The Shadow of Great Britain
Chapter 289 - 289 190 London-Paris Spy Axis 5K4_3

289: Chapter 190 London-Paris Spy Axis (5K4)_3 289: Chapter 190 London-Paris Spy Axis (5K4)_3 Arthur waved over a waiter to order Victor a glass of gin, “Of course, the night is still young, I’ve got plenty of time.”

Victor took a drag of his cigarette, “At that time, our department head’s wife lost a cloak while she was out, and the head specifically called me over to track down the cloak.

I thought to myself, ‘Fuck this, I’m here to solve cases, not run after some trivial bullshit like this’.

But I had no choice, it was an order from the head, so I had my men do a cursory search.”

But looking for a cloak in the vastness of Paris was a real pain in the ass, and naturally, we came up empty-handed.

Before long, rumors started circulating in the office, saying the head was beginning to doubt my loyalty because of this incident.

A few days later, the cloak miraculously grew wings and flew into the hands of my direct supervisor, Duplacey, who always had it in for me.”

The moment he found the cloak, he called me into his office, waved it in my face, and had the audacity to question what the hell the security department was doing, and why couldn’t we manage such a simple task?

I didn’t take him seriously at the time, I saw him as nothing but a pretty boy who climbed the ladder by licking women’s asses, while I was the hero who had captured countless criminals for the department.

What could he do to me?”

At this point, Victor suddenly started puffing on his cigarette and fell silent.

Arthur asked with a smile, “So, it turns out being a pretty boy is more useful than catching criminals, huh?”

“Yeah!” Victor glared and cursed, “Turns out, those who work it in bed are indeed a bit stronger than us dumb fucks squatting in the streets!

Fucking France is so screwed up!

You could run your legs off, solve a thousand cases, but it’s not worth as much as someone dropping their trousers and kissing some ass.”

Victor, upon saying this, suddenly took a fierce drag of his cigarette and looked up to ask, “Do you have this kind of shit over there?”

Arthur took a sip of tea, “This sort of thing happens everywhere, it’s just a matter of degree.

We’ve got a gentleman over here who’s about to snag a judgeship with an annual income of a thousand pounds, all thanks to his wife.”

Upon hearing this, Victor just snorted, “Then it seems your place isn’t much better.”

Arthur shook his head, “What’s worse is, I don’t particularly like the soon-to-be judge, and I’ve been wondering what’s the best way to take him down.”

“That’s easy.” Victor downed a gulp of his drink, “You’re not bad looking, take my advice, just lift up the skirt of some big shot’s wife, and you’re sure to get it sorted, after all, that’s how Duplacey made it to the top.”

Arthur thought he was getting serious advice, but Victor’s words nearly made him choke.

“You serious?”

“Of course!

Young man, you needn’t be shy.

These days, only the thick-skinned get fed.”

Victor reached out to adjust the elastic of his bodice, “Look at me, I’m dressed in women’s clothes just to earn a living.

But even though I’m in a dress, my heart is still that of a man.

Don’t you start getting any ideas about me, I really freaked out your friend today.”

As he said this, Victor went on, “But if you don’t want to take shortcuts, there are actually other ways, though it might be a bit more troublesome.”

Originally, Arthur brought up the topic just for fun, hoping to bridge the gap between the two parties, but Victor was actually planning to give him advice, which was beyond Arthur’s expectation.

However, since the other party was willing to offer, Arthur was certainly willing to listen, “Please go ahead, if your method is feasible, I might consider letting go of tonight’s incident.”

Victor began, “It’s not so much a method, but there is a general guideline for dealing with these situations.

You are new to this business, so you might not understand a principle.

Not every boss cares if you do your job well, but if you can solve their personal problems, you will certainly gain their esteem.”

“What belongs to the public stays public, and what’s personal remains personal; they always keep that very clear.

Think about my experience, that damned cloak; I am your lesson.”

At this point, Arthur started to catch on.

He pondered the Norton couple’s complex and enigmatic relationship with Viscount Melbourne and suddenly felt he might be able to stir things up a bit here.

Seeing him silent, Victor understood that the young man had probably caught on.

With the help of alcohol, Victor continued to Arthur, “Let’s leave personal matters aside.

Regarding the theft of embassy documents you mentioned earlier, it involves high stakes and carries great risks, so forgive me for not complying.

But, if it’s merely providing you with something to facilitate claiming credit to your superiors, I am more than happy to lend a hand.

After all, you know I’ve been in and out of prison for forging official documents; I am an expert in this area.”

Arthur nodded slightly at these words, “Having something is better than nothing, but if we are to forge documents, I hope their content is as ambiguous as possible.

Otherwise, if the Foreign Office makes any strategic misjudgments because of these documents, leading to trouble, I would be the one to suffer.”

“Rest assured, I was quite successful in this profession in my day, I know exactly how it’s done.”

At this point, Victor changed the subject, “However, Mr.

Hasting, although this may seem a bit shameless of me, I took a beating and even shed blood tonight, so even if you won’t let me take Mr.

Dumas back, I at least need to bring something back to show for.

I still hope to make some achievements at this London conference to help me return to my position as head of the Security Department.”

Understanding Victor’s hint, Arthur put down his teacup, “I also do not wish for such a talent as yourself to be buried in the streets of Paris, because we may have opportunities to do business together in the future.

But as you said, giving you something genuine is far too risky.

So how about I get you an insignificant document and write you some mixed truths and fabrications about minor details?

You can imitate that format to create a convincing fake document to submit.

How does that sound?”

Hearing this, Victor only smiled and stood up to shake Arthur’s hand, “Mr.

Hasting, I had no idea you were such a reasonable man.

Had I known you were so agreeable, we wouldn’t have needed to fight.”

Arthur also smiled as he shook his hand, caution in his voice, “If we had not fought, how would you have realized that I was reasonable?

I look forward to our cooperation, Mr.

Victor.”