Empire of Shadows

Fran was like that.

In fact, he wasn’t alone; many people had their own small habits in life.

Some people listen to music when they are in a bad mood, or play a piece of music themselves, like a storm, to relieve their inner emotions.

Others might silently sit by the window, sipping coffee and reading a passage from a book while enjoying the sun.

Everyone had their way of processing emotions. It might start simply because they suddenly found a certain action comfortable, but over time, it became a habit.

Fran’s habit was to sit on the terrace when he was in a good mood, enjoying the natural breeze and sipping a drink.

This was a harmless hobby. It made him feel instantly refined. He also firmly believed in one principle: never easily share your emotions with others.

This was told to him by his father, who said that if you easily share your emotions, you allow others to control you.

As the patriarch and leader of the Perez family, he couldn’t easily allow his emotions to be mastered. So, whether he was happy or unhappy, his methods of emotional release were solitary and unshared.

This was indeed very important news. ”This information is crucial. If we take down the Perez family, your contribution will be enormous.”Lance paused, then continued, ”Some of my men have already arrived in Old City. I need you to help me conceal them, but I also need them to be near the Perez family’s businesses daily to meticulously figure out the working and living habits of the administrators there.”

Hearing this, the Bearded Director felt somewhat awkward. ”The Perez family is very sensitive to outsiders. If your men constantly wander around their businesses, they will definitely be discovered.”

”I can get your men into the police force, but the second part of your request is very difficult for me to achieve.”

Gangs, especially those with a strong sense of territory, were highly sensitive to potentially dangerous ”intruders.”

Starting with the small street gangs, if you merely approached their territory with a confident stride, a few young men sitting around chatting would stand up, demonstrate their ”courage,” and tell you to get lost.

The same applied to a large family like the Perez family. They regarded Old City as their territory, and they would immediately react to many unfamiliar faces on the streets.

This request might be an impossible task for the Bearded Director.

His refusal didn’t annoy Lance. Lance chuckled. ”No, you can do it. And it’s very simple.”

After Lance finished his explanation, the Bearded Director sighed, a look of realization on his face. ”You are a genius!”

Lance’s method was simple: the Bearded Director just needed to give his men police uniforms...

This was likely the first time Hiram had ever worn a police uniform for ”work.” He had played many roles before, but never a police officer.

”How do I look?” He stood in front of the mirror, continuously checking his reflection. The uniform suited him surprisingly well.

He had gained a little weight during his time in Rapa, which fit the stereotypical image of a police officer. Additionally, he had pulled his hair back into a ponytail, making him look a bit...

”You look like a veteran at taking bribes, a motherf*****!” his subordinate gave him a sharp assessment.

”F***! If you don’t know what to say, don’t say anything!” He looked at the subordinate through the mirror, then turned to another. ”What do you think?”

His other subordinate shrugged. ”I think he’s right. You look like trouble!”

Hiram swore a couple more times. Then he pulled his shirt out slightly from his trousers. This made the uniform look more natural, less bulky, as it wasn’t tightly tucked in.

”I really should take a picture and mail it to my mother.”

His subordinates laughed, finding the situation amusing.

After finishing his self-inspection, Hiram led his men out of the locker room. They had several hundred men who had arrived.

They weren’t transferred from other areas; they were mobilized directly from the Rapan recruits and brought here. The numbers were still increasing.

The Perez family likely had some channels domestically to monitor or inquire about the Lance family’s personnel movements.

But they definitely didn’t have the capacity to interfere with the situation in Rapa. Just as they could instantly detect intruders on their territory, any Perez family member who went to Rapa would be spotted by Lance immediately.

The Bearded Director had recruited two thousand new officers from the public to hide Lance’s men.

If he had simply brought them into the police station abruptly, the Perez family, who might have informants there, would have noticed.

But if they were recruited publicly and voluntarily joined the police force, then there was no issue.

The police captains within the department had questioned the Bearded Director about the sudden increase in manpower.

The Director’s reason was perfectly plausible: the escalating conflict between the Perez family and the Lance family would certainly lead to intense gang warfare.

Old City was highly likely to become a battlefield.

If they didn’t increase manpower now, they would be short-staffed once the fighting began. So, hiring ”temporary workers” now and finding a way to dismiss them after the gang war ended made sense.

Even if they weren’t dismissed, the Bearded Director felt it wouldn’t be a problem.

Almost all the police captains and officers supported his idea. After all, maintaining public order during a gang war was synonymous with risking their lives.

They could be caught in crossfire and riddled with bullets just by accidentally stumbling into a fight.

If others could share the risk, why would they refuse?

The Mayor also approved his request for increased manpower, finalizing the plan.

Lance’s men had successfully infiltrated the police force. They wore uniforms, with most assigned to low-level patrol duties—precisely what Lance needed them to do.

”The police patrols are very frequent lately. Another police car just arrived,” Paige sat on the third floor of his nightclub, watching a police car stop below and observing the two officers who got out.

He owned a business in Old City, the nightclub he currently managed.

Claiming it was entirely his was inaccurate. It was a business allocated by the family. Half of the monthly profit went to the family, and the rest was his personal income.

This system was designed to tightly link everyone through profit and balance relations among family members.

If someone earned a lot of money without working, others would complain. But if they had a job and the money was ”earned,” the complaints were minimal.

Just as Paul (the deceased Pasoretto family boss) gave the best bar to Christopher, many complained, but the dissent wasn’t enough to openly oppose him.

A good location was only the foundation of success; earning real money depended on one’s management style.

Similarly, even on the same street, or in adjacent storefronts, some businesses did well, and others failed. This resource allocation minimized discontent among family members.

And if needed, the family could adjust their members’ responsibilities, which significantly boosted the patriarch’s power.

This nightclub provided Paige with roughly seventy to eighty thousand dollars in monthly revenue. After deducting the family’s share, his income was between thirty-five and fifty thousand dollars—a considerable sum.

He rarely interacted with the police. The Bearded Director had always been sensible, never provoking them or daring to cause trouble.

But lately, the patrol frequency had increased significantly, and his subordinates reported that there were now several more patrol officers in the area than the usual two fixed ones.

One of his subordinates, sitting on the sofa, muttered, ”This is probably because of our recent actions against the Lance family. I heard from my friends that Hull is worried we’ll start fighting in Old City, so he increased the police presence.”

”This is actually good for us. If we start fighting with the Lance family, these police officers will be on our side.”

”So you don’t need to worry. Just treat them like free bodyguards.”

Paige looked at the flamboyant police officer with the small ponytail who had just gotten out of the car. ”But them constantly standing here affects our business!”

”Who are our clients?”

He turned to his subordinate. ”Alcoholics, and those obsessed with lust. These people hate and fear the police the most.”

”Our revenue has clearly dropped lately. We need to find a way to make them disappear.”

One of his many subordinates stood up from the sofa. The hair gel on his head made his hair reflect light.

His fine clothes, polished leather shoes, and pink pocket square made him look somewhat flashy.

”I’ll handle it.”

Paige was the general manager here. This man was the deputy manager, responsible for the day-to-day operations and managing personnel relationships.

Paige nodded. ”Make them get lost and stop interfering with my business!”

The deputy manager left. Soon, Paige saw him appear downstairs outside the nightclub window.

”Hey, Officers!” He walked toward Hiram with a big smile.

Hiram had recently adopted the police stance of resting his hands on his waist—his two thumbs hooked into his belt like a clasp, supporting his arms. The other four fingers rested naturally on his gun holster, giving him a tough appearance.

However, the Perez family members knew these police officers were merely a facade.

The two officers watched the deputy manager approach. Hiram tilted his head slightly. ”Yes?”

The deputy manager looked up at the third-floor window. ”Your presence here is affecting our business.”

Hiram noticed his glance at the window and also looked up. ”We are simply performing routine duties, sir.”

The deputy manager smiled as he assessed them. ”I haven’t seen you two before.”

Hiram was direct. ”We just joined the Old City Police Department, so it’s normal you haven’t seen us.”

The deputy manager smiled. ”No wonder. If you were veterans, you wouldn’t be doing this.”

”How would they act?” Hiram continued the conversation, seemingly bored.

But the deputy manager felt good about this. He interpreted the conversation as the two officers trying to follow his lead. He felt in control.

”They would just sit in their car and park it in that alley over there.”

”They would stay there for a while, then leave.”

”Because they know no one causes trouble here!”

As he said this, the deputy manager slightly raised his chin, as if this was common knowledge and highly honorable.

Hiram stared at him. ”I’m new. I don’t know.”

This answer frustrated the deputy manager. ”I’ll put it simply.”

”This is a Perez family establishment, understood?”

Seeing Hiram’s indifference, he continued, ”Do you know Mr. Paige?”

Hiram remained unresponsive, which slowly irritated the deputy manager. ”Do you want me to call Hull?”

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. The officer next to Hiram stepped forward and suggested to the deputy manager, ”Why don’t we discuss this privately?”

The deputy manager glanced at Hiram, then walked to the side with the other officer. ”My partner here isn’t familiar with the Perez family or Mr. Paige, but you can explain to him how to be flexible.”

”By the way, is the Mr. Paige you mentioned the same Paige Perez who led the attack on the Lance family’s convoy?”

The Perez family had widely publicized the incident, making it common knowledge. The police force had many informants and naturally heard the news.

Some suggested the promotion was to build up Paige’s reputation, as they needed to create a hero to counter the double humiliation from the Lance family.

The deputy manager nodded matter-of-factly. ”That’s the Mr. Paige!”

”I respect Mr. Paige very much. Do you think I could meet him?”

The deputy manager looked at him scornfully. ”Do you, a minor officer, think you can just meet him?”

”Enough small talk. Mr. Paige is waiting for me to return. What does your partner need to be flexible?”

The officer, his back to Hiram, made a classic finger-rubbing gesture where the deputy manager could see it.

Seeing the gesture, the deputy manager was momentarily displeased but ultimately compromised.

His priority wasn’t fighting these two officers; it was stopping Paige from getting annoyed.

”How much do you want?”

The officer glanced at Hiram, a look of success on his face. ”My friend here has a rather big appetite...”

At this, the deputy manager almost lost his temper. He was on the verge of erupting.

Could anyone just extort the Perez family?

Were these two officers suicidal?

He thought that for a second, but then all his frustration froze. He heard something amusing—

”We need at least twenty dollars!”

The deputy manager stared at the officer for three to five seconds, then glanced back at the tough-looking policeman. ”F***! You guys are...”

He shook his head, unable to find the right adjective. He pulled out a wad of cash and counted two ten-dollar bills, handing them to the police officer. ”Take your partner and get lost from our nightclub entrance, understood?”

The officer seemed unoffended. He smiled. ”Right away!”

The deputy manager walked back toward the nightclub, spitting on the ground near Hiram’s feet as he passed, then turned and walked away.

The officer returned to Hiram, handing him one of the ten-dollar bills. ”He’s upstairs. Looks like Mr. Paige is very dedicated to his work.”

Hiram took the ten dollars, flicked it, and pocketed it. ”We’ll focus on him these next few days. Figure out his schedule.”

He then opened the car door and got in. The two drove the patrol car into a nearby alley, disappearing from view.

Everything was clearly seen by Paige upstairs. Seeing that a small bribe was enough to send them away, he wore an expression of clear contempt and disdain.

He sat back down in his chair. ”I thought they had some new tactics. That’s all they had?”

His subordinates burst into laughter. Mocking the police seemed to be a form of entertainment for them.

The Perez family held a ruling position in the city. Even the Mayor needed their approval to take office.

From another perspective, the police truly held no status in their eyes.

Especially when the deputy manager returned, recounting the officer’s request for ”a rather big appetite” and the ”at least twenty dollars” with exaggerated, comical tones and gestures, many people laughed until they cried!