American Tax Officer

David surveyed the crowd and asked, "Fellow Chief Tax Officers, there are other cases to be dealt with in the bureau. Surely you can't all come and handle the Ditter case, leaving the other cases unattended?"

"Director David, since Dieter dared to attempt a murder on you, he clearly doesn't take our National Tax Bureau seriously. We must now severely punish him, and the other cases can be dealt with later!"

"That's right, the dignity of our National Tax Bureau must not be violated, and as the Chief Tax Officer of the Lake District National Tax Bureau, I must be involved as well!"

"..."

Listening to the seven Chief Tax Officers' 'righteous and eloquent' words left David speechless.

On the surface, these Chief Tax Officers seemed to be advocating for revenge on his behalf and upholding the bureau's dignity, but in reality, weren't they just jealous of the taxes seized and eager to get a piece of the action!

But there was no choice, as the saying goes, it's difficult to defy the will of the many.

David couldn't just snub the face of the seven Chief Tax Officers outright, so he reluctantly replied, "In that case, I personally agree to let you join the Ditter case. However, we need the Director's approval. If he agrees, then I'll let you join!"

Upon hearing this, the seven Chief Tax Officers frowned.

But before they could say anything, they realized David had already walked away.

One of the Chief Tax Officers hurriedly spoke up, "Are we just going to let him walk away like that?"

"What else can we do; he said if the Director agrees, we could join."

"So, we... go find the Director?"

"To the Director's office!"

The temptation of yesterday's nearly Three Million US dollars was too great; naturally, they were unwilling to let David, Hutton, and Hector's teams eat all the spoils.

Under any circumstances, they wanted a share of the pie!

Half an hour later, while dealing with today's affairs, David heard a knock at the door and said, "Come in!"

The next second, William pushed the door open, looking somewhat upset, and said, "David, Peggy and the others found you earlier, wanting to join the Dieter case, right?"

David nodded and replied, "Yes."

"Well, my point is... if it's convenient, let them join as well. What do you think?"

Obviously, William had also succumbed to the onslaught of the seven Chief Tax Officers.

But he also knew that letting these seven inspection teams join would mean sharing the tax achievements nearly within David's grasp.

And now David was the most important Chief Tax Officer in the Lake District, so William dared not rashly annoy him. His words were not so much a request as they were a consultation.

Of course, if David disagreed, William wouldn't push it further, for no matter how numerous those seven Chief Tax Officers seemed, even bound together, they were not as significant as David alone.

He would know what to prioritize!

"Since the Director says so, let them join!"

The funds frozen in Ditter's account, as well as the nearly Three Million US dollars in taxes seized yesterday, he naturally wouldn't share with these seven Chief Tax Officers.

What was needed next was to arrest the core, mid-level, and lower-level personnel of the Ditter Group, and those were indeed tasks suitable for these seven inspection teams.

After all, there's strength in numbers!

Later, he would distribute some of the tax achievements based on the contributions these seven audit teams made in the arrests!

"Then that's good. You can decide how to assign them to carry out the following tasks!"

Hearing that David agreed and detecting no dissatisfaction in his tone, William breathed a sigh of relief.

This way, he could give the seven Chief Tax Officers an explanation!

"Oh, by the way..."

William seemed to remember something, smiling as he said, "The way you handled Gray yesterday really scared the folks at the city hall."

"Oh? How so?"

David became curious.

"Yesterday, just as I was about to go home, I got a call from Deputy Mayor Meredith. He asked to meet me at the coffee shop across from our bureau; when he got to our door, he was too scared to come in. What does that tell you?"

"It tells me they are now very afraid of you, even scared to step inside our bureau, just in case they run into you and face the same fate as Gray, hahaha..."

By the end, William couldn't help but laugh heartily.

In the past, everyone was indeed fearful of their National Tax Bureau, it's true, but never to the extent that they dared not step foot inside their doors.

But now, after David's recent action, he truly had terrified the city hall staff.

Understanding this, David also displayed an expression of amused resignation.

William continued, "Oh and, I had quite a talk with Meredith yesterday. He promised that the city hall will actively cooperate with our work from now on and also expressed Gray's apologies on his behalf. Let's leave it at that!"

Since locking Gray up in the detention room yesterday, it's been a full night, which is punishment enough!

"Understood, Director. I'll have someone release him right away. Once we've received the taxes and completed the documentation, he can go back!"

"Alright, let's do that."

After William left, David picked up the phone and said, "Bring Deputy Mayor Gray to my office, and prepare an entry form."

Approximately ten minutes later, there was a knock on the office door.

After granting permission with a "Come in,"

Bucky entered with Gray,

and at that moment, Gray, looking gaunt with bloodshot eyes and an utterly lackluster appearance, bore none of the authoritative image of a deputy mayor he had just the day before.

"How do you find our bureau's detention room, Deputy Mayor Gray?"

"Director David, after reflecting on it all night, I've come to a clear realization of my mistakes. I promise to fully cooperate with your National Tax Bureau from here on out. Additionally, we will deal seriously with outlaws like Dieter. Please, give me a chance; I want to be a good person!"

With the stature of Deputy Mayor Gray, these words were said in extreme humility.

But there was no other option when his fate was in David's hands.

If David were willing, there was no need for the National Tax Bureau to act; just a slight leak to the media would instantly make him a target for public vitriol.

So humbling his words was nothing,

even if David now demanded he kneel and kowtow, he would do so without the slightest hesitation.

After all, as long as David and the National Tax Bureau were willing to let him off, his illegal activities would still remain unknown, and he could continue to be the influential Deputy Mayor of Las Vegas.

Compared to these, what's bowing and scraping before David? It's nothing at all!

It doesn't count for anything!

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