C455 Negotiating

Hanna stepped forward. “Mr. Gonzalez, my name is Ann. I'm a friend of Charlie, and we came here to negotiate with you.” Alvaro sat up straight in his chair. “Negotiate?” He looked at Hanna from head to toe. “Negotiate what? I don't do business with women.” Hanna smiled. “If you think I'm not worthy of negotiating with you, then you're free to test my capabilities.” Alvaro froze for a moment. He clearly hadn't expected that answer. He studied Hanna carefully before slowly raising his hand. A large man immediately stepped forward. There was a tattoo on the palm of his left hand. The same G-shaped symbol inside an oval that appeared on the photographs of the four South Americans. The man walked directly toward Hanna. Charlie took a step back. The man suddenly threw a powerful punch. Hanna didn't move. At the last second, she raised both hands and stopped the punch with ease.

Destroyer smiled faintly behind her. Hanna twisted the man's arm aside and immediately counterattacked. Her kick struck him in the lower abdomen. The man staggered. Before he could recover, Hanna stepped forward and delivered a powerful punch to his chest. The man was knocked backward several metres. He tried to steady himself, but his legs were too weak. He dropped to the ground. Silence filled the room. Charlie stood completely frozen. Her hands were shaking. She had just watched Hanna defeat one of Alvaro's biggest men without using a weapon. Charlie fully understood what kind of woman she had agreed to work with. Hanna calmly returned to her position. Alvaro slowly smiled. “Well…” He looked at the man on the floor before looking back at Hanna. “You've earned the right to negotiate.” Hanna smiled. “Good.” Alvaro leaned forward. “Now tell me. What do you want?” Hanna pointed toward Charlie. “I plan to help my friend rebuild the Harris Cartel.” Alvaro's expression changed. “The Harris Cartel?” “Yes.” “The men you sent to help Willy were all killed by the police.”

Alvaro immediately shook his head. “My men aren't weak enough to be killed by the police.” Hanna smiled. “Then check the news from Scotland.” She leaned slightly forward. “You'll see their bodies.” Alvaro's expression became serious. He had heard rumors, but hearing Hanna speak so confidently made him want to verify everything himself. He leaned forward. “So how exactly do you intend to rebuild Harris Cartel?" Hanna answered without hesitation. “I don't know what agreement you had with Willy, but I'm offering you different terms.” Alvaro listened carefully. “We will order shipments from you, and we'll pay you an additional ten percent.” Alvaro raised an eyebrow. “You'll only pay ten percent?” “You won't be involved in the shipping or transportation.” Hanna continued. “My men will handle everything. I have my own people and my own routes.” Alvaro smiled. “You're very direct.” He leaned back. “But ten percent isn't enough.”

Hanna remained calm. Alvaro continued. “Willy and I had a partnership that gave me twenty-five percent.” “It's a good thing I'm not Willy.” Hanna smiled. “And the fact that you handled transportation for him means you were already charging him for those services.” She paused. “With me, you won't have to do that. I collect the shipment myself.” Alvaro shook his head. “Ten percent is still too small.” Hanna considered him for a moment. “Fifteen percent.” She held his gaze. “I can't go any higher than that.” Alvaro thought about it. Then he nodded. “Fifteen percent is acceptable.” Hanna smiled. “Good.” Alvaro continued. “Now let's talk about payment.” He leaned forward. “How will I receive my money?” He looked at Destroyer. “You know digital payments can be traced.” Hanna nodded. “That's why he will deliver it.” She pointed toward Destroyer. “He will personally handle the payments for every shipment we purchase.” Destroyer nodded. Alvaro seemed satisfied. “Then our partnership with the Harris Cartel will continue.” Hanna extended her hand. Alvaro shook it. The agreement was made. They exchanged contact information before Hanna, Destroyer, and Charlie finally left the compound.

Once they returned to the hotel, Hanna looked at Charlie. “The first part is done.” Charlie looked confused. “What do you mean?” “The Harris Cartel will not die.” Hanna looked at her seriously. “Now you need to go back to Scotland.” Charlie nodded. “You want me to go back alone?” “Yes.” “I will join you in a few days.” Hanna paused. “We'll bring more men with us.” Charlie understood. “What do you want me to do when I return?” “Take over Willy's estate.” Charlie immediately frowned. “My uncle's estate?” “Yes.” “But the police already discovered it. They were there after his death.” She looked uncertain. “Is it really safe to go back there and start doing business?” Hanna stared at her for a moment. Then she smiled. “At least you can think of something useful.” Charlie frowned. Hanna continued. “Yes. Use the estate.” “Why?” “If you suddenly establish a new organization somewhere else, people will notice.” She pointed toward Charlie. “But if you take over your uncle's old property, people will assume you're simply continuing what he left behind.” Charlie slowly nodded. “That makes sense.” “Exactly.” Charlie looked down at Emmanuel. “And the baby?” Hanna smiled. “Oh.” She looked at Emmanuel. “He's coming with me.” Charlie froze. “With you?” “Yes.” Charlie stared at her. “Are we really not going to kill him?” Hanna looked at her. Charlie continued. “His parents killed my uncle.” Hanna smiled again. “You don't have to worry about that.” She picked up Emmanuel. “Eventually, he will die.”

Charlie swallowed hard. She didn't know what frightened her more, the fact that Hanna had taken Emmanuel or the calm way she spoke about his death. Hanna and Destroyer soon left. Charlie booked a flight back to Scotland. Hanna and Destroyer, meanwhile, took Emmanuel with them to their private jet. As they boarded, Hanna looked at Destroyer. “We're going back to the army.” Destroyer nodded. “Yes, Boss.” The jet soon disappeared into the sky. Meanwhile, we continued searching through the city. We had no idea where the G-shaped tattoo would lead us. So we began asking questions. We approached random people, showed them the symbol, and asked if they knew which organization used it. But nobody wanted to answer. Some people immediately walked away. Others refused to even look at the photograph. It was becoming obvious that the tattoo meant something. Something people were afraid to talk about. Cipher noticed it too. “They know something.” I nodded. “But they're too scared to tell us.”

We continued walking. Then suddenly, we heard shouting. We turned toward the noise. A group of men were attacking a pawnshop. They were clearly armed, and several people were running away from the area. Cipher didn't hesitate. “Let's go.” We rushed toward them. The five men tried to escape, but the Lions surrounded them. Within moments, we had apprehended all five. Cipher stepped forward. She looked at each of them. “I don't care what you were doing here.” She pointed toward the pawnshop. “But you did something wrong.” The men remained silent. Cipher continued. “So I'm going to give you one chance to redeem yourselves.” She paused. “You answer my questions…” Her expression hardened. “Or you die.” The five men exchanged looks. Then they started laughing. They began speaking among themselves in Spanish. Cipher couldn't understand what they were saying. One of the men looked at her and laughed. “What a beauty.” Another replied in Spanish. “I don't know who she is.” They continued laughing. Cipher's expression changed. She clearly understood that they weren't taking her seriously.

She looked at the five men. Then she raised her weapon. Without warning, she fired a single shot. One of the men collapsed. The other four immediately stopped laughing. Their expressions changed completely. Fear replaced their confidence. Cipher lowered her weapon. “Now…” She looked at them. “Are you ready to talk?” The four remaining men exchanged frightened looks. Finally, one of them raised his hands. “Alright!” He looked directly at Cipher. “What do you want from us?” Cipher smiled. “That's better.” She held up the photograph. Then she pointed toward the tattoo. “Tell me who this belongs to.” The men stared at the symbol. Nobody laughed. They knew exactly what Cipher was asking about. And judging by the fear on their faces, the Lions had finally found their first real lead.