Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Three

Harry Flint will take good care of the two women, Tanner thought with satisfaction.Flint never let him down. Tanner fondly recalls how Flint came into his life.Years ago his older brother, Andrew, the world's ambassador for soft-hearted people, had started a staging house for newly released prisoners, first helping them adjust to civilized life.Then look for jobs for them. Tanner has a more realistic plan for ex-felons, because he believes that there is no such thing as ex-felons rehabilitating.He obtained insider information about the backgrounds of newly released prisoners through private channels, and if they had the qualities Tanner needed, they were transferred directly from the transit station to work for Tanner on what he called "delicate private tasks." .

He arranged for a former felon named Vince Caballo to work for the KIG.Caballo was a tall man with a scraggly beard and blue eyes like daggers.He has a long record of squatting in the classroom.Once tried for murder.The evidence against him abounded, but one member of the jury stubbornly maintained his innocence, and the jury was divided and unable to reach a verdict. Only a few knew that the youngest daughter of the juror had disappeared, leaving a note that read: Tanner had also heard of a former felon named Harry Flint.He thoroughly investigated Flint's background and found that he fit his requirements perfectly.

Harry Flint was born in a middle-class family in Detroit.My father was a disgruntled, frustrated salesman who sat in his room complaining all day long.The harshness with which he taught his son was sadistic, and he tortured his son for the slightest infidelity, using a ruler, a belt, or whatever was at hand, as if he wanted to drive success into his body so that make up for his own shortcomings. The boy's mother worked as a manicurist in a barber shop.When Harry suffered from his father's authoritarian abuse, his mother cared and doted on him in every possible way. When Harry grew up, he was emotionally caught in a tug-of-war between his parents.

Doctors had told Harry's mother she was too old to have children, so she thought her pregnancy was a miracle.After Harry was born, she caressed him, kept hugging him, patting him, kissing him, until at last Harry felt suffocated by her love.Growing up, he hated being touched. When Harry Flint was fourteen, he set a trap in the basement and caught a mouse, which he stamped on with his foot.As he watched it slowly and painfully die, Harry Flint had an epiphany.He suddenly realized that he had an awesome life-killing, killing energy.It made him feel as if he were God.He is omnipotent and powerful.

He needed to feel that way again, so he started stalking small animals around the neighborhood, which became his prey.There was nothing personal or malicious about what Flint did.He was just using his God-given talents. Angry neighbors complained to authorities about their pets being abused and killed, and they set up a trap.Police put a Scottish terrier on the lawn in front of a house and put it on a leash to prevent it from escaping.They kept watch on the place, and one night, right under the noses of the police, Harry Flint approached the puppy.He pried open the dog's mouth and began to stuff a cannon into it.The police rushed forward.

When they searched Harry Flint, they found a blood-stained stone and a five-inch lancet in his pocket. He was sent to the Memorial Challenger Youth Center where he was held for twelve months. A week after arriving there, Flint attacked another boy, leaving him badly wounded.The psychiatrist who examined Flint diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. "He's mentally ill," the doctor warned the guard in charge, "be careful. Don't let him come into contact with other people." When Flint finished his sentence, at the age of fifteen, he was released to see what would happen.

He goes back to school.Several of his classmates worshiped him as a hero.These men were already involved in petty crimes such as wallet snatching, pickpocketing, shoplifting, etc., and Flint quickly became their leader. During a night alley fight, a sharp knife slit Flint's lips, leaving him with a fixed smile. As the kids grow up, they move on to carjackings, burglaries and robberies.A robber turned so aggressive that he killed the shopkeeper. Harry Flint was convicted of robbery by force and abetting murder and sentenced to ten years in prison.He was the worst prisoner the warden had ever seen.

There was something in Flint's eyes that made the other prisoners keep him at arm's length.He constantly threatened them, but no one dared to report him. One day, a guard passed by Harry Flint's cell, and he stared in, dumbfounded.Flint's cellmate lay in a pool of blood on the ground.He has been killed. The guard looked at Flint with a satisfied smile on his face: "Okay, you bastard. You don't want to go out this time. We can start heating your chair." Flint gave him a savage look, and slowly raised his left arm.A bloody butcher's knife was deeply embedded in it.

Flint said grimly, "Self-defense." The inmate in the cell opposite Flint, who said nothing to anyone, saw Flint savagely beat his fellow inmate to death, then withdrew a butcher knife from under his own mattress and plunged it into the muscle of his arm . What Tanner admired most about Flint was how much Flint loved his job. Tanner remembered how Flint had first shown him how useful he could be.It was during an emergency trip to Tokyo... "Tell the pilot to warm up the Challenger. We're going to Tokyo. Two." The news came at an untimely time, but it must be dealt with immediately. It is too sensitive and must not be handed over to anyone else.Tanner had arranged for Akira Iso to meet in Tokyo and had booked a room at the Okura Hotel.

As the plane flew across the Pacific, Tanner planned his strategy.By the time the plane landed, he had already planned a win-win plan. It took an hour to drive from Narita to the hotel, and Tanner marveled at how Tokyo always seemed the same.Whether in good times or in the midst of the Great Depression, the city always seems to have the same lukewarm look on its face. Akira Iso is waiting for him at the Fumiji Hotel.Akira Iso was in his fifties, thin, with gray hair and bright brown eyes.He stood up to meet Tanner. "It has been a great honor to meet you, Mr. Kingsley. Frankly, I was surprised to receive your letter. I cannot imagine why you have come all the way here to see me."

Tanner smiled slightly. "I have good news, too important to discuss on the phone. I think I will make you a very happy man, and a very rich man at the same time." Akira looked at him curiously: "Really?" A waiter in a white jacket came to the table. "Why don't we order food before we get down to business?" "Go ahead, Mr. Kingsley. Are you familiar with Japanese cuisine, and would you like me to order it for you?" "Thank you. I can order. Do you like sushi?" "like." Tanner turned to the waiter: "I want Bei Zhu and Gan Hailao." Akira Iso smiled: "Sounds good." He looked at the waiter, "Me too." During the meal, Tanner said, "You work for a very good company, Tokyo Daiichi." "Thank you." "How long have you been working there?" "ten years." "It's not short time." He looked into Akira's eyes, "Actually, maybe it's time for a change." "Why should I do that, Mr. Kingsley?" "Because I'm going to offer you something you can't refuse. I don't know how much you earn, but I'm willing to pay you double to leave them and come work for KIG." "Mr. Kingsley, that's impossible." "Why not? If, because of a contract, I can arrange—" Akira Iso put down his chopsticks: "Mr. Kingsley, in Japan, when we work for a company, we are like a family. When we can no longer work, they take care of us." "But the money I'm offering you—" "No. Community spirit." "What's the meaning?" "It means we put loyalty above money." Akira Iso looked at him curiously, "Why did you choose me?" "Because I've heard people say so much about you." "I'm afraid you'll get nothing out of your travels, Mr. Kingsley. I'll never leave Tokyo Daiichi." "It's worth it for me to try this time." "Aren't you unhappy?" Tanner leaned back and laughed. "Of course not. I wish all my employees were as loyal as you." He remembered something. "By the way, I bought you and your family a small A present. One of my assistants will bring it to you. He will be at your hotel in an hour. His name is Harry Flint." The maid on the night shift finds Akira Iso's body hanging from a hook in the wardrobe.The official conclusion was suicide.