There was a rapid knock on the door. Rawls turned over and jumped up from the bed. Looking at the knocked door, a trace of doubt flashed in his heart. He paid annual rent for this house, and he had almost no relationship with the surrounding neighbors.
How could anyone come to him after meeting him face to face? However, he had just become a "briber" and was more confident. He reached out and picked up a pen from the desk and shouted:
"who?"
"Ken, Ken List?"
Ken Rawls clenched the pen in his hand tighter. Ken didn't know he lived here, how did he find him?
"How did you know I was here?" Rawls got out of bed and quietly approached the window without wearing shoes.
"Hank said he saw you entering this room a few days ago. Please open the door quickly. It's urgent...Jeffrey? Jeffrey Lister?"
Ken slapped the wooden door vigorously, and the huge force made the old wooden door, which was already in disrepair, shudder and creak. The shirt on his body was soaked with sweat, and the muscles on his back could even be seen.
"Okay, stop knocking, I understand."
Hearing the voice from behind, Ken turned his head in surprise and found that Rawls, who had no beard and his skin color had returned to normal, was standing behind him. Ken pointed his hand up and down at Rawls and then pointed at the wooden door.
road:
"Weren't you in the house just now?"
Rawls sighed, waved his hand and said:
"Yes just now, just wait a moment, I will go in and open the door for you." After saying that, he turned and walked to the other side of the house.
Ken looked at the barefoot Rawls and shook his head helplessly. He probably knew what was going on and relaxed.
As soon as he received the news from East Chester County, he ran over without even putting on an extra coat. Now he felt sticky on his back. He unbuttoned the top two buttons, revealing his thick chest hair, and leaned on his side.
Wall, waiting for Rawls to open the door.
Here, Rawls looked at the dark soles of his feet and shook his head. What was he worried about just now? He climbed into the room through the window again, without wearing shoes, and opened the door for Ken with bare feet.
, then walked directly to the bathroom to get water to wash my feet.
This house was carefully selected by Rawls. It was not big, just a small room attached to the back of a three-story building. It was originally used to store sundries, and he rented it with a "heavy sum of money"
, and made simple modifications. A smaller bathroom was separated, the water pipe was connected, and a small window was made that was not big but could barely let Rawls get out. He just climbed through it.
came out.
Ken walked into the room, looked at the open window, and couldn't help but sneered, and said to Rawls who was taking water to wash his feet in the bathroom:
"It's not easy for you to get out of there!"
Rawls placed the basin filled with water on the ground and stepped directly in. He held on to the walls on both sides and rubbed his feet against each other in the basin. He rolled his eyes angrily. He had almost died just now.
Turn it out.
After becoming a "savage", his height and body shape have changed accordingly. The windows that were originally a bit tight became even narrower for him. In addition, he had to control the sound to prevent people outside the door from noticing the abnormality. There was no jamming.
It would be nice to be there.
"Why did you suddenly come to see me?" In order not to dwell on this topic, it's better to change the subject.
Ken turned around and closed the door, touched his beard, looked at Rawls who did not have the same beard as him, frowned and said:
"There is news from Stone City that a private detective is checking your traces recently, and it seems that the Hall family is behind it."
The movements of his feet suddenly stopped, and Rawls looked at Ken in confusion. Why did the Hall family suddenly come to find him? He is affiliated with the conservative party, and his relationship with the New Party is not very good? And how did the Hall family know that he was "in
"Ston, the capital of East Chester?"
"The news came from the intelligence chief of East Chester County. It should be true."
Rolls stopped washing his feet, walked barefoot to the bedside and sat down. His apparent identity, Rolls Adrian, left Backlund half a month ago for Stone, the capital of East Chester County.
Investigate local law firms and prepare to recruit some local lawyers to expand the scale of Adrian Law Firm.
In fact, Rawls did not leave, but continued to stay in Backlund as Jeffrey Lister. Given his identity, after arriving at Ston, he would definitely have to work with his butler August,
The temporary head of the law firm, Edmund Robert, contacted him. It was impossible for him to lose contact for a period of time.
Originally, he wanted to go to Ston to hire a private detective to collect information on well-known local lawyers for him, and then contact the housekeeper August and Edmund for himself, while Rawls returned to Backlund secretly.
In addition to writing letters, the only current method of contact is telegrams. Since telegrams must be concise and clear, this method is still feasible. But this means that Rawls's identity must be exposed to the private detective, which has a certain degree of danger.
, so in the end he chose to reveal his true identity to Ken.
Ken was once rescued by Bird Mustang, the "Dreaded Viscount", and Rawls has a close relationship with Mustang. The possibility of him reporting his identity is very small, and Ken knows Rawls's identity.
Later, I patted my chest and promised that he would handle the matter well.
Now Ken is saying that someone in East Chester County is looking for him, and the Hall family is behind it, which makes him confused.
"Besides these, is there any other news?" Based on these alone, Rawls could not infer anything.
"The only way the other side knew the news was because they received a telegram from your butler, saying that Lord Philip sent a message saying that Hibbert Hall, the eldest son of Earl Hall, seems to be secretly investigating you."
A trace of envy flashed in Ken's eyes. Due to the publicity in major newspapers, the names of Duke Negan's only son and Earl Hall's eldest son have been known to many people in Backlund, and Rawls is actually involved with both of them.
Well, no wonder I can find out the specific data of the Pulitzer.
"Hibbert Hall?"
Recently, Rawls also learned about the actions of the eldest son of Earl Hall from the newspaper. He has recently been actively promoting the harmful effects of air pollution.
Thinking that he will be the chief secretary of the "Kingdom Air Pollution Investigation Committee" in the future, and there is no news that any air pollution investigation committee will be formed at all, it can be roughly inferred that Hibbert should know about this from internal channels.
To prepare for publicity for his candidacy.
And Philip has also become the focus of propaganda of the conservative mouthpiece "Backlund Daily" because of the reform of the Hillston Police Department. Philip's identity and the status of the Hillston Police Department have directly touched the sensitive areas of the new party. They are pushing Heber to
This particular nobleman, whose status was almost the same as Philip's, set off a series of public opinion offensives.
Rawls scratched his chin, so Hibbert must have heard from somewhere that Rawls was Philip's assistant in reforming the Hillston Police Department, and also knew that he had "headed" to the capital of East Chester County.
, arrived at the family fiefdom of the Earl of Eastchester, and wanted to find himself?
After finding him, Hibbert can choose whether to recruit, alienate, or even take revenge.
Rawls didn’t know much about the young Mr. Hall, but he could tell from the original work that Hibbert was definitely not a simple character. In just two years, he went from being the chief secretary of the Air Pollution Investigation Commission to
Cabinet Secretary, even with the status bonus, it is too fast.
"It seems that I have to go to Storn?"
"No, it's best not to go," Ken retorted simply.
"Why?" Rawls looked at Ken. With Ken's identity and personality, he would never say such a thing.
"If you suddenly appear in Stone now, wouldn't it be more proof that there is a problem with your whereabouts?" Ken stroked his beard, which is an intelligence officer with many years of experience, and then added, "In the end,
The important thing is that Master Mustang is coming, and he is expected to arrive this week."
Is the "Viscount of Fear" really here? Rawls feels a little helpless. A few days ago, Ken only said that he would notify Bird Mustang and find someone to remove the arms hidden in the bar, but he did not say that he would do it himself.
come!
Upon seeing this, Ken explained:
"I just informed Mr. Mustang that the bar might be exposed. I didn't expect that he would actually come, and he would come so quickly."
You must know that Mustang, as the second officer of the "Black Emperor", must stay on the ship. The ship of the "King of the Five Seas" even travels the five seas. In addition, Backlund is relatively different from the Intis capital Trier.
For the "King of the Five Seas", it is not very important, and Ken is just one of Backlund's points. It is impossible to quickly notify Mustang.
Ken is just an ordinary person and can only notify Mustang by sending a telegram. Whether Mustang can receive the message depends on when he lands on land. Unexpectedly, within a few days after sending the telegram, there was a reply saying that Ma Stan
Stan is coming to Backlund.
Logically speaking, Ken should not be informed of such news, but he was informed anyway. Ken knew that Mustang returned to Backlund because of Rawls, so for the sake of Rawls' safety, he temporarily left him in Backlund.
is the best.
"okay, I get it."
Rawls put his hand on his forehead and rubbed it up, down, left and right. He had indeed been a little careless just now. He could not go directly to Stone, otherwise it would be clear that there was something wrong with his identity.
Moreover, the news was sent by Lord Philip, which made Rawls a little uneasy. It was acceptable for Hibbert to inquire about his whereabouts. If Philip also started to have doubts, then he might have no choice but to board the ship with Bird Mustang.
"Ken, ask Stone to call back and say that I'm planning to leave East Chester and go to Ahowa County to investigate the law firms there."
This is all we can do for the time being. Why did I choose East Chester County in the first place? If it were in other counties, Hibbert might not be able to use so much power.
Because Ince Zangwill and 0-08 have been in Tingen, Rawls subconsciously excluded Ahova County. After all, if he was going to Ahova County for inspection, he must first go to Tingen, the capital.
, where there is Rawls’ alma mater, Lincoln’s Inn. (Note 1)
Now he could only say that he did not like the lawyers in East Chester County and went to Ahowa County instead, which was the headquarters of Lincoln's Inn, which made sense.
"No problem." Ken patted his hairy chest, "But you can't leave Backlund recently. You should know that Lord Mustang is here for you."
Ken guessed that Master Mustang must be taking Rawls with him when he comes to Backlund this time. It's just a pity that Rawls' identity is Backlund's youngest barrister. He is hated by the new party and valued by the conservative party.
The rising political star is about to become a pirate.
"No problem." Rawls replied in the same way, causing Ken to glare at him.
A man with short shaved golden brown hair and deep dark green eyes opened the door of the Blackthorn Security Company. The collar of his shirt and windbreaker stood up, and his palms were covered with a layer of bright red blood.
gloves, holding a silver-white metal box the size of a violin case in his left hand.
The man looked at the brown-haired girl behind the table in the reception hall, with her head hanging down and half asleep. He raised his neck and exposed the lower half of his face from the collar of his windbreaker. His thin lips moved slightly, causing a smile.
He walked quietly to the table, raised his fingers, and tapped it with a "dong" sound.
The brown-haired girl sat up straight, picked up the newspaper open in front of her with both hands, and covered her face. Then she quietly poked her head out from behind the newspaper, looked at the man who had hidden his chin behind the collar of the windbreaker again, and asked doubtfully:
"Who are you? Are you entrusted with a mission?"
Thanks to Klein, the Blackthorn Security Company recently made a deal for 200 pounds. The brown-haired girl Luo Shan also got an opportunity to participate in a gourmet dinner, so she always hoped to take another order. Unfortunately,
With the name of Blackthorn Security Company and its extremely inconspicuous location, it is obvious that this kind of order is not so easy to come to your door.
"Does the Nighthawks team also accept missions from ordinary people?" The short-haired man's mouth hidden in his collar moved slightly.
"Ah? Do you know the Nighthawks? Are you also an Extraordinary?" Luo Shan dropped the newspaper open in front of her and took a few steps back, as if she was an innocent girl who encountered a pervert.
The short-haired man shook his head and placed the silver-white metal box he was carrying on the table. A pair of gloves as red as blood were very conspicuous.
"Red gloves, ah! Red gloves? Sorry, I'll notify them right away." Roxanne breathed a sigh of relief, then became nervous again. Although she was a civilian employee of the Nighthawks team, she also knew what the red gloves represented.
Every member of the Red Gloves can only be compared to people like the captain and Ms. Dai Li. In other words, the status of each of them is comparable to the captain. This makes Luo Shan, who is sleeping at work, a little scared. She is not worried.
He was afraid that the captain and the others would be criticized by the red glove.
PS: The original book does not say that Tingen is the capital of Ahova County, but it should be the capital due to its special status as a university city.