205: Chapter Two Hundred and Three: Partners 205: Chapter Two Hundred and Three: Partners Gao Yang was baffled by the question.
After he nonchalantly freed his hand from Little Donnie’s grip, he didn’t answer Little Donnie’s question.
Instead, he retorted, “So, are you saying you’re an agent?”
Little Donnie subconsciously nodded, then said gravely, “Of course.
If I weren’t an agent, why would I come to Tomler Company for an interview?
They told me there was a position available, but that I had a competitor.
I thought that competitor was you, but now, looking at you, it seems, well, you look more like a mercenary.”
“If you’re an agent, then I’m a mercenary.”
Hearing Gao Yang’s response, Little Donnie’s eyes lit up, and the despondency on his face was swept away as he joyfully said, “I misunderstood just now.
I thought you were in the same line of work as me.
Now that I can confirm that you’re not an agent, and since you didn’t deny my assertion that you’ve also failed, may I interpret that as you were looking to partner with Tomler Company but got rejected?”
Gao Yang shrugged and replied, “Obviously, you’re right.”
With a sudden wave of his hand, Little Donnie exclaimed excitedly, “That’s brilliant!
Oh, sorry.
I don’t mean it’s brilliant that you failed.
I mean, perhaps we could talk?
Look, you’re a mercenary, and you might even have your own Mercenary Group, while I’m an agent.
Buddy, we both managed to get into Tomler’s office, that says something about our strength, doesn’t it?
Even if we both failed, it shows that we’re still the best in our field.
I mean, maybe we should sit down and have a proper talk.”
Gao Yang hesitated, then said, “Sorry, I don’t think I can be of any help to you.”
Little Donnie, excitedly said, “Man, I know a coffee shop nearby.
I think the two of us should sit down over a cup of coffee and talk.
Agents and mercenaries both need friends, especially those within the industry.
Sitting down for a chat won’t cost you anything, oh, and I’ll pick up the tab.”
Gao Yang indeed needed to find an agent, but what he needed was one with capability and, most importantly, someone he could trust.
Clearly, Little Donnie wasn’t meeting those criteria.
Yet, a chat wouldn’t cost him anything.
Even if he couldn’t trust Little Donnie, whom he had just met, it wouldn’t hurt just to sit down and talk.
“Alright then, lead the way.”
Little Donnie seemed very excited, which made Gao Yang doubt Little Donnie’s capabilities even more.
Obviously, if Little Donnie was at all successful, he wouldn’t be so eagerly warm to a mercenary he’d just met, as if he had found a lifeline.
Leaving the Tomler Building, they turned a corner and entered a roadside café.
After ordering two cups of coffee and sitting down, Little Donnie, who was facing Gao Yang, fell silent.
Little Donnie didn’t speak, and Gao Yang wouldn’t initiate a conversation.
After a long silence, Little Donnie finally said, “Sorry, I was very excited just now.
But now I realize, my invitation might have been too abrupt, which might cause you to doubt my capabilities.
Alright, I’ll put it this way: you’re already a successful mercenary—or else you wouldn’t be dealing with agents at this level.
Since you already know about agents, have you heard the name Donnie Copfield?”
Gao Yang shook his head, “No.”
Little Donnie shrugged and said, “As the name suggests, Donnie Copfield is my father.
Let’s just say, my father’s name isn’t very well-known among agents, but he was an old-timer in the business.
He passed away this year, and I inherited his legacy, including his profession as an agent.”
“I’m sorry for your loss; please accept my condolences.”
Little Donnie nodded, “My father wasn’t particularly successful as an agent in some respects because he didn’t make much money.
The estate he left me was only enough to cover his debts.
Beyond that, what I inherited was his team and profession.
I want to carry on in the agent business, and I’m familiar with it, but the unfortunate truth is, neither my father nor I had a famous Mercenary Group to serve.”
Gao Yang smiled, “If you’re thinking of working with me, then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.
My Mercenary Group isn’t famous either.
Just so you know, we are only five people in total.”
Little Donnie shook his head repeatedly, “No, no, fame is a key factor, but having strength is even more crucial.
As long as there is strength, fame will eventually come.
Moreover, you’ve already made it into Mr.
Tomler’s office, which means your strength has already been recognized by him.
You must know, Mr.
Tomler only works with large security vendors.
Frankly speaking, Mr.
Ram, a team of just five people can hardly be called a Mercenary Group; it’s more like a small mercenary squad.
And still, you managed to get into Mr.
Tomler’s office, which means you must be capable of bringing him profit.”
Gao Yang shook his head, “Things aren’t as you imagine, but I don’t need to divulge my situation.
That’s all I can tell you.”
Little Donnie nodded, “You’re very straightforward, and I appreciate your candor, Mr.
Ram.
Since you’ve been rejected by Mr.
Tomler, why not consider my team?
I’ll put it this way: Tomler Company is a big firm.
Seeking cooperation with them as an extra small team might not be the best move, because Tomler Company doesn’t care about small tasks.
We are different; we will handle everything specifically for you, and we only look for tasks that suit you.”
There was no need to reveal all his cards, and Gao Yang smiled as he said, “Let me correct you on one point—it wasn’t Mr.
Tomler who refused me, but I who refused Mr.
Tomler.
Also, could you tell me why, if you have your own team, you went to seek a job at the Tomler Company?
And why were you rejected?
Please be honest with me, you know, honesty is very important in the broker business.”
After his face changed several times, Little Donnie finally sighed and said, “Honesty is a virtue, alright, let’s put it this way, I want to earn money, big money, and working under Mr.
Tomler, especially taking care of those shady deals, can bring in big money.
Now, all the famous Mercenary Groups are monopolized by the Tomler Company, and I can’t make big money with unknown or, should I say, less powerful mercenary teams.
I have my own team now and have to provide them with basic pay.
Frankly speaking, I’ve already run out of money to pay them, so I can only hope to join the Tomler Company to keep my team going.”
Gao Yang smiled and asked, “So why couldn’t you secure a position?”
Little Donnie replied with a bitter smile, “I wanted to bring my team over to the Tomler Company, but the Tomler Company has its own system; they didn’t need me to come with a team.
They also had no security broker or Mercenary Group I could take charge of.
In fact, my team can’t handle the business of a large security broker.”
Gao Yang asked curiously, “How many people are in your team?”
Little Donnie replied, embarrassed, “Three, including me, three people.”
Gao Yang laughed lightly and said, “With just three people, even if I were to cooperate with you, how could you take on enough profitable jobs, and ones that I also think we could handle?
How can you assure us that we will be able to fly around the world with sufficient safety?”
Little Donnie hurriedly said, “Mr.
Ram, you might have misunderstood me.
My fixed team only consists of three people, but I have intelligence sources and networks left to me by my father.
Of course, I can do what you mentioned; otherwise, what kind of broker would I be?
Actually, the Tomler Company’s operating model is the same as ours, just with more channels and a larger scale.”
Gao Yang said, still doubtful, “How can you prove it?
Also, can you launder money for us?
The key is, how can I dare to give you a large sum of money, to take out of my sight without supervision?”
Little Donnie replied with a weary smile, “That’s indeed the crux of the problem.
Unless you have enough trust in me, that part can’t be accomplished smoothly.
I have professionals to handle the entire process, from receiving the money to laundering it, but you have to trust me for this to work.”
“Tell me about your fee structure.”
Little Donnie perked up and said, “Here’s how it works: if I broker a deal for you, I charge a fee of five to ten percent of the commission.
If you need us to provide a full range of services, we charge ten to twenty percent of the total commission, which includes the referral fee.
To show my sincerity, we can fix the intelligence fee at five percent, and the fee for the full suite of services at ten percent.”
“What if I find a task on my own but need your help?”
“Minus the referral fee, a service fee of five percent of the commission, or payment based on my operational costs plus a hundred percent profit.
Um, I have to declare that usually, this means the profit rate is above three hundred percent, which you can check out.”
Gao Yang nodded and asked, “One last question, what happens if I don’t want to take a job you’ve introduced?
Are there any consequences?”
Little Donnie looked utterly bewildered and said, “Don’t want to take it?
Then don’t take it.
What consequences could there be?
There are no consequences, none whatsoever.
I get it; you’re worried I might refer you to a mission that’s clearly a death sentence.
Oh, God, no broker would send their own source of income to be cannon fodder.”
After he finished speaking, Little Donnie carefully added, “Mr.
Ram, I’ve laid out all my terms now.
Could you please tell me the terms that the Tomler Company offered you?
And why did you refuse Mr.
Tomler, could you tell me that?”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “I cannot, but I accept the terms you’ve put forth without further negotiation.
Let’s go with the terms you’ve mentioned, Mr.
Copfield, and I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation.”
Little Donnie looked astounded and said, “You mean, you want to work with me?”
“Exactly, as you wish, we can work together.
I need the full suite of services you mentioned.
Of course, if we find that we’re not suitable partners for each other, that’s when we’ll call an end to our collaboration.
As for now, well, we can talk about the details of our cooperation.”(To be continued.
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