Shadow Empire

Chapter 1061 Casual Chat in the Bar
A man wearing a hat walked into the bar at the Lapa Diplomatic Embassy in Lance.

Although the gold market in mid-to-late March was not as cold as it had been in the previous two months, the temperature still hadn't risen.

He walked into the bar, without taking off his hat, and looked around before finally fixing his gaze on a corner.

He quickly walked toward the corner. The bartender glanced at him and then gave a signal to the bodyguard in the bar, who stood up and slowly walked toward that corner.

The newcomer seemed oblivious to all this. He went to a corner, sat in a booth, and then raised his hand to call the waiter, "A large glass of whiskey, the cheapest one."

The waiter didn't show any disdain. A large glass usually means more than five ounces, and even the cheapest one costs four dollars.

People say that the people of Xinjin City are all very rich, but in the end, only a minority can afford to casually spend four dollars on a glass of whiskey.

While taking down the bill, the waiter said, "I recommend you try our Silver Label whisky, sir. It's aged for three years in brand new oak casks. If you don't like the taste, can you tell me what's wrong with it? Our boss is treating us tonight!"

The man in the hat took it off and asked with some curiosity, "How much?"

Six yuan.

"I'll have a drink!"

The waiter was all smiles. "Yes, sir, it'll be right there. I'll take the liberty of bringing you some snacks to accompany your drinks!"

In this bar, there are commissions for selling mid-to-high-end drinks, such as silver and gold labels.

Starting this year, the winery will produce wine, red wine, and brandy, but the red wine and brandy may take some time to mature and age.

The winery is considering importing a batch of good quality red wine from other places first, then rebottling it to open up sales channels. In a few years, when the company's own wines are launched, they can quickly fill the gap.

Therefore, the red wine and brandy produced in New Gold City are now all "white crystal grade".

Following that are citrine, red crystal, blue crystal, and green crystal, each representing a different grade.

"Drinks are fucking expensive these days!" the man in the hat complained, seemingly still feeling the pinch of spending six yuan.

The man sitting across from him couldn't help but laugh. "If anyone knew you'd complain about a six-dollar glass of wine, your house would be overflowing with bottles of wine they'd give you tomorrow!"

He wasn't wearing a hat now, but the gentleman who had been wearing one earlier shook his head. "Just because I have money doesn't mean I have to accept ridiculously high prices for drinks."

"Before Prohibition, a bottle of this would have cost less than six dollars, but now they're only giving me a large glass, which means they're selling it for thirty dollars a bottle. Do you think that's reasonable?"

The guy across from him picked up his glass and swirled it a couple of times. "I also think it's unreasonable."

The man in the hat gave me a look that said, "See, I knew you were different from me." Neither of them spoke as the waiter approached rapidly.

He was carrying a tray with a neatly folded disposable paper cup holder, a large, empty square glass, a small ice bucket, a half-empty bottle of liquor, and a measuring cup.

Besides these, there are also some pickled cucumbers, carrots cut into strips, and some dried beef slices, which are all snacks to accompany drinks.

"Sir, would you like some ice?"

It's early spring now, but the temperature is still cold, so some people might not want ice.

The gentleman in the hat didn't refuse, "Just a little bit, as long as the amount of wine won't decrease."

The waiter smiled, bent down to place the items, added some ice to the glass, then measured out five ounces of wine with a glass measure and poured it in.

The amber liquid slid down the ice cubes to the bottom of the glass, which was pleasing to the eye, and its aroma was more pronounced, with a faint nutty scent and a hint of smokiness.

This is a complex whisky. The man sitting opposite the man in the hat, seeing the waiter about to take the bottle away, said directly, "Leave it here."

The waiter was taken aback for a moment before realizing they had ordered such a large bottle, which excited him.

"This bottle of wine has only been sold twice in two ounces, so there are still twenty-one ounces left. Subtract the five ounces here, and there are sixteen ounces left. I'll take the liberty of charging you two nineteen dollars."

Before the man in the hat could say anything, the guy opposite him pulled out two ten-yuan bills, one five-yuan bill, and two one-yuan bills and pressed them onto the bill in the waiter's hand. "There's plenty of money to spend. Just don't let anyone bother us!"

The waiter immediately bowed, "Thank you for your generosity, sir. Everything will be as you wish!"

He took a few steps back and walked over to a bodyguard in the bar, saying a few words to him. The bodyguard then stood at a distance from them, in a place where he could prevent others from approaching.

Including this gentleman's own money, they have already spent more than thirty yuan here. To say it's a lot, this amount of money is not particularly large, but it is certainly not small either.

The advantage of being rich is that, as long as you have money, you can enjoy all the things that bring you happiness.

After having a few snacks, the two raised their glasses and clinked them together. "Next time, it'll be my treat," said the man in the hat.

The two of them each took a small sip, and the man opposite him smiled indifferently, "It doesn't matter who pays, it doesn't matter."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Lance is back today. Cleveland threw him a party to welcome him back."

"He's still at his Cleveland estate and hasn't come out yet; their relationship is closer than people imagine."

Guests who could stay overnight at Senator Cliff’s estate were certainly very important to him; even those who were not so important were not qualified to stay overnight at his estate.

“He values ​​Lance highly, and now we can see that he is also influenced by Lance on some issues, which is the worst part.”

“The more he values ​​Lance, the more trouble it will be for us to take down these people.” He picked up a small piece of dried beef, not the kind that is completely dry, but still a little chewy, and could tear off some strips of beef.

When this beef mixes with the residual alcohol in your mouth, it releases a very unique flavor that can be quite intoxicating.

The man in the hat was annoyed by these words. He took off his coat, inadvertently revealing the police badge on his vest. He was a policeman, and the boss of all the police in New Gold City.

Police chief.

Sitting opposite him was the new director of the FBI, who, upon taking office, was already trying to indirectly increase his own power by strengthening Congress's control over local criminal cases.

Although he is not yet well-known, people have begun to notice him. His approach is clever, allowing him to strengthen himself while consolidating power in Congress and the central government, without causing dissatisfaction among local authorities or Congress. He is quite capable.

There was no direct hatred between the FBI Director and Lance; Lance, or rather other gangs, was merely a bargaining chip in his path to greater power.

The war was about to end, and he planned to take down all the well-known gangs in the five years following its conclusion, thereby gaining more opportunities to rise to higher positions.

His ambition wasn't just to be the director of the FBI; he wanted more!
So Lance, a gang leader who already had a reputation in the Federation, also became his target, even though there was no hatred between them.

It's like a wolf wanting to eat a rabbit, not because the rabbit did anything to make the wolf hate it, but because the wolf is hungry and will eat the rabbit if it's around.

There is no right or wrong, no love or hate, only interests, the most naked interests.

The police chief nodded, a wry smile on his face. "You don't know, this guy is very difficult to deal with. He's made me lose face several times, and I just can't do anything about it."

"I was just about to do something to him, Tom... do you know that guy?"

The FBI director nodded. "I know, one of Cleveland's men, a staff member, a gofer or something."

“Yes, that’s him!” The police chief pointed to another chief across from him, then picked up a small piece of pickled cucumber and put it in his mouth to chew.

This pickled cucumber recipe is a family heirloom from the Lawrence family. Although it's pickled cucumber, it retains the crispness of cucumber. It's completely different from the soft, mushy pickled cucumbers you find elsewhere, and it's very popular with customers.

“I haven’t even dealt with Lance yet, and Tom is already hinting that I can’t arrest Lance. And soon someone will be calling me—the mayor, or even someone higher up. What can I do?”

"The Secretary of State even called me to discuss my connection with Lance. He's the most difficult mob boss I've ever dealt with, bar none!"

This is his experience in his work: when dealing with other gang leaders, no matter how difficult they are outside, once they are in the police station, they must abide by his rules.

But Lance is different. He's not difficult to deal with at all. He'll cooperate as long as it's not too outrageous. But even when you know he's done something wrong, you can't do anything about it.

This was very discouraging, and Lance would sometimes make subtle hints and threats, which also gave the police chief a headache.

After all, he is not alone; he has family, parents, wife, children, and brothers and sisters.

The FBI director nodded. "I've been thinking about this recently, and I think we can take a different approach and not make arresting him our goal."

"Let's change our perspective. Doesn't he have a deep-seated hatred for the Perez family?"

"Then create opportunities for their hatred and conflict to continue to escalate."

"Now that the war is over, the ban on fighting will soon be lifted."

“My idea is to mobilize the Perez family to deal with Lance first, and then let them fight each other. No matter who kills whom, it will be a good thing for us, not a bad thing.”

“During their family war, we collected a lot of evidence. Regardless of who wins in the end, Lance or Fran, we have evidence that can be used to arrest a large number of their victorious officers and captains.”

"Take out their henchmen first, then dealing with them will be much easier. Besides, they don't just have one enemy; there will be challengers constantly coming to challenge them until they are completely defeated or show a weakness."

The police chief listened to the other man's line of thought but did not immediately offer any opinion. Instead, he looked at him meaningfully and said, "You haven't considered arresting them and bringing them to court."

The FBI director took a sip of his drink, looking at him like he was an idiot. "Come on, you don't really think that sending them to jail is a victory for justice and the law, do you?"

"They can remotely control criminal groups outside to continue committing crimes even while they are in prison, and they may retaliate even more viciously!"

“Given their status and their network of connections, it is highly likely that even if a lifetime judge were to hear their case, they would not be sentenced to death, which means that our efforts would be meaningless.”

"Since arresting them is pointless, let's find a way to make them a thing of the past, so we won't have so many troubles!"

The police chief smiled. "Your sense of justice is as impressive as ever!"

The two are good friends and classmates at police academy.

They all had excellent grades, so they postponed their graduation to receive police officer training.

During this process, they got to know each other and left a deep impression on each other, especially the FBI director, who expressed a view at the school.

His arrest and bringing of heinous criminals to court is the greatest injustice of the judicial system.

The federal government has not abolished the death penalty. Although some places have begun to call for it, this does not mean that the death penalty can be carried out quickly; it is difficult.

Sometimes judges would rather sentence someone to a thousand years in prison than to the death penalty, even though the results are almost the same—the person being tried will simply disappear from society.

In addition, some current regulations allow local authorities to sometimes offer criminals certain conditions in order to expedite case closures and quell public fear.

It's like they won't be sentenced to death if they confess to all their crimes and plead guilty.

This is a good deal for many criminals, and it's also a good deal for the police. Everyone saves time, and justice is served.

But the FBI director believes this is not true justice. True justice is making all criminals pay the price they deserve!

Instead of arming them with laws and legal loopholes!

Even now, the other party's thoughts have not changed, which still surprises the police chief somewhat.

The FBI director took two sips of his drink, then emptied the ice from his glass, added more ice, and poured himself a glass of silver-label whiskey.

The nutty and smoky flavor profile does indeed provide a more comfortable experience, and the taste is excellent, much better than ordinary mid-range whiskies. No wonder it's so expensive!

If he knew that a large part of the rich flavor he perceived came from thickeners, he probably wouldn't think that way.

"These people, whether it's Fran, Lance, or the leaders of other big gangs, have probably killed tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people."

"It's not fair to just send them to jail, and they'll always find a way to get out!"

“I’ve been thinking about how to legally kill them, without it being like myself. You see, this is a great option.”

The police chief nodded. "I agree with your idea. It's easier to handle the others, but what about Lance..."

The FBI director shook his head. "It's all the same. I've had someone watching him since early this morning."

The police chief still had some questions: "What if Congress intervenes in these cases and asks you to stop?"

The FBI director replied, "Didn't you say last time that there was a young man over there whose family was killed by Lance's men?"

The police chief nodded with a somewhat grave expression. "Yes, I've recommended him for FBI training. He's currently working in Likalai, and he wants to get close to Lance to gather evidence of his crimes."

"This is the person. Use him to expose evidence of the Lance family's crimes. Once public opinion is stirred up, even Congress and senators will have to distance themselves from Lance in time."

"Even if they don't take the initiative to stand on our side, at least they won't interfere with some of our subsequent actions."

After listening, the police chief thought for a moment and said, "There's nothing too serious. As for whether it will work out, we'll see."

"It's too early to talk about these things now, and it's not easy for me to handle it. It mainly depends on you."

Police officers at the local police station lack experience in this kind of work, and their level of law enforcement is somewhat insufficient. The FBI, on the other hand, has now taken off and has greater law enforcement powers, making them the perfect fit for this task.

After finishing their business, they quickly drifted into conversation about financial investments.

"I saw a new car parked outside, the latest... brand, is it yours?"

"I think the license plate number is similar to your previous one."

The FBI director had a big smile on his face, but if you praised his wife, he would look at you with a scrutinizing gaze.

But if you compliment his car, he'll smile like a child with extraordinary innocence!

“That’s right, I just bought it.” Perhaps wanting to show off a bit, he couldn’t help but say, “I recently made some money investing. There’s a stock called Hope Mining on the stock market that has great potential!”

“I made a lot of money from it, so I bought a car as a reward for myself.”

In middle age, besides career, investment and making money are probably the only things that can keep them talking. Soon, the two began to share their investment experiences, as if it were just a casual chat after work.

(End of this chapter)