But Captain spoke with a serious expression: “Don’t think the salary is too low. Two thousand dollars is what you get for legal work, but you don’t have legal status in the US, so you’re working illegally. In that case, two thousand dollars is already a high wage.”

Raymond Brooks was stunned for a moment. He really hadn’t considered the fact that he’d be working illegally, so he asked curiously, “So is it okay to work illegally? Won’t we get caught?”

Captain laughed and said, “No one knows how many Mexicans are working illegally in Los Angeles, and California’s laws are very friendly to undocumented immigrants. As long as it’s not the FBI or federal police, no one can check your ID, so there’s not much to worry about. The only problem is you can’t open a bank account.”

Raymond Brooks nodded and said, “I accept the monthly salary of two thousand.”

Captain let out a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, “Good. Do you have any questions you want to ask?”

Raymond Brooks had a lot of questions, but he just didn’t dare to ask. Now that Captain was inviting him to ask, he had to take the chance.

“I really do have a lot I want to ask. If I ask something I shouldn’t, just tell me directly and I promise I won’t ask again.”

“Go ahead.”

Raymond Brooks asked cautiously, “You said you’d call the boss, so… am I working for you, or for the boss you mentioned?”

Who he was working for was important, so he had to make it clear. But after he asked, Captain just laughed and said, “It’s the boss, but he’s my former boss. Although he’s retired now, we still have a very good personal friendship.”

So it was a former boss, not the current one, and this former boss was also Captain’s backer. Raymond Brooks felt he could understand it that way. And from the fact that this backer could arrange for Captain and the others to cross the border in just a few minutes, this backer was clearly very powerful.

Raymond Brooks felt there was no problem. Having a boss with a strong backer was definitely a good thing. As for who this backer actually was, it was better not to pry.

But Captain spoke up himself, and with great enthusiasm said, “My boss founded the Warfire Mercenary Corps, a very strong mercenary group. But now it’s a big company with over three thousand people. Kid, have you heard of it? Warfire Military Group.”

Raymond Brooks replied blankly, “Sorry, I’m a military fan, so I know a lot about armies and weapons, but not much about PMC companies. And… is it okay to talk about this?”

“What’s there to hide? Mike Smith was a mercenary, that’s an open secret. And I was with the Warfire Mercenary Corps for eight years. Oh, of course, our public identity is as a PMC.”

Raymond Brooks asked in confusion, “Then why didn’t you stay with the Warfire Military Group?”

Captain shrugged and said, “When the boss retired, he handed the Warfire Military Group over to an asshole to run, and I didn’t agree with his philosophy, so I left to go solo. But that doesn’t affect my relationship with the boss. Any other questions?”

Raymond Brooks thought for a moment. He couldn’t think of anything else to ask for now, so he shook his head. Seeing this, Captain reached for the bag of money by the bottle cap, took out a stack of bills from inside.

All the bills were in hundred-dollar denominations. Captain counted out five thousand dollars, handed it over to Raymond Brooks—who looked on in surprise—and said, “Last night we settled up, so you’re not entitled to a share, but you helped us solve a big problem. So this is a reward from my own share. Take it.”

Would Raymond Brooks refuse?

Of course not. Five thousand dollars was the largest sum he’d ever seen in his life, and also the most he’d ever earned, so how could he possibly refuse? He wasn’t stupid.

Raymond Brooks immediately took the money, and then, from the bottom of his heart, extremely sincerely and with a bit of awe, said to Captain, “I really don’t know what to say. Thank you!”

Captain waved his hand, then smiled and said, “Oh, there’s one more thing I need to tell you. During operations, you can only use nicknames, not real names. But in daily life, you can’t use nicknames. My name is Frank Murray. You can call me Frank, or respectfully Mr. Murray, or call me boss, but you absolutely cannot call me Captain, understand?”

Chapter 7: Kung Fu Fan

Los Angeles is only two hundred kilometers from San Diego. They set out in the morning and by almost noon had entered the city.

But Captain took Joey and Ernest and left. No, it was Frank, Joey, and Ernest who left. They had to take care of Buffalo’s aftermath—after all, driving around Los Angeles with a corpse in the car really wasn’t appropriate.

As for helping Raymond Brooks get ready for his new job, Frank left that to John, since John had volunteered to take care of the newcomer.

John had a very round face, which is why he got the nickname Cap. And John’s round face looked very cheerful, always with a smile, which made Raymond Brooks feel even more that John was a good person.

Raymond Brooks had a great impression of John. Of course, how could you not like someone who’s willing to help you out?

Now both Raymond Brooks and John were eager to fill their stomachs. John chose a fast food restaurant, but as soon as they got their food and sat down, John couldn’t wait to start his speech.