Chapter 520 We’ve Been Duped (1/2)
Chapter 520: We’ve Been Duped
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The young man's reply confused the treasure hunters of the Tucson Brotherhood. Princeps asked, ”What? What's going on?”
Li Du didn't explain; instead, he smiled at Princeps. ”You can't beat me. Even if Tucson's your turf, you still can't win!”
Princeps looked sullen and vexed. ”What does that mean?”
”It's simple: you've lost.”
After saying this, he returned to unit 10 and waved to Godzilla and Big Quinn. ”You can get to work now and move everything out.”
Princeps followed Li and asked, ”What exactly are you up to?”
”I'm not up to anything,” Li Du answered. ”Everything I did is lawful. You're the one who better not play any more tricks. You better hurry and some trucks for us, or your men will be going to jail.”
Princeps was not someone with a good temper. He started to speak in a more threatening tone. ”Dude, don't be too much. You know I'm not afraid of all this. My men might not go to jail. The judges will decide, not you!”
”You're right,” said Li Du. ”Then there's no need to negotiate with me. Go negotiate with the judges instead. See if the judges are willing to talk to you.”
What Princeps said did make some sense. Despite the fact that the Tucson treasure hunters were in the police station, it was not absolute that they would end up in jail.
Li Du accused the men of robbing him and Hans, but the treasure hunters lacked the motive to do so. On top of that, there was a surveillance camera in the hotel parking lot. From the video, one could see that the Tucson treasure hunters smashed the windshields and then both Li Du and Hans appeared and fought the treasure hunters.
From the video, the treasure hunters did not seem to be robbers. If Princeps was able to get a good enough lawyer, Li Du might not be able to win the lawsuit. Even if Li Du won, the crime wouldn't keep them in prison for long.
Princeps knew this very well, but he was willing to let Li Du have his way. He felt that there was no need to go to such great lengths for such a small matter.
Furthermore, once the case went to court, there might be a lot unforeseen and unpredictable circumstances. If his men did go to jail then Princeps, as the leader of the Tucson Brotherhood, would be in deep water. His men had gotten into trouble carrying out his orders. No one would want to work for someone who could not protect his men.
Because of these reasons, he wanted an out-of-court settlement and for Li Du to retract the charges.
The American law system was different from China's. A criminal case in the United States was determined by the prosecutor as they had the discretion to pursue criminal charges. The plaintiff was the prosecutor, not the victim themselves.
In this kind of situation, the out-of-court settlement that existed in Chinese law could not work. The victim was not the plaintiff, so there was no way the victim could retract the charges—only the prosecutor could do this.
An example was the infamous O. J. Simpson murder case. This ”case of the century” almost triggered the attention of the legal community globally. During the trial, the prosecutor was the one who filed the lawsuit; the victim's family members were not the plaintiff.
However, nothing was absolute. Like any other country, America did not have a perfect judicial system. There were loopholes and dark areas in the law.
In the state of Arizona, the police submitted criminal cases to the prosecution. As long as the case had not been submitted, the prosecution would not be able to intervene.
Take Li Du's case for example. If Li retracted the charges on the Tucson treasure hunters, then their case would not be submitted to the courts.
Princeps hoped he would do that, and both parties had agreed to each other's conditions before signing of the transfer papers.
Listening to Li Du's grim and cold reply, Princeps snorted and was speechless. He could only grit his teeth and tolerate it, for Li Du had the upper hand in this matter.
He made a few calls, and soon enough the trucks arrived.