Shadow Empire

Chapter 850 If we can't reach an agreement, we can

To talk in private means to talk without people knowing.

Not many people in Jingang City know what the rotating vice president looks like, but people all know him.

He didn't want to sit with Lance under the spotlight. That would be too formal, and his "identity" and "position" would be locked.

Under the spotlight, there is no ambiguity. He is the vice president of the Labor Federation and he represents the interests of the Labor Federation and the interests of the industry union.

Lance also represents his own interests, and even some interests in federal politics - in the matter of overthrowing the Federation of Labor.

Such conversations are not free. They can only say words that are consistent with their identity and their position. They cannot say anything else.

So the vice president wanted to meet in private, and the two parties did not meet in a fixed position and identity, so that they could talk about more content.

Lance didn't refuse and agreed.

In this way, he connected some current things, such as the people and things that were beginning to become organized, with the vice president.

This is what a talented person is like. Even if they just arrived, they can restore a mess to normal in one or two hours.

In the afternoon, Lance came to a private club. The vice president had arrived here early and was waiting for Lance.

No one knew they would meet here.

When Lance entered the room, the vice president who was reading the newspaper stood up, walked towards Lance with a smile, and extended his hand.

Although he was in the room, the attitude and position he displayed was not that of a "host". He put himself in the position of a guest, so he walked towards Lance and extended his hand.

Instead of standing there and waiting for Lance to come over.

Lance extended his hand and shook it. "You must know me, Lance. Lance White."

The vice president nodded with a smile, "I read your information several times before coming here, Mr. Lance."

"I attach great importance to our communication this time!"

"Walter Carell, currently the rotating vice president. You can call me Walter. My friends all call me that."

"You can call me Lance too."

"Nice to meet you!"

After a brief greeting, the two of them sat down on the sofa. This kind of private club is very common in the Federation.

Or maybe it's very common when the federal government is highly corrupt, and people need a lot of these places to complete money-for-power transactions.

From a small policeman to the federal president, everyone needs private space, and private clubs came into being.

"Mr. Lance, you are much younger than I thought. I'm sorry to ask, how old are you this year?"

Lance smiled and replied, "Twenty-five."

"Twenty-five is a good age. I miss my twenty-five, but I'm also ashamed that I only knew how to date at the age of twenty-five!" Walter is obviously a person who is very good at livening up the atmosphere.

He praised Lance in a very thick-skinned way, and was very direct and not subtle.

Lance smiled and said, "Everyone has his mission. Your mission is to be happy, and my mission is to stand up straight."

This answer was something the Vice President did not expect, but he responded quickly, “Do you know what my mission is now?”

Lance nodded and said, "Convince me."

Mr. Walter pointed at him, "Bingo!"

"I don't really like this job, but I'm the rotating president, and they need me to do what I'm supposed to do."

"Mr. Lance, can we find a point that satisfies both of us within a range that is acceptable to both parties?"

Lance shook his head. "I'm not saying I disagree with your idea, but I think it's hard to do."

"Not accepting the union is my basic requirement. This is our biggest disagreement. Unless you can accept my demands, we will always be divided on this issue."

"And you see, if you could accept it, things wouldn't have gotten to the point where they are now."

Mr. Walter sighed, “Yes, it’s hard to reach a consensus.”

He paused, "But I still want to try to convince you."

Lance motioned for him to continue and pulled out a cigarette.

It is actually a very strange thing that cigarettes and nicotine can help him better concentrate on Mr. Walter at this time.

It is obvious that nicotine does not have these effects, but people become focused because of cigarettes and nicotine.

“You can manage the workers who are registered with the union separately from the workers who are not registered with the union.”

"For example, you set up another company, a similar labor agency, and this labor agency specializes in registering those union members."

"If those factories only need non-union workers, fine, then you put those non-union workers in there."

"If the factory doesn't have any clear demand for workers, you can mix in dispatched workers."

"It's no different than what you're doing now, and it won't cause any resentment or opposition from those workers now."

"Because they are not from the same company, they will not meet each other and will not have any influence on each other."

"It's just that customers will have a new choice, and the differences between us will end."

"The labor union and the AFL-CIO will not interfere in your work and business. We respect your ideas and choices."

"In fact, union workers have many advantages. Most of them have been in this industry for a long time, and many of them are skilled workers."

"There will be many newly established enterprises in the new industrial zone of Jingang City. They need some ordinary workers, but also skilled workers with rich experience and skills."

"If we create excessive confrontation, it will only make things difficult for both of us, and for those factories as well!"

"In fact, there is a possibility that we can cooperate on this matter."

"We have high-end labor, and you have a large number of low-end labor. There is no competition between us. On the contrary, we can complement each other's resources."

He sat forward and took out a cigarette. "Mr. Lance, we have always been concerned about these illegal immigrants, refugees, and illegal workers."

"But due to some legal issues, we are unable to take care of these people. Your presence fills this gap in the Federation."

"We complement each other very well, as I said before."

“Just like light and shadow, when combined together, they form the world!”

"This will not affect you. On the contrary, as more people register with you and the composition becomes more complicated, you will gain greater influence!"

"This way we won't harm each other's interests and we can resolve our current differences. What do you think?"

Lance thought for a moment and said, "This is actually a concession from me, Mr. Walter."

Mr. Walter continued to add conditions, "Mr. Lance, are you interested in political parties?"

Lance frowned, "I don't quite understand what you mean."

Mr. Walter explained, “We are about to form the Workers’ Party, which is a powerful party with 20 million working brothers.”

"We don't care about the origin or background of any member. Anyone who is willing can join us."

"Mr. Lance, we can give you a party identity, a respectable party identity, such as... a member of the Workers' Party Committee of Likalai State."

"This will make it easier for you to handle things at work and in your life. Even if you want to run for mayor or governor in the future, we can help you!"

"We never skimp on friendship and enthusiasm, you'll feel it!"

Lance looked at him a few more times; he had not expected this condition.

Senator Cleveland had asked him a similar question before, asking if he was willing to go into politics.

In fact, he knew very well that there was a high probability, a 99% chance, that he would never become a federal government official in his lifetime.

It’s still the core issue. People can accept that he is a “front-page figure” who often appears in newspaper headlines and in various public occasions, but they will not accept that he is a politician.

Because he is the leader of a gang and is not a federal native.

Even if he handles some things cleanly, people can still find out if they want to.

That method of replacement does not apply to senior management.

These people at the top of the federal government, the senators, the president, the vice president, the governors, these people, they all "know."

Who is the ancestor of the family, and what contributions did they make to the country during the founding of the country? They can all trace it back. Even if they don't investigate the identity of the Lance gangster, and don't investigate his impostor identity, the ancestor of the White family may just be a freeman, a farmer or something like that, and it's impossible to go far!

At most, he is at the mayor level, and that is the limit of his political career.

Even marrying into a political family is not an option.

Because that circle, that level, has an "admission ticket", and the admission ticket is their surname, their bloodline!
That sentence is very true. If you don’t have some things when you are born, there is a high probability that you will never have them in this life.

This is especially true in politics.

You are not qualified to enter this circle, and it is impossible to do so through acquired efforts.

Maybe it will be better later, fifty years from now, a hundred years from now, but now, at this time, everything is doomed.

If it were someone else today, when Mr. Walter said these words, he might have been moved.

But Lance is different, he is very rational and calm.

Under Mr. Walter's expectant gaze, he shook his head, “Sorry, I don’t think this can convince me.”

Mr. Walter was stunned for a moment, then added, "With our support and your local help, running for governor is no joke."

"You have a lot of influence here, and there's a good chance you'll become governor."

Lance laughed twice. He knew that what Walter said was absolutely right. If he really ran for election, he might have a chance to become governor.

But before he becomes governor, the federal government will pass some bills to restrict him, and even the FBI will be immediately activated to investigate his crimes.

Just like when he framed others, the FBI didn't even need to investigate and could have just framed him directly. In any case, the power to ultimately interpret the matter lies in the hands of the federal government.

He is also thinking about running for election, and he is getting closer to prison, or even to the electric chair!

"Mr. Walter, if this is all you can persuade me to do, then I can only say that I am sorry. I don't think this is an offer I cannot refuse."

Seeing that the other party was about to say something, Lance shook his head, "You know, the problem is not with us, not with you or me."

This sentence made Mr. Walter stunned for a while, and then he laughed, "It's a very sharp point of view, and very accurate!"

"The problem has never been with us."

He knew what Lance was talking about, and he could understand that for a gang to grow so big that it could control an entire state and was even invading Inden State, there must be someone behind Lance.

He had read some materials which mentioned that Lance had a close relationship with Senator Cleveland, and that he also had cooperation with the Department of Defense and the military.

This way it's easy to know who he is from.

The military and the Ministry of Defense do not need to support a gang. If they want to control a place, they just need to build a military base there.

Soldiers are much more useful than these gangsters, so Lance is not someone in the military or the Ministry of Defense.

Then there is only one possibility, he is a Cleveland Senator.

Congress and the labor federation have always been at odds with each other. The labor federation has always tried to seize power by using its influence on the working class, so there are natural differences and conflicts between them.

Lance made it so clear this time because he wanted to tell Mr. Walter that if he wanted to convince Lance, he had to convince Congress first.

Mr. Walter laughed for a while and then stopped, "Well, anyway, I tried my best!"

"Then from now on, it depends on our respective abilities."

Lance nodded, "I'm looking forward to your performance, Mr. Walter."

Mr. Walter felt a little regretful, but soon the regret turned into fighting spirit, “We will meet again.”

Lance agreed with this view, "Yes, we will definitely meet again."

As he spoke, he stood up, and Mr. Walter also stood up, "So... that's it for today?"

"Well, see you later."

The two shook hands again and said goodbye to each other in a relaxed and happy atmosphere, and then Lance left first.

Looking at Lance's departing back, Mr. Walter returned to the room, sat on the sofa, picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

In fact, he didn't want to confront Lance head-on. After all, this was Lance's territory, and the current situation was special, so they didn't dare to expand the scale of the strike at will.

This puts them at an inherent disadvantage.

The only way now is to cooperate with the Liberal Party or the Federal Party and find a way to bring these problems to the table instead of solving them here.

At this time, at the police station, a refugee attacker was brought into the reception room by the police.

"Be quiet, I'm watching you outside!" After the police asked the refugee attacker to sit down, he left.

The police are required by the Constitution and local laws to ensure that prisoners receive full and independent justice services.

The refugee attacker looked at the well-dressed lawyer sitting across the table in confusion. He didn't remember Carl saying he would hire a lawyer for him. What about his family?

Even if all the wealth of their family was put together, they couldn't even raise five dollars.

These lawyers looked very expensive. His family couldn't afford them, and there was no need to hire them.

So his eyes were full of confusion.

After the door was closed, the lawyer smiled professionally and said, "You don't have to doubt my identity. I am a lawyer."

"A good Samaritan helped pay for your lawyer, so I'm here."

"Do you know what's going to happen to you next?"

He spoke quickly, giving the refugee attacker no time to react.

The latter was stunned for a moment and then answered subconsciously, "I'm not sure, I should be expelled and go home?"

The lawyer nodded. "Yes, what else did the people who organized you tell you?"

The refugee attackers immediately became alert. “No one organized us. I was angry that they were trying to destroy my stable job and income.”

"If I lose my job, my family and I won't have enough to eat, and we will starve to death or freeze to death in the winter."

"I hated them so much that I took action after seeing others taking action."

The lawyer laughed out loud. "The two people before me said the same thing. You even said the same thing. And you still say that no one is organizing you?"

He saw that the refugee attacker was about to reiterate these points, so he raised his hand to interrupt him. "Listen to me first."

"Are you literate?"

The refugee attacker nodded. "Some, but not all."

The lawyer gave up the idea of ​​showing him the materials and read out the information directly. "This conflict resulted in the deaths of about eleven protesters, more than two hundred serious injuries, and more than five hundred minor injuries."

"These are among the few conflicts in the last twenty years that have had serious consequences."

"Do you know what this means?"

The refugee attacker shook his head. "I don't know, sir. That's your business. It has nothing to do with me."

The lawyer's expression turned into one of pity, "This means that you, all of you, will most likely pay the price for these people."

"Some people might be sent to the electric chair, and others, like you, are likely to go to jail."

“Five years, ten years, or more, I’m not sure, but five years is the starting point.”

"Do you think that jail time is the end of it?"

“No, it won’t end.”

"When you finish your jail term and come out, the immigration department will put you on a ship and take you back to Slade."

"And the Slade government arranged for someone to greet you!"

"I don't know what benefit they promised you, maybe a little money?"

"Or provide you with legal identity or legal jobs?"

"But I believe that what they gave you is definitely not worth at least five years in prison and deportation."

"If you're here for money, or to stay here and get federal citizenship, they're not your only collaborators."

"So are we!"

(End of this chapter)