra.

This city is bustling like this for the first time since the war—the gubernatorial election will officially end in two hours.

Vic was already waiting for the final results to be announced at a rather simple victory banquet before taking office as governor.

Even if all the remaining ballots that haven't been counted aren't his and end up on another candidate, his vote count still can't surpass his. So he's already effectively won, and the rest of the campaign is just a waste of time.

"'Hell Tax Collector'... Is he leaving already?" Vic chuckled. "Logically speaking, you should be the main character here."

Milton had never had the slightest interest in such occasions. He waved his hand and said, "Leave the rest to you politicians. I'm a soldier, and I'm off to the next battlefield."

All contracts, including those for oil and gas fields, reservoirs, and security, have been signed and are ready to take effect once Vic completes the necessary procedures.

Yes, that includes reservoirs as well.

After the souvenir knife was accepted, Coca-Cola finally backed down and said it would abide by all local laws and regulations.

With oil and electricity secured, the drug cartel that had been plotting against Milton scattered like birds and beasts. His rear was no longer a constant threat, but a lifeline that kept supplying him with resources!

With Mexico in chaos and drug cartels retreating back to their own territories, Milton no longer needs to worry about threats from his rear and can begin to concentrate all his efforts on dealing a good blow to the Alzu government, at least for the time being.

Vic raised his glass and said earnestly, "I wish you success, my friend! Always remember... the people of Chiapas are your allies, and your story and contributions will be remembered by all."

“You are no longer just the ‘hell tax collector’ of Guatemala, you are the ‘hell tax collector’ of all Latin America. We have had people like you before, and they all failed, but I think you are different... Your great cause will surely succeed.”

Milton didn't pay much attention to those words. He waved his hand, got into his armored car, and drove towards the airport.

He picked up his mobile phone and called Winnie first.

"Hello~"

"How's the interrogation going? Have the other two CIA agents confessed?"

“Some useful intelligence… According to unreliable sources, it seems a force is targeting your weakest point: the ocean. Your little wrecked ship might scare off pirates, but if someone really targets you, it'll be completely useless.” Winnie yawned. “What time is it? Talking about work so late at night, aren't you tired?”

Milton ignored the meaningless information and pressed on: "Be more specific, who is targeting me, what kind of power do they have, and when is it likely to happen?"

“The CIA hasn’t confessed,” Winnie replied. “They still believe they can be rescued, so they’re being very persistent.”

"Then how did you know?"

“It was fabricated, so it’s not very specific,” Winnie said. “During my interrogation, I mentioned your railway project, and one of the agents showed a very dismissive attitude, something I’d never seen before… I thought about it, and the most crucial aspect of your railway construction was maritime transport.”

"Therefore, I speculate that the CIA might support a certain force to carry out an unofficial maritime blockade against you, or at least harass you, in order to increase your construction costs or even sabotage your plans."

"The above are all my speculations, so they are based on unreliable sources."

Milton was silent for a moment before speaking, "Interesting... Take them both to Guatemala, and I'll interrogate them myself."

(End of this chapter)