Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 80 : The Third Option

"So, we don't want the product back?" Hector asked.

"At first, I thought about that." James said as he leaned back. "But Silas is an old, grumpy man, a criminal before we were even born…yet he never got shot, nor had anything taken from him. This time, he'll feel real pressure like never before, and he has two options." James held up a finger. "One, he actually cuts off his finger. Two, he feels disrespected and wages war against us."

"You're letting him attack us when he was the one who stole from us?"

"No, because there's always a third option, and I'm pretty sure that's what's going to happen." James smiled.

"Third?"

"Yeah, the third option is that he'll sacrifice his son."

Hector was taken aback by what James said. "I didn't even think about that…"

Well, it's a cliché in movies…they always save themselves.

"I'm pretty sure the third option is what's going to happen. His love for his son is practically nonexistent. He never even let him take part in their operations, at least, that's what I read in the report back in the day."

"Yeah, that's true. He just drinks and fucks women all day. He's literally a drug addict too." Hector laughed up. "But you really think he'll just throw his own blood under the bus to save himself?"

"Only that option makes sense. Silas maybe have a more men and a strong alliance, but he never moved toward the government. Even if we lose 90 percent of our men, we would still win. There are thousands of pages of documents sitting in a safe that could destroy all of them."

"Use the public as a weapon?"

"Yeah. If I release all the documents, not just to the government but to the public, it's over for them. And besides, the Justice Minister is already in my pocket, so I can use her too if things go south." James explained.

"Then why don't we use it now?"

James raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you have so much information on everyone. You could destroy them, take over, and write your name in the history books as the richest and most powerful drug lord ever." Hector smirked.

"I see power blinds you too."

"I'm just saying, if we have all this, why not use it?"

"And what happens if we're the only ones left? The moment we take full control, we become the biggest target in the world. We don't rule from the top. We rule from the shadows."

Hector thought for a moment, his fingers tapping against the table. "So, we keep them alive but under control. Enough leash to let them run, but tight enough that they never bite back."

"Exactly. If you wipe out every rival, you create a vacuum. And do you know what happens in a vacuum?"

"Someone always rushes in to fill it."

James nodded. "And that someone could be worse. More unpredictable. More reckless. If we're the ones pulling the strings, we decide who stays in power and who falls. We don't want to be the face of the empire. We want to be the hands that shape it."

Hector chuckled. "Damn, you really thought this through."

"I have to." James said."Power isn't just about having leverage, it's about knowing when and how to use it."

Well I saw the exact same outplay in movies and books…I hope it can happen in real life too.

"And if one of these people you control gets ambitious?"

"Then we remind them why they're still breathing, but that only if Silas wants war, the most important thing now is getting his answer and sticking to the plan, the smuggling, the green weed… this whole operation." James slapped his hand on the dossiers. "Anyway, what about the jungle and the camps?"

Hector's smile wavered as he started rubbing his forehead.

"Hector?"

"It got drone striked we lost 70 percent of everything… but don't worry, the remaining 30 percent has already been secured." He said it as if it were good news.

James just stared at him in silence. His mind raced, processing what had just been said.

"You mean a military drone?" James finally asked.

"Yeah, a big ass one." Hector gestured with his hands. "It launched four missiles, which wouldn't have been a problem, but a massive fire broke out. They did their best to save whatever product they could."

A military drone….what the fuck.

"But don't worry." Hector added quickly. "I got information that they mistook the camp for a military outpost. So there's no chance we'll get drone striked… or at least, not a big one. Maybe, like, 0.5 percent."

"If 70 percent of our supply burned, how the hell are we supposed to move forward with the slums?"

"That…" Hector said, leaning back with a smirk, "is the most important question today. But don't worry, we have three options, just like Silas."

He smiled again.

"First, we use the money you have right now, which should be about 1.5 billion after expenses, salaries, and everything else."

James listened in silence as Hector continued.

"Second option, we scrap the slums idea altogether. It's too expensive. Instead, we move operations into underground laboratories. It's still risky, but nothing compared to slum project."

James tapped his fingers against the table, waiting for the third.

"And the third option? We finally dip our hands into the arms trade."

"Arms trade?"

Hector nodded. "Think about it. We already have the connections. The logistics are nearly identical to what we do now. And most importantly…" He leaned in slightly. "It's profitable as hell."

"I don't like it." James said immediately, without even thinking.

Hector's smile faded. "Why…?" His voice carried a hint of disappointment.

"Who would we even sell the weapons to? Terrorists? I don't want innocent people dying in my name."

"No, no, you're misunderstanding." Hector said quickly, shaking his head. "It's not like that. I'm talking about our dictator friend. He need help smuggling weapons."

"What kind of weapons?"

"Not guns. Not assault rifles." Hector leaned forward. "I'm talking about big stuff. Rockets. Missiles."

James fell silent, staring at him.

This was stepping into a whole different world, one where the stakes were higher, the profits larger.

"You know that Mr. Dictator can't trade with any country, they've got sanctions against him. But he's pumping out more military hardware than anyone else. I'm talking tanks, missiles, helicopters… even drones. And Trania needs weapons. And who do they buy from? Helios. And it's not just them, out east, Xixjin wants to buy weapons too. But how?" He smirked."We just have to smuggle the weapons, and we get paid hundreds of millions."

"You want to smuggle missiles?" James asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, why not? They're only used against the military, and everyone's got an agreement not to target civilians."

"I understand that. But how the hell do you plan to smuggle missiles? When you first mentioned this, I thought you meant guns."

"Well, it's actually a long range missile system, mounted on a truck like thing. So maybe…we load it into a container, slap a label on it that says 'rice' or something, and call it a day. Also, you don't need to worry about casualties, because it's not just Trania or Xixjin looking to buy. There are at least five other countries I've never even heard of that want in. We could make billions off this."

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James stared at him, his thoughts racing.

How crazy is he?

"It's too much risk to take, Hector." James finally said. "I have Charlotte now. And even without this, our lives are still in danger. If we start smuggling weapons, it won't just be the mafia coming after us…it'll be entire countries."

Hector fell silent as he realized that even if they slipped up, there was no way they would be let off the hook, just like with the drugs.

Especially after hearing what Mr. Dictator wanted, not just one or two of these systems, but hundreds of them.

"Damn. I was already dreaming about those billions…without even thinking it through."

"Greedy fucker." James laughed at him.

Hector grinned again, but this time, there was no reckless excitement behind it. "Hey, can you blame me? But nah…I trust you on this, James. If you say it's too much, then it's too much."

James exhaled and reached for a dossier. "Let's deal with what's in front of us before we start thinking about global domination. We wait for Silas's response, then I meet with the NSBI director." He let out a heavy breath. "Then the funeral."

Hector slowly stood up from his chair. "Then I'll deliver the message. By the way, I called Ferucci, he's on his way here." Hector waved his hand and left the office.

James leaned back in his chair, shaking his head as he gazed out the window.

Arms trade with weapons of mass destruction… Ah, Hector, what the fuck were you even thinking…but it actually sounds good if I can get a the Justice Minister to sign some documents that let us go under the radar…ahh no let deal with this bullshit first.

He opened the dossier and started reading all of the documents that Hector brought him.

Meanwhile Hector was ready to leave the house, Bella suddenly grabbed his arm from the side.

"Did you tell him?" She asked, staring into his eyes.

"No. I still have it in my bag." He reached inside and pulled out a book. "I'm going to burn it. That's the best decision for all of us."