Ch.52I wish that were the case!

#052

>I’m thinking of meeting briefly around lunchtime. Are you available?

Dexter, dressed in casual formal attire since the morning, had just sent a text message to Himena.

-Today??? I’m free, but why??

>I want to get confirmation on requirements before meeting the Deputy Director.

-I don’t see why not… but will it be okay??

>I don’t know anything about law, but I’m confident in my negotiation skills.

-What?? Aren’t you a correctional officer, Mr. Hughes???? How can you not know the law???

Dexter stared blankly at his phone screen for a moment after reading Himena’s reply, then muttered to himself as if he’d just realized something.

“Oh right, I am a correctional officer.”

>I forgot.

-That’s not something you forget! How can a correctional officer not know the law!!

As Dexter was being scolded via text message, he sent another reply with an embarrassed expression.

>See you in a bit.

-Come to the back entrance of City Hall around noon.

After confirming Himena’s reply, Dexter grabbed his notebook containing his requirements and headed straight for his pickup truck.

Driving toward City Hall at an unusually slow pace, Dexter managed to arrive at the parking lot just before his wristwatch showed 12 o’clock.

Heading toward the back entrance of City Hall with its sprawling lawn as Himena had instructed, he spotted her sitting on a stone bench, clutching a paper bag to her chest.

“……”

Himena, partially obscured by tree shadows, was checking her slender wristwatch and looking around.

As Dexter slowly approached her, Himena spotted him and started to wave, but froze with her hand extended in mid-air.

“…?”

Not understanding why Himena suddenly stopped, Dexter moved closer, and only then did she resume movement.

“If you’re going to wave, wave properly. Why did you stop?”

“…Your outfit is different from usual?”

“I’m here to negotiate, so I dressed up a bit. Why?”

Since Dexter usually preferred either his work uniform or t-shirts and jeans that didn’t emphasize his build, Himena was seeing a properly dressed-up Dexter for the first time.

“I even used pomade for the first time in ages… I don’t think it looks that awkward.”

“W-well, you should dress up more often. Dress like this all the time from now on.”

Dexter noticed Himena forcibly turning her head away, avoiding looking at him, so he sat down on the side she was facing.

“Why are you turning your head away? It’s better if you look at me directly like this.”

“Ah!”

Himena hurriedly turned her head, but Dexter caught that her face was redder than usual and grinned.

“Hmm, maybe I really should dress up more often.”

“…Stop teasing me, seriously.”

“Ahem. I need your help today, so I’ll stop there. Is that lunch?”

When Dexter pointed at the brown paper bag, Himena nodded and said:

“Yes. It’s takeout from the most famous soul food restaurant in North Las Vegas.”

“Soul food, huh.”

What Himena referred to was soul food—cuisine and food culture primarily associated with Black Americans from the South, like jambalaya or fried chicken.

Generally, these dishes tend to be quite greasy and might be a bit heavy for a light meal, but Dexter was fine with anything as long as it tasted good.

Himena vaguely knew this, which is why she deliberately got takeout from that restaurant.

With Himena’s permission, Dexter took out an individually wrapped item larger than his palm from the brown paper bag.

“Wow, BBQ rib sandwich.”

The sandwich was still warm.

Between soft, large pieces of bread was boneless pork rib meat coated in BBQ sauce.

Dexter took a bite of the simple yet hearty-looking sandwich.

“Mmm.”

As Dexter nodded while savoring the taste, Himena smiled brightly.

“Delicious, right? This place is super popular. The staff are friendly too.”

“For good reason. Ah, this is incredible.”

Dexter handed his notebook to Himena while drinking from a plastic bottle.

“You can look at it while eating.”

“Okay, I’ll take a look.”

Himena was reviewing the notebook with her mouth full of sandwich.

By the time Dexter finished his sandwich, Himena had also completed her review.

Moving her lips back and forth, Himena pointed at the notebook’s contents and said:

“Do you think this will work?”

“Who knows. All I can do is try my best.”

“The Deputy Director is pretty intimidating… but it might work with you, Mr. Hughes… I’m not sure.”

Dexter felt her judgment was a bit off, basing whether negotiations would succeed on whether someone was intimidating or not.

“You judge it based on whether your boss is scary?”

“If they’re scary, you can’t even speak up.”

“…That’s a bit strange.”

Giving up on understanding Himena’s peculiar logic, Dexter changed the subject and spent the rest of lunch time productively with her.

Soon, Himena said her lunch break was ending and she needed to head back to headquarters. Dexter decided to go with her.

“When you come in, you can wait in the break room for a while. I’ll call you when it’s time to meet the Deputy Director.”

“That would be helpful, thanks.”

Agreeing with Himena, Dexter entered the OSA headquarters as usual, but noticed the atmosphere inside was a bit different.

‘Somehow, I feel like everyone is staring at me.’

Dexter wanted to think it was his imagination, but it was a bit embarrassing when he noticed OSA staff and agents sitting in chairs openly staring at him.

“Tsk!”

Himena, walking ahead, glared at the female staff members who were staring at Dexter with wide eyes. Those who met her gaze quickly turned away, pretending to focus on their work.

“What is this, some kind of animal training?”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Guided by Himena to the break room, Dexter reviewed his notebook of requirements. Not long after, the aide Dexter had met yesterday greeted him.

“Mr. Hughes. The Deputy Director is asking for you.”

As Dexter left the break room following the aide’s guidance, he found Himena suddenly standing beside him.

Entering the Deputy Director’s office for the first time, Dexter looked around and made a brief assessment.

‘No frills.’

It was so clean and minimal that it would be no exaggeration to say there were no decorative items except for award plaques received during his service and family photos.

Unlike before, the Deputy Director was looking at Dexter with an expressionless face, and Dexter stared back just as blankly.

‘Look at this old man.’

Most people Dexter had encountered felt threatened when he stared at them expressionlessly.

But the Deputy Director simply looked at Dexter calmly without saying anything.

When Dexter tried to sit down in the chair in front of the desk, the Deputy Director suddenly stopped him.

“Who said you could sit?”

Dexter, who had been about to sit down naturally, thought this was unusual.

‘He’s trying to establish dominance from the start.’

If it had been someone else, Dexter would have apologized and asked for permission, but having no intention of following the Deputy Director’s lead, he sat down anyway.

“If there’s a chair, one should sit.”

The Deputy Director snorted derisively at Dexter’s behavior, and Dexter smiled slightly.

‘I won’t back down either.’

“How shall we proceed? Would you prefer to get straight to the point?”

While speaking to the Deputy Director, Dexter pointed at the empty glass and looked at the aide standing behind.

Understanding what he meant, the aide immediately left the room to get water. Watching this, Himena’s expression hardened slightly.

“We’re both busy people and already know the situation. Let’s start right away.”

Standing beside Dexter, Himena looked back and forth between the two men and unconsciously moistened her dry lips.

‘What is this?’

Himena didn’t realize at first, but this situation was a power struggle between the Deputy Director and Dexter.

From the beginning, Dexter had instructed the aide to bring water through a gesture rather than words.

The aide had unconsciously obeyed Dexter, unwittingly handing over control to him.

‘He’s strong from the start…’

Himena decided to quietly leave the Deputy Director’s office if the atmosphere became more serious, and cautiously glanced at Dexter.

“Actually, if the Deputy Director hadn’t said that, I would have just let it go without asking anything from OSA. But now I see that if I do, I’ll just look like a pushover.”

“Ho, what exactly are you referring to?”

The Deputy Director tried to change the dynamic by asking Dexter to explain the situation directly.

If Dexter explained, the negotiation control would shift from Dexter to the Deputy Director.

The control could shift depending on whether one obeys or disobeys the other’s natural commands.

Dexter skillfully avoided this trap.

“Are you senile? Try to remember it yourself.”

“…How rude.”

Having failed to take control from Dexter, the Deputy Director clicked his tongue and spoke.

“Anyway, it’s clear that my being in space for 15 years was OSA’s mistake, isn’t it?”

“…Yes, and?”

“I heard that a man who was wrongfully imprisoned due to a state government mistake received about 60 million dollars in settlement. I’m not asking for that level of compensation. However.”

As Dexter paused for a beat, the aide returned with a water bottle, and Dexter poured water into the glass while continuing.

“I would like you to agree to three requests.”

“And what are they?”

In response to the Deputy Director’s urging, Dexter held up his index finger asking him to wait, then took a drink of the cool water and let out a sound of satisfaction.

“Ah, that’s good. Is it because it’s water paid for by taxes?”

As the Deputy Director was about to get angry at Dexter for acting as if he didn’t matter, Dexter spoke first.

“First. You may call on me when there are unsolved cases or investigations.”

After presenting his request, which was actually advantageous to OSA rather than himself, the Deputy Director’s expression softened a bit.

“To be clear, I’m not saying I want to be an OSA agent. I’m offering to help as a good-faith collaborator, out of goodwill. However, for investigative cooperation, you’ll need to provide expenses and equipment support.”

Dexter’s request was more reasonable than expected.

The additional conditions were basically acceptable, so the Deputy Director nodded.

“Fine, that much is acceptable.”

“Ah, one more thing to add: all cooperation requests must be approved by Agent Himena.”

Dexter was implementing the basics of negotiation he had hastily learned from a lawyer the night before.

‘If you put a frog directly into boiling water, it jumps out immediately. But if you heat the water very slowly, the frog doesn’t realize it’s being cooked.’

First, present easy conditions that the other party can readily agree to, making the negotiation seem relatively easy.

“…Ribero is a rookie.”

As if to say “what does that matter,” Dexter smirked.

“Is that so? Should we forget this and instead demand 60 million dollars from OSA?”

Even if OSA is a secret department, the fact remains that 60 million dollars is not an amount that can be easily paid to an individual.

‘Don’t let your opponent catch their breath with continuous statements.’

The Deputy Director, who had been planning to consider it more, clicked his tongue in displeasure.

“Tsk.”

“Do you refuse?”

Himena, startled by Dexter’s sudden mention of her, was dumbfounded when she realized she was included in the requirements.

‘That wasn’t in the notebook you showed me earlier!’

“Is this negotiation related to you?”

“If the person I work with is uncomfortable, I become uncomfortable too.”

‘Cunning bastard.’

The Deputy Director, who had planned not to agree to any ridiculous negotiation conditions, had no choice but to nod since Dexter presented conditions that were within his power to adjust.

“…I’ll concede that much.”

“Ha. Concede, think of it that way if you want.”

Dexter retorted sarcastically to the Deputy Director’s implication that he was reluctantly agreeing, trying to regain control.

“Second. You know where I work, don’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“When a criminal I mention wants parole, make it happen.”

As Dexter presented a request that was genuinely difficult to grant, the Deputy Director snorted as if he had expected this.

“We can’t manipulate the parole board to our liking.”

‘I knew it.’

Seeing the Deputy Director answer without even a second’s hesitation, Dexter smirked.

In response to the Deputy Director’s attempt to dismiss him with one sentence, Dexter pushed back as if talking to a friend.

“A federal department that can erase people’s memories is being too dramatic. I believe you can make it happen.”

In response to Dexter’s persistence, the Deputy Director cut him off again.

“That’s clearly a matter for the Nevada Department of Corrections to control, not something OSA can resolve.”

In fact, they could resolve it.

While OSA is close to being an independent agency not belonging to other institutions, it has the authority to command state guards, police, FBI, and corrections departments when performing secret operations.

“If I recall correctly, when OSA first met me, they brought state guards to take me away. You’re saying you have no pull? You can command state guards at will but can’t get one inmate paroled? Isn’t that a bit inconsistent?”

When Dexter referenced OSA’s authority based on his direct experience, the Deputy Director’s gaze sharpened.

‘I thought he was just a bear because of his size, but he has fox-like tendencies too.’

“In the recent Professor Chris arrest case, Himena had no hesitation in calling police personnel, and seeing how OSA agents regularly carry FBI credentials with fake identities, it seems you cooperate a lot with other agencies.”

Using the state guard as an example was something the Deputy Director hadn’t expected.

The fact that OSA, a federal government agency, could freely command Nevada state soldiers could be seen as an overreach of authority.

Yet Dexter pointed out that OSA requests state guard and police personnel without any hesitation or restraint.

Cornered by Dexter’s argument, the Deputy Director couldn’t push back even if he wanted to.

“…Fine. I accept. But, only one person can be released on parole per year. If that criminal commits another crime, you’ll have to deal with it yourself.”

“What do you mean once a year? Make it once a month, generously.”

The Deputy Director looked at Dexter in disbelief at his pushiness.

“Are you crazy? Are you trying to use highball negotiation tactics right in front of me?”

“Oh? You know about that? That makes it easier.”

Dexter grinned.

The “highball negotiation” Dexter was using is a method of starting with a high price and gradually lowering it, commonly used in places like pawn shops in Las Vegas.

“Let’s be reasonable. You’re planning to cut it down to once per quarter anyway, aren’t you?”

Seeing Dexter’s grinning face, the Deputy Director gritted his teeth.

‘You bastard, just wait until I become Director.’

“…Fine, as you say, once per quarter.”

Although Dexter was negotiating forcefully, he had blocked all the Deputy Director’s potential escape routes, so the latter had no choice but to agree.

“The last one is really easy.”

“…Speak.”

“Immunity from arrest and prosecution.”

The Deputy Director slammed his palm on the desk.

-Bang!

“Immunity for you? Preposterous!”

“This is related to my first proposal.”

Dexter cleared his throat once, then continued his explanation.

“I’m fine with assisting investigations. However, you need to consider my occupation. I’m a correctional officer at a private prison, aren’t I?”

“Huh, it would be faster to give you an OSA agent position than to grant you immunity. Don’t you think?”

‘This old man is sharp.’

But if that happened, there would be no point in negotiating.

“If you were the Deputy Director, would you want to run OSA with an employee like me?”

Dexter grinned and continued.

“With all due respect, I’m quite a troublemaker. Even looking through OSA history, there probably aren’t many cases of an outsider sitting here negotiating face-to-face with the Deputy Director. Incorporating someone like me into OSA? Do you think you could handle it?”

“Ha, you know your place very well, don’t you?”

“Of course. That’s how I survived rolling around in space for 15 years. Things happen in space that would shock you, Deputy Director.”

‘This guy doesn’t back down with his words at all.’

Though the Deputy Director was inwardly grinding his teeth, he suppressed his emotions as much as possible and offered a slightly different proposal.

“Even so, we cannot grant such privileges to an ordinary citizen.”

“Is there really not even a 1% chance?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“…Really, no.”

As Dexter continued to provoke him, the Deputy Director’s face turned red and seemed about to explode, so Dexter casually said:

“I heard there’s a position called honorary agent.”

Surprised by the unexpected words from Dexter’s mouth, the Deputy Director asked with a slightly confused voice:

“…Where did you hear that term?”

“By chance?”

Dexter answered with a sly expression.