Empire of Shadows

Just as Lance finished his call with Alberto, two police cars pulled up at the entrance of the firm.

The young men around who looked like passersby seemed to tense up!

A police officer sitting behind the driver’s seat in the second police car looked at the young men around who were faintly forming an encirclement, and he couldn’t help but feel a headache.

Precinct Chief Bruce, sitting next to him, laughed at this moment, “I told you, if I didn’t come, you might not even be able to get in the door.”

“Lance’s men are very united, not quite like the gangs you’ve seen before,” Precinct Chief Bruce said with a sense of superiority, which made the officer next to him show a very special smile.

“Don’t tell me you’re also with them,” the officer’s words made Precinct Chief Bruce pause for a moment. He shook his head but didn’t make a sound, as if everything was already understood.

The current society is very strange and also very complex. The officer watched as a young man walked to the side of the police car and knocked on the window. He rolled down the car window.

The young man was very young, looking to be only eighteen or nineteen, wearing a baseball cap. The quality of his clothes looked good, and the red armband also made him look a little different from ordinary people.

“Officer, you can’t park here,” he directly told the police to move.

Just as Bruce was about to say something, he was stopped by the officer next to him.“And if I say no?”

The young man raised his hand and made a very strange gesture. Then the police officers in the two police cars discovered with horror that the hands of the people around them had all gone into their clothes.

No one knew what was hidden in their clothes. A small wooden stick, a spoon, a dinner knife, or it could also be a loaded weapon!

Seeing that the situation seemed to be developing in a direction it shouldn’t, Precinct Chief Bruce quickly said, “It’s me, we’re here to see Lance.”

The young man bent his waist even lower so that he could see Precinct Chief Bruce on the other side. The originally serious face immediately broke into a smile.

He made another gesture, and the people around immediately dispersed.

“This joke is not funny at all!” he said, then straightened up, “The Boss is inside. Who should I tell him wants to see him?”

The officer announced his affiliation, assistant chief of the city center precinct. At the same time, he asked again, “What’s your name?”

“Alan!”

“Alright, Alan, can I ask what your gesture just now meant?” he was a little curious.

But unfortunately, Alan didn’t say, just smiled and turned to leave.

The assistant chief looked back at Precinct Chief Bruce, “They are very professional!”

“Indeed they are!”

Soon, the few of them were allowed to see Lance, but there was one condition: they had to hand over their weapons and also accept a search.

Elvin had an apologetic look on his face, “It’s a special time now, I’m very sorry. I know this is excessive. Lance said that when you leave, he will give you two a little something to express his apologies!”

Precinct Chief Bruce directly took out his weapon and placed it on the tray. The assistant chief next to him could only take out his weapon as well.

After being searched, the two entered Lance’s office.

When he saw the two, Lance had already stood up. He stood by the desk, “Sorry, the situation has been a little different these past two days. Please forgive my sensitivity.”

After he shook hands with the two of them separately, he also learned the identity of the person next to him. After the three of them sat down separately, Lance asked, “So what is the purpose of you two coming over?”

Precinct Chief Bruce scratched his head. He skillfully took two cigarettes from the cigarette case on the table and handed one to the person next to him, “You didn’t clean up the people properly. Some members of the Gregg gang survived. They said you did it.”

Lance nodded slightly after listening, “Our time is limited. I can’t possibly search every room to see if anyone is still alive.”

“Did they call the police?”

“I’m afraid so!”

“Then what do you plan to do?” Lance also took a cigarette.

Precinct Chief Bruce nodded, “Your firepower is too fierce. People feel unsafe. We need to give the citizens an explanation!”

“Charlie also gave me a call and asked me to pass a message to you. You’d better cooperate, otherwise the mayor might use this matter.”

He was afraid that Lance didn’t realize the importance of this matter and lowered his voice slightly, “He can apply for police from other places to handle the case, and maybe even find an opportunity to purge the police force again.”

“What they mean is you can do it, but you can’t do it so exaggeratedly. Right now, we are not competing on who is more aggressive, but on who makes fewer mistakes.”

Lance glanced back at the officer next to Precinct Chief Bruce, then turned his head back, “So what do you mean?”

Precinct Chief Bruce pursed his lips, “Find a few people to confess. We have to give those merchants an explanation, and give the public an explanation.”

“Last night you guys fired guns for more than ten minutes, but in the end, not a single person was caught. This is unreasonable, Lance, don’t you think?”

“I can assure you, if you sign a confession agreement, it won’t exceed twenty years, and no one will be held responsible. This is just an isolated incident.”

“The sentence might be a little heavier, but I believe you should have a way to get the person out early.”

Lance nodded after listening, “Give me some time. At the latest, this afternoon you will get a clue, and then you will solve this case, arrest the criminal suspects, and also some weapons and ammunition.”

Precinct Chief Bruce nodded, “I don’t believe your style. If it weren’t for the need to give an explanation to those big shots and the public, we actually wouldn’t want to get involved.”

Before he could finish speaking, Elvin couldn’t help but say with a laugh, “Since when can the public be on par with those masters?”

Lance also couldn’t help but curse with a laugh, “Your thinking is very dangerous, Elvin.” He paused, “I’ve understood the matter. Help me see these two out.”

Elvin nodded and opened the door. Precinct Chief Bruce and the officer next to him also stood up. After shaking hands with Lance again, they left Lance’s room.

At the entrance of the firm, they not only got their guns back but also received two bags of donuts.

“Donuts?” The assistant deputy chief shook the food bag with “Delicious Donuts” written on it. The rubbing and colliding sounds coming from inside didn’t sound like donuts at all.

At Precinct Chief Bruce’s signal, he opened the paper bag and then showed an unusual expression, “How much is in here?”

“Two or three hundred. You might have a little more, after all, it’s your first time here.”

Sitting in the car, he glanced again at the sign of Lance’s firm, and the young men around who were staring at this place, recalling their gestures. This assistant chief couldn’t say anything more.

After Elvin returned to the office, Lance brought up the matter he had assigned to Elvin before, “I remember you still have many people who are terminally ill and don’t have much time.”

Elvin nodded, “Yes, there are many people. Do you need them this time?”

“Decades, Elvin. Even if we find Roben, they might have to stay inside for a few years. I can’t let my brothers waste their best time in jail.”

“Find some willing people. We can give more money, and then go find Roben and see if we can get a quick sentence.”

The two whispered and discussed for a good while. Elvin took the car keys and left.

For most poor people who suddenly find themselves terminally ill and don’t have much time, the first thing they think of is actually not how to survive, but how much money it will cost for their terminal illness.

They have no money, so compared to their own bodies and lives, they feel more pain for the money!

Most of them will think of saving the money for their families. Anyway, it can’t be cured, so they won’t waste their families’ hope.

On the contrary, those who are rich would rather go bankrupt to find a way to extend their lives.

So for these human tragedies, to be able to get a large sum of money for their families before they die, they are willing to pay any price!

Before long, Lance saw eight people standing in front of him. These eight people all looked a little thin.

Lance frowned, “Find someone to put some makeup on them, and give them a set of clothes.”

As he spoke, he looked at these few people. They all showed a humble expression. He seemed to glance at Elvin. Elvin nodded slightly, indicating that he had already communicated with them.

But Lance still had to ask again.

“Elvin should have already told you. You will be arrested, then go to jail. The sentence will be about a dozen years.”

“I know that many of you physically actually won’t last until the day you are released, and I also know your worries about your families after you leave, so you appeared here.”

“Elvin, how much did you promise them?”

Elvin held up three fingers, “$3,000.”

Three dollars for a life, is that expensive?

In this era, it was a little expensive, but Lance felt this price was just right.

“Are you all from the Empire?”

The eight people, who had been tormented by disease to the point of losing their courage, all nodded. They spoke of their ancestral homes, and Lance kept nodding.

“I’ll give you another choice. One is to take $3,000 from me at once, and then fulfill the promise.”

“The other is, your families will receive $50 from me every month from today, for ten years.”

“Ten years, I believe, is enough for your children to grow up, and also enough for your families’ lives to be completely stable. Ten years is $6,000. You have more choices.”

The expressions of the eight people were all different. Some were indifferent. For them, the money they could get in their hands at once was the real money.

The promised money, before it was in their pockets, couldn’t be considered real money!

But there were also three people who chose to have their families come and collect $50 every month.

People are this kind of contradictory and often blindly following person. Another two people stood on their side, so that made five people choosing “installments.”

Then another one came, six people in installments, and two wanted cash.

Installments actually have their benefits. The benefit is that their families will become more dependent on the Lance Family.

If the Lance Family no longer exists, the support for their families will also be gone.

On the contrary, for those who took the money all at once, their thoughts might be more complicated.

But no matter what, Lance briefly explained the matter again, and then had Elvin take them to get some makeup.

After all, they were a violent gang that had shot and killed twenty or thirty people. They couldn’t just stand on the street and be blown over by a gust of wind.

After a simple disguise, under the earnest teachings of Roben the lawyer, these people were successfully “arrested.”

Lance had Morris keep an eye on them to make sure nothing unexpected happened, while he went to Alberto’s bar in Priliccia.

He had a bar in the Starlight District before, but it was inexplicably targeted by the Bureau of Hazardous Materials, and he lost a large sum of money at once.

Lance reminded him that there might be an undercover agent. After he had reorganized internally, he reopened a bar in the Priliccia District.

The bar was not big, but the style was very high, very in line with the consumption habits of the middle class.

They could tolerate slightly higher prices, but it had to be worth the money, which is to say, exquisite!

Other bars’ glasses could be used interchangeably, but in the bars of middle-class communities, different wines must use different glasses, and there even had to be some reasons for doing so.

To make them feel that they not only spent money on enjoyment but also learned some knowledge, so they could show off!

There must be live performances, and they must not be vulgar. There are no strippers spinning their panties on their fingers, only Black people with rich singing voices.

This is another formidable aspect of Black people that people have discovered, besides picking cotton.

They have a lot of talent in some forms of singing!

So when Lance just walked into the bar, he felt that even the bars in the Bay Area might not have the style of this place.

After all… for the rich, happiness is the most important thing.

But for the consumers here, class is!

The Black singer was wearing a blue shirt, light gray suspenders, and an ivory-white bowler hat, holding the microphone with intoxication, singing a classic slow-paced song with his magnetic voice.

Everything looked extremely classy!

At this time, it was afternoon, and there were relatively few customers. After Lance arrived, he directly hugged Alberto, and then the two walked to a corner.

Some of the customers in the bar glanced in this direction and then looked away.

As the middle class, the elite class of society, they would pay great attention to their performance in social situations. They would not stare at people who did not want to talk to them for too long; that would be impolite.

If you had to say which group in the entire society had a relatively high level of self-awareness and moral standards, it would definitely be the middle class!

They were in the stage of “self-improvement helps class improvement.” On the contrary, the lower class and the upper class performed worse in this aspect.

When Paul saw Lance arrive, he shook his hand, and then the two sat on opposite sides of the table.

“Alberto said you wanted to see me.”

Lance nodded, “I’ve repaid the favor I owed you.”

Paul’s expression was a little strange, “I don’t quite understand what you mean, Lance.”

Lance looked at him, “Although I don’t know who did it, I know, Paul, you wiped his ass for him.”

Paul actually had the mind to laugh out loud, “Wipe his ass!”

“Lance, has anyone told you that you are a very humorous person?”

“But I have to say, that word describes it very accurately, just like those little bastards, they only know how to shit, and never know how to wipe.”

He took a sip of his drink as he spoke, “I disdain to lie, Lance. This matter is our problem, but I hope you understand that my original intention was not bad.”

“But some people…” He trailed off, not wanting to say more. “In short, you are right. You don’t owe me a favor anymore, and this matter ends here.”

Lance raised his glass and clinked it with his, “I’m grateful that you could extend a hand when I needed it, Paul.”

“This matter ends here for me, no problem. But that person, is he willing to let it end here?”

“If he is not willing to let it end here, and he still wants to find trouble with me, I may no longer have a reason to let him go.”

“You saved my life once, I’ll return you a life!”

Lance raised his glass again and drained it in one gulp.

In a sense, Paul had indeed saved his life. If Paul hadn’t spoken up to protect Lance before, even if Lance wasn’t squeezed out, he might have been far away from Golden Port at this time.

And there would not be today’s achievements.

Paul sighed, “Anyway… thank you for your understanding.”

Lance poured himself some more wine, “I heard the Five Families have split?”

Paul nodded, “It seems everyone knows… The Kodak family was persuaded by the people behind them, and the Cassia family was bought over. These idiots will never know.”

“Only when the Five Families are together can we have the right to make the rules in Golden Port. When we are separated, we no longer have the power!”

“They can’t think of this, or rather, they are unwilling to believe this.”

He didn’t want to talk much about this aspect. The situation of the Pasoretto family was not optimistic. The Keane family had also encountered trouble. Their friction with the Bear Gang was constantly escalating.

Gregg wanted to develop into the Empire District, which was essentially to avoid the war between the Bear Gang and the Keane family.

The Tita family was now contacting some people, trying to change the situation, but it didn’t seem to be of any use.

A large net spread by the mayor was finally beginning to slowly close. He had not been doing nothing all these years. He had already done a lot of work, just waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to tear open the thick defensive line of the locals!

Now, he had waited for it, and the means he had used over the years also began to show their power.

After coming out of the bar, Lance went back to the Empire District. The eight “gunmen” were also successfully arrested.

They decisively signed a confession, voluntarily admitting to all the crimes. When Roben the lawyer came back from the police station, he told Lance that these eight people were facing forty-two charges, including making noise after ten o’clock at night.

He had also handled the judge on the court side. Because they had already pleaded guilty, they would basically be sentenced on the spot, and then quickly sent to prison to begin their sentences.

As for how long they could last in prison, that was actually not very important anymore.

Their mission was completed the moment they arrived at the prison.

Although Karles was already dead, Lance’s revenge on this Gregg gang was not yet over!

They said he was the “Boss Killer,” the “Gang Destroyer,” so now, he would destroy for these people to see!