Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 255 Someone Wants Your Pistol (4.3k Overload)

That evening, in a suite at the Astor Hotel.

The city lights in the night shone through the glass window, illuminating a huge leather trunk that was open on the carpet. Inside the trunk, on a blue velvet lining, lay a row of M1892 "Pioneer" automatic pistols with cold, hard lines and a deep blue steel sheen.

The air was filled with the unique aroma of gun grease and cigar smoke.

Larry squatted down, picked up a pistol, removed the magazine with one hand, ran his thumb along the magazine catch, and pushed it back in with a click—the movement was smooth and precise.

"Automatic pistols are great! They performed very well at the Waldorf Hotel!" Larry thought to himself, touching the pistols with a look of lingering satisfaction.

“Ten, all of them are here.” Matthew took out a register and checked each pistol against the one in the suitcase. His voice was steady. “Mr. Dunbar’s pistol can stay with him. He kept one for himself. I’ve taken back all ten of the remaining pistols.”

Mr. K squatted in front of the suitcase, a cigar between his lips, and picked up a pistol, pulling back the bolt to check the rifling. He then laughed and said, "This thing is indeed useful, especially when sustained firepower is needed. However, this gun is too conspicuous; anyone can tell it's a new type of pistol. Keeping it in your possession would be a disaster."

Larry didn't look up, and while inspecting the pistol, he casually replied, "Even a menace can be a treasure, depending on who uses it and how."

Matthew looked at the 10 handguns in the suitcase and nodded, "I think Mr. K is right. If these new guns are seized, it will be easy to trace them back to us. We still need to be careful to prevent these guns from circulating outside before they are finalized and put into production."

Larry nodded in agreement, but still looked regretfully at the two rows of pistols, stood up, beckoned to Mr. K to take a cigar, and lit it for himself.

Mr. K muttered to himself as he smoked his cigar, "...Logically speaking, we did New York's richest people a huge favor, so they should know they almost got sent to meet their maker by a bomb. But what I don't understand is why they don't publicize it? Won't New York's richest people thank us?"

Matthew looked up at Mr. K and whispered, "If we show up in this incident, our whereabouts will be exposed, and... those lives will be hard to explain."

“That’s only one aspect. We absolutely cannot let outsiders know we exist, otherwise we won’t get the reward, and the guy behind it will start targeting us instead.” Larry took a puff of his cigar and said casually, “On the other hand, the Astor family can’t possibly publicize ‘eliminating bandits’ as an achievement. That would only expose the Waldorf Hotel’s security as a mere formality and further demonstrate their incompetence.”

Mr. K lowered his eyebrows and exhaled a puff of cigar smoke. After a few seconds, he said regretfully, "I know... I just feel it's a pity that we did such a big thing and didn't even get a reward."

Larry understood what he was implying. These people had risked their lives to help him, and he couldn't let them down. However, he had to give them a surprise later, just like King Astor IV did. He would reward them after they had forgotten about it.

After thinking for a few seconds, Larry turned to Mr. K and said, "Whoever did well in this mission, remember to promote them to store manager when we open the new store."

Mr. K nodded helplessly, indicating that he understood.

Larry turned to Matthew and asked, "Where are those Borchardt bullets?"

Matthew pointed to a box under the desk and said, “I’m leaving Mr. Dunbar 150 rounds. The rest of the bullets will be thrown into the East River later. Once you can get your own pistols back, you’d better get the bullets through proper channels. New York is different from other places; they check weapons and ammunition very strictly.”

As soon as he finished speaking, three rhythmic knocks sounded at the door. Mr. K's eyes sharpened, and he quickly walked to the door. After looking through the peephole, he nodded slightly to Larry, "It's Mr. Dunbar, and Charles Baker, that 'Lone Wolf' detective."

Larry was slightly puzzled. He waved for Matthew to put away his pistol and said to Mr. K, "Let them in!"

The door opened, and Mr. Dunbar walked in with Charles Baker.

Baker was still wearing his wrinkled uniform, without a tie, and an unlit cigar dangling from his lips. He glanced at the pistol on the ground and whistled.

"Quite a show of force, Mr. Livingston."

“Detective Baker!” Larry said with a businesslike smile. “What’s up?”

Charles Baker nodded. "I mainly want to give you an update on the situation, and there are a few other minor things to explain."

Detective Baker then began to explain in detail the current progress of the case.

Because of the Astor family's involvement, the case became a closely guarded secret known only to a very small number of people in New York City. The New York Police Department even formed a special Major Crimes Unit to handle the case.

The criminals who were caught are under very strict control and are now being interrogated rigorously.

The good news is that, thanks to the efforts of the Astor family and Inspector Baker himself, no one will notice Larry and his men's role in this swift and successful operation.
The bad news is that this operation only caught desperate criminals, but the senior manager who truly knew the mastermind behind it was dead. The lower-ups were just doing their jobs for money and had no idea about the whole plan, let alone the mastermind...

Larry frowned and nodded slightly. This progress was not unexpected. In fact, what Larry cared about most was not being noticed by the people behind the scenes. Everything else was secondary.

"So... Mr. Livingston, the only people who know your background, besides Astor IV and a few of his close associates, are myself," Charles Baker concluded, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

Larry smiled, walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said sincerely,

“Detective Baker, you did a great job last time. The bomb in the boiler room wasn’t detonated, and that was all thanks to you. The Astor family is probably recommending you to the NYPD as well.”

Baker nodded. "That's right, but I also took a lot of risks."

Larry agreed, and then said, "Well then, I'd like to hire you as my private security detective, with the same salary and benefits as Mr. Dunbar..."

Baker looked up at Dunbar, who had a calm expression, following Larry's words, waiting for Larry to continue explaining.

“But you’re different from Uncle Dunbar; you don’t need to go to work. You just need to show up when I need your strong support. Of course, the risk isn’t too great! But that way, we’ll establish a long-term partnership. It’s much more substantial than some temporary reward.”

Baker thought about it and decided that this kind of contract-based salary arrangement wasn't bad, so he looked at Dunbar and nodded.

“Sure! I’ll take charge of things with the NYPD from now on.”

Larry smiled at him. "Alright, I'll have Mr. Dunbar set up a fake account for you and deposit your salary according to the schedule. Um, what was that other thing you mentioned?"

Baker cut to the chase, tapping the wooden crate lightly with his toe. "Let's get straight to the point! Last time at the Waldorf Hotel, these toys of yours amazed many high-ranking officials. Of course, they didn't know they were your creations; they all thought they were the Astor family's secret weapons… I know someone is eager to find these new toys and is offering this price." He held up two fingers and wagged them. "$200 each. I'll act as the middleman and take 30%. Clean money, processed through the port trading company."

Matthew gasped when he heard the price.

Two hundred dollars is equivalent to more than a year's income for an average family.

Larry shook his head and continued, "The price is tempting, but the risk is greater. There aren't many of these guns in New York. If they leak out, I'll be the first one they trace back to. I don't want to be an advisor to the NYPD."

Charles Baker stepped closer and lowered his voice, saying, "You think it's safer to keep it? Besides the higher-ups who are interested in your pistol, there are many other forces. Everyone has heard that the Astor family has acquired some powerful equipment and that it has performed exceptionally well in combat. They're all eyeing this thing! You can't hide it!"

Larry's eyes turned slightly cold, but he smiled politely and said, "That's my problem."

Before Charles Baker could say anything more, Matthew suddenly stood up, his face full of excitement, and hurriedly asked to himself,

"Detective Baker, recently... isn't there going to be a 'Columbus Memorial Exposition' in New York? Is this an exhibition that precedes the 1893 Chicago World's Fair?"

Matthew's question interrupted Baker's conversation. Baker paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right... Before the Chicago World's Fair next year, there will be a series of test exhibitions in the United States, and the exhibition you mentioned will be on May 1st."

Matthew's face lit up with a smile as he turned to Larry and said, "I heard about this from Mr. Nikola Tesla this afternoon. He's leaving for Chicago tonight... Oh, that's not the point. The point is—Larry, we can exhibit the M1892 automatic pistol at the Columbus Memorial Exposition!"

Larry was stunned, his mind a complete blank. "You...you explain this to me, I don't understand..."

Matthew then explained that these days, for a revolutionary new weapon, participating in major world-class expos is the best way to achieve three goals at once: quickly gain authoritative recognition, attract top buyers, and deter potential competitors.

Because all the technological products announced at the expo will naturally receive the "authoritative endorsement" of the State Patent Office, even if similar imitators see them and want to imitate them, since our gun has already been exhibited at the expo, the Patent Office will only recognize the originality of the Type 92 pistol.

Once the top priority of preventing patent counterfeiting is resolved, we can confidently exhibit automatic pistols, as guests attending the expo may see our sample guns and place orders in bulk in advance.

This not only solves the patent issue, but also opens up sales channels and increases brand awareness for the handgun. It's a great thing!
Finally, Matthew concluded, "My brother, you can use Mr. Astor's connections to get our pistol an official invited exhibit of the 'American Ordnance Committee' or 'Technology Innovation Committee' at the expo. That's equivalent to national endorsement. That's the most powerful patent declaration in itself, because it means that this technology has received the highest level of recognition!"

Larry listened to these words in a daze, blinked, and said in disbelief, "...Really? Wouldn't that greatly speed up the patent application process?"

"Yes, I didn't know that before... Mr. Tesla mentioned it this afternoon. Also, Mr. Tesla's little gadget, and the thing we're planning to make, could also be exhibited at the expo if possible!"

Larry knew, of course, that he was referring to small electric motors and cash registers that had been improved with electric motors.

Larry thought for a long time, then nodded heavily in agreement, "...I think it's feasible!"

Charles Baker stared at Larry, then suddenly grinned. "Alright! Then our clients can openly view this weapon. By the way, Mr. Livingston, I have a foreigner who's interested in this gun. He can handle overseas distribution, mainly selling to the Germans, of course..."

"Who?"

“A German guy named Louis Schmeisser,” Baker said. “He’s quite famous in the black market. He’s said to have close ties with the Mauser factory and specializes in these kinds of precision gadgets. He’s currently in New York, looking for ‘special equipment’ for some big shots.”

The name Louis Schmeisser made Matthew's pupils shrink slightly.

He had heard of this person; he was a true behind-the-scenes expert in the European arms industry.

"I can consider it." Larry neither agreed nor disagreed, simply nodding.

Inspector Baker shrugged, turned and walked towards the door, finally saying, "Alright, since there's a legitimate channel, I won't waste my breath. It's just a pity about my 30% commission."

After the door closed, Matthew immediately whispered, "Should we share some of the profits with him?"

“No,” Larry crouched down again, picked up an M92, his eyes sharp, “we have Tesla to thank. If we can really make a splash at the expo, then we can really prepare our first batch of handgun orders!”

He tapped the gun lightly, producing a crisp sound. "Looks like our 'treasure' has found its purpose."

Matthew nodded and said, "That's definitely a good thing! Handguns sell much better than rifles. Rifles have to get orders from the military, but handguns... in the United States, Europe, and even other states, everyone can sell them openly as self-defense weapons, and even directly license them overseas."

Larry turned to Matthew and asked, "Is there such a person as Louis Schmeisser, whom he just mentioned?"

"Yes, that guy is indeed connected to the Mauser factory. He's a gun designer and also one of the European arms dealers in the US."

Larry nodded. "Then let's participate! We can't waste this opportunity. By the way, how's Tesla's invention coming along?"

"It's a long story... I'll explain it to you properly later," Matthew said, looking troubled.

Larry knew there were some things he couldn't say right now, so he nodded and turned to Mr. K, saying, "Old K, we've got another job. Don't rush back to Boston yet; the trade show is more important."

Mr. K looked troubled. "But the opening of the new convenience store is at a critical moment... Our first convenience store outside of Boston is waiting to open!"

"where is it?"

"New Bedford!"

Larry pondered for a moment, then turned to Mr. K and said, "That's settled then. You go back and take care of the new store opening. Also, take those two young men from the Waldorf Hotel who showed their faces to the thugs back with you. The rest of the men stay here, and I'll have Matthew assign them tasks."

After saying that, Larry turned to Dunbar and said, "Uncle Dunbar, go to the bank tomorrow and open an account for Baker. This 'lone wolf' needs to be fed so it won't bite. This matter can't be delayed."

(End of this chapter)