Chapter 25: 25 Sudden Incident
In a hotel near the Kamu Hua Country embassy…
Joe Ga had been staying here for a week, and the materials he brought back from southern SD, as well as that video recording of Ailin, were finally delivered into the hands of the embassy staff.
Joe Ga was not familiar with the personnel composition of the embassy, but he naturally trusted people in military uniforms.
He packed everything into a kraft paper bag, then had Karman spend a few dollars to find an out-of-towner kid passing through Kamu to deliver the items to the Chinese gatekeeper at the embassy.
Joe Ga knew his approach was hasty, but he didn't have many other options.
The espionage methods seen in movies or TV shows were not applicable here because there were too few Chinese around. If he showed himself or acted secretive enough to raise suspicion, it would backfire.
The main reason Joe Ga stayed in the hotel was to observe the situation, to know whether the intelligence he had sent to the embassy had drawn attention.
Joe Ga felt fortunate that on the third day, he received a text from the embassy on his personal phone, containing several tips for the Chinese in SD.
While the message was vague, Joe Ga knew that the intelligence had been taken seriously; it's just that the embassy needed time to verify its authenticity before making a targeted arrangement.
After all, you can't just withdraw people from northern SD if there's a problem in southern SD. Those construction sites lose money every day they stop, and even big companies can't operate like that.
Joe Ga stayed four more days. As a layman with no other intelligence sources, he could only stay there to gauge the winds of change and, most importantly, observe whether any particular individuals were coming and going to brace himself for the potential upcoming investigation.
Until the seventh day, the embassy continued to operate as usual, except that the ambassador started going out more frequently. Suddenly, reports of various meetings and banquets began to fill the local news.
Joe Ga used not to watch the news, but now, armed with a secret, when he watched it, he could discern some underlying patterns.
Enhanced trade cooperation, bolstered security project collaborations, enhanced investment project security, reinforced military construction, strengthened ties with friendly countries, and the like made the SD government seem particularly enthusiastic in a slew of reports.
Joe Ga himself distinctly felt that in the past few days, the hotel staff had been increasingly accommodating towards him.
However, after seven days, Joe Ga could no longer stay put. Staring blankly at the embassy's main gate had become fruitless, and the hotel food didn't quite suit his taste. He thought it was time to check out, tidy up his villa, and then enjoy a few days back in Mataking.
Ironically, Joe Ga's first savannah trip mainly involved killing.
Now, he thought about taking some time to visit the savannah, to see lions, elephants, and such, take some pictures to show off to his younger brother Qiao Liang, and solemnly tell him, "Your brother isn't a laborer, but a legitimate entrepreneur, and quite wealthy at that, so don't hesitate to spend your allowance."
At 8 p.m., during dinner time, Joe Ga, carrying a travel bag, walked out of his room and pressed the elevator to go downstairs.
As he entered the elevator, he saw a mixed-race female service worker with fair skin and a headscarf, pushing a cart towards the elevator, so Joe Ga stretched out his hand to hold the elevator door open…
The female service worker's expression was rather cold, but she still politely said "Thank you," pressed the button for the second floor, and stood against the elevator wall with a formulaic smile on her face, yet she didn't say another word.
When the elevator stopped on the second floor, the female service staff said goodbye with a smile and tried to push her cart out.
However, there was a small bump between the elevator and the second floor, which jostled the cart slightly, causing some soap, shampoo, tea bags, and other items to spill onto the floor.
A supervisor dressed in a black suit noticed the situation, and not seeing Joe Ga because of the angle, he came over yelling, rudely pushing the female service staff's shoulder, about to say something even nastier when he saw that Joe Ga was squatting down, helping to pick up the scattered items on the floor...
The man in the black suit hesitated, then awkwardly apologized to Joe Ga and stressed repeatedly that he would punish the female service staff.
Joe Ga didn't know what this guy's logic for punishment was, but having climbed up from the very bottom himself, he naturally sided with the female service staff.
Seeing the female service staff on the floor continue her work as if she had no instinct and the numb expression on her face, Joe Ga hesitated and chose not to confront the supervisor forcefully, but instead stood up, shaking his head and said, "It was my fault for bumping into her, I should be the one to apologize.
If compensation is needed, I will settle it when I check out."
As he said this, Joe Ga placed the items he had picked up back on the cart, and said to the female service staff, "I'm sorry."
The man in the black suit, seeing Joe Ga's manner, waved his hands and said, "No need, no need, you are a valued guest of our hotel, we will handle these matters ourselves."
Joe Ga glanced at the busy female service staff, hesitated, and then gave a nod, saying, "Alright, then I'll leave it to you. Your service staff have been very polite, and it left a deep impression on me.
Actually, the elevator was more to blame just now. There's no need to punish an excellent service staff for that."
"Understood, understood, I'm very sorry for the trouble!"
As the man in the black suit spoke, he pulled the cart and the female service staff out, and then smiled at Joe Ga inside the elevator, waiting until the elevator doors had closed.
Joe Ga didn't dwell on the incident; being bullied at work is all too common, and anyone, even without the help of family and friends, would shed bitter tears to get through it, let alone the women in this cursed Kamu Hua country.
After stepping out of the elevator, Joe Ga put the incident behind him. He checked out at the front desk, planning to wait at the front door for Karman to come pick him up, when a yellow and green bus suddenly stopped at the hotel entrance, blocking it completely.
Joe Ga stepped aside to wait for a few minutes when several hotel security guards approached to signal the bus to move on, but then something unbelievable happened...
"Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da..."
A few black men in dirty desert camo that was so stained its color indistinguishable, armed with AK47s, rushed down from the bus and began firing at the hotel security guards.
Joe Ga wasn't afraid of guns, but it was his first time encountering such an incident in the central area of a country.
He stood frozen for about a second and just as people started screaming and dropping to the floor in the hotel lobby, he sprinted along the inner wall towards the elevator area, which connected to a hallway that led to the hotel's back door.
Joe Ga didn't know what was going on, but once trapped in the hotel, things would get much worse.
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