American Tax Officer

Chapter 108: Chapter 95: The Situation Ferments, Dieter Returns to the Reservation

Angstorm was silent for a moment before replying, "You guys have taken care of the 'handover' beforehand, I'll handle the rest!"

"Handover..."

Smith's face showed his bitterness, but in the end, he agreed, "All right, Senator Angstorm, I know what to do!"

After ending the call, Angstorm opened his address book, found a contact named 'Chief Gael Omaha', and dialed the number.

Before long, at the Bellagio Hotel.

Virginia put down the phone, her face grave as she said to Dieter, "Dieter, it seems things might have really escalated. Chief Gael wants you to return to the reservation immediately!"

"What did you say?"

"The Chieftain wants you to go back to the reservation, and it's immediate!"

Despite Dieter's obvious annoyance—a reaction he would typically vocalize with a curse at anyone else—

this wasn't just the Chieftain of their tribe but also his uncle, so he suppressed his temper and reluctantly stood up to leave.

...

National Tax Bureau Lakeside District Sub-Bureau Branch.

"How is it, Chief Tax Officer, are you okay?"

Upon seeing David's arrival, Simmons and Ariel hurriedly came to greet him, asking with concern on their faces—they were evidently aware of the shooting incident.

Although David had recently taken office, they had already come to regard him as a highly competent boss.

The reason was simple: under David's leadership, they had achieved greater tax success than ever before, surpassing the other inspectors in the bureau.

"I'm fine. Is the person here?"

"Yes, in the interrogation room."

David nodded, then said, "Help me look up a person named Iman Prich from Somalia in Africa!"

"Okay."

Ariel immediately turned to carry out the task.

David then entered the interrogation room, where the sight of him caused Sapir's face to turn several shades paler.

If David had died, that might have been better.

At least the National Tax Bureau's attention would certainly have centered on dealing with Dieter, and perhaps he could have taken advantage of the chaos.

But now that David was still alive, not only was Dieter doomed, but as Dieter's right-hand man, he was sure to share the misfortune.

"How are you, Mr. Sapir? What's the rush to get to China? Don't tell me you're going there for tourism!"

Sapir, feigning calm, replied, "Director David, I'm neither a criminal nor restricted from leaving the country by any authorities. It's not illegal to go to China, right?"

David smiled and said, "You're right, you aren't a criminal and you haven't been restricted from travel. But who knows, maybe you will be very soon?"

Sapir's face tensed up, and he said, "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean!"

David crossed his arms over his chest and leaned slightly back as he spoke, "Mr. Sapir, just for aiding Dieter in money laundering, drug trafficking, and tax evasion, you could end up sitting in prison for a long time, not to mention conspiring in the assassination attempt on a National Tax Bureau Chief!"

Desperate, Sapir quickly defended himself, "Don't slander me, I was definitely not involved in your assassination attempt, it has nothing to do with me!"

Sapir thought to himself, if I had dared to get involved in this, would I need to run away?

David looked at him with a half-smile, saying, "Mr. Sapir, I never said you were involved in my assassination, how did you come to know about it?"

"This..."

Realizing he had spoken out of panic, Sapir quickly tried to cover it up, "I only heard about it..."

"All right, Mr. Sapir, I play fair, and I stick to the facts. If you're willing to cooperate with me, I'll only hold Dieter accountable for this and won't implicate you!"

Sapir asked, "What kind of cooperation do you need?"

"I need your group's operations, ledgers, warehouses, accounts, and... at some point, you may need to testify in court against Dieter!"

It was all reasonable until the mention of testifying in court against Dieter, at which point Sapir shook his head vehemently, "No, I can't testify against Dieter in court!"

He knew Indian Tribes were known to look after their own.

Even if the National Tax Bureau took down Dieter, his tribe might not be able to do much against the Bureau, but taking care of him would be straightforward.

David's face hardened as he said coldly, "Do you think you still have a choice?"

"You..."

Sapir's face turned red with indignation, protesting, "If I testify against Dieter, I won't survive either!"

"It's not as exaggerated as you think. Their tribe may have some power, but if you're willing to testify, not only will you get a reduced sentence for cooperating, but if you want to go to China, I can arrange protection for you. Their tribal influence can't stretch that far, right?"

Sapir fell silent.

After struggling in his mind for about three minutes, he gritted his teeth and said, "I have one more condition—you cannot confiscate my assets, National Tax Bureau!"

David was right.

The Ditter Family had substantial influence, but once he fled the country, they would be unable to reach him no matter their power.

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The money he'd earned over the years was enough for the rest of his life; there was no need to continue a fruitless battle with the National Tax Bureau, which could result in him spending the rest of his days behind bars.

"Fine, we won't seize your assets, but only if you pay your taxes in full first!"

Sapir replied, "Okay!"

"Tell me about the specific operations of your organization..."

"..."

In the following time, Sapir explained in detail the operations of the Ditter Group, the money laundering process, and the location of the warehouse for prohibited goods.

Additionally, he wrote down several accounts.

According to his statement, these were all Ditter's accounts.

"Alright, Mr. Sapir, for your safety, you'll have to stay with us at the bureau for now!"

David walked out of the interrogation room, and just then, Ariel happened to come face to face with him and said, "I found out, this person named Iman Prich, he smuggled himself over three years ago."

"Later he joined Virginia's crew, and with Virginia's help, he obtained a green card for America."

"Right, he smuggled over with his wife and two children, named..., they also entered our Lake District schools to study with Virginia's help!"

After hearing everything, David nodded, passed the note with the accounts to her, and said, "Check these accounts, and if there's a large amount of funds, apply to freeze them immediately!"

"Yes!"

For safety, David went to the equipment room and took out a bulletproof vest to wear.

He had always disliked wearing bulletproof vests as they were uncomfortable, only wearing them when on missions, but the recent assassination attempt served as a reminder.

Compared to comfort, staying alive was most important!

After putting on the bulletproof vest, he drove to the hospital where Iman Prich was staying.

Iman had already had the bullet removed and was lying in a private hospital room, while Nisen, along with Wade and Balk, was monitoring him.

"How is he doing?"

Nisen answered, "The bullet didn't hit any vitals; it's been removed!"

David nodded, then turned to Wade and Balk and said, "I have something to discuss with the suspect, you two step out for a moment!"

"Director David, Chief Smith instructed that..."

"I said step out!"

Seeing the look in David's eyes and his uncompromising tone, Wade and Balk's faces fell. After exchanging glances, they did not dare to retort and walked out of the room.

David pulled up a stool and sat in front of Iman, looking at him handcuffed to the bed, his expression ashen, and said, "Virginia sent you to kill me, right?"

Iman continued to maintain the same expression as before, as if he hadn't heard a word.

"I'm here to help you. If you are set on being a hitman for Virginia, then I can't help you!"

Seeing that he was still unmoved, David's expression hardened and said, "Halis Nick is your wife, right? Belly Pulichi, Julie Pulichi, are they your son and daughter?"

Upon hearing his wife and children's names, Iman showed a flicker of a reaction. He turned his head sharply to stare at David, a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.

But soon, he calmed down again.

Because in his view, David was a public servant, not a mobster nor a merciless killer like Virginia; regardless, he wouldn't hurt his wife and kids.

David seemed to have caught on to his thoughts and continued, "Rest assured, I am not one of those people commanding you. I won't do things that would harm your wife and children."

"But think about it, if your children's school learned that their father is a murderer, what do you think would happen?"

"Having been in America for so long, you must be very clear that though they chant slogans about equality, it's not equal at all!"

"Whites discriminate against Blacks, and Blacks discriminate against newcomers like you, especially when you're a murderer!"

After hearing this, Iman felt a dull pain in his heart.

He obviously knew what David was saying was true.

If his murder case was exposed to the school, even if the school wouldn't expel his children, being ostracized and even mocked by their peers was certain!

But there was nothing he could do.

Virginia had shown him kindness, and he knew what Virginia's methods would be if he betrayed him.

David wouldn't hurt his wife and kids, that was true.

But Virginia wouldn't be so easy to talk to!

Seeing that Iman still wouldn't talk, David's brow furrowed, and he continued, "I know Virginia got you and your family green cards."

"But don't think that just because you have green cards, you and your family can stand firm here; we have plenty of means to deport criminals like you and your family!"

"Think about it, why did you struggle to smuggle yourselves here if not to have a better life?"

"Do you really want to send your wife and kids back to the hell on earth that Somalia is?"

Anxious, Iman immediately said, "No, you have no right to do that!"

Somalia was in constant conflict, with various pirates and warlords ruling different areas.

For a family like his, without power or influence back home, being sent back meant either starving to death or being killed in the chaos.