America 1881: Legend of the West

It is normal for factory items to be stolen.

But there are very few people who steal explosives.

Even Sean, a leader in the western thief world, has only stolen twice in his life.

Both times were with Chen Jianqiu.

the reason is simple.

If you steal other things, the most you can do is to get caught and get beaten up or to squat in the "Dragon Field" for a while, but if you steal explosives, you will probably go to heaven directly.

Moreover, the theft of explosives on the eve of this strike is definitely not a good thing.

"Holly, should we postpone the strike?"

As an experienced detective, Duncan knew exactly what it meant if explosives fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives.

Holly shook his head.

"It is impossible to postpone the strike. Everything is ready. If it is called off at this time, not only will it fail to achieve the purpose of linking with Chicago, but the effect of the strike itself will also be affected!"

Holly thought for a moment and then said.

"Well, tell Hanif the situation and let the Border Detective Agency handle the matter."

It was already midnight when Duncan arrived at the apartment where Hanif lived.

At this usual time, Hanif had already finished washing and went to bed.

But Hanif has been restless today.

Tomorrow is the day of the general strike.

Chen Jianqiu gave him a task to ensure the smooth progress of the strike and the personal safety of Holly.

Although the undercover agent had been caught, Hanif always felt that the old devil Hellman would give him some tricks.

Hanif stood in front of the bar of his restaurant, drinking whiskey and looking at the map of San Francisco placed on the bar.

There was a knock on the door.

Hanif listened and quickly identified from the rhythm that the person knocking on the door was Duncan.

The door was opened.

Duncan looked at Hanif, who was wearing pajamas and holding a half glass of whiskey in his hand, and frowned:

"Can't sleep?"

Hanif tilted his neck and drank the wine in the glass, then called Duncan to let him in:

"Yes, you will go on strike tomorrow and the boss will take pictures of the assignment. How can I sleep!"

Among the three undercover agents, he and Duncan have known each other for the longest time and are also the most familiar with each other. Perhaps due to the one-line contact, the two of them never spoke in a superior-to-subordinate tone.

"Then when you hear the news I bring you, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep even more." Duncan looked at Hanif with a playful expression.

"Oh no!"

Hanif put down the empty cup in his hand, covered his face with his hands and wailed.

It's going to kill me, I'm really afraid of what will happen!

Duncan was startled.

Why does he feel that Hanif's mental state is a little abnormal? Is it because of drinking?

"Let's talk." Hanif ran to the bathroom, wiped his face with a wet towel, and turned back to the labor league officer.

"Several bundles of explosives were stolen from the California Explosives Plant," Duncan said.

"Done!" Hanif sat down on the sofa.

The dynamite from the dynamite factory would be lost sooner or later, but it happened to be lost at this time. He didn't believe it wasn't the work of Pinkerton's gang.

Who took this explosive?

It's unlikely that Hylton took it. Pinkerton's detectives didn't have to steal it. They had plenty of ways to get the explosives.

Did the workers take it themselves?

Cold sweat broke out on Hanif's back.

As we all know, whether it is the Knights of Labor or the labor union, its members have always been divided on how to fight for their rights and interests.

Some of them are conservative and some are radical.

Hawley is generally tolerant of these ideas.

Chen Jianqiu once told him: Don't persuade others to do good unless they have suffered.

As a worker leader, he only needs to stabilize his base and gain the support of the majority of people.

But at this juncture, all it takes is one militant to go to the site with a bomb and then throw it out while workers on site are confronting the police.

That would be a disaster!

Bombs of this era were extremely unstable.

Not to mention how many innocent people would be harmed at the scene, the police also had reasons to shoot and arrest people.

If we take another opportunity to frame Holly, it will be troublesome.

"Did the people at the explosives factory call the police?"

Hanif paced back and forth in the room.

He originally wanted to take people to the explosives factory to investigate and see if he could find out who stole the explosives immediately.

But it happened so suddenly.

They cannot sneak into the explosives factory to investigate without authorization.

Not to mention catching a thief in one night.

"The police should have been called. I guess the police department is also in trouble right now." Duncan said, "Everyone knows about tomorrow's strike. Police from all over the city should be dispatched. I don't know what countermeasures they have."

Now, Hanif couldn't sleep at all.

He put on his coat, then walked to his desk and took out a paper bag from the drawer.

This paper bag was used by Hellman to bribe him.

Hanif took out some US dollars from the paper bag and stuffed it back into the drawer, then pierced the paper bag and put it in his coat pocket.

He walked quickly out the door.

"Duncan, go back to the union first and tell Holly that if it doesn't work, check what each worker is carrying before starting the strike."

Hanif closed the door and hurried downstairs, while speaking to Duncan behind him.

"Let's do our best." Duncan said with a wry smile.

Thousands of people will participate in the march tomorrow. It will be too difficult to find the person with the bomb in this way.

Half an hour later, Hanif appeared outside Sheriff Porter's house.

He hurried up the steps and banged on the door.

"What are you doing? What are you doing? Someone is dead?"

The door was opened, and Sheriff Porter appeared at the door wearing pajamas and holding a kerosene lamp, his face full of anger.

But when he saw Hanif standing at the door, his anger suddenly disappeared:

"Hanif? Come in, come in, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

After all, when the God of Wealth comes, you can’t turn him away.

However, before Chief Porter could fully open the door, Hanif squeezed in sideways.

The Sheriff had no choice but to close the door behind him.

"Chief, is there a general strike tomorrow?" Hanif asked in a low voice.

"Huh? Do you also know about the strike?" Chief Potter looked surprised.

But then he thought about it.

The Border Detective Agency is now considered the largest private detective and bodyguard organization in the West. They have an extremely powerful intelligence network.

Sometimes I have to rely on their help.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Hanif knew about the strike.

"Now the old lady selling bread on the roadside knows about it." Hanif said angrily,

"I have several commissions in hand right now, and some factory owners have asked us to protect their factories tomorrow."

He paused and continued:

"But I haven't seen you say hello to me yet, so I came over overnight to ask you what's going on."

He didn't say a word about the explosives factory, for fear of arousing the police chief's suspicion.

Sheriff Porter probably didn't feel good about talking to Hanif at the door in his pajamas and holding a lamp.

He patted Hanif's arm and motioned for him to follow him to the living room.

After arriving in the living room, Sheriff Porter lit the big lamp next to the sofa, and then while sitting down on the sofa, he motioned for Hanif to sit down as well.

He crossed his fingers and placed them on his stomach, and then said meaningfully to Hanif:

"As a long-term partner and friend, Hanif, let me give you a suggestion. It is best for you and your detective agency not to interfere in tomorrow's matters."

"This is a piece of advice," Sheriff Porter said.

Hanif heard something in the sergeant's words, so he asked:

"why?"

Chief Porter stared at Hanif: "I remember you never asked "why". This seems to be the professional code of your detectives."

"Fuck professional standards, if I remove my people now, the liquidated damages alone will kill me!" Hanif cursed.

"You don't need to evacuate people. Just stay in the factory and don't come out. Don't act rashly." Sheriff Porter said, "Don't worry about things you shouldn't."

Hanif took out the paper bag from his pocket and threw it to the police sergeant opposite.

The police sergeant opened the paper bag and smiled when he saw the U.S. dollars inside.

"800 US dollars." Hanif held his chin in his hand, "Buy one to understand, it's okay."

Sheriff Porter stuffed the paper bag between his pajamas and the couch.

He coughed and lowered his voice again, even though Hanif and him were the only two people in the room:

"The governor has made up his mind to give the Knights of Labor some color. He feels that this organization is getting involved in politics."

"We have received an order that if an explosion is heard near Union Square tomorrow, all police will shoot at striking workers!"