Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 76 Everything is ready
Two days passed quickly.

On the eve of war, morale and rest were of utmost importance, so Milton did not allow any further training.

At 7:30 a.m., everyone got out of bed, put on all their gear, and gathered on the first floor of the black market pharmacy.

There were 10 hours and 30 minutes left before the negotiation time ended.

In these final 10 hours, everyone needs to be well prepared, otherwise, if anything goes wrong, Milton, who needs to stand in the sunlight, could very well become a sitting duck.

Even wearing heavy bulletproof vests may not save your life.

Even if his tactical vest only had level 3 bulletproof plates, even if it had level 4 plates, he would have virtually no chance of surviving if he were mowed down by a dozen or so people.

Matteo was the first to get up. When he saw Milton walk in, he didn't even eat breakfast: "Boss, what should we do with those guys from Van Kang's gang?"

“Kill him.” Milton waved his hand. “There’s no need to ask me about such a trivial matter. Anyway, his body will be blown to pieces, and no one will be able to tell the real cause of his death.”

"The most important thing now is to make sure our drivers arrive at the steakhouse on time, neither too fast nor too slow, before the negotiations begin."

"Such a large manure truck cannot be arranged in advance; it can only be driven there on-site."

"If it's too early, and everyone hasn't arrived yet, and we can't inflict a major blow on them in the first wave, the later battles will become more difficult. If it's too late, then I can only try to stall for time in place, which makes it easy for them to find a weakness."

"The driver in charge of driving must be an experienced driver."

Lutz nodded: "Don't worry, he's an experienced driver. He spent the whole day yesterday scouting locations, so time won't be a problem."

Everything is ready.

"Very good, let's begin. Flora, remember to wear your gas masks."

Milton checked his heavy body armor, hid the Tokarev TT-33 pistol he had previously captured on his waist, and also managed to hide an RGO grenade on his person.

This time he didn't choose to bring a rifle—that would have made his hostility too obvious, and it would have been clear that he wasn't really interested in negotiating.

Moreover, once the fighting begins, Milton, as the decoy, only needs to quickly find cover and hide, while others take over the firing.

Having a handgun for self-defense is enough.

……

With everything prepared, Milton boarded his guard and, along with Lutz, Matteo, and the two traitors, drove away from the old streets toward the center of town.

When he was two blocks away from the steakhouse, Milton pulled over and drove into a dilapidated house he had scouted out beforehand.

Milton has a good sense of the road, and he has driven around the area several times in the past few days. He even did a close reconnaissance the day before yesterday, so he has memorized the surrounding road conditions and environment.

The five walked the last stretch of the road and soon saw the steakhouse at the street corner.

At the entrance of the steakhouse stood four tall police officers in uniform, each holding a submachine gun.

Two modified bulletproof vehicles were parked on the side of the street. The occupants of one of the bulletproof vehicles were standing side by side inside the steakhouse, while the other occupants remained in the vehicle, seemingly for immediate deployment.

Not only were there no other customers in the steakhouse, but there were also no other passersby on the entire street.

The man sitting in the most prominent spot in the restaurant, busy cutting and eating his steak, must be the deputy police chief, Otto.

"It seems this steakhouse is only serving our group of customers today."

Milton took two steps forward, and one of the guards next to Otto immediately opened the door and came up, his attitude not very friendly.

“‘Hell Tax Collector’ Milton, you seem to be a little late.”

“I believe that arriving at the agreed time, neither too early nor too late, is the most polite thing to do.” Milton didn’t give him a friendly look either. “Otherwise, I could have come over at 5 a.m. today and accused you of being unpunctual. Do you think that would have made any sense?”

“Nobody told me that the ‘Hell Tax Collector’ could give speeches… Alright, go in, but I need to search you first. You can’t bring weapons into the restaurant.” With that, the guard stepped forward to search Milton.

Milton took a half step back: "Who said I'm going in to sign now? What if we don't agree on the terms and you turn on me and try to beat me up? How am I supposed to get out then?"

The guard was getting impatient: "Then what do you want?"

“I will have my men convey my initial conditions.” Milton tried to control his facial expression, trying not to let his emotions show. “If we don’t even have this basic consensus, there’s no need for further negotiations.”

The guard let out a strong sigh, his face growing even more impatient. He pulled out a walkie-talkie and said something.

Ten seconds later, he put down the walkie-talkie and waved his hand: "Let your men go in, hurry up, Mr. Otto is very busy."

Milton waved for the two traitors to enter the steakhouse, then explained, "These two are also Mr. Pedro's men. I think having them deliver messages will give us a basis for mutual trust."

Upon hearing Milton's words, the two traitors hurriedly scurried into the steakhouse, looking quite proud, as if they were undertaking a glorious mission.

The guard, who appeared to be of high rank, chuckled dismissively.

"'Hell Tax Collector'... Do you really think this is necessary? Do you really think this is a negotiation?"

"What do you mean?"

Milton asked casually, while glancing out of the corner of his eye at the opposite side at the edge of his field of vision.

A manure truck slowly drove by, but due to the bumps, something fell off the truck. The driver had to stop, get out, and pick it up. Then he started fiddling with something in the driver's seat.

The guard continued, his expression arrogant: "Since you sent someone to state your bottom line, then I'll also tell you, Mr. Otto, Mr. Pedro, and Mr. Varta, what your bottom line is in this 'negotiation'."

“This is not negotiation, this is you paying for peace and an opportunity.”

"You have indeed demonstrated some strength, forcing us to seriously weigh the costs of eliminating you versus cooperating with you."

"You should go to church to thank God for His mercy, because we chose the latter."

"But don't be greedy, and don't try to cross our bottom line again."

"do you understand?"

Milton looked away and replied casually, "I don't understand..."

"Don't think you're some big shot just because you piled up sandbags in the old streets. Seriously, you and your people are just a bunch of rats hiding in the sewers of a black market pharmacy."

“$500,000, that’s the price for peace. Of that, you must see $300,000 tonight, and you’ll have to figure out how to raise the remaining $200,000 within two months. You’re known as the ‘Hell Tax Collector,’ so go and collect your own taxes.”

No bargaining allowed.

"This is our bottom line. Hand over the money, then go inside for steak, toast Mr. Otto, and you'll be our dog. As long as you're obedient, we'll reward you with bones. Do you understand now, you rude country bumpkin who can't even wear a suit?"

The guard glanced at Milton's bulletproof vest and said a lot of disdainful things.

Milton listened quietly, then smiled enigmatically: "$50... To gather that much money and stuff, you'd probably need a truck to haul it all up, right?"

The guard looked at Milton with a puzzled expression: "I don't care what you use to pull it."

Milton's smile deepened: "Because I have indeed prepared a carload of good stuff to give you tonight."

The guard, intrigued, opened his mouth to ask further...

But the next second, the roar of a diesel engine came, followed by the sound of tables and chairs being smashed open outside the restaurant.

boom! ! !
(End of this chapter)