Shadow Empire

Chapter 324: All Showing Off
The fact that Charlie was going to run for city council member was indeed beyond Lance's expectations, but if he thought about it carefully, perhaps this was another way for him to regain power in the Jingang City police system.

If an ordinary old man were to control the entire police system, there would always be some people who would express dissatisfaction with it.

But although it may not be appropriate for a city councilor to interfere in the work of the police system, it is at least reasonable and the law supports him to do so.

Hunter cooperated with Charlie within the police station, and they were able to control the largest law enforcement agency in Jingang City.

"Looks like the Bay Area Hound needs to change his name. 'Bay Area Foxhound' might be a better fit for him!"

Lance commented, "Besides this?"

Chief Blue sorted out his thoughts and said, "There is one more thing. Charlie has expressed his hope that we will not interfere in the game between us and the mayor and others at the party I am going to attend later."

He paused noticeably at the last half of the sentence, apparently thinking about how to phrase it to better express his attitude.

Using "you guys" would be too fussy and make Lance think that he was not on Lance's side.

So he used the word "we", which could express that he still stood on Lance's side!

"Don't move..." Lance frowned slightly, although he and Congressman Williams' original intention was to make things bigger and then force higher-level forces to intervene so that everything can be stabilized again.

But the chaos they created is not the same as the chaos that Charlie and Hunter allowed to worsen!
To give the simplest example, it's like someone begging on the side of the road. In order to get some change from passers-by, the more pitiful the better.

But this does not mean that he has to stab himself a few times. That is not pitiful, that is seeking death!
This is what Charlie did. Lance could even imagine that when the whole city was in chaos and the police were most needed to maintain order, the police might go on strike.

When everyone feels hopeless about public security, Charlie, the most influential chief who "resigned due to taking responsibility" in the Jingang City police system in the past twenty years, will take the initiative to step forward and take responsibility for appeasing the police, allowing them to resume their work, and restoring the city's order to the normal level it should be.

And he can use this incident to stage a political show and become a political figure!
Lance had even thought of a campaign slogan for him: "Besides your parents, Charlie is the only one who can keep you safe."

Just listening to him makes people feel his reliability!
Then a city councillor will definitely not be able to escape.

At Charlie's age, he can still work for at least another ten years. Although he is no longer the police chief, he can still continue to control the system for a dozen years. Perhaps this is his ambition and political demands!

After thinking about this, Lance looked at Chief Blue with some confusion. He didn't believe that they couldn't understand this. "Is there no one among you who opposes him?"

Chief Blue shook his head. "Yes, but what's the use?"

"He represents the interests of the Bay Area. We are all wondering if there is any instigation from the Bay Area behind this. Opposing him is tantamount to opposing the decisions of those masters in the Bay Area."

"Now that they have the mayor's pressure, they may have to keep a low profile, but the mayor will eventually leave."

"Once he leaves here, the people in the Bay Area will retaliate. We are only the chief of the police station, Lance. We don't have any ability to fight back."

"Including me, if he asked me to express my opinion, I would definitely stand up and loudly tell everyone that I support his decision, because I don't want to be served on his table after everything is over during this period of time!"

Lance nodded slightly, "I see."

Chief Blue saw what he wanted from his face. He was a little excited just now and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

It is indeed a bit embarrassing to show this side of me in front of a young man who is only a few years older than my son.

He straightened his clothes and sat back down. "So I thought I should tell you something, in case things happen too suddenly and catch you off guard."

"Of course, the Empire District doesn't really need us to maintain law and order. Now everyone in the city knows that our branch has the easiest job!"

Many people envy him. The Imperial District Police Station has no pressure at all, and its public safety rate is the best among all police stations.

It is because the people of the Lance family took the initiative to maintain order on the streets, and the way these people maintain order is different from the way the police maintain order.

The police need to follow rules and regulations to maintain order. If there are things they can manage, then the problems can be solved.

But there are some things that they cannot control, or are difficult to control, so they cannot deal with them.

On the contrary, it’s different for the people of the Lance family. No matter whether they can control it or not, as long as they think you are wrong and ask you to stop, but you don’t stop.

Well then, a beating is inevitable. If you resist or even attack, you may be beaten many times or even thrown into Angel Lake!
Who doesn’t want a life where you can get paid without having to work in danger?
"I don't care about what happens in other areas, but in the Empire District, you still have to do what you have to do."

"You verbally agreed to everything Charlie asked of you, and when he held you accountable you pushed it onto me, saying that I was the actual controller of the branch."

As he spoke, Lance opened the drawer, took out several checks, and laid them out in order. They were all checks for one thousand dollars.

Then he pushed the check over with his hand and said, "Contact some branch directors who have a good relationship with you, and you can form a small circle first."

"Don't expose yourself yet. You will have more important things to do later."

When Chief Blue took the checks, he looked thoughtful, but he didn't think too much about it because the timing was not right.

But he knew that he had achieved his goal of making Charlie and the others unhappy.

Originally, Lance said that he might have a chance to secure his position as police chief, but now Charlie and Hunter have messed things up. If he doesn't make some changes, that position will have nothing to do with him in this life.

Not only did he not feel any guilt, but he felt an indescribable pleasure.

Charlie has been the police chief for so long, but he doesn't want to give up his position. He's really going too far!

"I see. I'll contact them."

Lance nodded slightly, "Okay, go ahead, just be careful on the road."

After watching Chief Blue leave, Lance was thinking about something.

Everyone is pursuing the maximization of their own interests.

The mayor was in this situation, and it seemed like he was at a disadvantage, as Congressman Wade was able to get the nomination for governor while he himself could only get the nomination for speaker of the House of Representatives.

He was promised various benefits, but he could not stay in this city for too long and had to leave soon.

No matter how you look at it, he's the one who lost.

But in fact, he is the final winner, because even if he leaves, he leaves with gradual gains.

He traded the city's original interests as bargaining chips. It seemed that he got nothing, but in fact, he got intangible assets that were countless times more valuable than tangible assets!

The same goes for Councilman Williams. In order to ensure that power continues to be passed on, he would rather sacrifice the city's security and stability, even in the face of the possibility of the rise of the northern port, than suffer any loss of his own power.

This was even more true for Chief Blue. He thought Lance didn't understand, but in fact, as soon as he said what he wanted to express, Lance knew what he was thinking.

His idea was simply to let Lance solve Charlie's tricks so that he would have the opportunity to sit in that important position.

Everyone is trying to find a way and seek the greatest benefit, including himself.

Interests are the only eternal truth in this world.

If anyone says that something else is like this, he is lying!
He will not let Charlie succeed. Once Charlie takes control of the entire police system as a "politician", he will become a newly emerging force.

Jingang City cannot and will not allow such unreasonable forces to exist in the future.

If he can take out one police chief, he can take out another!
There was a mocking sneer on the corner of his mouth, but soon the sneer turned into pain.

Because he was late.

"Sorry, I'm a little late." He looked at Patricia. They had agreed to meet at 1:30, and now it was almost two o'clock.

However, girls of this period were not so unreasonable. Patricia still smiled and hugged Lance's arm, snuggling beside him. "It's okay, as long as you can come."

"I asked the ticket seller, and they said they could exchange our tickets for the next movie, which is about to start."

Lance kissed his head, and then the two bought some drinks and popcorn and walked into the theater. They were watching a movie starring Gerald, and both were full of anticipation.

Lance invested in this movie in full, and investing in movies at this time is almost a sure win.

A large number of illiterate people who "could not understand" movies before no longer have to worry about not being able to understand the subtitles. Although the slightly distorted sounds may sound a bit awkward, at least they can understand them.

In an era when half the population was illiterate, this brought a huge boost to the box office.

Lance is also considering investing in the second, third, and more parts.

The two chatted while waiting for the theater to become completely dark. Soon the opening credits appeared on the screen and Lance frowned after watching it.

This is different from what Gerard said when he called, because the opening should be the Wanli Productions logo, not the picture of the water bottle.

As the movie unfolded he became more convinced of this, because the male and female protagonists were not people he had seen before, and Gerald had never even appeared. They must have made a mistake.

Lance found the movie ticket and took a look at it in the dim light. The name was correct.

Patricia had never seen Gerard, and she thought the male protagonist in the movie was Gerard. Halfway through the movie, she told Lance that she didn't think the male protagonist was as handsome as Lance described.

Lance just smiled and said, "This isn't the movie I invested in, but the name is right. I'll have to ask about this later."

"But this movie is pretty good, what do you think?"

He didn't want to ruin the current atmosphere. The girl was quickly attracted by his words and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it's very interesting."

What's so "interesting" about this from Lance's perspective?

This is just a very ordinary film of this era, with a bad script, bad actors, and bad filming techniques. But because it was made at the forefront of the sound film trend, even if all of this is bad, ordinary moviegoers will think it's okay because it's fresh!
The movie ends in tragedy, and tragedy can elevate the plot, which is why there are many tragedies in opera.

The nobles who once rode in golden and silver carriages loved to shed tears while watching the tragedies of the common people, but when they turned around they would only exploit and oppress the common people even more harshly.

The power of tragedy is stronger than that of comedy, and it can also be more memorable.

After all, happiness is easy to forget, but scars may remain for a lifetime.

After the movie ended, Lance took Patricia for a few walks around the city center. It was particularly quiet here these days. After two or three hours, not a single gunshot was heard, which made Lance a little uncomfortable.

They ate delicious food together, and Lance bought some clothes for Patricia before driving her home.

The Lawrence couple had long anticipated Lance's visit. After all, Patricia had been preparing for it since morning, so it was definitely not an ordinary date.

Emily asked casually, "Would you like to stay the night?"

"After last time, I prepared a toothbrush and personal items for you. They are in Patricia's room."

This question made Lance feel a little embarrassed. He glanced at Patricia, who looked away, but it was obvious that she wanted Lance to stay.

"Yes, I will stay here tonight..."

Emily smiled and said, "It wasn't that hard, was it?"

She was referring to the fact that Lance openly said he wanted to stay, and Lance nodded in agreement.

Dinner was still a very sumptuous dinner. William had begun to get used to Lance's appearance and the desire to stay here overnight, although this was only the second time.

After dinner, the men naturally sat on the sofa and talked about recent events. "The city has been unusually quiet lately. Is something big going to happen?"

He has been busy with his campaign and has noticed these changes, but compared to his previous job at City Hall, when he was extremely well-informed, he is now less well-informed.

Lance nodded. "The decisive battle between the locals and outsiders may be about to begin. I hope it will be a decisive battle. At least after this matter is over, we can all have a period of stable development opportunities."

William couldn’t help but gasp when he heard these words, “What on earth happened?”

Lance briefly recounted the incident, and William was silent after listening. "The people are innocent."

He was waiting for Lance to continue his words, but Lance didn't, which forced him to ask, "What do you think?"

"What do you want me to think?"

William shook his head and said, "Your true thoughts."

"I think this is actually a good thing. At least it can help the city regain stability for a while."

"But after this period of time, there will be the next chaos."

"Whether it's Sidney, Williams, or whoever is sitting in that seat, it's always going to be like this."

“When someone gains, someone loses. The losers don’t want to be the losers, so they challenge the gainers.”

“If they succeed, they become the ones who gain, and the ones who lose, after waiting for a while, challenge them.”

"If they fail, they will continue to accumulate strength..."

"William, there is no real fairness in this world. As long as real fairness does not exist, this will always be just a reincarnation!"

"Unless there is someone who can put an end to this!"

This is a very profound topic that William needs to think about.

At around eight o'clock, when the federals were resting, Lance naturally slept in Patricia's bed with her.

This time, she was obviously much more comfortable than the last time. Although she was a little shy and reluctant, after all, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence were here, but she couldn't resist Lance's request and her own thoughts.

Sometimes girls want this more than their partners do.

The two tossed and turned several times throughout the night before they fell asleep. The girl was obviously embarrassed the next morning, but seeing the calm expressions of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence, she finally felt relieved.

Patricia didn't sleep well last night, so she planned not to go anywhere today, but Lance had some other things to do, so he left quickly.

William hit his car.

"I forgot to tell you yesterday that there is something I might need your help with."

In the car, the two lit a cigarette. They did not smoke at home. This is a respect for women and of course a respect for the family.

After taking a deep puff of the cigarette, the whole person seemed to feel a lot more comfortable. Neither of them spoke for a while, immersed in the happiness brought by nicotine.

After the third or fourth bite, William said, "Isn't it about Balz Investment Bank?"

"Barbara borrowed some money from outside to buy her company's products. Now Balz Investment Bank has run away with the money, and the finance company that lent her the money is pursuing the debt."

"Her father said the other party might have a gang background and asked them for a high interest rate."

"My brother is communicating with them. I think the direction of this matter may not be what we want to see. I may need your help at that time."

Lance nodded, "Little things."

Then he dropped William off at the campaign office in the city center, and Lance went straight back to the company. He then called Gerald to ask about the movie.

"I went to the cinema to watch your movie last night. The ticket I bought was yours, but the movie playing was not yours. What happened?"

(End of this chapter)