Hollywood Taxes: A Tycoon in TV Land

Chapter 45: Case Reconstruction and Reinforcements

"Maybe there's been a collaboration with that hidden drug lord you mentioned? Yes, it must be that!" Ron surprised himself with this sudden thought.

The drug lord known as "Chicken Brother" had a nationwide distribution network. Although Ron didn't know how he managed to accomplish this quietly, the drug maker "Heisenberg" possessed the best drug manufacturing technology. If these two powerful figures joined forces, other drug dealers would be relegated to mere secondary distributors.

Now, it seemed that Ron's guess might actually be coming true.

When he combined these clues with Hank's sudden suspension followed by an assassination attempt, the situation grew a bit delicate, compelling Ron to make connections.

Could it be that Hank's current investigation was close to uncovering the drug trafficking group's vulnerabilities, prompting them to rush to eliminate him?

After hanging up with Jack, Ron quickly tidied up and returned to his office. Hank had already arrived, and the place was much cleaner thanks to a temporary cleaning service hired by Andy.

"Good morning, BOSS," Hank greeted Ron nervously.

"Good morning, welcome aboard! The person sitting over there is Andy, our accountant. I remember telling you that if you need help with taxes, you can ask him. As long as it's not excessive, I'll turn a blind eye."

Ron mischievously winked at Hank. "Of course, if it's a combat mission, I suggest you leave him out of it. He's getting old; he needs to take care of himself."

"Thanks, BOSS." Andy looked up and greeted without any hint of offense.

Hank was a bit puzzled by Ron's comments. Wasn't the IRS supposed to be a special operations force? Was it really acceptable to openly discuss legal tax avoidance, or was this some kind of test?

Ron continued to clarify, "Don't overthink it. Legal tax avoidance isn't something to be ashamed of. The wealthiest individuals in America actually pay a significantly lower tax rate than us regular folks. Compared to them, we're all good citizens~"

"Alright, I thought it was some kind of interview test." Hank's mood finally eased a bit.

"Interview? It's not that complicated here. Besides, your performance at the DEA already proves you're fit for this job," Ron said, showing no sign of being a formal interviewer, which meant Hank's anxiety had been for nothing.

"I believe you can seamlessly transition into your work, especially since my main tasks here are similar to yours. So, can you tell me what angles you've been investigating lately? I have a feeling your current direction might be the right one, which is why these assassination attempts are happening. What do you think?"

"You mean the assassination attempt yesterday? I thought it was a retaliatory strike from the drug dealers I previously arrested."

As a narcotics officer, Hank was accustomed to such incidents and had even experienced them before, which developed his habit of always carrying a sidearm.

"I initially thought the same, but I asked Jack, the head of the FBI, to check the records of the criminals you sent in. None of them have been released recently, and they've had very little contact with the outside world."

Ron casually handed Hank a report he had obtained from Jack on the way.

"This..." Hank hesitated, trying to recall what he had been doing lately. After thinking it over, aside from following leads on Jesse, that small-time thug, and merging the investigation of the border murder case, it seemed he hadn't done anything else.

He briefly recounted his recent thoughts and actions to Ron, who frowned, unable to find clarity and even began doodling on a notepad out of boredom.

"BOSS, are we just going to sit here and draw today?" Hank expressed his dissatisfaction with Ron's attitude. He had expected to thoroughly investigate cases at the IRS, but instead, he was just sitting around in the office.

Hank, known for his decisive nature, found this unbearable. He would rather go out to investigate alone, with just a gun for support, than remain idle. His character was quite reminiscent of a Texas tough guy.

"What can we do by staying in the office? Just wander the streets? Waiting for criminals to bump into you and confess everything?" Ron retorted without a hint of a boss's demeanor.

Hank stubbornly replied, "It's better than doing nothing!"

"Who says I'm doing nothing?" Ron snapped back, raising his head. "Do you know how difficult my internal struggle is? There's someone who could break the case, but I'm just torn about it~"

"Someone who could break the case?" Hank's eyes lit up. "Does the IRS have some special intelligence channels?"

"Are you kidding? If I had that, I would have used it long ago! Why would I need to come to you for information sharing every day?" Ron shot back irritably.

What information sharing? Hank secretly complained, but since he was currently Ron's subordinate, he wisely kept his true thoughts to himself.

Hank asked, "Who is this person?"

"A lunatic! A psychologically twisted lunatic! I wouldn't be surprised if one day he committed a crime out of sheer boredom; he's a complete paranoid!"

Ron went on a lengthy tirade about this person, but then his expression shifted, and his tone became quite ambiguous.

"Yet, he's also a genuine genius. I've never seen anyone who can't be stumped by any case; he can even deduce the entire process of a case from your offhand comments, as if he were the actual murderer, precisely reconstructing every detail of the case."

Ron's pride was something Hank had heard about from others, and receiving such high praise from him made Hank curious about this person's identity.

"Are you sure he's not a private investigator? I've heard there are a few real experts in that field. Why not hire him to help us? Is it because he charges too much? Our budget..."

Having just joined, Hank was already thinking about how to tap into the IRS's ample funding.

Ron waved his hand to interrupt. "It has nothing to do with money; this quirky guy doesn't even care about cash. If the case is challenging enough, he might help even for free. It's just that his temper is absolutely terrible."

Ron wore a face that looked like he was constipated.

"His temper is so bad that I'm afraid I might impulsively shoot him! Yes, that's right; while being unbelievably irritable, he has a mouth as vicious as my brother's!"