Shadow Empire

Chapter 259 The Fire and the Driver

At around nine o'clock in the evening, the mayor was reading the International News. He was very interested in recent international events.

The sudden ringing of the phone did not make him feel unhappy at all. The person who called him at this time was definitely not just asking for sex.

He put down the newspaper, took off his reading glasses, rubbed his eyes, and answered the phone, "This is Sidney."

"It's me, Mike."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Just now... the senator called me and said that the wine you seized today belonged to the Koda family."

The mayor had actually heard about this matter, and he had been waiting for this call, "So..."

"So this batch of wine cannot be ruined."

Even though the mayor was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but feel emotional when he heard this. "What you said makes me feel uncomfortable, Mike."

"If I can't touch it just because it's the Kodak family's wine, I might as well just resign!"

"This city is terrible. I thought the enemies were from outside, but now it seems that there are enemies from within as well."

"I am no match for them. Is it too late for me to admit defeat now?"

Hearing the dissatisfaction and anger in the mayor's tone, Mike could only try to appease him, "You have worked in Jingang City for so many years, you should know how much money the Kodak family sends to Congress every year."

"I don't want to admit it, but I have to admit it, Sidney. Our political party is being corrupted by capital faster and more."

"They actually discussed it for a while and gave me a more...appropriate option."

"You still destroy the wine, but not this batch!"

The mayor actually had a guess, and this result was consistent with his guess, but even so he was still very angry, "They want me to do something, but they don't let me do it. I really don't know what to do."

Mike could only continue to comfort him. In fact, the current situation was so delicate!
The implementation of Prohibition encountered many difficulties, the difficulty of which was definitely beyond people's imagination, and some of them even came from the upper class.

This has actually always been a problem for the federal government. When making these rules, the people who make them did not think about putting themselves within the framework of these rules.

They think like gods on a sandbox, looking at the undulating ground and the ant-like people, and making "my rules", while ignoring the fact that the rules should include everyone.

No one should be excluded from the rules, only in this way can there be true fairness.

But they couldn't do it, so from the very beginning, there were loopholes and problems in the rules.

Now, with some isolated incidents, the problem has been magnified, which ultimately leads to the inability to thoroughly enforce the prohibition of alcohol.

Some things are hard to say over the phone, so Mike could only try to comfort them, "I think this method is good. You get what you want, and the Kodak family doesn't suffer any loss."

"Also, Sidney, I have another piece of news. In exchange, someone higher up will support your nomination as speaker of the state house of representatives."

The mayor, who was originally quite angry, was not so angry all of a sudden.

There was even a smile on his face!
With the support of senators, his chances of success increased a lot.

However, he had to show that he did not give up the confrontation because of this. Even if he really ate shit, he had to wipe his mouth clean.

"I'm not agreeing to compromise just because you said so, Mike, you have to understand that."

"I just don't want the situation to continue to escalate!"

How could Mike not know what kind of person the mayor was? He did not expose him. "Of course, of course. I am very grateful that you can take the situation into consideration. I will tell those people about your performance."

The mayor got what he wanted, and then said, "The Kodak family may need to cooperate with us."

Mike quickly said, "No problem, I will communicate with them."

The mayor emphasized that “only a few of us know about this. If they all knew that we had reached a compromise, they would become more tough.”

"You should understand what I mean. When they find out there are other roads in the dead end, they won't care about what we do now!"

The mayor grumbled a few more words and hung up the phone.

He clasped his fingers together, pressed them against his legs, and looked out the window into the darkness.

This result was obviously the best. They destroyed hundreds of thousands of bottles of wine, while the Kodak family lost tens of thousands of bottles.

Everyone got the results they wanted. Although the process was a bit "bumpy", the result was satisfactory.

As long as the Kodak family doesn't talk nonsense.

As for Chief Dell?
The mayor thinks Chief Dell understands the overall situation!
And what Chief Dell wanted was actually the same thing as what he wanted!

Mike has Bandy's phone number. Everyone who is influential in the entire state of Likale has Bandy's phone number. In the eyes of many people, Bandy is a kind-hearted and generous person who can give you money anytime and anywhere without asking for anything in return.

So he has good relations with all parties and Congress. Who can resist having a generous friend?

The easy-going Bandy seems not so easy-going this time.

"Mike, I'm not targeting you. I just want to ask him why he picked on us."

Bandy's attitude was very firm, and he didn't seem to be willing to compromise on this issue. "I can agree to your proposal on other issues, but not this time."

"This is not about the money. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, if it's gone, it's gone. What I care about is my dignity."

"If I agree to your proposal, everyone in Jingang City will know tomorrow that we have surrendered."

"So what will they do next?"

"They will try to overthrow the order we have established and challenge our position!"

"It's not about the money, Mike."

"I can give you one million, if you ask them to put my wine back, and as long as they do that, the million is yours!"

Mike could understand what Bandy meant. Although on the surface, it seemed... that no one was at a disadvantage, the Kodak family's face was actually smashed to the ground!

Sometimes, the more powerful and prestigious an organization is, the less likely it is to accept this kind of plan. What they care about is no longer actual benefits.

It’s the rules and dignity they have established over the years, it’s face, it’s authority!

Without authority, they won't make people feel scared.

Mike is also a pain in the ass, but who made him take this job?
He lowered his voice a little. Even though it was impossible for anyone to eavesdrop on their phone call, he still did it out of habit.

"Bandy, you have to understand that Prohibition is an important law promoted by Congress. Your current idea is very dangerous because you are clearly going against Congress!"

"I'm not threatening you or intimidating you. It's not smart for you to fight against the entire federation with a gang in Jingang City, isn't it?"

"You are my friend. I don't want anything to happen to you, but I won't allow you to do anything reckless like this."

"I am not afraid to tell you the truth. In fact... the state government has approved the dispatch of militia into Jingang City when necessary."

"Although this is the last resort, you should understand the special nature of this decision."

"I know you've been nice to me and the people above, but it's precisely because of this that we should negotiate these issues better."

"As long as the state government and senators support you, I believe that at least in Jingang City, there will be no organization or individual capable of challenging your family."

"I will lobby them. Jingang City will not approve any casino licenses for at least the next 20 years!"

While they were discussing these things intensely, several dark shadows had already approached the warehouse of the Hazardous Materials Administration.

This warehouse is not near the office building of the Hazardous Materials Administration. There is some distance between them. The land in the city center is very precious and it is impossible to give it all to them.

And at the beginning, no one knew how far this new department could go, how much power it would have, and whether it would become a joke like the FBI, "helping the president to find trouble with his political enemies." But with the attention paid by Congress to the Hazardous Materials Administration, and the cooperation between the mayor and Director Dell, the mayor approved a building specially selected for them to be used as a warehouse for the Hazardous Materials Administration.

And, it’s still in the city center.

Most of the federal houses are made of wood, and even brick and stone houses have a lot of wooden structures.

At this time, several agents on duty were playing cards while guarding the gate.

The wine was piled up in the back room and the door on the other side was locked, so the only way to get in was from their side.

"It smells a bit like gasoline," someone mentioned. He looked around and there was no gasoline in the room.

But everyone else's attention was on the card game and they didn't notice what he was saying at all.

He quickly got back into the game, ignoring the faint smell of gasoline.

Several dark shadows sneaked into the yard under the cover of night. They quietly pried open the door at the back of the building and got in.

The crowded warehouse was filled with an increasingly strong smell of gasoline. The enclosed space was no longer ventilated, and the volatile substance gasoline wafted out from some of the bottles that were not completely quiet, becoming increasingly strong.

Several people quickly used steel pipes tied with cotton cloth in their hands to hit the boxes containing wine bottles, and gasoline began to flow out.

After doing all this, the others quickly climbed back onto the wall, leaving one person standing next to the pried-open rolling shutter door.

He took out a match from his pocket, lit it, and then lit a cigarette. He took a puff and then threw the match into the rolling door indifferently...

The match went out before it hit the ground and didn't light up. Then another one came and this time it lit up.

Gasoline is highly fluid and flammable. In addition, the warehouse was filled with gasoline that had evaporated into vapor form. The moment the ground started to burn, the warehouse exploded!
He was thrown some distance away by the explosion. He got up from the ground while yelling and cursing, and reached out to grab his companion's arm. Together they climbed over the wall and disappeared into the night.

The news of the explosion in the warehouse immediately alarmed everyone, including the mayor who was on the phone discussing with Director Dell what to do next.

Fire trucks from across the city quickly took action, but faced with the fiercely burning warehouse and the ever-expanding fire, there seemed to be no better way to deal with it.

The high temperature and heat wave became a wall of death. Even though the firefighters tried their best to sprinkle water, it actually had no practical effect on the fire that was burning more and more fiercely!

Once the fire has reached a sufficient temperature and space, it cannot be extinguished by the water jets from the fire truck. We can only wait until the contents of the fire are completely burned out.

Bandy, who was bargaining with Mike, also heard the news. He told Mike directly "no need to talk" and hung up the phone.

The expressions of the family members also became serious.

At the scene, Chief Dale looked speechlessly at the fire brigade that had given up and the surrounding fire that had been lit up. He couldn't help but look at several agents on duty with angry eyes many times.

He really wanted to ask, what on earth were they doing!
A fire burned almost all night.

When the flames gradually died out naturally in the early morning, there was nothing left in the fire scene.

Only some blackened masonry structures remained standing; everything else had been reduced to ashes.

They came to the place where the wine was stored. The glass had melted into glass water under the high temperature. It was now stuck to the ground with other black ashes, and the shape of the glass bottles could no longer be seen.

A large number of reporters rushed to the scene upon hearing the news, and the photos were full of the numb faces of the firefighters and the helpless backs of some agents.

Many people from the city police department also came, including Officer Hunter. They had to evacuate the surrounding people and help put out the fire when necessary.

Officer Hunter, who was completely free at this time, walked around the scene a few times and happened to meet Lucar. The two knew each other before and had a good relationship.

Hunter gave Lucar a cigarette, and the two naturally started chatting, "What do you think?"

Lucard took the cigarette, lit it, and took two steps back, seeming to be still frightened by the fire last night. "It's hard to say. I think this fire is very strange."

"It burned too fast and too violently, even the fire brigade was useless. This is not normal."

Hunter did not state his position, but seemed to be contradicting him, "There is strong liquor here. Once it burns, it will be difficult to put it out even if you pour water on it."

Lucard did not deny this possibility. "But I still feel something is wrong. It burned right after I got it back. It's like... someone is manipulating these things."

He glanced at Ponda standing next to Chief Dale, and Hunter turned to look at the man, "Do you suspect him?"

Lucard nodded and said, "He provided the clues, and then we brought the wine back and burned it all night."

"But I don't know what his purpose was, so I can't finally confirm whether it was him, but he is a strong suspect."

"This person has not shown any advantages before. He cannot be considered a complete local. He can only be said to be a federal who moved here."

"And then all of a sudden he got such an important clue. This is not normal."

"You can't get such important information in an unfamiliar environment, otherwise everyone would be a detective!"

"Anyway, I think he's highly suspicious." Lucard stopped talking, as if he didn't want to continue discussing this issue. He turned to look at Hunter, "After Charlie resigned, I heard that he nominated you to take over his job?"

Officer Hunter smiled. “I am more familiar with the various tasks of the police station. If you hadn’t left at that time, he might have nominated you.”

"We all know that he values ​​you very much."

attach great importance to?

Lucard laughed, "I'm fine now. This job allows me to do what I really want to do."

"Police officers have their own merits, and secret agents have their own merits. It looks like I'll have to call you Chief Hunter soon?"

Hunter also smiled. This was indeed a happy thing. "Just call me Hunter. I'm not used to your names."

The two chatted for a while and then separated.

By the morning, the news had spread everywhere, along with reports in major newspapers and tabloids, and some "insiders" were also passing on the news.

These people claimed that the wine was burned by the Kodak family.

They would rather destroy their own wine with their own hands than have it destroyed publicly. The news was so convincing that it was difficult to tell whether it was true or not, but many people believed it.

It makes more sense!

The source of this news comes from the mayor and Director Dell, and they can only respond in this way for now.

Mike spoke to the mayor again last night. The Kodak family was very dissatisfied and asked him to be careful.

One could hear some annoyance in Mike's voice. Although he was not the one who took the lead in this matter, he was almost involved in the whole process and played an important role.

Now he is trying to please no one side. Not only did he fail to get the result he wanted, but he also made everyone unhappy. Naturally, he has no reason to be polite to the mayor.

At around eight o'clock in the morning, Director Dell had just driven out of the Hazardous Materials Administration when suddenly a truck hit him.

He steered the car at the critical moment and was knocked out at an angle.

This frightened him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat, and then his scalp went numb!
There was no doubt that this truck was coming for his life!
These bitch locals!
He got out of the car cursing loudly and quickly ran back to the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau. For the time being, he wasn't going anywhere!

The truck lost power after crashing into a section of the wall at the Hazmat Bureau and the driver fell into a coma.

The city police department also sent people over and they took the driver away, but in the afternoon the verdict was that “this was just an ordinary traffic accident”!

This blatant method not only made Director Dell feel terrified and angry, but even the mayor felt furious!
He called Bandy directly.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"Killing government employees in broad daylight?"

"Bendy, you guys are so brave!"

(End of this chapter)