Shadow Empire

Chapter 1136 A Good Brain and Threatening Me?
After finishing a day of social engagements, Senator Cleveland returned home by car, and when he arrived, the housekeeper brought him a glass of milk and honey.

The glass wasn't big, and it didn't contain much, but it was certainly a good thing for Senator Cleveland, who had just finished drinking.

He walked over to the sofa and sat down, leaning back against it. He had drunk quite a bit that night.

Such social occasions that require him to drink a lot of alcohol are not so common anymore; only the party in a "disadvantageous" position would need to drink more.

Just like those at the bottom and on the periphery of social circles, if they want to integrate into the circle, meet more people, and gain more recognition, the simplest way is to take the initiative to get to know more people.

The more people they know, the more alcohol they need to drink, and they often end up completely drunk after the event.

On the contrary, those who are prominent figures in social activities do not need to drink with everyone. When others come up to them with a glass of wine, whether or not they drink depends on their own mood.

Aside from alcoholics, nobody likes to get drunk, especially politicians like Senator Cleveland, who need to maintain a calm and rational mind at all times to deal with any unexpected situations that may arise.

However, during this period, he had many social engagements and many places to drink, because the general election was approaching.

Once the election is over, the Socialist Party will not be able to win the presidency again, and in fact, it will not. In order to ensure that Mr. Porter wins the election, the Liberal Party members even began to spread rumors that "the Socialist Party presidents always win because of behind-the-scenes manipulation".

These rumors are perfectly clear to those in the real upper class—CEOs, board members, or politicians who manage large corporations—that they are all false.

In recent years, the Socialist Party's development has clearly benefited capital, unlike the Liberal Party which emphasizes the people. They emphasize the state, society, and production.

These are things that capitalist societies and the lower classes need. Freedom can't put food on the table, but having a job that may not be great but pays a wage is acceptable.

The best foundation for the federation was laid during the Socialist Party era, but now the uninformed public actually believes that the Socialist Party's re-election is a conspiracy.

The less educated a person is, the more angry they will be when they are fooled. It's like pointing at a blind person and asking them what they have in their hand, or asking a deaf person what one plus one equals.

They felt fooled, but they didn't really know whether they were fooled by the claim that "the Socialist Party's victory was a conspiracy" or by the Liberal Party's campaign strategy. In any case, they were furious.

The Liberal Party, in turn, provided them with a channel, a window, to vent their anger.

If the Liberal Party wins the election, the reshuffling of parliamentary seats will mean some changes in the power structure within Parliament.

Their priority now is to secure the important position of majority leader, ensuring it doesn't change due to the election.

Maintaining a majority of seats in Congress by the Socialist Party is crucial, and this involves many exchanges of interests. It's not that Liberal states must nominate Liberal senators; it depends on whether they can reach a better deal with Congress and other political forces.

Besides this matter, there's also the prospect of the next senator, and it's necessary to figure out who will have to leave Congress and who will enter Congress.

This is of great significance to the new congressional political stage next year. After all, senators are human beings, and as long as they are human, they will have weaknesses and desires. There will always be someone who can persuade them.

These social gatherings are all egalitarian, and given the current climate, Socialist senators like Senator Cleveland are no longer as powerful, so he needs to drink more to ensure that everyone can exchange information more effectively.

People who drink too much always feel unwell. He had actually vomited once on the way, but drinking some warm milk and honey made him feel much better.

He sat back for a while, his eyes closed, and just when the butler thought he was about to fall asleep, he opened his eyes and asked, "What time is it?"

The butler glanced at the clock. "A little past ten, sir."

Senator Cleveland straightened up again. "Is Tom here?"

Should I call him?

"Let him come over."

Tom arrived quickly. He had actually been asleep, but the butler woke him up, and he put on casual clothes and came over.

"Are you looking for me?"

Senator Cleveland lit a cigarette, gestured to the sofa opposite him, and said, "Sit down."

"How's the situation on Lance's side going?"

Tom considered how to put it, "The matter was resolved perfectly. Everyone was taken care of in less than an hour, and the Perez family has been wiped out."

“Um…” Senator Cleveland pointed at Tom with the hand holding the cigarette, frowning and looking thoughtful, “…how is that guy who ran away?”

"It's not clear yet; we may not know the news until tomorrow or the day after."

Senator Cleveland let out a heavy sigh. "Call Lance. I need to talk to him."

As for whether Lance slept or not?
Nobody cares about that; obviously, these important matters are more important than sleeping.

The phone rang for a while before being answered. Lance was currently staying in a high-end hotel in the old city. He wasn't actually sleeping; he was taking stock of some of his "gains."

"The senator wants to speak with you," Tom said, then handed the receiver to Senator Cleveland.

"I hope I haven't bothered you," the senator said after receiving the call. He clearly knew that calling so late was inappropriate, and this was a very tactful way of expressing his concern.

A form of respect.

Lance chuckled and replied, "I haven't gone to sleep yet. I'm sorting out some information about the Perez family's businesses. Did you need to see me?"

"Yes, the Perez family has ties with some politicians. I want to know who is in charge of their current boss, whoever he is."

Lance could tell from Senator Cleveland's voice that he must have drunk quite a bit. There are noticeable differences in the pauses and tone of voice between a normal person and a drunk person, and the latter's speech rate is also slower.

“If you’re talking about Bob, then he’s in Roland’s hands right now, and Roland took him away immediately.”

There are more Socialist Party members in the southern part of the federal territory because the Socialist Party is doing better there. The North was the first region in the federal government to develop, and the Liberal Party is doing better there.

The central region of the federal government is considered a Liberal Party stronghold, and the Perez family is also a Liberal Party member, at least on the surface.

The government officials they are connected with are certainly not all Liberal Party members; there may be Socialists as well, but that doesn't matter.

Senator Cleveland remained silent, deep in thought. Lance seemed to sense his thoughts. "Should I take him back from him?"

This statement piqued Senator Cleveland's interest. "How do you plan to rob it?"

Lance chuckled softly again, as if it were a simple matter: “Take out the men guarding Bob, then take Bob and leave, send him south or somewhere else.”

"If you need it."

Senator Cleveland did not speak immediately, but after a brief moment of thought, asked, "I have a question now. Your mind sometimes works a little better than mine. Perhaps you can give me some advice."

Tom, who had been sitting to the side looking rather bored, suddenly sat up straight; he was very interested in the topic.

Senator Cleveland didn't hide anything from him and asked directly, "Now that the seats in Congress are about to be reshuffled, the speakers of both houses will also be re-elected. If nothing unexpected happens, at least one of the speakers will be a Libertarian."

“Our power in Congress is shrinking, which is not a good thing and is very inconvenient for our future plans.”

“The Perez family has ties with some Liberals, and he certainly has some key information about dealings with these people. I’m considering whether I need to extract that evidence from him.”

Clearly, Senator Cleveland means they possess evidence of connections between potential senators and gangsters. While Mr. Porter has been advocating for solving the social problem of gangs, key Liberal Party politicians have ties to them, essentially contradicting themselves and potentially impacting future seat reshuffling in Congress.

After thinking for a while, Lance said, "Let's do a simple analysis of the advantages and disadvantages."

"The advantage is that if we can capture Bob and impress him, we can get these key things from him and put them in our own hands."

"But there's a problem here: once we have so much evidence, won't it provoke even stronger targeting and hostility from these people?"

"After all, Senator, you know that if Mr. Porter's degangsterization campaign becomes a key part of the election, then these politicians will see you as an insurmountable enemy."

“You hold the key to whether they can stay in politics. Even if you make a deal and promise not to reveal it, or even if you give them these things, they may not believe your promises and what you say.”

Senator Cleveland thought about it seriously for a moment. "What you said makes some sense, but if we let Bob go, we'll get nothing. What's your thinking?"

"Yes, we won't get any information if we don't keep Bob under control, but Senator, we shouldn't overlook one thing."

"That means the person who caught Bob is one of Mr. Potter's men. At least from the current situation, Roland is a man who obeys Mr. Potter. In other words, whatever Roland does can be linked to Mr. Potter."

"If we spread some rumors, some information, for example... that Roland has evidence of connections between the Perez family and some politicians, evidence of bribery, then what do you think they will do?"

Before Senator Cleveland could answer, Lance said, "If I were an official with ties to the Perez family, I would immediately demand that Roland hand over Bob, kill him, and destroy the evidence."

"But if a rumor were to circulate that Roland only handed over part of the evidence and that he left a lot behind, what do you think those politicians would think?"

"Could this be Mr. Potter's decision?"

"Does an FBI director, an insignificant nobody, have the guts to offend so many politicians?"

The FBI has always had an insignificant image in federal politics, a complete clown. In the past, their daily investigations were all about who insulted the president, who ridiculed or mocked the president, and who spoke ill of the president.

They've never been a strong law enforcement agency, but now they've suddenly become so powerful; it's unrealistic to say they're not backed by Mr. Porter.

Senator Cleveland clearly took this into consideration as well: "They'll be worried that Porter might have some of their scandals on them, and if the president has some of my scandals on him, I'll be wary of him."

The senator continued, saying that he felt comfortable talking to Lance because these conclusions were not forced upon him by Lance, but rather reached by Lance through his own thinking.

It's like a math problem. Someone did the whole process, and only the number after the equals sign was missing. They just glanced at it and wrote it down. That's a kind of satisfaction, a kind of comfort!
This is also a kind of charm in communication!

More importantly, since Bob never fell into their hands, people wouldn't be hostile or suspicious of him. So, after problems arose on the Liberal Party's side, it would be easier for him to win over some Liberal Party officials and make deals with them in Parliament.

"You have an excellent mind and outstanding thinking ability, Lance!"

"I'm assigning this task to you. Do it well."

"I'll treat you to dinner when you come back!"

Lance laughed and said, "Then it's settled. I've heard... the restaurant has an excellent chef."

Senator Cleveland was in a good mood. "Remember to call me, I'll book the whole restaurant!"

As a senator, he didn't need to spend his own money to book the restaurant; he only needed to subtly mention it to the capitalists around him, and they would be more than happy to pay for it.

This was actually something Lance was considering. Sometimes, evidence that can control someone else's future isn't a good thing, especially when you can't withstand the pressure.

After hanging up the phone, he summoned the bearded chief. Hull was very happy today. Eliminating the Perez family was a good thing for him. Their conflict had completely escalated, and there was no possibility of compromise.

If the Perez family doesn't fall, then he will be the one to fall.

The good news is, he's not finished.

So even though it was late, one phone call from Lance and the bearded bureau chief, who was enjoying himself, immediately pulled up his pants.

The loss of his family members did cause him pain, but... this pain did not last long, relatively speaking, for a man of power and influence.

He was exposed to more temptations than people imagined. He was already in his forties, and the girls old enough to be his daughters were as passionate as flames.

In the midst of tender enjoyment, he completely forgot about his wife, who was about the same age as him, and his somewhat disobedient son.

He wouldn't mind starting a new family and having a few more children, and this time the quality would be even higher.

Lance's "Police Fund Plan" will allow him to gain more benefits and more police officers' support, which will make his position more secure. By getting in touch with Lance, he can be considered to have entered the outer circle of core power.

Even on the outermost perimeter, the mayor would not be able to move his position unless there were special circumstances.

He gained more power and more money, but at the same time, his wife and children left him in agony. Three great joys in his life suddenly came one after another, and he could hardly bear the joy!

When he saw Lance, he had a big smile on his face and didn't seem unhappy at all because he was interrupted.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

He was very humble. Lance offered him a cigarette, and he very considerately took out a lighter and lit the cigarette in Lance's hand.

Lance patted the back of his hand to indicate that he could remove it, and with a puff of smoke, he looked at the bearded director and said, "I just spoke with the senator on the phone about what happened today, and your name was mentioned."

"There's something I need you to do now, and I hope you can do it well."

The bearded director became even more excited. The senator already knew his name. If kowtowing wasn't uncommon in the Federation, he would have kowtowed to Lance right now!
He pounded his chest, the flesh beneath his not-too-loose shirt trembling. "Anything is at my service, Mr. Lance!"

Lance was pleased with his attitude and said with a smile, "This isn't a complicated matter. You're a local, so you need to help me spread some news, some true news!"

Soon, the bearded bureau chief left. As a local strongman, he knew how to spread the news throughout the city in the shortest amount of time.

The next morning, Director Roland was awakened from his sleep by the phone ringing incessantly.

He raised his upper body and glanced at the clock on the bedside table; it was already past ten o'clock.

Last night, he personally interrogated Bob until late at night and obtained some of the things he wanted, which will become the foundation for his and the FBI's rise.

He is full of hope for the future.

He straightened up and rubbed his cheeks; lack of sleep made his eyes hurt a little. He answered the phone, "This is Roland."

"Roland?"

"I heard you got some things from Bob that you shouldn't have touched. You'd better hand them over now!"

Roland moved the receiver aside, glanced at the microphone in his hand, and for a moment his mind couldn't process what was happening.

"Are you... threatening me?"

He almost laughed.

(End of this chapter)