Empire of Shadows

Agent Dewitt slowly raised his hands. He felt a hand searching his body and quickly found his sidearm and the dagger on his waist.

After these items were confiscated, a voice came from behind, "You can put your hands down now."

The person behind him pushed him, and he appeared outside the living room. He looked at his wife sitting on the sofa in the living room, and the young man who was chatting with her, and a person's information immediately appeared in his mind.

Lance White.

Lance turned his head and saw him, and his wife also turned her head and saw him. He didn't see much panic on his wife's face, even some smiles.

The two stood up at the same time, and she took the initiative to walk to Dewitt's side and said with a smile, "You never told me you had such an interesting colleague!"

Dewitt was stunned for a moment, then looked at Lance facing him, realizing that he had entered the room using a special identity.

What made him feel fortunate was that Lance hadn't done anything to his wife.

He squeezed out a smile, "Yes, I don't really want to talk about work."

His wife didn't care too much either. She was never interested in the affairs of the Hazardous Materials Administration. What made her smile now was not something about his work.

But the handsome young man and what he said.

Who can refuse a handsome and eloquent young man?

"I'll get some snacks, you guys sit and chat."

Lance arrived after dinner. Dewitt often came back after dinner and would eat outside.

It wasn't that he didn't like the food at home, but 7:00 or 8:00 pm was when the bars started to open and were the busiest. If they had any arrest operations or needed to investigate some clues, they were often arranged at this time.

No one would be stupid enough to look for bars in the streets and alleys at 8:00 in the morning. There wouldn't be a ghost in the bar at that time, and it would be impossible to find anything.

Only at this time, when they started to "swallow and spit out" the flow of people, could they discover some clues.

So often, these agents would come back after dinner, and their families were used to them not being at the table for dinner.

"Let's talk," Lance said, "Go to your study."

Dewitt couldn't refuse. He greeted his wife and then went to the study.

When designing houses in this middle-class community, they would leave a place for the male owner to work at home.

You can call it a study or a "home office." Whatever you call it, it's the male owner's secret space.

Lance, along with two others and Dewitt, entered the study. The two walked to the corner and stood there, while Lance sat in the guest seat.

He motioned for Dewitt to sit down, and the latter could only obey.

"Someone said you were planning to make trouble for me," Lance shook his collar, opened his clothes, and made sure he looked decent.

He looked more like a gentleman than a bad guy.

People are visual animals. If it were someone else, Lance might not even be able to enter the room, but when he stood at the door and showed his badge.

The righteous light emitted from the badge shone on his handsome face, and the hostess opened the door without any precautions.

For those who looked more like bodyguards, he explained that they were his "subordinates."

Women don't really understand the internal systems and hierarchies of the Hazardous Materials Administration. She's not interested in these things. When she doesn't think Lance is a bad person, any explanation from Lance is reasonable.

She accepted this view, even now.

Dewitt felt a chill down his spine when he heard Lance's words!

He only told Director Dale about this matter in the morning, and now Lance came to his house, which made him think wildly.

He licked his lips, "I..." He wanted to say that he hadn't thought so.

But then he realized that Lance had already come, so there must be evidence, or he had full trust in this matter.

Lying, quibbling, denying, is meaningless.

He had studied Lance, like many of Lance's enemies or partners, but he hadn't studied him as deeply as they had, but he knew one thing.

That is, evidence is not as important as imagined to this person.

He is like a gentleman at times, but at times, he is more of a bastard than a bastard.

The thoughts in his mind turned frantically like lightning, thinking, and brain cells were activated by bursts of bioelectricity, exchanging information, and thinking.

The human brain is a magical organ, processing all information in ways that people cannot understand.

Dewitt showed a wry smile. He didn't even know who had betrayed him!

"Sorry..." In the end, he said such a sentence.

Lance laughed, "No need to apologize. At that moment, you were the good guy, and I was the bad guy in your eyes. I don't think it's wrong for you to arrest me."

"You are just doing your duty!"

Unexpectedly, Lance was so reasonable. Dewitt's emotions also eased a lot. He pursed his lips, "Thank you."

Saying thank you to the head of a criminal group who he originally regarded as a target is indeed not an easy thing.

Lance nodded, "What do you think of your work?"

This question was very abrupt, so abrupt that Dewitt didn't know how to answer it for a while.

But Lance was very patient and waited for him. He said after a few minutes, "My job... is to eliminate..." He looked up at Lance, feeling a little nervous, "...evil."

He finally said what was in his heart. What surprised him again was that Lance actually nodded in agreement with his point of view, "Yes, eliminate evil, eliminate crime, eliminate criminals."

"You can do your job well. You are a responsible person."

"But, Dewitt, can I call you that?"

Dewitt nodded repeatedly, "Of course, no problem."

"Dewitt, what is evil, and what is not evil? How do you understand it?"

Lance's question was a bit profound, which made him think, but thinking couldn't get an answer immediately, and Lance was still waiting for him.

He hesitated for a while and then said, "The law is the criterion for defining evil."

Lance didn't agree with his point of view this time, "Then there is a problem, Dewitt."

"Is drinking a crime?"

Dewitt subconsciously wanted to answer "yes," but before he could answer, Lance continued, "Before the Prohibition, the federal people had two hundred years of drinking history. Even before the first generation of immigrants came to this continent, the local natives also had a tradition of brewing wine."

"Alcoholic beverages bring courage to people and give people the power to conquer nature. It is not evil, at least drinking should not be a sin."

"But why do we now think that drinking is a crime? You should know that just a few years ago, people could drink openly, but now they can't. Why?"

Lance tapped his fingers on the table twice, "Because of legislation."

"Congress legislated to require prohibition, believing that drinking would delay production. I don't know how they came to this conclusion, but everything related to wine, from legal to illegal, is because of legislation."

"Is the law implemented through legislation necessarily correct?"

Dewitt fell into thinking. Lance shook his head, "Some local laws tell you that you are not allowed to pee standing up after 8:00 in the evening. Do you think this law is correct?"

"Do you think that people who pee standing up after 8:00 in the evening must be evil criminals?"

"Also, some local laws stipulate that you are not allowed to sing while taking a bath. Then, are people who sing while taking a bath criminals?"

"Who did they hurt, or whose property did they steal?"

"No, they didn't."

"The law is the criterion used by Congress and capitalists to restrict the behavior of the people. It cannot explain what is justice and what is evil."

"If one day, the Prohibition is repealed again, and even someone admits that the Prohibition was a wrong decree, then how should you view what you did during the Prohibition?"

"Let the factories that produce alcohol go bankrupt, let the workers lose their livelihood, and let those who just want to have a drink be put in jail..."

Lance shook his head, "Now, you tell me, what's wrong with selling alcohol and drinking alcohol?"

There was a knock on the door. Lance said, "Come in." Dewitt's wife walked in with a plate.

"I... heated up some cookies and just brewed some coffee."

Lance smiled, picked up a piece, took a bite, and it was rich in milk and very delicious.

"So delicious, you are really skillful, Madam."

"Can I take some with me when I leave?"

"My family should like it."

Dewitt's wife smiled so hard that she couldn't close her mouth, "Of course, of course, it's really great that you can like them. I'll bake some more for you, you can chat more!"

She said happily and left. The door was closed again. Lance motioned for Dewitt to taste it too.

While eating cookies, thinking about Lance's question, his thinking was a bit stuck now, because he really couldn't answer this question.

After waiting for two or three minutes, and after Lance had eaten two cookies, he still couldn't answer. Finally, he clapped his hands and said, "The reason you can't answer this question isn't because you don't know the answer, but because once you answer it, you'll question whether everything you've done is right."

"It's not that difficult, actually."

"We haven't committed any crimes. We simply refuse to comply with the ideas of some people in Congress. They are manipulating our lives, and to prevent us from resisting, they've turned it into law."

"That's the real crime, Dewinter. We're not criminals, they are!"

Lance said these words casually, but to Dewinter, they felt like a heavy blow to the cheek, making his head spin.

Lance picked up the coffee and poured himself some. "You don't know, but I went to Gold State some time ago. Some people know, but in reality, I also have people in Congress, you can think of them as my superiors."

"I attended many parties, the parties of those big shots. They also drink alcohol, gathering to drink."

"The people who enacted this law are the first to trample on it themselves. So, it's never been a law that defines right and wrong, it's just a whip used to lash those ordinary people who are unwilling to obey."

"And you are the one holding the whip, using that whip to lash those who are unwilling to be manipulated."

"Dewinter, life is already hard enough. It's rare that some things can alleviate their suffering a little, but you want to consider it a crime and deprive them of the opportunity."

"To the people, you are the criminal. Your actions are the crime."

Lance's calm, non-aggressive conversation began to make Dewinter feel lost because he suddenly felt that Lance's words made some sense.

He shook his head, trying to shake the confusion out of his mind.

But thoughts, the more you think about them, the harder they are to forget. "I don't know."

His expression told Lance that this person was struggling internally, conflicted. He was starting to question things, which was a good thing.

Lance took out a cigarette. "Want one?"

He hesitated and nodded. Both lit their cigarettes, Lance crossed his legs and looked at him. "From the perspective of the lower classes, you are the executioner who destroys their happiness."

"The Prohibition didn't solve the drinking problem, it exacerbated it."

"I don't want to elaborate on the question of who is right between the people and the minority. It's too complicated. I just want to tell you that, aside from these factors, there's actually no right or wrong between us, you and me."

"We are all doing things that benefit ourselves. So, don't deceive yourself about how noble you are, and how despicable we are."

"The reason I'm telling you so much is because I think you have a happy family, a wife who loves you, and I don't want to destroy all of that."

"I can tell you, it was Dale who called to tell me that you had some ideas…"

Dewinter's eyes widened instantly. He looked at Lance in disbelief, as if he were looking at a monster!

Lance seemed very relaxed. "Think it's impossible?"

He shook his head. "Nothing is impossible. Like I said, everything we do is for our own benefit."

"When his and my interests and goals are the same, we are 'one of us', and you are not among them."

Dewinter's expression became complicated. "Does telling me this mean I no longer have a choice?"

He knew that, knowing this huge secret, he would either have to join Lance or be killed by Lance. He suddenly regretted it. Knowing that this matter was not easy to handle, why did he rush in headfirst?

He thought about it carefully, and blamed Ponda.

Ponda had been provoking Lance, but hadn't received any 'punishment', which made him feel that this matter was not a big deal.

At the same time, he also extended another idea, "Ponda… is he also one of your people?"

Lance nodded. "Yes."

Dewinter suddenly laughed, like a sudden, uncontrollable laugh, laughing helplessly and at a loss, his body trembling with laughter.

He couldn't figure it out. The director of the Hazardous Materials Administration, and the 'Anti-Lance Vanguard' were actually all Lance's people. Could there be anything more outrageous than this?

Now, even if Lance said that the entire Hazardous Materials Administration was his people, Dewinter wouldn't find it surprising.

After laughing for a while, his laughter stopped.

Lance looked at him, and after he had completely calmed down, said, "The entire police force is my people. Councilor Williams, if nothing unexpected happens, will become the new mayor."

"The city's gangs are all under my control. I also control the docks and casinos. This city can do without anyone."

"But, it can't do without me."

"Dewinter…", Lance raised his left hand, palm slightly upward, "Work for me…", then raised his right hand, "Or become an accident."

"You have to choose."

A dozen minutes later, Lance and his men came out of Dewinter's study. His wife had just taken some cookies out of the oven.

The rich aroma filled the entire room!

Lance saw the prepared food package in the trash can. Life for people of the Federation is very convenient.

Supermarkets sell prepared "cookie dough", which is dough with added butter, cream, sugar, and various seasonings.

The price of these doughs varies depending on their intended use.

After buying them, you just need to put them on a countertop, flatten them with a rolling pin, and then use your favorite mold to press out the shape of the cookies.

Repeat this step until all the dough is used up, then put the pressed cookies on a baking sheet and bake for fifteen to twenty-five minutes according to the instructions, and the cookies are ready.

It doesn't require the housewife to have any technical skills. The uniform taste and basically consistent effect are the choice of every Federal housewife.

They never feel that this is unhealthy, but only thank those companies for helping them solve a lot of problems, allowing their cooking skills to always be stable.

"Are you done talking?" The woman placed the cookies on a special cooling rack, then took off her heat-resistant gloves and went to get a kraft paper bag.

"I can pack them in a little later, wait a moment."

Lance said, "No rush," and walked to the side with Dewinter to chat for a while.

Soon, the woman took two kraft paper bags in her hands. "I hope you and your family like them."

Lance finished his conversation with Dewinter and nodded with a smile, "Thank you for your gift, they will definitely like them very much."

"Dewinter and I have finished talking, I have to go back, thank you for your hospitality, Madam."

The woman smiled and nodded, and the couple sent Lance to the door, watching him leave before returning home.