Chapter 9: Chapter 9: If My Companion Dies, I Shall Not Die With Him
"What's the matter, you lookin' for trouble?"
"This is our hood, if you're lookin' for trouble, think about whether you can walk out of here!"
Before Sidorf could regain his senses, the Black locals didn't care for the subtleties, each one started to clamor.
"No, no, no, I didn't mean to look for trouble, I just wanted to hear what he called me just now!"
The jeering from the crowd, along with David's slightly submissive demeanor, made Sidorf let his guard down and return to his previous arrogance, "Asian monkey, what about it?"
"What?"
David leaned in a bit, pretending he hadn't heard clearly.
"I said, Asian, monkey, aow...."
Sidorf hadn't finished speaking when he suddenly found himself on the ground, clutching his stomach and screaming in agony.
David withdrew the fist he had swung.
IRS inspectors, are not just about auditing skills.
Before being hired, they also have to go through various comprehensive trainings, just like cops.
So that punch was certainly powerful, even though it didn't cause internal injury, it would take at least ten or eight minutes for the person to recover!
The Black locals around them were all stunned, completely unprepared for this sudden turn of events.
It wasn't until some time later
that someone finally yelled, "Fake Yau, you dare hit someone in our neighborhood, brothers, grab your weapons and kill 'em!"
Following this call to action, the Blacks around pulled out clubs and other weapons, unanimously surrounding David.
But the very next second.
A gunshot rang out, freezing everyone in their tracks.
"Bang!"
"I dare anybody to move!"
Nisen fired a shot into the air before moving in front of David, eyeing the group of Blacks who were ready to pounce.
"Having a gun makes you a big shot, huh? Come on, show 'em what you got!"
The Black man who had just called for grabbing weapons was not the least bit intimidated and was all set to show his force again.
And as he spoke, from the houses around, several Black people rushed out, some brandishing handguns and others larger, more lethal firearms like rifles and submachine guns.
In any other country, such a scene would have been unimaginable.
But in America, it seemed quite reasonable.
After all, America does not prohibit guns; practically every household has at least one.
In such a situation, most people would have been scared to death, but Nisen and David were still relatively calm.
This composure, of course, came from the power of the IRS backing them up!
Let alone these minor Karamis, even the Omaha Family in Las Vegas that has immense power wouldn't dare to kill an IRS inspector in broad daylight!
In the major TV news, one sees daily reports about police officers, FBI agents being killed, but have you ever heard about an IRS inspector being murdered?
However, speaking of which, some higher-ups in the IRS might actually hope to see that kind of scene.
Because if an IRS inspector were to be killed,
then the IRS could deploy troops, letting the whole of America experience the armed shock and awe of the IRS!
For the newly introduced Black Tax Bill, this would undoubtedly be a perfect deterrence and publicity stunt!
Unfortunately, all Americans are aware of how formidable the IRS is, hence why so far, nobody has dared to take that risk.
"Well, are you scared now?"
These black men weren't gangsters or extremists, just swindlers who carried out petty frauds on a daily basis - they certainly didn't dare to kill someone at the drop of a hat.
Observing that they now held the advantage, they simply intended to well and truly teach Nisen and David a lesson.
"The ones who should be afraid, might just be you!"
"Hahahahaha..."
The black men burst into raucous laughter.
But their laughter faded quickly because they realized David had taken out an unrecognizable badge.
"You... are you cops?"
Their expressions changed; unable to distinguish the IRS badge from a police badge, they instinctively assumed they were police officers.
"No, we're from the IRS!"
"IRS!"
The three words hit them like a tidal wave. All the black men involuntarily stepped back, and those holding guns started trembling uncontrollably.
What did this feeling resemble?
It was like the ancients hearing about the Jinyiwei or Dongchang, they all were acutely aware of the terror the IRS could inflict, hence their profound fear!
"Now, put down the guns!"
The lead black man, drenched in sweat, yelled; then, forcing a smile, he said, "Gentlemen, I think... there has been a misunderstanding!"
"If it's a misunderstanding, then get lost!"
From their fingerprints, it was clear that many among them were engaged in fraudulent activities, so technically David did have the right to tax them.
But his main goal today was dealing with the zero-dollar purchase case, and he didn't want to stir up more trouble, preferring to resolve that matter first.
Otherwise, Lewis would once again accuse them of 'not sticking to their proper jobs'.
The black men were somewhat incredulous; just moments before, they had been threatening IRS agents with guns!
That was the IRS, and they're just letting them go so easily?
For a moment, the black men were looking at each other, but none dared to actually leave.
"I told you to scram, are you deaf?"
"Yes, yes, yes, we're leaving now..."
Nisen's firm words made the black men realize that the IRS agents truly didn't want to tangle with them any longer, and so they scattered like fleeing for their lives.
However.
Just as Sidorf, who had somewhat recovered, was trembling and thinking of leaving too, David stopped him.
"You, on the other hand, can't go!"
Sidorf turned pale, shaking, he responded, "Sir... I was blind, please don't hold it against me..."
"Take me to Osborne!"
Hearing this, Nisen cast a puzzled glance at David; in such a big community with so many people, how would David know for sure that this guy knew Osborne?
"I... sir, I don't know any Osborne!"
Although Sidorf didn't know what the IRS wanted with Osborne, he was sure it wasn't good, and naturally, he didn't want to be the messenger of misfortune.
David placed his hand on Sidorf's shoulder, looking down at him and said, "On the 28th last month, you and Osborne just robbed a luxury store together; surely you haven't forgotten about him so quickly, have you?"
Hearing this, large beads of sweat continually slid down Sidorf's forehead.
He didn't understand how the IRS agents could know about this.
What puzzled him the most was that from the way these two men approached, it was clear they weren't specifically targeting him - so why did they know about his involvement in the robbery and the matter with Osborne?