Seeing the gun barrels sticking into the room, Li Du instinctively thought that this was a set-up!
He immediately looked to Hill—maybe he brought them here to rob them of their rose oil.
This wasn't completely out of the question. People in poverty would rob people for just a few dollars—some people could commit murder for a few hundred dollars.
The twenty-four rose essential oil, with the right buyer, could go for over 200 thousand dollars!
However, he immediately realized that Hill's expression was even more taken aback than his, and Alice was in a state of panic. It didn't seem like those expressions were fake. Apparently, this had nothing to do with them.
The door was completely opened, and two men armed to the teeth walked in. They bellowed in a demanding tone, "Police! Stay down!"
Li Du and the others obediently squatted down. What the heck was going on?
Seeing the small bottles on the table and the powerful smell of rose from them, the cops that stormed in gave each other troubled looks.
Li Du quickly worked out the situation and soon guessed what was happening. What the hell, it's another misunderstanding. These cops think we're dealing drugs!
Indeed, someone with a sniffer dog went in to check the area. He then said awkwardly, "There are no drugs here."
One of the cops wearing shades was anxious. He looked to the shop owner and asked, "Didn't you report that there was a drug transaction going on?"
Bewildered, the owner said, "It looked like there were dealing drugs, so I tipped you off."
Hearing that, Hill was immediately worked up. He stood up and pointed to the cop as he reprimanded, "We're dealing with rose oil! We're having a legal business negotiation! What are you guys doing? We're taxpayers, you're harming us!"
Hans was also enraged. "Is this how the L.A.P.D. works? Such a big case like a drug trade, and you guys didn't even bother investigating before charging in?"
Outside, Godzilla and Big Quinn were squatting with their hands up, with two other cops watching them.
Big Quinn said gloomily, "They forced us to comply the moment they came. I wanted to explain, but they wouldn't even let me speak."
"Safety first," Godzilla said.
A few cops that didn't want to back down went to thoroughly search the room again, but besides the rose oil, they found nothing.
The leader of the team walked over, embarrassed, and said, "Sorry fellas, seems like there has been a misunderstanding."
Hill glared at him. "A misunderstanding? You guys terrified us, and now you want to end this with just saying sorry? The Siguaraya corporation pays millions of dollars in taxes every year. Buddy, this is the protection we get in exchange?"
In America, whoever had money was the boss. As long as one had money, the government had to call you "Daddy."
The police stood obediently together, while Hill scolded them like a teacher scolding his students.
The cops were already used to this sort of treatment. As long as no charges were pressed, the police would let them nag and complain as much as they wanted without rebuttal.
The policeman in charge quietly explained some things to Hills, and then turned to everyone else. "Sorry everyone. Since last month, LA has seen a very large amount of violent conflicts due to drugs and we're all on high-alert."
The owner added, "It's that your bodyguards looked too violent. As an honest businessman, why would you need to bring around such bodyguards?"
"Who says their bodyguards?" Li Du snapped unhappily. "They're our movers for moving the goods!"
"If they're just movers, then why did they threaten me? It was him!" The owner pointed to Big Quinn. "When I was glancing toward the room, he glared at me threateningly!"
"When did I glare at you? I just gave you a smile," Big Quinn said.
"It's these guys of yours," the cop said. "Their looks are deceiving. The reason why we decided to do a raid was because of these two."
"Hey, that's racist!" Li Du exclaimed.
"Racist?" The cop pointed to Godzilla. "This fella has a tattoo of a golden eagle grabbing a dahlia in flames. We have proof to back up this raid!"
Indeed, Godzilla's chest had a fiery tattoo with an eagle grabbing a dahlia as it stretched its wings to soar. Whenever he wore a vest, the tattoo could be seen.
However, Li Du didn't understand. "What's wrong with this tattoo?" he asked.
"Mexican Cartel." Godzilla was the one who said it.
"That's right," the cop nodded sternly. "It's a tattoo marking people involved in Mexican cartels. Don't tell me you don't know what those are!"
"What? People involved with crude oil?" Li Du asked.
A cop couldn't hold himself back and said, "Sir, that's not funny."
Hans shot him a glance and said, "It's one of Mexico's largest gangs. The drug cartel is well-known globally. I didn't expect Godzilla to be involved with them."
The answer shocked Li Du. He looked to Godzilla in astonishment. Godzilla gave him a dry laugh and shrugged.
Li Du hated drug dealers. That stuff was terrible, and the people who sold it were too.
But from the days he spent with Godzilla, he hadn't seemed like someone involved with that stuff. Perhaps Godzilla's appearance was, but his actions weren't vicious. His personality was that of an introvert.
Besides working with them like he normally did, he would watch the cabin or do some volunteer work.
Thus, finding out that he was a drug dealer, Li Du could only express his disbelief.
He looked to Godzilla and asked, "What's going on?"
Godzilla said gloomily, "When I left the basketball team, I didn't have any money to survive, so I went there to be their runner. However, I realized that I couldn't go on like that and immigrated here to America."
He paused for a moment, and added, "Boss, I'm not a drug dealer. I'm really not! I've never touched that stuff!"
"Ha, who would believe you?" the lead policeman said, curling his lips to the side.
"I do!" Li Du said without any hint of hesitation. He then asked, "So what about now, do you still have any problems with him?"
"Whether there are any issues, we'll investigate…" the policeman said.
Li Du pointed at him as he said, "Just because of one tattoo? Go to hell. You guys are infringing on our rights! My buddy has no issues. He's a legal immigrant and he pays his taxes. On what grounds do you have to interrogate him without any evidence?"
If they were in Arizona, the police could really do that. Arizona had the strictest anti-illegal immigrant measure: SB 1070.
California was different; their measures were relatively laxer. The police could not detain and interrogate anybody without a proper warrant.
The lead policeman looked at him coldly. "We have to uphold order and our citizens' safety."
"We're willing to cooperate, but are you guys really upholding order and the citizens' safety?" Li Du exclaimed. "With just a random tip-off, you guys performed this brutish investigation without any evidence?"
No matter the situation regarding Godzilla, the problem here was with the police. Hill stepped forward to break things up. "Alright, fellas. Let's all cool off. How about we sit down and have a cup of coffee? I'm sure the owner is willing to serve us on the house."
The owner shrugged helplessly. "What else can I do? I'm really unlucky today."
Li Du glared at him. What gives you the right to complain? Aren't you the one responsible for this mess in the first place?
A pity that his image and glare was not as powerful as Big Quinn's. The owner was unfazed.