Shadow Empire

Chapter 474 Tom and the New Plan
Tom is a talent.

He comes from a middle-class family, his father is a lawyer and his mother is a doctor.

This is considered an upper-middle class family situation.

Since he was born, he has shown intelligence that is smarter than ordinary people, which made it easy for him to get an invitation from the alliance school and officially enter the university.

Before he entered college, he had always been the one in the spotlight, with excellent grades, outstanding looks, a body that conformed to the Federal aesthetic, and everything!
Many times he has an idea that he should be the protagonist of his own life, brilliant, shining, and admired by others.

Until the moment he entered college!
Many people say that they can change their lives by joining an alliance school, and he did change his life.

He realized his own mediocrity.

When he had just started school and was still thinking about how to change his future through studying, the children of congressmen at all levels, the children of mayors, governors and even ministers, as well as the children of big capitalists in the school had already made him realize.

Many times, learning can only make you change from kneeling to bending over. If you want to stand up straight and straighten your spine, learning cannot change that.

Here is the son of a law firm shareholder who will go to a well-known law firm for internship after graduation, and the son of a medical group investor who will go to a well-known hospital for internship after graduation.

There is the son of a senator who was able to become an intern at the Presidential Palace before he even graduated. There is also a young man who started his own business from scratch with the one million dollars given by his father, who has not even graduated yet!
But this bright, shining, glorious stage had no room for him, because he did not belong to this circle.

At the same time, he also discovered that these people who were destined to succeed in the future could not do anything alone.

Whether they go to the Presidential Palace for an internship or use the money to start a business, they also need talent and someone to help them.

And this is the opportunity for these "geniuses" who have changed their "destiny" through learning.

Through studying, they got the opportunity to serve the powerful. The most important thing for them in school was no longer studying, but how to please some of them and become their followers.

We can give these people a ride as they graduate and embark on a journey of life filled with bright lights and praise.

Tom was very depressed when he realized this, because he was no longer the protagonist of his life, he was just a supporting role.

But he soon recognized the gentleman and changed his mind. He used his abilities to get in touch with Senator Cleveland's son, and through several contacts, Senator Cleveland discovered his outstanding abilities.

After graduating from college, he got an opportunity to work in a state legislator's office, where he proved himself again and eventually became one of Senator Cleveland's staff members.

Although he is called a staff member, he is actually just a secretary who fills in the gaps. However, because he and Senator Cleveland's son are schoolmates, there is a high probability that he will become the "legacy" of the Cleveland family.

From Senator Cleveland, it was passed down to Mr. Cleveland Jr.

This is the peak that an ordinary person can normally reach. If he is luckier, he may get a chance to work in the party or government in his forties.

If he can seize this opportunity and do very well, then there is a high probability that his life will begin to enter the sprint stage, but in the end he will only be in the state house.

His family was not strong enough to support him to go further.

The so-called fairness, equality, and freedom are nothing more than slogans used by those who truly possess these things to seduce people.

If a federalist, a regular federalist, really has fairness, justice, equality, and freedom, then why would they still be attracted to these words?
Want more?

This is not wealth. Whether it is more or less, as long as it exists, everyone is the same.

But in fact, they don’t have it, so they are attracted to it, emphasize it, and need it.

The look he gave Lance was filled with drunkenness, emotion, and envy.

When he was twenty years old, he was still in college, painfully learning to bow his head and flatter those who were not as good as him in studying, sports, or appearance.

But Lance, at the age of twenty... no, already twenty-one, started to come into contact with people at the senator level.

Even making a glove and doing the dirty work for them was extraordinary in Tom's opinion!

In this age where black and white are not so easy to distinguish, gloves do not represent the upper limit.

"You're so young that people envy you, Lance!" he said this under the influence of alcohol.

Lance clinked his glass with his, "I have to thank Senator Cleveland for his tolerance. He allowed me to fool around for once. I want to thank him."

Tom couldn't help laughing. "You are really good at speaking. You don't look like you have never been to school."

At the age of twenty-one, he definitely had never been to college, that was one thing he was sure of.

Sometimes the more successful people like Lance are, the more unfair it feels to those who have followed the familiar process and moved up step by step.

They are like people who cut in line on the road of life. You have no way to deal with them. At the same time, their appearance will make all your past efforts meaningless.

Tom needed some alcohol, so he picked up the cup and took another sip. "Do your best for the Boss. This is the only advice I can give you!"

Lance nodded, then took out a brown paper document bag and handed it over.

Tom suddenly sobered up a little. He looked at Lance, "What is this?"

"A little thought."

Tom hesitantly opened the document bag, which contained a Park Lane Bank draft for $100,000. With this draft, he could cash it directly at any Park Lane Bank, deposit it into a designated account, or withdraw it.

Although the federal banking system has not yet evolved to the point of being networked, they do have a way to solve the problem of large-scale fund transfers, and that is bank drafts.

It can be redeemed across regions and even across banks.

When Tom saw this number, his expression changed strangely and was very complicated.

He stuffed the promissory note back into the file bag and looked at Lance. "I'm just a lackey, a secretary."

"The largest sum of money I've ever received was five thousand dollars."

Five thousand dollars is actually not a small amount. Tom's current monthly income from office work is around two hundred dollars.

Senator Cleveland did not pay for this money himself, because according to federal law, the federal government does not bear the salaries of congressmen's offices, and this needs to be borne by the congressmen themselves.

But in fact, the senators do not need to bear this money themselves, because there are companies behind them that specialize in doing this for them.

In addition to salary, there may be some other benefits, and the annual income is at most three thousand yuan.

What remains is the gray income, which is also the real big chunk of income.

Senator Cleveland's staff team consists of about fifteen people, which is occasionally expanded depending on their work content, and at most there are more than thirty people.

Tom can only be considered as being more...middle.

Above them are two chiefs of staff, and then a "chief of staff" without an official title, and then it's their turn.

If calculated by position, he might be ranked sixth to eighth.

Half of the gray income goes to the two chiefs of staff and the chief of staff, and then whoever is specifically responsible for a certain thing gets it.

Most of the time, Tom only received one or two thousand dollars in benefits, and at most five thousand dollars. Although the chief of staff was not responsible for specific work, they could get the same or even more income than him.

This money Lance received was the largest income he had ever received since he started working!
He didn't know whether he should accept it or not. He wanted it a little, but he felt that he was not worth one hundred thousand dollars. It was a very contradictory emotion.

He was happy that Lance could pay so much money, but also felt sad for his own "cheapness".

Lance still looked a little drunk. "Tom, I never look at how much a person is worth now, but I look at his future!"

"In my eyes, your future starts with 100,000 yuan. If I give it to you now and you accept it, it means I am taking advantage of you."

"It may not be long before you won't care about a hundred thousand dollars."

"Besides, we are friends!"

Tom couldn't help laughing after hearing this, "You're so good at talking, Lance." He took another sip of the wine glass, but his eyes were always on the brown paper bag.

After a long while, he finally let out a long breath, "Okay, I accept your kindness."

He put the brown paper bag into his briefcase. "Actually, you don't have to give me anything and I will take care of you, because helping you is like helping the senator."

He paused, then continued, "This is actually very easy to do. You don't have to worry about any repercussions or anything like that. As long as you do your job well and don't cause any trouble."

"Then no one can touch you!"

There was a hint of pride on his face when he said these words. The police in Golden State are indeed very powerful, but so what?

The problem can be solved with just one call from him!
Yes, there is no need for the senator to make the call personally. The senator will only be mobilized when the problem is very serious. Normally, he just needs to make the call.

He also knew that his calls worked because of the people behind them—the senator's staff.

But when he does these things, he still feels happy!
Lance nodded vigorously, "I know what to do."

Tom gave him two phone numbers. One was the phone number of a barrister serving the senator. If he needed legal support, this lawyer could help him solve many problems.

The other is the phone number of the chief of the Xinjin City Police Department. If he encounters some police officers with bad tempers, this phone number can be useful.

At the time of parting, Tom, who was already about 70% drunk, said meaningfully, "Do this beautifully, and it will be your ticket to the event."

"If you don't do it so beautifully, then you can only be you, do you understand?"

Lance had Tom sent home, and he went to the hotel to rest.

The next morning, I felt a little dizzy after getting up. Although the alcohol content of the wine was not too high, I still felt uncomfortable after drinking too much.

He leaned against the head of the bed. The warm air blew in from the vent. The whole room was very warm and very quiet.

Tom's last words last night might have been said for the sake of the hundred thousand dollars.

As a "lackey", it is natural that one does not want other lackeys to be above him, even if they are not of the same type.

But under the dual stimulation of alcohol and money, he still said something.

In fact, even if he didn't say it, Lance also planned to do it beautifully.

One approach is to rush directly to the homes of the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Liji Group and kill them.

Or creating something that is at least reasonable, can withstand scrutiny, and can solve their accidents is also an approach.

The former is too brutal, and inevitably some people will feel that the interest groups that ultimately benefit are too greedy.

But the latter is much more elegant and can also make the senator look good.

The next time he has any new needs, Lance will become one of the alternatives.

The so-called confidants are those who gradually stand out under one beautiful plan after another.

So, he needs to use his brain to figure out how to solve this problem elegantly.

At around ten o'clock, he called the vice president and they made an appointment to meet at noon.

The vice president obtained some "intelligence" from Lance in the past two days, which made him full of motivation!

Who doesn’t want to go further?
He hopes so too!

This is not to say how much he is eager to create value and benefits for shareholders, but that standing in the position of president, he can bring more benefits to himself!

As the channel operator with the largest federal market share and also the largest "storage operator", Liji Group has a strong influence in the futures market.

Agencies such as the Federal Financial Supervisory Commission and the Justice Department have passed legislation prohibiting such companies from manipulating the market through methods such as hoarding goods.

But how is it possible to fully monitor so many free market behaviors, and how can all methods be blocked?
As long as there is a place that is not blocked, just a small operation may bring him huge personal benefits.

He took Lance's "call" very seriously and arrived at the agreed location, an indoor shooting club, early in the morning.

The federals were very fanatical about weapons. Whether it was the era of scalping or the era of catching fugitive slaves, even ordinary people who did nothing needed weapons to protect themselves.

It is written into the Constitution, and the federal government cannot take away people's right to own weapons and use them to protect themselves.

So here many people have weapons, but not everyone can own all the weapons, or people want to improve their shooting skills, so there are shooting clubs.

In order to prevent club members from disturbing each other while having fun, the indoor shooting range is spacious and has good sound insulation equipment, which makes it a good place for some people to talk about things.

You don’t need to worry about anyone eavesdropping, and you can also feel the concrete manifestation of “power”.

“Things may have changed a little bit.”

Lance chose an improved version of the 1212 semi-automatic pistol, with a larger caliber but a smaller magazine capacity.

However, this is obviously more suitable for large-caliber enthusiasts. They don't care whether they have to change a magazine after firing a few shots. What they care about is whether the caliber is large enough.

The vice president was playing with a hunting shotgun. He looked at Lance with some doubt. Just as he was about to say something, Lance pulled the trigger -

Not to him, of course.

The sound of gunfire echoed in the room. After nine consecutive gunshots, Lance placed the pistol on the operating table in front of him, and his wrist felt a little sore from the vibration.

The caliber is only slightly larger, but the feeling when shooting is obviously different, and the recoil is significantly enhanced.

The vice president finally had a chance to speak, "What happened?"

Lance switched to a Type 991 bolt-action rifle, which is still used by many armies.

Although it has been on the market for thirty years, it is clear that its life is not over yet.

Lance pushed the clip into the magazine and pulled the bolt. He could see the yellow bullet being pushed into the chamber. He glanced at the vice president and said, "We have a new plan."

Just as the Vice President was about to open his mouth, Lance raised his weapon, aimed at the target thirty meters away and pulled the trigger.

The recoil of the rifle was noticeably greater, and the first shot missed the target.

He remembered an interesting news story he had read before, about a guy who used a rifle for the first time. He shot thirty bullets at a target fifteen meters away and missed a single one!
The vice president at the side shut up and waited for Lance to finish shooting before quickly asking, "What's the new plan?"

Lance rubbed his shoulder and asked Hiram to bring a submachine gun. He glanced at the vice president, "A perfect plan!"

Two minutes later, with a clicking sound after the gun was empty, Lance put the weapon back on the table and walked to the sofa at the back with the vice president.

He picked up the coffee and took a sip. The shooting range did not provide alcoholic beverages for fear that these people would get drunk and shoot and kill the people around them, or themselves.

The vice president was a little nervous. He had been observing Lance. Lance smiled, put down the coffee cup, and pursed his lips. "Don't be so nervous. I have a more personal question to ask you. I hope you can answer truthfully."

The vice president nodded and said, "I will definitely say what I can say."

He thought Lance would ask him how much money he had, or try to find some leverage over him, but the question Lance asked made him confused, and he didn't know how to answer - "Do you know any senators or other important people who have a good relationship with you and can help you?"

This made the vice president stunned for a while, and he was a little speechless. He shook his head and said, "If I knew someone who had a good relationship with me and was a big shot who could help me, do you think I would just be a vice president?"

He didn't know why Lance asked this question, and added, "We have some connections with the Agricultural Committee and the Trade Committee, but most of the time I just assist from the side."

“It’s mainly the president and the rest of the board who are responsible for these things.”

(End of this chapter)