Shadow Empire

Chapter 321 Senator Williams
Humans may not be the first animals in nature to learn to use tools, but they are definitely the first species to develop an advanced civilized society.

Through science, weapons, and some other things, humans have stood at the top of the food chain!

Even though humans themselves are not as good as those predators in nature, humans are still at the top of the food chain!

However, sometimes, even though humans have already reached the top, there are still people who yearn to be dogs.

It sounds a bit outrageous, and what's even more outrageous is that sometimes even if you want to be a dog, you may not be able to be one!
Paul's words shattered the last fantasies of some people. They fantasized that as long as they were willing to lie down, wag their tails and bark around their new owners, they would have a bright future.

They won't participate anymore, they won't fight against the mayor who is an outsider, they just surrender, isn't that enough?
As long as there is a way out, people can often convince themselves to choose something they may not want to choose, and they cannot make the most decisive and resolute decision.

Paul crushed their hopes and the retreat they had been unwilling to fight against until this moment.

Those who are qualified to be dogs have already received invitations.

And those who did not receive any invitation were not even qualified to be dogs.

The more bloody the words, the more true they are. Silence became the only theme in the room at this moment.

There was no way out, and it seemed that confrontation was the only option left. The momentum of those who were originally somewhat wavering was changing, changes that Paul and the other two families wanted.

After two minutes, the atmosphere became so heavy that it almost froze, and Lance frowned slightly.

He came to listen to what they were going to do, not to watch Paul play tricks. Everyone's time is precious!

He raised his hand and knocked on the table. The bang bang sound of knocking on the wooden table shifted everyone's attention and stayed on his hand.

At the same time, the heavy atmosphere relaxed a little, no longer as suffocating as before.

The ruby ​​ring reflected a magnificent glow. Lance withdrew his hand and asked, "Paul, what are you going to do?"

Paul glanced at Lance, who was leaning back in his chair. "I heard that old dog Dale will soon be stepping up his inspections of smuggled liquor, mainly targeting us."

"They intend to cut off our main source of funding, and then allow the gangs that have become their lackeys to grow rapidly, and then come to eliminate us."

"So, we have to fight for more living space for ourselves before they accomplish this!"

Some people are already very impatient, with bad news coming one after another, "Mr. Pasreto, say something meaningful, you are not a politician, there is no need to beat around the bush with us!"

Someone immediately agreed. Not everyone could understand this. They only knew that now they seemed to have no way out.

Paul glanced at the man. If the five major families were at their peak, would such a small character dare to interrupt his speech like this?

This actually reminded him of a cruel fact that the influence and deterrence of the Pasreto family were declining rapidly.

Alberto sat next to Lance and asked him, "What do you think about this issue?"

Lance crossed his fingers and placed his arms on the armrests of the chair, leaving his hands resting on his legs but not connected to them.

"We are no match for the mayor." His words made Alberto frown.

He thought Lance would say something like there was still hope, but he didn't expect that as soon as he opened his mouth, it was as if he had already seen the ending.

Alberto asked unconvincedly, "We have so many people here. Even if the Kodak Family and Cassia are on their side, there are still some small and medium-sized gangs, but at least the Bay Area is still on our side for now."

"In terms of strength, there is not much difference between us!"

Lance glanced at him, "I thought you'd be smarter."

It took Alberto a few seconds to react, "Were you mocking me by saying that just now?"

Lance waved his hand, "No, just a sentiment."

He didn't believe it and looked at the people around him, "Did you hear that?"

"Did he just laugh at me?"

The person next to him said seriously, "No, I didn't hear it."

"Well, whether you laugh at me or not, tell me why."

Lance lit a cigarette. Many people were smoking at the scene, and the room was filled with the smell of cigarettes. "Because our opponent is the mayor. He has absolutely no advantages, but he can still maintain a balance with the power of this city."

"When he has the upper hand, do you think you can maintain balance?"

Alberto mused, "Why not 'us'?"

He was trying to find a loophole in Lance's words. Lance smiled and didn't discuss it with him. "We lack the decisive power, Alberto."

"As long as the mayor is alive, he can use his power as the legal ruler of this city to target us at all times."

"Unless someone dares to kill him, everything may end, but it may also be worse!"

Alberto asked Lance for a cigarette, and he blew out a puff of it in a somewhat depressed tone, "Why?"

"Because the ruler discovered that some lackeys in Jingang City were trying to get rid of the ruler's rule. It's like the manager of one of your bars suddenly dumped you and went it alone. What would you do?"

Alberto said in his still sullen hum, "I'll hang him."

"Look, need I tell you?"

He was a little unconvinced, "Do we have no choice but to admit defeat?"

Lance shook his head and didn't say anything else. He could only say that the mayor was bold enough.

In fact, most of them only knew that Councilman Wade was leaving, and they didn't know how many favors and connections the mayor had used behind the scenes.

He is determined to completely take over Jingang City, and it is difficult for anyone to stop him!

As for the future?

Who knows?

While they were talking, some people in the conference room could see clearly that when the official power was unable to compete with the mayor, they would begin to lose the upper hand.

Seeing that there were signs of noise here again, Paul decisively slapped the table, making everything quiet again.

He looked around and said, "I didn't call you here to have a fight. Actually, we have a solution. I need to introduce you to a new friend."

As he spoke, he stood up, and the people from the other two families around him also stood up. The side door of the conference room was suddenly opened, and an old man who looked to be in his sixties with silver-white hair walked in from outside, protected by two bodyguards.

Someone immediately exclaimed, "Congressman Williams?"

One by one, people began to stand up, and Lance also stood up.

Congressman Williams looks very "kind", if it weren't for his hooked nose that makes his facial features look a little stiff and makes his smile look a little malicious, then he would still look very kind.

He raised his hand and nodded continuously to greet the people at the conference table. Then the boss of the Tita family, Sarifu Tita, moved to the side and gave his seat to Paul.

Paul's main seat was given to Congressman Williams.

"Hello everyone, nice to see you here."

"Some of us have met and dealt with each other before, but some are unfamiliar faces. We can talk to them privately later!" He walked to Paul's seat and did not sit down directly, but said this.

It is undeniable that although he has a tough look, he speaks in a very friendly way, which is a skill that politicians must master.

Councilman Wade speaks very friendly. In fact, the mayor is also very friendly. Lance has contacted him before, and he was even able to personally and proactively invite Lance to join his camp.

Therefore, affinity is a core element that a successful politician must master!

"It was the pressure of an outsider that brought us here today."

"It was also Wade's betrayal of this city that brought us together today."

"I don't want to talk about that bastard anymore. When I mention him, my stomach hurts, so let's not talk about him today."

He said, supporting himself with his hands on the table and slowly sitting down, "What we are going to discuss today is how to solve the current dilemma."

"Before that, I would like to ask, does anyone have any brilliant ideas?"

"Forget about those messy ideas. What we want is something that is executable, not something random."

Everyone shut up. Like Senator Wade, Senator Williams also had great weight and influence in people's minds. Lance also shut up and looked at him quietly.

Seeing that no one was talking, Senator Williams nodded slightly, "Very good, then I will tell you what I think."

"If you read the newspapers, you should have noticed that the whole world is about to fall into chaos, and the party has begun discussing some of the possibilities in the event of a war."

"As the largest port in the northern hemisphere, Jingang City is very important from a geographical point of view."

"The closer the clouds of war get to us, the more we cannot allow chaos here. The eyes of the gentlemen in Congress are all on this place."

“Sidney may have some connections in Likalai State, but in the eyes of those bigwigs in Congress, there is actually no difference between a mayor and a city councilor.”

"And I have people behind me, both in the state government and in Congress."

"This forms the basis for our cooperation. We don't want Sidney to be the real owner of this city. It should belong to everyone present here, not outsiders!"

After he said this, Lance clearly felt that the morale in the room had been boosted again. Congressman Williams was indeed a senior politician who knew how to communicate with all kinds of people.

He paused for more than ten seconds, allowing people to fully interpret and understand the meaning of what he said.

Then he continued, "So, we're going to mess up this city!"

Looking at those stunned, puzzled and disbelieving eyes, Congressman Williams' smile was still so kind, without any impatience as when meeting with fools.

His eyes swept across those people's faces because he was going to be working with these idiots for some time.

If Wade hadn't betrayed the city, how could he have worked with these idiots?
The thought of him made me feel sick, but the more I felt sick, the less likely he would show that he cared about those dead rats in the sewers. Instead, he was always full of intimacy.

Until his eyes fell on Lance, their eyes met, and this time it was his turn to be a little stunned, because Lance was so calm at this time, as if he didn't hear what he had just said.

Is this person too stupid to understand what he is saying, or is he too smart to have heard something?
Councilman Williams decided to ask Paul later who this person was, and now what he needed to do was to clear up the confusion in people's minds.

"Once this city gets into chaos, Congress will start to pay attention. I will withstand the pressure and let the people behind me solve our problems. As long as he withstands the pressure, Sidney will definitely be severely criticized by Congress!"

"The stability of Jingang City has become the top priority. Whoever can restore the stability of Jingang City will be more important to Congress!"

"Gentlemen, this is an opportunity that we are not just going up against that son of a bitch Sidney... Sorry for the bad language."

"This is also your chance to flex your muscles to the higher-ups!"

Lance noticed that Paul's eyes were shining, and Sarifu beside him and the people of the Keane family also had their eyes shining!

They obviously know better!
He knew that the appearance of Congressman Williams was not that simple.

"Political struggles have always existed. What I've said may be too complicated for you, but you just need to know it."

"If there are people who support Sidney, there must be people who oppose him. What we need to do is to let those who oppose him find reasons, excuses, anything to attack him."

"At the same time, it can also allow those who support us to find reasons to strongly support us!"

"As long as we can do this, even if Wade leaves, we can still compete with him in terms of real strength!"

"In fact, there are still eighteen months left, gentlemen. In eighteen months, he will leave with his regrets, but this city will still belong to us!"

The decisive words made people seem to be able to see the embarrassing scene of the mayor being driven out, and smiles appeared on people's faces.

Alberto was also laughing. He nudged Lance with his elbow and asked, "What do you think of what Mr. Williams said?"

"That's good. This may be the only way now."

"That way I don't have to prepare to run away."

"Run away?!"

Alberto looked at Lance in shock, "You didn't tell me that!"

Lance tilted his head and whispered, "I told you, we had no hope at all just now. If Wade hadn't left so abruptly, we could have delayed until the mayor left."

"Although it was only a year and a half, it allowed him to take control of the core power of the city. We had no other choice but to run away."

"But now..." He pointed to Congressman Williams and said, "I hope the people behind him can be trusted!"

Then Lance raised his hand and asked, "Congressman Williams, what kind of chaos do you mean and to what extent?"

"Allowing your men to loot on the streets is a kind of chaos, destroying factory production is a kind of chaos, and completely destroying the city's order is also a kind of chaos. What do you want, and what can we do?"

Councilman Williams looked at Lance, "You are?"

Paul immediately stood by him and introduced him, "This young man is Lance, Lance White. You should have heard of this name."

Congressman Williams immediately showed an expression of sudden enlightenment. Regardless of whether he had really heard it or not, for Lance, his expression made him feel a certain degree of pleasure.

It's like "even the president has heard of your name", which can make people feel a sense of honor.

Councilman Williams then said, “I’ve heard of you, you’ve done a good job with the docks.”

"The topic that the president and Congress are discussing recently is also related to you."

“On the issue of illegal immigration.”

He listened for a while and then returned to the original question. "Lansty's question is very meaningful. This chaos has certain requirements."

"We need to keep the city in the spotlight because the internal policing and unrest is affecting its functioning, but we can't let the unrest turn into riots, which would be bad for both of us."

"I'll put forward a few ideas."

"I heard that the mayor has also recruited some gangsters, so let's go to war with them and make a bigger noise."

"Burn down some of their buildings, warehouses, and kill a few more people."

"It makes people live in fear and affects the daily work of the city. If it happens a few more times, Congress will take notice."

"As the mayor, he must be the first person responsible!"

It is a simple but practical strategy. At this special and critical moment, the largest port city must not be in chaos.

Once things get out of control, it will be the mayor's fault. Councilman Williams can find connections and have reasons and excuses to attack the mayor, which will force the mayor back to the negotiating table.

Simple and effective is the best way.

Once people have a direction, they have motivation and drive, and then everyone is ready to leave and do their own things.

If we ask the gangs to do the construction, I'm afraid they can't do it.

But it's too easy to let them do destructive things!

When Lance was about to leave, Paul stopped him and said that Congressman Williams wanted to see him.

Although Lance didn't quite understand why Congressman Williams wanted to see him, he was willing to communicate with such a guy.

Soon, in the hotel suite, Lance met Congressman Williams.

"Please take a seat."

Councilman Williams was pouring a drink, "Whiskey or brandy?"

There was alcohol in the suite, and everyone knew it, including the Hazardous Materials Administration.

It’s like they know that the gentlemen in Congress are drinking and they never shy away from it, but they also never cause trouble for the gentlemen in Congress.

No one would be so foolish as to cause trouble for Dingsheng Hotel. There is a bigger monster standing behind it!

"Whiskey, not too much."

Congressman Williams came up to him with a glass of wine and placed it on the coffee table. "I heard that you have a strong control over the dock workers?"

“Even the Longshoremen’s Union is not as good as you?”

(End of this chapter)