Chapter 496 Bribing with Money
Charles mulled it over for a sec and shot back, "Sure thing."
Since he had a bunch of other accounts, friending Aaron with a different profile wouldn't blow his cover.
He figured he'd hear Aaron out, then ditch him.
All he wanted was the story, not a new Facebook buddy.
They swapped contact info in no time.
Aaron was over the moon when he saw the friend request go through.
He couldn't believe Sam's plan actually worked. Now he had the other twin's contact info.
He'd been banging his head against the wall trying to find the other twin, and now it felt like a dream come true.
Sam gave Aaron a pat on the back and said, "Told ya it would work."
"So, what do I say next?"
"Just send him some cash."
Aaron was puzzled why Sam wanted him to send money now. Not that money was an issue for him. He felt he owed the kid big time, so even if he gave away his whole fortune, it would be fair.
But if he moved too fast and tipped them off that he knew who they were, they'd ghost him for sure.
Aaron was dead certain about that!
This kid wasn't like Lillian, not so easy to fool.
Without a word, Sam sent the money over.
"Aaron, sweet-talking this little hacker is a piece of cake. It's like trying to get a girl's attention."
Sam went on, "He's gonna be curious about why you're doing this."
Right after Sam finished, Charles sent a question mark and a message: "You trying to buy me off with money?"
Aaron felt a headache coming on. "Now what?"
"Easy. Just own up to it."
"You do it. Screw it up, and I'll break your leg."
Aaron shoved the computer in front of Sam and gave him a death stare.
Sam took a deep breath, "Man, you're stressing me out."
Aaron scowled, "Hurry up and reply. Don't keep the kid hanging."
Sam quickly typed back: [You're not someone who can be bought with money.]
Charles snorted, "At least you get it. No way money can buy me."
If Aaron was really trying to buy him off, he'd delete him in a heartbeat and wouldn't even care about the story.
Sam kept typing: [I just wanted to sweeten the deal a bit. I'm stuck with some business in Philly and can't leave right now.]
Charles read it and shot back: [You still owe me the story. How'd you handle things back then and get those bad guys locked up?]
He added Aaron's contact to hear the stories. No way was he letting Aaron change the subject.
Sam raised an eyebrow, "This kid's sharp, not easily sidetracked."
Aaron asked, "What do we say now?"
Kids' moods are all over the place, after all.
Sam closed the chat window, "Aaron, hold up."
"Didn't you see he asked you a question? Answer him quick."
Aaron was getting jittery.
"Now's not the time. Keep him waiting. You just said you had stuff to handle. He's the one itching for the answer now, so he won't ditch you, at least not until you spill the story."
"Isn't that risky? What if he bails after I finish the story next time?"
"Don't rush. If you tell him now, he might ghost you right after."
Aaron asked, confused, "You sure about this?"
"This is 'playing hard to get.' You said you wanted to bribe him, so he won't delete you now. He doesn't think you're that bad; you were a hero once."
Aaron looked at the computer, "I never saw myself as a hero. To the kids, I'm just a scumbag."
"No, 'scumbag' doesn't cut it. To the kids, you're probably an irresponsible jerk."
Hearing "jerk" felt like a stab to Aaron's heart. "If you can't talk properly, just zip it."
"You flipped so fast? I just helped you get the hacker's info and gave you a shot to chat more. Now you're turning on me. Real jerk move."
On the other side, Charles, seeing no reply, angrily shut down Facebook Messenger.
How annoying, leaving the story hanging.
Charles's subordinate messaged, "How'd the chat go? What's the scoop on that legendary event?"
"If those terrorists were so cocky, how'd they get taken down?"
"Yeah, we looked up the story. Heard there were some twists. The alliance got counter-threatened by the terrorists, but in the end, H found and nabbed all of them under huge pressure. But no one knows how he did it."
Charles replied irritably, "I don't know either. He didn't finish."
"Why didn't he finish? Did he have something to handle? Did he say when he'd continue?"
"He seemed busy. When we hacked in earlier, he was in a meeting."
The subordinate, feeling a bit guilty, "Did we mess up his meeting? Would he be mad?"
"Why would a loser be mad?"
"Honestly, if you had kept going earlier, you might not have won."
"He's been retired for years, and we couldn't beat him even with seven people. The gap's clear."
"Yeah, so compared to Arthur from the Jones family, who's stronger?"
