Shadow Empire

Chapter 1160 Even Bigger Trouble

When Devon looked at the two photos of Director Roland from different periods, he knew he had found the right direction.

He placed the remaining money on the table, saying, "Only you and God know about this."

The priest glanced longingly at the stack of money; together with the one Devin had placed on the table earlier, it should amount to seven or eight hundred dollars.

He nodded, a compassionate smile on his face. "Yes, only he and I know!" He pointed upwards, and Devon looked up to see the statue of a suffering being watching them with the same compassionate expression. A faint smile gradually appeared on Devon's face as well.

He didn't know what irony was, but now he felt it.

After leaving the church, he called Lance. "That woman is Roland's ex-wife, and those two children might be his sons."

"From what I know about the woman's social circle, she is not married and is not living with anyone."

Lance was somewhat surprised, but also felt... that it was somewhat natural.

The federal government does not have marriage certificates or similar documents; it still uses the "common law marriage system," which, to put it simply, means that there is no need to register with the government.

All it takes is the witness and blessing of family, neighbors, or friends, and a wedding ceremony held in a church, for couples to be recognized as married.

They also have certain inheritance rights to each other's property.

Although Director Roland's marriage was not witnessed or blessed by family and neighbors, they did have a wedding ceremony in a church, and both parties acknowledged their marital relationship, so they were husband and wife.

"I understand. You don't need to come back for the time being. There will be a place where you are needed soon."

"Keep an eye on these people and keep a close watch on them."

After hanging up the phone, Lance dialed the number of a top reporter in New Gold City, a top reporter for the Federal Post.

The Post holds a prominent position in the federal government, much like the Federal Times. Content published in this newspaper is not only seen by readers throughout the federal government, but also easily attracts public attention.

This demonstrates the significant influence of national print media.

Tom introduced him to the reporter, and after Lance met him, they became friends, since Lance was good at making friends.

"I hope I haven't disturbed your rest," Lance said with a smile after the call was answered, offering some rather unsubstantial words.

This is setting the stage for getting to the main point later, creating a progression of emotions.

It's not a good idea to start by discussing business during personal time; it can feel very abrupt. The right approach is to talk about other things first.

The reporter on the other end couldn't help but laugh and say, "The fact that I was able to answer your call so quickly means I definitely haven't had a break."

"Alright, Mr. Lance, we all know you didn't call me just to ask how I've been lately, or to invite me out for a field trip."

"Let me put it bluntly, what is there that I can do for you?"

Lance couldn't help but burst into laughter. "You're too direct. You've made my opening remarks a little awkward!"

My journalist friend was quite sincere: "That's just a waste of time; our time is very precious!"

As a top journalist, maintaining your influence in the newspaper is very important.

The federal government is a highly commercialized country; in other words, every newspaper and every column has its own advertising window.

This is why some well-known newspapers have three to five small advertisements on almost every page, instead of having all the advertisements concentrated in one place like some other newspapers.

People who are willing to advertise value the influence of a particular columnist. For example, there is a well-known film critic in the Film Journal who basically doesn't advertise, but he does write film reviews.

Those production companies would spend thousands of dollars to invite him to internal screenings and ask him to write a biased film review.

If you put this kind of deal in those well-known columns, then at the end of the article, there will be a small, palm-sized space with some highly targeted advertisements.

Ten percent to thirty percent of the revenue from these advertisements goes to the newspaper, while the rest goes to the columnists themselves.

Therefore, for these top journalists with their own columns, finding news that can continuously increase their influence, writing sensational articles, and winning the Golden Newspaper Award is their entire life.

rest?

There's no time to rest. Once they've made enough money, they'll have plenty of opportunities to relax. Working hard while they're still capable is the reality for the federal elite.

Those who lie on the sofa as soon as they get home will always be at the bottom of society.

So the journalist friend didn't mind Lance calling him in his private time at all, because he knew that if Lance couldn't provide him with an explosive news story, he could definitely make a lot of money.

Whether it's advertising or writing paid articles, it all costs money!
As long as he spends money, he is God. Who can hate God?

After the two laughed a few times, Lance explained why he had called him: "I have some very interesting news here that I hope to publish in the newspaper, but I don't know if it's suitable."

"Tell me about it?" The sound of a lighter and a hissing came through the receiver; clearly, the reporter was already engrossed in their work.

Lance could even picture him holding a pen, ready to scribble and draw on a piece of paper!

"Is that so? Do you know someone named Roland?"

"Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

The reporter friend said in a slightly raised tone, "Of course, I don't know much about other places, but in Xinjin City, in Jinzhou, everyone knows him!"

"He's been under the spotlight lately, and that thing you mentioned last time..."

He stopped abruptly at this point, seemingly trapped in a vicious cycle of memories, and his mind went completely blank.

Lance reminded him, "A party?"

"Ah, yes, yes, a media frenzy, everyone is involved, bringing up his past. Your approach can be said to have created a new track."

"No one had ever done this before. Almost everyone got involved, which made it pointless for him."

"If you've read the newspapers from this period, you'll know that they even dug up information about his wife's abortion, and someone even attacked his home."

These events are indeed quite "hot" in Jinzhou. There has never been such a focus of public opinion that everyone can participate in before, and some bored people have spontaneously joined in.

They searched for clues about Director Roland, then published them to attract attention and gain influence.

This has captivated some people, as this media frenzy has changed the lives of many ordinary people.

They transformed from ordinary workers and office workers into social activists.

You don't need to go to a factory or office to work every day. You just need to dress up like a real person, go to the street or a place where you have influence, and express your opinions and views.

Someone will give them money, especially now that it's election season, campaign teams are willing to spend a little money to boost their campaigns and have them go out on the streets to tout how important and significant the candidates are to the federal government.

Some of these individuals may become truly influential, and with the increasing popularity of television media, this may indeed be a path to survival and becoming a celebrity.

But Lance didn't know much about this; he only kicked off the "Age of Exploration," and he didn't pay much attention to the rest.

So he didn't continue answering that question, but instead asked a very interesting one, "Which wife are you referring to?" The reporter friend answered almost instinctively, "Of course, that one...", then he paused, as if he was thinking about what question his mother should answer.

After a few seconds, he figured out what he was saying and immediately realized that this was definitely a sensational news story.

It may not have any huge influence or important political value, but it can trigger renewed public participation, and by revealing its more mysterious veil, it will become the key figure leading a new round of public attention!

what is this?
This is a unique manifestation of influence. As long as the news itself is truthful, it will become another badge of honor for this journalist.

He's very interested now!
"Does he have other wives?"

Lance chuckled twice more. "Not only does he have a wife, but he also has two children."

"You just said he made his current wife have an abortion?"

"Do you think there might be some connection here? For example... the purpose of the abortion is to protect his other wife's two children, since if they had a child now, the child would obviously have a more reasonable right to inherit than the other two."

"Wang Defa!" the reporter exclaimed in surprise. "This is absolutely a serious moral lapse, Mr. Lance. This news... is very interesting, and it involves a senior federal employee. Could you give me more details?"

"I think my readers will love this news!"

"Of course, that's why I called you!"

As Lance spoke, his journalist friend took notes. He was very excited because Director Roland had always been a positive figure.

Although there are now some charges against him, and even hearings where he has to explain why he chose to let federal police stand by and watch when he knew that gangs were going to attack innocent federal citizens, instead of stopping them in advance.

He has indeed had a very uncomfortable month so far, with troubles constantly coming his way and no good solutions, leaving him no choice but to grit his teeth and deal with them.

Fortunately, his approach was able to resolve these issues, which, while troublesome, were not fatal.

Abortion issue?

He made up an excuse, saying that his wife was injured during the examination and had taken some hormone medication. The doctor advised them to terminate the pregnancy, otherwise there was a high probability that the child would be born with a deformity.

This period coincided with a period of rapid development in radioactive materials. Although people had not yet fully understood the necessary relationship between radioactive materials and deformities, there were indeed many deformed children and disabled people who had undergone gene mutations due to exposure to radioactive materials.

Giving birth to a deformed child is indeed an unacceptable thing for a mother, and he completely glossed over the issue of abortion.

As for why he stood by and watched Lance be attacked?

He also gave himself a reason for his actions: he couldn't be sure it was illegal or criminal before it happened; maybe these people just wanted to talk to Lance.
He can't arrest all these people before they commit a crime, otherwise that would be another mistake.

There are other issues, some seemingly plausible but actually flawed questions unearthed by people in society, and some that are obviously nonsense, such as someone saying he is gay.

Although everyone knows it's unlikely to be true, he still has to explain. Sometimes hearings aren't about clarifying someone's innocence, but about embarrassing them.

It was past 7 p.m. when Director Roland finally dragged his tired body back to the FBI; he had been very exhausted lately.

The mental and physical exhaustion is different from before.

He was tired before, but only physically. He felt a sense of joy because he was moving towards his goal. Even though he hadn't reached his goal yet, the progress itself was a satisfying thing.

But now things are different. He's stuck in the same place, and a constant stream of troubles is coming his way.

Lance is more difficult to deal with than I imagined.

Mr. Porter has called him and told him to keep a low profile for a while, as we are at a crucial moment in the election and the results will be announced soon, a week before Saturn.

In other words, the election results will be available in about two weeks. Polling stations have already been set up in various states, and people are ready to vote at any time.

Back in his office, Director Roland brought Supervisor Ike (the second senior agent supervisor to defect to Lance) to his office. After he came in, he closed the door and asked Supervisor Ike to sit down. "I've been busy lately and haven't been able to visit you in the hospital."

According to the medical records, Supervisor Ike suffered a very serious injury and has only recovered somewhat after treatment.

Even now, stitches can be seen on Supervisor Ike's face, head, and neck; the doctor said these were abrasions caused by the grenade explosion.

He was lucky; the shrapnel didn't hit his head, allowing him to survive, but many other agents fared much worse.

Director Roland sent people to the scene again, but the scene had already been cleaned up.

Not only could no witnesses be found at the motel, but the motel owner and employees insisted that there was no explosion, no gunfire, and nothing happened.

As for why they had to renovate the two houses, it was simply because a guest had started a fire while smoking in one of the rooms, and they had to renovate the two rooms for aesthetic reasons.

Even the people that Chief Roland sent obtained the fire alarm record from the fire department. The relevant firefighters also unanimously stated that they did go to the scene to put out the fire that day. The fire was very large, but fortunately they had prepared a lot of water and extinguished the fire in time.

As for the gunfight and explosions, they didn't see any of them, let alone the corpses.

In other words, those federal agents who died at the scene simply vanished into thin air. He couldn't even find any evidence to prove they were dead, and this incident was also related to Lance!

In addition, the hearings during this period have prevented him from dealing with these matters, so it has been delayed until now.

Today the hearing officially ended. Those people told him that he barely passed, but he should be careful not to let something similar happen again.

That's why he had time to talk to Director Ike about these things.

"I'm so sorry to you and our brothers. I misjudged how vicious Lance and his gang were, and you suffered a lot because of them. There are also some brothers whose whereabouts I still don't know."

Supervisor Ike sighed, "We all made the same mistake on this issue: underestimating them and overestimating ourselves."

This was his honest opinion. At first, he didn't think that Lance and the Lance family would be so difficult for them to deal with. He thought they would just be a little difficult to handle, but he could always manage to deal with them.

As it turned out, Lance wasn't dealt with by them; instead, he was the one who got dealt with first.

Even more deadly were the videos Lance possessed—videos of him personally killing a large number of FBI agents—things that could cost him his life.

He has completely bowed his head, and there's a high chance he'll never be able to lift it again in his life.

Director Roland sighed as well, "Have they made all the arrangements on their side?"

Supervisor Ike nodded. "The compensation is exceptionally generous, and I also promised them that if they encounter any trouble, we will do everything we can to help them resolve it."

"Is anyone causing trouble?" Director Roland asked again. What he feared most right now was trouble. It would be best if everything happened after Mr. Porter became president and the transition to the "Porter government" was smooth.

At that time, President Porter's privileges could solve many problems for him, making it a little easier to deal with people like Lance.

Therefore, his demand was to receive more money and more promises, and absolutely not to let them cause trouble.

The FBI's death benefit was originally $22,000, but he instructed Director Ike to give $30,000 per person when he went there. He also made many other promises, including that if someone in their family was willing to take their place at the FBI, they would be accepted.

The goal is to stabilize the situation first, until the new government is fully operational by early next year.

Ike hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and said, "It's basically all taken care of."

“Basically?” Director Roland caught the key word.

(End of this chapter)