Shadow Empire

Chapter 1006 Initiative

"The Perez family has arrived."

The deputy director knocked on the director's office door, then pushed it open a crack and poked his head in.

It's already evening, completely dark, around 8 or 9 pm, several hours have passed since this happened.

The bureau chief rubbed his eyes; he had dozed off for a while.

This darn bad weather makes me want to sleep as soon as the heating in the room is turned up.

He put his legs off the desk, straightened his clothes, and stood up. He had some things he needed to discuss with the Perez family in person.

Actually, there was a lounge in the room. He just... didn't expect to be unable to resist wanting to take a nap. If he really wanted to sleep, he would definitely be lying in bed in his pajamas.

Even at night, the police station is still full of night shift officers, not much quieter than during the day.

Especially now that it's winter.

Many people may not understand why police stations are busier at night in winter, because it is winter and the temperature is very low.

Some homeless people, unable to bear the cold, attempt to "enter a house," but they certainly do so without the homeowner's permission, and homeowners would never allow homeless people to stay overnight in their houses.

Therefore, there are many alarm points when winter nights arrive.

These people either discovered their garages had been broken into, or they found someone had entered their houses, or the windows of their cars parked on the street had been smashed and someone had climbed inside.

Of course, besides these bad news, there was also some good news. For example, someone found a person lying in a snowdrift by the roadside, who most likely went to meet God or something.

These are things that the police need to handle; they can't just leave those bodies lying haphazardly on the roadside.

They need to examine the circumstances of death and then decide whether to cremate the body, scatter the ashes, or open a case for investigation.

Most of the time, these bodies are simply identified as "frozen to death" and then cremated and their remains scattered. Neither the police nor mainstream society would waste social resources on a homeless person, nor would they consider it worthwhile for them to do so.

Those upper-class people, the gentlemen, always tell people that life is priceless.

In fact, they must have been looking in a mirror when they came to this conclusion, and the life of "that person" in the mirror was indeed priceless.

For ordinary people on the roadside, their lives may only be worth a few dollars, tens of dollars, or hundreds of dollars.

At most, it's only a few thousand dollars—the standard federal pension.

So the police station was still very lively in winter. The chief went up the stairs to the office in the interrogation area on the second floor.

Bonnie, who was talking to someone, immediately walked over with a big smile and shook hands with the chief.

Although Bonnie is only a member of the younger generation in the Perez family, he is considered an important external liaison for the family because of his social skills and Fran's trust in him.

They had dealings before.

The Perez family had previously committed illegal acts in New Gold City and were arrested. Bonnie was responsible for getting them released or negotiating with them.

This time was no exception; the bureau chief had already guessed before he even saw him.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late, but this matter is indeed very urgent." Bonnie apologized for disturbing the police chief's rest so late at the police station. He could see that the chief looked sleepy and had obviously been woken up.

The chief shook his head and released his grip. He glanced at the people behind Bonnie, who immediately understood and said, "You all go out. I need to speak with the chief alone."

Everyone, including the deputy director, left the office, leaving only the two of them.

The director walked to a chair and sat down. He lit a cigarette. “The Secretary of State called me last night and told me that several ambassadors had put pressure on him. The nature of this matter is very serious. They attacked the embassy’s consular district.”

Bonnie approached him and discreetly handed him an envelope. "So I can't take them with me?"

The police chief glanced at the envelope in his hand, hesitated twice, but ultimately couldn't refuse it, and then put it in his pocket.

A police officer who doesn't take bribes can't become the police chief of New Gold City.

There are too many people who can decide his fate. He may have many good qualities, such as loving small animals, loving flowers and plants, and liking sports.

But he cannot be an upright person, nor can he be a fair, just, and righteous person.

If you don't accept bribes, the men will think you have some grand plan in mind, or that you're not on their side.

In this era where capital comes first, it's not just capitalists using money to pave the way; politicians are also using this money to build networks.

If you don't accept money, it means you're not on the same wavelength as these people, and they can't trust or give you important responsibilities.

Therefore, the police chief also accepts money, and he does so with a clear conscience.

Perhaps for the sake of the check, or perhaps he really didn't want to cause trouble for himself, he lowered his voice a little, "The Secretary of State's attitude is very tough, you definitely can't take these people away, so the only thing you can do is make them take the blame."

"As long as they are willing to plead guilty, I can get away with whatever the Secretary of State asks me to do, and the rest will be no trouble for me."

“Bonnie, listen, I don’t want to get involved in your conflict with the Lance family.”

"Whether you sabotage each other, disrupt each other's events, or simply go to the suburbs and fight it out, whatever you want, I don't want to interfere, but don't cause trouble in the city."

"These are special times. If I find myself in a passive position, I can only apologize to you."

Bonnie listened attentively, nodding as he echoed, "I've already cursed those who made the decision, and Fran has cursed them too. These pig-brains came up with absolutely no good ideas."

"That's the end of this matter. They will plead guilty, and then, as the city's crime fighters and heroes, you've brought them to court!"

He patted the police chief's arm and said, "I should thank you for this. I'll treat you to a meal after everything is settled."

The police chief didn't take the statement seriously. A gang member inviting the police chief to an appointment—wasn't that obviously a joke?
He smiled and nodded, "If I have time, definitely!" which meant he definitely didn't have time.

"I have other work to do, so I won't stay with you any longer. Please handle this as soon as possible. Once it's done, I'll have to go through the formalities. The Secretary of State is keeping a close eye on things."

Bonnie said a couple more words of thanks, then watched the police chief leave.

The police chief returned to his office, relieved. Given Bonnie and Fran's attitude, the case should be closed soon.

An isolated incident; perhaps they run a bar and, seeing the bar near the embassy doing well, decided to try and steal its business.

This is the reason the police chief himself thought might be possible; whether it is or not depends on their own arrangements.

He pulled out an envelope containing a check for five thousand dollars.

Not a lot, not a little, I can only say... it's alright.

He put the check into his wallet, casually tossed the envelope into the shredder, and he had the money for the new set of golf clubs he wanted.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his face. He then changed into a set of pajamas and went to the lounge, where he could finally get a good night's sleep.

Just as he lay down on the comfortable spring bed, enjoying the quick sleep experience brought by the close fit between the mattress and his skin, Bonnie from the second floor also came into the interrogation room with his lawyer and two family executives.

According to regulations, they cannot go to see the detained suspects in such large numbers, but rules do not exist to be followed by everyone.

The purpose of rules is to tell people where the bottom line is.

The first person they met was the combat captain in charge of the operation, a young man.

When he saw him, Bonnie walked over and punched him in the chest—a very light punch, more like a greeting. He smiled and said, "Well done, my brother."

“People outside are already talking about you and what you did. They admit that we embarrassed Lance, and you gained more face for the family!”

You can't just coldly tell someone, "You fucking have to take the blame," that's not the right attitude, even though some people in the family do look down on these "outsiders" who don't have the Perez family name.

Within the entire Perez family, it is extremely difficult for anyone without the Perez surname to rise to the ranks of senior family officials; only a handful of them have achieved this.

This is also the biggest problem faced by gang organizations that are based on blood ties: they clearly trust their own people more than outsiders.

This creates a very special atmosphere where those "outsiders" are not so easy to gain their trust, and naturally, it is also difficult for them to get promoted.

After Bonnie said a few kind words, the captain in front of him should show an honored smile and then say that all of this was for the honor of the family.

But the guy didn't do that. Bonnie's expression turned slightly off. He took two steps back and stared into the captain's eyes.

He noticed that when he looked at the captain, the captain would look away, making him seem very guilty. "What are you afraid of?" Bonnie asked.

"You're in the police station now, which is safer than being on the street. Come on, tell me, what are you afraid of?"

He walked over, hooked his hand around the back of the captain's neck, and slapped him twice. "Tell me!"

The captain forced an awkward smile. "I'm just a little nervous, a little nervous."

Bonnie didn't quite believe him. "You're so nervous you've repeated it again. Are you really nervous?" He was a little skeptical, but the captain insisted that he was nervous.

He wasn't the captain, so he didn't know what was wrong with the captain at that moment. He could only choose to believe that the captain was probably just nervous.

"Okay, whether you're really nervous or not, remember what I'm about to say."

“There’s been a problem with this, and we can’t get you out of here, so the family needs you to confess.”

"Just say that you were jealous of their business and vandalized their bar, accidentally injuring some customers."

"You are willing to actively compensate for all expenses and acknowledge and repent your wrongdoing."

"This case is not complicated. If you actively compensate the victim and obtain their forgiveness, you will only be in jail for a maximum of two years."

"A year from now, I'll find a way to get you out of this mess. I'll ask Fran to give you some extra work so you can become a manager."

Above the executives of the Perez family is a senior executive. While executives are the ultimate goal for most outsiders, senior executives are the ultimate goal for members of the Perez family.

Becoming an official means owning your own business, which also means you can earn more illegal income.

This should have been a happy occasion, but the captain in front of him had a long face, which made Bonnie feel increasingly uneasy. He suddenly raised his voice, "What are you afraid of?"

The captain was almost in tears when he suddenly knelt down with a thud. "I...I've already told Lance."

Bonnie paused for a moment, then squatted down, grabbed the captain by the collar, and lifted him up. "What the hell did you say to him?"

"You're saying you did it according to the family's requirements?"

"Or did you say something else?"

"Even if you told me, you shouldn't be afraid. What are you afraid of?"

As he spoke, he punched the captain in the stomach, causing the captain to curl up slightly.

When he looked up again, tears and snot were streaming down his face. "I said it was... an order to do it."

The person he was referring to was one of his superiors, and also a member of a gang with the surname Perez.

Hearing this, Bonnie still wasn't completely convinced. "You said it, but that's not a reason for you to be afraid. Tell me the fuck, what the hell are you afraid of?!"

He grabbed the captain by the collar with both hands, lifted him up, and slammed him hard against the wall.

The police officer on duty outside glanced back at the interrogation room door, but ultimately decided not to meddle and went in, instead continuing to stand guard at the door.

The captain wept bitterly, a deep sense of despair in his eyes, and said, "They recorded it."

Bonnie's pupils dilated for a moment, then contracted sharply. His voice even changed slightly. "You fucking said that you said in front of the video camera that you were hired by us to do this?"

The captain nodded, crying even harder, "They killed... (the guy who was killed), right in front of all of us."

"He pointed at my head with that bloody table leg and said that if I didn't talk, he would smash my head!"

"Fuck, I'm terrified! He really dares to kill people! I don't want to die!"

Bonney punched him several more times, causing the captain to curl up on the ground, clutching his head. Bonney, still not satisfied, stomped on him a few more times until the lawyer pulled him away.

How could you fucking do that?

"Haven't your family treated you well all these years?"

He stared at the captain in disbelief, as if it were something he couldn't comprehend.

The captain kept saying "I'm sorry" while indicating that if he didn't do as he was told, Lance would kill him.

He just didn't want to die.

Who wants to die?

No one wants to die!
Fake!

Bonnie paced back and forth in the interrogation room, hands on his hips. He took out a cigarette, bit the butt hard, lit it, and then glared fiercely at the captain.

Are you the only one doing this?

The captain looked up at him. "Everyone."

Upon hearing this, Bonnie inexplicably burst out laughing. "Everyone?"

"You sons of bitches deserve to die!"

He shook his head. "You'd better think carefully about how you're going to explain this to Mr. Fran!"

As he spoke, he pushed open the door and walked out of the interrogation room. He glanced at the police officer next to him, took out a roll of money from his pocket, counted out fifty yuan, stuffed it into the officer's shirt pocket, and thoughtfully patted it, saying, "I'm going to make a phone call."

The officer glanced at his shirt pocket, a smile spreading across his face. "That's your prerogative, sir."

"There's a phone in the interrogation room, if you don't mind."

“I don’t mind.” Bonnie walked to the interrogation office not far away, where three police officers were working.

He went over and used the same method to buy time for the three police officers to go outside for a smoke.

He then dialed the family's number. Fran had been waiting for news to come back, so he answered the phone immediately.

"No good news, only bad news."

"They said Lance forced them to say on camera that they attacked the bar at the behest of their family."

"What should we do now?"

Fran couldn't help but curse when he heard this. The older he got, the worse his temper became. He would fly into a rage over the slightest thing, and he didn't have the calm demeanor that other old people had after seeing through the superficiality of the world.

A few minutes later, he returned to the interrogation room and gave the captain a cold look. "Don't fucking utter any more nonsense. If anyone asks, don't say anything. This is all your own decision."

After saying that, Bonnie left with the others.

In the car, the lawyer didn't say a word, but the two family members who came with him couldn't help but ask, "Are you leaving like this?"

Bonnie was getting a little annoyed too. "What else can we do?"

“Lance has the video recording. If he just throws it out, the blame will fall on us!”

Someone said, "We can say it's fake, or that our people were forced to say it."

Bonnie looked at him like he was an idiot. "Who the hell cares if it's real or fake?"

"who cares?"

He shook his head. That's why some people are direct descendants, while others are only branch descendants.

Fools don't deserve to be in the family core.

He patted the back of the driver's seat. "Drive back to the manor."

The key to resolving this matter lies with Lance. Fran and his team held an emergency discussion and decided to find a mediator to negotiate with Lance again.

It was the same last time, and it's the same now. They've completely lost face!

Just as their car drove out of the police station gate, before they could even accelerate, a large truck came straight at them...

(End of this chapter)