My Second Life as a Mafia Tyrant

Chapter 20: Special Agent Felix Faust

Let me tell you about a man.

　He joined the Marine Corps for his country and fought for it.

That fight for his country was a fight against communism.

It was a war in which vast amounts of blood were shed.

Napalm bombs scorched the jungle, armored vehicles equipped with directional-charge explosives roamed freely, and soldiers on river patrol boats moved cautiously along the waterways.

　It was a hellish war. And yet, the “National Coalition” was defeated.

The man belonged to a long-range reconnaissance battalion in the Marine Corps. His job was to make his way through the jungle, identify enemy guerrilla strongholds, supply depots, and logistics routes, and request airstrikes. He carried out his missions and earned numerous medals.

　But the war itself was a defeat.

The men returned home as losers and started new lives.

The man had a strong sense of justice and wanted to work in the legal field. So he entered law school and studied law. By the time he passed the bar exam, a new organization had been established within the “National Union.”

　The Drug Enforcement Administration. Established at the behest of the president at the time, this investigative agency was created to crack down on the unstoppable flow of drugs into the “National Union,” with the goal of eradicating drug crime.

The man joined this new agency after being invited by a former Marine Corps superior.

This was because the man had a personal vendetta against drugs.

　One of his comrades had died of a drug overdose. The drug in question was Snow Pearl. It was made by crushing drug-laced pearls, dissolving them in a little water with heat, and injecting the mixture. The man’s comrade had wanted to escape the memories of that war.

But Snow Pearl was highly toxic. The man’s comrade died.

　He wasn’t the only one. Many of his comrades turned to drugs to escape the painful memories of that war, and they died of overdoses.

That’s why the man joined the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The first assignment he was given was “Operation Black Knight.”

It had a grand-sounding name, but in reality, it was just a sting operation. A large-scale one, though.

　It was known that drugs flowing in from the “Federation” were first gathered at a facility belonging to a drug cartel on the “National Union” side. And from there, they were handed over to retailers.

In “Operation Black Knight,” planned by the Drug Enforcement Administration, agents were to pose as retailers and make contact with the drug cartel in order to locate the facility and carry out a simultaneous raid. With real gang members also involved, “Operation Black Knight” was put into action.

　In the end, “Operation Black Knight” was a failure. Information had been leaked beforehand; the gang members who made contact with the drug cartel were shot dead, and the agents were seriously injured. The man had been on backup duty, but he was unable to uncover a single thing about the drug cartel.

And now, a new operation was being proposed.

“Drugs are rampant throughout the western region.”

The one speaking was a High Elf man: Scott Sanderson, Director of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Up until now, the drug cartels’ method was like feeding carp. They used local gangs to buy and sell small-scale drugs. But it seems they’ve changed their tactics. Even after cracking down on the local gangs, we couldn’t find anyone involved in the drug trade. We did find the usual drug-addicted gang members, though.”

A chuckle rippled through the room.

“Anyway, they’ve changed their tactics. Small-scale sting operations like we’ve used before won’t cut it anymore. We have to blow up their pipeline. The drug pipeline. They’ve come up with some kind of scheme.”

The chuckles died down immediately.

“Did you crack down on all the local gangs?”

“Almost all of them. It’s impossible to get everyone, of course. We don’t have enough warrants. But we’re cracking down on the ones who commit crimes on a daily basis through joint operations with the state police on other charges. In the end, though, nothing came of it.”

Scott shook his head at the man’s question.

“So, that means they hired professionals. They don’t get involved in petty crimes and don’t leave a trail. And they found people trustworthy enough that the drug cartel decided they could handle a large-scale deal.”

“Even so, how do we track them down?”

“There are two ways. One is to work our way up from the street dealers. It takes time, but it’s reliable. The other is the rival organization approach. We demonstrate financial clout that surpasses even those trusted individuals, then make contact with the drug cartel. That way, we can catch any anxious dealers who come forward.”

With a sharp snap, the man formed a pistol shape with his fingers and pointed at the whiteboard.

The whiteboard listed the amount of drugs confirmed throughout the Western region. Since the start of the year, that figure had increased nearly tenfold. And since this is just the confirmed amount, the quantity of drugs the authorities aren’t aware of is likely even greater.

　A drug crisis was unfolding in the West.

But the Drug Enforcement Administration seemed completely out of the loop.

To begin with, which of the four “federation” drug cartels was flooding the West with drugs? How were they smuggling the drugs across the border? Where were the deals taking place? They had absolutely no idea.

That was precisely why the agents were so anxious.

“The rival organization approach is out of the question. ‘Operation Black Knight’ was a complete failure. It’s one thing to use junkies or small-time dealers, but conducting a sting operation against a drug cartel is far too risky. If we fail again like we did with ‘Operation Black Knight,’ everyone here will lose their jobs.”

Scott said this and looked at the man.

“Then we’ll just have to take the slow and steady approach. Can we get cooperation from the State Police?”

“That’s a tough one. The State Police consider the influx of drugs to be their own problem. They won’t be happy about us butting in. Do you think you can convince them?”

“So, we’ll have to save face for the State Police while conducting the investigation. Cooperation with local police is crucial for this kind of operation. By the way, what about the Renni City Police?”

“There’s absolutely no room for negotiation. Reni is a free city. They refuse to budge, insisting they’ll clean up their own mess. They won’t share a single piece of investigative information. I’m not saying the Reni City Police are incompetent, but their Reni is a hotbed of organized crime.”

“I suspect Reni is the culprit.”

The man suspected that Reni was the very epicenter of the drug epidemic in the West. The Reni City Police aren’t incompetent. Their investigative capabilities are above average. However, that applies only when they’re solving murders or financial crimes involving venture capital firms within Leni itself; they cannot be called competent when it comes to investigating cross-border crimes like drug trafficking.

For large-scale, cross-border investigations, cooperation and information sharing with the federal government—specifically, the intelligence agencies of the “National Union” central government—are essential. Without that, it’s impossible to grasp the full picture of the case; you can only see a fraction of it. That won’t be enough to take down the drug cartels.

“Special Agent Felix Faust. Track the flow of drugs in the West, excluding Leni. You may take whatever personnel you need. Find a way to catch the people buying drugs from the cartels and throw them in jail.”

“Roger that.”

The man—Special Agent Felix Faust—nodded firmly.