“See? I told you the river terrain would be useful, didn't I? The Arena back at the home base is too monotonous; change the environment and you can't beat me anymore.”
The Detective Agency members had a barbecue until midnight and were now preparing to return.
Liam was currently gloating at the back of a carriage, next to Sanders who was hanging upside down—this was the consequence of losing a bet.
Both of them were still soaking wet.
This was mainly because Liam played dirty, pushing his opponent into the river when he wasn't looking, and then dragging him in the water, not letting him get out. He must have learned some kind of water monkey tactic from somewhere.
Sanders just found Liam annoying and turned his head to the other side, shaking the water from his hair. “Mind the time, that's enough. I still have to drive for the boss later. And how do you manage to hang upside down for so long? I'm already dizzy.”
“No rush, Inessa is still up at the mill, and Lina and Emma haven't returned yet. Actually, it's mostly about adaptation; hang a few more times in the future and you won't get dizzy.”
Since the original plan was a barbecue, the other Agents didn't play too seriously tonight. However, Wayne's appearance rate was quite high because he failed to bring the restaurant's newly hired freckled girl to show off.
His extraordinary ability allowed him to inject “images” into other people's minds. It's said that he used to use pictures of sexy ladies from posters, but now he's changed his ways, turning the “images” into the restaurant's menu, which hasn't been officially released yet.
Anyway, every Agent who sparred with him tonight could almost recite the prices of all the various foods and combos at the restaurant.
Even Emma learned the new catchphrase that became popular among the Agents tonight—"Half-pound burger for 12 cents."
“Woof, woof, woof woof!”
A flurry of barks suddenly rang out from a little distance, dense and chaotic, causing everyone to turn their heads.
That was the direction Lina and Emma had gone for a walk to digest their food. Wayne thought for a moment and decided to go check it out.
With Lina there, Wayne wasn't worried that anything would happen.
But they had eaten enough tonight, and the sound seemed to come from hunting dogs—there was no need to kill someone else's dogs, and besides, hunting dogs didn't taste good.
Several nearby Agents followed. When Wayne walked over, Emma was riding a dog, while Lina stood by with her hands on her hips, watching coldly. A pack of hunting dogs was barking around them.
Almost at the same time as Wayne, the Plantation overseer and several foremen arrived on horseback, each carrying a hunting rifle. Their expressions also seemed surprised, and they quickly began to explain:
“My apologies. A slave reported that there was a runaway slave on the Plantation. After confirming, we are now in pursuit.”
This was the first time Wayne had encountered such a thing. He turned to look at the Agents beside him, who all silently shook their heads.
So Wayne's reply was simple: “It's good that nothing happened. None of our people saw the runaway slave you mentioned; they might have gone in another direction.” He then gestured for Emma to release the dog.
“Thank you for the information.” The overseer bowed slightly on his horse, ready to continue his journey, then reined in his horse. “I remember you run a Detective Agency. I wonder, do you accept commissions to find runaway slaves?”
Wayne knew that some bounty hunters specialized in such matters, as in those days, the starting fine for assisting a slave to escape was $500.
Helping to recover a slave usually earned at least $200 in remuneration, with the value of some slaves to be calculated separately.
The specific amount of remuneration mainly depended on who commissioned it. For example, a commission from a Plantation overseer would likely not pay more than what the employer deducted from his salary.
However, Wayne wasn't very interested in this kind of business. He wouldn't actively “release” them, nor did he plan to make money by capturing them. If he encountered one, he might even help, but if he missed them, he didn't feel indebted to anyone.
So he decisively refused, “That is not within the scope of our Detective Agency's business.”
The overseer did not press further: “Then I apologize for disturbing you. We still need to continue the pursuit, so I won't delay your time.”
With that, a foreman cracked his whip, and the pack of tail-tucked hunting dogs immediately scattered and ran off. The horses followed the overseer.
Lina was still teasing, “Work on the Plantation seems more troublesome than I imagined.”
“I told you, no business is simple.”
...
The brief interlude ended, and the three carriages quickly set off.
Since some Agents stayed overnight, the number of people returning was actually smaller.
Inessa watched out the window the whole way. “I noticed from the windmill earlier that someone was observing us from a distance, but it's unclear if they were from the Plantation.”
Lina and Emma, the two blonde girls, yawned in unison: “Could it be the runaway slave that overseer mentioned earlier? Maybe they were worried we would notice them.”
“Not quite.” Inessa shook her head slightly. “The person observed for quite some time. If they were in a state of escape, they shouldn't have lingered so long; they should have taken a glance and then hurried on.”
Wayne immediately thought in the “bad” direction.
Damn it, they've already left the city of Richmond, and someone's still coming after them?
He probed, “Could it be people from a local Agent organization?”
“Unclear, but it seems we can try.”
“How to try?”
Inessa lifted her chin towards the window. “It looks like someone is following us over there.”
Wayne glanced out; it was pitch black, but he could faintly make out moving lights, not too slow, like a covered lantern only illuminating the path.
The partition in the carriage was knocked. “At the next intersection, change direction. No need to rush back yet. Also, tell the others that we might need to split up later.”
“Yes!” Sanders responded from outside.
The carriage slowed slightly, then regained its speed.
Tracking in the wilderness in the middle of the night, aren't they afraid of encountering ghosts?
It's just that the carriage isn't a “four-wheel drive” configuration right now, otherwise, they could chase the other party away.
...
On the other side,
A foreman on horseback approached the Plantation overseer. “Boss, the hunting dogs found fresh horse tracks by the river. The nail holes on the horseshoes are different from those on our Plantation.”
“Damn it! Someone is helping them.” The overseer gritted his teeth. “It might not be a simple escape. It could be slave thieves, or that damned ‘Underground Railroad’ again.”
The overseer held the hunting rifle in his hand. “Follow that direction! Ordinary slaves are one thing, but mixed-race female slaves are very valuable. If we don't get them back, we'll all be fired.”
