Chapter 396: Mary Poppins' Bag - Ron
"Is it really necessary to go through all that trouble?" Ron expressed his incomprehension and casually pulled out a small disc. "Just peel off this transparent tape, stick it on, and in fifteen seconds we'll know what's behind this secret room door."
Ron said, about to peel off the transparent tape.
"OMG! What are you thinking? What's the difference between what we're doing and outright robbery? We're art recovery specialists! Recovery specialists, you know?" Jack was almost driven crazy by Ron's bizarre ideas.
"God! How can an agent not know how to infiltrate? We're going to take the stuff quietly, not let everyone know we're here!" Jack growled at Ron in a low voice.
"Wait! Didn't I just pick you up from the airport? How did you get all this on the plane? Where did you hide it?"
Jack said, then suddenly realized something was wrong, his eyes becoming increasingly uneasy. When Ron got off the plane, he only had a small suitcase and nothing else. The bomb, though small, didn't look like it could fit in Ron's pocket, unless…
There was only one possibility. Jack had heard that some drug traffickers who smuggled drugs internally could hide up to twenty packets in certain places. Heaven knows how they did it?
But maybe, the agents hid their equipment in the same way?
"You said it yourself, I'm a secret agent, I have my ways. Can you please not look at me like that? It's not what you think, okay? Believe me or not, I can pull out a recoilless rifle and show it to you in a heartbeat!" Ron said irritably. "If you weren't Marcus's only contact, I'd want to blow your head off right now."
Jack, of course, didn't believe Ron could pull out a recoilless rifle. He'd seen those things before; it would be physically impossible to hide one there. Okay, he still thought Ron was hiding his equipment somewhere on his body, but he wisely didn't expose him.
Although he was confident in his own skills, Ron, whom his associate called America's strongest agent, must have some extraordinary abilities, and always having equipment ready was impressive enough.
Ron could tell from his expression that he didn't believe him. To prove that he wasn't the same kind of person as those desperate smugglers, Ron had to do something.
"It seems your long stay in Europe has made you forget that America is the world's leading technological power. Watch this." Ron reached into his suit jacket, actually opening his personal storage space.
To Jack's astonishment, he actually pulled out a Swedish-made Gustav recoilless rifle from his pocket. Jack's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"What the hell?!" Jack exclaimed. "Are you a magician? How did you do that?"
"This is super high-tech stuff only special agents use. You wouldn't understand even if I told you~" Ron said with a dismissive look. "This is the latest special agent equipment. You can think of it as a personal equipment bag. Ever seen Mary Poppins? It's like her magic carpet bag that holds everything."
Of course, Ron wasn't just showing off in front of Jack. He had planned this all along. As he faced more and more difficulties in the future, he might inevitably expose things related to the system to others one day. But before that, he at least needed to know what excuse to use to get by.
Now, this explanation seemed surprisingly effective. Jack believed it: "The technology now is really amazing. I wish we could have one too. I could recover more artifacts every time. After a few more times, I could retire."
"No need to even think about it, this is top-secret black technology. It's not even widely available among agents; it's only reserved for the most elite operatives."
"Seriously, are you even an agent? How did you manage to infiltrate so stealthily before?" Although Jack still spoke with suspicion, he couldn't help but show a hint of respect when talking to Ron.
"I've explained this to countless different people, and I don't mind telling you again," Ron said with a helpless shrug. "The best secret-keepers in the world are the dead. As long as everyone is eliminated, naturally no one will know I was ever here. What do you think?"
"Haha, you must be joking." Jack casually brushed him off while continuing to carefully observe the bookshelf. Finally, he made a new discovery: "Wait! I think I know what's going on!"
Jack suddenly found a clue on the disorderly books on the shelf. He excitedly typed his flash of inspiration into the keyboard, and sure enough, with a "click," the door opened.
"Yes!" Ron and Jack high-fived and cheered, but immediately lowered their voices and crept inside. Just as Jack had predicted, it was a storage room about two stories high, filled with all sorts of things.
"So the artifacts are here? Where should we start looking?"
"Don't rush," Jack took a deep breath and began to work. He randomly opened a few boxes, and in the second one, he found a bronze statue. Ron found another bronze piece in a styrofoam box.
"OK! We've found them all! Ron, let's go!" Jack said excitedly.
But Ron looked thoughtfully at the other items in the collection room. "Wait a minute, I don't know much about art and antiques. How much do you think the other things in this room are worth?"
"Other things?" Reminded by Ron, Jack's eyes lit up. "You seem more like a thief than I am!"
"Please, if we have to say who's a thief, the owner of this manor is undoubtedly more suitable than us, or perhaps 'robber' is a better word," Ron shook his head in denial. "I don't recall these artifacts being French originally.
Over 100 years ago, when colonial powers plundered these precious treasures from ancient civilizations like robbers, they should have known that one day someone else would take them back in the same way."
"At least we didn't kill them or burn their house down. From that perspective, we're much more decent than the owner of this manor. Jack, do you see anything else valuable here?"
"Of course, but before answering that question, tell me, how much can your Mary Poppins bag hold?"
(End of Chapter)
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