Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 173

Adrian and his entourage stormed into the rural township's land management office.

He quickly explained his intentions, only for the director to shake his head. "That abandoned factory complex was bought out two months ago. It's private property now."

"Bought out?"

Who the hell had gotten that lucky?

"Can you tell me who the current owner is?"

"No can do. Without official authorization, I can't just hand out private registry details."

The official was a recent transfer. His predecessor had actually been promoted purely off the performance boost from selling that massive piece of dead real estate.

"Why couldn't I catch a break like that?" the official lamented internally.

"Understood, completely understood. Sorry for the intrusion."

Stepping out of the office, Adrian didn't head back to the city. Instead, he ordered his assistant to find them a hotel.

"Mr. Mercer, I checked. There are no hotels out here, just cheap motels."

"A motel will do. We're in the trenches, we can't be picky."

"Mr. Mercer, we'll start asking around about the property's owner right now."

"You two hit the streets and ask around. I have a different angle to play."

***

Meanwhile, the men from Porter Entertainment had barely walked a few blocks before they conveniently crossed paths with the decoy Adrian's assistant had arranged.

The local guide was incredibly polite and overwhelmingly enthusiastic, yet somehow managed to lead them further and further off the beaten path.

The corporate fixers started getting suspicious. No matter how impoverished a district was, the local government offices were usually at least somewhat presentable.

The guide seemed to sense their doubt. "Our town mayor is a real man of the people.

He gave the actual municipal compound to low-income families whose roofs caved in, and took his staff to work out of some old sheds left over from the communal farming days."

"An official like that is hard to find."

Their suspicions evaporated instantly, replaced by relaxed banter.

As they skirted the edge of a dense orchard, the guide paused. "Give me one second, I just need to take a leak."

He disappeared into the trees and never came back. The guy didn't even wait to collect his tip.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify