Empire of Shadows

The mayor was in a good mood. He flipped through the newspaper in his hands, but his attention was clearly not on it.

He would occasionally look up at the clock, as if something related to time was firmly controlling his attention.

Seeing that the time was already pointing to 3:20, the mayor closed the newspaper in his hand and placed it on the table beside him. "Speaking of which, that what's-his-name... should have arrived at the police station by now, right?"

The secretary supplemented from the side, "Blue, sir."

"Yes, yes, Blue. He should have received his letter of appointment."

Thinking of this, the smile on the mayor's face became even more obvious. He assigned the secretary a task, "What do you think they will do?"

The secretary thought for a moment and said, "They will call you."

The phone on the table suddenly rang. The two looked at each other, revealing the kind of smile that indicated they had already guessed what was coming.

The secretary walked to the table and picked up the receiver, "This is the mayor's office."

On the other end of the phone was Charlie, his tone somewhat agitated, "In the police chief candidate files I gave to the mayor, there doesn't seem to be a file for Blue?"

The secretary's tone became stern, "Are you questioning the mayor's decision?"

Under the mayoral system of governance, Charlie, relying on his status as a city councilor, which many didn't even consider to be that of a politician, was fundamentally unable to oppose the mayor.

The sound of breathing in the receiver became more rapid. The mayor tilted his head and looked at the sunlight outside the window, which was as beautiful as his mood at the moment.

"No... I don't mean that. It's just that this Blue... he, uh, the situation in the city is quite complicated right now."

"We have many cases to deal with, and we are also facing some special challenges. He hasn't experienced these, and I'm very worried that he won't be able to handle his job."

"Causing disappointment to the mayor and the citizens. After all, what we need is social stability, isn't it?"

A good way of putting it. Charlie still had some ability, but the problem he was facing now couldn't be solved by political means.

When a person doesn't care about what they gain or lose, and just wants to punch you, and you can't defend or retaliate, you can only endure his fist kissing your cheek hard!

Besides that, you can't do anything!

He tried his best to explain, but these explanations obviously didn't make any sense.

The secretary glanced at the mayor, "The police chief candidate files you submitted are only a reference, not a requirement that we must choose one of the people you provided."

"Mr. Charlie, you are just a city councilor. Selecting government officials has nothing to do with you. No matter who the city hall chooses, it has absolutely nothing to do with you."

"This is not your job. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Of course, Charlie understood, but it was precisely because he understood that he was so angry.

It was as if he was telling Charlie, you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!

But the police station was his territory, yet he had no way to deal with this matter.

The only thing he could do now was to try to say some harsh, threatening words to make the mayor change his mind.

"This Blue doesn't have much talent. He can't function as an outstanding chief in that position. I believe he won't make the city's security better, only worse."

"Now the most..."

"Bang!"

The phone was hung up. Charlie stared at the receiver in his hand for a while. The hand holding the receiver suddenly tightened, the veins on the back of his hand twisting as if he could only relieve the hatred in his heart by crushing the receiver.

But gradually, his hand slowly loosened and gently placed it back on the base of the phone.

This was another phone. He had just broken one. Although the club didn't actively ask him for compensation, he still signed a check for two hundred dollars.

He rubbed his cheeks and then returned to another room.

The gentlemen were laughing and talking, saying some interesting things. They saw Charlie walk in and motioned for him to come over and sit down.

"How is it?"

"Is it good news?"

Charlie looked at the people here, not knowing what expression to use to respond to them. After a while, he squeezed out a smile, "It's not good news."

"The mayor rejected the list of candidates I submitted and instead used Lance's man, that guy named Blue."

The smiles on the faces of the Bay Area gentlemen gradually solidified. The reason they valued the police station so much was that, from the current federal law enforcement structure, the police station was the most basic law enforcement unit.

They encompassed almost all types of problems.

Perhaps in terms of power, the police are not as powerful as the current Hazardous Materials Management Bureau, but the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau's enforcement scope is very narrow.

They only have law enforcement power when dealing with suspected illegal tobacco, alcohol, and hazardous materials.

Unlike the police, no matter what type of case or problem, as long as someone makes a phone call, they can interfere.

Every year, the Bay Area needs to deal with some troublesome things, corpses, contraband, hazardous materials, etc. If the person in the position of police chief is not one of their own, then the "pace of life" in the Bay Area will become very chaotic!

The Bay Area gentlemen have long been accustomed to the current pace of life, and they probably wouldn't be able to adapt if they suddenly changed it.

"Is there any way to remedy it?" Mr. Huff asked.

He is also one of the main beneficiaries of the police chief. He uses various instruments to abuse the call girls.

If his emotions are relatively stable, and something good happens nearby, then it can only be an ordinary fetishistic carnival.

He may torture the call girls, and may even injure them, but definitely not fatally.

But if he has recently encountered very bad things, making his mood and temper very bad, then he may injure those call girls, or even kill them.

Fetishistic little games are always full of danger and fear. It's normal to accidentally make a mistake.

So at this time, it would be very convenient for the police chief to stand on his side and handle the corpse and follow-up matters.

Registering the girl as a "missing person," then disposing of the body cleanly, putting it in a gasoline drum and throwing it into Angel Lake, erasing the traces of her existence, then all the problems will be gone.

The federal government currently registers at least about 120,000 missing persons cases each year, and the detection rate of these cases is no higher than 1%.

That is to say, the disappearance of 120,000 people has gone through the relevant procedures for missing persons through the police system, but ultimately less than 1,000 people may be found.

The other missing people eventually disappear completely, and people will never see them again.

And their families will eventually completely forget this former family member after repeated disappointments.

After all, life must go on. Whether you can keep up with the pace of life or not, it will not stop for you, it will only keep moving forward, dragging you along.

When it drags you along and you can't run anymore, you will be abandoned by it.

Between the future of the family and the complete disappearance of a member, most people choose the family, not the missing one.

If the police chief is not one of their own, and this guy chases the corpse and the case relentlessly, it is very likely that he will eventually track them down.

There is no perfect crime in this world. As long as there is a crime, there must be insiders and evidence.

Mr. Huff's mood is very bad now. This is very bad news.

Charlie opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, what to say.

Another gentleman was able to understand him, "To change the result, we can only ask the mayor to revoke his decision, but we can't persuade him."

They had just beaten the guy down. Before Councilor Williams became Mayor Williams, he was also part of the Bay Area, so this statement holds true.

Mr. Huff frowned, "What if we offer something in exchange with him?"

Someone replied, "Perhaps there is a possibility. We can try..."

Several people talked intermittently about some possibilities that might make the mayor change his mind, but the specifics would require them to talk to him themselves.

At this time, Duke also came to the police station. He has now been appointed as the deputy director by Director Blue to assist him in managing and controlling the entire police station.

In Hunter's director's office, many people have gathered.

These people's faces are filled with excitement and ecstasy. Most of them are from the Empire District Branch, and they are all Director Blue's old subordinates.

Now that he has been promoted to the director of the city police station, these loyal subordinates will naturally be promoted as well.

There is also a part, headed by Nate, who are local police officers from the city bureau. They maintain a decent relationship with Blue. Now that they see that Blue has really become the director, they have all swayed over.

Whether in politics or in the police station, there is no shortage of such fence-sitters, who lean towards whichever side is stronger.

However, for the current Director Blue, he still needs these people very much.

He is currently looking at the list of police management in his hand, and then handed the list to Nate, "Brother, circle out Charlie's loyalists."

All eyes were focused on him, which made his heart pound. While slowly circling the names of those police officers with a pen, he tried his best to ask in a steady tone, "What do you plan to do with these people?"

Actually, it's not what he plans to do with these people, but what Lance plans to do with these people.

Lance already has a plan. Director Blue knows some of it. Before he is sure that Nate and those around him have really defected, he will not tell the truth.

“I plan to observe them for now. If they are obedient and willing to work hard, I might give them a chance!”

He looked at the others, “We all graduated from the police academy, we are all alumni. God himself couldn't break our bond, right?”

The faces of those who were sitting on the fence showed a bit more of a smile, and they praised his 'brilliance'.

Only he and Duke knew that a real 'purge' was coming.

The fact that the important position of police chief did not fall into Charlie's hands caused an invisible uproar throughout King's Harbor.

The Coda family, who had originally planned to attack Lance's stronghold, directly suspended their attack plan and began to gather their manpower.

They didn't know how Lance would deal with them. Before, they had joined forces with the police to trick Lance in a big way. If Lance were to do the same in return, they wouldn't be able to handle it.

Several high-end bars belonging to the Coda family directly announced a temporary closure, citing the need for renovation, just to avoid encountering the same situation.

Just as they were all guessing what Lance would do next, Lance had already traveled by car to the capital.

The capital of Licarlei is Manteno, the seat of the state government, as well as the political core and former economic hub of Licarlei.

The entire Manteno has seventeen administrative districts and a population of nearly two million, making it the largest city in Licarlei.

However, it is possible that King's Harbor will take the title of largest city this year or next.

More and more refugees and illegal immigrants are entering King's Harbor through various channels. Judging from the current talks between the federal government and some international organizations, the federal government is very likely to keep these people until the end of the war.

It sounds like there is no problem, but who knows when the war will end, and who can be sure whether these people will be willing to leave the federation after the war?

This presents a great unknown, but regardless, the rapid increase in the population of King's Harbor is a fact.

Some residents of Manteno even have strong opinions about this. They feel that the imminent loss of the title of largest city is a disgrace to them, and some have even suggested that Manteno should be the main force in receiving refugees…

Well, hopefully their petition will be fulfilled.

The convoy entered a hotel in downtown Manteno. After a short rest, Lance traveled by car to a villa in the suburbs.

The area where the villa was located placed great emphasis on privacy. The villas were almost invisible to each other, let alone spying on each other's lives.

After the car stopped, Les brought Mador into the villa and met the person he wanted to see on this trip—the Attorney General of Licarlei, Terry Elliott.

Terry Elliott is forty-nine years old this year and still in his prime. He has platinum blonde hair, and even his eyebrows are light gold, very much a federal man!

As soon as he entered the door, he shook hands with Lance enthusiastically. The State Attorney General is a very, very important position, but it is still far behind the 'rising stars' in Congress.

Everyone has a desire to advance, and Terry is such a person. He hopes to go further, which requires more help, help from Congress.

“Mr. Lance, please come in!”

Before Lance arrived here, he had figured out Lance's identity in detail, including the fact that Lance was an illegal immigrant from the Idean Empire, but he had figured out how Lance had exploited loopholes in federal law to become a federal citizen.

When facing the State Attorney's Office, a superior level, Officer Brayden did not hide this secret, but said it openly.

It was precisely because he knew about Lance's series of methods that the Attorney General did not underestimate this young man at all.

Not to mention that he also had connections with Congress!

Sometimes he really wanted to know, how did someone from the bottom of society come into contact with the highest level?

Of course, he wouldn't ask, but would slowly dig out these secrets in future interactions.

Lance shook hands with him and entered the room.

This was where the Attorney General usually held secret social gatherings. He was the only person in the entire villa, not even a housekeeper.

He didn't know what Lance was looking for him to do, but he was very careful. Sitting in his position, he knew very well that perhaps one or two moments of carelessness could cause him big trouble.

“I heard that you, Attorney General, are also a baseball enthusiast?” After the two entered the living room, some small talk was needed before the official topic began.

The Attorney General also nodded in agreement, “I am a loyal fan of the Silver Mountain team. I have autographed bats and caps used by their championship-winning hitters, as well as the championship ball!”

In the Federation, if you don't know what a person, especially a man, is interested in, then talk to him about baseball!

If he doesn't like baseball, talk to him about football, weapons, hunting, fishing…

There's always one he likes!

Lance smiled and signaled Mador to bring over the long box in his hand, while saying, “This is my first visit, and I didn't know what kind of gift to bring, so I brought a baseball bat. I hope you like it!”

A baseball bat?

When he heard about this gift, the Attorney General wasn't too disappointed, because some baseball bats, especially autographed bats used by Hall of Fame players, weren't cheap.

But he wasn't too excited either, because even an autographed bat from a Hall of Fame player's championship game would only cost a few thousand to ten thousand at most.

He was actually quite satisfied with the gift Lance had chosen, as long as Lance didn't send him a metal bat from the store that cost nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, he could generally accept it.

After all, this was their first official contact.

When Mador placed the box used to hold the baseball bat on the coffee table, the Attorney General was slightly surprised, because he could tell from the slight shaking of the coffee table that the box was very heavy.

He looked at Lance in some confusion. Lance turned the box around, signaling him to open it.

The Attorney General looked at Lance for a while, then took a deep breath and opened it. Then his mouth slowly opened, and his face went from calm to shock to a smile, and finally he said, “This thing…”

He reached out and touched the pure gold baseball bat in the box. He tried it, and he really couldn't lift it with one hand. How heavy was this thing?

He didn't know, but he knew that this gift was very thoughtful.

“It's just an ordinary baseball bat. I hope you like it.”

The Attorney General licked his lips. Although he was shaking his head slightly, the expression on his face did not mean “shaking his head”, “Honestly, I like it very much!”

An attorney who has at least two luxurious villas must be corrupt!

Sending money, he may not like it, but sending a pure gold baseball bat, he certainly won't hate it!

The Attorney General closed the box again, “Could I trouble this friend to take it to the room inside?”

Lance gave Mador a look, and the latter carried the box into a room inside and then came out again.

In the meantime, the Attorney General said with a smile, “I am also very familiar with the Senator. You are his friend, so you are also my friend.”

“Don't call me Attorney General, call me Terry!”

Making friends is that simple!