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Chapter 450 Being a White Glove

On Tuesday evening, the setting sun painted the Potomac River a warm orange-red, and a luxury yacht bearing the name "Liberty" was slowly sailing on the calm water.

Ten minutes before eight o'clock, Ernst arrived at the yacht marina ahead of schedule, leaving Muller and the others to wait at the marina. He presented his invitation and, led by the staff, boarded the luxury yacht.

When he boarded the Liberty, he was still shocked by the scene before him, despite being prepared.

A number of people had already gathered on the deck, and each of them was no ordinary person.

There were senators in suits and wearing congressional badges, high-ranking military officers in smart uniforms with general stars on their shoulders, and arms dealers, including the CEOs of defense giants like Boeing and Raytheon.

They sat in small groups, holding champagne glasses, chatting and laughing, their every move exuding confidence in their control of power and resources.

"Mr. Garfield, welcome to the Potomac River Yacht Club." A familiar voice called out, and Ernst turned his head to see Grigory leading a middle-aged man to him.

Ernst knew this man; he was James Wilson, the COO of Lockheed Martin.

There have been many Wilsons in America, but this particular Wilson is definitely the one with the highest status and prestige.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States who defeated Roosevelt, was his great-grandfather.

Although this American big boss is not well-known, he is one of the most successful business owners in America.

In a 1962 ranking of American presidents by historians, Wilson was ranked fourth, demonstrating his significant contributions to the United States.

He was the one who pushed for the Paris Peace Conference in World War I, he also established America's policy of making a fortune from the war, and he was the one who started the excuse that Americans often use to protect American interests.

Without him, the United States could not have risen so quickly, reaping enormous economic benefits in both world wars, greatly promoting the development of domestic industry and economic prosperity, and laying a solid foundation for the United States to become the world superpower it is today.

Moreover, this person is not only a member of the donkey group, but also has very deep ties with the elephant group.

He promoted Hoover and also mentored Bernard Baruch, Roosevelt's economic advisor. Had he not suddenly fallen critically ill, he would certainly have been re-elected, and the Wilson family would have become even more prosperous.

"Welcome, our club has gained some fresh blood." James Wilson had a warm smile on his face and his eyes were friendly, making it easy for people to feel good about him.

He was tall, over 1.85 meters, with a well-proportioned build, without the bulkiness of a middle-aged man. He had neat, light brown short hair, which made him look energetic.

"Welcome, our club has gained some fresh blood." James Wilson was tall with neat short hair and a gentle smile on his face.

Do not be fooled by his appearance. Ernst knew that this seemingly gentle and harmless man had an extremely tough hand in negotiating military projects. He was willing to sacrifice the interests of the country to defend his own interests.

It's practically an open secret that they modified some project data and concealed the performance defects of fighter jets.

"Mr. Wilson, thank you for your invitation." Ernst shook hands with James Wilson. He knew that Gregory was just a messenger and was not qualified to invite him to join the club.

The one who truly invited him and had the ability to bring him into this circle was James Wilson, who was standing right in front of him.

"Don't mention it, you're part of this circle now. Ernst, is it alright if I call you that?" James Wilson released his hand and gently patted Ernst's shoulder, the gesture appearing very intimate, as if the two were old friends.

"Of course, that's what my friends call me," Ernst replied, his tone calm and natural, neither overly enthusiastic nor impolite.

Wilson laughed heartily, chatted for a few minutes, and introduced Ernst to a number of important figures. His attitude was so good that Ernst found it strange.

Pointing to a slightly overweight middle-aged man in a gray suit not far away, Wilson continued, "That's Congressman Perry from Ohio. I think you've heard of him. He'll soon be in charge of drafting and reviewing the National Defense Authorization Act. Building a good relationship with him is crucial for the future development of Case Defense."

Ernst looked in the direction Wilson was pointing and saw Congressman Perry discussing something with several military generals, a hearty smile occasionally appearing on his face.

"But you must remember that in the military industry, orders are never just simple commercial cooperation. There are too many interests and games involved behind the scenes. You will gradually understand this in the future."

Wilson left, but he still needed to build relationships with other people.

Ernst naturally integrated into the group; no one ostracized him, and no one avoided him.

Joining this circle means having only one primary goal: to live off the nation and live forever in the American treasury.

To put it bluntly, it's about how to continuously extract more money from taxpayers.

Enjoying fine wine and food, and listening to their occasional mentions of the F-22 fighter jet budget, a certain country's arms embargo policy, and restrictions on the export of military technology, he suddenly realized that he had stepped into a complex game of power struggles and exchanges of interests, not a high-end social circle.

"Want to chat for a bit?"

Ernst hadn't expected that Perry, the congressman who had become one of the focal points of the evening, would actually approach him.

"Of course," he replied with a smile, then, holding a glass of champagne, followed the other person to the stern deck of the yacht.

Leaning against the cold railing, I gazed at the distant Washington nightscape.

Under the cover of night, the white dome of the White House, the distinctive pentagonal outline of the Pentagon, and the domed buildings of Capitol Hill are clearly visible under the lights.

"According to intelligence, there have been new developments in Iran recently. They are secretly seeking to purchase tank repair equipment, and the demand is quite large."

Ernst frowned instantly. Iran had been unable to obtain military equipment through legitimate channels due to international arms embargoes and sanctions, but what did that have to do with him?

Payton's voice rang out again, continuing, "Congress hopes that Case Defense can inadvertently leak some outdated tank maintenance technology to Iran as intelligence bait, attracting Iran to make contact with you and thus obtaining more intelligence information from them."

"Accidentally leaked outdated technology? Used as intelligence bait?" Ernst instantly understood what the other party meant.

On the surface, this was a plan to gather intelligence on the other side, and everything was done from the perspective of national defense and security.

Behind the scenes, however, someone wanted CASE Defense to act as a front for selling various equipment to Iran.

Didn't you hear what Perry said? The demand is huge.

Some people don't want to miss out on this piece of cake.

General Dynamics, no doubt about it.

Ernst had no idea who the remaining participants were.

He remembered Wilson mentioning Payton to him earlier, talking about the National Defense Authorization Act that Payton was going to draft, and suggested that he work with him on key issues.

Also, Perry had previously sent him a message through Allen, so he found out about the news so quickly.

Ernst knew that now everything could be connected.

Perry was the agent hired by those military giants, and Case Defense was the one they were looking for to do the work.

But this is good too, at least it allows me to break into this circle more easily and quickly.

They value their reputation and are unwilling to get involved in such matters, leaving themselves open to criticism later. However, his Cass Defense doesn't care.

I was acting in accordance with the will of Congress. Since it was a decoy, wouldn't it be normal to do something against the rules in order to avoid exposing myself and to obtain more information?

It's like those undercover agents who infiltrate drug cartels. You can ask them to stop using drugs, stop seeing women, stop killing people, and be good citizens. Isn't that just nonsense?

The only problem is that it would violate the Export Control Regulations established by the United States and its allies. If investigated by international organizations, Congress would not come forward to clarify and say that we were conducting entrapment.

It is precisely because of the terrible international reputation that those giants are unwilling to deal with dirty hands.

But what can we do?

Americans have privileges; at most, they'll just be fined a little money.

At worst, we can shut down Cass Defense, change the name, and continue operating.