Senator Gavin, who was currently enjoying his peanut stew, felt that he was about to reach a new pinnacle in his life! A few months ago, back when he was still a local councilman in a small town, he had been contacted by Vincent Adler, who at that time had not yet been exposed as a Ponzi scheme fraudster. Vincent planned to secretly return to New York to fulfill a long-held wish. When Gavin learned that Vincent's wish was to salvage a submarine off the coast of New York, loaded with treasure looted by Hitler's army during World War II, he knew he was about to strike it rich again!
Gavin had realized shortly after meeting Vincent that the man was a swindler who made his living off smooth talk. Yet, he continued to accept bribes from Vincent, climbing the political ladder as a result. Through his influence, Gavin received substantial rewards from Vincent Adler, which he used to fund his election campaign, eventually becoming a congressman. This was a classic example of power for rent, a win-win collaboration between him and Vincent.
Originally, ten years ago, when Vincent Adler's Wall Street scam was exposed, Gavin considered cutting ties with him. But the problem was that Vincent had too much money—far too much to turn down. In this country, everyone knew that money was the key to climbing the political ladder safely. So, after some difficult deliberation, Gavin resolutely chose to continue colluding with Vincent Adler. Even after Vincent fled the U.S. to escape prosecution, Gavin maintained secret contact with him, even going so far as to provide Vincent with classified federal information to help him evade capture by federal agents.
Gavin's decision seemed to pay off. Despite being chased out of the U.S., Vincent Adler, like an indestructible cockroach, managed to escape federal pursuit with Gavin and others' help. Although he had a federal warrant hanging over his head, it didn't affect him much. Except for the fact that he could no longer legally step foot on U.S. soil, his life remained almost the same.
When Vincent secretly contacted Gavin, who was still making waves on Capitol Hill, and confessed that his return to New York was to recover the submarine and its treasure—worth billions of dollars—the congressman, who was already feeling unsatisfied with his current position and considering a move towards the Senate, immediately realized this was his opportunity. If he could keep Vincent, his golden goose, satisfied, not only would his campaign fund be secured, but he could also claim a share of the treasure. Even a tenth would mean billions—an unimaginable windfall!
When Gavin learned that Vincent needed a place to stay in New York as a hideout, the congressman, his eyes already filled with dollar signs, didn't hesitate to lend Vincent his Long Island estate. To ensure none of his people found out about his secret dealings with a federal fugitive, Gavin temporarily dismissed all the staff from the estate, focusing solely on helping Vincent recover the submarine and planning to share in the spoils.
Vincent did not disappoint. After returning to New York with a semi-submersible salvage ship, he quickly headed to the location of the sunken submarine. Gavin, who was quietly monitoring Vincent's progress, was pleased. To prevent the Coast Guard from interfering with the salvage operation, Gavin discreetly used his influence to hint to the Coast Guard officials in charge of patrolling New York's coastlines. Gavin was also aware that Vincent had other powerful allies besides himself, including the influential Senator William Bracken, who had been thriving in New York. In fact, Gavin knew that William Bracken had been involved with Vincent long before he was, as both were native New Yorkers, with Vincent's main scamming operations having been based on Manhattan's Wall Street. The relationship between Vincent and Bracken was even closer than the one Gavin had with Vincent.
But these considerations were not on Gavin's mind. Knowing about the relationship between Vincent and William Bracken had earned Gavin the friendship of the senator. With such a figure providing both financial and political support, Gavin saw no reason to worry.
Vincent made it clear that once the submarine was recovered, he would take half of the treasure. After giving another ten percent to his crew, the remaining forty percent would be split between Gavin and Senator William Bracken. Even one percent of that treasure would make Gavin wealthy beyond his dreams!
So, when Gavin discreetly informed the Coast Guard not to interfere, he was surprised to learn that Senator William Bracken had already issued orders to ensure that the civilian salvage team working off the coast of New York was not disturbed. Gavin quickly realized that Senator Bracken had also been tempted by the golden prospects Vincent had described and was quietly using his influence to protect Vincent's operation.
At this point, Gavin was thrilled, elated even. He walked with a spring in his step for days, confident that Vincent Adler, this incredibly capable man, had already located and successfully salvaged the submarine. The submarine had been secretly towed back to New York Harbor and hidden in a warehouse nearby. In just a few days, the submarine would be opened, and Gavin would be looking at a huge payout!
Unfortunately, due to dismissing all the staff from his estate, Gavin had no idea that his Long Island property was now swarming with heavily armed federal agents, who were tearing the place apart, determined to uncover every connection between him and Vincent Adler.
It wasn't until the federal agents had been searching his estate for over an hour that Gavin was informed of the situation by his secretary: Vincent Adler had been arrested by the FBI. However, before he could be escorted out of the warehouse where he was hiding, two snipers positioned over a kilometer away took him out. To make matters worse, the treasure that should have been in the submarine was missing. The FBI found hidden surveillance cameras in the warehouse, all connected to a secret room in Gavin's estate. Now, all evidence pointed to Gavin!
Whether it was secretly colluding with a federal fugitive, lending his estate to Vincent as a hideout, or using his influence to protect Vincent, the most damning accusation was that everyone believed Gavin had ordered Vincent's execution to cover his tracks after learning of Vincent's arrest by the FBI.
Gavin nearly fainted when his secretary delivered the news!
For heaven's sake, he never intended to kill his biggest benefactor! Even if Vincent was caught by the FBI, so what? With all the money Vincent had, assembling a top-notch legal defense would be no problem. With the help of both himself and Senator William Bracken, Vincent would likely be out in no time, maybe after a short stint in custody. Why would Gavin kill him? Especially when he hadn't even gotten his hands on the treasure yet. He had no reason to eliminate Vincent Adler!
His secretary, seeing the despair on Gavin's face, explained helplessly, "Senator, the problem now is that the FBI has ironclad evidence that Vincent was hiding in your estate during his time in New York. The current evidence is overwhelmingly against you. The FBI and the Justice Department were after that treasure, but when they opened the submarine and found nothing, they were furious. And now, with Vincent Adler being killed right in front of them, they're determined to pin this on you. Things are looking very bad for you, sir..."
Slumped in his chair, Gavin no longer felt the exuberance of ten minutes ago. Now, he didn't even know what to do to mitigate his guilt. He knew he couldn't withstand a joint investigation by the FBI and the Justice Department. His usual cover-ups would mean nothing under the scrutiny of these two agencies. The only person who might be able to save him now was another of Vincent's close allies, Senator William Bracken...
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