New Gods of North America.

Chapter 583 Convergence
Willie was relatively lucky this time; after a half-hour recess, the jury unanimously reached a verdict.

The court then reopened, and the judge first declared the gang member "guilty," then determined his sentence and fine—incidentally, if the criminal failed to pay the fine on time, the sentence would be changed to another "super-doubled" version.

At this time, the United States had not yet abolished the death penalty, but in the relatively prosperous East Coast states, the sentencing of hangings was becoming more cautious.
For example, this gangster had a murder case on his record, but because the judge believed that he did not constitute "premeditated murder," but only that his methods were slightly excessive during the coercion and caused an accidental consequence, he still did not meet the standard of "first-degree murder," so he was sentenced to more than ten years.

The onlookers seemed generally satisfied with the outcome. While packing up, the prosecutor gave a brief interview to reporters, declaring it a "victory for justice," which garnered applause. Willie was also among those interviewed.

Seeing this, Wayne whispered a few words to Lina, who then asked her henchman, "Soften," to find an opportunity to speak privately with several reporters at the scene. The purpose was simple: to slip them a little money so they would write a few more positive things about Willie.

Many professionals in the United States are a bit stubborn and arrogant—the popular term these days is "professionalism."
For example, when journalists are planning to write about you, if you try to bribe them, some of them won't accept it. They might even rebel and won't stop until they expose your dirty secrets.
But when they write other reports—especially positive ones—most journalists are happy to spend a little money and don’t mind adding a few nice words.

It's basically about "going with the flow"; you have to be mindful of "timing" and "knowing the ropes" when spending money.

Wayne is currently suspected of having a murder case, so unless he relies on local connections like the Beaton family, he can't just randomly hire online trolls to clear his name; otherwise, it might backfire.

However, there was a roundabout way to achieve the goal. Willie was working with the Richmond prosecutor on a case against a local gang with no vested interests in the detective agency. The chances of reporters smearing the case were slim, which allowed them to be more "objective and fair".

Anyway, if Willie gets "mostly positive reviews" when the report is published, Wayne's reputation might be subtly changed as well.

Once the public has seen enough of both Willie and Wayne, and there are differing opinions in the public discourse, the detective agency can at least get a "mixed opinion," which is better than being swayed by others' opinions.

"Willie, your first court victory, congratulations!"

After the reporters dispersed slightly, the three partners of the detective agency approached.
Lina stood beside him, her eyebrows dancing with excitement. Wayne and the prosecutor exchanged a glance and nodded slightly, but there was no need for them to talk much at this moment.

The reason is the same as what the reporters mentioned: he's under suspicion. Wayne isn't currently qualified to contact prosecutors privately, and he needs to avoid excessive interaction in public to prevent being exposed as having engaged in "insider trading."

The United States also has concepts such as "bribery" and "official misconduct." When you are "under investigation," insider trading may lead to lawsuits or even the loss of public office for both parties. The correct approach is to "get to know the other party in advance" and "settle accounts after the deal is done." Avoid discussing things that shouldn't be discussed in the meantime; that way, it will be legal.

In fact, the United States has rather severe penalties for insider trading. If things escalate to that point, it means you lack sufficient connections and don't understand the "rules" and "understandings," making it normal for you to be taken advantage of.
Wayne wasn't worried, but he didn't see any need to cause trouble for himself or the prosecutor, so he just went through the motions.

After leaving the courthouse, we took Willie to a restaurant to celebrate, to encourage him to keep up the good work, and also to check on the progress of the renovations.
Two carriages, one in front of the other, carried the three partners in one carriage. On the way, Wayne began tentatively probing to ascertain the veteran hunter's opinion of the gangsters:
"Back to our previous topic. Inessa, if we uncover some gangs in the dock area, and they all have someone like that banker, Mr. Schwartz, behind them, do you think we need to take additional measures to eliminate them if the law can't trace them?"

Inessa thought for a moment, "Actually, I hope all criminals can be punished. But in reality, even the most skilled hunter can hardly eliminate all the wild beasts in the forest, let alone save all the small animals from their jaws. Moreover, from a broader perspective, those wild beasts are originally part of the forest; they cannot be completely eradicated..."

That's alright, Wayne breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Inessa isn't exactly the type of strict "righteous crusader," otherwise the detective agency would probably have to switch to being a "judgment committee"...

Thinking about it, it makes sense. According to the Hunter Association's theory, what is opposed to "order" is the "abyss," which represents chaos, not the "darkness," which represents evil.
Inessa's personality is the kind that is resilient but not domineering. If she really couldn't tolerate the slightest imperfection, then many of the prisoners captured along the way would probably have been reincarnated long ago, and there would be no chance for them to surrender.

It was a false alarm. At least Wayne doesn't have to worry about being shot by Inessa the day he starts using gangster methods.

However, he was still a little uneasy and continued to confirm, "In your opinion, what types of evil people must be eliminated?"

"Well……"

Inessa tilted her head slightly. "I'm not entirely sure either... Like the instigators in some cases, theoretically all wild beasts need to hunt for a living, but hunters may live in harmony with wolf packs, or they may relentlessly pursue those man-eating wolves. We can only make a judgment after encountering them in person."

Wayne tried to summarize it in his mind: the dividing line is whether the harm is "direct" or "malicious".

Inessa continued to ponder: "If there must be a standard for elimination, it might be similar to how hunters judge the elimination of 'out-of-control extraordinary beings.' Either their 'state has fallen below a certain critical point,' or 'if they are not eliminated in time, it will lead to more direct casualties.'"

It sounded even more subtle than what had just been said, but Wayne vaguely understood it instead.

Some of these ideas are actually similar across time and cultures. In short, they are "those who commit heinous crimes should be punished by everyone" and "when you see injustice, you should help others."

Hey, I didn't expect Inessa to be on the path of chivalry, I'm familiar with that.

So Wayne tried to pinpoint what he really wanted to confirm: "So, when necessary, it's actually acceptable for the detective agency to use some less-than-'correct' methods to deal with bad guys?"

Inessa nodded: "Hunters don't reject the use of traps or poisons. But objectively speaking, such practices are not necessarily a good thing."

"The Hunter Association has encountered similar cases—there was once a small organization in Erland that worshipped a mysterious deity. It was originally established with the idea of ​​helping believers and the innocent, and it would also punish some local villains. But later, in order to evade investigation, they committed more and more bad deeds. Many law enforcement officers and some hunters who were ordered to investigate died at their hands, and eventually their evil deeds accumulated to the point that they had to be eradicated."

"In fact, until the very end, they couldn't be considered completely evil. The ban by the Church of Windsor would affect families and even entire villages, and the kingdom had always been strict with the people of Ellan. They were indeed trying to protect the weak and did not have the evil intention of plundering for personal gain, but they did commit evil. After sorting out the records left in their headquarters, many hunters who participated in the operation were confused."

The dragon slayer becomes the dragon himself...

Wayne suddenly felt that he was really lucky. "With you here, Inessa, our detective agency should not have come to that point. If it really does, it deserves to be wiped out. If the detective agency is completely beyond saving, you can do it yourself, Inessa."

"And what about me? And what about me?" Lina, who had been listening the whole way, joined in now. "What should I do then?"

Ok? !

If the detective agency really does end up "that way" in the future, even if I'm primarily responsible, I feel like you should at least bear some secondary responsibility, okay?!
"I think you just need to tone it down a little..."

(End of this chapter)