Chapter 354

It was after four in the afternoon.

The party was over.

Val left Luke’s house in the old Chevrolet sedan.

In the car, the little fat boy sat in the passenger side, pouting, scowling, and still looking sullen.

Val gave him a look, “Come on, Jack, you’re a man now, don’t be so petty.

How about we reconcile?”

The chubby little man sighed, “I just feel bad that you forgot my middle name.

I must ask Mom why she gave me that middle name.”

Val was about ten years younger than Linda and hadn’t been disciplined by her sister as a child, and had some instinctive fear of Linda, “Hey man, there’s no need to do that, it’s just a little thing.

I hated crybabies who didn’t move to their parents when I was in school, and I’m sure you do too.

Let’s make up, uh-huh.”

The chubby little man twisted his head away, still ignoring him.

Val had no choice but to make a monetary attack, “Jack, I’m sorry, I can understand how you feel, and I’d probably be just as upset if it were me.

In order to make up for my mistake, I am going to give you a gift.

Name it, I’ll give it to you as long as it’s not beyond my means.”

“Not everything can be solved with money.” Little Fatty shook his head, secretly saying, if I want a gift why do I need to go home with you, as long as I rely on my old brother’s house to stay for a night, with a little trickery I can get a lot of pocket money from him.

“OK, then how can you forgive me.”

“You really want to make amends?”

“Yes.”

“Then do one thing for me.”

Val frowned, “What is it?”

“I haven’t figured it out yet, I’ll tell you when I do.”

Val had the feeling that he had gotten on the wrong side of the boat, could it be that this little fat man wasn’t angry, but was counting on himself.

Val began to weigh the pros and cons.

This matter can be big or small, the little fat man really want to find their sister to complain, Val inevitably be sister and dad reprimanded a meal.

It was Luke’s fault for getting himself into this mess.

Val had an official job for a while now, it was hard to turn around his image in front of his dad and sister, it was a great feeling and he didn’t want to let them down because of this.

“OK, I promise I’ll do what I can for you.” Val weighed in and agreed.

Knowing what he knew about the little fatty, this one couldn’t do anything great.

“Pfft ……”

Suddenly the car began to shudder and slowly came to a stop, and smoke began to rise from the front of the car.

“FUCK!

The damn car is acting up again.” Val tapped the steering wheel with some chagrin.

Fatty grumbled, “This car is older than me, I should have gotten a different one a long time ago.”

“I want to replace it too, but I don’t have enough money, how about lending me your pocket money?”

The little fat man covered his bag with force, “I think …… it can still be repaired again.”

A few minutes later.

A Mercedes G500 drove over.

After sending Val and Little Fatty away, Luke had been cleaning up at home, and as a result, before he finished cleaning up, he received a distress call.

Luke pulled over to the right and stepped down from the driver’s side, “What’s wrong with the car?”

The front hood of the Chevy was already open and Val was lying on his back working on it, “Same old problem, it’ll be fixed in ten minutes.”

“Then why even call me?” Luke asked rhetorically.

The little fat man urged, “Older brother, take me home.”

Luke said, “You can’t even wait ten minutes?”

Little Fatty rolled his eyes, “This car was smoking just now, I don’t want to sit in a car that’s about to explode.”

Val was dissatisfied, “My car won’t explode, it’s just a minor problem.”

Fatty didn’t buy it, “Then why is it smoking?”

Val put his hands on the car and said with a serious look on his face, “Because you’re too heavy.”

Luke laughed, “Come on, there’s no need to blame each other for something so trivial.

You guys are wasting your lives with this mental internal friction, loosen up a bit.”

Val said, “If I was as rich as you, I’d be slacking too.”

“I’ll take Jack home first.

If you haven’t fixed it by then, I’ll come back and help.” Luke dropped the word and greeted his brother as he got into the car.

Val rubbed his cheek with his black hand, “I’ll fix it, I have to.”

Getting into the car, the chubby little man looked back with some concern, “He’s not going to get blown up, is he.”

Luke started the car as he said, “No, it’s not like he has much of a legacy.”

“Heh heh.” The little fat man laughed and looked back again, “Isn’t it a little wrong for us to just leave like this.

Suddenly it feels …… like his back is a little bleak.”

After sending Little Fatty back, Luke returned to his home.

Halfway there, he saw Val still pouting and fixing the car, Luke stopped the car, walked over and asked, “How’s the car?”

Val said helplessly, “The problem is a bit serious, probably the engine is out of order.”

“Should I use my car to tow it to the repair shop?”

Val was a little hesitant, this car has been around for more than twenty years, and I don’t know how many hands it has changed hands, there are often some minor problems, he usually fixes the car himself, and sending it to the repair shop is too costly to give up.

But this time the engine out of the problem, has exceeded Val’s ability to repair.

After hesitating, Val still followed Luke’s advice and used Luke’s car to tow the Chevy into a nearby garage.

The mechanic inspected the car and quoted a repair bill of twelve hundred dollars, a price that was beyond Val’s mental expectations.

After considering it again, Val finally gave up on the repairs.

Because the garage was closer to Luke’s house, the Chevrolet sedan was temporarily placed at Luke’s house.

In the evening, Val invited Luke for dinner.

The two go to a nearby kebab store.

Val picked up his beer, clinked glasses with Luke and took a big sip, “Tough day for you.”

“What are you going to do about that car?”

“I don’t know …… sucks.” Val scratched his head with his right hand, “I’ve had this car for over four years now, and I know it’s old and not in very good condition.

I was going to make the money to trade it in for a used car in better condition, but who knew it would just give up the ghost.”

Luke pressed, “What kind of used car were you planning on getting?”

“Get a better performing sedan, but of course it doesn’t have to be too good, something in the $10,000 range will do.”

“How much money have you saved up now?”

“I should have three thousand dollars.”

“You could take out a loan.”

“My credit sucks, no bank will lend me money, and even if they did, the interest would be horrendously high.

I don’t know if I can afford it.”

Luke took a bite of his kebab and suggested, “I’ve been wanting to buy a car lately too, why don’t the two of us chip in and buy it together.”

Val laughed, “Chipping in together to buy a car, what kind of car do you want? A Lamborghini?

No kidding.”

Luke explained, “You should know that the Pinkerton Detective Agency invited me to be a consultant some time ago, and I occasionally make guest appearances for detective work.

This Mercedes G500 is too eye-catching, I need a low-profile car for the mission.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.

We can get a used car for $10,000 or so for your needs, and you’ll drive this car normally, and I’ll ask you for it when I need it.”

Val thought for a moment, “Sounds good, but what if we both need the car?”

“You can ride the Harley.”

“Wow, wow, wow, I’m not dreaming, you’re actually willing to let me ride the Harley?”

“I’m not being ungrateful, it’s just that you used to look like you were hungover all day and I was worried that you might get into an accident.

After all, I wouldn’t want to indirectly kill my uncle.

But it’s different now, you have an official job and you’re in good shape every day, so I’m relieved.”

Val confirmed, “I decide what car to buy?”

“As long as it’s not too much of a stretch.”

“I agree.” Val agreed so readily that he couldn’t think of a reason to say no.

He only had three thousand dollars on hand, and the old car would sell for a thousand dollars or so at best, giving him a total equity of just over four thousand dollars.

And buying a used car with good performance and condition would cost at least ten thousand dollars, and if you added the interest on the loan and other expenses, the total would be more than fifteen thousand dollars.

Luke had the money, and if he paid the rest, there would be savings in interest.

Val was saying that he had traded four thousand dollars for a quality used car, and it was worth it any way you looked at it.

Luke wasn’t a loss either.

He wanted a regular car for detective work.

He didn’t normally drive this car, so it wasn’t a loss to let his uncle use it.

Most importantly, the car would be bought in his uncle’s name, which was what Luke valued most.

When something went wrong, there was also Val in front to take the blame.

It wasn’t that Luke had a black heart, but with Luke’s special identity, Val wouldn’t have as many scruples.

Taking a step back, if Val is really implicated because of the car, Luke can also help him out, which is like playing a barrier buffer role.

Of course, more or less there is still a certain risk, Luke did not hide, will his ideas and possible problems told Val.

Val himself did not care too much, he is very clear that Luke is not bad his four thousand dollars, together to put together money to buy a car, but also to help him.

If Luke could help him, he was naturally willing to help his nephew.

Besides, he was so poor, even if there was trouble, he had nothing to worry about.

Taking a step back, even if there was trouble, could Luke not care about him?

Val’s transportation problem was solved.

He was originally a happy-go-lucky person, and was soon beaming with joy, discussing with Luke about the brand and performance of the car to be purchased ……

The following day.

Luke had an appointment with Natasha to practice jiu-jitsu.

At nine o’clock in the morning, Luke arrived at the Jiu-Jitsu Club on time.

He exchanged two Jiu-Jitsu cards, consuming 40 points, and there were still 20 points left in the Sleuth System.

This time, Natasha changed Luke’s training style.

Let Luke practice with the other trainees.

Those who came to Natasha’s place to train were teenagers, the younger ones were seven or eight years old, the older ones were seventeen or eighteen years old, and Luke’s opponent was a seventeen or eighteen year old Latino teenager.

Saying teenager, his height was similar to Luke’s, and his body size was almost catching up with Luke’s, basically it was considered a level of opponent.

After greeting each other, they began to train against each other.

After two attempts, Luke realized that the teenager’s level of jiu-jitsu was not below his, and was considered a good opponent.

Luke could let go of the fight.

At the beginning of the match, the two men won and lost to each other, and the Latino teenager was also at the age of competitiveness, and did not have the slightest bit of timidity because Luke was older.

Competing with people of similar size in jiu-jitsu was also a new experience for Luke, and the two could be said to be rivals, practicing with great dedication.

After each match, there would be a break of twenty minutes to half an hour, and at this time Natasha, who was the referee, would provide technical guidance to the two, correcting their mistakes and weaknesses in time.

After a morning of training, both of them had obvious progress.

After lunch, they rested for more than an hour.

Luke used the second jiu-jitsu card and once again trained against the Latino teenager.

At this point, the power of the jiu-jitsu card was reflected, Luke’s progress was much faster than the Latino teenager, from the initial equal to gradually suppress each other.

The Latino teenager was a bit unconvinced at first and tried to turn the tables, but failed in several attempts and was finally beaten without temper.

After the training was over, the second jiu-jitsu card was also used up, and a voice rang in Luke’s head, “Congratulations to the host, who has tapped into his full technical talent with the assistance of the jiu-jitsu card, and is close to the level of a professional jiu-jitsu player.”

After hearing this voice, Luke knew that the Jiu-Jitsu study was coming to an end.

In addition, after using the boxing card last time, he received a similar prompt, however, the two prompts were still slightly different.

Luke remembered that the boxing card’s prompt was that it had reached the level of an average professional boxer.

And the Jiu-Jitsu card said that his Jiu-Jitsu technical talent was close to that of a professional.

One was reaching and the other was approaching.

Although the difference wasn’t much, overall, Luke’s boxing talent was probably slightly higher.

Natasha had been accompanying Luke in his training, and she had watched Luke’s progress with amazement.

She felt that she had unearthed a genius, Luke’s progress exceeded her expectations, and with a little more practice he was fully qualified to compete professionally.

“Luke, I have time tomorrow, are you still coming to practice?”

“No, I have to work tomorrow.”

Natasha frowned slightly, “Luke, you’re very talented in Jiu-Jitsu, I think you should spend more time on it, it might be more promising than you being a cop.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but I still prefer being a cop.”

“Well, when are you going to come to training next?”

“It’s hard to say, the next period of time might be quite busy, there won’t be much time for training.” Luke’s jiu-jitsu talent had gone through the roof, and he wasn’t going to get much better with more practice.

“Listen, you’re very talented in Jiu-Jitsu, I don’t want you to just give up.”

Luke said, “Coach Natasha, I’m not giving up, I’ll still come back and practice when I have time.

I’ve learned a lot of jiu-jitsu techniques from you, and that’s enough for now.”

“Hey, before saying such big words, you have to beat me first.” In Natasha’s opinion, Luke’s jiu-jitsu level was improving rapidly, but was still far behind her in terms of technique.

Luke asked back, “Is that necessary?”

“If you can beat me, I’ll agree to let you out of the class, otherwise, don’t say I taught you.” Natasha’s tone was somewhat hateful.

She didn’t want Luke to give up practicing Jiu-Jitsu, and wanted to make Luke realize his own shortcomings through the competition.

In addition, she felt that Luke had somewhat belittled Jiu-Jitsu and wanted to teach her opponent some lessons as well.

Luke laughed, “Coach Natasha, I am a police officer and will use not only Jiu-Jitsu but also other grappling techniques when fighting suspects.”

Natasha smiled back, “You mean you’ve been putting away ‘strikes’.”

“No, I’m trying to say that the grappling techniques I know are more varied, and jiu-jitsu just made up for my shortcomings and made me better.”

“I see.

You think the rules of Jiu-Jitsu limit your strength?

No problem, you can use other grappling techniques and let loose.” Natasha was confident in her strength.

“Are you sure?” Luke was also eager to have a real fight with a jiu-jitsu expert like Natasha.

Both boxing, and jiu-jitsu had rules, but a real fight was without rules.

He wanted to try to see if he could beat Natasha with his full strength without rules.

Having been pressed by Natasha these days, Luke was also a bit stifled in his heart.

The time to test the results had come.