Chapter 13: Observation

Frank's eyes were red, and he was tired and sleepy. However, after getting used to this kind of life, he could stay up for another twenty-four hours without a problem.

"How's the observation going?"

John, who had just entered, didn't answer Frank. He went straight to the fridge, took out a can of cola, and chugged it down in one go.

After a loud burp, John took out another can of cola, opened it, and stood by the fridge, drinking half of it in one breath.

Rubber impatiently asked, "We're all waiting for your observation results. How's that kid doing?"

Frank frowned, staring with his bloodshot eyes. "Have you been under some kind of stress? Didn't you quit cola? Why are you drinking it again?"

With the remaining half can of cola, John walked over to the sofa and sat down heavily. He took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "I lost to that kid and gave him a Smith & Wesson 1911. It cost $1,600, Captain, you need to cover that."

Frank furrowed his brow. "What happened?"

John hesitated, closed his mouth, thought for a moment, and then tried to speak, but immediately stopped.

Rubber angrily exclaimed, "Speak! Have you gone mad?"

"I'm a bit... uh, I need to organize my thoughts. Let's talk about Bison first. How is he? Can we bury him normally?"

Frank shook his head and whispered, "It's tricky. It's hard to issue a normal death certificate. To bribe the coroner to fake the cause of death, it'll cost at least $20,000. There are too many joints to be greased. Bison had no insurance and no inheritable assets. It doesn't make much sense to fake a normal death. We think the money is better off given to his mother."

John sighed. "Can you contact his mother?"

"I have his mother's phone number and address."

"When is the funeral?"

"We bought a grave in a private cemetery for Bison. He can be buried there, but there can't be a funeral or any ceremony. So we didn't wait for you. He was buried today."

"I wanted to attend the funeral."

"I told you, there's no funeral."

After Rubber impatiently finished, he waved his hand. "Now, tell us your observation results. How's that kid doing?"

John said despondently, "Bison died like that, no funeral, no memorial service, no family, no friends, no wife, no children. You three found a place and buried him casually. Do you... have no thoughts about this?"

Rubber said in a low voice, "At least he had a coffin, a priest prayed for him, and he has a grave. What else do you want?"

Captain sighed and said quietly, "Yeah, at least we buried him. For a mercenary, Bison's fate is already pretty good."

John made the sign of the cross on his chest, muttered a sentence, and then asked, "So how much are we giving Bison?"

"This time the commission is $70,000, but the middleman waived his cut, so we'll get $100,000. Plus the additional $100,000 from the middleman, we each get $40,000."

John impatiently said, "Just give me the answer, don't make me do math."

Frank thought for a moment and said, "Each of us will get $10,000, and the remaining money, after deducting all expenses, will be about $120,000, which will go to Bison's mother."

John nodded and waved his hand. "I can accept that. Is the miser okay with it?"

Rubber frowned. "Of course, George agrees. Hey, stop calling him the miser."

After drinking some cola, John said with a sigh, "If Bison hadn't died, each of us would only get $14,000. He gave his life for such a small amount of money. Now he can get over $100,000, but what's the point?"

The three fell silent. After a long while, Rubber suddenly said, "Hey, we didn't come back overnight to discuss the tragic life of a mercenary. We're still waiting for your answer. How's that kid? Why did you lose to him in a gunfight?"

John shrugged, looking melancholic. "Uh, it's complicated. First of all, I think he's still... very... very... very..."

"Very what? Are you really that clueless?"

Rubber was very dissatisfied, but Frank looked puzzled. "Have you been under some kind of stress?"

John took a deep breath and said seriously, "I think it's necessary to further investigate. At this point, I can't judge whether he can join us."

Frank frowned and asked, "Alright, tell me about his attitude towards money."

"Of course, he's very money-conscious. I could tell when he was buying clothes, he was very careful. In short, he's a poor guy, I'm sure of that."

Frank sighed and asked, "Any bad habits? From the looks of it, he doesn't seem to have any. Did you test him?"

"Yes, he smokes. I asked him if he wanted to try something stronger, there are legal substances you can buy, but he firmly refused. I asked if he wanted to go to Las Vegas and double five thousand dollars, but he fearfully declined, saying he never gambles."

Frank nodded in approval. "That's good. Go on."

John continued absentmindedly, "I paid $1,584 for him, and he gave me $1,600. From this, I can tell he's responsible. He's also polite, not the type of young person who's overly impulsive."

Frank nodded again. "Did he buy any luxury items after receiving a large sum of money?"

"No, just necessities. Even when buying household items at the supermarket, he looks for cheaper options. Overall, he's just a poor guy who's never seen big money."

"I trust your judgment. I feel comfortable leaving him to you." Frank said seriously, "We've all seen his performance. He's calm and courageous in extremely adverse situations, but most importantly, he's intelligent. Gentlemen, he's a talent. Although he hasn't had military training, he's still the kind of person we need."

John raised his hand and then said blankly, "I have to interrupt here. What if this kid is lying?"

Frank raised an eyebrow. "Lying? Go on."

John finished his cola, crushed the can, and then said blankly, "He said he has no military experience and has not received any military training, but didn't you notice the key point? I lost to him in a gunfight, I've said it twice already!"

Rubber exclaimed, "I know why you look like you've been beaten up. I thought it was because your kung fu dreams were shattered, but are you saying he beat you in shooting?"

Frank also looked very serious. "I thought it was a martial arts issue, but you're talking about shooting. Tell us more."

John said blankly, "He shot a full set at the club next door, first time shooting, ten meters, ten bullets, and scored eighty-six points."

Rubber chuckled and said, "Anyone can do that. Even for a first-time shooter, it's nothing special."

"Then I asked him to shoot at twenty-five meters, and he did quite well."

Frank looked puzzled. "What do you mean by 'quite well'? Did you compete?"

John rubbed his ears, scratched his neck, then said uncomfortably, "No competition, but he shot better than me..."

Rubber first looked astonished, then changed to a smile of disdain.

Frank said in a low voice, "That's not right. If he's better than you, then he couldn't have had any previous shooting experience. It's hard for a person to hide their habits while shooting. They can hide their true abilities, but it's hard for them to change their shooting habits!"

John cleared his throat and said, "Listen to me. After shooting the large caliber, he switched to shooting with his left hand, and then...he...he shot three bullseyes while swinging his arm, shooting with his left hand during the swinging process."

Frank slightly opened his mouth, while Rubber, imitating John's actions, shook his hand a few times, then looked astonished. "He shot like that? Are you kidding?"

John swallowed, "So I bet with him that he couldn't shoot three bullseyes again, and then...and then..."

"Go on, are you dumb?" Rubber said impatiently.

John sighed lightly and said, "Then he controlled the target. He fired eight shots, three bullseyes, and five off-target. Guys, he's showing off to me, he's playing me, he's embarrassing me!"

"Is he still shooting like that? Can he control the target like that?" Frank, after asking in disbelief, looked very puzzled. "But why would he do that?"

John exhaled, feeling bewildered. "I don't know, I'm starting to doubt my judgment. He seems to be familiar with all the guns, knows how to use all of them, and is familiar with shooting rules. But I can tell that when he picks up a new gun, that excitement comes from the heart, even a bit of reverence. But...he doesn't shoot like a novice. I don't know, I can't judge. So I want to take him to shoot rifles tomorrow, that's it. Captain, you have to share the gun-buying money with me, at least split it evenly."

Frank ignored John. He said seriously, "The reason for this situation is simple. He may have only shot Hua Xia's guns before and never shot anything else, so he would be excited, even reverent. Tomorrow, we'll try him with rifles. Um, what's the standard-issue rifle of Hua Xia? We have to find out overnight, make calls, and ask which shooting range has Hua Xia rifles available. Let's do it now!"