New Gods of North America.

Chapter 674 Persuasion
After the meeting, everyone took a short break, and the breakfast prepared by the restaurant was brought over by horse-drawn carriage.
Since it was a bit early, there wasn't enough time to make things like beef burgers, so it was mostly ham and egg sandwiches and a big bucket of coffee.

These days, ordinary Americans aren't so particular about coffee. Western cowboys would brew a huge pot of bitter syrup every day, not caring about the quality of the beans or adding anything else; it was their daily energy drink, and they were lucky to even have it at all.
The restaurant had tried its best to cater to Wayne's taste, even adding some milk and sugar, but unfortunately it still wasn't very good. It was drinkable, but don't ask if it tasted good.

Almost arriving after breakfast was James Damody, the guy who helped the bankers collect debts.

His purpose in coming to Wayne was simple—to get him out of trouble.

Wayne chatted with him while eating breakfast, and asked Doug to get him one too, but the guy only touched the coffee.

After hearing his request, Wayne told him the truth: "We will hand him over to the police for processing. As for bail, you should go to the police station to handle it."

James Damody was visibly taken aback for a moment: "Mr. Wayne, it's something we all agreed on to work together to take down the Ellan gang. Some gang members arrived at my place before dawn, just waiting for me to ask you to release their men."

Wayne countered, "I said from the beginning that we can't equate the Erlan people in the community with the Erlan Gang. They also agreed that our detective agency would be the first to identify the target. Did they do that during their operation last night? Is a ten-year-old boy also a member of the Erlan Gang?"

James Damody quickly composed himself, his expression returning to calm. "If you answer like that, they'll probably have a problem with you, Mr. Wayne. Then your men probably won't be able to move freely throughout the dock area and get everyone's cooperation as they do now."

"Before they raise any objections, I suggest they think about one thing first. The reason the city hall authorized our detective agency to collect taxes from the dock area gangs is because our detective agency was not previously affiliated with the dock area and was sufficiently neutral in its stance."

Wayne raised his head. "Our detective agency's operation last night was ostensibly to deal with saboteurs attempting to influence the tax collection process. Some of those arrested are from the Airland Gang. If I release the other gang members, what if the Secretary of State sends someone to me? Should I release them too? So much happened last night, and the police chief and several officers were still on duty. What do you think I could do?"

This reason was something Wayne came up with on the spot. Last night, the Erland gang's operation targeted other gangs, and according to Wayne's logic of not caring about "gangsters eating gangsters," those arrested were actually a minority.

On the contrary, the remaining gangs, wanting to take the opportunity to retaliate against the originally numerous and powerful Erlan violent groups, caused more harm to innocent people, and some Erlan people who went out at night were also involved.

However, Inessa's policy was to arrest whoever caused trouble, and as a result, some members of the Erlan riot gangs were indeed apprehended.
Well then, I'm sorry, but since he's caught red-handed, the level of violence is generally higher, and he's already been arrested, Wayne has no reason to let him go, lest he ruin the detective agency's reputation for assisting in solving cases.

They can only blame their bad luck; they didn't run into Wayne or Lina last night.
Wayne understands why the dockside gangs exist and is willing to negotiate with them normally, but that doesn't mean he likes them.

James Damody thought for a moment, then softened his tone slightly: "Isn't there any other compromise?"

“It’s difficult.” Wayne recalled the groups of people he had encountered last night. “Tell them to go back and ask around. Quite a few people should have run into me last night. I didn’t stop anyone who could be let go directly. As for those who were arrested, I think they need to look at themselves for the reasons—they didn’t listen to what I said from the beginning.”

“I’ve heard about what happened last night, and some of the people did see you. But just because you didn’t stop them doesn’t mean your other men didn’t.” James Damody was still persistent. “They did pretty much the same things. Since those who were released last night can go, shouldn’t some of those who were caught be released as well?”

This time it was Wayne's turn to have a cold look on his face: "You don't seem to realize what those people who were arrested actually did. Putting aside the fact that some of them harmed innocent civilians, do you know that one of our detective agency's partners was almost attacked by them last night?"

"Huh?!" James Damody exclaimed in surprise.

Actually, Wayne was quite surprised when he first learned about this—and not just Wayne, almost everyone in the detective agency was slightly shocked after hearing what had happened.
Several gang members were stopped by a group of detectives in an alley near the scene of the shootout.

Then they saw that the agents were all tall and strong, or looked agile and capable, so they decisively chose Inessa, who seemed the most delicate and weak, as their breakthrough point...

It's said that the "slingshot" team was almost driven mad at the time. On one hand, it was because Inessa was a partner in the detective agency, and she was too close to the other party. Even if it was just an accidental scratch, it would be an embarrassing thing for the detectives present.

On the other hand, many agents had seen Inessa use her extraordinary abilities, or at least heard rumors about it. The alley was so narrow that if Inessa were to explode due to stress, "Slingshot" and the others were worried that they might also turn into a pile of minced meat.

So those gangsters ended up being the ones who got the worst beatings during the entire arrest last night...

This is exactly what Wayne can use as a reason: "Our men wear red armbands when they're on the move, so they should be easily recognizable. Just from this detail alone, I can't help but suspect that besides the Sailors' Gang and the Ellan Gang, there might be other gangs in the docks who are hostile to our detective agency."

"Therefore, both morally and logically, those arrested will not be released directly. I will hand them over to the police according to regulations. As for whether they can get out, it depends on whether their gangs and the bosses behind them are willing to help. Our detective agency also needs to protect itself, and this is not something we can decide on our own."

James Damody was truly speechless now. He rubbed his hands together. "I understand your predicament, Mr. Wayne, but if I go back like this, I might not be able to convince them..."

“That’s easy.” Wayne thought for a moment. “Notify all the gang leaders you can reach. Hmm… it’s not convenient for me to be here right now, so let’s all get together at your place at noon today. I’ll explain to them in person then.”

James Damody seemed a little worried: "Won't something unexpected happen?"

Wayne has roughly assessed the situation: the leader of the Ellan gang is not home, the leader of the Rabbit Gang is sleeping on the second floor, and the Tuto Gang is considered an ally. If they don't object, there aren't many gangs left in the dock area that have any say, at least none of the gangs that caused trouble last night.

He nodded firmly, "Nothing will go wrong. I'll try to convince them and talk to them about the precautions to take during this period."

(End of this chapter)