Chapter 88: Two Million Is Really Too Little
Seeing William holding Tina, Lina said, "Hello? Am I invisible? I'm standing right here! And how many times have I told you, Tina is still young. You are not allowed to make a move on her, or you'll have your Aunt Mary to answer to."
The moment William heard "Aunt Mary," he immediately let go of Tina's hand. Tina fiercely pinched William on his side. She didn't understand why William was so afraid of her mother. Mary was a very kind person, so what was there to be scared of?
But Tina didn't dare talk back to Lina. She was always on her best behavior around her, sticking close to her all day. During the past few months they had spent together, Lina was not as reserved with her as she had been in London.
William let go of Tina and walked over to his mother, hugging her affectionately. In this world, his mother was the one person he trusted without reservation. "Mom, how have you been these past few months?"
But his mother, Lina, was definitely not a pushover. "Not good at all. All you do is have fun in Switzerland without a care for us. Thankfully, Tina was here to keep me company. Otherwise, I would have gone to Switzerland myself to drag you back." After complaining, Lina held William's face and kissed him on the forehead.
"William, you seem to have grown taller again. I can barely reach to kiss you anymore. You're growing up so fast, and poor me, I'm getting old."
Over the past few months, William had indeed grown another 5 centimeters and was now 1.89 meters tall. "No, Mom, you still look like you're twenty. When you and Tina stand together, you look like sisters. Mom, you'll always be this beautiful. If you don't believe me, ask Tina, right?"
Being a clever girl, Tina wouldn't miss such a perfect opportunity. She nodded emphatically, "Of course! How could Aunt Lina ever get old? People always say that Aunt Lina is my older sister."
Lina poked Tina's forehead with her finger. "You just know how to say nice things. But flattery will get you nowhere. I still won't allow William to let you be his girlfriend."
Tina rubbed Lina's arm and said coquettishly, "Why, Aunt Lina? When he was little, he promised he would marry me when I grew up. Auntie, you can't be like William and go back on your word! I want to marry Brother William!"
"You're only 16, you can't be thinking about marrying someone. That's not possible. Your mother wouldn't agree either. Besides, if anyone's going to marry William, it should be your older sister first," Lina teased.
When she heard that her sister might marry William, Tina shrieked, "No, absolutely not! I won't let my sister marry William! She's three years older than him; they're not suitable! William is mine, he promised me!" After speaking, she looked at William with tears in her eyes and pleaded, "Brother William, you'll marry me, right?"
William looked at his mother speechlessly. Did she really find this so amusing? "Alright, alright, Mom was just joking with you. See? She's laughing at you."
Tina looked up at Lina and saw that she was indeed enjoying her little joke. "Aunt Lina, you're so mean! Tina doesn't like you anymore!"
"Okay, okay, you're still young, so William can't marry you yet. We can talk about you two in a few years."
William gave his mother a strange look. When they were in London, she had been very opposed to him and Tina getting together. It seemed that in just a few months, her opinion had changed.
William shot his mother a questioning glance, but Lina ignored him. "Alright, what's the point of talking at the airport? Let's get in the car."
Lina got into the car first. Outside, Tina still had her arms wrapped around William. He had to coax her for a long time before she finally got in and sat in the back seat with his mother. The convoy then left the airport.
In the car, Barney reported to William, "Boss, nothing major happened these past three months, but a lot of people are asking about your whereabouts. Paparazzi have been loitering outside the castle 24/7. Fortunately, the more than ten acres of pasture are private territory. We hired a lot of the townsfolk to patrol with guns, so the paparazzi don't dare to come in. The people in town all work for the Earl of Oxford, and everyone knows you're going to inherit the title, so they haven't been letting outsiders into the town. Everything's been very peaceful. Boss, now that you're back, do you need us to stay here?"
William smiled. "Why? Getting homesick?"
Barney chuckled. "Yes, Boss. We've been away for three months, and everyone is a little homesick. My three baby daughters have been calling me a lot recently. If it weren't for your safety, we'd really like to go back to the States. We were just wondering if you had any new assignments for us."
William thought for a moment and said, "The situation is safer than I expected. You probably know who I provoked three months ago."
Barney and Christmas, who was sitting beside him, nodded. "We already know, Boss. It was in Montenegro. I had our contacts in the mercenary world ask around. It seems the Toflobi tribe's situation isn't very good right now. He doesn't have the energy to come looking for trouble with you."
"Boss, there is something I need to remind you about," Barney continued. "You have to pay attention to Tina's safety. I've heard that there are a lot of Albanian criminals trying to make a living in Europe. Recently, many Romanians, Bulgarians, and Albanians have been seen hanging around bus stations. The word is they're involved in trafficking women from Eastern Europe and have connections to several opposition groups."
"There have also been many cases of female tourists disappearing in France and England. They get off the plane, and these people quietly snatch them and sell them elsewhere in Europe. Girls traveling in these two countries are sold at high prices at underground auctions across the continent."
Hearing this, William asked excitedly, "In other words, I just need to give General Jeterfrobi's opponents some funds and weapons to increase the pressure on him, and he might even get himself killed?"
"Yes, boss," Christmas said with a sly laugh. "And this way, it won't expose your identity. Even if General Jeterfrobi is taken out, no one will know you were behind it. Moreover, boss, these guys are so unscrupulous. I heard the English government is very dissatisfied with General Jeterfrobi now."
Barney added in a sinister tone, "It seems the Church also wants to cause trouble for General Jeterfrobi. I heard he has a small island in the Caribbean where he's cooperating with a local drug lord."
"They specialize in cultivating plants on the island that produce addictive substances. The Church recently put out a two-million-dollar bounty for a team to handle this for them. If you take this mission, Boss, maybe we can get paid by both the English and the Americans."
"Ha, only two million? Barney, you're not short on money now. Why risk our lives taking on drug lords for such a paltry sum? Those guys are desperate psychopaths. Let the Church test the waters first. We'll just watch the show," William said with a laugh, rejecting the idea.
The moment Barney mentioned a Caribbean island, William knew this was a plot point from one of *The Expendables* movies. The second film in the series had done poorly at the U.S. box office but was a huge hit in China.
Barney also knew those guys weren't easy to mess with, and they weren't short on money anymore. It wasn't worth risking their lives for the Church. "Alright, Boss, you're right. Let the Church give it a try first. Two million is really too little," Barney said, nodding in agreement.
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