Empire of Shadows

In the garage, Allen sat in the passenger seat. Although they all said the captain should sit in the back, he just liked sitting in the passenger seat.

If he hadn't yet learned to drive, he would definitely be the driver himself, instead of sitting here.

One person, one seat. He felt that was the best, especially when the weather was hot.

Opening the car window and letting more wind blow fiercely on his body alone, this feeling was great!

But this also had a disadvantage, which was that the cigarette burned too quickly. Before he had time to take a few puffs, it was blown away and burned out.

Benno concentrated on driving and asked, "What are we doing going to the docks so late, picking up goods?"

He was actually very nervous. He rarely passed information to Lucar, because the information he had access to was of no value.

Lance's bars had begun to "lighten up," and each bar resolutely would not stock too much alcohol.

He would rather have someone deliver all night than let any bar's alcohol exceed three hundred dollars.

This way, even if they were caught, it would only be the money to bail people out, with no loss on the alcohol.

Moreover, there were many new faces in the Lance family, plus the assistance of lawyer Robben from the side. Even if they went to court, these people wouldn't be sentenced for too long, let alone that many times they wouldn't even go to court at all.

So even if he gave these clues to Lucar, Lucar wouldn't be interested, and it might even increase his chances of exposure.

He was waiting, waiting to get a key piece of information, and then make a ruthless move. This way, he could have enough performance among the many undercover agents, and also satisfy Lucar's appetite.

He had never asked Allen if he knew where the main warehouse was. As long as he opened his mouth about this kind of thing, there was a high probability that Lance would know what he asked.

His relationship with Allen was very good, but he believed that between himself and Lance and the Lance family, Allen would not necessarily choose him.

The deeper he understood Lance, the more he felt he had to be extra careful.

That was a very smart, resourceful, and charismatic person!

Many people were willing to risk their lives for him. If he made Lance suspicious of him, he was afraid he wouldn't last until the end.

So he never inquired, but he was always paying attention everywhere.

Tonight, Allen suddenly found him and said he was going out to do something. He didn't ask and got straight into the car.

Now Allen asked him to drive to the docks, and he suddenly felt a little excited, but also a little nervous.

The docks were full of warehouses. Coming to the docks, apart from picking up goods, might be related to the warehouses.

His seemingly casual question made Allen shake his head, "Helping to unload goods."

Benno took a deep breath and suppressed the excitement in his heart, "Why look for us to unload goods instead of hiring workers?"

He yawned, "I was planning to sleep a little longer."

Allen took out a cigarette and gave it to him, "This is what the higher-ups ordered, don't ask why."

Benno was afraid of appearing abnormal. He stopped at the traffic light and lit the cigarette.

The four people in the car didn't speak. The car entered the docks smoothly. They didn't come to the warehouse area, but to the inside of the docks.

There were also many warehouses and a large amount of goods here. Then, under Allen's direction, the car stopped outside a warehouse.

When the car came to a complete stop, someone came over with a lamp. The light shone on their faces, causing Allen to squint and reach out to block the light source, "It's me."

The light then moved away, "You're here early."

As the man spoke, he walked to the car. By the moonlight, Benno could see clearly that this person was Derisi. It was said that he delivered the goods for all the bars in the Imperial District.

If there was anyone among the people he had contact with who could know the location of the warehouse, then apart from Lance, Elvin, and Hiram, the next one would be Derisi.

Allen's relationship with Derisi was generally okay, but because Allen had saved Elvin's life, everyone was very polite to him.

He gave a cigarette to Derisi, and then asked the question that Benno wanted to know the most, "Is this a warehouse?"

Benno's heart was pounding rapidly. He really wanted to look at Derisi's eyes and then discern whether the other party was lying, but he didn't dare to look, afraid of disturbing this guy.

"There's a lot of goods stored here. Later, two trucks of goods will be unloaded here. You guys keep an eye on the surroundings then."

"I heard that you guys took down a lot of people in the Wolf Gang bar, good job!"

Allen smiled. What he liked most now was people mentioning his performance of killing everyone in the Wolf Gang bar, although he hadn't actually killed that many people.

But he liked people saying it.

"Don't worry, leave this to me!"

Derisi smiled and talked about other things.

Sending Allen here as the most popular captain recently was actually out of the idea of making the performance more realistic.

If a senior cadre was arranged, such as Elvin, Morris, or Hiram, to keep an eye on the unloading of goods, it would be a little unrealistic.

If such a high-level person came for a simple job, the Dangerous Goods Administration might think that there was something wrong here, and thus worry or even suspect it.

But using Allen was much more reasonable. He was just a captain, but he had been doing very well recently and was very popular.

Letting him come not only reflected Lance's attention to this unloading, but also didn't appear too exaggerated.

After waiting for about ten minutes, two trucks drove over, followed by two cars.

Allen and the others got out of the car, two people together, scattered on both sides of the door.

The cars were full of boxes, and just getting close was enough to smell a strong aroma of wine. You didn't need to look to know what was inside.

After the trucks stopped, they began to unload the goods. Benno pretended to light a cigarette and turned to look inside. Most of the warehouse was filled with boxes of wine.

His heart beat faster uncontrollably.

Like him, there were two other people who were the real target of this plan!

Lance needed them to pass the information here out, and then let the Dangerous Goods Administration seal off this batch of wine.

In fact, most of the wine in this batch were empty bottles, but some of it was real wine. As long as the Dangerous Goods Administration sealed off this wine, he would spread the rumor that the port management company reported it --

He had an undercover agent in the Dangerous Goods Administration and had a way to obtain some blank documents and things used by the Dangerous Goods Administration. These things could be forged into evidence of reporting.

Originally, the dock workers and the management company were still at odds. Now they had also sealed off the club. Then, for the dock workers who were used to drinking cheap alcohol and drinks, it would definitely hit their pain points!

It was conceivable that even if Vaughn had "returned," even with his leadership, this negotiation would end in failure!

Of the three undercover agents, two had been discovered by Lance and the others, but no one had thought that there was a third one here!

The unloading continued for thirty minutes before all the unloading work was completed, and the two trucks left quickly.

The gang members responsible for unloading also came out of the warehouse. Benno sat in the driver's seat and firmly remembered the number on the warehouse, constantly repeating the number, engraving it in his heart.

"Do you want to go out and eat something?"

Benno, who was driving and about to leave the docks, suddenly asked, "There are many night markets here at the docks, very lively, and there are some things to eat."

The night market at the docks was famous throughout Goldenport City, and its "opposite" was the "City That Never Sleeps" in Starlight District.

Saying it was a city that never sleeps actually referred to a block where all the shops were open all night. Many of them were entertainment venues related to sex or contraband. The darker the sky, the brighter the sky here, just like a small city independent in the city, so there was the name "City That Never Sleeps."

It's just that the City That Never Sleeps was a place for the rich to spend their money, where they indulged in extravagance, while the night market at the port was a paradise for the poor.

If you didn't consider safety issues, the resources in the night market here were actually very rich. Not only were there legitimate operators, but there were also many robbers and thieves who fenced their stolen goods here.

Especially recently, it had become even more lively because the entire city had fallen into chaos.

Everywhere were robbers robbing, looting shops, and burglars breaking into homes at night. The things these people obtained, besides things that were easy to turn into cash, would be traded here.

It was like there was more than one person on the side of the road selling various wallets, and it was obvious that they were robbed. Some of them were indeed very good brand-name goods, now piled together, dozens of dollars in the store, three or five dollars each here.

There were also some clothes, handbags, small appliances, and so on everywhere.

These fences also promoted the prosperity of the night market. From sex to stoves, there was almost nothing that couldn't be bought here, as long as you had money!

Then naturally, food was also everywhere here.

The barbecue stalls on the side of the road were the most frequented places. Cheap meat of unknown origin was cooked together, five cents a plate. The sellers didn't care if people would die from eating it, and the buyers didn't care if they would die from eating it.

The whole street was very prosperous. Allen considered it for a while. Their team didn't have any other work next, so he agreed.

"I happen to have a bottle of wine in my trunk."

The four people chose a stall on an open space and sat down.

Halfway through eating, Benno suddenly said he had to go to the toilet. The other three didn't find anything abnormal about this, and they had drunk some wine.

After glancing at the three, Beno walked into the alley at what seemed like a leisurely pace, but as soon as he was out of their sight, he took off running!

This was an alley about thirty meters long, open at both ends. The other side led to a road where there was a public telephone booth.

He shot out like an arrow, rushed into the phone booth, quickly inserted a coin, and dialed Lucal's number.

"I found their warehouse. I can't say much now, but the warehouse is at Dock No. 3, Warehouse No. 74."

"I can't get inside, but it's full of boxes. We just unloaded two truckloads of liquor!"

"You better act soon. I've been feeling like something's not quite right lately!"

After saying that, he didn't wait for Lucal to respond and hung up the phone, then rushed back into the alley.

He found a place to squat down and tried to calm his heavy breathing.

But before he could recover for long, cursing and fighting sounds suddenly came from outside the alley. He quickly ran out and saw Allen and the others fighting with some people.

A group of people saw the liquor on Allen's table and wanted to buy it, but they were offering very little money, only one dollar.

There was about a third of a 750ml bottle of liquor left, which was about 250ml.

This liquor could be sold for at least six dollars in a bar, and since Allen didn't plan to sell the rest of the liquor, he refused.

The other party didn't say anything when Allen refused and turned to leave. Just when they thought this matter was over, more than a dozen people suddenly rushed over and started fighting!

When Beno rushed out of the alley and saw Allen and the others being surrounded and beaten by a group of people, he hesitated for a split second, then ran towards the car.

The gun was in the car!

His heart suddenly started pounding. He opened the glove compartment of the passenger seat, took out a handgun, and two magazines.

He took a deep breath, turned off the safety, and pulled the trigger at those people…

If you want to gain more of their trust, you must do things that are consistent with your identity!

Killing people isn't difficult!

Elvin handled the short firefight caused by half a bottle of liquor outside at night without even telling Lance.

Allen had bruises all over his body, but he didn't have a mournful face. Instead, he showed some smiles.

Several people gathered around Beno, ruffling his hair. Beno shot down several people, and then the group scattered in a panic, not even caring about the brothers lying on the ground who were almost asleep.

Allen and the others sobered up and immediately returned to the Imperial District in the car.

A smile also appeared on Beno's face. He actually liked being with these people. Part of the reason he shot was that he wanted to gain more importance, but part of it was also that he really didn't want to see his friends being bullied.

Sometimes he would feel very conflicted because he felt very comfortable here.

Lance never shortchanged them in terms of income, and the Lance family wasn't the kind of rotten family where everyone couldn't get along well. Everyone could get along well, like friends or brothers.

It was like a "family" in the true sense, where everyone was "one family"!

He was enjoying all of this at this moment, but being constantly having his hair ruffled wasn't his personality. He began to fight back, and for a time, the room was filled with the carefree laughter of the four people!

They were very happy, but at this time, Lucal couldn't sleep. He packed up and left home, stepping on the accelerator all the way back to the Prohibited Goods Administration.

At the door, he unexpectedly ran into another colleague. He had talked to the other person about the undercover mission, and the other person had also arranged for an undercover agent to enter the Lance family.

At this moment, he only had one thought in his mind: "Why is he here?"

In fact, the other person had the same thought as him: Why is Lucal here?

But at this time, neither of them had time to think too much and hurried towards the director's office. The two of them gradually realized that their matters might be the same matter.

The director summoned both of them at the same time. Director Dale had seemed more energetic recently. The successive gains had made him frequently mentioned by the congressmen, but not all of it was good words.

His burning of the Coda family's liquor had also cost some of the congressmen a sum of income, but no matter what, as long as he was mentioned, people would not forget him, which meant that he still had a chance to return to the capital.

Director Dale rubbed his temples, "What's the matter so late? Can't it be said during the day?"

Lucal took the lead and said, "About the Lance family's warehouse."

His colleague beside him looked at him with some surprise, but not too much surprise.

He knew at this moment that Lucal had also arranged for an undercover agent.

Director Dale looked at him, and he also said, "My matter is the same as Lucal's. My informant told me that he found one of the Lance family's warehouses."

He used the word "one of", which was a small trick to improve his image in Director Dale's mind.

This showed that he actually had some clues or information about other warehouses, and his achievements in this regard were better than Lucal's.

Director Dale was too lazy to deal with their petty thoughts, and thought for a while, "Do you want to act immediately?"

The two looked at each other and didn't speak.

Director Dale then said, "Wouldn't it make your informants unsafe if you act now?"

"They should still be there, or just left, and you went over there. Even if Lance is a fool, he would know that there is a problem among these people."

Lucal's colleague was still hesitating, but he stood up first, "I don't think there's a problem, Director!"

"We are all prepared to sacrifice for justice at any time. Lance is a very cunning person. Perhaps this is just one of his transit warehouses."

"Perhaps if we miss today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, when we go again, it will have already been emptied!"

"And there are so many people involved in unloading the goods. As long as our informants can hold on, I believe they are safe."

"Unless the hypocritical Lance kills everyone involved, but that's obviously impossible. He cares about his reputation!"

Director Dale frowned after hearing this. What Lucal said was not entirely unreasonable, and he did want greater political achievements.

Thinking of what the mayor said, letting him do whatever he wanted, he nodded, "Then go and prepare."

He glanced at the other person, "You go together."

Lucal was stunned for a moment. He realized what Director Dale meant, and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. He didn't care whether the credit was split equally, he cared about the dominance.

"I understand, Director."

"Yes, Director."

The two left the director's office, looked at each other outside the door, and left in opposite directions.

Seven minutes later, Ponda (Lisa's new boyfriend) made a phone call to Lance, "There's a sudden action in the middle of the night. The target should be the dock. Be careful."

Lance answered the phone himself, "I know. I'll have someone send the things over tomorrow."

"See, it's not that difficult."

After Lance hung up the phone, he leaned on the head of the bed, turned his head and looked out at the deep night outside the window, not knowing what he was thinking.