A War Between Spies Chapter 13 - Family Dispute

Yang Yi’s eye ached. His face was sore and his stomach still hurt as well. 

Yang Yi still gave up on the thought of revenge though. As a man, he should not be too fussy with a woman especially since she was John’s daughter and a beauty.

Yang Yi decided to forgive Kate. Until he could defeat her, he definitely should not be too upset about what happened.

“You can leave your stuff in that room over there. We will go downstairs after. Soon you will get to meet a few people. You will be learning from them in the future.”

“Are they people from your core team?”

“Yes.”

Yang Yi felt the pain in his cheek amplify when he spoke. He rubbed his cheek and engraved his first learning objective within a small notebook in his heart: unarmed combat skills.

John poured Yang Yi a glass of whiskey as well once they were downstairs. He smiled, “You will feel a lot better once you drink a glass.”

“Thank you.”

Yang Yi took a sip from the glass and looked around John’s living room.

His first impression of the room was that it was neat and clean. John’s cleaning standards for his house seemed to be good.

Yang Yi took another sip from the glass. He looked at John and noticed a small disparity.

John’s alcohol glass had a round mouth and square bottom. His own glass had a square mouth and round bottom. A glance would not have revealed the difference. Only someone who paid attention to details would be able to distinguish the difference between the two glasses.

Yang Yi took one last glance around the living room and finished his glass.

“Do you want some more?”

“I am good, thanks.”

Yang Yi did not usually drink before noon. John finished his whiskey and took both of their glasses to the open style kitchen to clean them. He placed them on the glass holder when he was done.

The doorbell rang as John completed the small chore. John gestured towards Yang Yi and walked towards the door to open it.

“Hi, Mr. Jones.”

“Hi, Ryan.”

The man that was welcomed into the house looked to be in his thirties. John and the man were exchanging simple greetings with each other when the man, Ryan, noticed Yang Yi standing by the side in the living room. He was obviously stunned for a moment, but he just sat at the end of the couch after giving a nod in Yang Yi’s direction.

John did not intend to introduce the two to each other. The doorbell rang again in a just a few minutes. John opened the door and a woman in her forties or fifties walked in.

“Hi, Jones.”

“Hi, Jenny.”

They hugged for a brief moment. Yang Yi felt something was strange about the relationship between these two, John and Jenny. The relationship between friends or even colleagues should be a bit more intimate, but they were rather distant.

Before the door closed, someone else arrived.

“Hi, Mr. Jones. It has been a while.”

“Hi, Wales.”

This man that had just arrived seemed to be in his forties. His smile was gentle and he was wearing formal attire. He was surprised when he saw Yang Yi. His eyes widened, but he still nodded politely in Yang Yi’s direction before he sat down.

Another man walked through the door at that moment. He waved his hand at John in greeting and went into the living room without a word.

The newcomer had a very pale face and looked to be in his twenties. He wore a hoodie and had a black backpack slung over his shoulders. 

The man in the hoodie sat down after glancing around indifferently.

A Pakistani of Indian descent came in next.

“Hi, Mr. Jones.”

“Hi, Kadipur.”

Yang Yi smelled the strong scent of cologne as the Pakistani of Indian descent walked towards the semi-circular sofa.

John closed the door. He smiled at everyone that was sitting in the circle, “I would like to introduce a new member. This is Ross.”

Yang Yi learned of his new name when John pointed in his direction.

“Hello, everyone. I am Ross.”

“This is Ryan, Wales, Jenny, Daniel, and Kadipur.”

John introduced everyone to Yang Yi, but he only gave their names. He did not provide any other details.

After the brief introduction, John said indifferently, “From today onwards, Ross will join our operations and be our new partner.”

Kadipur stood up and smiled at Yang Yi, “Welcome.”

“Thank you,” Yang Yi responded.

Yang Yi was still a bit distracted when Ryan asked with an expression full of doubt and dissatisfaction, “Mr. Jones, who is he? Why are you allowing him to join us directly? What skills does he have?”

John smiled, “Ross is a skilled driver. That is why I am allowing him to join us. Any more questions?”

Ryan waved his hand and did not say anything else.

The woman, Jenny, asked, “Is Kate not here?”

John pointed towards the stairs, “She is upstairs.”

John clapped his hands then and smiled, “I accepted a new mission today. The remuneration for this mission is 1.6 million pounds and the target is Anthony Investment Company.”

Ryan frowned, “I have never heard of this company.”

John smiled, “It is a newly established investment company, yet, the financial transactions they have made are huge. Their outstanding performance is eye-catching. The employer wants to obtain the company’s account details, investment plans, finance plans and most importantly Anthony’s plan to acquire ARM.”

The middle-aged man, Wales, calmly asked, “Do you know anything about the background of this company?”

John shook his head. He placed his hand on the shoulder of, Daniel, the man wearing the hoodie, “Research this company’s public information.”

Daniel took off his backpack and pulled out a laptop. He booted it up and only took a moment to answer, “Anthony Investment Company, established in 2006 with a registered paid-up capital of ten million pounds. Wayne Rushford is the chairman. The company’s performance has been outstanding since it’s inception. The company completed a series of acquisitions during the world financial crisis that began in 2008. The company invests in emerging technology companies as well. That is all I found.

John nodded his head and announced, “Anthony is not publicly listed, but their cumulative completed acquisitions are valued at about two billion U.S. dollars. They also have cumulative investments of 3.2 billion U.S. dollars. It is a major company. It is a behemoth concealed beneath the current even if it is not famous.”

Ryan solemnly said, “It is impossible to acquire ARM. The company’s market capitalization is at the very least ten billion U.S. dollars. I doubt this – Anthony Investment Company really has plans to acquire ARM.”

Wales laughed, “It is possible that there is a larger organization supporting Anthony Investment Company from the shadows. We do not have to pay attention to that. It is good enough that we will get 1.6 million pounds for this job.” 

Kate came downstairs at that moment. She still looked a bit upset. She only managed to half-heartedly greet the crowd in front of her, “Hi, everyone.”

“Mom,” Kate softly said after sitting next to Jenny.

Jenny frowned as she looked at Kate, “You look unhappy. Did something happen?”

Kate glanced at Yang Yi in irritation and shook her head, “You do not have to worry. It is in the past now.”

Ryan, Wales, and Daniel looked at the black eye on the left side of Yang Yi’s face. They smiled, quickly understanding the situation.

Yang Yi was also able to gain some understanding of the relationship between John, Jenny, and Kate. 

John seemed helpless before saying, “Well, we will end this topic here. Ryan, go investigate Anthony. I need you to consider ways we can get in and obtain the information we need. Wales, be prepared to get the information. Daniel, try to hack into Anthony’s internal network. We might be able to complete the mission that way. Kadipur, survey the surroundings of Anthony’s headquarters for the next few days. The employer requested us to obtain the intelligence within two months, but I hope we can complete it within a month’s time. There is a five hundred thousand pound bonus if we can obtain the intelligence within a month.” 

Ryan whistled in excitement, "We should get it completed quickly! 2.1 million pounds! Guys, are you not excited?"

Yang Yi listened, but he could only be a spectator as he was new and did not know anything. There was not much he could do except listen attentively to what John said. John still had not given him any instructions and he could not stop himself from asking about it now that all tasks were given out.

“Mr. Jones, what do you need me to do?”

John frowned for a moment as he faced Yang Yi. He eventually nodded, “You will be our driver when the operation commences.”

Kate looked at Yang Yi in disdain. She then arrogantly said, “Me too. I want to be a part of the mission. I can definitely infiltrate Anthony Investment Company and successfully steal the intelligence.”

John’s expression quickly became unpleasant. He replied without hesitation, “No!”

Kate immediately looked at Jenny who was sitting beside her. Jenny sighed before saying to John in a weak tone, “John, I have already agreed to let her participate.”

John angrily said, “No!”

Kate stood up and pointed at Yang Yi angrily, “This idiot knows nothing, but you are letting him join. I know everything, but you refuse to let me participate? Dad, your decision does not make sense!”

John Jones scolded, “Do not even think about it! As long as I am calling the shots, you can stop dreaming of joining! Go clean up your room and stay there quietly. You are grounded!”

Jenny’s face turned ugly then. She stood up to hold Kate’s hand and coldly said, “I will quit if Kate cannot participate. I hope you can find someone to replace me.”

Kate also responded angrily, “I will never come here again! I will just form a new team with mom!”

Yang Yi, who had been called an idiot, realized this was not infighting among partners; it was a family dispute.

Chapter end