Empire of Shadows

Some have nowhere to retreat, while others are unstoppable.

For a full day, Lance was constantly on the phone, either receiving calls or making them.

The intensity of the firefights these past few days had been too fierce. It was clear that Bandy and his crew weren’t just sitting idle. For instance…

Attorney General Terry had given Lance a call.

“I hear it’s been quite lively over there these past two days?”

He spoke tactfully, not immediately launching into “You’ve pulled off several big things these past few days.” After all, he hoped to use Lance as a springboard to leap into higher political circles.

If it weren’t for Senator Cleveland behind Lance, the Attorney General would never have called him, let alone cooperated with him to purge the Golden Port police force.

Right now, at least a hundred more police officers were under investigation, while dozens of senior officers had already been locked up.

Such a large-scale move, capable of shaking the management of a city’s police force, was not something an Attorney General would typically do.

Even if he were to do it, he would more likely notify the mayor first and let the mayor handle it himself. Because in a sense, the prosecutor’s intervention meant the situation was getting out of control.Otherwise, politics is all about gradual progression. If the lower tier of power has not yet intervened, the higher tier should not.

For politicians, power is layered, but not divided by size.

It sounds a bit strange, but it’s actually easy to understand.

“Layered” refers to the different classes, the classes of politicians.

Some are municipal councilmen, some are mayors, some are governors, some are presidents. This is layering, different classes.

And “size” refers to the actual “power” brought by true rule. This is not an easy thing to explain, but there is a good example.

A municipal councilman can easily ruin an ordinary family. A mayor, a governor, a president—they can all do the same.

They can all possess the greatest power within their respective class spheres.

These powers are equal, not divided by size, because they are already at their limit.

If everyone’s power is the same, on what grounds can you overstep your level to interfere in matters that others can handle just as well?

Therefore, exerting influence layer by layer is an important factor for the stability of the ruling class. The president will not interfere in the governor’s affairs, and the governor will not interfere in the mayor’s affairs.

So, it stands to reason that as long as the corruption of Charlie and these police parasites did not affect the state government level and did not cause extremely destructive social impact, Attorney General Terry should not have purged the police force on such a large scale.

This was not right.

But who the fuck let Lance have a higher giant standing behind him?

So he gave Lance a call, hinting to him that enough was enough, not to go too far. The calls had already reached the state government level.

Bandy, after all, couldn’t hold on and had sent out a distress signal to Manteno.

“It’s just some minor issues. It’ll be over soon,” Lance replied.

“Soon?”

Attorney General Terry asked in a light tone, “How soon?”

Lance glanced at the watch on his wrist. It had a flipping calendar, a large date window. This was a patented technology that had just started to be used. A calendar on a watch meant its price was high.

Even if it looked like it wasn’t worth much, it would still have an astonishing price.

Capitalists know very well how to make money. They first make money from the rich, then from the middle class, and finally from the lower class. It’s basically always like this.

“Just a few days, a week at most.”

Attorney General Terry thought for a moment. “As soon as possible. I’ll help you hold back this pressure for now, but you must resolve your troubles as soon as possible.”

“You know what I mean. This is not an easy thing to do.”

He was lying. A mature politician must always let people know that no matter what help he has given, whether he was asked to help or he offered to help, the person who benefits from the help must understand that the favor was not easily done.

Lance didn’t expose his little lie. Wasn’t this also a way to deepen their connection?

The governor might not be very enthusiastic about Senator Cleveland. After all, he himself was a “big shot.” Whether he continued to serve as governor, or entered Congress, or simply ran for president, he didn’t need to suck up to a senator that much.

He could be friends with the senator, but he wouldn’t suck up to them.

On the contrary, the Secretary of State was more enthusiastic about Senator Cleveland. He still had more room for advancement. The Lieutenant Governor was also enthusiastic, but would not proactively offend a senator.

Bandy’s dissatisfaction, complaints, and cries for help were actually gone from the moment his backer in Congress began to decline.

The rest of them couldn’t do much.

Offending a senator in Congress for a “minor character”?

This was the “golden age.” The power of senators was disturbingly large!

So, he was lying.

Lance said with a smile, “I promise, it will be over soon. And it will look very legal and compliant. It won’t cause any trouble for any of you.”

The Attorney General’s expression changed subtly. Unfortunately, Lance couldn’t see it. He said with a smile, “I’m very much looking forward to it.”

After ending the call, Lance shook his head. He went to see Stone again.

Stone was confined to a small room. When he saw Lance come in, he just glanced at him and quickly lowered his head.

“Bandy actually already called.”

Stone’s head shot up again, his eyes filled with a longing for freedom and to go home. He didn’t speak, but his eyes did. He was asking Lance how the negotiations went.

Looking directly into Stone’s eyes, which were full of a desire for an answer, Lance gave him the answer he least wanted to hear.

“I made them an offer, but they rejected it.”

Stone’s face was full of disbelief. He lowered his head again. Lance’s voice didn’t stop, continuing to ring in his ears.

“Bandy told me he only wants your body back.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Stone’s fists clenched tightly. “That’s impossible!”

His voice was very loud. His voice echoed in the room, and even he himself felt a little uncomfortable with the vibration in his eardrums.

The door was opened, and a few young men walked in. A trace of unease flashed in Stone’s eyes, but he held it back.

He forced himself to look like a tough guy. In fact, he had done well enough.

How many people, in this situation, could still stand firm instead of kneeling on the ground and begging for forgiveness?

They stuffed something in Stone’s mouth, and then Lance had someone bring a phone to him and put it on speaker.

He dialed Bandy’s number. The call was quickly answered. “This is Lance.”

“Lance… what do you want?”

Lance glanced at Stone. He lit a cigarette. “The conditions I offered last time, have you thought about them?”

“That’s impossible!” Bandy’s attitude was firm. His words were not completely cut off. He seemed to want to say something more, but Lance did not give him this opportunity.

He directly interrupted Bandy. “Stone is your nephew. I don’t know if Gorry is next to you. Do you really not care about his life?”

“He has done a lot of things for you, for the Kodak Family.”

“My conditions are not harsh. You can think about it again.”

Bandy had just said “I” when someone else interjected. “Give it up, Lance!”

“He’s already dead. Don’t try to trick us with these tricks.”

Lance asked, “Do you want to talk to him?”

The receiver was instantly plunged into a dead silence.

Any father, at this moment, would find it hard to refuse such an opportunity. This might be the last time he would talk to his son, but…

There was no sound from the receiver, only heavy breathing, the sound of a lighter, and the sound of a glass being placed on a stone table and ice cubes colliding with the side of the glass.

About two or three minutes passed. With the sound of a “hiss” from smoking, Gorry’s voice came from the receiver.

“I don’t know if he is alive, and I don’t know if he is by your side. If he is, I love you, Stone. I love you more than anything.”

“You are a brave child. You know what you have to face, and you also have the courage to face it.”

He was almost gritting his teeth, his voice squeezed out from between his teeth. “We… are proud of you!”

After saying this, he hung up the phone directly without waiting for Lance to say anything more.

Lance looked at Stone, whose eyes were already red. He shook his head and spread his hands. “You see, you’ve been abandoned.”

He had someone take the phone away and signaled the others to untie him. Lance looked at him. “They want to sacrifice you to protect the family.”

Stone sat in a chair, leaning forward, his hands covering his face. He was crying.

He was already an adult, in his thirties. He hadn’t cried for many years, but now he was crying.

He felt Gorry’s love for him, and also felt his loyalty to the family.

He didn’t blame Gorry.

From a rational point of view, the family was obviously greater than the individual.

The family does not represent a certain person. The family represents all the people with the surname Kodak, his brothers and sisters, his relatives. If he had to sacrifice these relatives for his own salvation, rationally speaking, he thought it was wrong.

He could only cry. Crying is a good way to vent emotions.

Lance still looked at him like that. “You still have a chance to save yourself. Want to hear it?”

Stone suddenly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot. There were also many tears in his eyes and on his cheeks.

He wiped the tear marks on his face and looked at Lance. “Kill me!”

He hysterically tried to stand up, but was immediately punched in the face and fell back into his seat. He held the armrests of the chair, leaned forward, and looked at Lance, the veins on his forehead and neck bulging—

“Kill me, you bastard!”

(End of a Chapter)