Shadow Empire

Chapter 1118 News, Response, and Investigation
The combat captains gathered together, and Enio, looking at them, couldn't help but laugh again. "I feel like we're not gangsters now, we're the police!"

Who would have thought that a group of gang members, as people would see them, would be gathering together in police uniforms for a meeting?
It's a pity no one had a camera with them, otherwise he would have definitely had someone take a picture to preserve this moment, which is full of history and laughter.

“I just spoke with Lance on the phone a short while ago. Hull (the police chief) was attacked and was slightly injured, but thankfully he is alright.”

"This failed attack will bring some changes to our upcoming battle with the Perez family."

"We can consider taking a more proactive approach."

"So, I have a plan!"

He looked at the combat captains and said, "We're going to sweep through the Perez family's properties, not occupy them, not plunder them, just sweep them."

"Break down their doors, kill their people, burn their property..."

Meanwhile, a meeting was also taking place at the FBI.

Roland leaned back in his chair, tilting it quite far, looking rather lazy.

During this period, he had collected a lot of dirt on both sides. Although he had not yet touched on the people he wanted most, such as Fran and Lance, he had already obtained some evidence.

For example, they obtained a photo of Helam holding a gun and the action of him firing it. These photos and evidence can be used as part of the overall lawsuit and a separate file can be created if necessary.

However, he was still not satisfied with the current progress. As the agents below reported on the progress and details of the matter, he suddenly sat up straight, tapped the table twice with his hand, and stopped the report.

"too slow."

The detective, who was giving a report, paused for a moment, "Was I speaking too slowly?"

"I can try to speak faster and omit some unnecessary details..."

“No!” Roland shook his head. “I’m not saying you speak too slowly, I’m saying our mission is progressing too slowly.”

"Gentlemen, it's already August, and there are still three months until the presidential election results are in. But there's a high probability that we won't be able to bring down the Lance and Perez families before the president takes office."

"This makes it impossible to present it to the president and the public as an achievement of degangsterism in the presidential inaugural address."

"So we need to speed things up a bit."

One of the senior detective supervisors asked, "How can we get them to speed things up?"

"Put some pressure on them?"

"Or is there some other way?"

Roland glanced around the office, making sure everyone there was one of his own before saying, "Let the conflict between them continue to escalate; they're still too mild-mannered right now."

"Look, they seem to be stuck in some kind of turn-based game now. You hit me, I hit you, and both sides seem to be using as much force as possible, resulting in considerable losses."

"But gentlemen, these are two huge gangs, and the losses they have suffered in this conflict are only a negligible part of their overall gang structure!"

"Lance lost hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods, but the profits he exports every year are at least hundreds of millions!"

"The Perez family has heard that millions of Maple Leaf Extracts are missing, but these are just one of their many warehouses in the central Federation."

"The number of dead and injured is still a small number, a few hundred or two or three hundred people, which is nothing to them."

"Their fighting isn't intense enough; it needs to get even more intense!"

Everyone fell into thought. From the perspective of an ordinary person, or from the perspective of looking at an ordinary gang, their fight was indeed... impressive.

But Roland's words made them feel that the two sides were still just arguing and hadn't really gotten serious.

However, some people offered a different perspective: "Fran was injured, they should have done their best."

Roland looked at the person who spoke, stared at the guy for a while, and when he saw that the guy looked a little uneasy, he shook his head and said, "You're too insensitive."

"Fran was so badly injured. If all of this were really his decision, they would have already engaged in a full-scale war with the Lance family."

“They don’t care about the police’s control over them. Yesterday’s attack on Hull finally showed some gangster-like behavior.”

"But because Fran was injured, he couldn't return to the family, so the intensity between them isn't high enough yet."

“If Fran entrusts the family’s power entirely to Bob, it’s hard to say whether he will have a chance to go back. Before he goes back, the fighting between the two sides will be fierce, but it won’t get out of control.”

"What we need is not this limited fighting, but an escalation, a more intense fighting, more evidence, and more grounds for accusation!"

"Find a way to leak information about Lance to the Perez family and instigate one of their executives to attack Lance."

"Then we'll leak this information to Lance and let them continue."

The senior detectives present exchanged glances, realizing from Roland's words that he was deeply entangled in this matter.

And they have more or less guessed that this may be related to the new president.

The election campaign has already begun, and the long-awaited election storm is once again sweeping across the entire federal government. As the new law enforcement agency, and also the "central law enforcement agency," the FBI is also responsible for some of the security issues related to the election.

For example, sending people to protect presidential candidates and ensure they are not attacked during campaign speeches.

For example, when necessary, they will be assigned to supervise the ballot boxes to ensure that no one cheats.

The FBI's authority has expanded considerably, and achieving this certainly comes at a price.

Power doesn't fall into the hands of a person or department out of nowhere or for no reason. Someone must have made choices and paid a price to obtain it.

They could already imagine that the price would be Roland's loyalty and his abilities, but the reward would be the complete rise of the FBI!
Everyone rallied their spirits; this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.

Once people have their own stance, the scales in their hearts will naturally tip.

Roland's approach, which essentially involved the FBI directly intervening to completely muddy the waters, was generally considered acceptable, as it was all for the sake of justice and fairness.

Seeing that no one refuted him, Roland seemed somewhat pleased. "As long as we remain united, there is nothing in this world that we cannot overcome!"

He spoke very seriously, and it seemed that he really was thinking that way.

"We arranged for the Perez family to attack Lance, and then let Lance retaliate. We were just responsible for passing on some sensitive information; we weren't even really involved."

Actually, there were some things he didn't say. He was even considering whether to arrange for someone to kill Fran. Once Fran was dead, Bob would have absolute power.

If he wants to secure his position, he must avenge Fran, which is a tradition in the underworld.

Whoever can avenge the previous gang leader is qualified to sit in that position.

Even if the Perez family didn't have this tradition, Bob would find a way to make them have it.

Whether it was for his own power or to avoid being purged, he had every reason to fight Lance to the death.

After assigning the tasks, he told everyone to leave and join the senior agent supervisor, Lance, without any apparent abnormality.

He returned to his office and continued his work, responsible for monitoring key members of the Perez family and the Lance family in multiple cities, including Lance himself, who was also under his surveillance.

During this time, he had completed some transactions with Lance and finally gained a deeper understanding of Lance's "generosity".

It can be said that the rumors are true; Lance is indeed a very generous gentleman to his friends.

He received over 30,000 yuan in "service fees" from Lance in total, which went into his pocket legally.

Profits from investments.

He bought products from a private equity fund and was lucky enough to receive a return; that's how it happened.

Everything was perfectly reasonable, and no problems could be found. The federal government does not prohibit government employees from engaging in business activities, nor does it prohibit them from making financial investments.

After get off work, he went home first, spent some time with his family, and then changed into his workout clothes and started jogging on the streets outside the community. He does this often now; he's turning something he doesn't like into a habit to reduce the risk of exposure.

When he passes by a roadside bench, he will sit down to rest for a while, and then leave.

A few minutes later, another person will pass by, stop, sit in the spot where they were sitting, stay for a while, and then leave.

As a senior agent supervisor, he was all too aware of just how outrageous the privileges the FBI now held; they could even freely wiretap any phone calls they wanted.

What nonsense about personal privacy? It all has to give way to the power of the state.

He didn't know if Roland was eavesdropping on the phone calls of them, the senior agents and supervisors. With their closer contact over this period, his feelings towards Roland were turning sour.

Roland, who could once be described as radiant and magnificent, began to reveal many problems upon closer contact.

Roland is by no means a righteous character; sometimes he even feels that Roland is more like a villain. He uses methods that blur the lines between law and justice, such as when he instigated a war between two gangs.

Now he's going to leak Lance's information to the Perez family so they can assassinate him, in order to escalate the conflict between the two gangs.

These practices may seem harmless, but the resulting social impacts are real and difficult to erase.

He felt that Roland had crossed a line a little.

How can someone who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals and disregard the law be a champion of justice?

Of course, this doesn't rule out the possibility that he's now siding with Lance and trying to justify his actions, but his thinking is indeed true.

Would a guy like that, a guy who would stop at nothing, really trust his trusted subordinates so much?
He didn't believe it, so he was very careful and refused to communicate with Lance directly by phone, instead using a coded communication method.

He put the note with the password he had written on it in a small metal box and hid it in the gap between the armrest and the seat of the bench, making it difficult for anyone to notice, especially at night.

Then he would press his used chewing gum, which he always carried with him, onto the bench, which meant he had left something there.

If anyone sees the chewing gum on that bench, they will take the stuff from inside the bench.

Without chewing gum, no one would sit down.

This method may not be particularly sophisticated, but it works.

The small metal box was soon brought to Lance, who read its contents using the codebook.

After reading it, he shook his head slightly, then burned the note on the fire.

Not to mention that Ford, the senior agent chief, didn't like Roland, he didn't like him either.

No one would like it, except Roland's new master.

However, he still kept this matter in mind, and he also took the possibility of the Perez family attacking him very seriously.

Arrogance is a prerequisite for failure, and he will learn from this experience and not let himself appear to be an arrogant person.

He then called Devon over. By this time, the investigations into the presidential candidates had basically ended, and the cadres and team leaders had some free time again.

"I'm giving you a task," he said, opening his cigarette case, taking out a cigar, and tossing it to Devon.

This action startled Devon for a moment, then his face lit up with a look of wild joy!

Within the family, people are always talking about one thing.

That means if Lance calls you into his office and tosses you a cigar, it means the family is going to have another executive!

Being a cadre represents not only a change in status, but also a symbol of power and the ability to obtain more income from the family business.

When he was the captain, Devon had about ten people under his command, some of whom were his friends and some of whom were young people from his neighborhood with whom he had a good relationship.

Once he becomes a cadre, he can have three to five team leaders, and at least forty to fifty people under his command. He can also earn more income to support his larger workforce.

In fact, Lance never prevented how many captains an officer could have, or how many subordinates each captain could have; it was entirely up to them.

Formal gang members are paid by the family.

However, the extra members, those on the periphery, are paid by the team leaders and officers.

Everyone hopes to become a cadre and to go further and higher on this path, and Dai Wen is no exception.

He took as many deep breaths as possible to calm himself, but his voice still trembled slightly. "What do I need to do for the family?"

Lance pushed Roland's personal information file over, "This is a little troublesome, but it's just troublesome."

“I really dislike Roland. He acts like a clown, claiming to be a champion of justice, but time and time again he leads the way in trampling on justice and the law. He is a hypocrite of justice.”

"He recently plotted an operation against me personally..."

Seeing Devon suddenly become angry, Lance raised his hand to tell him not to rush, "Now that I know about this, I naturally won't let their plan succeed, but we can't do nothing."

“Being passive is not my habit, so I need you to do something.”

“Investigate Roland’s situation thoroughly, then give him a warning so he understands that he is just the director of the FBI.”

"He wants to kill, but he will have to pay a heavy price."

"But we don't need it."

"You need to find the right balance, do you understand what I mean?"

Devon took a deep breath and nodded vigorously. "I understand, Boss."

"Very good. Let me see your abilities. Do this well, and I'll make sure you become a new manager."

Devon immediately stood up. "Watch my performance, Boss! I won't let you down!"

After leaving the office, Devon felt lightheaded and preoccupied with figuring out how to do things properly. So much so that he didn't notice Allen walking towards him and bumped into him.

"You have something on your mind?"

Devon first said "Ah," then nodded. "I just received a mission."

Allen's gaze quickly fell on the cigar in his hand, and he couldn't help but whistle, "Congratulations, you're going to become an officer too."

Devon glanced at the cigar in his hand and quickly put it back in his pocket. "Don't tell anyone about this yet. I don't know if I can do it well."

“Okay, I won’t tell anyone yet.” Allen didn’t ask him what Lance had asked him to do. Although there were no explicit rules against asking these things, everyone silently followed the rule of not asking about other people’s work.

"But I'll prepare a celebration party and wait for your good news. If you need anything from me, just call me anytime."

The two hugged briefly before parting ways, and Devon already had some ideas in mind.

He was very skilled in interrogation; in other words, he knew how to instill fear in people!

Whether it's physical fear or psychological fear.

He immediately began investigating Roland, and he did so personally.

With Lance's connections, everything went smoothly, and he investigated Roland's situation with almost no effort.

Roland's family situation was in a strange state. He was married, but not fully married. He had a fiancée, had been with her for many years, and they lived together, but they had no children and were not officially married.

This unusual situation immediately made Devon think that Roland might have an illegitimate child.

His current wife is merely a target he has placed in the open.

(End of this chapter)