Shadow Empire

Chapter 344 Those who play with fire

"Salary increase?" The manager had a ferocious smile on his face!

There is no problem with this word describing it, because his smile is ferocious. His eyebrows are pulled up as far as possible, and his facial features are distorted because of this smile. It can be seen that he is trying hard to show his current emotions.

So it's a hideous smile.

From his tone, one could sense his dissatisfaction with Vaughn, as if he was asking him if he was joking!
"Do you know how many workers there are on the docks?"

"Do you know what a 50-point increase for everyone would mean?"

He could no longer sit still and stood up. "50 cents per person, more than 10,000 workers, even if it's only 50 cents, we have to pay an extra 7,000 to 8,000 yuan every month!"

“That’s nearly 100,000 yuan a year.”

"One hundred thousand dollars, Vaughn!"

"This isn't 10,000 or 20,000 yuan, and I just need to nod my head. This is fucking 100,000 yuan, and it's every year!"

"If I promised you, those people out there would thank you, and the board would kill me!"

"Not to mention that they are asking for a two-dollar increase, which means 30,000 yuan per month, and 360,000 yuan per year."

"Do you know how much you can do with 360,000?"

The manager became a little excited, "360,000 yuan can hire 72 assassins to kill me 72 times!"

"It's possible that I'll die a few more times if I buy one and get one for free!"

"Don't make it sound so easy, Vaughn. We are old friends. You have to understand my difficulties!"

He stood beside the table with one hand on the tabletop and the other hand on Vaughn's shoulder, "Help me deal with these sons of bitches. As long as you can stop them from making trouble, I'll give you five thousand dollars!"

The board of directors allocated him 20,000 yuan, and if he could take care of everyone, then whatever was left would be his.

But if he can't do it, then he's ready to leave.

The manager had previously come to power by inciting conflicts between local workers and immigrant workers by not raising wages. He did a good job of confusing the argument that "the wage increases were not due to the low wage demands of immigrant workers" and made the workers at the dock direct their hatred for the lack of wage increases towards the immigrant workers.

So when His Majesty the Emperor said he wanted to declare war on the Federation, the reaction on the docks was so violent, with dock workers beating up immigrant workers everywhere!
They hated the group of people who were delaying their salary increases, and the manager's plan, although simple, was really practical.

The hatred has really shifted!
The board of directors had been nice to him, giving him a promotion, a raise, and the promise of a senior partner position, but now, everything was going to go down the drain!

Because some fucking idiot is demanding a raise for everyone!

In fact, he could have simply refused Johnny's request, but he couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't lead to unpredictable consequences.

He had no choice but to call Vaughn and get the union involved.

Vaughn shook his head. "This is difficult to do, and I can't find Johnny now."

The manager didn't know where Johnny had gone, so he was stunned for a moment, "What happened to him?"

Vaughn told the truth, "He was arrested by the Hazardous Materials Administration."

The manager couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Well done, very good. Let's see how he can make trouble again!"

He laughed for a while and took a deep breath. Now that Johnny is not here, will it be easier to talk?
"Go talk to the workers and tell them that we will do our best to do Johnny's job. Also, tell them that we will make some improvements to the food and give them more beef, but don't mention the issue of salary increase!"

How much is beef per pound?
The worst minced beef only costs two or three cents a pound, and one pound of beef is enough for them to eat for two or three days for lunch. It seems that each worker's daily expenses have increased, which can be regarded as a wage increase.

But you don’t eat beef every day, and you can slowly make up for it later!

The manager may have various shortcomings in other aspects, but when it comes to how to manage workers, he is absolutely a first-class expert.

Vaughn could only shake his head and say, "I can't promise!"

Manager Lianbang walked up to him, bent over, and hugged his shoulders, “Brother, you have to promise!”

"Whether it's for me or for five thousand dollars!"

Vaughn seemed hesitant and was thinking. After thinking for a while, he said, "I'll give it a try, but I can't guarantee you any effect."

The manager was relieved after hearing this. "No problem. I never make things difficult for anyone, right?"

Vaughn stood up and said, "I'll go do the work now..."

The manager was relieved that the union intervened and was on his side.

But what he didn't know was that five thousand dollars could no longer buy Vaughn.

The news of Johnny's arrest began to spread among the dock workers at a faster rate. Some even said that the dock management company reported the club for selling alcohol to them, and Johnny was arrested because he obstructed the enforcement of the Hazardous Materials Administration.

This is all a conspiracy by the management company!

Although this statement has not been widely spread, it has begun to affect the work mood of some workers. If people work with emotions, their efficiency today will definitely be very poor.

At the same time, Vaughan also found several of his fellow workers with whom he had a good relationship and talked about what the manager had said.

"He would rather give me 5,000 yuan to convince you than agree to my idea of ​​raising your salary. Even if it's only 50 cents, they are unwilling to give it to you."

"He asked me to try my best to persuade you not to cause trouble and to continue to work honestly. I really don't know how to persuade you."

"So I tell you these words very straightforwardly, and let you think and analyze them for yourself."

Several workers clearly felt the contempt from their manager, which made them even angrier.

One of them slammed the table hard, "This is the capitalist!"

Several people were communicating through eye contact, and they all saw a hint of thought, an idea in each other's eyes.

Vaughn continued to add fuel to the fire, "He doesn't respect any of us, you, including me."

"He thought that giving me 5,000 yuan would make me stand on his side. He underestimated my principles and overestimated the value of 5,000 yuan in my heart!"

"Whatever you want to do, I will support you!"

These people were not particularly careful or smart, so they could not understand the meaning behind the words. They only knew that Vaughn was a good person.

"We will go back and discuss it with them. There is one more thing..."

One of them asked, "Johnny and the others...is there any way to get them out?"

Vaughn nodded. "No problem. This is one of our jobs. I'll take care of it..."

What is happening on the pier and what happened yesterday are still unfolding, but no one thinks it is wrong to use warning shots when necessary, including the mayor.

And the facts have proved that the result of firing warning shots was very effective. Lucard suppressed a riot that had the potential to escalate in time. He even called Director Dale and praised Lucard.

He then put the incident behind him and began preparing a speech and talking to a soldier about the details of his shooting.

But this matter is progressing rapidly in a direction that no one can predict.

The Dock Workers' Union has its own cooperative legal team. After receiving Vaughn's request, the legal team immediately went to the Hazardous Materials Administration with people and money. They planned to bail out Johnny and his gang.

However, only a few hours had passed since the incident happened. After arresting Johnny and his men, they had not had time to ask them whether they had committed any other crimes, so it was definitely impossible for them to be released.

It was this refusal to release the people that made the workers on the dock become restless.

Although everyone is still working, it seems that everyone is distracted.

People get together in small groups and talk about what's going on, and they talk about how in other industries wages go up every six months.

They talked about where to go for a drink after the club was shut down, and also about the possibility that Johnny was arrested because of the company's behind-the-scenes conspiracy.

People also talked about the manager promising Vaughan five thousand dollars to persuade people not to mention the wage increase. If anyone looked closely, some people who had not been working were constantly moving from one place to another on the docks, and they were contacting more workers.

With no place to drink after get off work, the workers gathered together and began to complain and say bad things about the management company.

Fines, deductions of money, and heavy work arrangements, one thing after another came out of these people's mouths, making the group's emotions continue to heat up. Some people have realized that the dock is about to face a big event!

But they are not only not panicking, but also looking forward to it. Perhaps it is time to teach these capitalists a lesson!

On Monday morning, attorney Robben showed up at the hazardous materials bureau, carrying a briefcase and looking like a social elite.

Of course, he is indeed a social elite. He is submitting bail forms. He plans to temporarily bail out all those arrested in the club and is currently communicating with relevant staff.

He has been here many times. Since Lance became his employer, he has had less dealings with the police department and more and more dealings with the Hazardous Materials Administration.

This job is easy, just come and fill out some forms and do some chatting, you can earn one or two hundred dollars in the morning. Lance is like his God and he worships him!
The Dangerous Goods Administration did not reject his application for bail. In fact, one day was enough for them to interrogate these people, but as usual, no results were obtained.

According to the documents provided by the Dock Workers' Union, the person who contracted the club was a man named Dyson. Lucard used his previous connections at the police station to look up his social security number, and it turned out that he was a homeless person.

It was obvious that Lans had taken safeguards again to clear himself and the club of all wrongdoing.

Although everyone knew that he was running the club, there was no actual evidence to prove it.

Although the Hazardous Materials Administration has many capabilities that exceed those of ordinary law enforcement agencies, these people will still be brought to court in the end.

In court, the judge will not only listen to what they say, but will also refer to the defendant's statement. In the absence of key evidence, they cannot prosecute Lance at all, let alone send him to jail!
When Lawyer Robben was processing bail, an agent came to tell Lucar that Lance's lawyer was here.

Lucard walked to the window and saw the convoy parked across the street.

He thought there were a lot of goods in that batch, but after pulling it back, he found that most of them were empty bottles, and only a few were filled with wine. In total, they were worth only a few thousand yuan!

Including the bail, it might not even cost Lance 20,000 dollars!
He felt like he had been fooled again. He didn't know why, but every time he lost to Lance, he hated Lance even more!

He watched for a while and decided to go out and talk to Lance.

He knew he shouldn't have this thought, but he just couldn't control himself. He didn't know what was wrong with him, he wanted to do it now!
He walked to Lance's car with a cigarette in his hand, put one hand on the roof, bent over, lowered his head, and put the cigarette in his mouth, "Borrow a light."

Lance nodded slightly, and the guy sitting in the passenger seat took out a match and handed it over.

Lukar lit up his cigarette and took a breath. He looked at Lance and said, "Can you tell me how you brainwashed these people?"

Lance looked at him, his eyes calm.

This made Lucard feel a little embarrassed. He felt that behind Lance's calm gaze, there must be ridicule and mockery.

"Those of yours may be young, but they are very tough!"

"No matter what means we use, they are unwilling to reveal that you are the one behind the scenes."

"There was a young man who was beaten to the point of incontinence, but he still refused to admit anything to do with you. Lance, I'm curious, how did you do it?"

"Let them protect you as if they were protecting their own lives?"

He raised his hand and said, "Don't worry, this won't be used as evidence."

"You are provoking me," Lance said. "You hope to anger me and make me do something impulsive."

"Lukar, I don't know why you have such strong malice towards me, but I know that you are doing something very dangerous."

Lucard pursed his lips, as if Lance had seen through something, which made him feel very uncomfortable. "I'm not targeting you. I'm a law enforcer and you're a criminal. It's that simple!"

Lance glanced at the people who were walking out of the Hazardous Materials Administration, and indeed there were a few young people being supported by others.

Lucard also saw it and a smug expression appeared on his face. He did it for Lance to see.

"As long as you continue to commit crimes, I will keep an eye on you and your people!"

Lance looked at him and smiled. "I hope you can always think this way. Pure people are admirable. I hope you are a pure person!"

The two looked at each other for a moment. Lawyer Robben came over with his men. He glanced at Lucar, who left with a cigarette in his mouth.

He doesn't like dealing with lawyers because you never know when they will trap you.

"Mr. Lance, the bail has been paid. The court will probably go to court in mid-August. The maximum time will be no more than two years. Most of the time it should be six months."

The two years was for the bartender, while the others received only sentences ranging from six months to a year.

It may seem long, but Attorney Robben has a way to further shorten these sentences or even prevent them from having to go to jail.

In the actual execution of the sentence, the time previously spent in detention will also be counted as time served in order to avoid detention for too long.

Many lawyers will take advantage of this and find a loophole. When the trial starts next month, the actual execution of six months can be calculated as five months.

If Attorney Robben continues to drag it out and secures some key players, then when the court opens again in two or three months, they may be directly granted parole and be able to go home without having to go to prison.

The federal judiciary has always been a joke. It has always been like this and it will always be like this!

"Thank you, you always help me!" Lance expressed his gratitude to lawyer Robben.

Lawyer Robben smiled and said that this was what he should do. "Mr. Lance, you don't need to thank me. You paid me a high fee. If I do it well, it's my job. If I don't do it well, it's my problem!"

"Well...I won't disturb you from chatting with your friends. Call me if you have anything else."

Lance nodded, reached out his hand from the car window, shook his hand, and then let go.

Lance helped the young man, who was being supported, get into his car.

But the young man refused, saying that he was not clean enough.

The people from the Hazardous Materials Administration flushed him with cold water after he became incontinent. In fact, there was still a smell on his body at that time.

Lance didn't seem to feel that and insisted that he get in the car, "You are much more expensive than this car, my brother!"

This young man was actually only around 20 years old, about the same age as Lance and the others. When he heard this, his eyes started to turn red and he no longer insisted.

The people around looked at Lance with eyes full of admiration. At this moment, Lance was their God!

Looking at his slightly excited expression, Lance felt a little guilty.

"I heard you were treated horribly in there."

The young man bit his lip and finally shook his head, "No, Boss."

Lance patted the driver's seat back, and the driver honked the horn and started the car.

The convoy also started moving.

"Lucard has been targeting me. You are my people. They will definitely want to get evidence against me from you."

"Actually...when you really can't help it, you can say something. At least this way you won't be at a disadvantage."

The young man smiled foolishly and said nothing else. Lance sighed, "This man is annoying and disgusting, but soon, I will give you a chance to take revenge."

He was a little tempted, but soon shook his head and said, "Boss, there is no need to do something dangerous for us."

"They just beat us up."

Lance grabbed his hand and said, "You are all my brothers. If they hit you, it is the same as hitting me. I must avenge them!"

After returning to the company, Lance called Erwin, Morris, and some other people over.

"First, kill the undercover agent who has been identified. I don't want to see him again." He was talking about the undercover agent who had been identified by them. Lucard's sudden interference made him think that the undercover agent was Lucard's man.

Now that he can no longer tolerate this bastard, there is no need to consider using this undercover agent to pass on information.

He will die as soon as he comes online, so there is no point in keeping him around.

Hiram nodded, "I'll do it."

"Then!" Lance continued, "Find out some information about Lucard for me. I want to know who is in his family, where he lives, and his daily routine."

"Since he likes playing with fire, let's give him a big fire!"

(End of this chapter)