Many countries in the world banned domestic trading of elephant ivory, but not mammoth ivory. This was because the mammoth had already been extinct for ten thousand years.
Hans was, therefore, calm and collected even though the police car headed toward them.
Two cops got out of the car and one of them held a flashlight to inspect the truck.
"Sir, no parking here. Show me both of your driver’s licences—oh, you’re a friend of Rose, right?"
The cop who spoke was a white guy with brown hair. Li Du remembered his name was Capote. "Hello Officer Capote, you’re right; I am Officer Rose’s friend, Li. We’ll leave right now."
Capote was one of the police officers who were forced to apologize to Rose. Li Du had played a major role contributing to that incident. He felt uneasy seeing Officer Capote.
Officer Capote told his comrade, "Check their trunk to see if they have any prohibited items."
In no time, the other police officer came back and said, "Buddy, don’t let them go—there’s a problem."
Upon hearing this, Capote immediately placed his hand on his waist, which was where his gun was.
Hans explained, "Relax, Officer—in my trunk, there’s only mammoth ivory, no elephant ivory."
"Shut up! Out of the vehicle! Squat down!" Officer Capote shouted. "Squat and put your hands on your heads!"
"D*mn!" Hans cursed.
"We should have run," Li Du said.
Hans suddenly flared up. "Okay! Okay! I know, I should have listened to you, all right? I should have listened! You are Big Li. Who am I? I’m Little Fox. From now on, I will listen to whatever you say, Okay?!"
Li Du spread his hands. "Hey, come on, you know I didn’t mean that."
Ah Meow ran over to Hans and purred gently. "Meow, meow."
Hans took a deep breath. "Aww, Ah Meow’s such a nice kid. Li, I’m sorry, I don’t manage my emotions well."
"You know I don’t mind. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine."
The two police officers obviously don’t know the difference between elephant and mammoth ivory. Capote came over to them and said, "Both of you, I hereby announce that you have been arrested for transporting prohibited items. You can call your lawyer now."
"Oh my god, my taxes are used to feed idiots!" Hans said sarcastically.
Capote furrowed his eyebrows. "What did you say?"
Li Du quickly came between the two, pushed Hans away, and said, "It’s a misunderstanding, Officer. My friend is just a little worked up. We will call up our lawyer."
Two men and an ocelot, together with their truck, were sent to the police station.
"Let’s give the lawyer a call," Li Du said.
"There’s no lawyer," Hans answered helplessly.
"F*ck, stop joking—don’t Americans have their own private lawyers?"
"You’ve watched too many Hollywood movies, haven’t you? It’s expensive to pay for a private lawyer. We’ll wait for the police’s appointed lawyer."
Before the duo met their lawyer, they met Rose instead, wearing her civilian clothes. Both of them were held in a detention cell.
"Li, what happened? Alison told me you got arrested, but I thought she was joking."
Li Du had a bitter smile on his face. "We attended an auction and got some mammoth ivory. It’s not a prohibited item, but your colleague obviously thinks otherwise."
Rose nodded her head, and in her usual calm manner she said, "Okay, I’ve got it, don’t worry. It will be okay, but you both will be spending the night here. I can help and get you some food. Is there anything you both want?
Hans leaned on the wall, looking toward both Li Du and Rose, and remarked, "Aww, what a sweet, young couple."
Rose gave Hans a cold stare. "I’ve changed my mind. Li, what do you want to eat?
"What about me?"
"You need to watch your mouth," Rose replied and left.
When Rose came back, she brought coffee and fried chicken. Hans snatched the food away and gave Rose a triumphant look.
Since the problem was with the ivory, Rose knew exactly what to do to help.
Rose came back the next morning with a piece of good news. "An animal by-product specialist came to ascertain if the ivory came from an elephant or a mammoth. We will know the results soon."
Li Du smiled. "Thank you."
Rose brought a coffee for Li; Hans quickly came over and grabbed it.
"Sh*t, so hot!" a scream was heard.
About an hour later, Capote came over to the detention cell and released them.
"Okay, you are free to go," said Capote in a lazy tone.
Hans asked, "Go? Just like that?"
Capote replied, "We’ve concluded that your goods do not belong on the list of trade-prohibited items. Count yourselves lucky that you both are not dealing in illegal business."
Li Du waved his hand as a signal for Hans not to act rashly, but Hans was a stubborn man. "Don’t worry, Li. Today I’m going to teach this guy a lesson!"
"Officer, listen up. I am a taxpayer—a taxpayer who has a clean record! You, after my reasonable explanation, chose to place me under arrest. This is called an abuse of authority, and I will definitely sue you for this!"
Capote shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unaffected by what Hans had said. "You are not the first who has said this to my face, I will wait for you to sue me. But, you better run as fast as you can when you see my police car."
That means you still want to mess with me, huh? Li Du thought.
He released the little bug, while looking at Officer Capote composedly. The little bug flew around Capote’s pockets, but there was nothing of importance in there.
He then sent the little bug to look at Capote’s work desk. Last night when Capote and his comrade brought them into the station, Li saw his desk, and remembered which one it was.
The drawer was messy; there were lots of receipts, bills, and hotel room key cards, Li Du had a strange look on his face as he examined items in the drawer using the little bug.
Capote suddenly felt a chill run up his spine. He shoved the two of them impatiently. "D*mn, just leave quickly, don’t waste my time!"
Li Du took a step closer toward Capote and whispered, "We’ll leave right now, and we will be visiting Muse Hotel. I’ve heard that a police officer’s bewitched by a beautiful concierge working there."
Capote’s face went ashen, his eyes went wide, and he grabbed Li Du by the arm. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Li Du shrugged and said, "Nothing. You know, recently I made some friends who are working as reporters under the ABC Television Group. I am sure they will be delighted to report news about cops and infidelity."
Capote gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice, "F*ck, how did you know!?"
"What do I know? I don’t know anything. But you know, in my line of business, treasure hunters have many sources of information. Sometimes we hear news that’s not so pleasant to the ear," Li Du shrugged.
Capote clenched his fists, and had the look of a ferocious beast.
Li Du turned away to leave, but Capote grabbed his arm once again. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing. By the way, your wedding ring is very handsome," said Li Du, smiling brightly.
Capote also smiled, but reluctantly. "Very well, pal—you win, just say it: what should I do to clear our misunderstanding?"
"Last night you knew that those were pieces of mammoth ivory, and I know you wanted revenge because we had a previous grudge. But, my friend here, who is an innocent party, got into trouble as well. I need you to apologize to him," Li Du said, pointing to Hans.
Li’s hold on him left Capote with no choice; he smiled resentfully. "Okay, I apologize."
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