Empire of Shadows

With a clang, the office door was shoved open. Behind the desk, Chief Bruce put down his work and looked up at Charlie walking in from outside.

His secretary stood by the door, a look of helplessness and grievance on her face. “I told him…”

Before she could finish, Chief Bruce waved his hand. “Bring a cup of coffee, and close the door on your way out.”

The secretary bowed slightly and closed the door. Chief Bruce motioned for Charlie to sit. “You should have called me first and come over when I was free.”

Charlie looked at the man sitting behind the desk, the flames of his anger nearly consuming him.

But only “nearly.” The flames of his anger didn’t actually do it. Charlie stood there staring at him for five or six seconds, then sat down in the chair opposite Chief Bruce.

The two looked at each other, neither speaking first, neither averting their gaze. They just looked at each other for about ten seconds before Charlie said, “You’re very different from the person you used to be.”

Chief Bruce continued to stare at him. “Yes, very different. I feel it too.”

“You know, the old me might have been…” he pursed his lips, “…even within our group, I was a marginal figure.”

He placed his hands on the desk, fiddling with a fountain pen. “The Empire District precinct is not a good place. Nobody likes it there.”“Chaotic and poor streets, endless trouble, and almost no profit to be seen.”

A dislike for the Empire District precinct flashed in Chief Bruce’s eyes. He didn’t hate or detest it, just simply disliked it.

After all, he had worked there for a long time. Apart from the dislike, everything else was actually fine.

He looked at Charlie. “I was a marginal character. No one cared about me. You were always in the spotlight.”

“Everyone revolved around you, Charlie.”

Back when Charlie was still the chief, he was the “sky” of the Golden Port police force. Everything he said was an oracle that the police had to obey.

If anyone dared to defy his decision, that person would face terrible “retaliation.”

Being ostracized, marginalized, sent to a remote post, or even to the Forest Police Department.

Once you were kicked out of this circle in the police force, you were worse off than an ordinary officer. There was no better choice than to resign.

At that time, Bruce was indeed just a minor character.

“Now, I’ve come this far, sitting in this position. So, that’s why you feel I’m different from the past!” He dropped the pen, leaned back in his chair, and patted the armrest with one hand.

“Charlie, it’s not me who has changed. I’m no different from the past. What makes you think I’ve changed is that we are in different offices, speaking from different positions. That’s what makes you feel I’ve changed, and that’s all.”

“You can’t speak to me in a commanding tone like you used to. You also have to respect me, to try and figure out my thoughts.”

“In the past, I was just a minor character on the edge of the crowd who had to watch your expression just to say a few words to you.”

“And now, the only way you can see me is by barging into my office, and then you have to pretend to be calm and talk to me.”

“That is the difference.”

The secretary knocked on the door and came in with coffee. After placing the coffee on the table, she proactively left.

Charlie looked at the coffee cup in front of him, with steam gently rising from it. He suddenly revealed a smile, a mocking one. “I never knew you were so eloquent.”

“Who did you learn from?”

“Or is it hereditary?”

Chief Bruce shook his head. “That’s not important.”

“You see me as different from the past. Actually, the way I see you now is also different from the past.”

He placed his right hand back on the desk, and with both hands, he continued to play with the fountain pen.

“In the past, when I looked at the past you, it was like looking at a majestic mountain.”

“It was so big, stretching endlessly beyond my sight, and still expanding outwards.”

“To me at that time, you were a high mountain that I could only ever look up to.”

“But now!” He extended his hand towards Charlie. “Look, you’re actually nothing special!”

Charlie was irritated by his tone. He looked at Chief Bruce, his face grim. “What kind of backing did Lance give you that you have the guts to speak to me like this?”

Chief Bruce knew some of Lance’s upcoming moves. As long as he succeeded, he wouldn’t have to care about Charlie’s attitude at all.

But at different times, people have different experiences, different feelings, different psychological changes.

He looked at Charlie, his eyes filled with a sense of superiority, an indescribable arrogance.

“Mr. Lance didn’t give me any backing. He just gave me an opportunity to have an equal dialogue with you, that’s all.”

Charlie felt his blood pressure rising noticeably. He reached out and held the rim of the coffee cup with his fingers, constantly turning it. “So, this is your reliance?”

There were some things Chief Bruce really wanted to say. The strong desire to confide, as if he had already seen Charlie’s future, knew his result, and he wanted to “reveal the divine.”

But he held back. He knew that now was not the time. He just smiled and shook his head without speaking.

His attitude made Charlie very unhappy. He would find a way to make Chief Bruce pay the price.

He would let this guy understand that even if he had Lance behind him, the core interests of this city were not something they could touch at will.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore, Charlie. Is there something you came here for this time?” Chief Bruce changed the subject.

Charlie pursed his lips and took a small sip of coffee. “I hear you’ve arrested some of your old friends?”

“Old friends?”

Chief Bruce asked in return, then laughed softly. “Mr. Charlie, this is an internal matter of our police department, and you are not a member of the police department.”

“You have no right to know the details of these matters, so no comment.”

Charlie was still not reconciled. Coupled with the unease and slight panic this matter had caused him, he asked again, “Are you sure you want to make a clean break with me?”

Chief Bruce shook his head. “This has nothing to do with you, Mr. Charlie.”

“If you’re interested in where they went, then you should pay more attention to our bulletin board. If there’s new information, we’ll post it on the bulletin board as soon as possible. The newspapers might also mention it.”

The two looked at each other again for a moment. Charlie suddenly stood up. He pointed at Chief Bruce, which was clearly a threatening gesture.

But Chief Bruce just looked at him calmly, without showing any panic.

“Can I understand it this way?”

“Are you threatening me?”

Charlie sneered. “No, not at all. I’m just saying goodbye to you, Chief Bruce!”

He emphasized the title “Chief Bruce,” but anyone could hear that he had no respect for this title, let alone any awe.

He turned, opened the door, and walked out. Soon, the secretary pushed the door and entered. “Chief, I…”

Chief Bruce shook his head. “Take the coffee and pour it out. Next time Charlie comes, you don’t have to stop him.”

“You probably can’t stop him anyway.”

The secretary tidied up the tea set on the table with some shame, took the cup and saucer, and quickly left.

Charlie’s influence on the Golden Port police force was still very great. So far, no one had come over to check if he, the chief, needed help.

But then again, his thirty-plus years as chief had established a very unusual image in the minds of many mid- and low-level police officers.

On the contrary, Chief Bruce’s image in their eyes was not so good—

Some said it was because he had sided with Lance that he had obtained his current position, and this was seen by some officers as a betrayal of the police system.

After this period of stability, he would purge the entire police force.

As for those who were loyal to Charlie, not a single one would be kept!

After Charlie left Chief Bruce’s office, the obvious and strong unease began to become more pronounced and intense.

It was as if there was an invisible but fatal threat to him, constantly trying to probe his hard shell, to touch the him hidden inside.

He knew that the disappearance of these people must have something to do with Chief Bruce, must have something to do with Lance.

He drove directly to the local prosecutor’s office, but did not find anything unusual.

He used the excuse of checking files to walk around the prosecutor’s office, but did not find those police officers.

He also asked a prosecutor he had a good relationship with, and there had been no orders recently for anyone to investigate the police force.

Then he went to the justice department. From there, he got the news that the police department had not obtained any legal document approval from the justice department these past few days.

In other words, the disappearance of his subordinates was a big problem.

Where they had gone, and how Lance and his people planned to deal with him, became the things Charlie was most eager to know right now.

He did not ask the big shots of the Bay Area for help. He had spent a lot of time with these big shots over the years and also knew their style.

Once they thought Charlie had no value, they would immediately abandon him.

Charlie knew so many of their secrets, had handled so much of their dirty work. If they were to abandon Charlie, then it would definitely be a dead Charlie, not a living one!

All of this made him feel uneasy, unable to breathe, as if he were drowning.

He slammed on the brakes. The car following him swerved sharply and knocked over a trash can on the side of the road. The driver got out of the driver’s seat, cursing angrily.

He walked to the side of Charlie’s car, seemingly wanting to open his car door and drag him out. But after seeing Charlie open the glove box, revealing the weapon inside, he proactively stepped back and shut his mouth.

This scene on the street quickly attracted the attention of many passersby. Charlie had already made a decision. He turned the wheel sharply, then quickly chose another road. He was going home.

Charlie had a villa in the Bay Area. With his job as the police chief, even if he worked for 500 years, he couldn’t afford a luxury villa here.

But not only had he bought one, but there were also five luxury cars in the garage, belonging to him and his family.

After he had parked the car, he walked into the living room. The maid immediately came up, took the hat from his hand, and helped him take off his trench coat.

“Is the mistress at home?”

The maid, while cleaning the dust off his trousers with a duster, said, “Yes, the mistress is resting.”

Charlie strode towards the upstairs, while the maid put the hat and trench coat in the cloakroom.

Charlie’s wife was exercising. The more upper-class people in the Federation were, the stricter they were with their figure management.

Of course, it did not rule out that some people were very indulgent with their body shape, but that was ultimately only a part, and a small part at that.

Most people had very standard figures.

Besides his wife, there was also another female teacher in the exercise room, a little over thirty, but she looked like she was twenty-five or twenty-six.

Charlie’s wife was exercising her body under her guidance.

Seeing Charlie suddenly come back, his wife was a little surprised. “Why are you back so suddenly?”

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be eating at home tonight?”

Charlie shook his head slightly and looked at the coach. “I need to talk to my wife alone.”

The female coach immediately stopped. Her face was all smiles, without any dissatisfaction for being interrupted.

Twenty dollars a lesson, ninety minutes. She sold not only the content, but also the service.

“Of course, Mr. Charlie…”

The female coach left the training room and even thoughtfully closed the door.

Charlie’s wife found a place to sit. “So, what happened?”

Charlie hesitated for a moment, but the unease in his heart urged him to make a final decision. “The situation is very bad right now. I don’t know what method Lance plans to use against me, but I believe that this time he is acting with absolute certainty.”

His wife also realized the seriousness of the situation. She stood up, walked to his side, and grabbed his hand. “Will you be in danger?”

Charlie didn’t know what to say. He looked at his wife’s face, which still faintly showed the style of her youth, but was already covered with wrinkles. He was silent for a moment.

“Not just me, you will also be in danger.”

“That’s Lance!”

He clenched his fists. “In any case, you must leave here immediately. Activate our plan. Do you remember?”

His wife did not answer him, but asked very worriedly, “Is the situation that serious?”

Charlie was silent again for a moment. He didn’t want to answer this question. “In any case, you take the children and leave first. After you get to the place, immediately abandon your current identity.”

“Don’t contact anyone. Use your new identity, including new accounts, new checks.”

“Completely break off with the past…”

Charlie had considered before whether he would one day become a sacrifice, or the object that the wealthy of the Bay Area wanted to get rid of.

He had done similar things for the wealthy of the Bay Area. Those gloves that knew too many of their secrets had no use value, and then were eliminated by him and buried.

He was worried that one day he would also face the same situation, so he used his identity as the police chief to forge a set of real identities for himself.

He and his family, they had some real work records, real social security bills, tax bills, and a family account.

The account had about 500,000 in it. It wasn’t deposited all at once, but as investment income, a little was deposited each year, and it has continued to this day.

Then this family moved from Golden Port to live in other cities, and after some more relocations, the past clues were almost completely broken!

As long as they activated their new identities, then they would be brand new people!

This was the escape route Charlie had left for himself. He had thought that after so many years, he wouldn’t need it.

His wife was reluctant, but she also knew that this was not the time for nonsense. “I will inform the children. When are we leaving?”

“The sooner the better.”

His wife sighed and hugged Charlie. “I’ll go now.”

His wife didn’t press him with questions. She knew that what he needed most at this time was not to make him more agitated, but to let him have no worries.

After resolving a worrisome situation, Charlie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He raised his sleeve and looked at the gold watch on his wrist, but his thoughts paused at this moment!

The gold watch was very luxurious, not at all low-key. He suddenly remembered that before the New Year, the state government had been saying that they wanted to thoroughly investigate the corruption of the Golden Port police force, but there had been no news.

He was a little uneasy after the New Year, and now it was April, and he had not heard of any investigation team or the like coming down. He gradually came to the conclusion that it was just talk.

After all, people like Mr. Hoff, even in the state government, in Manteno, also had a certain influence. This matter should have been suppressed.

But at this moment, he suddenly realized, could Lance have contacted the investigation team?

He quickly went to the study, dialed the phone number of an important person in the Bay Area, and after a short call, he paced back and forth in the study.

If Lance was really trying to punch him in this way, he really couldn’t take it!

Time ticked by. The sweat on his face and head grew more and more. After waiting for about twenty or thirty minutes, the phone on the desk suddenly rang shrilly.

He lunged for it, grabbed the receiver, and put it to his ear. “This is Charlie.”

“Charlie, I helped you ask around. Someone from the State Prosecutor’s Office is indeed on a business trip, but this doesn’t confirm whether they came to Golden Port.”

“Are you in some kind of trouble?”

Charlie was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied, “No, no, thank you. I just wanted to ask.”

“I heard they have a case, and a gentleman wants to… you know.”

The person on the other end laughed twice. “Your business is really extensive!” He paused. “Alright, if there’s nothing else, I have to go play golf.”

Charlie quickly stopped bothering the other party. “Goodbye.”

“Let’s play golf together sometime. See you later!”

He hung up the phone, leaned on the desk, and walked to the side of the chair. He sat down with weak legs, all the strength in his body drained away at this moment!

(End of a Chapter)