Chapter 134: Rio Strategy
Before the appointed time of nine o'clock, the park's grass was already filled with people. As expected, the allure of a high-paying job, coupled with a generous bonus, was too great for these gamers to resist.
Ron had promised a full $1,000 prize for first place in his forum post.
Ron's competition was based on teams of six, aiming to maximize the chances of achieving realistic scores. After all, with such a new "toy," first-timers often make mistakes.
Therefore, the top six pilots would be selected for a rematch to ensure the fastest drone operator could be chosen.
Ron had initially expected to find a bright new talent among these gaming experts, but in the end, it was little Carl's performance that surprised him the most.
Carl's drone took off almost simultaneously with the other five contestants' aircraft. After all, the performance of the drones was essentially identical; any gap would only be revealed when they passed through the hoops.
Soon, they reached the first hoop. While the other five drones were still vying for the center position, Carl's aircraft showed no sign of engaging with them.
As they advanced, his drone climbed to its highest position, sacrificing a bit of speed. It was slightly behind the other five aircraft, but the gap wasn't significant—only half a drone length.
"Whoosh..."
Just as the leading drone was less than halfway through the hoop, Carl, with a wicked grin, gently pressed the joystick. His aircraft suddenly dropped, knocking the others off course and causing them to crash into the bottom edge of the hoop.
The other five drones were tangled up, but Carl's aircraft had already taken the lead, cleanly passing through the hoop.
"Buzz..." Carl's drone flew past Ron, nimbly passing through the second and third hoops, outperforming the previous groups of experienced nerds by a considerable margin.
This kid actually has natural talent for this?
Ron facepalmed. It seemed like agreeing to let him compete had been a mistake.
Was there any need to wait and see the results? Carl would definitely win; the others couldn't even come close.
Damn! They're supposed to be gaming experts, but they're complete amateurs! Ron glared resentfully at the other defeated contestants. They were still hilariously applauding Carl.
Come on, don't they realize he just took their job?
"Alright, you beat me, kid." Grudgingly, Ron placed the remote control—the winner's prize—in Carl's hands. He wasn't going to tell Fiona about this when he saw her at lunch and definitely wasn't treating anyone to a free meal.
Ron had had enough of the takeout near the office.
"Thanks, boss!" Carl's eyes crinkled with joy.
"Ahem... I told you to call me Ron when we're in public." Ron nearly choked on his saliva, but Hank and Arthur overheard anyway.
Their expressions were priceless.
Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro,
just as O'Connor finally discovered Reyes' $100 million vault from the car's computer, Hobbs had finally tracked down all of their hideouts in the favelas.
After a high-speed chase through the narrow streets, Toretto managed to escape and became emboldened, deciding to take down Reyes and turn the tables on the crime boss.
Of course, he was realistic and hadn't overestimated his abilities to the point where he thought he and O'Connor could handle the situation alone. After less than a minute of internal debate, he called Ron without Mia knowing.
"Hey, Toretto, what's going on?" Ron had just finished his workout with Fiona, who was already breathing heavily, but Ron wasn't winded at all. His breathing was so steady that Toretto couldn't detect anything unusual.
"I need your help." Toretto paused. "Remember Reyes, the guy we dealt with before? I ran into some trouble with him while I was laying low, and now I'm planning to hit his operation."
"I'm guessing you want to take him down completely?" Ron asked with interest, his pulse quickening. One hundred million—payday was finally coming.
"Tell me, what do you need? You know I have all the equipment, and even if I don't, my contacts can get it to us."
"I'm not worried about gear. The main issue right now is personnel," Toretto said with a nostalgic smile, as if he was back in his old line of work. "First of all, we need someone versatile, someone who can blend into any situation."
"I've got that covered," Ron thought of Arthur. "What else?"
Toretto continued outlining his requirements: "Someone who's smooth-talking and can handle anything with just words."
"I don't have anyone in that department," Ron shook his head. "But I think O'Connor's childhood buddy from back in the day should fit the bill—that smooth-talking guy."
"They're bound to have extensive surveillance equipment..." Toretto was interrupted by Ron mid-sentence.
"I'm guessing you need a top-tier hacker who can break into all kinds of surveillance systems, right?" After receiving a nod of confirmation from Toretto, Ron continued, "Leave that to me. You won't meet her, but I guarantee she'll handle everything—better than any so-called expert you might recruit."
Ron had Paige in mind, but her skills were truly exceptional, and he didn't want to expose her for just one operation.
"Okay, but as a backup plan, I'll also find another expert to join the mission."
Toretto was a bit concerned about this mysterious "her" he wouldn't meet, especially since, in a way, this unknown woman could be considered competition for Mia, but he ultimately agreed to the arrangement.
"No problem," Ron agreed readily. "Anything else?"
"Besides the surveillance cameras, Reyes will definitely have a high-security safe. We'll also need someone who can crack it. Don't worry about that—I can handle it myself."
Ron recalled the movie plot, and Toretto must have been referring to the two specialists from Mexico; they were certainly quite skilled. He nodded in agreement.
"There's also the matter of someone who can handle all the heavy..."
Toretto was halfway through his sentence when Ron interrupted him again: "You mean muscle, right? That's not something you need to worry about. Leave the combat operations to me, and you just focus on what you do best—driving."
"When it comes to anything related to cars, you're the professional, but when it comes to tactical operations, that's my specialty. Professional matters should be left to professionals."
"Understood." Toretto was caught off guard by Ron's confidence and had no choice but to agree.
Ron stood up with a smirk: "Finally, I want to discuss how we split the take. My proposal is that you and I each take half, then we distribute shares to our respective teams. Of course, your portion will be subject to taxation."
"Don't worry, I'll calculate it as miscellaneous income for you, so you'll only have to pay standard federal and state taxes."
(End of chapter)
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Power Stone or Review!
P@atreon/Soulforger (45+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01