Empire of Shadows

The light came on.

Will touched his burning cheek, his fingers still stained with speckles of blood.

His eyes were cold as he looked up at the bewildered middle-aged man and the whip in his hand. An emotion more violent than the middle-aged man's desire for destruction began to rage!

It was a very special whip, made of hard rawhide—

In some leather shops, they would tan particularly hard cowhide. Some of this cowhide was used for the bottoms or supporting surfaces of leather goods, and was much harder than the soft cowhide.

Some scraps that were cut off, about less than a centimeter square, were cheap and had no practical use. Ennio's father brought some back, tied them together, and oiled them.

It was very easy to use when hitting people. Each strike left several bloody welts. Every time he used this thing to hit Ennio, he could make Ennio jump.

He had always cherished this whip. In his dark and miserable life, this whip was the only light in his life!

The light that could redeem him!

When he wielded the whip, the pleasure from the bottom of his heart could make him forget all his troubles!

But there was a prerequisite: the person being whipped had to be Ennio, or his mother, not anyone else.

In the current situation, he not only did not feel relaxed, did not feel a ray of light shining into his heart, but felt very scared.

So scared that he even ignored why a stranger appeared in his house.

Ennio's father didn't know what to say.

Sorry?

He didn't know.

Will stood up, snatched the whip from his hand, and slammed it hard on the other's face. Ennio's father, who was already stunned, reacted immediately.

He turned his head and wanted to run outside, but two strong men who came in from outside blocked his way, and they closed the door as well.

When he turned his head again, there were two more people beside Will.

"Hold him down…"

Will touched his cheek again, his eyes filled with murderous intent!

After a series of "I don't know", "I'm sorry" and "Spare me", Will finally vented the anger in his heart, and handed the whip to his subordinates.

Unexpectedly, this whip was particularly easy to use, and it was very smooth to whip with, so he planned to take it back as a collectible.

Ennio's father had nothing to do with Will, so he was naturally unscrupulous when he attacked, focusing mostly on the head and face.

Ennio's father's hands were whipped bloody. He tried his best to protect himself, and could only sacrifice his hands.

He lay on the ground, dying, but Will also got what he wanted.

Some time ago, Ennio went out and never came back. Someone said they saw him join some street family, which made Will know who to take revenge on.

He didn't kill Ennio's father, not because he was so soft-hearted, but just because he didn't want to continue causing trouble.

Last time, he killed the girl Kent was keeping, and Lucal quickly found him. He had no choice but to have one of his men take the blame.

He spent twelve thousand dollars to turn intentional homicide into manslaughter, and his men did not have to bear all the responsibility, and were sentenced to two years in prison—the lawyer convinced the jury to believe that they were arguing, and the girl accidentally fell from the balcony because of excessive movements.

Will's men actively cooperated with the police's work, and actively compensated, and won the forgiveness of the family members who had not contacted the girl for a long time. Finally, the judge referred to the jury's opinion and believed that this was just an accident, and his men actively repented and compensated.

In the end, he was only sentenced to two years.

This also made him know that Lucal's people had been staring at him.

Sure enough, less than three minutes after they left, the people arranged by Lucal entered the house. They called an ambulance and sent Ennio's father, who was already in a coma, to the hospital.

After Lucal knew the situation, he didn't make too many arrangements, and asked them to prepare materials and continue to pursue Will's responsibility.

He was willing to find someone to take the blame, so let him find someone to take the blame. In the end, it was himself who was hurt.

But this time, Lucal also learned Will's next target—Ennio.

What made Lucal feel a little incredible was that the boss of the "Lance Family" that Ennio joined was the Lance boss who had talked to the labor service office a few times!

The next morning, Lance drove to the pier. President Scott had already arrived early. He hadn't slept well all night, and had been thinking about the words Lance said to Vaughn.

Especially the sentence "People will not remember who walked across the bridge, but people will definitely remember the person who built the bridge", he felt that his soul had been baptized!

Yes, no one will remember who walks across the bridge every day, but as long as people walk across the bridge, they will think of the person who built the bridge.

This kind of thing is very common in the Federation and even other places. He also hopes that he can become a bridge builder, instead of a pedestrian passing by on the bridge.

He has the ability to build bridges, and he needs to be remembered.

Under Vaughn's introduction, the two shook hands friendly, "You look very young."

"Thank you!"

Lance didn't mention his age, "You look like it too."

President Scott laughed loudly when he heard this. For the elderly, saying he was young was the best thing to hear.

"Please, let's go to my office to talk."

He asked the secretary to send three cups of coffee and some snacks.

After the three were seated and the coffee was delivered, President Scott talked about the issue of illegal immigrants paying membership fees.

"After I went back yesterday, I have been thinking about this issue. It does have a high degree of feasibility, but it also has some additional problems."

"All the benefits and assistance that we can provide to members in the Federal Trade Union system are based on the fact that members are Federal citizens."

"For example, we will help workers fight for their due and legal rights from capitalists, or we will help workers solve the legal problems they encounter."

"Illegal immigrants are not legal Federal citizens or residents. If they encounter these problems, it will be difficult for us to come forward for them."

"Lance, you should know that in non-criminal litigation, because illegal immigrants do not have basic rights, the court can refuse to accept it."

From a judicial point of view, illegal immigrants are actually "non-existent" because they have no entry records and no identification. Although they really exist, they are non-existent in law.

Whether it is a trade union or other social security, they cannot make demands to certain people or companies for a group of air.

As long as the other party's attorney points out the illegal immigrant status of these people, the court will terminate the litigation process.

"What I said is precisely the most important work content of the trade union. In other words, even if they pay membership fees, we cannot do anything for them."

President Scott's attitude was very upright. He did not fool Lance into paying the money immediately, nor did he refuse, but raised the issues he thought were present.

Lance nodded in agreement after listening, "Yes, President Scott, your view is completely correct. Before they obtain legal status, the role of their membership fees is indeed not as great as that of local workers."

"However, President Scott, perhaps we have had a wrong view from the beginning."

"The purpose of letting illegal immigrants pay membership fees is not to let them enjoy all the obligations and rights that all local members have, but I hope that at least in the conflicts between the dock and local workers, at least in the dock area, they can obtain at least fair guarantees."

He talked about what happened yesterday, "If we hadn't taken action, then Jamie's clothes and money would have been taken away."

"No one can provide him with help, but if he pays membership fees, then the trade union can appear in time, stop this bullying, and provide Jamie with some help, then the membership fees he pays will become meaningful."

"Help him find Johnny to get back the stolen money and clothes, and protect his basic human rights as a dock worker when working on the dock."

"This is what they want!"

"A peaceful working environment free from bullying."

President Scott thought seriously for a while. He knew the situation on the dock better than anyone else. This was his territory. He knew that Lance was right.

He glanced at Vaughn, and Vaughn also looked at him. The two old partners quickly completed the exchange in their eyes.

Vaughn pushed his hair, and this action marked the beginning of his speech, "Lance, the conflict between local workers and immigrants is not so easy to reconcile, and... you know, we can't keep an eye on these people every minute and every second."

His intention was that the trade union wanted money, but did not want to excessively interfere in the conflicts between local workers and immigrants and illegal immigrants.

Letting local workers bully illegal immigrants is itself a means of management.

Only by transferring the pain can people be less painful.

Just like Ennio's father, he transferred the injustice and cruelty of society to his wife and children through domestic violence. The pleasure gained from abusing his family would heal the scars he left in society sooner.

The dock workers are the same. They are exploited and oppressed, but if they can bully others in this process, it will give them a feeling that "there are people who are worse off than us."

And they would be much more comfortable treating their lives and current situations as "perpetrators."

Those exploitations and oppressions also seem unlikely to turn into unbearable things.

Looking at Lance frowning, and considering that he would ultimately have to pay the money, Vaughn continued to explain, "Lance, you work as a dockworker; you should know better than us how tedious and painful these jobs are."

"People need to vent!"

This is perhaps the saddest part of immigration: they have raised the bottom class of society and become the sub-basement, below the first floor.

Vaughn's words were cruel, but they were also the truth.

With these scapegoats, the situation of the dockworkers has improved a lot, and it is also convenient to manage—

If you don't do it, there are people who are willing to do it. Pack up your inexplicable arrogance and get to your post to work, or pack your things and get out of here. Choose!

Then they compromise and vent their emotions again, a perfect management system!

This is actually a vicious cycle, because this choice is equally effective for illegal immigrants and migrant workers.

If you don't do it, there are people who will, and they are more tolerant of humiliation and bullying than you.

"This is an unhealthy management system!" Lance emphasized.

President Scott immediately responded, "But it is effective and efficient!"

Fact!

Lance pondered for a moment, "Let's change our thinking. What if we provide other ways to vent emotions?"

"Such as?" President Scott became a little interested.

"The Dockworkers' Club!"

The Dockworkers' Club is open once every two weeks. It has all kinds of food and affordable goods, as well as entertainment programs. It is indeed a good place to reduce stress and vent emotions.

But it is only open twice a month, and as the union cuts funding, the Workers' Club has gradually become less interesting.

President Scott shook his head, "Every time we open it, we have to lose a lot of money, two or three hundred at the low end, and four or five hundred at the high end."

"So it's hard to take care of your ideas, Lance."

Lance rubbed his temples, "I have a suggestion, President Scott."

"Please speak…"

"Contract the Workers' Club to me. I will solve the workers' stress problems, and you will be responsible for ensuring that my people are no longer bullied. We will jointly form a discipline patrol team to avoid this situation from happening."

"Your people?" President Scott seized on a detail.

Lance nodded, "Yes, my people, the people in blue work clothes."

He no longer insisted that all illegal immigrant workers be treated fairly. This is indeed not very realistic, at least not at the moment, so he will not take care of those who are not united around him.

President Scott and Vaughn looked at each other for a moment, and Vaughn asked, "How do you plan to run the Workers' Club?"

This actually meant agreeing to Lance's conditions. Lance showed some smiles, "Of course…"

They had a very pleasant conversation. In the end, they didn't have to pay any more bills for the club, and of course they wouldn't get any income from the club.

Lance guaranteed that the club would be open for a long time. From Monday to Friday, it would be open for two hours from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

On weekends, it would be open from 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM, with no rest days, even on holidays.

They completely handed over the management rights to Lance. In order to ensure that Lance would not mess around and that he could run the club well, he needed to pay five thousand dollars into the union's account.

If he failed to perform according to the contract, then the five thousand dollars would belong to the union.

The two parties quickly signed the contract, and Lance, on behalf of the office, paid the membership fee to the union.

It was not paid according to the work card, but according to the card number registered by the illegal immigrant in the office. Lance would also send people to join the union's work system and patrol the entire port dock at any time.

If someone mixed in with a set of clothing and then did not continue to be affiliated with the office, they would be punished accordingly if they were discovered by the patrol team.

Make sure there is not one more and not one less.

After all, Lance paid for these people and their identities. If someone impersonated them, it would be like stealing Lance's money!

After the negotiation, he signed a check for the money to President Scott, who also accepted it. It could be seen that he was very happy now.

Even if nothing was accomplished in the end, it was still a good thing to simply create more than three thousand dollars in profit.

The Workers' Club was not far from the union office. Judging from the shape, it should have been a large warehouse that was transformed into a club.

The person in charge of the club took Lance in for a tour. The area was very large, and the facilities were complete, but some of the things were already outdated.

Lance already had some plans for renovation in his mind. He asked the person to leave the keys and then planned to go back.

Just out of the dock, a police car blocked his way.

Through the car window, he seemed to see Officer Lucal in the police car opposite him. He greeted with a smile, "Wait a moment, I'll back up."

Officer Lucal looked at the smiling Lance and found it a little difficult to associate him with the name "Lance Family."

However, he had seen all kinds of criminals, even gang leaders, over the years, and was no longer so easily alarmed.

Looking at Lance's gentle and humble expression at this time, he had an indescribable feeling.

"No need, I came to you specifically. Come down and chat?"

Lance was stunned for a moment, but he still agreed. After he parked the car, he and Officer Lucal came to the shore of the dock.

The wind and waves gently pushed the reefs and concrete on the shore, seemingly unable to show the violence of the sea at all. Seagulls circled above the port, occasionally landing on the sides of some ships.

The busy and quiet port, and the endless sea, always give people a sense of relaxation and happiness.

"Lance Family?" Officer Lucal said a very strange word as soon as he opened his mouth.

Lance couldn't help laughing, "You've heard of it too?"

Officer Lucal curled his lips, "I inquired about it. You've been in the limelight in this area recently. It is said that you personally broke a worker's arm here yesterday morning."

Lance replied calmly, "This is slander, it's defamation."

Lucal was also laughing, "Your appearance is very deceptive, Lance."

"But you don't have to worry too much. I'm here to find you today not because of what you did yesterday morning, but because you are going to have big trouble."

"How much do you know about the Camilla Gang?"

Lance probably knew what was going on, "A gang of imperial immigrants. They were already a well-known criminal organization in the empire before they developed to the Federation."

"Unlike other immigrant criminal groups in the Federation, the Camilla Gang's main criminal business is kidnapping and extorting imperial immigrants…"