Shadow Empire

Chapter 1089 Report and Unease

From Tom's perspective, if Lance and this Mel Crown didn't have a conflict, he wouldn't have called to ask who he was.

Given Lance's sociable nature, if there were no conflict between them, it's highly likely that Lance has already found a way to get to know him, rather than calling him.

This also reflects another fact: Lance still trusts Tom quite a bit.

If he asked someone else, they might tell Mel Crown, but he believed Tom wouldn't, so it could only mean that Lance and this guy had some kind of conflict, or something else.

Lance didn't give a direct answer, "What's this guy's relationship with the senators?"

After asking this question, even if Tom still had some guesses, he could now be pretty sure that Lance did indeed have some issues with this person.

Tom thought about it carefully, "There's no direct connection. He belongs to Kim Macaulay's gang."

Kim Macaulay is another major force within the Socialist Party, and the current president belongs to their political group.

Before the midterm elections, their power and status in Congress were comparable to that of the current Cleveland senators, though not as large.

But they are still the kind of people with a high status.

When they were first elected, the Attorney General of Golden State was one of their people, and naturally, the prosecutors in the city's Attorney General's Office were basically all from their faction as well.

Although there are Senator Cleveland's people in the prosecutor's group, it is clear that Mel Crohn is not among them.

Tom explained some things about Kim Macaulay to Lance in a very simple way, just a few sentences, which matched some of Lance's guesses about how things were going.

After all, the current FBI Director, Roland, was promoted by the President, so it's perfectly reasonable for them to be on the same side.

However, there are also some unreasonable things. For example, the president's term has come to an end, and his safe landing can be considered as a tacit approval for not causing trouble during the war.

He probably won't try to undermine Senator Cleveland's power by targeting him again; there must be more to it than he knows.

Politics is something that can be simple in a nutshell, but it can also be incredibly complex.

"In short, this guy isn't on our side!" Tom concluded.

"Well, I see."

Lance's answer was very simple, which made him unable to help but ask, "What do you plan to do, and how will you do it?"

He suspected that there was a significant conflict between Lance and this person, otherwise he wouldn't have asked if the other person was one of his own.

If it's just a minor conflict, he doesn't need to consider these things at all. Only when he thinks about serious consequences will he consider not getting hurt in the process.

Lance didn't answer him directly either; he hadn't really made those decisions yet.

He and Tom ended the topic and then talked about some recent events, such as the various attempts to push him into a fight with the Perez family and the attempts to drag him into the mess through sting operations.

After chatting for a while, he hung up the phone. There was no need for Tom to relay these things to the senator in a big way. It was enough for the senator to know that these people were trying to deal with Lance.

After hanging up the phone, Tom pondered for a moment the attitude Lance had displayed on the phone, then picked up a document from the table and headed toward Senator Cleveland's office.

He happened to be free.

Actually, he wasn't really free; it's just that the documents he was working on weren't that important, so he could dawdle.

If it's something important, he can't afford to be distracted. He'll close the door, not letting anyone in, and then focus intently on finishing the work before reopening the door.

The fact that Tom can go in now only means that the documents he has aren't that important.

"What is it?" Senator Cleveland asked without looking up, continuing to stare at the documents in his hands, occasionally scribbling with his pen.

The sound of a pen nib gliding across paper is like fingertips scraping on canvas; some people can't stand it, while others find it pleasant.

"Here is a document for you to review. If there are no problems, I will have my subordinates carry it out."

As Tom handed over the documents, he mentioned the phone call he had just received, "Lance called me earlier and mentioned someone to me."

Senator Cleveland looked up at him through the gap between his eyes and forehead, rolling his eyes as if to ask, "Who?"

His words caught the senator's attention, and he was well aware of it: "Mel, Mel Crohn, a prosecutor in New Gold City, a man of the state attorney general."

Senator Cleveland thought for a moment, and a clearer image came to mind. "I've seen this man before, several times. What's going on between him and Lance?"

Tom shook his head. "Lance didn't tell me in detail, but it's probably something he might be pushing for regarding Lance's criminal activities."

"They set a trap to lure Lance into it, but he dodged it."

“He found out that the person who set up the trap was Mel Crown, so he called me to ask if this person was one of ours.”

The senator straightened up, took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose for a while, and then covered his face with both hands and rubbed it vigorously.

He has a lot of work to do now.

The ceasefire agreement has taken effect. The issues of troop withdrawal and resolving some outstanding battlefield issues remain, but there are still a series of problems to be dealt with with Slade.

In addition, federal capital is urging the government to secure more orders for them abroad and to ask more countries to open their markets to them.

In short, he has a lot to do lately and is very busy.

Now there's another worrying thing.

"What does he intend to do?" Senator Cleveland released his grip, his cheeks pale from the vigorous rubbing, but they quickly regained their color as the blood returned to their normal flow.

Tom shook his head. "I don't know. I asked, but he didn't tell me."

The senator put his glasses back on. "The prosecutor's position is a bit sensitive. If something too bizarre happens to him, it will definitely alarm the people in the judicial system."

“You can give Lance a heads-up. He can do what he wants, but he should be prepared for two things.”

"First, everything must be reasonable and justifiable. Don't just blatantly hire a gunman to kill him; that would cause a huge uproar in the legal system!"

"If even the most basic dignity cannot be maintained, then a Supreme Court justice will definitely have to step in, which is something none of us want to see, no matter who it is."

"Secondly, whether it is revenge or retaliation, violence and killing are not the only means."

"But I believe he can handle it; this guy has never let us down!"

Supreme Court justices with lifetime appointments hold a very special position in the federal government. As "living interpreters of the law," they can be said to have the highest authority to interpret the law.

They can also determine the outcome of a case or overturn the outcome of a case, and they can personally preside over the trial.

The nomination and election of lifetime Supreme Court justices are carefully considered, requiring nomination by the President and a majority vote in the Senate for approval.

These people are often liberals who don't favor either side, but that's why they are often difficult to deal with.

"Freedom" is a label they use to define themselves, a persona they need to maintain within the legal system.

If anyone dares to challenge the judiciary, it is tantamount to challenging them, and Senator Cleveland does not want this to happen. Although they can persuade the Supreme Court justices to stand on their side, it means extra effort.

Tom conveyed what Lance wanted him to say, and whether Senator Cleveland would link these things to "targeting him" was something only he knew.

In the morning, Prosecutor Crohn called the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol and Hazardous Materials to inquire whether they had recently uncovered any large-scale smuggling and trafficking of alcoholic beverages. However, the feedback he received was not satisfactory.

The Dangerous Goods Administration did indeed crack down on some small-scale alcohol trading and smuggling. Those arrested were clearly "adventurers," since real traders obviously wouldn't be caught.

So these transactions were all small, far from what Prosecutor Mel Crohn wanted, and he didn't feel comfortable asking directly by name or anything like that, so he quickly hung up the phone.

His contact with that small gang occurred during a previous case where he personally handled an assault case in which several young people were injured, two seriously and several others slightly.

The situation in federal justice is somewhat unusual right now; to put it more bluntly, there's a discussion within the justice department.

Is the process more important, or the result?

To put it simply, what is the purpose of solving a case?
Is it the process of solving the case itself, from scratch to finding evidence and then forming a chain of evidence, or the result of bringing the criminal to trial?

Undoubtedly, the goal is to bring criminals to trial. So, if, during this process, the criminal is willing to cooperate with the prosecutor and law enforcement agencies to admit their guilt and conduct investigations, and shows remorse, can they be given a certain option to reduce their sentence?

Coupled with some issues in federal justice and law enforcement, some prosecutors gradually began to use another method to expedite their cases: "transactions."

Making deals with criminals to get them to plead guilty quickly and then lower the standards for their punishment is a win-win situation for both parties.

The prosecutors reduced unnecessary work and expenses, since investigating cases also requires financial resources.

What about the criminals?
Their sentences are shortened, and they are able to get out of prison sooner.

From a societal perspective, a criminal's active repentance and confession is a clear symbol of social progress and civilization.

However, in such transactions, people overlook the feelings of the victims, who often don't even have any feelings.

Prosecutor Crohn made a deal with them: several people came forward to take the blame, pleaded guilty, and made restitution, thus gaining the victims' forgiveness.

What might have taken three to five months to investigate was completed in less than two weeks. Prosecutor Crohn received praise from his superiors, the criminals were punished as they deserved, the victims received some compensation, and social civility and stability were greatly improved.

It's a win-win-win situation for all four!

During this process, he developed a rapport with the gang leader.

In reality, if this case were truly investigated, the entire gang would be implicated and prosecuted. However, in order to close the case as soon as possible and to present an "outstanding and capable" performance to his superiors, he did not prosecute the entire gang.

This alerted the gang leader, who began to contact Prosecutor Crown frequently and even tried to bribe him, hoping to make Prosecutor Crown his protector.

A prosecutor certainly has that ability, and this gang isn't a big gang, just a small fry.

Such minor characters are unlikely to commit any earth-shattering crimes.

He neither agreed nor explicitly refused until the people behind him, during a casual conversation, brought up the topic of de-gangsterization and entrapment, and the bigwigs directly named the Lance family. That's when he got this idea.

If he could implicate the Lance family in a Prohibition case involving a huge sum of money, and have it handled by Congress itself.

Is there any way for these Cleveland senators to get people out of there?

He used this small gang to get them to do business with Lance and his family, setting a trap and waiting for the Lance family to take the bait.

It can be said that the early part of the script met his expectations very well. The Lance family still had the idea of ​​dumping more of their products into New Gold City and Gold State.

After all, the profits from alcoholic beverages are the core source of income for the Lance family, and several times the profit is enough to drive anyone crazy!
The more you sell, the more you earn.

He just didn't know if something had gone wrong; a very good script, yet there was still no result.

After hanging up, he called the gang leader again, but no one answered.

This made him feel somewhat uneasy. As a prosecutor, he was quite familiar with gangs and knew very well how terrifying they could be, especially the larger gang families, when they went berserk.

Prosecutor Crown, sitting in his office, was already feeling restless. After much deliberation, he decided to take a more proactive approach.

He retrieved the case file of this small gang from his filing cabinet and carried it with him.

Although federal law stipulates that once a case is closed, it cannot be reopened for reasons such as compensation, he can ask the gang leader to supplement some information for him on the grounds of "incomplete information" so that it can be archived.

He also took his handgun with him when he left the office.

He doesn't usually like carrying a handgun at work. On the one hand, the thing is a bit heavy to carry and it presses on his shoulders, making him feel uncomfortable.

On the other hand, he does not believe that someone in his position, a prosecutor, needs to personally go to the front line to enforce the law.

Those are things that lower-level law enforcement officers should do, while he, a prosecutor, should be issuing orders in his office and then delivering the final verdict in court.

"Is Prosecutor Crown going out?"

As soon as he stepped out the door, a young woman walked past with a tray, saying, "I haven't brought you your coffee yet!"

Prosecutor Clown looked at the coffees on her tray and forced a smile. "Yes, there's a case where the data isn't quite complete, so I need to re-record it."

This young woman is considered a service worker in the prosecutor's office. She has a relative who works there, so she plays a role similar to a "personal secretary."

My main job is to help people collect mail, deliver coffee or food, etc. I get paid a few dollars a month, and the work isn't too tiring.

The woman asked with a hint of doubt, "Then... would you like me to prepare some coffee for you?"

Prosecutor Kron shook his head. "No need. I'm not sure when I'll be back. I'll contact you if I need anything."

"Okay, then goodbye, Prosecutor Crown."

"goodbye……"

After ending the brief conversation, he left and drove to the small gang's hideout.

It took him nearly forty minutes to arrive at the gang's hideout; the morning rush hour lasted for a long time.

After parking the car, he checked the weapons, turned off the safety, and then left the car with the file folder.

The surroundings were quiet, so quiet that it didn't seem like the noisy gang headquarters he remembered.

There were no young people standing on the roadside looking around suspiciously, nor were there groups of gang members scrutinizing every passerby with their eyes wide open. Everything was too quiet!

He stood outside the "activity room" and knocked on the door, but it was quiet inside.

He knocked a few more times, but still no one answered. Only then did he solemnly turn the doorknob of the activity room.

The door is not locked.

He casually placed the file folder on the table by the door, then drew his pistol and slowly walked inside.

This activity room was originally a workers' activity room for a nearby factory, similar to an early club.

Later, the development and positioning of New Gold City changed, these factories were shut down, and the area was abandoned. It was then occupied by a group of young people from the surrounding area, who formed this gang.

It was so quiet here now, as if no one was there. He had been here once before, and it wasn't like this!

Sometimes, silence can also be frightening!
(End of this chapter)