Shadow Empire

Chapter 1097 New Identity and Laughter

Fran is like that.

Actually, it's not just him; many people have their own little habits in their lives.

Some people listen to music or play a piece of music in a whirlwind when they are in a bad mood, in order to relieve their inner emotions.

Some people might sit quietly by the window, basking in the sun, drinking coffee, and reading a passage from a book.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with emotions. It may start as something that makes them feel comfortable, but over time it gradually becomes a habit.

Fran's habit is to sit on the terrace when he's in a good mood, enjoy the breeze, and have a drink.

This is a hobby that doesn't affect others, which makes him feel that his taste can be elevated. Moreover, he always believes in one thing: don't easily share your emotions with others.

This is what his father said: "If you easily share your emotions with others, you make it easy for them to control you."

As the head and leader of the Perez family, he cannot allow his emotions to be easily controlled by others. Therefore, even when he is very happy or very unhappy, the way he releases his emotions is solitary and not shared.

This is indeed very important news. "This news is very important. If we manage to take down the Perez family, your contribution will be enormous."

Lance paused for a moment, then said, “Some of my men have already arrived in the old city. I need you to help me hide them, but I also need them to spend their days around the Perez family’s properties, getting a more detailed understanding of the businesses and the lifestyles of the managers.”

Upon hearing this, the bearded director seemed a bit embarrassed. "The Perez family is very sensitive to outsiders. If your people are constantly loitering around their properties, they will definitely notice."

“I have no problem letting them in, but what you’re talking about is difficult for me to do.”

Gangs, especially those with a strong sense of territory, are very sensitive to such "intruders" who may obviously pose a danger.

Starting with those street gangs, as soon as you stride arrogantly toward their territory, a few young men sitting there chatting will stand up, show you their "courage," and then tell you to get lost.

Large families like the Perez family are the same; they consider the old city their territory, and if many unfamiliar faces appear on the streets, they will definitely react immediately.

This might be an impossible task for the bearded bureau chief.

His refusal did not displease Lance. After laughing twice, Lance said, "No, you can do it, and it's very simple."

After listening to Lance's introduction, the bearded man remained silent for a moment, then exhaled, "You're a genius!"

Lance's method was simple: all the bearded man had to do was dress his men in police uniforms...

This may be the first time that Hailam has worn a police uniform to "work." He has played many roles before, but he has never played a policeman.

"How do I look now?" He stood in front of the mirror, constantly examining himself. It has to be said that the police uniform suited him very well.

He gained a little weight during his time in Lapa, which suited the image of a policeman. Plus, he tied his hair up in a ponytail, making him look a bit…

“You’re like a fucking old hand at taking dirty money!” his henchman gave him a very sharp assessment.

"Fuck, if you can't speak properly, then don't speak!" He looked at the subordinate who had said this through the mirror, then at another, "What do you think?"

Another of his men shrugged and said, "I think he's right. You're obviously not a good person!"

Hailam cursed a couple more times, then pulled his shirt out of his pants to make it look more natural and prevent it from looking bulky because it was tucked tightly into his body.

"I really should take a picture and mail it to my mom."

His men all laughed, finding it amusing.

After his self-examination ended, Hailam led several hundred people out of the changing room.

They weren't transferred from other places; they were directly transferred from Lapa, and their numbers are constantly increasing.

The Perez family may have some channels within the country to monitor or inquire about the Lance family's personnel movements through various means.

But they absolutely have no ability to interfere with the situation in Lapa, just as they would be able to detect someone entering their territory immediately.

If the Perez family goes to Lapa, Lance will find out immediately.

The three walked into the police station lobby, and some officers immediately looked at them with smiles on their faces.

Hailam greeted them with a smile and then gestured for them to get to work.

This time, the bearded chief recruited another two thousand police officers from the public to hide Lance's men.

If these people are simply brought into the police station rashly, the Perez family may have some informants within the police force.

However, if the recruitment is open to the public and these people voluntarily sign up and join the police station, then there is no problem.

The police chiefs also asked the bearded chief why he needed to recruit more officers.

The bearded director's reasoning was perfectly apt—as the conflict between the Perez and Lance families escalated, a fierce family war was bound to erupt.

The old city may very well become one of the battlefields.

If we don't expand our manpower now, we might not have enough when they start fighting fiercely. So we should temporarily recruit some "temporary workers" and then find a way to fire these police officers after the family war is over.

Moreover, even if he wasn't fired, the bearded bureau chief didn't see any problem with it.

Almost all the sheriffs and officers supported his idea, since maintaining social order during gang warfare was no different from risking one's life.

You might get riddled with bullets just because you accidentally got caught up in an impending battle.

Why would they refuse if someone could share their risks?

The mayor approved his idea of ​​increasing staff, and that was the end of it.

The Lance family members have infiltrated the police force, donned police uniforms, and most of them have begun working as low-ranking officers—patrolling.

This is what Lance needs them to do.

“The police have been patrolling a lot lately, and another police car has arrived.” Peggy sat on the third floor of her nightclub, looking at a police car parked downstairs, her gaze fixed on the two police officers who got out of the car.

He owns a business in the old city, which is the nightclub he now runs.

It's not entirely accurate to say that it's his own business; it should be said that it was allocated to him by the family. Half of the profits generated each month have to be handed over to the family, and the rest is his personal property.

This is also done in order to bring everyone together closely through shared interests, while balancing the relationships between family members.

If someone can get a lot of money without doing anything, there will definitely be complaints. But if they have a job and the money is "earned" by themselves, then there will be much less criticism.

Just like Paul (the deceased boss of the Pasreto family), who gave the best bar to Christopher. Although many people had opinions about him, these opinions were not enough to make them openly oppose Christopher.

A good location is only the foundation for success. To truly make money, and make big money, you still need to look at your own business methods.

On the same street, even between two adjacent storefronts, there are those that are doing well and those that are not. This kind of distribution of resources and wealth can minimize dissatisfaction among family members.

Furthermore, if necessary, the responsibilities of family members can be adjusted in a timely manner, which greatly enhances the power of the family head.

This nightclub provides Peggy with an income of about 70,000 to 80,000 yuan per month. With drinks and other business operations, after deducting the family's share, he has between 35,000 and 50,000 yuan, which is not a small amount.

He didn't deal with the police very often. The bearded chief was always very sensible and didn't easily provoke them, nor did he dare to provoke them.

In the past few days, the patrol officers have been coming more frequently than before, and his subordinates told him that there are now several more patrol officers in this area, not just the two who used to be the same ones.

Sitting on the sofa, one of his men said with a smirk, "This is most likely because of our recent actions against the Lance family. I heard from my friend that Hel is worried that we will start a war in the old city, so he has increased the police force."

"This is actually a good thing for us. If we get into a fight with the Lance family, these police officers will be on our side."

“So you don’t need to worry at all, just treat them as free bodyguards.” Peggy looked at the flamboyant policeman with a small braid getting out of the police car, her face full of displeasure. “But their constant presence here is affecting our business!”

Who are our guests?

He turned to look at his men. “The alcoholics, and those lecherous devils, these are the people they dislike and fear the most, and the ones they fear the most, are these policemen.”

“Our turnover has dropped significantly in the past few days. We need to find a way to make them disappear from here.”

One of his many men stood up from the sofa; the hair wax on his head made his hair reflect light.

The sophisticated attire and shiny leather shoes, along with the pink pocket square, gave off a slightly sassy vibe.

"I'll take care of it."

Peggy is the general manager here, and this guy is the deputy manager, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the nightclub and coordinating the relationships between the staff.

Peggy nodded. "Tell them to get lost and not interfere with my business!"

The deputy manager nodded and left. Not long after, Peggy saw him appear downstairs outside the nightclub through the window.

"Hey, officers," he said with a big smile as he walked toward Hailam.

Helam has recently learned the policeman's method of putting his hands on his waist—his two thumbs are tucked inside his belt, like a buckle supporting his arms, rather than actually putting his hands on his waist.

Meanwhile, the other four fingers of his right hand rested naturally on the holster, giving him an impression that he looked intimidating.

However, the Perez family's understanding of these police officers told them that they were all just for show.

The two looked at the approaching assistant manager, and Hailam tilted his head slightly. "What?"

The deputy manager glanced back at the third-floor window and said, "Your presence here is affecting our business."

Helam noticed what he had just looked back at and glanced at the third-floor window as well. “We’re just on official business, sir.”

The deputy manager smiled and looked the two of them over. "I've never seen you before."

Hailam told him the truth very directly, "We just joined the Old City Police Department, so it's normal that you haven't seen us before."

The deputy manager smiled and said, "No wonder. If they were veteran officers, they wouldn't act like you."

"How are they?" Hailam continued chatting with him about some rather mundane things.

However, the deputy manager felt very good. In his view, the two officers were simply going along with what he said, and he was in control.

“If it were them, they would just sit in the car and park it in the alley ahead.”

"They'll stop here for a while, and then leave."

"Because they know that no one will cause trouble here!"

Speaking of this, the deputy manager slightly raised his chin, as if it were something everyone knew and was very honorable.

Hailam stared at him. "I'm a newbie. I don't know."

This answer made the deputy manager frown. "Let me put it this way."

"This is a property owned by the Perez family, understand?"

Seeing that Hailam remained unmoved, he continued, "Do you know Mr. Peggy?"

Hailam remained silent, which gradually irritated the deputy manager. "Do you want me to call Hel?"

The atmosphere immediately became tense when those words were spoken. At that moment, the officer next to Hailam stepped forward and said to the deputy manager, "Shall we talk over there?"

The deputy manager glanced at Hailam, then came over with another officer. “My colleague doesn’t know much about the Perez family and Mr. Peggy, but you can ask him to be flexible.”

"By the way, the Mr. Peggy you mentioned, is he the one who orchestrated the attack on the Lance family convoy?"

Thanks to the Perez family's own propaganda, almost everyone knew about this incident, and the police, with their numerous informants, were naturally able to find out about it as well.

Some say this is to build momentum for Peggy, after all, they suffered heavy casualties twice under the Lance family's attacks and then voluntarily bowed their heads.

To break people's impression of them, we need to create some heroic figures.

The assistant manager nodded matter-of-factly. "It's that Mr. Peggy!"

"I have great respect for Mr. Peggy. I wonder if there is any chance I could meet him?"

The deputy manager glanced at him sideways. "Is this something a nobody like you could even think of?"

"Alright, I don't have time to chat with you here. Mr. Peggy is waiting for me to get back. What can your colleague do to find a workaround?"

With his back to Hailam, the officer made a classic finger-rubbing gesture, within the deputy manager's sight.

The deputy manager was somewhat displeased upon seeing this action, but ultimately compromised.

What he needed to do now was not to argue with the two officers, but to keep Peggy from getting agitated.

"How many do you want?"

The officer glanced at Hailam, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. "My friend has a big appetite..."

Upon hearing this, the deputy manager's temper began to flare, and he was on the verge of exploding.

Who can blackmail the Perez family?

Are these two police officers tired of living?
One second he was thinking that, but the next second all the expressions on his face froze, because he heard something that made him laugh—

"You have to give us at least twenty yuan!"

After a few seconds, the deputy manager finally looked at the police officer in front of him, then glanced back at the unpleasant officer, and said, "Fuck, you guys are really..."

He shook his head, unable to find the right words, but quickly pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, counted out two ten-yuan bills, and handed them to the policeman next to him. "Take your colleagues and get out of our nightclub, understand?"

The officer didn't seem to feel humiliated and said with a smile, "Right away!"

The assistant manager walked toward the nightclub, spat at Hailam's feet as he passed by, and then turned away from him.

The officer returned to Hailam and handed him ten dollars. "He's upstairs. It seems this Mr. Peggy really loves his job."

Hailam took the ten yuan, flicked it, and then stuffed it into her pocket. "These next few days, I'll focus on keeping an eye on him and figuring out his schedule."

He said that he opened the car door and got in. The two of them drove the police car and hid in an alley nearby, almost out of sight.

Peggy saw all of this clearly from upstairs. When she saw that they were only given a small amount of money and then dismissed, a contemptuous and disdainful attitude immediately appeared on her face.

He sat back down in his chair. "I thought they had some new trick up their sleeve, but it turns out this is all?"

His men burst into laughter, as if mocking the police had become a way for them to amuse themselves.

The Perez family holds a dominant position in the city; even the mayor needs their approval to take office.

So from another perspective, the police really don't have much status in front of them.

Especially when the deputy manager returned and told them in a slightly exaggerated and humorous tone, "My friend has a big appetite," and said with an even more comical expression and gesture, "It will cost at least twenty yuan," many people laughed until they cried!

(End of this chapter)