บท 42: Who Can Talk?

In the war room, tension was thick in the air as Angus, the oldest member of the Emerald City Special Forces, leaned back in his chair. "We've just completed a full-scale investigation of the city, but with the budget you gave us, we won't be able to conduct a search for the entire empire," he said, looking at Michael with an air of frustration.

Michael, pacing the room, clenched his fists. "It's only been a day! How did you burn through all that money so quickly?"

"Investigations cost more than you'd think," Angus replied coolly. "We've already hired the newsprint companies to start distributing wanted posters for the impostor, just to save on costs."

"Ahhh!" Michael yelled, throwing a banana peel onto the floor in a fit of anger.

Angus, unfazed, continued. "We could, of course, request cooperation from the Empire Bank to track the impostor through his transactions. If we can see what he spent the money on, we might be able to catch him."

Michael's eyes lit up. "That's it! Do that!" He slammed his fist on the table in excitement, finally seeing a way forward.

Angus, however, shook his head slowly. "There's a catch. The card the impostor used was an anonymous one. As soon as he stole it from you, he likely knew that the bank wouldn't allow anyone to view the transaction history. That's the whole point of those cards."

Michael groaned, pressing his hands against his temples. "I should never have gotten that card..." He looked up at Angus, desperation in his eyes. "Do we have any other options?"

The Special Forces members exchanged glances and then shook their heads. "No," Angus said bluntly. "Unless you're willing to give us a larger budget to expand the search."

Michael slammed his hand on the table once more. "Damn it! Fine! Find someone who's good at negotiating and convince the bank to cooperate. Tell them we'll owe them big-time if they succeed."

Angus turned to one of the Emerald City guards nearby. "Did you hear that? Go find some nobles. We need someone who can negotiate with the bank."

The guard nodded and rushed out, eventually returning with several noble negotiators. They all headed to the Emerald City Empire Bank branch, hopeful they could get the bank's cooperation.

But it didn't take long before the guard returned, looking defeated. "Sir, they failed."

Michael's temper flared. "Are you kidding me? I'll handle it myself! Get the carriage ready!"

Within half an hour, Michael was at the bank, storming out of the carriage and into the grand black-and-gold building. His frustration was palpable.

"Sir Michael, how may we assist you?" one of the receptionists asked, smiling warmly despite his obvious anger.

"I need to speak to the manager," Michael barked. "This is a matter of national security!"

A woman in an elegant suit appeared, her face calm and composed. "I'm the manager, Sir. How can I help you?"

"Give me the transaction records for the anonymous card. Now!" Michael demanded, his voice echoing through the marble halls.

The manager's smile didn't waver. "Sir, there's a reason it's called an anonymous card. That information is confidential."

"Confidential from who? I'm the one who owns the damn card, along with the Great Wizard himself! Why would you withhold information from us?"

"I understand your frustration, but we take our clients' privacy seriously. We're committed to providing the highest level of protection."

Michael's patience snapped. "I don't care about your privacy policy! I need that information!"

Despite his outburst, the manager remained unfazed. "Sir, it's company policy. I'm afraid handing over such information would breach that policy."

"Are you kidding me? I'm telling you, this is a matter of national security!"

The manager maintained her serene smile. "As I've said, we're committed to protecting our clients' privacy."

Michael threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "Holy crap, am I talking to a parrot?!"

Fuming, he stormed out of the bank. As he paced outside, trying to calm down, an idea struck him. "You want a smooth talker? Fine. I'll get you a negotiator who can actually do the job."