Stepping into the main hall of the agency, Shiranui Hayate saw Hotaru leaning over the service counter, meticulously organizing a stack of documents.
"Hey, Hotaru," he called out.
Hotaru looked up as he descended the stairs. "Good morning, Boss."
Hayate walked over to the counter, noting the sheer volume of paperwork she was handling. "How are things progressing?"
Hotaru straightened the files and slid them toward him. "These are the latest financial figures, Boss. You should take a look."
Hayate didn't reach for them. Instead, he leaned against the counter. "Just give me the highlights, Secretary Hotaru."
She pulled the files back and began her report. "The gold and jewelry from the last haul have been liquidated. Due to the lack of original invoices and their 'sensitive' origins, they were handled at a discount. Total cash recovery: 3.5 million dollars."
"As for the Wax Bath Recovery Rooms," she continued, "we successfully auctioned off two slots for a total of 30 million dollars. The funds have already been cleared and deposited into our account."
"Winston and Berrada have each paid 15 million dollars to match the average auction price. Following our negotiations, the service fee for a single Recovery Room session has been set at 2 Gold Coins and 100,000 dollars."
"The Continental originally pushed for a coins-only model, but knowing your current need for liquidity, I insisted on the Coin + Cash hybrid. We can revisit this later if our needs change."
"Regarding the split," Hotaru added, "the Continental Hotel takes only one gold coin. We take the remaining coin and the full 100,000 dollars. Settlement will occur once a month."
Hayate nodded, a look of calm satisfaction on his face. "The pricing is solid. Proceed as discussed."
"What about John Wick and the Carlos family? Are they in position?"
"John Wick has arrived at the Morocco Continental," Hotaru replied. "Carlos is overseeing the Moscow Continental, and Wesley is handling the London branch. I've assigned each of them a ten-man squad of High Table enforcers for security and administration."
"Well done," Hayate said. "I knew I could leave it to you."
Hotaru's face brightened at the praise. She flashed a quick smile before turning back to the numbers.
"Moving on to the weekly revenue: Iruka's team completed ten bounty missions this week, specifically targeting high-value marks. Total bounties: 10 million dollars. After the Continental takes its 10% cut and the agency takes its 20%, the firm netted 2 million dollars. The rest was distributed among the three ninjas."
"Our total cash on hand is roughly 65.5 million. Now, for the expenditures..."
Hotaru took a breath. "The property next door has been purchased. The acquisition and renovation for the new Recovery Room cost 500,000 dollars."
"However," she paused, her expression becoming serious. "Because the assets gifted to you by Elder Maktoum are so vast, they are subject to a 35% Gift Tax—equivalent to the estate tax. Since Maktoum didn't cover the tax on his end, the burden falls entirely on you."
Hayate felt his heart skip a beat. The American IRS was, in many ways, more ruthless than any assassin he had ever faced.
"Give it to me straight," he said, steadying himself. "How much?"
Hotaru stayed silent for a heartbeat before answering softly. "One hundred million dollars."
"What?"
Hayate's eyes widened. A hundred million? In 2008, that was an astronomical sum. It meant the "generous gift" Maktoum had left him was valued at nearly 300 million dollars.
"That figure actually includes your 10-million-dollar lifetime tax exemption," Hotaru noted. "Without it, you'd owe another 3.5 million. Fortunately, we don't have to pay it all at once. We can pay in installments as we finalize the title transfers for each property, or settle the full amount within the legal deadline once everything is processed."
Hayate did some quick mental math. Between his current cash and the potential conversion of his system Copper Coins, he was still roughly 2 million short of the full tax bill. If he paid it all now, it would completely drain his liquidity.
"Is that everything?" he asked.
Hotaru flipped the page. "Excluding the senior staff, your monthly overhead for the armed enforcers and estate maintenance is about 1 million dollars. Annual property taxes will run another 3 million. Basically, before paying ourselves, your annual 'cost of existence' is at least 15 million dollars."
"With our salaries factored in, that number jumps to over 20 million."
Seeing Hayate's brooding expression, she added quickly, "But don't worry, Boss. Aside from the Recovery Rooms, the New York Continental pays 10% of its annual profit to the regional Elder. Every syndicate under your jurisdiction must also pay you 10% of their earnings—the price of your protection and fealty. You won't see that money until the tax year ends, but it will be substantial."
Hayate wasn't surprised by the 20% total tax (10% to the Elder, 10% to the Table). In the underworld, that was actually a fair rate.
"As for your salaries," Hayate said, looking at Hotaru, "set them at the standard Adjudicator rate, separate from any mission bounties."
"Thank you, Boss!" Hotaru beamed.
I need to make more money, Hayate thought. The Recovery Rooms and the task hall were good starts, but the bills were coming due.
Just as he was about to speak, the front door of the agency swung open.
Malibu, California.
Inside Tony Stark's sprawling villa, Pepper Potts was tidying up the living area. It had been over two months since Tony had vanished in Afghanistan. To be honest, hope was beginning to flicker out.
Rhodey had told her they found blood at the ambush site, but no body. The military was still searching, clinging to the slim possibility that he was still alive.
Tony's bodyguard, Happy Hogan, was also in the villa, helping with the cleanup. He wasn't exactly suited for the task, and seeing the deep sadness on Pepper's face, he finally stopped what he was doing.
"Pepper," Happy said, his voice hesitant. "There's a place... I don't know if I should even tell you. I'm Tony's bodyguard, so I know things."
"If there is anyone left in this world who can actually find Tony Stark... I think you should try the owner of the Shiranui Agency."