NOVEL NEXT Chapter 485: Here It Comes
Mountain Eagle thought that after finishing the call with Li Chengji, the matter would have temporarily come to a close...
He bombarded the temporary campsite with calls ceaselessly, urging them to rush back to Brown Bear Camp, and then he organized a cleanup crew.
All the bodies were bagged and packed up, entrusted to officers Michael and Scott to deliver to Russian Mission Town to rendezvous with the arriving FBI agents.
It was a significant oversight on Mountain Eagle's part not to keep the two rescued hostages, because doing so deprived Michael and Scott of some of the benefits that could have arisen from the hostage-taking case.
Nevertheless, the persuasive power of the crime scene where the bodies and hostages were held captivated, and the clever Daria had already introduced the STER team members, who stayed to help at the camp, to the hostages, and narrated to them an abridged version of the events.
The gist was that her boss, while fishing at night, stumbled upon the corpses of Green Nature Foundation volunteers and then encountered investigator Thomas, after which the Alaska State Police, unwilling to stand idly by, set up a trap using the local terrain to lure the enemy's main force into an attack, while a small team performed a sudden raid and accomplished the rescue.
Daria reminded Mountain Eagle in the morning because she wanted the boss to fully reap the rewards of gratitude. At that time, the boss was simply not interested in communicating with them. Whether they could collect all favors from the State Police now depended on whether the two had a conscience, and whether their report was persuasive enough.
The Alaska State Police definitely couldn't reach the level of the Franklin family, so they could only hope for the FBI to 'enforce the law impartially' and restore the crime scene as much as possible with the aid of the State Police.
In order to express his apologies to Michael and Scott, Mountain Eagle promised to gift them a speedboat and two all-terrain vehicles to facilitate their patrolling and law enforcement in the surrounding areas in the future, and he also recorded a 'testimony' as part of the collaboration...
The testimony, of course, gave all the credit to the State Police, while he merely assisted from the sidelines, fulfilling the duty of a good citizen, and also loaded the important bodies of the giant wolves onto their ship.
After seeing off the jubilant State Police, Mountain Eagle could finally rest assured as he picked up the group of kids from the shore and then snatched the explosive-haired Luna by the ear, handing her a broom to join Yue Yi in cleaning up the battlefield.
"Not even a single shell casing can be left on the ground..."
Watching Luna wielding the broom like a marshal's baton, barking orders left and right, Mountain Eagle sighed for her unassertiveness, as he patted his always-rebellious but clueless son on the head...
"Get to sweeping already, your mom is arriving this afternoon. I'll get some good game, and tonight I'll cook you something delicious!"
He thought his son would be delighted, but to his surprise, as soon as Yue Yi heard his mother was coming, his face fell and he said, "Ah?? Coming today?
Dad, once mom arrives, I won't be able to play anymore..."
Mountain Eagle was stunned for a moment, and said with annoyance: "That's your mom, don't you miss her?"
Sniffling, Yue Yi wiped his nose with his grimy hand and scratched his backside, saying, "Isn't it enough to keep missing her in my heart?
I want to play for a few more days, I've started to understand a bit of what Luna and the others are saying.
I don't want to learn pinyin or math anymore, learning a foreign language is pretty good too!"
Mountain Eagle couldn't help but wipe his son's face with his hand, rubbing off some of the soot revealing the pale little face underneath, and after confirming that this was his own son, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "I think this excuse of learning a foreign language will definitely work...
But if you can add that you especially like your older brothers and sisters, and tell her that in English, your mom is likely to be even happier."
Yue Yi probably didn't understand why his father wanted him to say those words. He glanced stealthily at Luna, who was creating a ruckus with her broom, then whispered to his dad, "Dad, I quite like Luna, if she'd stop bossing me around and scaring me, I'd like her even more."
Mountain Eagle said with a smile, "Likin' her is enough, what's important is to make yourself happy."
Yue Yi looked at his father, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Dad, sometimes I have nightmares, and when I wake up, I feel like smashing things, but every time I smash something, mom cries, so then I don't dare..."
Mountain Eagle fell silent for a moment, then vigorously rubbed his son's head and said, "Your mom doesn't cry because you want to smash things...
When you grow up, you'll understand, your mother is scared, scared that you're unhappy.
But you're better now, right?"
Saying this, Mountain Eagle watched as his son nodded vigorously, then smiling he said, "Go play, you have to behave especially well today, let's keep mom here for a few more days.
If your mom is happy, your life will be easier in the future!"
Yue Yi nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite, and then turned around carrying the broom and started to bustle about the camp...
Mountain Eagle watched the kids helping around haphazardly, chuckled and picked up the radio, directing the work in the camp like a stingy taskmaster.
Not only his own people, but also the Indians who got word of the camp reopening and rushed over dragging their lumber were recruited...
In short, they had to erase any trace of the previous night's battle, not even letting a single bullet hole remain.
While the camp bustled with activity, Mountain Eagle received yet another message—suddenly, 200,000 US Dollars had been deposited into his account...
At first, Mountain Eagle thought it was Li Chengji paying him his commission in advance, and he even made a point of calling to confirm with Li Chengji.
Unexpectedly, Li Chengji laughed and told him that the 200,000 was a rebate from International Intermediary Company, as the two hostages, frightened by their ordeal, had followed their chairman's suggestion and each withdrew 10 million US Dollars from their trust funds, investing it into the Revenge Fund of International Intermediary Company.
Mountain Eagle didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about the money he had taken; however, what somewhat surprised him was the seemingly good conscience shown by the two fortunate hostages.
Investing in the Revenge Fund was just the first step; they were using their kidnapping to expand the influence of the Green Nature Foundation...
Three days later, Fairbanks was to hold a grand press conference, and that Richard Franklin had offered a $300,000 contract to the International Intermediary Company.
He wanted to invite his lifesaver to be in charge of his security for the next three days and also wanted to invite Mountain Eagle for a meal.
In truth, security was just a pretext, the main reasons were to express gratitude and seek further cooperation.
Li Chengji knew Mountain Eagle's current situation, so he simply refused on his behalf.
What a joke, Mountain Eagle's net worth might be average at the moment, but the recent activities he was involved in were too crucial, where would he find the time to work for a bunch of rich second generations?
Mountain Eagle himself didn't take it too seriously either; the people from the Green Nature Foundation were no innocents. His rescue was first for the commission, and second to muddy the waters...
From Richard Franklin's stance, the Green Nature Foundation's entanglement with the Solin family seemed set to continue, which would provide Mountain Eagle with more convenience and cover in his subsequent actions.
With Black Fox taking the heat and having the deeply involved Green Nature Foundation, coupled with the recent hostage incident, whatever Mountain Eagle did to the Solin family, he would not be the prime suspect!
Compared to these minor issues, Mountain Eagle was more concerned about Xiao Wan's whereabouts...
Since she boarded the plane, Mountain Eagle had become nervous, and as the plane approached the camp and bounced slightly due to the uneven ground during its landing, it made Mountain Eagle's heart leap...
Seeing the plane land successfully, Xiao Wan stepped off the plane and retched by the wing twice, while Mountain Eagle, leading a few children who had been cleaned up, walked up to her and swore to build a high-quality runway; otherwise, it was too much of a strain on the heart.
Seeing Mountain Eagle's nervous expressions, Luna clutched Yue Yi worriedly and whispered, "Fist, is your mom very fierce? Dad seems a bit scared!"
Yue Yi couldn't understand the words, but from Luna's expressions and gestures, he magically grasped her concerns, sniffed, and said, "My mom is scary, my dad, grandpa, and grandma are all afraid of her!
Be careful, my mom likes to make people wash their hands, at least six times a day...
You don't like washing your hands, you're doomed..."
Luna didn't entirely understand what Yue Yi was saying, but she felt the anxiety he conveyed...
The little girl with a heavy heart walked a few steps forward and then bumped into Mountain Eagle's leg...
Following that, a somewhat clueless Mountain Eagle, like Neymar barging into the penalty box and getting tripped, clutched his thigh and gave a pained cry, hugging Xiao Wan tightly...
Xiao Wan's slender figure stiffened momentarily, then rapidly softened. She hugged Mountain Eagle tightly around his waist and back, planting her head against his chest, letting out a vent-like roar, and then began to sob softly...
Mountain Eagle forgot the pain in his body, holding his wife tightly until he felt someone tugging at his trousers. Only then did he shield Xiao Wan and carefully wiped away the tears on her face...
"It's my fault, I'm sorry..."
Xiao Wan held Mountain Eagle's face with both hands, scraping at the small scars with her thumb, as tears once again welled up in her eyes...
"Are you okay?"
Mountain Eagle coughed and smiled, "I'm fine, didn't the doctor say so? I'm all good now.
I feel like when you were at the police academy, just overdid the physical training, I'll be fine after some rest. Oh, that's wrong, I'll be even better!
I tell you, I soak in ice water every day, I can last 6 minutes at a time."
As he spoke, Mountain Eagle hugged Xiao Wan, turned around, and talked incessantly as they headed towards the camp, saying, "You've come at the perfect time, in a few days we'll be rounding up cattle and sheep in the forest...
I'll take you with me for fun, the scenery here is truly nice; I will take more photos for you...
...
...
Yesterday, it was Xiao Wan who opened up the floodgates of conversation, but today it was Mountain Eagle's turn...
While Mountain Eagle went on nonstop, Xiao Wan turned back to glance at the children following behind.
She didn't stop Mountain Eagle's rambling but smiled at the distinctive-looking Luna and then, while Mountain Eagle's mind was obviously in disarray, she stopped him and pulled out a few gifts from her pocket to give to the children...
Watching the children curiously handling the gifts, Xiao Wan took the initiative to pick up the youngest, Eva, touched the little girl's face, and smilingly said, "You must be Eva, right? You are so beautiful!"
Luna, looking at Xiao Wan's tender expression, dug her nose and casually wiped it on Yue Yi's arm, whispering, "Your mom is so pretty..."
With that, she opened the gift box and asked, "What is this?"