Once the bait had been taken, the initiative belonged entirely to them.
James crossed his legs, leaning back in his chair with the relaxed arrogance he had practiced endlessly.
"Of course you'd know about it," he said lazily. "You claim to be involved in the railway construction, yet you looked as if you'd never heard of it before. You nearly startled me."
"Haha… as I said, I simply didn't expect that topic to come up so suddenly." Turner forced a smile. "But may I ask what exactly brings you here regarding the Liverpool–Birmingham branch line?"
Naturally, the other side knew nothing.
Which meant they would try to extract as much information as possible while revealing as little as they could.
They would ask questions.
Let the other party do the talking.
Exactly as Killian had predicted.
Everything was proceeding exactly according to the script he had written.
"Surely you understand the situation," James continued casually. "Once London and Birmingham are connected, it makes no sense for Liverpool or Manchester not to link with Birmingham. Once that happens, one could travel from London to Liverpool or Manchester in a single uninterrupted journey. If that doesn't make money, what in this world possibly could?"
"Of course," Turner nodded quickly. "From the beginning, most people assumed Liverpool or Manchester would eventually connect with Birmingham."
"Exactly. And with the railway bill expected to pass Parliament next year, things seem to be progressing smoothly. At this rate the Liverpool–Birmingham section may be approved alongside it."
James tapped the table lightly.
"The problem, of course, is the shortage of labor and materials."
For a man who made his living running railway scams, Turner had no difficulty following the conversation.
He nodded thoughtfully, clearly keeping up with the flow.
"You know what kind of man John Rennie is, don't you?" James added. "He's meticulous. If a contractor cannot guarantee sufficient capital and materials, he won't let them anywhere near the project."
"Haha, yes. He's known to be a perfectionist."
Naturally, James had never met John Rennie, the man who had proposed the London–Birmingham Railway.
Nor had Turner.
And yet both of them spoke as though they knew the man personally.
If Rennie himself could hear this conversation, he would probably faint.
"So," James said casually, "has your company secured a materials contract for the branch line yet?"
"No. We are concentrating on supplying materials to the main line."
"Hm. But if you're still accepting investment, doesn't that mean you have additional supply capacity? That's precisely why I came here—to see if you might be able to help."
"Well… if we squeeze things a bit, it might be possible. But when you say help… are you suggesting there might still be room for us in the project?"
The scent of money had awakened the hyena's greed.
And the hunter, holding the answer sheet, finally tossed the juicy bait before it.
"That's exactly why I came," James said smoothly. "We've gathered several companies to assemble the necessary capital. But we've only secured one materials supplier so far. To convince the project leadership that our supply chain is stable, we need multiple cooperating firms. You understand what I mean."
"Of course I do. But… may I ask about the scale of the project?"
"It's still preliminary, so take this as an estimate," James said. "The total construction cost will likely be similar to the London–Birmingham Railway—over five million pounds."
Turner's eyes widened slightly.
"Our group could secure roughly one-fifth of the route. Materials usually account for forty to sixty percent of the cost, so we're looking at roughly five to six hundred thousand pounds."
James leaned forward slightly.
"I was considering allocating two to three hundred thousand pounds of that to your company."
"Three hundred thousand…"
Turner's pupils trembled slightly.
Even if these swindlers had been running railway scams for nearly a decade, they had probably never accumulated more than two hundred thousand pounds.
And now a single opportunity promised a fortune equal to—or greater than—their entire decade of fraud.
The problem, of course, was that they couldn't actually supply the materials.
They had spent years inventing convincing lies and stealing investors' money.
Real supply contracts were impossible.
Yet turning down such an opportunity was equally impossible.
Turner's mind must have been racing, desperately searching for an excuse that would allow him to enter the deal.
"Forgive me," Turner said carefully, "but at the moment we have almost no materials ready for immediate delivery. We recently converted most of our inventory into cash."
"Why?" James frowned. "Once the railway bill passes next year, massive orders will follow."
"Yes, of course. But we heard that raw material prices might fall next year, so we decided to increase our cash reserves for the time being."
It was an excuse.
But a plausible one.
James pretended to ponder the matter deeply before sighing.
"That's troublesome. We need at least two suppliers on record to give the project a sense of stability."
"We do have substantial cash reserves," Turner quickly added. "Could we perhaps participate as an investor instead?"
"That position is already filled," James said. "How much cash can you mobilize?"
"At present… we could gather about one hundred fifty thousand pounds."
James nearly laughed.
These parasites had truly sucked their victims dry.
But he kept his expression neutral.
"I see… That's unfortunate. I brought the contracts today intending to finalize everything, yet we've encountered an unexpected obstacle."
He paused deliberately, watching Turner's reaction.
The desire in the man's eyes was unmistakable.
Turner wanted in.
Badly.
James finally delivered the irresistible solution.
"Wait," he said suddenly. "Perhaps we could do this."
Turner leaned forward.
"If your company cannot immediately supply materials, then another supplier in our consortium could place the order under your company's name. You would pay for the materials now. Later, when the supplier must deliver the materials, they would reimburse your company and transfer the supply rights."
He smiled calmly.
"That way the arrangement works for everyone."
Turner hesitated.
"So… you're saying we would pay for the materials first? When would we receive payment?"
"With one hundred fifty thousand pounds, the first supply batch should be covered," James replied. "In that case, your company's share would likely be between two hundred fifty and three hundred thousand pounds. Payment would be made as soon as construction begins next year."
At minimum, a profit of one hundred thousand pounds.
At best, one hundred fifty thousand.
But investing one hundred fifty thousand meant risking nearly all the money they possessed.
Turner spoke cautiously.
"This is certainly an extraordinary opportunity. But tying up such a large sum until next year… that is somewhat burdensome."
"Of course it is," James said calmly. "Let's be honest. You're wondering why you should trust someone with that much money."
"Haha… not at all. We're simply being cautious."
"I told you earlier—I intended to finalize the contract today."
James placed a stack of documents on the table.
"Take a look."
For transactions involving more than one hundred thousand pounds, reviewing financial records was customary.
Naturally, James had brought the forged ledgers.
"Thank you," Turner said eagerly.
"I've been in this business since the Manchester Railway," James added calmly. "Anyone investing one hundred fifty thousand pounds deserves reassurance. So we'll provide collateral as well."
"Collateral?"
"Yes. I will provide documentation for a bank account containing the same amount—one hundred fifty thousand pounds. You will also receive authorization verifying that the funds exist."
He smiled faintly.
"That removes all risk, doesn't it?"
Turner blinked.
"That is reassuring. But if you already possess one hundred fifty thousand pounds, why not handle the project yourself?"
James sighed.
"I explained earlier. To secure contracts, we must appear to have multiple suppliers. Otherwise the arrangement collapses. If the funds appear under your company's name, it strengthens the appearance of cooperation."
"Ah… I see."
The explanation satisfied him.
"Still," James added, rising, "time is limited. These projects move quickly. I'd like your answer by tomorrow."
"That should be possible," Turner nodded.
"If you wish to verify the collateral, send one of your employees with me. We can stop by the bank and confirm the account immediately."
There was no reason to delay.
If everything went wrong, they could still recover their original investment.
If everything went right, they could double their fortune.
James put on his coat as a clerk hurried to return his hat.
The man was clearly the employee assigned to accompany him to the bank.
James adjusted his monocle and smiled faintly.
"Shall we go? I'll return tomorrow for your answer."
The moment James left the office, Turner frantically opened the ledgers.
"Someone find out when the Twain Company began operations! Brad is already verifying the bank account. The rest of you—help me analyze these books!"
"Yes, sir!"
Turner trusted no one.
Ten years of fraud had taught him that trust was the most useless thing in the world.
Only money mattered.
And whether Richard Twain possessed enough of it to exploit.
By evening, after hours of frantic investigation, they had their answer.
"Boss! That man isn't bluffing. The bank account really has over one hundred fifty thousand pounds. He even withdrew ten pounds and told us to enjoy a nice dinner!"
"The ledgers are flawless too," another employee added. "Their assets exceed one million pounds."
"And the company really did form during the Manchester Railway boom."
Turner's grin widened.
"Good. Then we sign the contract tomorrow."
He leaned back, laughing quietly.
"If this works, our fortune will triple overnight. After that, we'll leave this country and retire comfortably in southern France."
"Wait… the payment is only three hundred thousand pounds," one employee said. "That's only double our money."
Turner chuckled.
"That's assuming we honor the contract."
Swindlers always betrayed their partners in the end.
Turner imagined the expression on Richard Twain's face when he lost a fortune next year.
He couldn't stop smiling.
"…And that's exactly how everything happened," James finished.
"Well done," Killian said with satisfaction. "I didn't tell you to withdraw ten pounds at the bank, though. That was an excellent improvisation."
"I thought it would make the story more convincing. They still seemed suspicious."
"Don't worry," Killian replied calmly. "The moment you offered those terms, the deal was already sealed."
Swindlers were naturally suspicious.
After all, they spent their lives deceiving others.
But precisely because of that, they never truly believed they themselves could be deceived.
Especially veterans.
They believed they were too clever.
Of course, that didn't mean they were easy to trick.
Men like Turner built elaborate safety nets to protect themselves.
But once someone crossed that line—
there was no turning back.
Greed would devour their minds completely.
"How much did the operation cost?" Killian asked.
"Several thousand pounds, at least. Bribes, forged ledgers, information fees…"
Killian nodded thoughtfully.
Even so, the net profit would exceed one hundred forty thousand pounds.
A far better return than playing cards in some smoky gambling hall.
This was why people said one must swim in big waters.
"By the way," James asked carefully, "that collateral account…"
Killian smiled.
"Perfect bait, wasn't it?"
He leaned back.
"They'll plan to withdraw that money once they receive our payment and disappear."
If the timing worked perfectly, they could theoretically invest 150,000 pounds, receive 300,000 from the deal, and withdraw another 150,000 from the collateral account.
Turning 150,000 into 450,000 pounds.
Who wouldn't be tempted by that?
"Honestly," James said, shaking his head, "I'm amazed they never imagined our intentions."
Killian shrugged.
"How could they? They don't even know such a method exists."
He suddenly wondered what expressions they would wear when they finally visited the bank.
Perhaps he should go see it himself.
After all—
they were about to hand him one hundred fifty thousand pounds.
The least he could do was watch their final screams in person.