Empire of Shadows

This was a very special matter. If Elvin didn’t take the initiative to do it, he would do it, because he didn’t trust others.

It wasn’t that he was afraid they would run away halfway, but that he was afraid they wouldn’t do it cleanly enough.

But Elvin requested to do it himself, and Lance agreed. He believed that Elvin could do this well.

Sitting in the chair, he smoked, the moon outside the window was bright.

The word “bright” seemed a bit inappropriate for the moon, but it was precisely the most appropriate wording at this moment.

It hung brightly in the sky, with a purity that held a trace of something that attracted people to explore.

Lance looked at it, but what he was thinking about were some of the things the mayor had been doing all along.

He was very methodical, very planned, not at all blind, nor would he do anything meaningless.

Many people were mocking him for having fallen into a disadvantage, but with just a simple move, the situation began to turn around.

If he was allowed to stabilize with this step, what would he do next?Lance considered a lot. The most likely thing was to use the “killer weapon” of the IRS. As long as he could persuade the state government to investigate the taxes of the Five Families, even if they had a way to get out of it, they would be tied up in tax investigations for a while.

By the time they could free themselves, perhaps the sky over Golden Port would have already changed.

He couldn’t be allowed to walk down this path so calmly step by step. He had to be given some extra force, whether it was him, the Five Families, or others, to get them all moving!

Councilman Wade was also thinking about these things, just like Lance.

Many people had come to his study: three city councilmen, some members of the City Hall office, as well as some capitalists and celebrities from the Bay Area.

They sat in different places in the study, and some were also standing.

The people sitting on the sofa clearly had a higher status, followed by those sitting in chairs, then those standing near them, and finally those standing by the wall.

Councilman Wade had no smile on his face today. The mayor’s sudden move made him feel a bit tricky.

The Bay Area city councilman said softly, “I don’t believe John can control the entire police department. Our people can sideline him. Hunter alone can handle him.”

Many others also agreed.

It was their common view that Hunter would take over from Charlie. First of all, Hunter himself was not the kind of person with a particularly strong sense of justice.

He had done all kinds of dirty work and was well aware of the filth and ugliness behind the glamour of the Bay Area, but he still worked hard without complaint, just like his predecessor, a “loyal dog” recognized by the rich of the Bay Area.

The opinions of the rich in the Bay Area were the core factor in deciding the police chief. It had always been like this in the past. Even if Chief Charlie was forced to resign to take responsibility, they would not feel any unease.

The entire police system was their people. Even if the mayor put one of his own people up, it would be useless.

But now, the mayor’s actions made them realize that the seemingly stable police system was not a monolith.

John was not a small character. Although he had only recently become the precinct chief of the Port precinct, he had already been working in the Port District precinct for about nine to ten months before this.

During this time, how many people could he have bought over?

The most important place in Golden Port was the port. If the mayor got a hold of the port, some of the rich in the Bay Area would definitely have to make concessions.

Especially those big tycoons who were in the warehousing and transportation business, this was equivalent to grabbing their lifeline.

Everything was clearly going well, how did the situation suddenly become a bit incomprehensible?

Councilman Wade shook his head, “The trouble is not with John, but whether he still has influence over the Port District precinct after he becomes the police chief.”

“More importantly, will John’s appearance make people realize that betrayal is actually a way out?”

“Gentlemen, we have thrown quite a few people into the trash can over the years. If these people realize that defecting to the mayor can not only bring about some earth-shattering changes but also allow them to take revenge, which side do you think they will stand on?”

One sentence made many people start to sweat slightly. The ruling class, the privileged group, was not always fixed, nor was it innate. It was all obtained through struggle.

Some struggles are relatively tolerant, so the fate of the losers will not be too bad. Perhaps… they are still in this city, just having lost the opportunity to become the ruling class, to become a privileged group.

Some struggles may be relatively cruel. These losers have already contributed their own strength to the unsolved mystery of Angel Lake.

If nothing unexpected happens, those who are still alive will continue to live as losers, but now, an accident has occurred.

Councilman Wade picked up a glass of wine and took a small sip, “We can’t let the wild dogs gather. When they are separated, they are just dogs with their tails between their legs, but when they gather, they will become a pack of wolves.”

“Some of you can deal with, find a way to deal with them. For those you can’t, let the Five Families handle it.”

“That’s what they do!”

“Also, mobilize your power. Report what should be reported, and use the connections in the state legislature to impeach him.”

“We can’t continue to let him grow stronger. This is a very tricky opponent, smarter and more dangerous than any of the previous mayors!”

Councilman Wade began to arrange work in an orderly manner. Although the current situation was a bit complicated, he still didn’t believe that the locals would lose!

He wanted to let everyone know that betraying them would not have a good end!

The situation on Councilman Williams’ side was roughly the same. The two political forces originally had some minor friction, harmless minor friction, but at this time, they showed exceptional unity.

Orders from Councilman Wade and Councilman Williams, through the mouths of high society or those white gloves, began to spread to all levels of society.

The night sky was bright with stars, and a cool evening breeze was blowing, but the air was so heavy that it made one’s heart palpitate!

Early in the morning, several police cars appeared outside the Red Dog Gang’s headquarters. The newly appointed precinct chief, that is, John’s follower, Buck, got out of the police car.

He was very large, both fat and strong. He hitched up his belt and walked to the main entrance of the nightclub, then kicked it!

With a boom, the main door was kicked open, which also woke up the gang members inside. Some alert gang members immediately ran out from all over, but when they saw the large number of police officers, they could only put away their weapons.

“Is my door in your way?”

“Officer?!”

Buck was also very tall. He looked down at the few small things in front of him and said in a very arrogant tone, “Get Bill and the other few to roll out. Someone has reported that you killed someone. The body is now at the police station. I need them to come back with me to participate in the investigation.”

Bill and the others had killed someone. Many people knew about this. After all, they not only killed someone but also threw the body outside the main entrance of the Wolf Gang’s headquarters.

Bill had even been showing off this matter everywhere, saying this was the price of provoking him!

That bastard had almost killed him, but he had successfully killed the other party. This indeed made the Red Dog Gang’s momentum and fame a little more resounding, and also made Bill become a person who was ambitious and not content with the status quo in people’s mouths!

When had Bill ever heard people praise him like this?

In the past, people would only mock him for being a good pimp, and some would even use some things from when he had just entered society to mock him, mocking that he was only fit to push people’s asses.

But now, he had become a “tycoon,” which gave him a very satisfying feeling of sublimation!

Now that the police had come to his door, it was partly his own doing.

He was just like those idiots who wrote their murders into songs and published them publicly. He had a bubble in his brain, and when it was pierced, it was all water!

Buck’s attitude was very tough, and more police officers were coming to support.

In the few days before John’s appointment came down, John had been doing psychological work on the police officers. He told people that he would become the chief of the Golden Port Police Department and would become the mayor’s trusted aide.

Only by following him would there be a future, both in terms of position and wealth.

He also promised to give these police officers opportunities for promotion in the future. He stated that the mayor would become the governor in the future, and he could also become the state police commissioner, with room for him to intervene throughout the state.

He told people that the governor had come to Likalai State alone. He needed to form his own team. If they missed this opportunity, there would not be another one!

Although John was very greedy, like a vulture, and disgusting, sometimes he could also do some unexpected things.

Many people in the Port precinct were persuaded by him and joined the just cause of the mayor and him. Plus, with Buck, this formerly ordinary patrolman, now becoming the precinct chief, this stark reality made many people believe that this was indeed an opportunity!

More and more police officers gathered around. The people in the gang could only run upstairs to wake Bill up. When he heard that the police had come to arrest him, he was startled!

But soon he couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t feel any nervousness.

He also paid money, paid money to John. He didn’t believe John would harm him, otherwise John’s reputation would be ruined, and then no one would pay him money anymore.

Bill thought this was just a side effect of him blowing his own horn everywhere about giving the Wolf Gang a slap in the face. They couldn’t do anything to him, but they could call the police to disgust him.

He went downstairs unhurriedly and even told Buck that he had called a lawyer and wouldn’t say a word until the lawyer arrived, although he had already said a lot.

Buck had him and several high-ranking cadres get into the car. Although the actions were a bit rough, overall, they did not injure them.

When they arrived at the police station, they were not interrogated, but were just locked in different rooms separately. They were neither interrogated nor released, as if they were locked up specifically.

Bill had said several times that he wanted to talk to John, but was refused. He could only treat this as a retaliation from the Wolf Gang, and lay bored on the table, recalling the fierce battle of last night.

Meanwhile, at the Red Dog Gang headquarters, which had lost Bill and its high-ranking cadres, an atmosphere of laxity had begun to permeate.

With these high-ranking cadres and the Boss gone, the gang members were naturally not so nervous anymore.

It was almost noon before people started to get up one after another.

A gang member rubbed his eyes and pushed open the door. He liked the feeling of rubbing the eye gunk particles off.

He yawned while using his hand to block the glaring sunlight. He said to the several cars parked at the door, “You can’t park here!”