When the envelope bearing the royal crest was gently placed on the table, George Adler's expression froze. The contempt and irritation on his face, along with his usual arrogant gray eyes, seed to turn to ice. The office fell deathly silent—so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
George stared at the letter for a long ti, then slowly reached out, picked it up, and brought it close to his face. He furrowed his brows, staring intently at the crest as if searching for the slightest trace of forgery.
"Don't just look at the envelope," Russell's voice broke the silence at the perfect mont. "What's the point of looking only at the envelope? There's another letter inside, Mr. Adler."
He nodded at George, signaling him to open it. As if possessed, George Adler did as he was told.
Inside the envelope was a sheet of paper made from a material different from ordinary paper. It featured elaborate printing with the exact sa logo as on the envelope.
His gaze fell on the neat handwriting. The content was concise: Buckingham Palace had granted permission to Russell and Charlotte and requested Lloyds Bank's cooperation. At the end was the seal of Buckingham Palace.
It was a completely proper, flawless letter of authorization.
"This is…" George Adler began, his voice slightly hoarse.
"You want to say it's fake?" Russell said with a smile. "What a coincidence! I thought it might be fake too."
As soon as he finished speaking, the other two looked at him simultaneously. Charlotte raised one eyebrow, a faint look of amusent on her face, while George Adler looked utterly bewildered.
"After all, last week you said Moriarty's forgery techniques are almost indistinguishable from the real thing, right?" Russell said. "So how can we be sure this letter of authorization wasn't forged by Moriarty?"
"No… that's true…" George nodded painfully.
"Then… then, Mr. Adler, you have three choices."
Russell stood up and walked toward George step by step.
"First, call Buckingham Palace and verify the authenticity of this letter of authorization." He paused, then pointed with his index finger. "The second choice is to firmly refuse to believe this permission and report us to the police, leaving the handling of these two suspicious individuals to Scotland Yard. If your guess is correct, you'll be a great hero of Lloyds Bank. Of course, if it's not… I look forward to seeing you again next week."
George opened his mouth to say sothing, but Russell didn't give him the chance. Instead, he raised his middle finger.
"Or the third choice."
His voice was low, carrying a faint hint of threat and irritation. "Right now, imdiately, take us to that damn underground vault."
The office was extrely quiet.
George Adler stared at the young man he had only scorned last week, his mind racing with various thoughts.
"I choose the third option," Charlotte said in a soft voice, leaning back comfortably in her chair. "It's simple, efficient, and saves ti."
A single bead of sweat appeared on George's forehead. He could feel himself being driven into a dilemma. The two young people before him were playing good cop and bad cop in perfect coordination.
"You seem to have already made your decision," Russell's voice rang out again. This ti his tone was much gentler.
Under George's gaze, he casually picked up the landline phone as if nothing had happened. Then the receiver was handed to him.
"It's a call from Buckingham Palace."
"Huh…? I didn't… do that…"
"George Adler, I'll leave the phone call to you." Russell's voice grew cold as his fingertips lightly tapped the dial pad. It was as if, the mont George mustered the courage to pick up the receiver, the Queen's dignified voice would ring out the next second.
Less than five minutes later, a call ca from the board of directors ordering him to pack his things and leave the bank imdiately.
At that mont, George Adler's brain nearly shut down. He stared blankly at the black receiver in his hand. The cold plastic felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he could barely breathe. His throat was dry; his lips moved, but no words ca out.
"…"
Finally, he looked up and forced a flattering smile onto his face. "I don't think it's necessary to waste Her Majesty's precious ti on such a trivial matter."
George Adler stood up as he spoke. "Please follow , both of you."
Russell and Charlotte exchanged smiles.
The three of them, one after another, once again found themselves in the dark, narrow corridor leading to the underground storage room.
"Where are you two headed?" George asked politely.
"A-3 section," Charlotte said. "I should have ntioned that last week."
"Ah… ah…" George let out a dry laugh, said nothing more, and simply walked ahead quickly.
Soon, the three arrived at the A-3 area. Traces of the previous attack had been completely erased, but the number of security guards had clearly increased.
"All right, you two, this is as far as I go."
"Where is Gate 12?" Charlotte asked.
"Here." George led them to the twelfth gate. "Open it."
Without hesitation, George quickly took out a heavy keyring from his pocket. The spring made a dull sound as it rotated, and the heavy iron door slowly opened.
Inside the door, neatly arranged safes stood silently in the shadows like quiet tombstones.
"Got it, you two," George said, standing at the doorway with no intention of entering. "This is all I can do for you."
Charlotte ignored him and walked straight inside. Russell followed right behind her.
"The safes don't have any nas written on them," Russell said. "We need a list."
Charlotte turned to George.
"I'm sorry, but for the protection of our clients' privacy, we do not provide such information," George shook his head.
"Then how do you usually guide clients to their safes?" Russell countered.
"At the ti of contract signing, each custor is issued a unique number that corresponds to the location of their safe," George explained.
"So, where is the list?" Charlotte asked again.
"The list is in my head, madam," George said, pointing to his own head.
"Are you serious?" Charlotte narrowed her eyes.
"What do I hate more than an idiot?"
"W-what?"
"I like self-righteous idiots." Charlotte said. "He gave you three choices, so I'll give you three choices too."
As she spoke, she held up three fingers. "First, go back to the office right now and call Buckingham Palace to tell them you're refusing to cooperate. Second, go back to the office right now and write down all these custors' nas in front of . Finally, go back to the office again."
Charlotte said. "Then hand over that list."
…
…
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