Shadow Empire

Chapter 1087 Compromise and Deal

After some thought, the senior detective chief looked at what could be considered his best friend and asked a crucial question, "If I say... no, will I die?"

He stared intently into his friend's eyes, hoping to get the truth out of him.

After finishing his drink, his friend looked him in the eye and said in a very firm and certain voice, "Yes."

"And I can tell you very... cruelly, it's not just you, your wife, your children, but it may also involve your other family members and relatives."

"You're still clinging to hope about this, brother!"

“You are not a law enforcement officer now, not someone who is doing something for judicial justice. You are being used as a knife to stab a monster-like interest group that the people behind you dare not confront directly. Do you think the end of this knife will be good?”

He shook his head. "If you're lucky, you'll succeed, but you'll be discarded as a pawn."

"This way, the people here will kill you and your family to vent their anger, and at the same time, they will warn others that anyone who dares to lay a hand on them will pay a heavy price."

"Isn't there a saying that's often used to be?"

"If you want to keep a group of monkeys in the monkey mountain, the simplest way is to kill one of their own kind in front of them."

"And you are that sacrifice."

"If you fail, if the interest groups here are not defeated in this game, if Lance White is not arrested, and if you don't send him to prison or the electric chair, what do you think your fate will be?"

"Those behind you will fail. They may still have ways to protect themselves, such as giving up some benefits, then completely admitting defeat and leaving the game."

"But what about yours?"

"What will become of you pawns?"

Every word he said came from the bottom of his heart; he genuinely didn't want his good friend to be on the opposite side of him.

On the other hand, he did want to persuade his good friend to come closer to him, so that he could gain more attention within the entire interest group.

This means he will have a greater chance of being promoted later, at which point he will have more power and his income will also increase.

Now it's just a matter of moving to a better house, but what about the future?

Could they exchange it for a better villa, or even a large estate?

Will his children have a better start in life, like the children of celebrities and politicians, and be able to go further than he, as their father?
When a person stands at different heights, the things they think about are also different.

When people are poor, all they think about is how to fill their stomachs and how to continue to starve themselves.

But what was he thinking when he stood at such a height?
He was thinking about the future development of his family, and whether his children would have any opportunities to reach a higher stage.

May his bloodline shine even brighter in the higher echelons of federal politics.

The senior detective supervisor remained silent after hearing his words, then patted his forehead after a while, saying, "I don't know."

"I don't know what to choose."

His friend put his hand on his shoulder. “Your boss, Roland, and the people behind him, they’re just using you as a tool.”

"As for me, we are brothers, I would never harm you."

"I just want you to be happier and go further in life. Didn't we talk about that before?"

“We can retire together, then buy a plot of land in the suburbs, build a bigger house, and then live together…”

A little later, Lance received a call from the senior agent supervisor, whose tone clearly betrayed some resentment.

But that's not important. What Lance wanted was his attitude. "Mr. White, I've made up my mind."

"So what's your answer?" Lance asked.

After about ten seconds, I heard some heavy breathing on the other end of the line. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

He simply couldn't bring himself to say anything about siding with Lance or Senator Cleveland; he felt a bit out of place. So he used a different approach.

After listening, Lance understood what he was thinking. He smiled and said, "Two things. First, I'll give you a name. He should be in the FBI. See if you can find this person."

"The second thing is, how do Roland and the others plan to deal with me?"

The senior detective supervisor was also a very decisive person. Once he decided to side with Lance and Senator Cleveland, he no longer had any thoughts he didn't want to say or only said half of what he wanted to say.

He told Lance all of Director Roland's ideas and plans directly, down to the smallest detail; he told Lance everything he knew.

Lance wasn't surprised after hearing this; it was pretty much what he had imagined. If anyone was so bored at this stage that they wanted to see him fight the Perez family, it would only be the FBI and those from Senator Cleveland's opposing camp.

He was well aware of his value; besides providing some political solutions, his main strength lay in his ability to provide substantial benefits to Congress and Senator Cleveland.

There are many smart people in this world, and Lance is certainly not the smartest. If they want to, they have plenty of ways to get all kinds of talented people.

As for their far-sighted foresight regarding the development of the world, that's not very important. The various advantages the Federation gained after the war mean that even if they take the wrong path, they will still be far ahead of other countries.

In other words, their trial-and-error costs are very low, and their tolerance for error is very high. Therefore, the development of the world under Lance's control is certainly a good thing for them.

No, it's really not a big deal.

This money, this unimaginably large sum of money he provided, is something they cannot give up and is irreplaceable.

After ending the call, he called Tom and explained the situation. He then told Tom that these people might not be targeting him, but rather Senator Cleveland behind him and the interest group he controlled.

Lance didn't care what Tom said to Senator Cleveland.

All he has to do now is "obey" and continue the fight with the Perez family according to some of Director Roland's plans.

He could use Director Roland's plans to get them to willingly facilitate the shootout.

With the senior agent in charge joining him, Lance understood a lot of things, such as... that order.

Around 10 p.m., two trucks entered Xinjin City from outside the city; the liquor ordered by the locals had arrived.

Lance had previously told them that the wine would be stored in a designated location, and they would then pick it up there, making the delivery process very convenient and safe.

First, they will not have any contact with each other. Second, the other party will definitely not know where Lance put it beforehand, and Lance's own people will not reveal it, so it will not be discovered by the local Prohibition Bureau.

However, if the other party finds out, there might be a risk of being exposed, so these are all for security reasons.

Whether the other party's own gang has an undercover agent from the Bureau of Dangerous Goods, or whether this shipment will be exposed, is none of Lance's concern.

But the fact that these people insisted on a transaction on the spot made Lance realize that something was wrong. Now he knew that this might be another plan of Director Roland.

Whether they intended to frame the Perez family or simply wanted to seize the wine and find a way to implicate Lance to "create" evidence, Lance was prepared.

It wasn't until midnight that the two trucks started moving again and arrived at the agreed delivery location.

It's located in an alley on a street in the central ring of New Gold City, a typical alley common in the Federation.

There are only two exits, and inside there is a large open space. Because it is at the back of the building, it is very dark and secluded.

Such places are often used as venues for special transactions, such as cheap girls engaged in the sex trade, or underground bars, where they also choose such relatively secluded locations.

Everything here is great, but there's one downside: once someone blocks both ends of the alley, you're basically stuck.

Setting up a liquor transaction in such a place is clearly also for the purpose of "catching thieves red-handed".

The two trucks quickly arrived at the designated location. Lance was definitely not in one of the trucks; he was in a car diagonally opposite the alley exit—a car that looked quite ordinary. The dim streetlights couldn't illuminate the interior, and no one could see the person inside.

The person in charge of the transaction was the captain of a rookie team, but Lance had already told him that he was neither worried nor afraid about this job.

While waiting for the transaction, Lance noticed that several cars had silently pulled up diagonally opposite him, and some people got out of the cars. These people did not look like gang members, but more like law enforcement officers.

In the darkness, the dim streetlights could only faintly illuminate Lance's chin, and his eyes, obscured by shadows, reflected a few specks of light.

Madol was both angry and regretful, saying, "There's really something wrong with this deal."

Lance hummed in agreement. "I saw it."

"Should we make a move?" Mador asked.

Lance rejected his idea, "Let's leave these people alone for now and see how we deal with them later..."

At that moment, a senior agent not far away had an excited expression on his face. He had received a "tip" that there would be a large-scale bootlegging deal here that night.

In reality, the issue of smuggled alcohol in the Federation is now completely polarized. The lower classes have very little difficulty obtaining alcohol and have very little ability to appreciate it, so Prohibition has truly been effective for them.

Not everyone can afford or obtain alcohol. The church mentioned that the prohibition law solved some of the problems that arose after alcoholism, and the social atmosphere has improved somewhat.

But for the federal upper class, Prohibition was like a joke.

In a federal central city like New Gold City, it's actually quite easy to catch smuggled liquor. Just go to the estates and villas of those big shots in the suburbs and you'll find them every time.

The problem is, who dares to investigate?

Can anyone check?
If it weren't for the fact that the losers in the political struggle were asked to investigate by the victors, who would dare to go to these houses?
As for investigating ordinary people?

They can investigate, but there's not much to investigate for ordinary people; the cost of the investigation might far exceed the value of the case.

Therefore, arresting some of these unfamiliar gang transactions is clearly more in line with the current thinking of the Hazardous Materials Administration.

"Once they've completed the deal, we'll storm in."

"If anyone resists, you can open fire after two warnings!"

Killing several vicious gang members, seizing a large quantity of smuggled liquor, and uncovering a large amount of criminal funds would definitely be a meritorious achievement.

In the open space in the alley, the young men from Lance opened the doors of the trucks, revealing two trucks full of liquor, high-end whiskey.

Even though there was a glass bottle between us, we could still smell the rich aroma of the wine.

In the darkness, the gang member responsible for exchanging money for goods gave the goods a quick inspection, mainly checking the quantity, and then handed over a briefcase with a smile, saying, "You guys keep your word!"

The moment Lance's combat captain placed his hand on the briefcase, lights suddenly came on, and a large number of Prohibition agents rushed in from both ends of the alley.

"Hazardous Materials Management Bureau, everyone raise your hands where we can see you!"

These people acted very quickly. The young man slowly raised his hands and looked at the gang member opposite him who was giving him money.

The man's face showed no fear or surprise, only calmness, and even a slight smile.

It was as if he knew from the very beginning that this would be the outcome.

Then everyone was brought under control. Lance had told them not to resist, and if they tried to capture them, they should let them.

So no one resisted, and they all obediently had their hands handcuffed.

When the senior agent looked at the two truckloads of liquor, he couldn't help but smile with delight; this was indeed a big deal.

He turned to look at the young man, a hint of mockery on his face, "I believe we'll get along very well for the next while."

The young man had seen his share of big scenes, the kind of fierce battles where blood and flesh flew everywhere, so he wasn't worried about this metaphorical threat at all.

"That depends on whether my lawyer allows me to leave with you, and whether he allows you to do so."

The senior agent couldn't help but laugh, bursting into laughter, "These liquors you smuggled don't even need a lawyer to defend you. You know, we have special privileges."

The young man remained calm in the face of his words, and in a low voice, he asked a question that struck the senior agent like a thunderbolt—

"Who told you this car was full of alcohol?"

"These are all beverages."

As they were talking, flashbulbs suddenly went off, and several people wearing law firm badges walked in.

"Who let you in?" the senior agent asked, both surprised and furious. He glared at his subordinates at the door, but they looked helpless.

The lead lawyer presented some relevant documents and his own identification, then said, "My client is trading fruit juice here with others. I heard that you are not only enforcing the law illegally, but also planning to use torture to extract confessions?"

The senior agent glanced at the confident young man, strode to the car, took out a case of liquor, pried it open, took out a bottle, and unscrewed the cap.

When the rich aroma of fruit juice wafted out, his face turned even darker than the damned sky.

Undeterred, he tasted it again and found it was indeed fruit juice with no alcohol content whatsoever.

But he was still not giving up. "I need to analyze these...fruit juices."

The lawyer did not refuse, saying, "Of course, but I need these reporters to be with us."

In fact, when things got to this point, the senior agent knew that he had been drawn into a power struggle, and it was clear that the supplier of these drinks had a significant advantage.

They even knew what the other party was going to do, which is why they specially delivered these juices and deliberately let them catch them in the act.

The current situation is very embarrassing for the senior agents; continuing to pursue it will only make them look like clowns.

Therefore, the only solution is to not pursue the matter further.

He threw the juice he was holding on the ground, walked up to the young man, and poked him in the chest. "You're lucky this time."

Then, glancing at the lawyers and reporters—the most formidable group in the city—he said with a dark expression, "Let's go," and left with his men.

He didn't want to get involved in such a ridiculous conflict; there weren't many fools who could become high-ranking agents in New Gold City.

After the group left, the small gang member who had made the deal with the Lance family finally realized what had happened. The gang leader walked to the car in disbelief, pulled out another box, opened one of the bottles, and found it still contained juice.

"you……"

Once the matter was over, the lawyers took the initiative to leave with the reporters. They were very willing to serve Lance for a large sum of money for appearing on the scene for less than ten minutes that night.

The reporters were the same; they didn't even have film in their cameras. They would just come over and press the shutter a few times to earn a fifty-yuan commission, and they were willing to do this kind of business a few more times.

The young man rubbed his wrists, which were a little sore from being handcuffed. He turned to look at the gang leader he was dealing with, grinning to reveal his not-so-white teeth.

"You've gotten yourself into trouble, into big trouble, you know that?"

A few minutes later, he arrived at the alleyway diagonally opposite and stood next to Lance's car. "It's all under control now."

Lance rolled down the car window. "Have them take you to their hideout and clean them all out, make sure it's done properly."

The young man bent down slightly, then jogged away, and Lance's car quickly disappeared into the darkness.

(End of this chapter)