Empire of Shadows

In the evening, Pangda returned home. After resting for a while, he called Lance.

The call was quickly answered.

"What are you planning to do next?" Pangda asked, smoking a cigarette in his study.

Today, the Hazardous Materials Administration also began interrogating the arrested bar operators. Some of them were also subjected to torture, but the results were still not good.

Coincidentally, Pangda was in charge of the main interrogation work.

Because everyone knew that he and the Lance family didn't get along.

Whether it was the ordinary agents or Chief Dale, they were all very relieved to hand over cases related to the Lance family to him.

The pressure on the Hazardous Materials Administration was much less than on the police department. Hunter was anxious because if he couldn't handle this matter, he would really die.

It could be said that this time he was betting his life and everything else. If he won, he would gain the deepest friendship of the Coda family and the appreciation of the Bay Area.

He would be the next Charlie, and he might even try to use the police chief position as a stepping stone to enter politics.

Of course, if he lost, then all he would have to pay was his life.

To survive, for a better future, he was really anxious and desperate.

Chief Dale seemed less anxious these past two days. He even had some smiles on his face, which made everyone feel inexplicably strange.

In the end, they could only attribute it to the possibility that they had caught a big case, and Chief Dale was in a better mood.

What Pangda didn't know was that in the circle that Chief Dale could reach, people's views on Chief Dale had actually changed somewhat because of this case.

Before, many people thought he was just a flatterer, revolving around those old men in Gold State, as humble as their servant.

Some people said that he had even used his hands to catch cigarette ashes for a big shot!

When people talked about Chief Dale, their smiles mostly hid disdain and contempt, and some even suspected that he had sold his ass to get such an opportunity.

A court jester always has to pay something, and the ass is just one of them.

If Chief Dale was like a clown in the eyes of some higher-ups before, then now they thought Chief Dale was a "ruthless clown."

Although he was still a clown, this clown had undergone the most fundamental change.

It was like a clown in a circus performing those funny actions that would only make people laugh, but not respect him, because he was just a funny clown.

But if a killer dressed up as a clown, holding a bloody knife in his hand, even if his appearance made people feel funny and ridiculous, people would only remain silent and offer their respect.

Chief Dale was like this now. Many people were spreading rumors that Weber just wanted to replace him, but Weber's uncle hadn't finalized the matter yet, so he colluded with others to get rid of Weber, causing their plan to fail directly.

In the rumors, he had become a decisive and ruthless character, so much so that some people who coveted his position and wanted to harm him temporarily abandoned this idea.

You don't know when he will suddenly come at you from what angle.

You also don't know if you will become the next Weber.

Sure enough, a biting dog doesn't bark, this son of a bitch is really ruthless!

Chief Dale could swear on his chest that he didn't do it, he hadn't even thought about it.

But there will always be people who think so, it's too coincidental!

Once a coincidence reaches a certain degree, coincidence may not be a coincidence.

For example, that rich man who got an erection anytime, anywhere, happened to fall when he met a lady, happened to accidentally push the lady down face to face, happened to have fate accurately find its place, happened to be a man who couldn't stand the test, and happened to have genetic material extracted.

And coincidentally, he also won the lawsuit.

That lady who slandered him for raping herself, trying to take the opportunity to extort a large sum of money, was locked in prison, and then there was no news.

Too coincidental, sometimes it's not a coincidence, it's an arrangement.

Many people think Weber's death was an accident, but some people think Weber's death was an abnormal arrangement.

"Dale is a ruthless man!"

This sentence has spread in their circle. People will not respect those who are funny, but they will respect those who are covered in blood.

His pressure has been reduced a lot now. Someone who hadn't called him for a long time suddenly called him and told him not to worry so much, he hadn't been abandoned.

Okay, although he swore he hadn't done these things, being misunderstood… didn't seem unacceptable.

Chief Dale's pressure was reduced a little, and the pressure on the entire Hazardous Materials Administration was reduced a little. Compared to Hunter's eagerness to "solve the case."

Chief Dale felt that he should slow down, so that he could think about how to deal with some follow-up matters.

So, Pangda was actually able to go home and rest in the evening, instead of being forced to take a simple nap in the office.

Lance on the other end of the receiver asked after a few seconds, "According to your current laws, what will be the fate of those people?"

"The bar manager may get more than ten years, the bartender three to six years, and the others one to three years."

This was a relatively common sentencing standard, but he added, "If they confess to you, then they can get a reduced sentence. We have also prepared confession letters for them today, and we should be talking to them soon in the next few days."

"Dale's attitude is a bit strange, I can't quite figure out what he means."

After listening, Lance asked, "Are there any other ways to reduce the sentence?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"I will let Lawyer Robben handle this matter. You can handle it as usual, no need for any special arrangements."

Lawyer Robben has connections in the Ministry of Justice, and the Prison Administration Bureau is under the direct management of the Ministry of Justice. It is not realistic to get them out directly, but it is no problem to get them out in two or three years.

Lance didn't give any extra instructions, and Pangda breathed a sigh of relief. He was just afraid that Lance would ask him to do something very dangerous to him.

He was now filled with a desire for power. He wanted to climb higher, wanting all those who once looked down on him to look up to him.

Those who once tried to hurt him and hurt his family would kneel at his feet and beg for his forgiveness.

Lance then said, "There will be something you need to do in a few days."

"What is it?" Pangda asked, taking a puff of cigarette and exhaling slowly.

"Sending you another great achievement. We are investigating the Coda family's warehouse. After finding it, you take people to destroy their warehouse."

"Does this count as a great achievement?"

Pangda had a smile on his face, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, we are friends, remember?"

"Friends should help each other…"

After hanging up the phone, Pangda walked to Lisa, who looked a little melancholy, put his arm around her shoulders, buried his head in her neck, and greedily smelled the scent emanating from her body.

Lisa gently stroked his hair, and neither of them spoke, just sitting like that, quietly sitting.

At this time, in the city police station, Hunter was about to throw the cigarette in his hand into the ashtray. He glanced at the already piled-up ashtray and couldn't find a place to start, then holding the ashtray, he walked to the trash can.

The sudden rising of cigarette ashes made him feel uncomfortable, as if inhaling just a little bit would make himself worse.

But he actually didn't know at all that those cigarette ashes were actually very clean, not only disinfected by hundreds of degrees of high temperature, but also very difficult to become stubborn residue.

On the contrary, those tars, thousands of chemical elements, are the real harmful things.

He pressed the cigarette into the ashtray, clapped his hands, and answered the phone, "This is the Chief's Office."

The internal line phone, only the police station's internal line can get through.

The call was from Nate, "I think there's some news I should tell you."

When Hunter heard this sentence, he subconsciously became pleasantly surprised, "Please, give me some good news, I urgently need some good news now."

Nate's laughter in the receiver was very relaxed, "Okay, your prayers have been heard by God, someone is willing to talk, but must chat with you alone, you have to come over."

After hanging up the phone, Hunter waved his fist and immediately ran towards Nate's office.

Many police officers looked at him along the way. Some people felt inexplicable, but others realized that the case may have found a breakthrough.

Only when a breakthrough appeared would Hunter, who had been restless these past two days, run so relaxed.

A little over a minute later, the office door was suddenly pushed open, Hunter walked in, accompanied by his voice, "Where is the person now?"

He casually closed the room door and saw the interrogated person sitting in the chair.

He had obvious injuries on his body, and his face was also beaten and torn, just looking at it gave people the idea that "this guy is really damn miserable."

A sudden appearance, lingering.

Nate raised his hand, and two police officers packed up their things and walked towards the door. Hunter looked at the two of them and reminded them, "Don't talk nonsense after you go out."

He also realized that there might be Lance's undercover agents in the police station. After all, Lance's penetration into the police system was really unusually strong.

After the two police officers left, Nate and Hunter went to a corner and spoke briefly.

It was nothing more than not being able to withstand the interrogation and ultimately compromising.

Hunter didn't find this situation strange.

As a criminal police supervisor, he had participated in the investigation of many criminal cases.

The federal police force has always advocated a "presumption of innocence" case-handling process, but that's just lip service, and some people actually believe it!

In fact, the police all over the world are the same. The first thing to do after finding a suspect is to find evidence. This whole idiot is the person they are looking for, and the federal police are no exception.

Otherwise, why would the prosecutor and the police department go to so much trouble to collect evidence and desperately prove that the charges are valid?

After explaining some things, Nate looked at the young man and said, "Hunter is here, you can talk alone."

He glanced back at Hunter, and after Hunter gave him a confirming look, he left the room.

At this time, only Hunter and the listless young man sitting in the chair were left in the room.

Hunter's heart was about to fly with excitement and joy at this moment, but on the surface, he appeared extremely calm. He crossed his arms, pressed his buttocks against the edge of the desk, and looked at the young man sitting in the chair, "I'm here, what do you want to say to me?"

"Our time is limited, and there are many people outside who need me. If you can't come up with something that interests me, I won't leave you too much time."

Very strong rhetoric, as if he didn't care at all whether the young man would confess.

The young man looked up at him, "Give me a cigarette."

The two looked at each other for a moment, about seven or eight seconds. Hunter took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it in the other person's mouth.

The young man took a deep drag on the cigarette and then slumped back in the chair.

He was completely relaxed, and then took another puff.

Hunter frowned. He didn't want to show his nervousness, but now he urgently needed to know the "truth", so he could only remind the other party, "If you don't talk, I will leave now, and I will make them treat you even harder as a reward for playing games with me."

The young man squinted at him, "They said that as long as I confess and then point the finger at Lance, you can get me a reduced sentence?"

Hunter nodded, "Yes, I said that."

"Do I have to sign an agreement?" the young man asked.

Hunter looked him up and down again, "Yes, we have an agreement, and you must come up with something that satisfies me, otherwise I won't give it to you."

The young man took two puffs of his cigarette, "I don't want to go to jail, and I need some money."

This was a line that didn't exist in the plan. He actually added a scene for himself at this critical moment!

But not only did Hunter not feel that this part of the performance was unusual, but he felt that the young man had become more real.

Greed is always the most realistic portrayal of these gang members.

He didn't agree or refuse, and he was still using skills to suppress the other party, "It depends on whether you can bring me something different."

"There is more than one person outside who has confessed to their crimes and is willing to accuse Lance."

"If you can only do the same as them, then I can't promise you anything. You are not as valuable as you think."

Very ordinary, but also very effective rhetoric. This time, the young man didn't think for too long, "Actually, I have a notebook in my hand, which records some of the things I left behind while working in the Lance family and a small amount of evidence."

"And some of the situations I personally know about when I was responsible for escorting vehicles to export alcohol, I don't know, is this valuable?"

That's fucking valuable!

Hunter pursed his lips, "Where is it?"

He didn't show any excitement, but instead appeared unhurried and very deep.

The young man said a location, in the suburbs. Hunter immediately picked up the phone, but was interrupted by the young man, "Are you planning to send someone to get it?"

Hunter frowned and looked back at him, "Yes, what's wrong?"

The young man had a "What the fuck are you kidding me" expression, "You're actually sending someone to get it?"

Hunter looked blank, and at this time he had lost his patience. He wanted to get the evidence that could accuse Lance, so his tone became more impatient, "So what the fuck is wrong?"

The young man was not afraid of his bad temper at all, "He has people in the police station, fuck, do you really not know or are you pretending not to know?"

"What if the person you send is his person?"

"He'll fucking rush into the police station and kill me!"

"Fuck, you're really unreliable, I knew I wouldn't have told you!"

The young man changed his lines. According to the script, he should have asked Hunter to go get it himself, but he thought about it all day, and he felt that it seemed a little bad to take the initiative to say this, and Hunter might find something wrong.

So he canceled this part of the request, instead of letting Hunter go get it himself, and kept denying his choice of people.

Hunter's actions were indeed hesitant. According to the young man, the ledger was very important, and it was not a complete ledger.

But it contained many important records that could put Lance in the electric chair, such as shipping records, such as records of the young man being assigned by Lance to kill someone on a certain day.

He frowned deeply, "What if I let Nate go get it?"

"The officer here just now."

The young man's reaction was quick, "He's also Lance's man!"

Hunter's first reaction was "impossible". Nate had worked with him for more than ten years, how could he be Lance's man?

And he also knew Nate's situation very well. If Nate was really Lance's man, his life should be more comfortable.

But now he was starting to become paranoid. This young man said so categorically that Nate was Lance's man, could it be true?

He was somewhat skeptical. He didn't believe it immediately, nor did he disbelieve it. He wanted to test it.

He pointed at the young man and then left the room, found Nate at the door, "Come with me, I have something to tell you."

Nate was a little confused, but he still followed Hunter to the corner. After the two stood still, Nate asked, "What did he say?"

As soon as these words came out, Hunter had a very strange feeling, is this something you can fucking ask?

Sometimes preconceived notions are so terrible. Even if he convinced himself that Nate was not Lance's man, under the influence of the young man, he increasingly felt that there might be something wrong with Nate.

He lowered his voice a little and said, "The person inside just told me that you are Lance's man."

His eyes were fixed on Nate's eyes and expression. Nate's pupils contracted rapidly after hearing the news, and then an incredible expression appeared on his face, and he looked at him and asked somewhat stiffly, "You believe it?"