Empire of Shadows

Having access to more information, Mayor Williams naturally understood what was happening at this moment.

He appeared somewhat颓废, having already smoked three cigarettes in a row.

His personal doctor had warned him that he could continue smoking, but absolutely not consecutively, and the number of cigarettes smoked each day should not exceed seven.

Seven is a universally acknowledged lucky number, believed to bring good fortune. Similarly, smoking a maximum of seven cigarettes was considered the same.

In fact, doctors are more aware than the average person of the harm tobacco causes to the body, but the tobacco industry's public relations are too strong, and some CEOs of well-known tobacco companies even smoke their own products in public.

Everyone denies the connection between smoking and lung disease in order to ensure tobacco sales.

In reality, even if they announced the results, those who want to smoke would still smoke; it would only create problems in expanding new customer groups, such as teenagers and women.

The pleasure brought by the continuous intake of nicotine eventually breeds boredom.

His body was telling him, "That's enough, stop!"

He only took the first two puffs of this cigarette, and hasn't touched it since.

He tilted his head, watching Lance and his subordinates discuss their "battle plan" at the other side of the table. He heard a rough outline.

They would try to attract their attention first, create some noise, and then have someone open the door.

If Arthur wasn't in the middle of the living room or somewhere similar, his chances of survival would be very high.

"But if he's in a place where he can easily be reached, like the living room or the bedroom where they're watching the commotion, he's very likely to become a hostage."

Lance frankly stated the outcome of this plan, "Once Arthur is taken hostage as a shield in a confined environment, I can hardly guarantee that my people won't be passively shot in order to avoid harming him."

He looked at Mayor Williams, his eyes sharp, "My suggestion is still the same: force them out, take them down during their transfer, and then rescue Arthur."

"At least this way, Arthur's chances of survival will be higher."

Mayor Williams was in a daze for a while, then came back to his senses. It was indeed a terrible situation. He shook his head, "We can see them now, but once it's really night, can you ensure they can all be seen?"

This was indeed a problem. If the other party were to transfer, it would definitely be in the latter half of the night.

After the lights in the vicinity were turned off in the latter half of the night, let alone whether the person coming out was Arthur, it would be difficult for them to even distinguish whether the thing coming out was a person!

This wasn't an era with night vision goggles and thermal imaging as auxiliary tools. Even Mador's group of soldiers wouldn't be able to distinguish who was Arthur and who wasn't in such a dimly lit environment.

They would all be dark shadows, making it impossible to distinguish the target from non-targets.

So, in a sense, rushing in now would actually have a higher probability of success than the other option.

Unless they came out at dawn, like right now.

But that was obviously impossible. Even an idiot would know to wait until it was completely dark before leaving.

"Besides, I don't have that much time to deal with these things!"

He was referring to the riot in the old industrial area. He had only heard some general information, and the specific situation was still unclear, but he understood that this was definitely a challenge in his political career!

He needed to concentrate all his attention on dealing with this challenge, whether it was rescuing Arthur and putting his mind at ease completely,

Or Arthur accidentally having an accident, letting him completely give up. In short, he couldn't allow other things to distract him.

He needed a result, and quickly!

Lance saw the determination in his eyes and knew that there was no need to persuade him any further. He nodded and glanced at Hiram and Elvin, "Do as we planned. Let Mador's people go first, and leave no one alive."

The two glanced at Mayor Williams again, and seeing him throw away the cigarette that had burned down to the butt and light another one, they left.

He was expressing his stance in this way: he would wait here for news and not interfere with anything.

After the two left, they would probably need ten minutes to prepare. The sky was already beginning to darken, but the room had lights, so it wasn't a big problem.

"What are you planning to do about that situation?"

Lance's people had brought some not-so-detailed information. Mayor Williams put the cigarette in his mouth and didn't answer Lance's question immediately. He took out his silver lighter, lit the cigarette in his mouth, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled.

His body was protesting to him, and even the experience of smoking was becoming worse, but the intake of nicotine made him greedy.

At this moment, his desires and instincts were fighting and conflicting when it came to smoking.

However, none of this could change the fact that his reason was what determined his actions.

He put the lighter away and sighed, "It's a bit difficult. I don't know the specific situation, or how many people have died."

"I hope James isn't too timid. What's needed at this time is courage and daring. He should possess these qualities."

He paused, "I may still need your help with this matter later."

Lance didn't refuse. The interests of both parties were aligned now. "No problem. This matter may not be a bad thing for you."

Mayor Williams looked at him, and Lance said calmly, "The federal people are more dissatisfied with them than with the immigrant groups. Many places have seen marches and protests against the entry of refugees."

"You can use these things to your advantage and, in your capacity as mayor, call for these refugees to be removed from our homeland and not allowed to defile the environment here."

"This may earn you some extremist labels, but it will also bring you a certain degree of public prestige."

Mayor Williams hadn't considered this approach before. Part of it was his age; sometimes his mind was a little slower to process things he hadn't experienced.

The other part was that his main focus was still on how to "resolve" the possible impact of this incident on him.

The essence of politics is transaction and compromise.

He certainly had no basis for transaction or compromise with Mr. Charles, so he could only think about seeking opportunities for transaction and compromise in other directions.

But Lance's words gave him some new inspiration. Since they wanted to do something big, why didn't he do something even bigger?

The way he looked at Lance was glowing. At this moment, he had an urge to have a daughter and then have that daughter have a child with Lance, a child with Lance's bloodline.

Such excellent bloodline should be integrated into the Williams family's genes!

He temporarily put this matter in his heart. After the current matter was resolved, he would definitely see if there were any suitable women in the family.

He even thought of his wife for a moment, but unfortunately, although his wife also had the "Williams" surname, she didn't have their family's bloodline. It was a pity.

After skipping over this matter, he began to think about the feasibility of Lance's proposal, and the more he thought about it, the more promising it seemed.

Compared to the Liberal Party's "unfettered development," the Socialist Party was clearly more purposeful and relatively more conservative on racial and immigration issues.

Anyway, he didn't plan to leave Goldport City in this lifetime, and he had no chance to leave.

He would be over seventy years old when his term ended. What could he do at seventy?

Become president?

If he could last until then.

So, for him, being "extremely conservative" might narrow his political path. Nowadays, people advocate for being versatile, but for him, that wasn't the problem.

He could retire after serving two terms as mayor.

So, taking this opportunity to label himself and overcome this crisis, what his position was didn't matter to him at all.

On the contrary, doing so might bring some better changes!

"You've given me a good idea, but there might be some trouble in it. I have to act more extreme."

He didn't say how to be more extreme, but Lance understood what he meant.

If you were to ask a farmer what the epitome of extreme conservatism towards high-contrast people is, he'd surely tell you it's shoving a shotgun up that dumbass's ass and pulling the trigger!

Lance considered it. "It would be better for Bru and Duke to handle this than for me to do it."

"A gang should be a gang; it should be pure, without such distinct stances and affiliations."

"However, I can secretly help you a bit, given our friendship."

Mayor Williams' face showed a hint of a smile upon hearing this. This crisis, seemingly a crisis, was actually an opportunity.

Now, the thing that worried him was whether that damned fool Arthur would live to see the sun tomorrow.

At that moment, suddenly a car lost control and crashed into another car, stopping on the sidewalk.

Richie inside the building was first drawn by the sound of the car crashing into the wall. He walked toward a room and saw two people arguing about ten meters away through the window.

He immediately frowned.

The two were accusing and cursing each other. Perhaps some busybody called the police, as the sound of sirens could already be heard in the distance.

In their current situation, the thing they feared most was the police coming to check things out.

If they felt something was wrong and wanted to come in for a look, it could be troublesome.

He didn't turn off the lights, just stood there behind the window watching. What they didn't notice was that several young men had come to the outside of their house from the alley.

The locksmith took out the quick lock-picking tool that Lance had sketched for him and that he had personally crafted, and inserted it into the keyhole.

Most places here used pin tumbler locks, with a few particularly old buildings still using warded locks, but not many.

This house used pin tumbler locks, which to the locksmith, was no different than having no lock at all.

He first listened for a while outside the door, confirmed that there was no one behind the door, then pressed the spring back and forth with force, the whole process taking less than two seconds, then twisted hard, and the door opened.

He retrieved the lock-picking tool and left. He wasn't a combatant; his job was to open the locks Lance told him to open in the shortest amount of time.

The job was easy, the income was high, he lived in a detached house, and most of the time he was researching the newly released locks. He loved this job.

Mador's men outside the door looked at each other. They thought it would take a while to open the lock, but in reality, it only took two seconds.

This made them feel a slight chill on their scalps.

If, in the dead of night, such a person silently pried open their door while they were sound asleep…

Just thinking about it made them feel a little shudder. Fortunately, this guy was with them, otherwise they would have to get rid of him as soon as possible!

Mador personally took charge of this operation. He once again confirmed the strategy of this operation with a look, then twisted the doorknob.

There was no one behind the door. They tiptoed inside. As soon as they entered the living room, the guy sitting in the living room eating something looked at these weapon-wielding guys with a bit of confusion.

It was as if… he completely didn't understand what was happening.

The time they spent looking at each other lasted less than a second. Mador opened fire directly.

The gunshots startled Richie in the room. He pulled out his pistol and shot at the wooden door.

In fact, he couldn't hit the people outside at all. He couldn't see them, so naturally he couldn't aim accurately, but it made the people in the living room hide.

The sudden burst of gunfire caused the onlookers on the street to scream and flee. In the Triangle, they had an almost instinctive allergic reaction to gunfire!

Mayor Williams, sitting in a cafe not far away, also twitched. Ash fell on the table. There was still a coffee pot, coffee cups, and some pastries here.

He looked shocked and even knew to say "Sorry" and have the waiter replace everything.

But it still couldn't let people see through his nervousness and unease at this time.

He kept flicking ash, flicking it once, then flicking it again, taking a puff of smoke, then flicking it again, using this method to cover up and relieve the tension in his heart.

Lance didn't disturb him, but remained silent. Now they both needed to calm down.

Once the firefight started, many things would be out of control. Mador, slightly panting, shouted loudly, "Arthur, where are you?"

Arthur in the basement suddenly raised his head and looked towards the stairs, tears streaming down his face in an instant.

He had never been so excited!

"I'm here, I'm here!"

It was also Richie's decision to hide Arthur in the basement, because no one would hide someone in a place that could be seen as soon as the door was opened. At this moment, he hated himself in his heart.

"Let's go, there's no time if we don't leave…" Since it had already reached this point of no return, then leave immediately without hesitation.

He had a subordinate open the window. This was the first floor, and jumping out of the window wouldn't kill anyone, but just as his subordinate was about to climb out of the window, gunfire rang out outside as well.

His subordinate fell to the ground outside the window with a thud. For a moment, the room fell into silence.

They were surrounded.

Mador's men quickly found the entrance to the basement. He stomped back and forth on the floor with his military boots and quickly found the entrance to the basement under the carpet.

Opening the basement door, he heard Arthur thanking God inside.

"Are there any other people inside?" Mador didn't go down immediately, but asked first, while taking out a small mirror and shining it down.

Arthur quickly responded, "No one, I swear, they were all drawn away by the sound of the crash just now…"

Mador had his men keep shooting while taking people down to the basement. They found Arthur in a cage in the corner.

He was very disheveled now, because he had been living with his own feces for the past two days!

Richie and those people didn't give him a chance to come out to defecate at all. He could only relieve himself in the cage, and what was even worse was that the cage itself wasn't very big.

After he fell asleep at night, he accidentally pressed on it, so that he now exuded a shit stench all over his body!

He kept thanking in his mouth, thanking this, thanking that.

Richie in the room probably knew that there was no possibility of escaping anymore, and the expression on his face suddenly became firm!

"It's time to return to God's embrace, lambs!"

Those subordinates, who still had some fear on their faces, suddenly became calm after hearing what he said. Although their eyes were still a little flustered, they were no longer as flustered as before.

"The demons are outside the door. Defeat them. It is time to spread God's gospel and glory!"

Those people mustered their courage and rushed out without fear of death, and then were riddled with bullets. When it was his turn, he threw his pistol out, shouting "I surrender", and then stretched out his hands.

Two minutes later, Mayor Williams looked at Arthur, who had run over under the cover of Mador and others, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

But immediately, a "Waste!" was cursed out of his mouth!

As he spoke, he stood up, took off his belt, looking murderous.

"Do I need to avoid this?" Lance asked.

Mayor Williams shook his head, "No need, I'll be done soon."

Arthur, who had spent two days in fear and unease, saw his father again, and before he could embrace his old father, Mayor Williams' belt hit him on the head!

With a 'smack', it was extremely loud!

Accompanied by Arthur's painful screams, Mayor Williams vented his negative emotions of the past two days with the belt in his hand!

After a while, he stopped panting, "Go change the clothes on your body that are stained with shit, you disgust me, you know?"

After he fastened his belt, he tidied up his clothes, then came to Lance's side and made a gesture to hug.

Lance stood up and hugged him. The old man patted him on the back, "Thanks to you, Lance."

"As long as the Williams family is in Goldport City for one day, we will always be close comrades!"