Shadow Empire

Chapter 1176 Arrested
Lance spent the last two days on the train, traveling from Golden Harbor City to New Golden City. Although he was on the train the whole time, he was still able to read the latest newspapers.

Whenever the train stopped at a station in some city, someone would bring him the latest newspaper, letting him know what changes were happening in the world.

The situation in the country is relatively stable. A new president has been elected, and the old president has not made any other moves. He is currently moving very quietly.

His personal belongings were moved out of the presidential palace, and some work handovers were proceeding smoothly.

The new cabinet members have been largely announced, and the vice president has also been chosen: a senior Liberal Party official who will reportedly serve only for four years before being replaced by someone else.

Domestically, things are very stable, but in the Asia-Pacific region, new "international issues" are constantly emerging.

Since joining the federal political system, Lapa has experienced tremendous development, with a large influx of investment into this place where labor is so cheap that it's practically free. This has enabled Lapa's economy to develop at a pace that is unimaginable to its neighboring countries.

For federal citizens, giving them twenty dollars a month is a ruthless humiliation, exploitation, and oppression.

But if you give a Lapa ten dollars a month, they will kneel down and kiss your toes, and even call you "Dad".

As long as this job is stable.

Capital is always like this; it is profit-driven. When they discover that the cost of producing goods in Lapa and then transporting them back home or to other parts of the world is far lower than the cost of producing them domestically, they will begin to invest in these underdeveloped places.

The good days for the people of Lapa are clearly coming, but their neighbors are still living in poverty. In some countries, the average monthly income per person is less than five federal sols. How can they not be envious and sad?

With the current Secretary of State, Department of Defense, and Congress inheriting some of Lance's ideas and approaches to dealing with these regions, significant internal conflicts have erupted in the surrounding countries.

Riots and civil unrest broke out in multiple regions, and some government officials and traditional tribal chiefs were killed in their mansions.

These escalating riots were like sparks being ignited, and under the influence of the federal government's push for "economic growth," they continued to ignite more sparks, eventually turning them into a raging inferno.

The increasing number of problems has erupted in a short period of time, causing problems for the entire Asian Union. Even more critically, the president of the Republic of Makan has recently applied to visit the Federation to negotiate deeper cooperation.

The Czech Republic has privately denounced the whole thing as a conspiracy by the federal government, but it's too late.

The internal strife has drained a great deal of the resources of the Asian Union countries, and the fact that Rapa withdrew from the Asian Union without any substantial punishment has essentially left the Asian Union, an alliance that was once pushed out by the Czech Republic to confront the Federation, with no future.

The Federation's silent invasion of the Alan region has taken another giant leap forward.

Watching these domestic and international news reports, the train finally arrived at the New Gold City train station amidst a burst of steam.

Lance was traveling in a private car. The entire train only had five carriages, so there was no one on the platform at this time, or if there were, they had been cleared out.

Half an hour later, he appeared at Senator Cleveland's estate.

"You look a little tired," Lance observed for a moment before speaking his mind.

Senator Cleveland couldn't help but chuckle. "I haven't had a good rest these past few days, you know. We still have a lot of issues to deal with after Porter's victory."

"We certainly can't compete with them for the Senate seats, but we can still try to win the House of Representatives, and we must try."

"If we lose our voice in both houses of Congress, it will be a heavy blow to us. Even if we have the ability to overthrow Porter, the consequences may not continue to develop as we imagine."

The two houses are complementary yet mutually restraining; as long as one can control Congress, the highest governing body of the federal government, who the president is is not that important.

There have been puppet presidents in federal history before, and Congress may not have much power during wartime.

However, in peacetime, if Congress and the president really break off relations, the president may not be able to hold out for long.

Therefore, maintaining control of Congress, even if the requirements are relaxed, is especially important, particularly the House of Representatives.

Listening to Senator Cleveland's complaints, Lance chuckled and said, "So, what can I do for you?"

Senator Cleveland lit a cigarette, took a drag, and quickly exhaled with a hiss. "Prepare some money, some collectibles, and we may have some people we need to persuade who require your help."

Lance nodded. "No problem. I'm best at persuading people with physical means."

Senator Cleveland paused for a moment, and it took him several seconds to realize what "physical persuasion" meant. He couldn't help but laugh. "You're still as funny as ever, Lance."

He paused, then said, "I read the newspaper. What are your plans to do about Roland's matter?"

Lance glanced at his watch and said with a smile, "It should be about time."

"Almost there?" the senator asked, his face full of confusion. "What you're saying makes me even more confused."

"This is a... little surprise. You'll find out what happened by the afternoon at the latest."

Meanwhile, the cousin, the chief of police, had arrived outside the federal prosecutor's office with a briefcase. He looked at the seemingly unremarkable agency and then glanced back at the cars parked on the side of the road.

His family and other belongings were in the car. Devon promised him that as long as he went in and turned himself in, his family would be immediately released and given the best treatment and protection.

A powerful figure will speak on his behalf, and he won't need to stay in there for long; he might be able to get out in a year or two.

After all, he was only an accomplice, not the principal offender, and he did not actually harm anyone.

The cousin, the bureau chief, lingered on his wife and children for a moment before sighing and walking into the prosecutor's office. He knew he couldn't win against these people, nor could his cousin, Bureau Chief Roland.

The only result of continuing to fight is that they will die after being covered in wounds. He doesn't want to die; he wants to live and have a good life. He has to save himself.

Doing this might be a bit... despicable, but he really had no other choice.

The lobby of the Federal Prosecutor's Office was also a large, multi-purpose office. The receptionist immediately stood up when she saw someone enter. "How can I help you, sir?"

People who come to places like this, whatever their purpose, must have a reason, so maintaining a proper attitude is very important.

The cousin, the bureau chief, placed his briefcase on the front desk and calmly said, "I want to turn myself in, and I also want to report someone."

Several staff members working behind the front desk looked at him at the same time, and at the same time, several guards came up behind him from the side.

He slowly raised his hands and stood there.

Half an hour later, Senator Cleveland received a call from his friend, who mentioned the incident and seemed quite pleased.

Director Roland is clearly Mr. Porter's man, and now his subordinates have turned themselves in and provided some crucial evidence to indict Roland. Regardless of how this matter ultimately turns out or whether it will implicate Mr. Porter, it is a fortunate thing for them.

They would support anything that would embarrass Potter.

Senator Cleveland, after hanging up the phone, looked at Lance. "How did you convince him?"

In his view, such a key figure should not be so easily bribed. From what his friend said, he knew that the local police chief was absolutely trusted by Roland.

It would likely come at a high price for someone like that to betray Roland.

Lance said with a half-smile, "I told you, I'm very good at physical persuasion." "There's a high probability that Roland won't get involved in anything involving Potter, and even if he did some dirty things with Potter, he probably won't confess."

"But we need to create the illusion that we're trying to get him to talk, and the illusion that he might talk at any time."

Senator Cleveland immediately understood what he meant. "You mean, you want Porter to finally snap and shut him up?"

"That's indeed a good idea; I'll remind them."

The news spread quickly. At this time, any news related to Mr. Porter would spread very quickly. Moreover, it was not yet "his time." He had not yet been sworn in, was not yet the president of the Union, and did not yet possess the privileges that only the president of the Union had.

He learned about this the moment Director Roland was taken away by the prosecutor's office.

Mr. Nymport was also in his office. As the son of the next president, Mr. Nymport had clearly been assigned a new job, and they had just been discussing it—the director of the FBI.

Mr. Porter intends to appoint his son as the director of the FBI. Such an important position cannot be placed in the hands of anyone else. He plans to continuously increase the power of the FBI during his tenure, making it a law enforcement agency that can intervene more effectively in local affairs.

Only in this way could the Liberal Party carve out a large rear area of ​​its own during the Socialist Party's two decades of continuous rule.

Politics, with its deceit and intrigue, usually only occurs between relatively high-level figures and leaders.

At the very bottom, political means will degenerate into the most basic means of violence.

You can't engage in political infighting with a low-level clerk; there's no environment for political maneuvering. So, you can only find a reason to remove that person and replace them with your own.

The FBI will be a crucial bargaining chip for him personally, his family, and the entire Liberal Party to break the ice, so he can only place someone he can trust and completely rely on in this position.

Originally, Roland was qualified, intelligent, and proactive in aligning himself with me, and he was also useful.

However, his repeated mistakes over the past year caused Mr. Potter to lose his last bit of patience with him. After all, he was an outsider, unreliable and not smart enough. Sometimes, he couldn't explain things clearly, and it was not as good as his own family.

He was still considering how to remove Director Roland's title, but unexpectedly, he got into trouble first, which put Mr. Potter in a somewhat passive position.

Roland was more or less involved in some private matters, and whether he would say something inappropriate became a worry for him.

After all, he's not president yet, so there's always a chance things could change!

“I’ll go and shut him up,” Mr. Zhongbo said, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere in the office any longer. “I’ll find some people and create some unexpected incidents.”

Mr. Potter did not immediately agree. The prosecutor's office and the Department of Justice had been somewhat "disconnected" due to the Socialist Party's control over the past twenty years.

It's not that the Liberal Party is completely incapable of getting involved, but rather that their involvement would be very significant and would attract public attention.

If it were any other matter, ordinary favoritism and corruption would be done without consequence, but this matter is different; its nature is not so simple.

"Let me think about it." He pursed his lips. "Have someone keep an eye on him. There's still a month before my swearing-in ceremony. Try to delay it until a month later."

"Once I'm in the Presidential Palace, dealing with this matter will be very easy, and there won't be any problems left."

Mr. Porter nodded. "Then I'll get back to work."

He also made connections with some government officials through Mr. Potter's influence, including those from the prosecutor's office and the Department of Justice, but none of them were of very high rank.

Mr. Potter nodded. "If you encounter any problems, please communicate with me promptly. Go ahead."

After his son left, he sighed. It seemed like everything went so smoothly for other people who were president, but why did he keep running into trouble when he became president?
He is now somewhat worried that if the next president is still from the Socialist Party, these people in the Socialist Party will bring up old grievances.
He was conflicted and helpless. People within the party demanded that he take back what belonged to them from the Socialist Party as soon as possible after taking power, but this would inevitably deepen the rift and conflict between him and the Socialist Party.

With these unexpected troubles now added to the mix, being president may not be as easy as he imagines!

At this point, Director Roland, who had been "invited" away, was still unaware of what had happened. The prosecutor's office had only asked him to come over to cooperate with the investigation of a case, which he did not take seriously, thinking it was a case that had nothing to do with him.

When he arrived at the prosecutor's office, he realized that the prosecutors and guards were all focused on him. He then realized that he was not there to "cooperate with the investigation," but to "be investigated."

"Is there some misunderstanding?" Sitting in the interrogation room, Mr. Potter looked at the prosecutors in front of him with a slightly unnatural expression.

This was the first time he had sat in an interrogation room as a defendant. The prosecutors sitting opposite him were expressionless. The one in the middle, while tidying up the documents on the table, said, "Do you think we would have brought you here if we didn't have incriminating evidence?"

He took out a photograph and handed it over, asking, "Do you recognize this person?"

The person in the photo was his cousin, the bureau chief. When he saw the photo, Bureau Chief Roland became somewhat depressed. He was silent for about ten seconds. "I know him. We are cousins ​​and have a fairly good relationship."

"Is that all?" the prosecutor pressed. "Are there any other relationships between you, such as a superior-subordinate relationship, where you remotely control him to do illegal or criminal things for you?"

Director Roland couldn't hold back any longer, "Is he here with you?"

He couldn't get through to him on the phone a few days ago, and he never expected that his cousin would be arrested by the prosecutor. Now he can only pray that his cousin didn't say anything out of line.

The prosecutor smiled but did not answer his question directly. "You are also a law enforcement officer. You should know our procedures and processes. If we didn't have concrete evidence, do you think we would be sitting here discussing these things?"

"Roland, you are a smart man, I've heard that. I hope your intelligence won't turn into foolishness at this time."

"Only after you explain your problems can we apply to the judge for a reduced sentence for you."

“If you try to fight against us, the outcome will certainly not be what you want.”

Director Roland remained silent. He had no idea what his cousin, the director, had confessed, and he couldn't bring himself to say it—this was the information gap.

He often used these techniques in the interrogation of organized criminals, but he never imagined that one day they would be used on himself.

He remained silent, unwilling to speak, and the prosecutors did not press him, but continued their questioning; they had plenty of time.

Meanwhile, a guest arrived at the Presidential Palace.

Senator Cleveland sat across from the president’s desk, looking at the key figure behind the desk who had “usurped” the presidency for years and contributed to the Socialist Party’s defeat in the election. He didn’t show much dislike or affection.

After all, this is a federal government. Even without this incident, the outcome of this election would most likely be unfavorable. The Socialist Party has controlled the president and both houses of parliament for too long. The Liberal Party and the Federal Party, including the recently emerging Labour Party, have already formed an alliance on certain issues.

So the Socialist Party didn't even question the election results or demand a revote; they simply accepted the Liberal Party's victory.

However, it wouldn't be entirely true to say that there's absolutely no annoyance with it.

"Did you come to see how I left in such a sorry state?" the president said, pursing his lips, but showing little sign of nervousness.

Anyway, his good days lasted a few years longer than planned, and he had done all the necessary deals during those years. Even if someone wanted to settle scores later, it wouldn't cause any real harm to him or his family.

Senator Cleveland shook his head. "I'm here to ask you for a favor. You should have heard that the FBI director has been arrested."

"Now we need you to appoint a new director."

(End of this chapter)